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Username: Asbloodrunscold yum_cupcake
Name: Kiku Oshiro
Age: 23 [Is actually 1000+]
Gender: Female
Eye Color:
Eyes are gem purple. (Yellow in Pure Form)
Hair Color:
Hair is Purple w/ Black Stripes - Fur is white w/ black stripes.
Hair Length:
Wild Style Mid-Length
Height:
8'10"
Weight:
415 Lbs (Very big tiger)
Scars/Tattoos:
Kiku has a mythical in'yō (Ying & Yang) symbol on her back that seems to move, spinning in constant circles. However, this symbol can manifest anywhere on her body if she wills it.
It is not created through ink, but is created of Kiku's own Ki. It acts as a physical representation of her inner balance & health. It vanishes the worse her health is, and will slowly become either yin or yang the more one type of energy is represented in her system, with both displayed if she in balance.
She has a scar on her belly where she was once impaled by a branch in a fight.
Sexual Orientation:
Homosexual
Ethnicity:
Japanese
Weapon(s):
Purifying Beads: An long (4ft) string of blessed metal prayer beads created specifically for Kiku. They tend to be very strong, as she has used them as a whip in fights against dark creatures they have taken more punishment than normal metal is capable of. They tend to stay tightly wrapped around her wrist. They appear black thanks to tempering. They are meant to help Kiku in her purifying duties by responding extremely well to her abilities.
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Species:
Byakko
Abilities:
> True Form:
Kiku always has the option of assuming her true form, the Byakko, the celestial white tiger. This form doesn't actually alter her abilities, it is simply what she actually looks like when not in her human form. She still retains her speech & Ki capabilities, though her voice is often considered loud thanks to its acquired echo.
This form is actually rather large being near 11 feet tall in height and 18 feet in length. Despite her size she seems to weigh anything at all in this form most thanks to being made out of spiritual energy. She always seems to float in this form, never actually touching the ground and gives of a more ethereal glow.
The cloth and prayer beads always seem to manifest on her person as well in this form.
Being an animal (technically) she seems very much capable of communicating with other animals as well, even outside of this form.
This form is actually rather large being near 11 feet tall in height and 18 feet in length. Despite her size she seems to weigh anything at all in this form most thanks to being made out of spiritual energy. She always seems to float in this form, never actually touching the ground and gives of a more ethereal glow.
The cloth and prayer beads always seem to manifest on her person as well in this form.
Being an animal (technically) she seems very much capable of communicating with other animals as well, even outside of this form.
Limit(s):
No Real Change to abilities.
Less control of animal instincts.
Can actually be forced into human form if unbalanced.
> Shirajirashii Ki Manipulation (和)
Kiku is capable of manipulating Ki, both from within herself and from the environment. Kiku's peaceful nature and years of hard training have altered her Ki & the Ki she channels, allowing it to attain a special purity within her ki that separates it from normal energy. This Ki is mostly used by those who have achieved true mental, and spiritual harmony. However, because of this special property the use of ki is an even more taxing process as opposed to normal. While it is in regular use it seems to appear as some sort of supremely clear water, though Kiku can manipulate the appearance of the ki to her choosing.
Due to her desire never to kill she took the path of Kuchi. Peace. This pure ki is quite dangerous to those who have angered Kiku, though even more so to those of impure spirit often hurting them more than normal people, but even so it cannot be used to kill no matter what, and in worst case it simply purifies the impure.
While this particular type of Ki can be fairly dangerous to its use, to the target it is meant to be used in a non-lethal manner, while it may harm them in truth its use is in helping them achieve balance and to bring them closer to peace. Sometimes this is achieved though violence, but generally speaking it is not its primary purpose.
It is channeled through her physical body thus placing large amounts of strain on it, taxing every single muscle with greater use, and even when its not being actively manipulated it is active and so results in a greater hunger.
Downside(s):
- The complexity of her use determines how many times she can use this before needing a break.
[Novice Use 8 posts (2 post rest)]
[Intermediate Use 5 posts (3 post rest)]
[Advanced Use 4 posts (5 post rest)]
[Masterful Use 2 post (7 post rest)]
[Ascended Use 1 post (12 post rest)]
- The amount of strain it puts on her body can actually force it to s**t down. (If forced past rest more than once.)
- She must be fully fed in order to use masterful, and ascended.
- Using this ability makes her very tired due to it technically being life force.
- Her use of this energy is predicated on her being at peace, thus if she is not at peace then she cannot call upon her own ability.
This does not mean emotionless, but her mind & spirits must be in harmony at all times.
- Should one manage to imbalance her in the midst of use, the ki will actually turn on her and begin to damamge her from the inside out until she manages to calm down.
- Its always active nature continually makes her hungry and in danger of shutting down without sufficient energy.
> Blessed Metal Control:
Kiku is able to control metal that has been blessed and rendered pure. An extension of her Ki abilities, this allows her to take control over a special type of metal that is rarely (if ever) naturally occurring, typically created by higher beings like herself. This is mostly thanks to her race as being a being who represents metal as an element it falls within her sphere of influence. Her chi reacts to the presence of blessed metals, and takes a type of control over them that allows her to shape & take hold of this metal to manipulate it to her whims.
This metal typically helps with her abilities, but its rarity makes it more situational unless she blesses it herself. She trained this ability in her seclusion, but has shown great mastery and use of it already thanks to it being a natural birthright rather than something she's actually had to learn out of the blue.
Limitation(s):
- Cannot create metal, must have a source.
- Many of the same limitations as her Ki manipulation as they are tied.
> Celestial Path:
Kiku is capable of creating a personal pathway seemingly made out of stars and light. This path represents Kiku's own status as a celestial creature or deity (depending on belief) that allows her to walk the path from the very heavy themselves to Earth. Of course, it has more practical applications, but the meaning behind her ability to form this path is all the same regardless.
She is essentially capable of laying this path by knowing where it is she wishes to go. From her feet this path will begin to appear, cutting its way across the Earth to map out the route in which she will walk. She is capable of manipulating this path of traveling on it in any way she wishes, from a simple walkway, to even something more slippery for better speed. The path will even slightly change the environment (Ex. Creating a tunnel in a mountain or building) in order for it to be utilized properly. The path always charts the easier & shortest way, sometimes even going as far as to appear as though it were a teleportation spell of sorts thouh this is never really the case.
There are those who say that this celestial path can be utilized by those of pure heart but what this really just means is that you need Kiku's permission to walk it, or even touch it which she will only give if you are nice.
Limits:
- She must know where it is she wishes to go.
- She must be in balance or not even she herself can walk on this path.
> Embodiment: Hunger
An effect of Kiku suppressing her hunger when it reaches its height she will suddenly take a smaller form essentially moving backwards to her old self. This old self is essentially another personality. Her old self. Young Kiku, Young Kiku is more wild and innocent in this form resulting in a loss of many of the benefits she has gained over the years in place of a voracious and seemingly endless appetite. This does also effect her tiger form resulting in a smaller form as well.
Of course Kiku can actually force herself into this state by burning through her ki reserves rapidly.
> Embodiment: Hunger: Divine Breath
Young Kiku, however, has the curious ability to turn her very breath into a sort of living force. This breath leaves her mouth as a sort of golden and white mist that seemed to dance around her. This white mist will often obey her latent thoughts and seemingly take on different properties depending on her mood such as remaining misty in a neutral state, but becoming tangible when she wants something, and sharp when she's angry.
This breath remains active for a time [9 posts] before fading away. She can create multiple streams of this breath [8 at a time] though the more active the more the time it is active fades away [Cuts down by 1 for each extra]. It is not always in her control however, rather, rarely is.
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Personality:
Kiku is a bit of a free spirit.
While not exactly a rambunctious rebel, she is a bit hard to tame, often doing what she feels is best in a situation rather than what someone wants or thinks she should do. While in the past she was actually rather gentle and girly she has taken on more of a rough type of personality, more in tune with her wild and natural state. Kiku seems to embrace the more animal habits and tendencies no loner trying to fight them for the sake of fitting in. This has given her a rougher exterior, but also aided her in achieving a more natural harmony. While she won't go out of her way to cause trouble, she's clearly not inclined to listening to many rules and standards set that she feels are too restrictive.
She believes her lot in life is just to live it according to her own whims and nothing else. However the years she has evolved a greater ethic for work, always willing to finish something before lazing about and while she absolutely adores the opportunity to be lazy, she never shirks her duty. At most she approached it with almost an laissez-faire attitude. While she works hard with training, she tends to be found just laying about or playing as these are preferable to her. She is also a bit clumsy, being prone to making odd mistake though fixing them just as quickly....when she cares to do so.
Kiku is in fact fairly aggressive, but not unfriendly in any way. In fact, one might say that she is aggressively friendly and helpful often forgoing the bubbles people put around themselves to let them known that they can always trust her, and that even if they hate her she'll always love them. She can be rather personal, nosy, and well...there.
Kiku is a big believer in well...everyone, no matter who they are, are simply connected. That everyone is equal an apart of the same source so this makes it easier for her to simply go for connection. No one should be alone and without friend. There is no reason for anyone to be without guidance, without a lifeline. Kiku wants to be that lifeline for everyone. She wants to help everyone she meets, and so tries to be someone everyone can rely upon.
In truth, long bouts of anger are just not her style and instead she will take on more motherly disappointment to express her displeasure. Instead she will seek to teach, to enlighten, and to guide as opposed to just pushing people deeper into the depths. She's a bit rough about it, perhaps even too laid-back but even so she isn't the type to punish natural behavior.
She's direct, honest, natural, and caring. True to herself, and true to others she's a pillar anyone can lean on when they need, but cannot simply be held.
Now there are times when her mind seems to wander, or these is a small sadness about her. Times where she thinks back upon things and allows the sadness that builds up to wash over her. Where the weight of it all seems too much for her. She tries to beat this back, take all the aggression, misfortune, and hate she experiences in stride for if these forces were to win over her, then all is lost right? Sometimes its impossible to keep locked up inside, but she tries to never let it effect her actions. There are days were she will seem overly aggressive and needy, broken and beaten. She does he best to recover. To re-balance herself.
Despite this, She is generally at peace with herself and her situation. She's wise, and is willing to lend her aid to people who need it. She jumps into it no matter what it might be even when she's at her lowest points.
Kiku gives her all into anything she does however, no matter how enjoyable it might actually be. She prefers to relax, but Kiku isn't the type to play about when its comes time.
She also tends to be super empathetic as well and tunes into the emotions of others with ease and has an ease replicating them to herself. She can sometimes be super dramatic though this is more for fun and games than anything else, sometimes even acting cute to have a little fun. Though when her food is messed with all her emotions tend to be real in some capacity. (Take a rice-ball from her, she will do almost anything to get it back.)
Of course, this isn't to say she isn't incapable of aggression. She'll fight a person quickly if she sees this is the proper path. She might prefer peace, but sometimes peace is won through force.
Earning her true ire is a strong feat, but once its done she will come at you like the beast she is and will not stop until whatever wrong was done to her is corrected. So its unwise to go to the great lengths it takes to make her hate you. She can get angry, but its a fleeting feeling for her, earning her hate is difficult. She forgives, in hopes that those around her will forgive her too, but when push comes to shove she will show you a capacity for hate that is nearly endless and a fury that burns ceaselessly.
Some days she does act more like a wild animal than a human since she....is a tiger. She just takes human form for various reasons, but at heart she is a Byakko. Peace is her main goal, but she's a wild spirit, a natural thing.
Free, loyal, loving, caring, dutiful she lives up to the meaning of her name in most cases.
Chrysanthemum of the Big Castle
She's just living life her way until something forces her to change it.
Bio:
Its not easy being the daughter of a legacy. Its not any fun being the born daughter of two of them, and the only daughter at the time. Honor meant everything to people in her time. Kiku had to do everything to uphold that honor, to live up to the legacy of her parents. Honor was the absolute, and to represent two powerful legacies was a task that meant Kiku was not allowed to grow up. She had to be forged from the day she was born. That forging resulted in who she was today, but it wasn't an easy life.
Born the physical daughter of the Traveler of Ten Stars Kanade Kotohiki and soul-born heir of The Great Devouring Sage Kikuchiyo Oshiro.
Her mother was a proud woman, a studious priest to traveled the world on the back of a giant bird to attain divine knowledge having actually long attained the immortality she sought. It was said she was also an incredibly strong fighter, and while her own mother swears its a mere exaggeration, it is said she has defeated over ten-thousand men in her travels. While this may or may not be true, her mother was a beast of a woman.
Her father was a great sage, serving kings who ruled great. It was said that no creature could beat him. He commanded absolute authority from those around him and was often brave enough to stand toe to toe with the rampaging oni who terrorized towns. He trained many powerful fighters and warriors and when called to serve he did so greatly. He only appeared to those of absolute virtue, helping guide many great heroes to victory.
The two of them would meet by accident, and after a lot of drinks, smack-talk, and a bit of fighting...Kiku was made, and soon after that she was born.
As important as these two were, it meant their little daughter would have to be just as good, even if it meant training forever. From the moment she was born, Kiku was bombarded with stories of their exploits, and due to her rather fast growth she began her training in only the span of a few short months.
They did at first have a hard time keeping control over the rambunctious little cub, but they had little time to simply allow her to be a child. Kiku got hurt multiple times, each one serving a lesson. No matter how serious the situation was, they made sure to let her bear the pain, and heal her when it got to much and hope it stuck in her mind. Sometimes they purposely set her up to fail so she could learn that way. Training wasn't easy, she didn't have time to grow up...so she had to be pushed. While her father, being the man he was, surprisingly a bit more sympathetic not among of kindness spared her.
Her body had to be forged everyday, broken down and fixed. She would eventually learn to bear the pain of it all and keep going. She learned not to make certain mistakes.
Kiku was a bit sheltered growing up, being raised in a mountain monastery with other masters, celestial spirits, and warriors of great repute. Legends. She would even travel to China to another temple in order to train there so that she did not slouch on her duties. she was only allowed an hour of play each day, the rest of it was spent training and learning all that she could. Her curriculum included almost everything they could fit in from combat training, to studying, to tea brewing, to instrumentation, and everything. Often times her lessons would be supplemented with actual combat, where her life would be placed in danger so that the point would be driven home. No amount of her complaining would work, and any resistance she put up was put down with a fairly quick and brutal beating.
There were a few times where she was allowed into town, but this was to shop for new clothes as she grew out of them fast, or for food since they ate so much. Sometimes she went into town in order to learn from great artisans, or see nobility or simply understand the people she would one day be acting as guardian over. Even meeting other mythical creatures who she would grow to know as time went on. These days were short and often monitored.
Most of the tasks were training related, with her being allowed free reign to roam the forests or interact with the people on occasions her parents approved of.
She had a legacy to uphold, and this meant that she could not be a kid. She had no time, she had to grow up fast. No time to be a child, just time to be what her parents wanted her to be.
Growing up was rough, everyday was training, every night was studying. Sometimes the days would be studying, and the nights would be training. Sometimes day and night it was both. No matter what the weather she would always do as asked, she trained and studied. She only got rest when her body gave out or she had injured herself to the point of not being able to train, and even then it was only in the event they were out of medicine and healers were busy. Every hour a routine she had no love for, but she did it because she loved her parents and because trying to go against them was more painful than simply adhering to it. She was good at it however, learning so fast, growing up so fast. They adored her progress. She wasn't allowed to fail, she wasn't allowed to be slow, she had to be perfect. This meant breaking her body down so it built itself up. Breaking her down, so she could demonstrate her ability to stand and keep going.
She could take it right? Pain made great warriors, and Kiku would become a truly great warrior. Her parents believed she would.
There were times when her parents felt sorry for her however when their pride as warriors and leaders was eclipsed by the love a parent might feel for their child. These, however, typically came after she would spend hours crying because she could no longer bear the pain. They would normally allow an extra hour of playtime when she did this, and buy her any treat she wanted, in whatever quantity she wanted. She was allowed to play with other kids, or rather..speak to them.
Even the other masters would participate out of guilt for what they put her through as well.
Of course sometimes this led to trouble and Kiku's enormous size now is the result of eating an enchanted peach one of the Azure Dragons bought for her...as decoration. Kiku developed a bit of an eating habit in order to calm her own mind. After these days it was right back to training of course.
After doing it for so long she began to hate doing anything, even those days and times where her parents would allow her freedom. She began to grow lazy, and sleep during those days. Her attitude became one of disinterest and bordem. She even became aggressive to those who were once her friend. She hated life. She hated everything about it. Kiku even began to resent her parents at times, thinking they loved themselves far more than they loved her. She could no longer tell. She no longer wanted to do it. In retaliation her father took away what little time she had to herself and began to train her even harder. Her mother however, began to see something different. She began to see that they were doing something wrong. Her father would not have it, he was not as kind.
Her mother did her best to make it upon to Kiku, even sneaking her out of the temple in order to return her freedom, or lightening her training regiment.
Then came the turning point in her life. She was sent down with one of the other masters down to the village. They had gone down there to collect a number of paintings that she would then be required to hang within the monastery by herself. However, the master left her alone to speak with the painter who was having a complication completing most of the order. Kiku, smelling the scent of food would move away from the spot her master told her to be, going to explore the nearby forest instead of waiting in place. The forests were beautiful, but it was here where she would have a fateful encounter.
This resulted in her meeting up with someone, a young girl by the name of Aoi Ryuzen.
She was a simple village girl, the daughter of a sandal maker. She was in the midst of making a meal for her ailing father, having gone to the forest to gather a special herb. However, in the spot where she was to gather the herb she was attacked by kappa. Kiku ran to her rescue, easily fighting off the horrible creatures and saving her life in the process.
Aoi, in gratitude would invite Kiku to follow her to her home after hearing the might rumble of her stomach. She followed willingly and ate with her and her father. Kiku would even cure her father, the first time the pure nature of her Ki would become apparent as whatever ailed him faded away. She didn't want to go back, and so when she could she hid from the master and decided to stay with the simple family.
Kiku spent days talking to them, amazed by the stories, but also a little heartbroken by how they told her how they were mistreated because of their status. She was also envious of this free life of theirs.
Eventually however she had to return as her father had sent a hunter to find her. She was dragged back to the temple and harshly punished, forbidden from seeing them again but she decided that she would sneak away to help them out whenever she had the opportunity. Her mother agreed to this. She did this for a awhile, getting away with it successfully until she realized somewhat was happening. She was falling in love with the girl...and she knew her father would never accept that. Not only was the girl a mortal, but she was part of the undesirable class. Kiku knew that if he ever found out he would kill the girl, but Kiku did not want to leave her alone. Kiku told her this in an attempt to break off whatever was happening.
The girl however did love her as well, but she knew they could not be together due to what she was.
She knew that if Kiku got caught then the tiger would be punished, and perhaps killed for the great shame it would bring to them. The two had no idea what to do, and for a time simply decided to risk it. Aoi even got to meet Kiku's mother, and Kiku's mom took a liking to the girl so she helped their secret rendezvous. However, her father nearly caught on and so..they had to end it. Aoi decided that to make sure Kiku did not meet the fate she believed she would, she faked a romantic rendezvous with someone else...and Kiku fell for it. She would not return to the village, but her heart was broken. She was distracted, spiritless.
Her father noticed this, and in an attempt to correct it he forced her to undergo the Toragashira training order to help her focus. He knew this was dangerous for her since it took a man far older than the, at the time, 16 year old to attain it. However, he would find that it was almost impossible for the sorrow-filled Kiku to attain it.. Her father began to look for a way.
He decided that if she would not purposely put herself in this state, then he would just have to find a way to force her into it. He was approached by a mysterious nine-tailed kitsune. The kitsune was a being of darkness, but her silver tongue allowed her to persuade the old tiger that her methods would be the best for Kiku. The fox's methods were cruel as she tortured Kiku both physically and spiritually with dark magic. It was a few months before her mother would catch on to this and would banished the fox. The fox did not seem to be angry, and instead warned Kanade that there would come a day when she would return to take what was hers.
Her father understood this action, but he still needed Kiku to achieve the Toragashira state. To do this he sent her to another temple to train under another monk who was said to be able to use it, and learned it quite fast. However, the woman, upon seeing the state she was in felt sorry for Kiku and decided to teach it to her, not because her father asked, but because she wished to ease her mind. Kiku would receive a good break her for at least a year.
Her training was relaxed and the nun was much more kind to her. Kiku loved it there. Kiku would even tell the woman of her woes. The monk felt sorry for her and swore never to tell.
Of course, they did still train to attain that state her father wished for so as to avoid the wrath of failure. The monk, in an effort to allow Kiku to achieve it unconscious first began to use her own magic to trigger it. It would work and Kiku would enter the state in which they would train. She would do this at random points in order to make it more natural. Eventually, the monk would no longer be using her own magic, but rather find certain sounds which triggered it. The monk set about naturalizing these sounds, making them over and over until they would simply ring through Kiku, effect her chi would would trigger the unconscious state.
These training would continue, and eventually Kiku would at random points begin to fall into it though depending on Kiku's hunger it would effect whether she was ready to work.
They got what they wanted, and the monk sent Kiku back home, telling her to keep her heart pure.
Her father used Kiku's new found state and the tips the monk gave to force her into the unconscious mind and to work her whenever she was subordinate, but Kiku seemed much less bothered these days and worked hard. She made excellent progress in only a few months, and her father noted that her Ki began to take on a clear quality from all of it, but it had yet to reach the state her wanted.
However, during one of the training sessions Kiku would fall into the state and let it slip what had transpired between her and the village girl. A huge mistake. One that would change Kiku's life forever.
Her when he found out and conspired to end to kill the girl. Kiku was unsure, and still is to this day unsure if his anger was over the relationship, or how it had ended. His words were always so unclear to her. Kiku begged him not to hurt her, as even despite what she thought she wanted anything but harm to come to her. Her father did not listen and so locked Kiku away in a room. He traveled down from the mountain where he confronted the young girl, and unfortunately for him Kiku knew this. He planned to kill her. Kiku could do nothing to stop it locked away, but her mother freed her, saying they had to stop her father.
They both rode on her bird to intervene. Kiku and her mother would find the two, Aoi already bloodied with her father ready to kill her. She stepped in, knowing she could not defeat her father. They two would fight, with Kiku putting up the best fight she could to stop her father. Her father however was far too powerful, his ki was stronger, her was physically stronger, he was faster...and he fought to kill. Kiku did not. She did the best she could to fight against the man, but every passing moment she could tell that the gap between them was far too great. Even the hits she did land did nothing to her father whose fury grew by the second. She would not give up however, she decided to fight as hard as she could....even if it meant she would have to die in the end.
Kanade did not step in, knowing either Kiku would change her fathers mind naturally, or she would die doing so...she figured it was fates decision. She could only tend to Aoi's wounds as the girl watched the two tigers fight.
At some point during the fight, during the fight something would happen to Kiku. She would notice within her father a dark type of ki, a corrupted ki. She had never seen it before. She had never noticed it until that very moment. Her father was corrupted by his own malice, his own anger, his own power. Kiku knew that she not only had to save Aoi, but save her father. The dark power began to even leak out of the elder tiger as his moves became more ferocious and deadly. Kiku pushed herself to her very limit and began to fight her father. She began to focus on all of her training, to put it all into a form of unison, and clear her mind. She began to grow stronger.
Her ki began to change, and a strange purity and serenity overtook her. Her mother and Aoi were surprised at this, both in awe at how her power was growing. Finally Kiku had managed to put her father of the ropes, and instinctively using her ki began to purge the rotten Ki from her father. It was then that her mother realized what Kiku had finally managed to do. She had finally reached the state they had always wanted....but it would come at a great cost. Purging the corrupted ki from her father took all of Kiku's power.
It was only then that the nine-tailed kitsune from before would appear. Her father was of sane mind now, having been under her influence for the longest time. Realizing what he had done to his daughter all these years he focused all of his rage on the kitsune, but even his power was nothing compared to hers now and he was easily defeated. Kanade herself tried to stop the kitsune, but she was defeated as well by the woman's powers...and then she turned her attention to Kiku. Apparently the kitsune was out of revenge as well, for someone her father killed, and now she had a good opportunity.
Kiku could not fight back, and so it was easy for the kitsune to reach into her chest and violently pull out Kiku's soul. This caused Kiku to start to turn to stone. Using the last of her ability she turned into her tiger form and violently bit the kitsune in order to mark her and swore she would one day return to make her pay for what she was done...the first and only person to earn Kiku's hate.
Kiku died for the first time that day...
For ages Kiku would be like this, a lone statue in the forest. Her family and Aoi would attend to her every day, and so would the other villagers. People would often give her offerings for safe passage. Her father desperately searched for the kitsune that stole Kiku's soul, finding her a couple times and chasing her down, but always losing track of her. They began to lose hope that Kiku would ever return.
Around 1467 however Kiku would receive a temporary soul, granted to her by Inari itself. Kiku's parents had birthed her two sisters who heard of their sisters plight and begged the deity to render aid. Inari had agreed. Granting her a temporary spirit allowed Kiku to return, though she was a bit of a different person due to the soul. Her sisters, two powerful warriors swore that they would help Kiku find and kill the kitsune so she could get her soul back. In order to help with this Inari sent another kitsune to help them track her.
Japan was in the beginning stages of its Sengoku Period at the time, and there seemed to be some turmoil brewing. They would eventually track the kitsune somewhere near Kyoto where Hosokawa's Eastern Army and Yamana's Eastern Army were going head to hide. The girls entered the fray, and were easily mistaken for enemies, though strange and forced to fight their way through until they finally corned her. They would wage a great battle in the midst of an already great war causing a great deal of destruction in the meantime.
Eventually they would be victorious, the Yako made one last attempt to take her soul again, but Kiku through her own training was able to keep it, seizing the moment to strike back though Kiku would not kill the kitsune and instead purify her turning the malicious Yako into a regular, playful Tenko. Inari would allow her to keep it as retribution, however, as they tried to return Kiku's normal soul it would not work. The soul was impure and could not be returned. Something was not allowing it. Kiku did not have enough time left to try and figure it out. She began to turn to stone again. She transformed back into a tiger and entrusted the Tenko and her soul to her sisters.
She considers this her second death. Not even Inari was able to help, and no other god would...Kiku was frozen in time once again.
Eventually, after so long Kiku's family (with the help of Inari, The Monk, Bishamonten, and the other zodiac spirits) would cleanse Kiku's soul of the strong taint and return it to her, awakening her in this modern era. She was vastly confused and lost because of this, but they did do their best to fill her in. Deciding that Kiku needed a normal life after the one she had just led they would teach her what English they could, and enroll her in an academy not far from Japan.
They taught her what they could of modern culture in an attempt to help her adjust, but within only a few months of their reunion she would be off to a new life.
She was sent to someplace called Lekahoe Academy. It was a magical place, though it took her some time to adjust. During her time there Kiku had a lot of fun, and even made a few friends as she came to get acclimated to the modern era.
There Kiku met two of her greatest friends, friends that would change her life for the better and for the worse. Friends whose names are lost to her now, but that she forever cherishes.
Meeting them in class was a stroke of luck to the starving girl. Though the situation was short, though it she came to feel connected to them. All it took were kind words and a simple action alleviating Kiku's simplest pain but from that the three would become linked. Through this link Kiku would come to know what love was again, and what it meant to be and have a friend but also come to know what loss was, what it meant to be alone, and just how fragile the connections one formed were.
Those were Halcyon days despite the signs that it might not last. That they were always destined to split apart. Kiku was younger then, fighting against the natural flow as she tried her best to fix it when things went wrong, whenever she got the chance. Kiku's loyal nature would never allow her to abandon those she cared for, but fate is never an easy thing to contend with. Kiku always fought against the natural tides in order to hold one to the things she loved most, but eventually this was going to cause her greater suffering. Whenever it broken, whatever sign there was, she refused to simply let the universe take away the one thing she had.
Of course, perhaps she was seeking the wrong thing, the wrong message.
Time went on, the universe enacted its grand plans. It didn't take Kiku very long before she had fallen in love with the girl she met. She was a kind soul, fun, reminding Kiku of the good she always tried to keep herself. She reminded Kiku of what it was like to be as peaceful as the waves, to travel with the flow of things. Kiku loved this about her, falling so deeply for her.
They were an odd pair but to Kiku this was all the better. The stars had finally given her something she had always wished for. Kiku, of course, had trouble confessing this love for a bit but once she had well...it was the greatest things to happen to her in a long time. It taught her never to be afraid of her own feelings, but to also live to live.
She was only one of a pair however as she also had her dearest friend and ally.
Her friend was a trouble soul, but he was a man who understood. Through him she had gained not only a sparring partner but someone would guide her through his own little ways as she sought to teach him, to help him. She appreciated his flaws as he appreciated hers and they learned. It wasn't always easy, but even so Kiku wasn't the type to simply give in and leave. No, thanks to him she learned what it was to care for even the negatives aspects and to greater love the positive ones.
Fond memories of those days still ring in her head even if many of the details are gone now. The tiger never allowed her friendship to falter, even when one friend nearly killed her she forgave. She forgave for she held nothing in her heart but love for them. But there were always signs that those days would not last forever. No, they were not meant to last. Kiku fought hard to make those days last, but the harder you fight the harder it becomes to let go.
Kiku was going to learn in times that when the paths diverged there was nothing she was going to be able to do to stop it. She was going to know the pain all over again, but even so in that pain she going to learn what light there was never faded.
As time went things just seemed to keep them separated and finally the countdown to the end of their path together.
Once she graduated Kiku was lucky enough to get the break she was looking for. Back home someone took interest in her music & wished to bring her on. Kiku wasn't sure about it at first, but she was convinced to go for it. For a time she was actually very successful, people loved her music and she had fun making it.
She enjoyed this for three years actually, but the countdown was reaching zero. All the things that kept Kiku in it, began to fall apart and for as much as she thought against it, she wasn't able to keep it all together.
Kiku was hoping to stop it, but all things change. All people go their own ways in the end, and no matter how hard she was going to fight it...there was nothing the tiger was able to do to stave off the thing she feared most. Things began to fall apart around her.
Kiku and what few friends she actually had were no longer talking. They were leaving her behind, becoming different people. These new lives and paths had no room for the tiger. One by one everyone said goodbye. One by one they were all set to forget her, forget their time. While she wasn't angry, there was no denying the pure heartbreak she felt from this. They even returned her bells. Items once meant to symbolize friendship were just useless trinkets that they had no use for. She was being left alone again.
Kiku thought she knew how things worked but it wasn't true at all. Perhaps this was all her fault. Kiku tried to change with the times but she was always so far behind when it came to so many things. Truly, she could not blame them for leaving her, but it never took the sting away.
Even her dear friend would leave her in the end.
Kiku & her girlfriend were falling apart as well, despite her best efforts, she was losing grip on her connections. People began to say that it wouldn't last, and it was proving to be true as much as she wishes it was different. People around her warned her that if she didn't let go, it was going to hurt her. She refused to listen, but in the end they were right.
They began to argue, drift apart, and soon enough it got to the point where it could not be saved. Kiku was heartbroken, but it was written in the stars that they simply had separate paths to walk, different worlds to live in. What Kiku thought would last forever went by in just a blink of an eye. Eventually Kiku had to say it, but she could never say goodbye, all she could say was
"Just say when."
When came soon enough and Kiku put on last concert, a private one for her love, saying goodbye and wishing her well...and that was the last time Kiku ever saw her. The last time she ever saw....any of them.
They were simply destined to fail.
After this Kiku lost her will to sing or preform. She lost her will to love and lost her will to remain in the new world her friends had gotten her used to. She retired her career and decided that if she was so made to be alone, then she would be alone. She returned to the monastery where she grew up. It was abandoned, dilapidated, and broken. Kiku took up her residence there again, spending her time fixing up the temple. After months of hard work it was shining again, a solitary home where she simply shut herself away. It was hard for the tiger to sit still however, for her not to recall the memories. Sweet memories made painful.
She immersed herself in training to block these out but no matter what she simply felt heartbroken and alone. She was like this for a year only leaving the confines of her lonely monastery to get supplies. She was effectively dead to the world and this was fine by her.
Time was passing her by again, but this time someone wasn't going to simply let it or rather, four people weren't simply going to let her wallow in self pity. Her masters returned once again to pull her out of her seclusion. Kiku was resistant to this idea thinking she had no place out there, that she would have preferred to have stayed dead. Of course, none of them believed her words, and really, she herself didn't but she was having trouble thinking of anything else.
They attacked her and she let it happen feeling as though it were truly right to die. However, it took moments before her body began to fight back,even against the wishes of her mind. She wasn't sure why she was even trying anymore, but her body simply would not stop. She fought back against her own masters until they stopped attacking her. They were smug about it as well as it seems they accomplished something. It took her a moment to realize it however, as they only did so to prove that her will to live was still there. She wasn't happy about this at all, but. they weren't lying. She hadn't truly given up, as much as Kiku wanted to it simply....wasn't her.
She had allowed this to break her, but that wasn't what it was meant to do. It was meant to show her that there was always more, that there were always new paths. She wasn't meant to give up, but to simply become stronger. She realized that while that saga of her life was over...there was more to go. She had all the time in the world, so it was time to use it and in this realization she felt...truth.
Her four masters called back what family she had and they all resolved to train her again until she picked herself back up.
Months upon months of harsh training, months upon months of getting her spirit back in order, sorting out her beliefs. Months upon months of fixing herself so that she might be a better person. Soon enough Kiku was back to herself, not the same, but she had a renewed spirit and an even stronger willpower. She was thankful to those she knew though there was one last thing she had to do. She contacted Memory Thieves and She had them take some of her memories. Faces, names, anything specific were all taken from her and put it in something.
A final vestige to those days, a flower crown. She kept the vague recollections, so she knew what it was to feel those again, so she knew what she had recovered from.
Never had she wished ill on those who left her, but rather she hoped that whoever they were now, wherever they were now...they were happy. Even if it was with each other rather than her, she wished them all the happiness she could never bring them. She kept the feeling, but well....she was on a new path.
She took up her duties with pride and was resolved to become even better.
With that Kiku set about reinvention of sorts. While her pure essence wasn't going away, she felt it was time to cast off some of the old nature she felt. Child Kiku was going away, but her good heart would not falter any longer. She had a new dream, though her will to preform was still a bit marred. She resolved to one day open her own Dojo, to uphold the family legacy. Saying goodbye to her masters and family one more she left, traveling about to find a nice place to open one up.
Ending up in Soleil was a happy accident.
Likes:
✔ Food; Its great.
✔ Tea; there are few things better than great tea.
✔ Food; Better than even the best brewed tea.
✔ Meditation; it keeps her centered.
Dislikes:
✗ Having her tail pulled on; seriously it hurts.
✗ Negative Spirits; They are hard to deal with .
✗ Bad Tea; Few things are worse than bad tea.
✗ Cars; She is still massively afraid of them.
Skills:
- Master of the Shaolinquan, and Jujutsu styles of martial arts.
- Adept with Shinobi no jutsu, Kendo, and Karate.
- She makes a fantastic pot of tea
- Great at cooking Japanese & Chinese dishes.
- Great at singing in Japanese.
- Great at playing traditional Japanese & Chinese instruments (And electric guitar)]
Body Type:
Athletic
Health:
She is in excellent health
Strengths:
- High Physicals due to training
- Strong Combatant
- Friendly
- Actually quite brilliant
- Physical Activity
- Calm in most situations
Weakness:
- Can be quite lazy
- Surprisingly clumsy
- Always hungry
What you look for in a partner:
♡ Female
She just wants someone who will accept her, other than that she could hardly care what they are like for she accepts all people for who they are regardless of faults and everything.
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Theme Song: Hikari
Extra:
- has a tendency to add "Wa-" before her words when particularly excitable (When speaking Japanese) or add "Wara Wara" to the start instead, a verbal kink she can't seem to get rid of.
- Pulling her tail causes her chi to go haywire in various ways.
- Kiku won't eat meat, while she has no problem with others eating it, she herself can't bring herself to do it. She doesn't need to since all she need is some type of food to keep her Chi up.
- She carries around her Bag of Endless Skies, though she has long since given B.E.S a body so it no longer talks. It carries inside it:
+ Food at any given point
+ The last pair of sandals her love ever made
+ Various scrolls she can read from
+ Various changes of clothes
+ "Kangenkumo no Unsanmushou.":
which is an instrument her mother once used to calm a raging clan of Tsuchigumo. It is an instrument that that is made in the shape of a spider.
It appears to be holding the various instruments Kiku is capable of playing in its arms, with the other arms holding the tools used to play some of them.
What makes it special is that while Kiku can remove and play the the wind instruments, the spider itself manifests brilliant red strings that mimic the stringed instruments, but fade away when she is not using them.
+ Several golden bells she will give to the seven important people in her life when she makes oaths with them.
+ Her custom guitar
+ Her Specially made Hyoutan which contains an endless supply of water from a certain....youthful spring.
+ Wallet
+ A ribbon her father made her, on it is the phrase "Ame futte ji katamaru" meant to remind to serve as a reminder to her that strength comes when things get hard.
+ A shook picture, several of the faces have been blanked out mysteriously.
Housing District: 1401 Doux Housing District
Occupation: Fiddle's Gym Personal Trainer
{Side Hobbies/jobs: Martial Arts Instructor, Bodyguard, Japanese Teacher, Pet Sitter, Exorcist, and Performer.}
