"""The High Command can rely on the fact that whenever things became difficult Oyama will remain indifferent and calm, and that by the time the smoke has dissipated he will have fulfilled his duty. And that's the best thing you can say about a dirty Japanese.""

Captain Song Lau. Excerpt taken from the evaluation report of Takeshi Oyama in honor of his promotion to Domaru Butai NCO.

Takeshi ""Neko"" Oyama is an old school samurai warrior, a person with integrity and honor, the paradigm of the perfect bushi. His face, lean and serious, always shows a determined and solemn expression. He has rough, taciturn manners and the creeds of the Bushido code always guide his attitude towards life. Oyama carries his scars with pride as a sign of his experience; however, like a good bushi he never brags about them. His nickname “Neko” (猫 “cat” in Japanese) is attributed to his ability to always land on his feet and the number of lives he seems to have. In the beginning, everyone believed that Oyama was a very lucky individual. But a single person cannot have as much luck as this samurai. Oyama is a veteran warrior who has survived many battles by simply being the best. He comes from a Japanese bushi family and his life has always been focused on his training as a samurai. Oyama has been educated in dojos with the most prestigious masters, where he excelled as a combatant with superior talent. Oyama joined the army driven by a strong personal sense of honor instead of a desire for social prestige. His first destination was a Butai (regiment) assigned to Svalarheima. This is where his legend would begin. He formed part of a garrison of an advanced post that suffered an intense PanOceanian attack. Enemy troops outnumbered their defenders by four to one. The defense became unsustainable. When reinforcements arrived only two people were alive at the post: the garrison's medical officer and Oyama who, although seriously wounded, continued to defend the position. Once Oyama completed his recovery period, he was transferred to Paradiso and given the rank of NCO. During a long-range patrol mission his unit ran into an advanced Shasvastii infiltration group. After fierce close quarters combat the only one left standing was an exhausted, wounded Oyama who was able to return and report the incident. The StateEmpire Army reinforced the area and avoided a Shasvastii infiltration behind human lines. Oyama, who had already been nicknamed ""Neko,"" would also serve in the Ariadna Commercial Conflicts where he would honor his nickname by surviving the impossible, a feat he repeated several times during the Uprising. Takeshi ""Neko"" Oyama knows the ultimate path of the samurai is death. He knows that danger may knock on his door anytime and fearlessly awaits his inevitable fall that gradually approaches him. Oyama does not fear death; he perfectly understands that the path of the warrior requires life as its price."