Dalton, Seiji

Basics
Full Name: Dalton, Seiji
Nickname(s): When he can get away with not divulging his real name, he will sometimes call himself Seth Dalton or Seiji Akiyama.
Age, D.O.B.: 17, January 13th
Gender: Male
Class: Wild Card
Arcana: 0 - The Fool
Grade/Career: 3rd year at Futaba High. He has two part-time jobs. He helps out at his brother's manga/anime store, Manga-Max, and also works as a cook at a takoyaki stand late at night.
Ethnicity: American/Japanese. The American side is of English descent.
Family:
Col. Gerald Dalton (Father, 48)
Ai Akiyama (Mother, 41)
Maj. Anthony Dalton (Half-Brother, 28)
Michael Dalton (Half-Brother, 25)
Takeda Akiyama (Half-Brother, 26)

Appearance
Face Claim: Kiritsugu Emiya, Fate/Zero

Seiji stands exactly six feet tall. His features are pale, betraying his Caucasian heritage. His eyes are a soft, amber color, the same as his mother's. His hair is black and it seems to hate being combed. Despite his very best efforts to comb it, he'll walk out the door and it will soon be blown out of place by the wind. Strangely, this happens even when he puts hair spray in his hair. He tries to keep it tame by keeping it cut around the same length. The haircut is usually applied by his brother since they have no money for a barber. For the work of an amateur, his hair looks pretty good.

Typically, Seiji can be found wearing the typical uniform of a student of Futaba High. The only variation on the uniform is that he sometimes undoes the buttons when he can get away with it. Outside of school, his outfits consist mainly of plain white t-shirts, black jackets, and blue jeans. During the summer, he often wears t-shirts bearing the logos of old rock bands on them. What most people don't realize is that he wears the exact same uniform every day, drying it meticulously every night so that he can wear it again the next day.

Personality
Likes:;
-Old Movies
-Samurais, Cowboys
-Stories of Chivalry
-Old Music
-Coffee
-Cigarettes
-Petite girls
-Femme guys
Dislikes:
-Most modern music
-Loudmouths
-Baseless optimism (making him a hypocrite)
-People that treat life like it's an anime
-Chuunis in general
-Social Media (which he still browses)
-Green tea
Hobbies:
-Kendo Club
-Retro gaming
-Collecting vinyl
-Health Committee
-Student Council
Goals: Short Term
-Get his brother off of his back
-Get accepted into Asame University
Long Term
-Become a doctor.
-Go to America.
-Find closure with his father.

General Personality: Seiji likes to think of himself as quiet. In reality, he actually talks a fair bit, typically in short sentences and curt responses spoken in a near-monotone, his face revealing very little emotion. He is driven, relatively responsible, and enjoys school life. Sometimes, he can come across as a bit mean, mostly owing to the fact that he's very blunt and has yet to learn how to put a filter on his mouth. It's also rather hard for him to go out and make friends, because he simply runs out of things to talk about eventually. What friends he has made so far are typically co-workers, or people that he's met through school. Activities tend to be the best way for Seiji to bond with someone.

The greatest strength Seiji possesses as a person is his ability to stay calm even in the strangest, most harrowing of circumstances. That's not to say that he wouldn't be afraid if, say, someone put a gun to his head, but he excels at operating in spite of that fear. Seiji sometimes brags that he could eat a chili dog at the scene of a triple homicide, but this is likely hyperbole. His sense of humor is very dry, often dark - the influence of his father and the military men he grew up around. It is not an uncommon sight to see Seiji studying some medical textbook or anatomy book, methodically looking at the pictures of the cadavers within, his face betraying no disgust. When someone points out this trait to him, he points out that it's probably a good quality to have in a surgeon.

Uncertainty about his future defines Seiji, uncertainty about the road that he is to walk through life. He is caught between many worlds at once, brushing shoulders with the rich and the poor, Americans and Japanese, Buddhism and Christianity, old and new. Within these varied worlds, Seiji is trying to find his footing on the path, ready to begin the journey to whatever the future holds. With only a year of high school left, he is having to face the fact that he will soon walk off the metaphorical cliff into adulthood. He wants to find definitions for himself, to become someone better than the circumstances of his life. Whether he will prove successful in these endeavors remains to be seen.

History Seiji was conceived in a seedy love hotel a block down from the bar where his parents met. His father and mother were a sordid set of cliches that the walls of the hotel had born witness to many a time before: a divorcee from the nearby military base, there to forget about the fact that his wife left him for an hour or two with a loose lady, herself wanting to forget the angry nine year old staying with her parents. The twist, unfortunately for them, was that the condom broke. So, nine months later, in a cold Okinawan January, Seiji was born. He was a quiet baby, barely crying after he was born.

His mother had to face the reality of her situation: this baby was another mouth, another angry set of eyes that would look at her when she made her money on her back or on her knees. She did the best she could for Seiji in her situation, even if it wasn't for his sake. She showed up at the gates of the military base with a baby, asking to see Gerald Dalton. She begged the handsome American to take her baby in, telling Seiji's father that the baby would probably starve to death otherwise. Seiji's father, sensibly, demanded a paternity test, which the on-site medical staff conducted.

Seiji's father soon had to come to terms with the fact that the quiet little baby in the loose woman's arms was, in fact, his son. He'd been raised in Texas, instilled with certain values on how he should act. Perhaps it was these values that spurred him to take Seiji in. Perhaps it was the void his wife left when she walked out on their marriage and took both of his other sons with her. Either way, Colonol Dalton used his fairly considerable sway to get the proper paperwork filed to have the baby moved into his custody.

That's how Seiji ended up with the name that gets him odd looks from everyone. As he grew up, he came to understand how empty a title his last name was. As someone born on foreign soil, he was not considered a U.S. citizen, so certain rights were not afforded to him, or were afforded to him because of who his father was. He was allowed to attend the school on base. His father, at least, had the foresight to try and have him tutored in Japanese, knowing deep in the pit of his stomach what was going to happen with his son one day.

His childhood was lonely. It's not something he dwells on, nor does it cause him particular angst. It was just a fact of life for Seiji that he was treated differently from everyone around him. The other children on the base heard about who he was and who his mother was, which led to him being teased a lot. The teasing only caused the quiet Seiji to withdraw further into a shell. At home, his father was distant, unsure of how to speak to his child. There was a single method of communication that the two managed to use to bridge the gap between them: old movies. Seiji's father would put on such classics as Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Leone's western answer, A Fistful of Dollars, and any number of other movies and they would both quietly enjoy them.

Looking back, those quiet moments in front of a television were the best memories of his childhood. They soon branched out into bonding over other media. His father broke out old game consoles and bonded with Seiji in 16-bit epics, or listened to the chords of old rock songs. This taste in media tended to drive a further wedge between himself and many of the more conventional children, for Seiji never really took to the idea of trends or, more recently, meme culture and the blazingly fast pace of trends emerging and dying.

Unfortunately, it soon came time for Seiji's father to face the reality of his life: he was alone with a son he could not truly communicate with on foreign soil, having advanced just about as far as he could within the military given his circumstances, while also being able to retire and draw enough benefits to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Back home, he had an estranged wife and two sons he missed dearly. Gerald Dalton did not become a colonel by being a daft man. He knew exactly how his wife would react to him showing up with a half-Japanese bastard son and begging for her to give him another chance. So, he made a decision: he'd go home, without Seiji.

The lie was peppered with promises, that Seiji would be sent for as soon as things were settled in the US, that he'd help him get into universities, that they'd go on road trips and he'd meet his older brothers. All empty promises. Somewhere deep down, Seiji knew that, but still refuses to admit that, to himself or anyone around him. Gerald tracked down Seiji's mother and explained the circumstances to her in a way that would make all the cogs in her head start turning. He'd leave her with some money to help raise Seiji. He'd also pull strings to get her citizenship as well so both Seiji and her could come to the US. It was all lies, but it was enough to bait her on the hook.

The problem was that she had no actual stable home. She drifted from boyfriend to boyfriend, even in her 30's. There was only one way for her to get her supposed meal ticket: Seiji would live with Takeda, Akiyama Ai's other son. Akiyama Takeda had been burned by life in his own ways. A failed pupil of the great painters of a bygone age, he smoked cigarettes and bitterly mused over his disdain for the modern world. Still, he was not without kindness. Reluctantly, he took Seiji in, not wanting his only brother to not have anywhere to live. There then came the question of where the fifteen year old Seiji would attend school.

Seiji read about the schools in the area. He saw Futaba High and resolved to attend there. When he told Takeda this, blank-faced and almost emotionless, Takeda laughed and assumed he was joking. But, Seiji studied hard. He studied long into the night, barely eating, mostly drinking coffee to keep him up. Alone and miserable, he resolved to not be defined by the father that wasn't there or the scum that was his mother. When the day came for the entrance exams, Seiji managed to ace them with flying colors and was welcomed into the prestigious halls of Futaba High School.

The cost of uniforms nearly broke their bank account, which was still unsupplemented by any income from Seiji's father, and they had to eat ramen noodles every meal to afford the books, but he did it. Seiji hit the ground running. He dove into the health club, kendo, and student council. He buried himself in these activities. Again, though, he was an outsider. His help was welcome on the committees and no one could deny his skill at Kendo, but he was still very poor and an outsider.

For another year, this continued. He was soon a second year and had only acquaintances to hang out with. That second year, too, soon ended. The April of 2020 was beautiful, as most Aprils in Japan were. Seiji had picked up a few habits, some good, some bad. One night, he had a peculiar dream. A figure that he could not fully see sat across from him. This figure asked him if he was willing to abide by the consequences of his actions. Seiji, who always believed in taking responsibility for his actions, said that yes, he would.

The reply made it feel like he had iron in the pit of his stomach.

"The contract has been sealed". Somehow, he knew that he shouldn't have done that. He woke up in a cold sweat. Over the next few days, he felt like there was some dread shadow hanging over him.

Nothing ever happened, though. And nothing has happened yet. Other than the occasional sighting of a blue butterfly that seems to float away whenever he notices its presence, Seiji's life has continued on much the same as it has before. He goes to school, studies hard for the entrance exams for Asame University, works to make end's meet, and wonders where his life will take him.


Equipment Seiji has two weapons. The first is a longsword purchased from a local blacksmith his brother knows. Takeda affectionately nicknames the blacksmith 'Westaboo' because of his fascination with western weaponry and medieval culture. While the weapon has no extraordinary qualities, it is a fully-functioning longsword, not a cheap knock-off or replica. It deals slashing damage.

His second weapon would land both himself and his brother in jail if discovered. Takeda has always been a technically minded gun nut, so he has had several guns smuggled piecemeal into the country. The one gifted to Seiji is a modern replica of the Smith & Wesson Schofield. It deals piercing damage.

Both of these weapons, along with the other weapons in his brother's collection (which he has been told not to touch) are stored in a hiding place behind the large medicine cabinet in their bathroom. It requires a small key to be pressed and turned against a hole in the backside of the cabinet. It then opens and the equipment can be retrieved.


Notes
-Seiji lives with his brother in the Star District, despite being dirt poor. This is because his brother is the manager of a manga store in the area. Takeda worked out a deal with his boss where he could rent out the space above the store as a living area for dirt cheap, provided he clean up well and guard the place at night.
-The Takoyaki stand he works at part time is in the Moon district.
-He is the secretary of the student council.