Yoshiro Nishikawa was born on 30th September 1968, in Tokyo, the only child of Toshikazu and Kako Nishikawa, and was named after his fathers paternal grandfather.
Yoshiro's father was the sole owner of Nishikawa Armaments, and the business seemed to take up his entire life. He demanded absolutely the traditional respect from his wife and son, but beyond that seemed to care little for them... Although Toshikazu grudgingly accepted the emancipation of women in Japanese society, a business necessity, he absolutely refused to have any dealings with anyone or anything Minervan.
Kako, however, was a loving and devoted mother, whose intelligence and caring more than made up for his fathers cold formality and long absences. Thus Yoshiro grew up a happy child; he was very bright and observant and did well in school, becoming a particularly fine amateur gymnast.
At the age of sixteen Yoshiro managed to win an athletic scholarship to Tokyo university (where he would have studied English) when his world was shattered by the death of his mother, murdered by someone the police assumed must have been a deranged gunman since they could discern no possible motive. The gunman was found precisely one week later, lying in front of Tokyo's main police station, dead but apparently unharmed. It was only when the body was moved that it became clear that his head had been severed from his body with a highly precise stroke from some razor sharp weapon.
Yoshiro dropped out of school and, after the funeral, joined the police force. He threw himself wholeheartedly into his new career, passing rapidly through training and ono the streets, becoming an expert shot in the process.
After being 'chaperoned' by a more experienced officer for a few months Yoshiro and another new officer, Akiro Kimata, were partnered together. The two young men soon became fast friends and both were made detectives at the same time, when Yoshiro was nineteen.
Yoshiro also kept in touch with some of his friends who had gone on to university, and it was there that he met an American student named Carol Chance. They hit it off at once, and soon became lovers.
A year or so later Yoshiro and Akiro responded to a call for assistance from some uniformed officers who had responded to a bank raid. They were the first backup on the scene and were hurrying towards the bank when a burst of automatic gunfire from the door cut down Akiro, killing him instantly. Then someone ran out of the door onto the street and started rapidly turning towards him, apparently trying to bring something up to chest height as he did so.
Yoshiro reacted on instinct, still in shock, bringing his gun up and firing three times. He only stopped when the mans body hit the ground. Then he dragged Akiro behind their car and vainly tried to help him.
It later turned out that the man he had shot was one of the customers in the bank who had panicked and tried to run away. All he'd had in his hand was a large black wallet.
Though there was no question of any blame being attached to him for this incident, Yoshiro swore he'd never use a gun again and quit the force. He spent many long nights talking things over with Carol and the two of them grew ever closer, planning to marry when Carol finished her course.
In order to support himself Yoshiro started working for a private detective agency, and also did a certain amount of low-level heroing using a ninja suit to protect his identity. He soon came into contact with the Horsemen's organisation and foiled a few of their schemes. Most notably he 'liberated' a mysterious ninjato from one of their bases, thus incurring their wrath, and started trying to determine its powers.
Yoshiro's last job for the detective agency was to investigate how Japanese armaments were finding their way into the hands of some of the worlds nastier terrorist organisations. The trail led, after a few unorthodox investigative measures (read break-in's), to Nishikawa Armaments. The surgically precise demise of some of Nishikawa's underworld rivals indicated that the Ninja was involved also. Further investigation began to suggest that Toshikazu Nishikawa and the Ninja were one and the same.
Some of the profits of being a major assassin had however been 'invested' in certain members of the Japanese law enforcement services. As soon as Yoshiro turned the results of his investigations over to his bosses and the police Toshikazu Nishikawa, along with most of the corporate assets of Nishikawa Armaments, vanished without a trace.
Checking out the family home, to which he had not returned for four years, Yoshiro found a concealed room that his father had obviously used for his alter ego. The room was empty apart from one ninja nightsuit hanging in a cupboard where there was obviously room for many more. Yoshiro took the suit and used it as the Eagle.
Yoshiro and Carol married hastily a few days later, then hurriedly left Japan. First they went to Carol's family in Minneapolis, then they moved down to New York where, as Joshua Chance, Yoshiro set up Chance Investigations and started a new life...
Unfortunately the Ninja eventually tracked him down, and after giving his son an 'honourable' chance to kill himself, killed him by beheadment.
The Eagle and his wife in Champions terms.