Crimson Hunters

The Crimson Hunters (Romaji: Kōryōshi; Kanji: 紅猟師) are the protagonists of Kōgari.

They are a company of 108 individuals whom each have accepted an invitation to slay the Twenty-Seven Immortals in exchange for a reward of their choice.

Organization
The Crimson Hunters are composed of 108 individuals, and lead by the Wild Hunter. Its 108-strong membership is divided into 3 platoons of 36 individuals. These platoons are the Hawk Platoon, the Owl Platoon, and the Vulture Platoon. Each platoon is composed of 9 squads of 4 individuals, and each platoon is lead by a Chief Hunter.

The Crimson Hunters have 7 ranks. From the highest rank to the lowest rank, these ranks are: Wild Hunter, Chief Hunter, Master Hunter, Elite Hunter, Senior Hunter, Adept Hunter, and Junior Hunter. Notably, only the most powerful hunters are allowed to attain and hold a rank of Master Hunter or higher.

Among the Crimson Hunters is a group called the Seven Crimson Lights (Romaji: Nanakōkō; Kanji: 七紅光). The Seven Crimson Lights consist of the Wild Hunter, the 3 Chief Hunters, and the 3 Master Hunters whom are considered to be the most powerful members of the Crimson Hunters.

Origins
More than a 1000 years ago, in response to Gyokukō and his 26 followers' achievement of immortality, Vulture created the Crimson Hunters.

Initially, the Crimson Hunters were composed of naught but conscripts whom Vulture drafted from the Spiritual Realm, resurrected, and then sent to kill the Immortals. Said Conscripts have come to be referred to as the Crimson Slaves, and only 7 of them managed to defeat any of the immortals and survive into the present. Specifically, each of those 7 managed to defeat 1 of the immortals and so they managed to defeat 7 of the immortals as a whole.

Notably, while these 7 may have predated the positions of the Seven Crimson Lights, many consider these 7 to be the first generation of the Seven Crimson Lights.

Formation
Unfortunately, at some point in time, the Crimson Slaves deserted from Vulture's service and fled into the Shadow Realm. Subsequently, in order to avoid another desertion, Vulture decided to abandon conscription in favor of recruitment.

With this idea in mind, Vulture called in a favor owed to him by Hawk and Owl in order to contract Hawk and Owl into becoming co-founders of the actual Crimson Hunters organization. As such, the Crimson Trinity was born. Together;the Crimson Trinity established a system where Owl would scout for candidates, Vulture would recruit the candidates, and then Hawk would train the candidates.

Eventually, as they replaced all 108 of the Crimson Slaves, the Crimson Trinity managed to form the Crimson Hunters!

Progress
Over the course of many centuries, the Crimson Hunters managed to kill 7 of the 20 immortals that were left alive by the Crimson Slaves. As a result, the Twenty-Seven Immortals were reduced from 20 to 13! However, during this time, the Crimson Hunters developed the bad reputation that continues to haunt them into the present. The Crimson Hunters came to be reviled as anarchistic, anti-human, greedy, selfish, and zealous. In addition, they came to be known as adherents of Hawk and Owl. And as Servants of Death.

Eventually, a 100 years before the present, the Crimson Hunters conducted an operation which liberated Fusō from Human Supremacism by kick-starting a civil war which overthrew the Twenty-Seven Immortals' reign of terror over Fusō. While many revered the Crimson Hunters for saving Fusō from Human Supremacism and Immortal Tyranny, a lot more revile the Crimson Hunters for causing the bloodiest and longest war in the history of Fusō! Consequently, the Crimson Hunters became either criminals or outcasts in a supermajority of Fusō's societies.

In the present, the Crimson Hunters have discovered that the Twenty-Seven Immortals have emerged from obscurity and taken over the Azure Dragon Palace. In response, the Crimson Hunters have began to fight against the Azure Dragon Palace in pursuit of the Twenty-Seven Immortals and thus have joined the Fusō Civil War!

Recruitment
All Crimson Hunters are hand-picked by Owl, approved of by Vulture, and then trained by Hawk.

Process
After a candidate is scouted by Owl, the candidate will be approached by Vulture and offered a spot as 1 of the 108 Crimson Hunters. If the candidate accepts Vulture's offer, the candidate will receive a valkyrie from Hawk and then the valkyrie will guide the candidate to the Crimson Hunters' headquarters. At HQ, the candidate will be given a choice to join 1 of the 3 platoons. After the candidate has chosen a platoon, the candidate will be given the platoon's uniform.

Subsequently, the candidate will be endowed with a Crimson Arm and then the candidate will be trained by Hawk himself! After Hawk has trained the candidate in the arts of Bujino Megumi, Ki, and Ōgi; the candidate will duel their valkyrie. If the candidate manages to defeat their valkyrie, the candidate will be recognized as a Crimson Hunter! But if the candidate fails to defeat their valkyrie, the candidate will remain as a candidate and restart their training under Hawk.

Bukikogi
Crimson Hunters are trained in a fighting style called Bukikōgi (Kanji: 武気紅義). Bukikōgi is short for Bujino Megumi, Ki, Crimson Arms, and Ōgi.

Bujino Megumi
Bujino Megumi (Kanji: 武神の恵み; English: War God's Blessing) is the first aspect of Bukikōgi. It consists of earning the favor and power of Hawk by naming a maneuver that one uses in combat and or just practicing and using the maneuver enough times. Because Hawk approves of and empowers the martial arts, it's possible for a Crimson Hunter to empower absolutely ANYTHING just by either naming it or by practicing and using it as a martial art.

Ki
Ki ('Kanji': 気) is the second aspect of Bukikōgi. It's a dark energy which emanates from each and every entity in existence. Ki is categorized by the kind of entity that it's emanated by; as such, there are 4 types of basic ki.


 *  Shō'inki  (Kanji: 少陰気; English: Lesser Yin Ki) - Ki which emanates from a creature's spirit.
 *  Shō'yōki  (Kanji: 少陽気; English: Lesser Yang Ki) - Ki which emanates from a creature's body.
 *  Ta'inki  (Kanji: 太陰気; English: Greater Yin Ki) - Ki which emanates from an area's time (history).
 *  Ta'yōki  (Kanji: 太陽気; English: Greater Yang Ki) - Ki which emanates from an area's space.

By itself, basic ki does absolutely nothing of note. But if one combines the basic ki into complex ki, one can make use of Ki Styles (Romaji: Ki-ryū; Kanji: 気流). There are 5 Ki Styles available to Crimson Hunters. These Ki Styles are:


 *  Suiki-ryū  (Kanji: 水気流; English: Water Ki Style) - Shō'inki + Shō'yōki - yin + yang - Enhancement - Easiest to learn, because it only uses internal ki.
 *  Hiki-ryū  (Kanji: 火気流; English: Fire Ki Style) - Shō'inki + Ta'yōki - yin + Yang - Conjuration - Harder to learn, because it uses external ki and internal ki.
 *  Fūki-ryū  (Kanji: 風気流; English: Wind Ki Style) - Ta'inki + Shō'yōki - Yin + yang - bodily Transmutation - Harder to learn, because it uses external ki and internal ki.
 *  Chiki-ryū  (Kanji: 地気流; English: Earth Ki Style) - Ta'inki + Ta'yōki - Yin + Yang - Manipulation - Hardest to learn, because it only uses external ki. Mandates being born with an affinity for it or reaching enlightenment.
 *  Kūki-ryū  (Kanji: 空気流; English: Void Ki Style) - Specialization - Easy to do, but hard to control. Works by creating voids in the ki to enact abnormal and unnatural effects. It's dangerous and forbidden, but not exactly illegal. More like looked down upon.

Crimson Arms
The Crimson Arms (Romaji: Kōgumbi; Kanji: 紅軍備) are the third aspect of Bukikōgi. They're an item composed of a combination of a Crimson Hunter's ki and Vulture's ki.

Ogi
Ōgi (Kanji: 奥義; 'English': Secret Skill) is the fourth and final aspect of Bukikōgi. It consists of earning the favor and power of Owl by keeping one's maneuvers a secret and or using a rare or unique maneuver. Because Owl approves of an empowers rarity and secrets, it's possible for a Crimson Hunter to empower absolutely ANYTHING just by either being one of the few to use it or keeping it a secret.

Platoon Boons
Upon joining a platoon, a Crimson Hunter candidate will be gifted a boon by their platoon's patron deity. These boons are:

Hawk Platoon Boon ~ Kekkono Chikara
The Hawk Platoon's boon is the Kekkōno Chikara (Kanji: 決行の力; English: Power of Acting with Resolve).

The Kekkōno Chikara is situated throughout the body and takes the appearance of blood vessels which are bright and large enough to be visible. By default, Kekkōno Chikara are bloodless. However, if one becomes determined to accomplish or achieve something, one can fill one's Kekkōno Chikara with blood which embodies one's resolve.

As one becomes more and more determined, one's Kekkōno Chikara will be filled with more and more blood-like resolve. And as one's Kekkōno Chikara is filled with more and more blood-like resolve, one's actions will become more and more effective!

Owl Platoon Boon ~ Owl's Cloak
The Owl Platoon's boon is the Owl's Cloak (Romaji: Fukurō no Gaitō; Kanji: 梟の外套).

All Owl's Cloaks are woven from fur derived from the flower mice of Mekura. They are also infused with the essence of Owl as well. While the cloak's hood is up, the cloak will blend into the environment and "render one's presence a secret". And while the hood is down, the cloak is invisible though its wearer is not invisible alongside it.

Because assassins kept attempting to murder — and occasionally succeeded in murdering — Owl Platoon Crimson Hunters for their Owl's Cloak, all Owl's Cloaks are attuned to the Crimson Hunter whom was gifted with the Owl's Cloak and thus only a specific Crimson Hunter can use a specific Owl's Cloak.

Vulture Platoon Boon ~ Shinohan
The Vulture Platoon's boon is the Shinohan (Kanji: 死の判; English: Mark of Death).

The Shinohan is a tattoo which appears like a withering tree and stretches from the forearm to the spine. It allows its bearer to competently and healthily breathe in any environment and under any conditions.

No matter how devoid of air an area may be, the Shinohan will allow its bearer to breathe without consequences. No matter how many obstacles to breathing that an area may have, the Shinohan will allow its bearer to breathe without consequences. And no matter how toxic an area's air may be, the Shinohan will allow its bearer to breathe without consequences. Even if the bearer is exhausted from blood or lacking in blood, the Shinohan will allow its bearer to breathe without consequences.