itakamae | OOC: Character Profile

Name: Kawamura Takashi

Age: 20

Birthday: November 18th

Appearance: Takashi looks much the same as he did in middle school; he may be a little broader, a little little more buff, and more often in need of a shave to keep from looking scruffy, but otherwise he has the same hairstyle and demeanor as his friends may remember from when he was younger. He also has the same casual fashion sense, outside of when he's dressed for work at the restaurant.

Personality: On the whole, Takashi is a mild-mannered, friendly person. He cares a great deal for his friends, and is more likely to stand up for someone he cares about than he is to advocate for himself. There was a time when this would all change as soon as he picked up a tennis racket and stepped onto the court, but as he no longer plays, he no longer has a need for that persona. Nevertheless, that intensity was always a part of who Takashi is and as an adult, glimpses of it will still occasionally appear. While the kitchen is rarely the place for self-important shouting in English, Takashi has channeled much of his intensity into improving himself as a sushi chef and with a knife in hand, a bit of that old "burning!" personality can still be seen.

The other occasion where Takashi's intensity is likely to peek through is in defense of his friends. As he grew older, Takashi grew a bit more perceptive and better able to judge whether and how to intervene with problems, but he's always had a stubborn streak strong enough to make taking a beating from Gin just to see if Gin would break first sound like a good idea. He is less likely to fall into that sort of single-minded recklessness as an adult, but if pushed, the inclination to dig in his heels and stick it out until he can't is still very much there.

Biography: As the son of a sushi chef, it has always been Takashi's ambition to learn from his father and follow in his footsteps by continuing with the family business. True to his words, Takashi quit playing tennis when he began high school. While he did participate in the U-17 camp with his friends as something of a "last hurrah" before his premature retirement from school sports, failing to put in an application for the high school tennis club effectively ended his competitive career as a student athlete.

Despite this, Takashi did occasionally play street tennis during high school, on a few rare occasions. While he sought out these pick-up games out of nostalgia for what he'd once had with his middle school team, he found himself unable to capture the feeling he'd left behind. As someone who played tennis first and foremost to support and contribute to the efforts of his team, games without that camaraderie failed to bring Takashi the satisfaction he had been expecting, and he soon dropped playing for a second time.

Takashi's apprenticeship as a sushi chef continued alongside his high school education and come graduation, he became a full time employee at the family restaurant. While his ten year apprenticeship is not yet complete, Takashi has become a chef more than skilled enough to serve their customers, and is proud of the abilities he's honed. He has remained in touch with his middle and high school friends as much as he is able, though he does feel that he lives in something of a different world than them, when he began work immediately after high school and while many of his friends chose to pursue higher education or even professional sports careers.

Takashi continues to live at home, with his parents, in their residence upstairs from the sushi shop. While he has some wistfulness for what it might be like to move out or live with a roommate, as many of his friends have done, he knows that his arrangement is most practical and does appreciate the lack of any commute to work. Moreover, with Kawamura Sushi's Tokyo location, he is easy traveling distance from most anywhere he might want to visit and quite close to any friends pursuing university in the greater Tokyo area.