Kazuo Shinrai

[Kazuo Shinrai]

Little is known about Kazuo Shinrai's origin. It's as if he appeared from out of nowhere.

A few years ago, a man came to Nihon (at that time the home of the Samurai of the Bujin'Kai, later known as the Kotodama) and set up shop as a merchant. The man seemed to be rather resourceful as where his main trade was in alchemic supplies, he always knew how to get his hands on the most rare of occult objects and resources. Some even accused this man of dealing in necromantic goods, although none of this was ever proven.

In time, the man now known as Kazuo Shinrai became more and more succesful in his business and came to be a respected citizen of Nihon. Later, he claimed himself to be a banker and shortly after the remnants Bujin'Kai joined the Kotodama clan, Kazuo was made a trade minister of the Kotodama, who now resided in Zento.

As time went on, Kazuo's dealings became more and more dubious. Employing bodyguards and henchmen for "his own safety" and eventually forging a secret alliance with the fabled Ninja, Kazuo became a man to be reckoned with. Being a trusted aide of the daimyo of the Kotodama, there were none who distrusted his motives or loyalty to the Kotodama. Afteral, it was Kazuo who was mainly responsible for the financial wealth of the clan and he saw to it that the citizens thrived.

When the Kotodama clan began to crumble, Kazuo decided it was time to move elsewhere. A place where he would receive the same protection and status he had with the Kotodama and he came to Cove. To prove his loyalty, an assassin struck down the daimyo with poison and shortly after falling ill, the daimyo passed away. This was soon to be the end of the Kotodama.

Having proven his loyalty to the Baronship of Cove, a former enemy of the Kotodama, the Baron agreed to make Shinrai his personal aide along with Daelin. Daelin was none too pleased with this and proved to be quite an obstacle for Kazuo, however the contacts with the ninja had not faded. It was not long before Daelin "disappeared" and Kazuo was the sole advisor of the Baron.

Again, as time went on, Kazuo became more and more influential in Cove, eventually setting up his own underground empire again. There was a time when no criminal or shady figure in Cove was not aware of Kazuo's infuence. Nothing got done without Shinrai or his men being aware of it. Nor did any major schemes get carried out without the Organization's approval. However, due to the influence of Kazuo's Organization and Kazuo being a key figure in Cove's organized crime, suspicions were raised and the scout sergeant Valiro continued on his quest to collect evidence against Kazuo and his men.

Eventually Kazuo managed to corrupt most of the Light company and even the Baron himself to some degree. Although having established himself, eventually his old age caught up with Kazuo and he decided that perhaps it was time to retire and lay low. He was from then on rarely seen in Cove, usually being away on foreign "business deals".

When Kazuo returned to Cove one day, he found that most of his men had either chosen to pursue a different carreer, had been arrested or even worse, killed. Kazuo was no longer the influential underworld boss he once was. Although still being a man not to be taken lightly, he decided that perhaps it was time to forge a new alliance. Time to have someone else sit on the throne of the underworld while Kazuo stepped down and watch from the shadows.

However, this does not mean that Kazuo has completely retired...