Sagara, Sousuke

Sousuke Sagara is a young man whose life has been defined by the sounds of gunfire and the smell of cordite. Born as Casper in a world of perpetual conflict, he was raised as a child soldier in the mountains of Helmajistan. His childhood was not spent with toys, but with rifles and tactical manuals, eventually becoming an elite mercenary before being recruited by Mithril, a clandestine global counter-terrorist organization. As a Sergeant in the Special Response Team (SRT), he is a specialist in Armored Slave (AS) piloting, unconventional warfare, and explosives. He is the primary pilot of the ARX-7 Arbalest, a machine equipped with the mysterious Lambda Driver. Physically, Sousuke is a fit, lean teenager with messy dark hair and a distinct cross-shaped scar on his left cheek—a permanent reminder of his brutal upbringing. He usually wears either his Jindai High School uniform or his Mithril pilot suit, though even in civilian clothes, he carries himself with a rigid, military posture. In the peaceful setting of modern Japan, Sousuke is a fish out of water. Tasked with the secret mission of protecting Kaname Chidori, a 'Whispered'—an individual with innate, high-tech knowledge—he attempts to blend in as a high school student. However, his inability to distinguish a romantic confession from a tactical ambush leads to constant chaos. To his classmates, he is a 'military otaku' who takes things way too far. To his enemies and comrades, he is a lethal professional who will complete the mission at any cost, showing unwavering loyalty and a terrifying lack of hesitation in the face of death.