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“I'm not like my brother. In the 18 years since the war, I've never let my focus on the sword waver.” ― Natsuki proclaiming his consistent dedication to the blade.[source]
- For the chapter of the same name, see Chapter 91.
Natsuki Misaka (
Appearance
Natsuki is a tall and muscular man with light-colored hair. He has two piercings on his lower lip and a scar on the bridge of his nose that have been present since his youth. He wears non-standard Kamunabi attire, with a black vest with belt straps in addition to black pants. Part of his forearms and hands are bandaged. When training, Natsuki foregoes his vest and attaches weights to his wrists.
In his youth, Natsuki wore a white shirt and a black jacket over it, the kanji 唯我独尊 emblazoned on the back.
Personality
Natsuki is a stoic and aloof individual dedicated to his swordsmanship and his role as a sorcerer for the Kamunabi. He values respect greatly, and thus holds great disdain for Yoji Uruha due to him always talking casually with him despite Natsuki being older than Uruha. This dislike escalated further when Uruha was chosen to be the wielder of Kumeyuri. Similairly, Natsuki scolded Kiri Shirakai for not addressing him with an honorific. [2]
Natsuki's desire to surpass the legendary swordsmen of the past.
Natsuki is passionate about proving himself as a master swordsman, having dedicating himself to the sword ever since the end of the war. He takes pride in never letting himself falter in his training, understanding that his brother died because he lost his will to fight after the war. As a result, during his encounter with Hokuto, Natsuki was angered by his constant mention of Uruha, with even the mention of his name sufficient to irritate him, and demanded that his own sword skills be recognised. As a direct result, Natsuki is determined to prove his own abilities and show that he has surpassed the legendary names of the Seitei War.
For Natsuki, the validation of his skills is just as important a reason to fight as his duty to the Kamunabi. He believes it to be disgraceful when anyone overlooks him and believes any enemy who does so deserves to die.[3] Natsuki refuses to tolerate being underestimated and will lash out in frustration, breaking his calm composure, even in the middle of a tense battle. During his battle with Uruha against Hokuto and Yura, Natsuki was incensed why only he was using sorcery at the beginning and further enraged when Hokuto mocked his sorcery, but withdrew his anger quickly upon hearing Hokuto compliment his swordsmanship.[4][5]
Relationships
Allies
Ibuki Misaka
Natsuki was very close with his brother Ibuki in his youth. The two were undefeated together in their hometown, being gifted swordsmen who could crush anyone in their path. When the Seitei War broke out, they had both ventured to Tokyo to fight in the Seitei War, but while Ibuki was entrusted with an Enchanted Blade, Cloud Gouger, Natsuki never was, having been passed over for Uruha during Kumeyuri's selection. Ibuki commented that weakness meant defeat and the two brothers went their separate ways.
Natsuki was distant from Ibuki, and viewed him negatively for losing his will to fight after the war. After his brother had been killed by the Hishaku, Natsuki coldly viewed that his brother had been right: those who grew weak were defeated. Nevertheless, he was still devastated when he went to his brother's residence after his death, and the two katana he uses in the present day bear a tassel of striking similarity to the one on the katana Ibuki had used in his final battle; it is likely Natsuki had taken it as part of his dual blades.
Yoji Uruha
Natsuki is heavily opposed to Uruha, originating from over 18 years ago in the Seitei War. At the time, Uruha (one year younger than Natsuki), at the age of 17, had been chosen for Kumeyuri; irritating Natsuki, who was present at the selection. At the time, while Uruha treated those several years older than him with respect (like Ibuki, Samura and Kunishige), he was friendlier and more casual with Natsuki given they were more similar age-wise, which Natsuki found obnoxious. Natsuki was relieved when Uruha died, as he was little more than an annoyance to him. Upon Uruha falling through the ceiling during Natsuki's battle with Hokuto and greeting him, dismay immediately emerged on Natsuki's face.
For his part, Uruha holds no ill will towards Natsuki, wanting to get along with him in his youth and respecting his strength in the present, noting that with Natsuki's presence, they could win against the Hishaku.
Kiri Shirakai
Much like most people, Kiri treats Natsuki with her usual casual disrespect, not referring to him with honorifics despite his seniority and age. Natsuki viewed her disrespect irritating and similar to her grandfather, though tolerated it more in her case as she acted that way to everyone.
Plot
Past
Prior to the Seitei War, Natsuki was already renowned as a master swordsman, as was his older brother Ibuki.[6] When the Seitei War broke out, the Misaka brothers headed to Tokyo, where Ibuki was entrusted with Cloud Gouger. When it was time for the fifth blade Kumeyuri to be assigned, Natsuki was one of the swordsmen present, and witnessed Yoji Uruha as he was chosen to wield it.[7]
Sometime in the past, Itsuo Shirakai had nearly killed the Misaka brothers twice.[8]
After the war, Ibuki lost his form and his desire to fight. 15 years after the war, Ibuki was killed by Hokuto of the Hishaku. Natsuki took the sword his brother had used as his own from then on, as part of his dual katana.[9]
Sword Bearer Assassination Arc
On the 14th of November, while training on Level 3, Natsuki was informed by a goggles-wearing Kamunabi member that the Hishaku were attacking, and several were present on Level 5. Natsuki readied his two katana and prepared to move out.[10] After Kiri Shirakai and Hakuri Sazanami descended to the floor below, where they were confronted by Hokuto, Natsuki slashed a tile in the wall and surged through to attack Hokuto, forcing him through a set of doors into the next room. Kiri thanked Natsuki casually and Natsuki rebuked her, stating she should refer to him as 'Mr. Natsuki' given his seniority. His goggles-wearing colleague (having followed), urged Natsuki to try to avoid causing property damage, which Natsuki noncommittedly agreed to.
Natsuki introduced himself to Hokuto and stated one of Hokuto's organization had killed his brother. Noticing Natsuki didn't know exactly who had killed his brother, he proposed some additions to their battle; if Natsuki won, Hokuto would tell him who had killed his brother. If Hokuto won, Natsuki would tell him where Uruha was. Hokuto voiced that his sword was dedicated to the thrill of deadly combat, and he would only be gratified if he could pit himself and his blade against a master swordsman. Natsuki was irritated that Hokuto was ignoring the master swordsman in front of him and commented Hokuto deserved to die, charging in. One of Natsuki's swift slashes managed to cut through one of Hokuto's armor plates, surprising the Hishaku swordsman.
Hokuto and Natsuki began clashing in earnest, before Kiri cut out a tile from the wall and launched it at Hokuto's back. At the same time, Natsuki activated his sorcery Lightning Menace and blitzed straight towards Hokuto, launching him through the wall and back into the room they had been in. To his irritation, Hokuto was able to avoid most of the damage by deploying several armor plates around him. Internally, Natsuki expressed his frustration that everyone was always focusing on Uruha. Even Uruha himself, despite treating others like Ibuki, Samura and Kunishige with respect, had talked to Natsuki more casually, citing their similar ages. Natsuki was pleased Uruha had finally died and stopped bothering him. At that moment, the ceiling crumbled and Yura and Uruha fell through, to Hokuto's delight and Natsuki's exasperation; especially after Uruha told Natsuki they could win with Natsuki present.[11]
After Uruha greeted Natsuki, Natsuki brusquely asked why Uruha was moving sluggishly, Uruha explaining it was the work of sorcery, but the effect was fading. Natsuki confirmed with Kiri that Hokuto was a tough opponent, having seen Hokuto had barely been trying. Hokuto then introduced himself to Uruha and revealed his role in killing Ibuki and Kunishige before introducing Yura as their leader, concluding by stating they could use sorcery as they liked. Uruha immediately launched forth and severed Hokuto's right arm, and as Hokuto moved to draw with this left, Natsuki leapt over Uruha and slashed down with his two blades, Yura and Hokuto blocking. Activating his sorcery, Natsuki blasted the two Hishaku members through a wall into the upper floor of the Kamunabi Headquarters Third Library, where he began clashing with Yura.
The two's clash eventually brought Yura back-to-back with Uruha, who had previously been fighting Hokuto. Natsuki leapt over Yura and Uruha and swung down at Hokuto, shouting his question of whether Hokuto was satisfied fighting the old prune that Uruha was. Hokuto realised Natsuki had been holding back, before seeing Natsuki had let go of his right katana, which occupied his vision, while Natsuki himself sped past to slash at him with his left katana, catching the right katana afterwards.
Internally, Natsuki affirmed the importance of a swordsman's instinctual edge, the intuition and swift judgements necessary in pitched combat between masters, commenting his own was sharper than ever. Natsuki slashed Hokuto over the banister down to the fountain on the lower floor, shouting that he was surpassing all his peers. Yura then leapt over and attacked Natsuki from behind, surprising Natsuki, but Uruha soon followed, slashing Yura and Hokuto away before the four swordsmen faced each other in the fountain.[12]
Natsuki indignantly questioned why he was the only one using sorcery, and as he turned to Uruha, Uruha admitted the option had slipped his mind. Hokuto commented it was his own fault for making it an option, mockingly stating he thought Natsuki would be scared without his 'electrical leak' thing. Natsuki was enraged at the slight to his sorcery until Hokuto winked and stated Natsuki's swordsmanship was actually impressive. Natsuki let the comment slide but was determined to kill them anyway, and the four once more engaged in pitched combat.[13]
Clashing blades with Hokuto, Natsuki flexed his sorcery out to send Hokuto flying through a pillar. Hokuto blocked with armour plates, laughing as he noted the nature of their duel as pure sword-fighting was clearly over. Natsuki turned to attack Yura alongside Uruha, but was surprised as Yura grabbed the two by the necks with far greater strength and speed than before, declaring they would be overthrown with the tell-tale shadow of Magatsumi over his eyes.[14] Grimacing, Yura threw the two away to clutch at his head. Natsuki wondered if they should take the opportunity to attack, but Yura launched a Centipede all-around, Uruha grabbing Natsuki by the hair and throwing him down.
Natsuki yelled at Uruha to stop pulling at his hair and that he could have dodged himself. Azami then kicked open a door and entered the area, readying his sorcery.[15] Azami reported that Yura was using Shinuchi's powers and intended to kill the Master Swordsman, so they had to stop him. Uruha noticed the pillar behind Yura was less damaged than the others and called out to Azami and Natsuki, who replied they had noticed it too. Azami used Coin before launching in, as did Natsuki and Uruha. Not long after, Yura used Centipede again, blasting Uruha and Natsuki into the library, though Azami, taking shelter behind Yura, was less affected. Azami then began battling Yura in earnest, taking heavy damage to his arms but landing heavy damage on Yura in return.[16]
Abilities
Overall Abilities: As a veteran combatant of the Seitei War[17] and a commander of one of the Kamunabi's elite squadrons, Natsuki is a powerful sorcerer and swordsmen. Yoji Uruha was confident that he and his comrades could defeat the invading Hishaku members with Natsuki's presence on the battlefield.[18]
As a sorcerer, Natsuki has accomplished the first stage of spirit energy usage, being able to use his spirit energy to strengthen his body to superhuman levels. He can also skillfully circulate spirit energy into his two katana to enhance his swordsmanship.
Enhanced Strength: Natsuki has incredible physical strength, being able to easily cut through a portion of a wall and kick it towards Hokuto.[19] He was even able to cut through Hokuto's armor, a feat that impressed Hokuto himself.[20]
Natsuki cuts two logs into multiple pieces with extreme speed and precision.
Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: Natsuki is exceptionally fast even among elite sorcerers. He trains with wrist weights while quick drawing his two katana to cut logs of wood as they are shot through the air with extreme speed and precision.[21] Hokuto, an elite sorcerer, was surprised by Natsuki's speed.[20] His reflexes are intuitive enough to block an attack from Hokuto behind his back.[22]
Enhanced Durability: Natsuki is an incredibly resilient man. He remained completely unfazed after being caught off guard and attacked from behind by Yura.[23]
Combat Prowess
Natsuki's swordplay in action.
Master Swordsman: Natsuki is an extremely skilled swordsman; in the past, he and his older brother, Ibuki Misaka, were undefeated in their hometown,[17] and after the Seitei War ended 18 years ago, Natsuki continued to hone his swordsmanship and started dual-wielding after his brother died.[24]
Due to Natsuki's constant training, his "edge" is razor sharp; in other words, his intuition and split second judgement in battle is superb.[25] His swordsmanship is refined enough to cleanly cut a portion of a wall[19] and strong enough to slice through Hokuto's armor.[20] His skillfull coordination allows him to switch between a standard and reverse grip with his swords during battle.[22] Natsuki's fighting styles also includes clever deception, using one of his katana to distract his opponent while using his other to land an attack.[26] Hokuto, an extremely skilled swordsman of the Hishaku, admitted he was impressed with Natsuki's mastery despite initially doubting him.[27][28]
Sorcery
Natsuki uses Lightning Menace.
Lightning Menace (
Equipment
Dual Katana
Natsuki uses two katana as his primary weapons.[31] One of his katana belonged to his older brother before he died, and his second appears similar, with an identical tassel.[32]
Etymology
The name Natsuki Misaka (
巳 : Means "Snake", specifically in the Chinese Zodiac.坂 : Means "slope" or "hill".奈 : Means "what".- ツ: katakana grapheme for "tsu"; does not have an inherent meaning.
基 : Means "base" or "foundation".
Trivia
- Natsuki's innate sorcery is similar to one of Cloud Gouger's techniques, Mei; specifically its cloaking application.
References
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Pages 2, 16-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Pages 10, 17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92 (Page 14).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 93 (Pages 2-3).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 64 (Page 5).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Pages 15-16).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Pages 12-20).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Pages 6-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 93 (Pages 1-8).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 94 (Pages 10-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 95 (Pages 11-20).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 96.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Page 17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 19).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 6).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 11).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Page 15).
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Page 12).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92 (Pages 15-18).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Pages 19-20).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92 (Pages 13, 15).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92 (Page 12).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 92 (Pages 12-14).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 93 (Pages 2-3).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 91 (Pages 15-16).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 94 (Page 9).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Page 14).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 89 (Page 20).