Kenji Hiroshi

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“	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
Personal Info
Real Name	Kenji Hiroshi
Kanji	健児博
Birthday	22nd February
Age	26
Gender	Male
Height	183 cm (6'0")
Weight	68 kg (150 lbs)
Occupation	Professional gamer
Family	Unnamed sister Two unnamed nieces
Player Profile
Display Name	Kishi
Kanji (Display)	輝士
Epithet	Reaper
VR Played	«Sword Art Online»
Occupation	Guild leader, Clearer
Affiliation	«Brightscale»
Status	Alive
Media
Appears In	«Sword Art Online (Kenji)»

Kenji Hiroshi (健児博), known by the username Kishi (輝士) in various online games, was one of the original beta testers for «Sword Art Online», where he was referred to as and feared as the Reaper (刈り手). He subsequently became one of the 10,000 players trapped within the game when it was officially launched. He led a Clearer guild called «Brightscale». Prior to his imprisonment in the game Kenji was a professional gamer 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.

Early gear

As far as equipment went Kenji initially wore minimal protective gear to maximise his evasion rather than focusing on defensive coverage. His equipment consisted mostly of leather jackets and worn leather trousers, with a single piece of protective metal guarding his heart and lungs. He didn't place as much focus on armor than he did weaponry and thus the majority of it his early armor was shop-bought gear that was worn by many of the early front-runners.

Cardiophylax

It wasn't until Akiye forged the «Cardiophylax» that Kenji began balancing ease-of-movement and protection, whilst adopting a unique appearance. The entire suit appeared to be based on gladiatorial equipment with a mixture of classical Hoplite depictions.

The «Cardiophylax» incorporated three slots. The neck slot and upper-body slot, similar in function to a gorget, focused its protection on the central chest-area and throat. It primarily safeguarded the lungs and heart, with an accompanying shoulder-guard on the left shoulder that extended down to shield his off-hand bicep. The waist slot featured several strips of studded leather that descended to cover his knees and hips, appearing similar to a skirt. Between the metal of the chest-piece and Kenji's skin was a layer of hardened leather. A good portion of his upper torso, including the outside area of the pectoral muscles and his entire right-shoulder, possessed lesser protection than the main cardiovascular areas. The upper-body from the base of the pectorals to the beginning of the waist was unprotected.

He accompanied the «Cardiophylax» with mismatched gloves and boots offering a number of effects. The gloves where lightweight metal whilst the gloves consisted of tanned leather.

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 more relaxed than his guild-mate Kusaka. Despite this attitude he quickly intervened when Loki attacked Momoko and Akiye and admitted aloud himself that he would happily go orange over the whole situation; to the point he threatened Loki's life. Unsurprisingly Kenji's actions instantly earned him Momoko's and Akiye's trust. Loki's actions frightened the girls to the degree that they couldn't initially sleep without knowing Kenji was nearby, and his laid-back and carefree nature allowed him to accept their dependency on him in good spirits. This evolved as he spent time with them and Kenji came to develop something of a parental instinct when it came to the girls and swelled with pride whenever he saw them succeed.

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, especially amongst his friends, but has quickly learned not to push his antics too far with Airi, who often reprimands him with a quick stomp. In addition he is generous. Despite a non-enhanced Anneal Blade going for around 16,000 cor shortly after the 2nd Floor was opened, Kenji gave the sword to Yoshiro for free because it was far superior to the sword he currently wielded.

Following the battle with Event Boss Zagan the Exile on the 2nd Floor Kenji, impressed by Kusaka's leadership of the party, suggested he should lead their eventual guild. Kusaka, however, declined; he informed Kenji that a "people-person" like Kenji was more suited to the role.

When dueling, however, 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.

On the 2nd Floor it became apparent that Kenji and Airi began seeing each other as more than just friends.

History

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).

Aincard arc

2022

• SAOK: Unexpected Meetings
• SAOK: Pushing the Frontier
• SAOK: The Karma Scales
• SAOK: The Business of Grinding
• SAOK: The Eventful Taurus
• SAOK: The Moneymaking Crusade

Stats

Stat	Value	Time
Level	12.	December 4, 2022.
Level	14.	December 6, 2022.

Equipment

Weapons

Name	Type	Acquisition	Notes
«Unnamed curved sword»	One-Handed Curved Sword	Initial Equipment	Eventually replaced by a Scimitar before December 4, 2022.
«Scimitar»	One-Handed Curved Sword	Received as a rare monster drop on the 1st Floor sometime before December 4, 2022.	Upgraded to +4 (3S1D) before December 4, 2022. Upgraded to +8 (5S3D) between December 15th & 17th.
«Anneal Blade»	One-Handed Sword	Left behind by Loki after he lost his sword-arm dueling Kenji on December 6th, 2022. Given to Yoshiro on the morning of December 7th, 2022.	No enhancements made as of December 6th, 2022.

Armour

Name	Type	Acquisition	Notes
«Cardiophylax»	Lightweight neck, upper-body & waist armor.	Player-made for Kenji by Akiye using materials from «Zagan the Exile» and various other rare materials.	Grants +8 to Strength. Grants +4 to Agility. Bonus to the «Hiding» Skill.
«Black Hakama»	Cloth Lower-body	Player-made for Kenji by Momoko using rare unspecified monster drops.	Grants a boost to the «Hiding» skill.
«Martial Arts Leg Guards»	Boots	Player-made for Kenji by Akiye using rare unspecified monster drops.	Enhances the damage caused by «Martial Arts» Sword Skills. Increases «Martial Arts» skill proficiency gain.

Accessories

Name	Type	Acquisition	Notes
«Unnamed Strength ring»	Ring	Reward for the «Jade Key» quest.	Grants +1 to Strength.

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.

Asuka and he prefer the use of various DoT's -- aided by a food buff found in Urbus -- to inflict continual and sustainable damage on larger mobs, even during moments of post-motion delay.

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 solo player 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.

Sword Art Online

SAO SKILL SLOTS
One-handed Curved Sword	Hiding	Martial Arts	Searching
150 / 1000	104 / 1000	75 / 1000	104 / 1000

Sword Skills

One-handed Curved Sword

• Reaver -- 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

• Flash Blow -- 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.

Supplementary Skills

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. This allowed him to follow Loki, whom Kenji suspected of leading Momoko and Akiye outside town in order to rob them, without being detected.
• 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, and was able to keep track of Momoko and Akiye even when they weren't members of his party.

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

• «Martial Arts quest».
• «Clearing Out The Storehouse.
• «Elf War».
• «Elf War: Jade Key».

Relationships

Brightscale

«Brightscale» was formed by Kenji and Kusaka on the 3rd Floor of Aincrad. Despite a slower start than some of the other clearers «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 Dire Wolf. He defeated the wolf with the Sword Skill Reaver 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 Tolbana on the 1st Floor 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. In light of this the girls quickly developed a high degree of trust in Kenji. He subsequently became their guardian in the death game and the two twins joined «Brightscale» as crafters.

Enemies

Kenji made no attempt to hide his beta tester knowledge. He was thankful to Kirito for alleviating some of the negativity and anger levied at beta testers by creating the "Beater" category, though Kenji himself adopted the new title. Antagonism also grew against him when he admitted that he was the Reaper from the beta responsible for the highest level of PK's in the beta test.

Loki

Loki was an opportunistic former beta tester who attempted to rob Momoko and Akiye under the pretense of guiding them through a difficult quest, but was defeated by Kenji in a Half Loss duel. Kenji admitted that he would happily go orange to teach Loki a lesson and further stated that he would also carry his threat through to its ultimate conclusion should Loki not run away.

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.

Author's notes

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» Unique Skill.