Kai (eagle)

Kai (介, Kai; "Meditation") is the personal summon of Kouhei Hakoda and the friend of his partner, Hei. He is the chief of all the bird-type summons, as all naturally born Dragon Hawks are. Despite being a Hawk, he is often labeled as a eagle, a bird species similar to the hawk. Kouhei and Kai have a long history together, with Kouhei raising Kai when he was a chick, and grew up with him. Kouhei was said to have named him Kai simply because of the kanji look; it looked similar to an arrow pointing upwards, and Kai could fly. Despite protests to change the name, it has stuck, and he is known as Kai to this day. He does not speak to Kouhei until first summoned to Kouhei.

Character Overview
Kai is a Dragon Hawk; the supreme breed of Birds, according to Kouhei. He possesses red-colored wings and a tan-colored body, with a small head and a brown beak. His hair is swept back, and he has two tufts of tan hair above his eyes, which are a golden color. He also possesses the stereotypical Chinese beard, and a long tan tail. Kai is relatively large for his species, with a wingspan of at least 26 inches. He possesses black-colored claws and short legs, covered mostly by feathers. He has a small button on his chest, held there by four brown straps that connect to a small, narrow sack on his back, used to send messages between operatives without being discovered. The button is blue and has the symbol of Kirigakure on it, showing his affinity. Under his right wing is a small hunter-nin tattoo that shows his affiliation with the Kirigakure hunter-nin. Under his right wing is the symbol of the Hakoda clan.

Kai is one of the few creatures in the series that can speak, and he often speaks with a wise voice, similar to a sage, He is quite serious. He takes on a cynical and detached personality, and possesses extremely sharp wit and is not willing to stand to prejudice. While fairly serious, he is quite helpful in certain situations, and offers advice to Kouhei whenever possible. Despite being a summon, it is possible for him to remain with Kouhei for extended periods of time, where he will simply remain perched on Kouhei's shoulder.

Intelligence
Kai has shown a large amount of intellect, as shown by his age and his wit. By evaluating a person, he is able to learn their history and their powers, and often uses this to his advantage. He constantly shows himself to be very intelligent in combat, coming up with very complex, organized plans and strategies that many still use to defeat opponents. He is very adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses in his opponents' techniques. He is also adept at adjusting to his opponent's attack patterns and battle methods to better counter them. He is capable of quickly adjusting to new developments and making quick decisions accordingly. He has great tactical acumen, and has been shown to be a very perceptive man, even as far as figuring out the opponent's next move before they had a chance to utilize it. He is capable of determining an opponent's strategy, as well as immediately conclude a fight simply by stopping the opponent from drawing their sword. He is quite versatile in setting up plots, and even prepares for a battle by learning a new tactical skill. Kai retains seriousness and will analyze his opponent's skills and abilities in order to devise a winning strategy; he has even gone as far as letting an opponent injure him so that he may analyze the strength of their swing and counteract it with his own. He also uses his intelligence to find weak points in his opponents, even overcoming disadvantages he has through thinking on his feet.

Elemental Techniques
Kai can utilize elemental techniques although, being a summon, can only use so few at times. He has shown proficiency with the Fire Dragon Flame Missle technique, utilizing it as a flamethrower and segmenting it into multiple fire whips which he will then use to strike an opponent. He can utilize the Wind Release Stream to propel himself up into the air to avoid detection by enemies and allies alike, and use the Great Breakthrough in order to propel himself vertically, allowing him to move faster then the human eye can follow. He is proficient with the few jutsu he knows, and has shown mastery of most of them.

Speed
Kai's speed is absolutely impressive for a Dragon Hawk, being compared to even the peregrine falcon. His speed allows him to travel to multiple locations in a small time frame and being able to be in several places at once. His reflexes are at his peak, and he can never be caught by surprise. He can keep up quick and rapid assaults on an opponent's being that overwhelms them and leaves no openings for attack, as well as even being able to beat most birds of his age in a race. Many lost track of his movements after a short time, and those who are capable of seeing him only see a faint black outline.

Trivia

 * Kouhei named Kai after the kanji for meditation (介) at the age of 5. The kanji looked like an arrow pointing upwards, and since Kai could fly, Kouhei believed it would be a suitable name.