Karasu Samezuka

Karasu Samezuka is a ninja of the Oniwabanshu who is currently working for the Crimson clan. He has been with the group since it began, though his most notable feat was the poisoning of the Reborn's previous leader under the orders of Kukuou Shinku.

Personality
He can look you in the eyes, tear up, and regale you of his sad tale, in which he, as a poor orphaned child did his best to survive this tumultuous war and make a life for himself, but times are hard and money is low... he might not have a dinner that night. If only he had some cash... It's a lie, of course. Karasu, in simple terms, is a greedy liar. Capable of spouting lies left and right without any sort of remorse, usually with the intent of hoping to swindle someone out of their well earned cash. The true Karasu is actually a rather calculating individual who looks out for himself, first and foremost - especially when there is money involved. He learns things quickly and is able to adapt to them just as quickly, giving him a rather high and mighty impression of himself. He has little interest in other people, and thus will come across as aloof to most everyone around him. Money seems to be the only thing that can crack any true emotion out of him, whether it's blinding rage that someone attempted to steal from him, or genuine giddiness at receiving a fat paycheck. As any money lover, Karasu also believes in debts. He believes in collecting on debts, and collecting them with interest. On the same note, he also hates owing anyone. He's usually quick to offer anyone he owes anything to something in return, so long as it's not his, you guessed it, money. There's very little he won't do to prevent his wallet from getting thinner. The only actual person that seems to be able to get any true emotion out of him is his sister - though the first person to call him a siscon will be handled with extreme prejudice. If any mention of his sister is made, he will be the first to gush about her and, depending on the person's gender, quick to interrogate them on how they know her and what their intentions are for her.

Background
Karasu's childhood was relatively standard. He was born to a family that suffered during the war times, but made their livings off of honest and hard work. But because they were "common" and in the middle of a war, every day was a fight for survival. Karasu learned relatively early on that money was what allowed his family to eat at night, and he learned that there were plenty of unsavory means to obtain that life-giving money. First it came from begging, but when the baby fat came off and he wasn't cute anymore, he pick pocketed. When he found out that people were propositioning his young sister, he beat the crap out of them and looted them. Eventually it came to a point where his family no longer really needed money, his father finding service under a samurai lord and ensuring their family some sort of status. But at that point, Karasu found himself wanting money simply for the sake of having it. Under the samurai lord's service, however, the lord noticed that the oldest son had a rather unsavory knack for theft. Rather than punish him, however, he took the boy under his wing and had him train under a ninja master. Karasu soaked in all the lessons like a sponge, impressing his master enough so that he not only could use poisons, but craft them.

Karasu's master had relayed the information on his quick development and skill to Kukuou herself. On a whim, she relayed instructions for a surprise mission specifically for Karasu, to see if he really was all that his master claimed him to be. Honestly, Karasu had no interest, but a quick nudge from his master in the form of "If you impress her, she'll pay you well" was enough to send him packing, with his first self-made poison on hand, he went on the mission that Kukuou no doubt thought he wouldn't do, let alone be successful. Well, half successful anyways. The Reborn had gone on a mission, supposedly one that would involve no fighting, a simple visitation to a local lord that flip flopped his allegiances on a regular basis. On their way back from visiting this local lord, Karasu, disguised as one of the lord's retainers, managed to frighten the Ishikawa father's horse. The man fell from his horse, Karasu immediately going to "help" the man. As he helped bring the man to his feet, the young ninja made a quick and small cut - nothing more than the accidental nick one might get after a nasty fall from a horse. They were none the wiser until it was too late, at which point the Crimson allied ninja had already made it back into home territories. The only flaw, one that Karasu reported himself, was that his poison, his first home-brew, was not as potent as he had hoped, meaning that the death of the Reborn's clan leader would take longer than he anticipated. This report, no doubt, amused Kukuou to no end, and in the end, did manage to put Karasu on her radar.

It wasn't long after that he found himself working with five other people. Karasu made no effort to get to know them, finding himself more annoyed that the pay he thought he would receive wasn't anywhere near as high as he had hoped. He wasn't stupid, however, and knew if he continued improving on his craft, the money would come. As he had hoped, as they continued their missions the targets changed from small fry to the wealthiest of families in Japan. Never having any qualms about doing horrible things for the right price, Karasu happily went with his allies and took down each every family she'd told them to eliminate. And in return, they were paid mind blowing amounts of money. Karasu honestly couldn't be happier about it. As long as Kukuou kept paying him that handsomely, he would sneak, cut, poison, lie, thieve, and most certainly kill for her and the Crimson Clan without a second thought.

Having been a part of the Oniwabanshu for some years now, he still has made little to no effort in getting to know his fellows. He focuses on schemes to get yet more money, and constantly works to improve on his concoctions as to not get any docked pay. Since his first self-made poison, he's come a long way, now having several different concoctions that all serve different purposes, most of them he's developed immunities to. Of course, he also keeps his non-poison skills up to par too, making sure he remains a deadly tool that Kukuou can use for whatever messed up scheme she has.