Slums Kid
Goro Takemura was born in the slums of Chiba-11, a dangerous district in Japan that holds one of the highest murder rates. He was an only child, though not because his parents only had one child. His siblings had died from either malnutrition or disease.

While Goro has few good memories of Chiba-11, the ones he cherishes most are of his grandmother. She passed down many cultural stories to him, ranging from kitsunes to kappas. Even decades later, far removed from the dirty boy in the slums, he would remember them fondly. At the time, though, they were a small comfort in a harsh world. Like many kids in the slums, Goro dreamed of a way out. 

Aside from turning to violence, the only chance many of the kids had was to be picked by Arasaka. Their corporate transporters patrolled the area daily due to the high crime rate and would often stop to pick up children. They would be funneled into their army and become corporate soldiers. However, they only picked the cleanest looking kids, so often the children washed their clothes in the canal where the stench of chemicals was the strongest. 

When Goro was picked, he remembered feeling as if he had won the lottery.

Arasaka Soldier
Arasaka was no true substitute for loving parents, but they did provide regular meals, clothing, and discipline to the children they took. And, if a child proved themselves capable, they would also earn themselves an education. This setup made it efficient for Araska to keep producing loyal soldiers for their corporate army.

Like many Araska soldiers, Goro came to see things the way the corporation wanted: it was better, ideal even, for a corporation to rule over people, as opposed to corrupt governments or uneducated masses. To keep order effectively, corporations needed capital and resources. These ideals are drilled into all of their recruits.

Goro learned well from Arasaka, driven by a desire for stability in his life. More than that, they gave him values he could honor and live for. A purpose to his life.

He earned the highest grades in the academy and served in Arasaka’s special forces. This gave him the opportunity to become a bodyguard to the Arasaka family. 

Along with Goro, 99 others were chosen to be potential bodyguards and Saburo Arasaka looked into each of them to determine who would best suit his needs.

He chose Goro Takemura.

This was an honor above all to Goro and he knew he would give his life to repay this Saburo for it.

Soburo's Bodyguard
Serving the emperor is more than Goro ever dreams of but he is more than happy to take on the task. Vigilant and thorough, with a strong sense of loyalty to Saburo himself, the emperor could not have picked a better candidate.

When the emperor is killed, who better to use as a scapegoat than his bodyguard?