“That legend about me could be true you don't know.”
-Takayanagi Hiro
Biography
Hiro is the Smoking Serpent's most deranged, rowdy fighter to ever work for Angylyn’s crew. Nobody really knows his backstory on how he became the drunken nutcase he is today, but sometimes it’s better not to ask. He crashes into fights using a large pair of mechanical wings he said he designed, wielding a large sword he claims he used back in his days of being a Seigun Samurai. Hiro makes up a lot of ridiculous nonsense, but one aspect he wasn’t kidding about was his bizarre ability of self-regeneration. He has been shot, sliced in half, poisoned, impaled, and walks it off as if it was a flesh wound. Most call him cursed with this uncanny immunity to death.
Hiro wasn’t originally recruited into the Smoking Serpents, he met Angylyn and Kasamatsu at a pub while they were looking for samurai to protect their local village from bandits. Hiro applied, claiming to be a Seigun Samurai, but Angylyn denied due to his outlandish appearance, fuddled behavior, and obvious bullsh*t. He didn’t give up there, following them back to their village after recruiting Nioh; a worthy and cunning candidate. Angylyn didn’t think much of the old geezer and decided to ignore him, but he was always stayed 10-15 meters behind, carrying his overlarge sword at his waist, as if he's been accepted. But after days of traveling through the city, the old man eventually disappeared.
As Angylyn, Kasamatsu, and Nioh were walking through a dangerous part of town, they were ambushed by a gang of Najimu bandits, armed with a heavy gun that could rain bullets on their enemy for hours. Clearly out-manned and outgunned, the three were trapped with nowhere to run. But then, in the sky blinked a glimmering flicker, it looked like a comet descending at a roaring velocity, except it wasn’t a comet, it was a man, who appeared to be wearing large wings. The mysterious bird-man crashed down at an immense power . . . . 30 feet from the intended target, shattering all his bones and fatally breaking his neck, hope was lost once again. Confused, the thugs brought back their focus to their victims and prepared to open fire. But out of the shadows, the man stands back up, brushing off his injuries. The thugs did not only feel even more confused but suddenly fear. They opened fire on the bird-man, showering him with bullet holes through his entire body, but he laughed and continued walking towards the gunmen, unsheathed his giant sword and crushed the large gun with great force, inflicting surrender on the overwhelmed thugs, causing them to flee.
Angylyn froze, trying to comprehend what she just saw, Kasamatsu maintained her usual straight face, but probably felt the same on the inside. And Nioh, laughing hysterically at how goofy the whole fight looked. Was this hero an ancient tengu from the heavens? No, it was the drunkard Hiro! Armed with his massive, mechanical steel wings.
After finally being accepted on the team, Hiro did what he did best, while of course being rewarded with the finest sake Angylyn could find. While the Smoking Serpents fought to bring balance in Tekkan, Hiro fought for the thrill of battle, crashing into the fray with very little knowledge of what's actually going on.
Hiro's body littered with arrows.
“There was a time I loathed his existence, but now I feel pity”
-Umato, Goddess of Death
His usual portrait.
Trivia
-
Hiro resembles the character Kikuchiyo from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), from his humorous personality and false claims of being a samurai.
-
Hiro’s undying ability is inspired by Hanbei The Undying from the game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
-
Hiro’s wings resemble the Vulture’s Exo-Suit from Spider-man: Homecoming.
-
The personality of Hiro is inspired by the Demoman from Team Fortress 2.
-
Hiro is not his real name, no one knows it, not even him,
-
The name Hiro comes from the time Hiro tried to join the Smoking Serpents by turning in a formal document that confirmed him as a Seigun Samurai under the name Hiro Takayangi. His scripts were immediately debunked as Angylyn pointed out that he knew Takayangi as a child, for he was a close friend of her fathers, and has been dead ever since Yamamura.
-
After spending time and proving himself useful to the Smoking Serpents, Hiro revealed that he had no name. The crew suggested the name Hiro Takayangi fit him perfectly.
-
-
Hiro wields an Odachi, a type of Japanese sword used by the samurai.