Merida Island Base

Sousuke Sagara was one of only two survivors of a downed Boeing 747, Flight MUS-113 of Musashi Airlines, that had crashed landed in the Arctic. The flight path was from Tokyo to Anchorage to London. The exact reason why it crashed is unknown, but there was a fire detected in engine number three that lead to the shutdown of both right-wing engines. The horizontal stabilizer then jammed, and the pilot, Horita, struggled to make an emergency landing on the ice. A hunter-killer class submarine, the K-244, was in the area and overheard the last emergency transmissions then went to check it out.

Among the crew in the search party was Andrei Kalinin, a young officer at the time, and the only person on the ship who was fluent in Japanese. While trying to recover the two survivors - a young boy of 4 or 5 years and his mother - the ice below the plane began to give way, and only the boy managed to be taken to safety. Sousuke’s mother fell to her death, her last words being for him to ‘live, fight’ before sinking under the icy water.

Sousuke was treated for frostbite and hypothermia while on board the sub, the only indication of his name being the sloppy and childish hiragana written on the inside of his pants, which read ‘Sagara Sousuke.’ Sousuke’s only surviving possession aside from his clothes, was an old Bonta-kun doll, which when asked about it, he replied that it was his and he would protect him. Sousuke remained with the crew through the remainder or their patrol, and was handed over to the KGB upon their return, the understanding being that a search for any living relatives would be conducted, and should none be located, he would be placed within one of the state-run orphanages.

Because the crash was never recognized by the Soviet Union, Sousuke was never reported, nor was the search of the crash site, and he was taken into the KGB program нож, read as Nozh which translates as Knife. The program specialized in training children to be soldiers and assassins. It is unknown how many missions he was given once he graduated from the program, but when he was roughly 8 years old, he was deemed satisfactory enough to be sent on a job in Afghanistan to eliminate the leader of opposing guerrilla forces. Sousuke failed at his mission, but was given the choice to either join them or die, resulting in his decision to change sides, and fight alongside the Afghan guerrillas.

The guerrilla leader Majid, also known under the title of Badakhshan’s Tiger, took Sousuke in, unofficially adopting him and giving Sousuke the new name Kashim. It was within the guerilla forces that Sousuke received further training, being taught guerrilla tactics from an old man named Yaqub.

When he was roughly 10 years of age, Sousuke was separated from the Mujahideen and took control of an RK-91 Savage. He learned to pilot it on the run, quickly increasing in skill during skirmishes against small Russian forces. Because of the threat he posed, Kalinin led a team to kill him, and when his Arm Slave was disabled and he fought outside of it, Kalinin caught sight of him and ordered his capture instead.

Sousuke did not remember Kalinin, and was often confused by how gently he was treated, and how Kalinin spoke often of his home in Leningrad, as well as his pregnant wife. Kalinin offered to adopt Sousuke more than once, but each time he refused, as Sousuke believed his only purpose was to fight until he was eventually killed.

There was a raid on the compound where Sousuke was held captive, the Mujahideen wishing to recover Arm Slaves to use in the war. During the raid, Kalinin released Sousuke and assisted the Mujahideen in their escape. About two years later, just after the annihilation of the Mujahideen, Sousuke and Kalinin wandered through the Middle East and South Asian countries for another two years as independent mercenaries, until they were separated during a battle in Cambodia, each assuming the other had been killed in action. Sousuke traveled from one battle to the next within the Middle East and South Asian countries, participating in the various skirmishes and honing his abilities. During this time, Sousuke took part in a few battles in Lebanon, unknowingly fighting against his future comrade in Mithril, Kurz Weber.

At the approximate age of 15 or 16, Sousuke was scouted for joining Mithril, agreeing to attend the training fields and hiding his potential until he was sure they were not like those he often fought against. His true abilities were uncovered during an impromptu mission, resulting in his formal offer to join the organization, and given the rank of Sergeant as well as a place on the Special Response Team as Uruz 7. Sousuke was reunited with Kalinin within Mithril as he was put under the man's command. Sousuke was part of Mithril for roughly a year before being given the mission to guard Kaname Chidori from possible abduction.

Because of his frequent travels and primarily nomadic life prior to Mithril, Sousuke claims no nationality, but his ethnicity is Japanese. This is cited many times within the novels, anime, and manga, both in his design and written description. Sousuke is fluent and literate in Russian, English, and Japanese, and is able to speak Persian, as well as many other Middle Eastern dialects. It is also believed, and hinted at that because of his travels, Sousuke has a basic knowledge of Spanish, French, and a few other South Asian languages, though as seen in ‘Ending Day by Day’ and the corresponding anime and manga, Chinese is not one of them. Since his real date of birth is unknown, it was written as July 7, 1981, possibly corresponding to his call sign Uruz 7, and making it easier to remember.