Character Profile: Hazama Itsuru

Hazama has led a troubled life. It all started a number of years ago, in the middle of a major investigation. He had been tracking down a drug ring which had involved several cops (including Tony Glek). Unfortunately, they had caught on to his snooping and thus tried to bribe him. He refused, but they wouldn't take no for an answer, so they kidnapped his sister and shot her in front of him. This led Hazama to go on a killing spree, killing three crooked cops as well as four other members of the drug ring. He was chasing Tony to the train bridge when the police (including Chief Tanaka) caught up to him. Tanaka tried to talk sense to him, but Hazama kept going. He shot Tony once, and then a train hit Tony, knocking him off the bridge. Hazama had thought that was it...but he got a nasty surprise.

Years later, in the middle of his investigation into the disappearance of government scientist Eddie Schmitt, he had talked with Sachiko, and apparently, someone didn't like it. Hazama suspected something and got the guy at gunpoint. It was Tony Glek, and even worse, he had turned cyborg! Overpowered, Hazama pushed Tony out the apartment window and onto the street, and he sustained fatal injuries. Only the Professor and Chief Tanaka knew that, however. Everyone else had thought Hazama had recovered in a remarkably short amount of time.

Hazama is a hard-nosed kind of guy, direct and quite forward, preferring the casual to the formal, but he has a lot of trouble adjusting to his new life, and as it turns out, his tragic memories will come back to haunt him in more ways than one. He must get his act together, however, if he ever hopes to accomplish his goals.