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Name: Haruko Inagawa
Age: 23
Location: Katakage Ageya / Edo Japan
Occupation: Chou-Han / Oicho-Kabu Dealer
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[ Games and Skills ]
Chou-Han [ Evens / Odds] - A dice rolling game in
which people place bets on what number the die will land on, either an even number, or an odd number.
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Oicho-Kabu [ Blackjack / baccarat ] - Using kabufuda
cards, the goal of the game is to reach a total closest to 9 without going over. As in baccarat, the last digit of any total
over 10 makes your hand: a 15 counts as 5, a 12 as 2, and a 20 as 0.
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Instead of carrying a hidden dagger or a sword to
protect herself, Haruko uses an odd powder that, when inhaled or entered into the bloodstream, causes wild hallucinations
to occur, as well as, shaking, chills, and paranoia. She has come to call this 'Kemuri Netsu', or 'Fever Smoke'. It is said
that you see crazy things when under the influence of this drug, that you can see demons and spirits, or that tattoos can
come to life right before your eyes. Haruko herself has built up a good immunity to the stuff, however it still tends to effect
her if the dosage is extremely high.
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[ History ]
Inagawa Haruko currently works as a dealer for an
illegal gambling ring held in the quarters of the Katakage Ageya, a Red-Light District Brothel in Edo, Japan; however, she
herself is not a 'pleasure woman' of any kind. Her skills are specialized in the ways of dice and cards, much more befitting
her than keeping the company of men. The trio of male members in her family, Father and two older brothers, had always seemed
to have a gambling problem, and since the boss of the Katakage Ageya was so very generous to allow them to gamble on credit,
they racked up a hefty debt due to not having a lot of 'luck' in the games.
When the bill collectors came calling, Haruko was
taken to the Ageya to pay off her family's debt by becoming a prostitute until the money was paid off. This, surely, was not
something that she wanted to so, and tried to convince the head of the brothel otherwise. It was a simple stroke of genius.
If the games that were such a popular event for the business prospered more, meaning that if Haruko could subtly cheat and
bring in more funds for the house, and give the men something nice to look at in the process, then what need would they have
for her to be a whore too? The money would be coming in slower and in less amounts if they were selling away her body anyway.
So it was settled, Haruko became one of the top dealers for Katakage Ageya's illegal gambling ring.
Finding that she had a real knack for cheating dirty
old men out of their hard earned Ryo, Haruko began to keep a small portions of the money for herself to give to her family
or some such things. However when she actually did give the money to either of her brothers or father, they would simply gamble
it away and increase the poor girl's debt. There was a single instance when she was caught stealing the funds, and like all
thieves of that Era, she was punished [by way of a burning log to her right leg]. A very bad scar resulted, thus the
reason why she wears the dark stocking, and her family debt was doubled. Even though this was a terrible occurrence of the
Inagawa 'Bad Luck' Haruko still collects money under the table, or sneaks a couple of Ryo here and there to get by.
Because the red-light districts are off limits to
free women, and a prison for the 'pleasure women' that inhabit them, Haruko had to get a specialized tattoo to be able to
come and go as she pleased from the brothel. On her shoulder is a seal of employment for the Katakage, and every member of
the staff, no matter how short their career there, has to take on.
Travelling like a pack of wolves, the Itto-Ryu would
frequent the Katakage in small groups, this lead to Haruko's knowing of Magatsu Taito. Even though he was quite loyal to their
leader, Anotsu, the gambler didn't think they he really belonged with such freaks and killers. Unlike the rest of them, he
didn't partake of the women that worked then, and even seemed to want to stay away from them, for the most part. He played
Haruko's games, and often lost, though enjoyed her company, just as she did with his. Magatsu began to come on his own to
visit his friend, though always stayed distant from her on more personal matters. It wasn't any of her business, though the
Inagawa finally managed to pry the information about O-Ren and other such details of the Itto-Ryu out of him, once he trusted
her enough. He had had a hard time with many things, much more than herself, and she always offered up herself to comfort
him and stay by his side if he ever needed her.
Although they grew very close, their relationship
was not a sexual one, despite Magatsu having to pay a fee to stay in her room with her when he passed through on his visits.
It was quite rare for him to even sleep in the same bed next to her, though he did, from time to time.
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[ Personality ]
Inagawa Haruko is a rather blunt individual, calling
things as she sees them, but not to the point of pissing most people off, since she does not fight. Being in for the long
run with her family's debts, she has become an excellent cheater, and knows who to get things that she wants, without very
much effort. Many of her close friends are the whores of the Ageya, so she has picked up a few of their mannerisms, yet she
does not freely give herself away to men, or charge them for it, for that matter. She loves her family dearly, even for what
they have placed upon her, showing that she is a very loyal and loving person, it just.. needs to be better focused on something
productive.
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Yahoo: Yaku_Bakuchi
Yaku - Bad Luck
Bakuchi - Gambling
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