Basic InformationKnown Name: Route Troupe.
Official Name: Michisuji no Ichidan (道筋の一団).
Name Meaning: "Gang of Paths."
Ranks: 1-5.
Chosen Leader: Tōketsu Jikan A.K.A. Chronos.
Leader InformationName: Chronos (クロノス ) or Chrono (クロノ).
Name Meaning: "God of time" or "Time"
Gender: Male.
Rank: 1.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: ChronosMember InformationName: Kōgai (公害).
Name Meaning: "Pollution."
Gender: Male.
Rank: 2.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: KōgaiName: Mugo (惨).
Name Meaning: "Disaster."
Gender: Male.
Rank: 3.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: MugoName: Gōkei Kanpeki (合計 完璧).
Name Meaning: "Total Perfection."
Gender: Male.
Rank: 4.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: GōkeiName: Seishin (精神).
Name Meaning: "Spirit."
Gender: Male.
Rank: 5.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: SeishinName: Kichōna Kasai (貴重な 火災).
Name Meaning: "Precious Fire."
Gender: Male.
Rank: 6.
Status: Living, Current Member.
Character Link: KichonaPast MembersName: Bukimina (不気味な).
Gender: Female.
Name Meaning: "Spooky."
Previous Rank: 3.
Status: Deceased.
Description: Officially, the organization's name is "Michisuji no ichidan" which means "Gang of Paths" but they call themselves the "Route Troupe" because they've modeled their organization around the proverb, "See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil" which is often represented by three monkeys known as the "three mystic apes" and are a representative of the Buddhist tradition of not dwelling on evil thoughts, but they've twisted both the proverb and the image, instead using it to refer to a lack of moral responsibility on the part of people who refuse to acknowledge impropriety, looking the other way or feigning ignorance. Each monkey represents a different path or route, and each member has a tattoo of a monkey covering their eyes, ears or mouth with their number inside the tattoo.
There are two variations to this which will only make the total number of members as five.
Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru, symbolizes the principle of "do no evil". He may be shown crossing his arms or covering his genitals. In another variation, a fifth monkey, Tanoshimuzaru, is depicted with a sulking posture and the caption "have no fun."
It was also a joke among the Troupe that there was a sixth, unknown monkey whose name was Kokoromotsuzaru who is depicted with it's hands on it's knees and a hollow spot in the shape of a heart on his chest and the caption "have no heart."
Information on the Three Wise ApesTatoos: Mizaru, who sees no evil.
Kikazaru, who hears no evil.
Iwazaru, who speaks no evil.
Shizaru, who does no evil.
Tanoshimuzaru, who has no fun.
Kokoromotsuzaru, who has no heart.
Intentions: The Route Troupe originally started out as nothing more than a bunch of ragtag kids who grew up on the streets, but as they grew older, their ambitions grew more sinister. They're a group of criminals who are willing to work for hire and will stop at nothing to steal anything valuable.
HistoryHistory: Toketsu and Gokei grew up together on the streets, seeing as other children were taken in and adopted their own parents lost to them by thugs and gangs. The greatest injustice was what happened to them after. Dismissed, treated as 'trash' because they did not hail from wealth, they were tossed about from foster home to foster home. Often he and Gokei would speak of creating a group a system that would strike down the immorality of those who dared to preach themselves above others because of wealth. And more than that, those that turned their gazes away as if they were blind and could not see. They had been mere children at that time perhaps no more than eleven or twelve years old when the last foster home kicked the 'troublesome duo' out to the streets, and yet it could not keep Toketsu down. Instead, keeping Gokei at his side, they made the best of things and learned how to survive on the streets. What Gokei could not find or locate, Toketsu discovered he was quickly gaining the strength to acquire. And time was theirs to play with as if they had all the time in the world. By the time he was sixteen he had met up and found others as downtrodden as they were. Bukimina who was bullied and Seishin.
Bukimina was troublesome though always looking for a good fight, and yet he always turned a 'blind eye' to that problem knowing that for whatever reason it was what Bukimina needed. To symbolize their unity, they all got tattoos that he told them to get "because they fit their nature the best". Shortly after, a newcomer arrived and Toketsu took a liking to him. Kōgai, although at first didn't seem to take a liking to any of them, as if he expected them to outcast him. Toketsu gave him time to adjust and in doing so, Kogai did what Toketsu knew he would do. He fit in.
He doesn't need to worry when he sends Seishin out although he is a book worm whether that is with Gokei or more to the point Kogai, who will protect him. Shortly after Kogai's arrival though he told them of a secret Island he knew of, where the people there practiced a form of P.K. that would give them all the power to stop the unjust. They went to that Island with him all five and found these people, people that had, when they began to get angered and upset with deep emotion, glowing eyes. He gave the order to "Go wild" and collect the scriptures that Kogai mentioned and then....it was noticed that even in death the lights of the gemstone glowing eyes did not go out. He had that dealt with as well. Then they left having killed off every single one of the Kasai clan that he knew of, but upon returning and going over the four scriptures Kogai shook his head and said they had a problem. The scriptures were incomplete. Toketsu now has Gokei working on a special project trying to outsource any information at all on the last scripture. Without it, the secret skills can not be fully learned and mastered.
Three years later, Bukimina was killed, causing great grief in Seishin who he comforted in his grief. Kogai moved to attach himself to Gokei, giving his old friend a solid support when he needed it and it made him smile to see them grow even closer still. Often if he's looking for Kogai he knows he can find him with Gokei and at times Seishin. But it was Gokei and Kogai who brought back the one who killed Bukimina. Mugo seemed like such a wild child. An Ex-monk who didn't fit in anywhere, but Toketsu told him, "since he took Bukimina from this world, it is your place to step into now, Mugo." The family dynamic has changed but it still works.