Nodoka Nakano

Character Name: Nodoka Nakano

Nickname(s): N/A

Race: Asian (Japanese)

Sex: Female

Age: 18

Birthplace: Vault 107



Height: 5’3

Weight: 52 kg

Eye Color: Dark Blue

Hair Color: Black

Hair Style: Long black hair. Goes over her shoulders and drops down her back, reaching her hips, her hair in front only reaching below her chest.

Facial Hair: N/A

Skin Color: Pale asian skin tone (Sorry, can’t really find a way to explain it properly).

Build: Slender, somewhat weak however strong enough to use a sword effectively.

Distinguishing Features: Bokken, sometimes seen with an acoustic guitar.



Profession: Singer at The Tops, sometimes plays guitar there as well if requested.

Skills: Hand-to-hand, Basic Craftsmanship, to the point of being able to maintain her Bokken (Not very hard to do) and repair the wooden parts of her guitar.


Training: Knows how to maintain her Bokken, and use it to incapacitate targets. She learnt this from several people in her Vault. If she were to be given the right materials, she would be able to make a Bokken, however proper wood is almost impossible to find in the wasteland.

Other Abilities: Musically gifted. She can play the acoustic guitar, sing extremely well, and gets the hang of instruments much more easily than most people. She has somewhat of a stage fright however, and can only perform in front of small crowds.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L Stats:
Strength: 4
Perception: 5
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 10
Luck: 3


Apparel: Usually wears a black formal dress to match her hair, although will sometimes change colour or wear

Weaponry: Daitō Bokken (Sort of a wooden katana), uses a traditional Bokken scabbard for it. (Looks like this)

Other Equipment: A couple of stimpacks, food and water, etc. Also owns a small bit of wood, enough to maintain her Bokken for at least a couple of years if it was used often. Sometimes collects bits of exceptionally strong scrap metal, should she ever need to fix her Bokken with it. She keeps all of this in her suite, except for a stimpack or two that she tucks away just in-case.



Affiliation: The Tops Casino

Religious Belief: Athiest

Sexual Preference: Bi-Sexual

Relationship Status: Single

Personality: Extremely shy, however exceptionally smart. Although she can’t stand the sight of blood, sometimes to the point of puking or fleeing the area, she will defend herself to the point of incapacitation.



Nodoka was born in Vault 107, to a traditional Japanese family. The Vault itself was placed in Southern Nevada, just outside of the Mojave. The purpose of the Vault was to be somewhat of a repeat of the Japanese-American interment situation in WW2. The town it was built outside of was largely Japanese-American, with several traditional Japanese families also living there. This resulted in 80% of the population being Japanese, while the rest were American. This was obviously intentional, as they wanted to test how a repressed majority would react against an oppressing minority, and the Japanese had already been in a situation similar to that.

The Vault was supplied with some unique features. There were more instruments than usual, however this was just a stock miscalculation on Vault-Tec's part. Trees were planted for the Japanese, and they were encouraged to be completely traditional. The Japanese did end up becoming traditional, although they weren't allowed much wood, only enough to make some essential items.

The Japanese were put in generally worse parts of the Vault, being fitted with older beds, served less food, etc. Entrances to their rooms were guarded day and night, not to mention locked, so they They had no real rights in the Vault, and were tasked with various tasks and chores they had to complete, unless they didn't want to eat that night. The Americans of the Vault weren't okay with any of it, however were also severely punished and even tortured for acting against the overseer. They acted as guards, equipped with non-lethal weapons to keep the population stable. They would sometimes show mercy to the Japanese, still feeding them if they couldn't complete a task or giving them more food than they were ordered too.

Eventually, a small amount of the guards and the Japanese had reached a breaking point. The guards couldn't live with themselves being forced to do what they did, and the Japanese were sick of being treated like dirt. The guards raided the armoury, having access to it without needing to break in and grabbed enough weapons to supply most of the Japanese. They were intercepted by guards loyal to the oversee, however two of the small amount did make it through to the Japanese. The guards broke the Japanese free and supplied them with as many weapons as possible, which ended up being good enough. Although the guards whom had rebelled were all killed in the conflict, the Japanese largely outnumbered the Americans, and soon overthrew the overseer.

After a rather large amount of time, in the year 2265, Nodoka was born. The residents had dwindled greatly, however they hadn’t changed much. The Americans had all been killed in the conflict, leaving only the Japanese. They were still largely traditional, and had managed to keep the trees alive. They had since opened the Vault, allowing people to come and leave as they pleased, provided that they were secretive about the Vault’s location. The opening of the Vault door every few months also helped with airflow. This was how they got most of their food. Nodoka grew up being taught the Japanese traditions and culture, as best as it could be explained 200 years later. She learnt how to properly use Japanese honorifics, however at this point only the eldest of the community could speak Japanese fluently, Nodoka barely even having an accent. She read many books when she was young, her parents teaching her how to read, allowing her to learn of some of the outside world, or at least what it use to be.

When Nodoka turned 10, she was given her own Bokken, and taught how to use it properly. It took her another two years to actually become proficient with it, however. Although most of the residents picked it up much faster than Nodoka, she was too embarrassed and shy to use it at first. Rather than training with it, most of the time she turned to singing in her room and learning how to play one of the surviving acoustic guitars. Being the only resident whom had any musical talent, she would sometimes play in-front of the others when there was nothing to do, although it took her great courage to even play to a couple of the residents at one time.

By the time she was 15, she could manage to play in-front of the entire Vault at once, although there were only 20-30 other residents there at any given time. Nodoka had also learnt how to use her Bokken as well as she ever would be able too, unless she came out of her introverted shell, so to speak. Although it wasn’t smart to train with a weapon such as that, as it had the ability to both break bones and even kill an individual, the Vault didn’t have any of the proper training equipment such as Shintai, flexible bamboo swords unable to truly harm anyone.

Once she reached the age of 17, a wanderlust brewed within her, although she was ridiculously afraid of leaving the safety of the Vault. Although it took her almost a month, she eventually did work up the courage to leave, taking her acoustic guitar and Bokken with her, along with her Vault clothing. She planned to replace it if possible, as it certainly made her stick out, and she didn’t want to be the centre of a crowd any time soon. As per standard for those who wished to leave the Vault, other from scavenging, her Pip-boy was removed so it could be reused in the future. She took a small amount of wood, taping it to her guitar for lack of a better place. She strapped the guitar to her back, as having to carry it would be quite troublesome.

Her first encounter with a human outside of the Vault went as horribly as it could. She had entered the Mojave, passing an old petrol station that was clearly falling apart. Upon taking a closer look out of curiosity, she was jumped by a low-life thug, his eyes clearly displaying a twisted desire. He rushed her, slashing at her with a knife. Out of instinct, Nodoka managed to dodge it, however her clothes were ripped, exposing her breasts. This gave the thug another idea. He tried to force her down and have his way with her, managing to rip her pants off, Nodoka too frightened to move. Once he reached for her panties, she finally reacted, drawing her Bokken and giving him a quick jab to the head. He rolled off of her in a mixture of shock and pain, grabbing at his now bleeding scalp and rolling back and forth. Nodoka stumbled backwards, rising to her feet and bringing the Bokken down on the thug several more times. She kept hitting, and hitting, and hitting the bastard before he finally stopped breathing. She continued for several minutes before realising what she had done, and what had just happened. For hours, she simply stood over the body, weeping and trying to compose herself.

Once night had fell, at least 3 hours later, she managed to stumble away from the area, only in her underwear, shivering due to the lack of clothing. Out of pure luck, she passed a roaming caravan. She approached them and instantly broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing, her Bokken falling to her side. She pleaded that they help her, the merchant of the caravan attempting to comfort her. They made a campsite for the night, being quite late anyway, giving her a blanket to cover herself with. She could barely tell them what happened, stuttering whenever she tried to speak for several minutes until she blurted it out. They let her sleep there for the night, being generous enough to spare a couple of ragged clothes for her.

The caravan agreed to let her travel with them to the Strip, after she enquired about a safe location. Although the merchant was worried about giving her enough food and water to actually survive the trip, one of the caravan guards was compassionate enough to give Nodoka half of hers whenever they stopped to eat. Nodoka vowed to never end anothers life again, still being plagued with extreme guilt regardless of the circumstances. She learnt some basic things about the Mojave while they travelled, such as the currency, caps, and a basic knowledge of the several powers such as the NCR and Mr. House. She made several songs up on the way to the Strip, although it wasn't a long trip they did have to take the long way to get more loot for the caravan and such. They eventually arrived at the Strip, although they obviously weren’t willing to buy her a passport. They came with her to talk to Mick, to see about getting a fake passport. The merchant knew Mick somewhat well, convincing him to lower the price to 250 caps rather than 500. She thanked the entire caravan greatly for what they had done for her. They gave her a few directions to where she may be able to earn some money, such as working at the Atomic Wrangler.

She was lucky enough to not be attacked or mugged while she walked through the streets of Freeside, quickly reaching the Old Mormon Fort. She inquired as to what they do there, and upon learning hesitantly offered to aid in anyway possible if they could pay her at all. They couldn’t promise everything, but agreed to the offer. She quickly learnt the sight of blood made her completely sick, even forcing her to sprint out of the fort at times. She apologised profusely that she couldn’t do anything. The King happened to be checking on the fort when she was apologizing, and seeing the guitar strapped to her back, made her an offer. After some questioning, they came to an agreement. Nodoka was to perform for The King and his men, for 100 caps, to go towards her passport. Although her guitar had been somewhat damaged throughout her travels, she had managed to repair it with some of the wood she had carried from the Vault for her Bokken. The damage was, luckily, only on the base of the guitar, the wood matching up with the colour well enough to not be noticeable without close inspection.

Nodoka managed to do it without much trouble, the room conveniently only holding around 20 people. She didn’t know many songs, the Vault not having much to listen to. Although she did have the songs she made, she had no lyrics for them, and The King expected more. She did know one song, however, a slow love song by Dean Martin that she found in digging around the Vault for long enough. She had learnt how to play it on guitar, and memorised the words. She performed it for the small crowd, and although it was short they were amazed by her talent. She thanked him greatly, asking if there was anything else to do for some more money. The King suggested she performed at The Atmomic Wrangler as well, mentioning they did have a stage there, although the club would probably be packed. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it, but she thanked him for the information.

She entered the Atomic Wrangler, inquiring at the bar if they were offering any jobs. They had a position open for a 'working girl', and someone to work the bar, as the Garret twins were getting sick of running it themselves 24/7. She accepted the second offer, not wanting to even think about the first. She worked there for about a week, having to rent a room at the Wrangler for 10 caps a night. This slowed her income, but she was still making a profit, and it was certainly better than the streets. At the end of the week, James Garret inquired about the guitar. She explained that she could play, but had a stage fright and couldn't do much. He offered that she play for another 100 caps, adding to her current amount of 200 after working there, enough to get into the strip and have a little bit left over to find her way. He assured her that there wouldn't be many people there, and not knowing better she accepted. Once the time rolled around to perform, there were actually more people than usual, James having advertised it. Nodoka managed to get through the song properly, being the same one that she had sung The King, but immediately after she sprinted out of the building, hyperventilating next to the door for a few minutes before composing herself. James walked out of the building and handed her the caps, which she accepted and left without a word. She bought her fake passport, being enough to fool the securitrons. 

Upon entering the strip, she earned a large amount of stares from on-lookers. Her guitar, Bokken, and ragged clothing didn’t make for a good way to blend in. She found her way to The Tops casino, after hearing that various people performed music and other acts there. She purchased a black formal dress before arriving, with part of the extra money she had received. She was forced to hand over her Bokken, but did so without a fight or argument. She inquired as to where the stage was, quickly finding it. A man was performing a song she had heard on the radio once or twice, while passing certain areas of the Strip. She was amazed by his talent, and quickly approached the front desk once again.

She asked if she could perform at The Tops, and upon seeing the guitar strapped to her back, the man told her to see Tommy Torini. She was directed to him, immediately being intimidated by his eye-patch. Tommy asked her to perform what she could, Nodoka agreeing and squeamishly readying her guitar. She played one of the songs she had made herself, and although she had no full lyrics she did have them for about half of the song. She played it much more slowly than usual, deliberately playing it slower to add a few lyrics as she went. Tommy was impressed enough to give her a chance, asking how many songs she could play. Nodoka told him she knew quite a few, however lyrics were a work in progress for the most part. He asked her to play the guitar for a few of them, convincing him enough that she'd make up some words in time.  Nodoka explained her stage fright, but was reassured upon Tommy explaining that the room couldn't hold more than 30 people at one time, roughly.

Her first performance was about two days later, giving a room for free for that duration so she would be able to write lyrics for her songs. She got around three songs covered, enough to perform a couple of times before having to write more. She did much better than with the Atomic Wrangler, pulling off the slow love song once again, and a couple of originals.

Upon being introduced to the other performers, she noticed that a strange man, “The Lonesome Drifter”, also played the guitar. They slowly become friends, Nodoka still extremely shy. He taught Nodoka several songs, mainly covers of radio songs he never really liked to play when performing. She learnt the lyrics to them, performing every night at varied times. Although she had been renting a room at The Tops with most of the money she earned, after a couple of months of working there she was offered her own room to stay at, free of charge. She performed at The Tops for several months, eventually reaching her birthday and becoming 18.

Nodoka currently resides at The Tops, playing songs every night, practicing or attempting to socialise on her off time. She still sometimes trains with her Bokken, although she couldn’t do much more than slash at the air without a sparring partner. Whenever out of The Tops, she carries her Bokken around for protection. She has dropped several of the traditions she learnt, however she does still use her honorifics if she respects the person and doesn’t know them well, or if she’s just trying to be polite, etc. She has since created more songs and finished lyrics for all of them, finding she had a knack for it.