Name: Akimoto Mikage (Japanese grammar; ‘autumn’ ‘beautiful shadow’)
Birth Date: November 23

Physical Description: Mikage is slender, and often mistaken for a woman until he opens his mouth. He has an oval face, slightly pointed toward the chin, with large, yet classically Japanese eyes. Unless the light is shining on them just so, those eyes look black, but they’re actually a very dark cinnamon shade. His face is a mask, showing what he wants it to, and normally with minimal effort; a slight twist of his lips, or the arching of one perfectly formed eyebrow.

His hair is incredibly fine and silky, so much so that it never tangles. The ends do split, however, and when he has nothing better to do he can spend literally hours snipping them off with a pair of tiny scissors. Since he’s never dyed his hair, and won’t for fear of frying it (it’s his one true vanity), it remains flawlessly black. He normally wears it up in a high ponytail with a small braid wrapped around the base, leaving the rest of it free to fall to the middle of his calves.

At nearly nineteen years of age, Mikage is not what you’d call ‘muscular’. ‘Fit’ definitely, he practices Tai Chi every morning to get his muscles stretched out, but while his muscles might be well toned, they will never be in the least bit ‘built’. His legs are slightly longer than the ‘golden proportioning’ of mankind dictates, making them longer than his arms. He has long fingers, lengthened by carefully manicured nails that extend maybe half an inch from their tips at their longest.

Being very much a ‘culturalist’ Mikage tends to wear traditional Japanese robes of the more loose and flowing variety (i.e. is it really fashionable to have kimono with sleeves that loose?). He also occasionally wears Mandarin styles for variety and ease of movement. The colors of his clothing are always subdued and warm; cream, soft red, and apricot being his favorites. He wears very little in the way of jewelry; a pair of gold or copper bracelets, a pair of earrings, and a pendent with the kanji ‘hi’ on it tucked into his clothing.

Every so often, if he truly feels like ‘dressing up’ he’ll wear small amounts of makeup, never more than a light layer of powder, eye shadow, a warm apricot lip stick, and the smallest amount of blush. If a master directly asked him to wear more, he would, but no master has ever asked. Without the make up, his skin is a beautiful creamy almond. As far as footwear is concerned, he tends to go barefoot, wearing velvet slippers when necessary.

History and Personality: Mikage is the last member of a once wealthy family. A couple of years bad business and a crooked partner who robbed them blind left his parents with little choice but to sell their son if they wanted to live. At first the couple refused, for both reasons of love and honor, but Mikage patiently explained to them that if they loved him, they wouldn’t want him to starve while mourning their loss and that if they sold him to someplace with a reputation for excellence, it would reflect well on the family honor as well, to have a relative in such a place. It took a lot of prompting, but he finally convinced them to sell him to the palace, with a promise to write as often as he could.

As a child, he had a tendency to act rashly and be blunt to the point of rudeness, so his mother spent hours trying to break him of the habits. Now, he’s very quiet, both in and out of bed, which irritates some masters. This gives him an air of timid innocence, which he cultivates actively. When he does speak, it’s with a rich voice that falls somewhere between low tenor and high baritone. One of his greatest loves is debate, especially philosophical debates, so a master who wishes to hear him speak for hours on end had better study his philosophy. Mikage has!

When he isn’t serving a master, Mikage spends most of his time curled up with books. His favorite topics are philosophy, religion, and world history, although he will read virtually any genera, if only to understand how the style works. The only books he refuses to read, unless you really twist his arm, are romances. Why read about sex when you live in the palace?

To all extents and purposes, Mikage lives to serve his master/mistress. Many people, some of the brasher keys especially, tend to write him off as a brainless, soulless puppy who will do anything to keep their master happy. Some of the more insightful ones will note that there’s something decidedly odd about the silent shadow gliding along the hall behind whoever currently owns him. Some of them might even have the insight to notice that while Mikage always does exactly what his master tells him to, his masters never ask him to do anything he doesn’t want them to.

Born with a natural gift for manipulation (possibly due to being born so close to the Scorpio cusp), Mikage always gets what he wants without anyone ever being aware of it. Not one master to date has figured out that while they may be on top and, to all appearances, deciding what happens next, Mikage is ever so subtly convincing them that what he wants is what they want. He's also never had an unsatisfied customer.

Mikage is extremely tactile and responds well to all forms of touch, except rough. He likes to be able to move, however, and can’t stand being tied with anything more substantial than silk scarves. He’s most sensitive along the very tops of his hips and thighs.

Stipulations: Mikage had three stipulations about getting his room:

First off, no sadists. A sadistic master will find themselves suddenly in possession of the human cobra, capable not only of inflicting lots of damage but of squirming free of most restraints.

Secondly, no one so devoted to one religion they can’t allow others to have their own opinion. He doesn’t like to be preached at, he likes to debate.

Thirdly, he has to be allowed to write to his parents.

Room: His room is small, with one wall being taken up entirely by windows, it’s only light source during the day. At night panels in the walls can be used to activate hidden lights. The walls are painted in Asian style murals of magnolia blossoms, done in subtle gray lavenders, pinks, and golds. The floor is covered with traditional Japanese matting, except for the area around the bed, which is buried in pillows. The bed its self is actually a pit in the floor, lined on the bottom with a mattress, and big enough for at least three, even though Mikage prefers one partner at a time. It also contains a fair number of pillows, all made of either silk or satin, Mikage’s two favorite fabrics.

Comforters and other blankets are kept in a closet in the left wall with a door that is painted to blend in perfectly with the rest of the wall. The bathroom door, located on the right side of the room, is the same. The bathroom is done in dusky rose and contains a rather large, round tub, perfect for soaking. The walls of the main room are lined at the base with potted plants, mainly bonsai plum, cherry, and pine, with the occasional Japanese maple. There is generally a neat row of books sitting in front of these. Mikage’s shoes, when he’s not wearing them, are set right next to the door.