Tomonori

""...Wherever the clan lives, that's home. The sword is a weapon. And a weapon... has a role.""

Tomonori (トモノリ) is a member of a beastkin clan hidden within Japan’s mountains. He’s the younger brother of Jubei (known then as Mitsuyoshi), and a “servant” to the Alucard Clan. His battle against Kazuma Kval and Yuuki Terumi was instrumental in Terumi's defeat nearly 100 years later.

Appearance
A cat-type beastkin with silver fur lined with black stripes, silver eyes, and a silver mane which hung past his face. Tomonori wears a magenta jacket reminiscent of those worn by the Kaka, with black arrows coiling over the knuckles of the jacket which hung down to his waist. Much like his brother and niece, Tomonori also has twin tails, although his are ringed with black stripes.

Personality
Tomonori is gruff, and faithful to his beliefs. He often clashes with Jubei, as he is much more free spirited than his brother, and has a rebellious streak that causes him to often disobey direct orders even from those who contracted him. Despite this, he is kind to those who he feel deserve it, such as the half-beastkin whom he allowed shelter in a village he founded alongside the survivors of his clan - under his command, he made sure that their lives would never be under serious danger. His relationship with his youngest brother, Munefuyu, is unknown.

Some may see him as standoffish, but in reality, Tomonori is rather shy.

Biography
Prior to the beginning of the Dark War, Tomonori lived in a village in Japan with the rest of his clan, hidden from the world. However, the appearance of the Black Beast in Japan caused the world to launch nuclear strikes at the country to eradicate it, and the beastkins were forced to immigrate. Many of their people went to fight the Black Beast, and all lost. At some point, Tomonori and Jubei helped to shelter half-beastkins in their new village, aware that they had nowhere to go.

Phase Shift 1
Six years after having lost his home, Tomonori was hired by the Alucard Clan, specifically Clavis Alucard, to observe Kazuma Kval, and in the worst scenario, kill him if necessary, but he took his own initiative and decided to hunt him instead. Tomonori first appeared when Kazuma was walking down a street in Magister's City of Ishana, the magical capital, and attempted to assassinate him, but failed despite inflicting a nasty wound to the boy’s shoulder. The battle was over quickly as Kazuma continually dodged his attacks.

Not long afterwards, Tomonori met with Rachel Alucard, and she scolded him for trying to kill Kazuma. She then took him back with her to the Alucard Castle, where Clavis reprimanded him for almost killing someone who hadn’t committed anything worthy of death. Tomonori clashed with Clavis and his servant, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, over the future of Kazuma, and the cat left when he was compared to Jubei over his attitude.

Tomonori would later send half-beastkins to assault Kazuma at Ishana, but they were beaten by Kazuma thanks to the influence Terumi was having over him. The beastkin was watching from afar, and retreated after Terumi noticed his presence.

An unspecified amount of time later, Tomonori went back to his village. He took the Hihiirokane, a treasure sacred to his people and something that could kill Terumi by attacking his soul, and encountered Jubei. Tomonori refused to take the half-beastkins with him on his mission to kill Terumi, knowing that they would die. With Jubei’s blessing, Tomonori ventured towards Ishana. This would be the last time the brother’s saw one another.

Eventually, Tomonori stalked Kazuma into Ishana’s cathedral basement, however, by the time he arrived, Kazuma and Terumi had already fully merged. The two battled intensely, but Kazuma’s barrier magic and imitation of the Nox Nyctores: Geminus Anguium: Ouroboros was overwhelming.

Tomonori’s body was pierced by Ouroboros, but he still continued forward and successfully slashed Kazuma’s abdomen with Hihiirokane. Kazuma threw him around with the chains, and Tomonori was unable to get himself up from his pool of blood created by his grievous wounds. He was kicked repeatedly, his silver fur blackened with his own blood. After Kazuma had his fun, he let out shadow serpents that began to eat into Tomonori’s body. By the time Kazuma looked back, Tomonori had already died from the vicious beatings.

Valkenhayn was sent to assist Tomonori by Clavis, but he was too late. He subdued Kazuma, and recovered Tomonori’s corpse. Clavis would later feel regret over Tomonori’s death, lamenting over whether he should’ve stopped him, or sent Valkenhayn earlier. Jubei would later take Tomonori’s right eye as his own, and had it hidden under an eyepatch. This eye would become known as the Sekkigan, which had seen Terumi’s true form, and would allow him to become weakened nearly a 100 years later. The Hihiirokane was later buried with Clavis when he died not long afterwards.

Powers and Techniques
Tomonori is an exceptional fighter, known to be both extremely fast and strong. He often fights using twin blades, but uses the Hihiirokane in his final hours. He is a formidable commander, taking care of those under his command and not seeing them as expendable. Tomonori's speed is so much that he is said to be faster than Valkenhayn.

Alongside his incredible speed, Tomonori is also skilled at projecting barriers and stealth. He can isolate mages using said barriers without them even detecting the barrier nor his presence, demonstrating exceptional skill as an assassin.

Tonomori
''Mitsuyoshi's younger brother -- a beastkin warrior who wields a pair of kodachi.

''Unlike his brother who places a heavy emphasis on duty, he will see his will through, no matter the cost. Their differing philosophies often put them at odds with each other.

''His shy nature makes him appear cold, but he is warm at heart. He provides shelter to other beastkin, who've lost their homes.

''Clavis Alucard orders him to infiltrate the Magister's City: Ishana to keep a watchful eye on a certain someone. He is one of the only people who was able to cut Terumi's spiritual body. His eye lives on under Jubei's eyepatch as an artificial one.''

Trivia

 * Like his brother and niece, Tomonori has twin tails, and is seemingly a reference to the bakeneko, a yōkai of Japanese folklore.
 * In BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Tomonori's name is misspelled in the Library Mode as "Tonomori".