Katsumi Hirata

Name: Katsumi Hirata (平田勝美, Hirata Katsumi)
Alias: The Princess of Chess
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"(167 cm)
Weight: 130 lbs (58 kg)
Alignment: True Neutral
Birth Date: September 1st
Western Horoscope: Virgo
Birth Place: Machida City, Tokyo, Japan

Skills/Talents:

• Strategy Games - Copes with her own social awkwardness through the enjoyment of abstract thinking games, such as chess, xiangqi, shōgi, and Go. Mostly plays by herself because she tends to be too skilled for most people, although she will graciously accept any challenge levied to her.
  
• Academics - Excels in her schoolwork, never misses a single assignment, and always manages to complete the extra credit. An exemplary student by Japanese standards.
  

Backpack Contents:

• Heirloom Chess Set - A birthday gift from her late grandmother, this portable board is made from a combination of blue and white marble, and comes with a set of luxurious alabaster and obsidian game pieces in the Selenus style, which are carefully housed inside a velvet inlay. It is her most treasured possession, and she guards it with her life.
  
• Boxed Bento - Every day, Katsumi carries with her a handmade jūbako containing a home-prepared meal for her to eat during lunch period. The box itself, and all of its components, are of artisanal quality and can be stacked inside one another for ease of transport.
  
• Books - When she is not actively doing her homework or playing games, Katsumi spends much of her free time reading books. She particularly enjoys studying chess theory, tactics, and strategy.
  

Digivice: Katsumi possesses a model called the “Digivice Smartphone”, as featured in Last Evolution Kizuna. A midnight black grip case overlays against its ivory white chassis and functions identically to most other Digivices, save for the addition of basic smartphone features. She does not embellish it with any markings or accessories, preferring to keep it spotlessly clean.

Personality: First appearances are often the most important, and Katsumi has maintained the image of an “ice queen” among her peers on account of her focused gaze, and socially distant demeanor. Not exactly one for casual conversation, she politely refuses to interact with most people in favor of concentrating on her studies, leading many to believe she either dislikes the thought of having friends, or simply finds everybody too annoying to contend with. Aside from the occasional instance of tutoring, Katsumi does not belong to anyone’s inner circle.

In reality, however, this is because Katsumi is exceedingly awkward and uncomfortable around most folks, no thanks to the influence of her wealthy parents. Taught only to be seen and never heard, she has difficulty speaking up outside of a classroom and would much rather be left alone to her own devices, although her impressive mental acumen and good looks earn her a great deal of popularity from a handful of students in spite of her supposed detachment issues. Those who try to get close to Katsumi quickly discover she has difficulty asserting herself, and is deeply self-conscious about her place in the world at large.

Her mind is as sharp as the finest of blades, a quality that helps Katsumi excel in school as well as her favorite hobby: strategy games. She finds solace in any activity that engages her intellect, but obtains true enjoyment from playing games that require abstract thinking. Chess is her absolute favorite among these types, and she is more likely to warm up to anyone that establishes a genuine interest in the game. Her goal is to become a chess grandmaster, and while she might not be a competitive sort of person, she will always play to win, even if she doesn’t.

Appearance: Brought up to regard herself with a sense of excellence, Katsumi takes great care of her appearance and goes to extra lengths to maintain proper cleanliness habits. She has long, dark brown hair and wears a thin red barrette with a clover knot on the left side, a memento of her late grandmother. Her skin is somewhat lighter than her peers because she spends most of her time indoors, and her eyes are an intense shade of green. Katsumi tends to dress as formally as she does for school, and prefers modest clothes over outfits that reveal a lot of skin.

Faceclaim: PERSONA SERIES • hifumi togo • Katsumi Hirata

Personal History: The sole child of a well-to-do couple from Machida City, Katsumi Hirata only knows of the life that her parents have engineered for her. From the clothes she wears, to the food she eats, to the schools she attends, very little can be said about her upbringing apart from the fact that Katsumi lives an incredibly sheltered existence because of her parents and lacks the confidence to interact with others her own age due to their distrustful opinions about most people. Taught only to be seen and never heard, the negative influence of her parents has all but damaged Katsumi's ability to socialize.

Growing up, her grandmother was perhaps the closest thing Katsumi ever had to a real friend. Aware of the smothering influence her parents had over the child, Katsumi’s grandmother used her effervescent personality to keep her in high spirits and was personally responsible for instilling a passionate love of abstract strategy games into her, especially for chess, which became her absolute favorite to play any time she visited. Katsumi would enjoy this relationship for ten years until her grandmother passed away at the venerable age of 95, leaving her a gorgeous hand-carved chess set as an inheritance present.

The loss emotionally devastated Katsumi, but pressure to remain dignified in the face of grief made it impossible for her to cope in a healthy sort of way, and soon, her hobby for chess turned into an escape from her boring and dull life. She became cold and distant with others, including her parents, who could not understand her dramatic shift in character, yet never went the lengths to do so, provided she continued to perform according to their expectations.

She was nothing more than a pawn in someone else’s game.

Katsumi has since become a young woman with aspirations of attending a prestigious university, and hopes that one day she will be recognized as something more than just an extension of her parents’ wishes. Until then, she bides her time and patiently cultivates herself in every regard, awaiting the day she can become her own person. Her dream in life is to become a chess grandmaster—a dream she had promised her grandmother—yet keeps this hidden from her parents out of fear that such a goal will ultimately disappoint them.

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Digimon Name - Partner #1: White (Shiro-san)
Default Form: Rookie
Gender: Genderless
Alignment: Lawful Good
Skills/Talents:

• Chess - Incredibly skilled at the game of chess, and can outperform even the most seasoned experts.
  
• Stewardship - White is an exceptional butler and finds joy in taking care of their Tamer’s chores.
  

Personality: More aggressively inclined than their twin, White prefers to approach every problem with the same general strategy: meet it head-on, and see what happens. Not necessarily impatient, White dislikes contemplating on a course of action for longer than necessary and will not hesitate to accept any challenge offered to them. Proactive and always ready to take the initiative, White demonstrates the qualities of a remarkable leader when pushed on the back foot, and has occasionally exhibited signs of tactical genius when no other path to victory is available. But only occasionally.

Just like Black, White is fiercely devoted to safeguarding Katsumi’s well-being. Her protection is of absolute priority to White, and they will gladly sacrifice themselves if it means getting one step closer to victory. For all intents and purposes, White is the perfect example of a loyal soldier, and when the chips are down, it’ll do whatever it takes to steal ultimate triumph in Lady Katsumi’s name and honor.

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Digimon Name - Partner #2: Black (Kuro-san)
Default Form: Rookie
Gender: Genderless
Alignment: Lawful Good
Skills/Talents:

• Chess - Incredibly skilled at the game of chess, and can outperform even the most seasoned experts.
  
• Stewardship - Black is an exceptional butler and finds joy in taking care of their Tamer’s chores.
  

Personality: More reserved than their twin, Black dislikes confrontation and is more than willing to act as the voice of reason between the two of them, counterbalancing White’s rough-and-tumble demeanor with a cool and level head. Black is exceptionally patient and composed, preferring to observe and react accordingly instead of simply throwing themselves forward with a gung-ho attitude. Its plans are carefully calculated and are known to take every possibility into consideration, rendering Black the designated strategist among the two.

Just like White, Black is unyielding in their loyalty to Katsumi, and will prioritize her safety over everything else. Black is unlikely to put its own life in danger unless no other course of action remains, but if this should happen, they will more than gladly risk everything to ensure their Tamer comes out the winner. With everything said and done, Black is the perfect advisor figure to Katsumi and flawlessly compliments White’s bravado with poise, and will stop at nothing to claim victory in Lady Katsumi’s name and honor.