Tenma Aozora
 | |
| No. 34 – Queens Pride | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward |
| Species | Kitsune ( Canidae ) |
| Gender | Male |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Gifu | |
| Inari | |
| Bishounen (Bishie) | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Shirakawa-go, Gifu, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Shoots | Left |
| Career information | |
| School | University of Tokyo |
| FBA draft | 2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17th overall |
| Selected by the Williamsburg Minutemen | |
| Pro playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018-2020 | Albany Alphas |
| 2020-2022 | Baltimore Spirits |
| 2022-present | Queens Pride |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Contract information | |
| Contract year | 2018 |
| 2023 Salary | $5 million |
| 2024 Salary | $6 million |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | Drakken |
| (OOC) Creator | Unknown |
| (OOC) Actor | Unknown |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Biography
Shirakawa-go: A typical mountain village where 96% of the village area is forested, while 0.4% accounts for agricultural land. The village, having snowfall considered some of Japan’s heaviest, has been geographically described as an “isolated island”, as well as an “unexplored region”.
It’s here in this “isolate” village that speculation of an Inari shrine exists. While the shrine itself is not the unusual talk, the owners of said shrine is what gets heads to turn. Kitsunes. Not just any kitsunes; nine-tailed ones. Rumored to be all but gone, this shrine, located in Shirakawa-go’s mountain, Mt.Haku, has become a highly popular and visited shrine thanks to its nine-tailed foxes.
While the shrine is the most popular of the kitsune’s, they also happen to have several located across Japan that are all family owned. Each generation is raised to become successors for the shrines.
This is exactly what was expected of Tenma Aozora.
Tenma, the 2nd son of Yui and Eiji, was always treated kindly by those around him. At an early age, Tenma was already exceeding expectations. He’d already began to speak earlier than his brother, was learning at a faster rate at a younger age, even started school before his brother. At age 5, he started to develop his markings. His brother, Ryuu, 4 years older than him, had just started getting his. The kitsune parents expected their youngest to be a child prodigy; and therefore their decided successor to their main shrine in Mt.Haku.
By 10, Tenma had all his markings. His parents couldn’t be happier--except for the fact that he still only had one tail. While his parents worried over his tails, the young kitsune could have been bothered less by it. The only things on his mind were: continuing to succeed in school, keep up with being taught how to care for the shrine, and playing basketball with his brother.
Basketball is where Tenma was able to break away from the pressures of his parents and let his own personality grow. He’d never let his parents know how he felt about everything they expected of him, but on the court, ball in hands, his brother in front of him; he became a different person. To him, the court was a place to express himself; whether it be physically or emotionally. Sometimes his brother and him could leave their duties to others at the shrine so they could get away to the court. It was during these times Tenma and Ryuu would talk about how each other felt. Sometimes, they’d play casually and talk all the while. The other times, no words were shared between the two; they played the game hard, fast, until both were past exhausted. This bond continued between the brothers up until Tenma turned 15.
At 15, his brother now 19, was sent to the 2nd largest family shrine in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. It was decided by their parents that Ryuu would take up that shrine. It would be a lonely year for Tenma. He would seek a lot of solace from the sport that his brother and him would play. So much so that sometimes he’d neglect his shrine duties just to play--which would then result in scolding's from both parents. This would all change, though, when the kitsune turned 16.
Homeschooled up until now, 16 was the kitsune’s coming of age to his parents. He entered college at the University of Tokyo which was more than happy to accept such an advanced youth.
However, the shinkansen ride from Shirakawa-go to Tokyo was 5 hours. His parents, still concerned that he only had the one tail, wanted him close to home. At the same time, they wanted their son to flourish academically. It was then their decision was made to send Tenma to stay with his brother in Kyoto. From Kyoto, the shinkansen ride was 3 hours to Tokyo. This suited Tenma much better school schedule wise. Not only that, but he’d get to be with his brother once again. Whenever he had off days, he’d split them between spending time with his brother and his parents.
During his time in college, Tenma became increasingly aware of just how much was expected of him by his parents. The realization came when he realized just how much he could breathe once he moved away from his home. There was more time for him to be himself. Less faking who he really was, just to spare his parents. Now that he lived with his brother, he began to feel what it was like to have someone encouraging him to be more active in the things he liked. Thanks to Ryuu, Tenma made up his mind to not only become more active in his school’s activities, but to also join the basketball team at his University. However, taking the step to be more outgoing in school also had its setbacks.
Not many were too keen on having someone younger than them enrolled. Besides the difference in age, there was also the recurring remark that Tenma had heard since he was young; that he was a little more on the feminine side in terms of looks. To be simply put, he was a “pretty boy”. These factors didn’t lead to anything like bullying, because he wasn’t one to let himself become a victim, but it did lead to him not being taken seriously on his basketball team. His first two years of college on the team were hell. He would spend the full two years working to prove himself to his team and establish a solid place on it. In his third year, he finally succeeded showing how this “pretty boy” could be aggressive on the court at his position of sf/pf. He wouldn’t be taken lightly by anyone.
With his brothers continued encouragement, Tenma began to embrace basketball more and more. It was in the sport that Ryuu saw his younger brother thrive. Ryuu contacted his parents and convinced them to let Tenma stay with him until he finished college; ie no more having to go to Shirakawa-go in his spare time. Thanks to this arrangement, Tenma was able to spend more time and focus on playing the game. He completely devoted himself to improving his play in his position.
By 19, Tenma was fully thriving. He’d earned himself a starting role on his team and would make it to Tokyo’s basketball finals where his team would snag their first win in years. While playing in the finals, scouts from the Asian league would approach Tenma with various offers. Tenma would decline all offers, however. He had his mind set on something else entirely; The FBA.
Without even consulting his parents, but backed by his older brother, Tenma Aozora, 19, 6’11, 205 lbs, at the sf/pf position, has entered his name into the 2018 FBA draft.
Images
Art by majorpiece
Art by majorpiece
Art by Pac
Art by Pac
