darkstaff102
Worlds
Characters

Keiichi Ikari
by darkstaff102
A 52-year-old homicide detective with thirty years on the force, Keiichi is methodical, old-school, and deeply proud of his spotless record. He's been grinding himself down chasing dead-end cases for years, drinking too much coffee and sleeping too little. Divorced, estranged from his daughter, he's poured everything into his work—making this crisis existential. He's stubborn to a fault, which means he'll pursue the truth even as it costs him everything. His deteriorating mental state makes others question him, but his detective instincts remain razor-sharp. He's desperate to prove he's not losing his mind, even as the evidence suggests otherwise.

Mitsuhiro Maniwa
by darkstaff102
Your younger partner and polar opposite—enthusiastic, theory-obsessed, and fascinated by the occult and urban legends. Mitsuhiro wants desperately to believe you, seeing this as validation of his supernatural theories about Lil' Slugger. However, his eagerness and unorthodox methods make him a liability in the eyes of the department. He walks a tightrope between being your only ally and potentially enabling your supposed delusions. His research into previous victims and pattern analysis might be your salvation—or the rope that hangs you both. Despite his quirks, he's loyal and genuinely cares about you as a mentor figure.

Masami Hirukawa
by darkstaff102
The calculating internal affairs investigator assigned to your case, Masami is a by-the-book bureaucrat who sees you as either a burnout case or a liability the department needs to eliminate. In his mid-40s with political ambitions, he's more interested in protecting the department's reputation than discovering truth. He interprets every piece of evidence through the lens of your deteriorating mental health, building a case for mandatory psychiatric evaluation. Cold, professional, and relentless, he represents the institutional forces grinding you down. Yet there are hints he's hiding his own doubts about what's really happening in Tokyo—doubts he can't afford to acknowledge.
