The Harada family had always been warriors. It was no surprise when police officer Kenshin's wife gave birth to a son. The boy was large too. His father named him Tetsu (Iron). The Officer Harada died in the line of duty when his son was twelve. Tetsu and his mother visited the family tomb. Tetsu prayed to his ancenstors to watch over his father and help him acclimate to the afterlife. Then he openned his eyes and realized that he was no longer in the tomb. He was no longer in the city. As a matter of fact, he was pretty sure he was no longer on Earth. He appeared to be in a vast, ornately built temple/fortress. He stood up and admired the beautiful murals on the walls of the hall. A shuffling of feet drew his attention and the boy turned to see whom was joining him. It was his father. Exactly as he had looked when Tetsu had last seen him. "Father!" Tetsu smiled brightly, and hugged him. He had been growing fast and was almost as tall as his father already. "My son, I have news." Tetsu broke the embrace; it was his father's formal tone. It was the tone he took when Tetsu was in trouble, or supposed to do something very important. "The Dragon is coming." "What?" Tetsu frowned. What dragon? "The Death Dragon." His father answered. The Tournament is approaching and you have been chosen to represent the family." "I have? Why me?" Tetsu was a little nervous, but it sounded like an honor. "You are the only one, boy!" A voice snapped at him. Behind his father, was his grandfather; other men and women were filing in to the hall. They all looked like family, his father's eyes or nose. It stood to reason that these were his relatives. "Of course," Tetsu bowed in apology to his ancestors, "I am the only Harada. But, am I to fight now? I must say that my skills are not up to the task of Dragon Slaying." "Hmph." His grandfather waived him quiet. "You will soon know all you need to defeat the Dragon, the Harada's have done so twice in the history of the world." "That is good to know." Tetsu said, "Shall we begin?" He looked to the various faces of his family. The next day, Tetsu awoke in his bed. He ached. His bed was drenched in sweat. His mother sat by the bed, "I am glad you have finally awoken, Tetsu, I was very worried about you." "I am sorry mother, I had to learn about the Dragon. What day is it?" He struggled to sit up in bed. "It is Saturday, we went to the tomb yesterday." "Oh. Then I have much to do." His body betrayed him and he slipped back into unconsciousness. His mother put him back into bed. At least the fever had broken. She let him sleep and dream of Dragons. Twelve years later, Harada Tetsu is serving his country as the Samurai of the Sun. He trains daily, defends Japan and the world. But mostly, he waits. He waits fo r the invitation. He waits for the Dragon. He hopes he doesn't let his family down. Polite, respectful, and philisophical, Tetsu is quiet and fairly unassuming, even considering his natural presence and size. He isn't shy but speaks only to add to the conversation, never to "hear himself talk". He keeps his opinions to himself unless asked, and is a compassionate and caring young man. He recognizes that Yorozuya has a crush on him but he is unsure of how to deal with it; so he tries to ignore it. To some degree he reciprocates the feelings but she is a few years away from being a possible romantic interest. He leads the team by example in non-combat settings becoming vocal only during combat. "Your skill is formidable Chow Deng, but your attitudes leave a lot to be desired." "Hmm? Er..yes, Yuki, that is a lovely flower...thank you." "Father, I did it." Tetsu has been training for the Tournament of the Dragon since he was twelve. He was taught several forms of martial arts by his ancestors that night. Although to Tetsu it lasted years. He was rather surprised to still be a twelve year old boy when he returned. He feels that to win in the tournament he has to evolve as a warrior. His talents are not as mechanical as a "Downloaded" martial art; but he was trained in the spirit world. He has slowly tried to bring the various skills together into a coherant package. He fighting style currently can shift effortlessly between the four main styles he uses. He seeks to develop them into a Harada Clan style that he can teach his children and grandchildren. He has developed some Ki abilities but he is unsure if that is due to his meditation and training or if it has something to do with his spirit sensai. If you want to run him as a more "Japanese" style hero, he uses his sword to lethal effect on many occasions; if that's a little Iron Age or Dark Champions for you, save the blade for robots, spirits, and inanimate objects or a last resort. Samurai of the Sun is a front line fighter. He tries to discern his opponents weak points if at all possible and take them down quickly with as little collateral damage as possible. He is in many respects the Flagsuit of the team and his leadership qualities are obvious and even Raiden has no trouble following his lead. The 'Japanese Captain America' for my campaing world. Tetsu is a bit overwhelming; he carries the skills and lore from several generations and adds it to a peak human physical abilities, and vast martial arts knowledge. Add some high tech armor and family swords and you have a holy terror to deal with. If this is the case, lower his statistics to a more manageable level. However his STR, DEX, and SPD should never fall below 20, 20, and 5 respectively. If he's not quite tough enough for your world give him a few more levels and maybe a DC or two for his art. A few more Ki abilities might also be good for variety. Tetsu is a good name for him, he looks like he was forged from iron rather than simply born. He is tall and impressively muscled, yet lean. He has close cropped black hair and as a clue to his altered state, dark blue eyes. He wears modern fashions preferring khaki's and button shirts with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. His armor is a modern version of the classic samurai armor. It is a laquered white, with a red rising sun n his chest and a built in face mask. His boots, gloves, and belt are also red. He wears his swords on his back as well as a pack that holds his retractable bow and 12 Arrows. The arrows are specially held via magnetics so that he can used his acrobatic and flamboyant martial arts without fear of losing them.