=== Stats and skills ===
This character is a [[kappa]]. If a stat or skill is unlisted, assume the default for this character's species.
[[Skills]]:
'''Sayu Tawara''' (Youkai-go: '''多原 冴宥''') is one of the members of Task Force "Mind's Eye".
== Bio ==
Unlike the other members of the Task Force, Tawara hails from the mining town of [[Kazama]]. However, dissatisfied with the town's relatively quiet life (she described it as "boring"), she left as soon as she reached the age of 18, wandering in the UA of the Northeastern Zone for a while, hunting monsters and offering to protect fellow travelers on her way. With no home to call her own, Tawara adopted a nomadic lifestyle, maintaining it for a few years.
On the day of her 22nd anniversary, in 438, Tawara stopped in [[Yurai]] and met Daiki Haraguchi at the ''Great Tengu Inn''. According to her, she "fell in love" with the town after Haraguchi had recommended she try his favorite dish (yakitori), claiming that the restaurant made them better than anywhere else in the world. The impromptu meeting turned into five hours of discussions (and twenty-seven orders of yakitori), and the two became friends. Over the years that followed, although Tawara was still officially a homeless nomad, she multiplied her visits in Yurai, eventually meeting Satoshi Sangi and developing a friendship with him as well.
In 450, just days before the mayoral elections, Sangi reportedly offered Tawara a deal; if she accepted to work for him and support his cause, he pledges to give her a home and a job. Thrilled by the opportunity, Tawara accepted; and when Sangi became mayor of Yurai a few days later, she was almost immediately offered a residence and a new job: serving as Yurai's [[TownSec Chief|Chief of Town Security]].
Tawara had no formal experience in law enforcement, but what she did have was a lot of strength and experience fighting monsters in the UA. However, this job was described as "temporary"; Sangi had promised that one day, he would call her for "something of greater importance" and that when the day comes, Tawara was expected to quit her job and follow Sangi into whatever that something was. The oni woman didn't have to wait long to find out what the satori meant; in 451, less than a year after Tawara had been given her new home and job, Mippei Yosai's Training Center had been opened, and Sangi made his call.
The Training Center was meant to train more than just a defense force to keep travelers safe in the UA; it was meant to be a true military force, worthy of keeping even the [[Maze Military]] at bay. Tawara was asked to move to Mippei Yosai and oversee the training and recruitment for this new military force, and to keep it a secret until "the right moment" would come. Although Tawara did not initially understand why she was selected, as she had no formal military background, she nevertheless accepted the responsibility and began training the [[Youkai Nation]]'s first activist fighters, before the Youkai Nation was even officially revealed to the world.
It only took three years for the reveal to be made. On the Day of the New Year 454, when Sangi officially announced the existence and independence of the Youkai Nation, Tawara was in Mippei Yosai, alongside her activist fighters. When the Military announced they were mobilizing forces and treating the announcement as an act of war, she understood it as "the right moment" that Sangi had hinted about three years earlier.
During '''Operation Needle Poke''', on top of being the person in charge of recruitment and training of new activist recruits, she also became the Youkai Nation's first military commander behind Satoshi Sangi himself, acting as the commander coordinating the activist troop movements. In a sense, she could be credited for the liberation of Yurai and the intercepting of approaching Military forces, denying the invading forces in Yurai reinforcements. However, she does not view herself as worthy of the credit, stating that all she had done was give orders from Mippei Yosai and that she was not part of the boots on the ground. Expressing regret over her inability to be on the field, she requested to be a true "field commander" and lead by example on the next operation.
In 456, an opportunity to prove her capabilities finally presented itself: A settling caravan largely composed of humans and halflings attempted to settle a new town in the Northeastern Zone. Upon reaching the area, they were stopped by a group of activist fighters. The exact details of the situation are disputed, but 83 out of the 100 people within the settling party were gunned down by the activists, their caravan looted down to the last bag and article of clothing, and their naked bodies left to rot in the UA. These events are now known as '''Operation Blood Banner'''.
A female oni matching Sayu Tawara's description was said to have been in the area during the events. Although it was never actually officially confirmed, it is considered an open secret that Tawara was an active participant and may have personally killed several of the settlers, presumably in an attempt to prove her capabilities on the field to Sangi.
Tawara was also an active participant of '''Operation Red Temple''', and was spotted alongside Daiki Haraguchi on the Ovis City scene, where Captain Gerald Phasma was assassinated. It is believed that she was the one who pulled the trigger on the Captain.
During the Weil Era, Tawara returned to her hometown in Kazama. With the shortages induced by the Weil harassment patrols, every town in the Youkai Nation found itself in dire need of raw materials of all kinds; as such, the Kazama native offered to help out at the mining facility, working as a miner, and later as a courier delivering ore to factories and other facilities in the Youkai Nation.
After the Weil Era ended, Sangi did not believe the peace would last long, urging his oni friend to return to Mippei Yosai and resume training of new activist recruits, raising the Youkai Nation's armed forces from roughly 300 (in 581) to a much larger number, estimated to be between 1500 and 2000 as of today. As of today, Tawara is still in charge of Mippei Yosai's Training Center and continues her teaching and training efforts.
== Personality ==
Highly motivated, energetic, and very protective of her peers, Tawara sees herself as the Task Force's "big sister", and in a wider sense, of the Youkai Nation's armed forces of activists. Though she may seem brash and uncouth, Tawara is often praised for her undying loyalty and tireless work. Sangi once described her as "a machine, the youkai ideal of hard work and indomitable will".
Having none of her own, Tawara refuses to believe that a person's potential can only be measured by their professional background, formal education, or ranks and medals. She is a firm believer that everyone has potential; it only needs to be unlocked. Thankful for Sangi having seen and unlocked her potential, she applies her philosophy as the head recruiter and trainer of the activist fighting force, doing her best to find and unlock her recruits' potential.
== Equipment and skills ==
=== [[Clothing and armor]] ===
'''Youkai [[List of youkai outfits|outfit]]''': (Type H) Maximum Defense Outfit
* [[Trauma plate]]: Heavy steel
=== [[Load-bearing equipment]] ===
* [[Tactical vests|Tactical vest]]: Blackhawk LRAK Gunner kit
* [[Utility belts|Utility belt]]: Cartridge carrier belt
=== Equipment and inventory ===
Equipped [[weapons]]:
* Primary 1: [[Saco Defense M60]] (100 /100, 100x [[7.62x51mm NATO]], Standard AP)
* Holster 1: [[Century Model 100]] (6 /6, 6x [[.45-70 Government]], Standard FMJ)
Inventory:
* Blackhawk LRAK Gunner kit:
** Ammunition: 4x [[M13 ammo belt|M13 ammo belt box, 100-round]] (Each: 100 /100, 100x [[7.62x51mm NATO]], Standard AP)
** Food: 2x [[Food|Bottle of sake]]
* Cartridge carrier: 15x [[.45-70 Government]], Standard FMJ)
=== Stats and skills ===
This character is an [[oni]]. If a stat or skill is unlisted, assume the default for this character's species.
[[Statistics]]:
* Natural [[Pain Sensitivity]]: '''40%'''
* Natural [[Strength]]: '''250%'''
[[Skills]]:
* Combat skills: '''Expert''' (All combat skills)
* Non-combat skills: '''Master''' (Mining), '''Skilled''' (Evading), '''Unskilled''' (all other non-combat skills)
Creature traits:
* '''Alcohol affinity''': When this creature consumes [[Food|alcoholic drinks]], they gain '''half''' the amount of [[Inebriation]] the alcoholic drink would normally give, but to compensate, the amount of Stress they lose from the effects of '''[[Effects#Stress|Need a drink]]''' is '''doubled''' (-0.8% Stress per +0.1 Inebriation, instead of only -0.4% Stress); effectively healing the same amount of Stress for half the Inebriation.
** Example: When drinking a [[Food#Bars|glass of vodka]], a creature without Alcohol affinity will gain '''+5.0 Inebriation''' and '''-20.0% Stress'''. A creature with alcohol affinity would only gain '''+2.5 Inebriation''', but still heal '''-20.0% Stress'''.