Kenji Hiroshi

"Tell me something: do you remember the Reaper from the beta? I wouldn't mind going orange to take out trash like you. I'm going to count to 5. If you aren't gone by the time I hit 3 you'll be nothing but a name on the monument in the Town of Beginnings."

- Kenji gives Loki his chilling ultimatum.

Kenji Hiroshi (健児博), known by the username Kishi (輝士) in various online games, was one of the original for «», and he subsequently became one of the 10,000 players. He led a  called «Brightscale» (BS).

During the beta test Kenji gained the title of Reaper (刈り手) amongst the community, both in recognition of his and, which became a title he vehemently attempted to distance himself from in the official release. Despite this the name eventually stuck.

Prior to his imprisonment in the game Kenji was a in real-life with an avid fan-base. He is known to have a sister and two young nieces.

Appearance
Kenji was a fair-featured man in his mid-twenties during the SAO Incident, but was generally taken at face-value to be in his teens. His initial avatar was slightly taller and more muscular than his real-life appearance, with shoulder-length black hair. In real-life -- and the official release of SAO -- Kenji stood at 6ft tall and sported a muscled physique. The only constant between his avatars where hair colour and length: Kenji preferred his natural style, which was several messy-looking spikes atop his head, whilst the back reached roughly to shoulder-length.

Personality
"You're going to disappear. "And if I don't?" "I go orange and you turn into polygons. Either way you disappear."

- Kenji and Loki prior to their duel.

Kenji is generally laid-back and non-confrontational and is noted to be calmer and relaxed than his guild-mate Kusaka. Despite this attitude he quickly intervened when Loki attacked Elise and Sheila and admitted aloud himself that he would happily go orange over the whole situation.

In social settings he is generally seen as an older-brother type by other players, has been described as "the soul of the party", and is generally approachable. He enjoys poking fun but has quickly learned not to push his antics too far with Asuka, who often reprimands him with a quick stomp.

When dueling Kenji becomes cold and calculating. He ruthlessly deprived Loki of his sword-arm and primary weapon during their Half Loss duel and told the man directly after being victorious that he wouldn't mind going orange if it meant teaching people like him a lesson.

SAO Beta test
Kenji was part of the beta test for Sword Art Online. During his adventures on the 1st Floor he discovered an alpha Dire Wolf mob near Tolbana that dropped a set of claws. He was also one of very few beta testers who discovered the existence of the «Martial Arts» Extra Skill and it took him close to four days to complete it.

Synopsis

 * Main article -- Sword Art Online (Kenji).

2022

 * SAOK: Unexpected Meetings
 * SAOK: Pushing the Frontier
 * SAOK: The Karma Scales

Skills
During the beta he was renowned amongst the community for his dueling skills and surprise PK's. He has admitted to Asuka that he heavily experimented in this aspect of the game during the beta. Whilst he has attempted to distance himself from the title he earned due to the PKing he performed in the beta, it is no exaggeration that his duelling skills remained formidable even in the official release. Despite the act of dueling being incredibly dangerous in the official release Kenji frequently engaged in both Half Loss Mode and First Strike Mode, and is the recognised "Dueler" of «Brightscale».

In the official release Kenji uses an attack-focused build and prefers the use of the «One-handed Curved Sword». As such he fills the role of party DPS. Upon reaching the 2nd Floor he acquired the Extra Skill «Martial Arts» and immediately slotted it to his third skill slot. Thanks to the «Relaxed Equipment Conditions» mod of the «Martial Arts» skill, Kenji can perform Sword Skills from the curved-sword category and immediately follow-up with a Sword Skill from the «Martial Arts» tree.

He is one of the few players to have extensively experimented with two-weapon fighting. Although this imposes an «irregular equipment» affect upon him, and thus prevents the use of Sword Skills, Kenji has demonstrated that «Martial Arts» skills that use the legs solely can still be used in this irregular state to attack an enemy; an example being Crescent Moon. He claims the one upside to wielding two weapons at once is that he gains the stats of both weapons.

Despite his status as a Guild leader Kenji does, on occasion, operate as a for heightened EXP gains and undivided loot. He has both the «Hiding» and «Searching» skills slotted for just such an eventuality and was easily fit to trail Loki, Momoko and Akiye, and remained sufficiently hidden until choosing to reveal himself.

One-handed Curved Sword

 *  -- a basic charging skill with a short delay. Kenji often uses it as his opening skill when dueling to enter into close-quarters.
 * Leaver -- a basic two-hit combination skill involving an uppercut slash and a downward stroke. Has a small chance of causing a bleeding debuff.
 * Fell Crescent -- highly accurate one-hit area attack.

Martial Arts

 *  -- the fastest «Martial Arts» skill which consists of a basic thrust with the user's hand.
 * Crescent Moon -- a backflip kick technique commonly used by Kenji as a follow-up from Reaver when dueling.

Searching

 * Tracking -- a mod for the «Searching» skill. In 2022 Kenji's skill was at its lowest level, for he could only detect footprints a minute old.
 * Detection Range Bonus -- a mod for the «Searching» skill. Kenji could see Loki's cursor turn from green to orange from a considerable distance away.

Outside System Skills

 * Hypersense -- The act of sensing the "killing intent" of another player. According to Kenji he learned this particular skill during the beta around the time the beta testers arrived on the 5th Floor, where a great deal of PKing was done.
 * Wall Running -- The act of running along walls without falling. As of December 6th, 2022, Kenji's agility allowed him to take at least three steps, whilst his strength allowed him to propel himself a fair distance without suffering damage.

Known quests completed

 * «Clearing Out The Storehouse.
 * «Elf War: Jade Key».
 * «Elf War: Jade Key».
 * «Elf War: Jade Key».

Brightscale
«Brightscale» was formed by Kenji and Kusaka on the 3rd Floor of Aincrad. Despite a slower start than some of the other «Brightscale» eventually joined the front-line group.

Airi Natsume
Kenji first met Airi when she suffered the tumble status when met with a particularly large. He defeated the wolf with the Sword Skill and subsequently suggested that she join Kusaka and he on the path to Tolbana for safety. Kenji was more tolerant of Airi than most and went out of his way to help her in her daily activities, even if it contributed to the slower start joining the front-line. Although he liked Asuka he also admitted to be somewhat intimidated by her.

The two evidently grew quite close. Kenji noted that Airi and he eventually revealed various details about their real-life self to one another, one example being their actual names.

Momoko and Akiye
Momoko and Akiye where 12-year old twins encountered by Kenji in shortly after the 2nd Floor was opened, with both reminding him of his own nieces. Kenji ended up protecting the two girls from an orange player called Loki and would have happily went orange himself to protect them. He subsequently became their guardian in the death game and the two twins joined «Brightscale» as crafters.

Quotes

 * My guild's name is «Brightscale». I'll let you think about its abbreviation -- but I suppose I can give you one small hint! You're talkin' an awful lot of it right now.

Behind the scenes

 * Kenji's in-game name is created from letters found in his own name: Kenji Hiroshi, creating Kishi. The kanji chosen for Kishi translates to bright samurai. This likewise plays into the name of the guild: Brightscale.


 * Kenji's height and weight measurements, including physical appearance, is modelled on Kaien Shiba from Bleach.

Trivia

 * Due to his achievements in the beta -- namely committing the most PK's -- Kenji was the eventual owner of the «Sanguine Sword».