Name: Yukiko Matsuoka, often shortened to Yuki or Yu, and rarely to Kiko.

Age: 25

Race: Kitsune



Personality: Yukiko always does her best to be a font of optimism and cheer. No matter the circumstances, she’s the first to smile and the last to frown. She has a reputation for being able to bounce back from pretty severe emotional trauma. However, this isn’t entirely true. While it’s true that she doesn’t seem to be overly affected, she’s actually sensitive bordering on fragile, with a deeply-buried pool of despair.. She simply doesn’t show it. She’s a master at bottling up her emotions, so how she seems to feel and how she actually feels often have no relation whatsoever. Beneath her facade of bouncy happiness, she’s ready to cry with the slightest provocation.

History: A member of an ancient tribe of kitsune, Yuki lived the first several years of her life in relative seclusion. Even then, she was remarkably happy, though without the undercurrent of fragility and hopelessness. She spent a great deal of time in the form of a fox, revelling in the freedom it gave her to observe human beings unseen. As she observed them, she found them intriguing, and it led to her manifesting in a human form more often. Her tribe was encouraging and appreciative of this; it had been quite a long time since any members had felt a strong kinship with humans. Eventually, Yuki found herself living with humans nearly all the time. In doing so, the inevitable eventually happened: at sixteen years of age, she fell in love.

She and Kureno Nakajima, a fisherman from a nearby village, spent nearly all of their time together. After five years, they arranged to be married. She was as happy as she’d ever been in her life. On her twenty-third birthday, she began to walk towards him through a crowd of well-wishers, eyes fixed on him and the rings in his hands.

Then came the Anjou’s lieutenant.

In a blistering hail of fire, everything Yuki had lived for for the past decade and a half vanished in a blink. Her village, destroyed. Her friends, dead. And her groom, her husband-to-be, was rendered to a pile of ash for spreading sedition about Anjou. She turned into her true form of a four-tailed great fox, commanding her foxfire to emerge and leaping in a blur of bloody light for the lieutenant. He cared little; the gap in power between them was simply too much. In a blink, he flickered behind her, moving too quickly for the eye to follow, and stole a bangle containing an iridescent white gem, her hoshi no tama, the source of her power, from around her tail.

She immediately lost control of a great deal of her powers, leaving her trapped in the form of a human. Her only connection to her true form were the ears and tails, hallmarks of her people. Her command of foxfire was ruined, leaving her with only the faint seduction magic that she had never used. There, lying on the ground, her ceremonial kimono destroyed and her breaths coming in heaving gasps, the lieutenant kicked her over, forcing her to stare into his face. With a smirk, he whispered his name into her ear. Then she passed out.

When she awoke, she was still alone. Pulling herself together, she narrowed her eyes to the Anjou’s mountaintop home. She would make him pay.

Skills:

Acrobatic - Yuki is very flexible and athletic, which makes her very well-suited to infiltration and other such things.

Diplomatic - Yuki is excellent at talking to common people. While she’s too bubbly and optimistic to be much use in genuinely talking to figures of high authority, she demonstrates a remarkable ability to empathize with the working class.

Actress - As a side effect of being so good at hiding her emotions, Yuki can also fake emotions with relative ease. As such, she can very easily get close to people, or get people to drop their guards.

Powers:

Illusion - Yuki can make herself appear as an ordinary human, without the ears and tails. This takes up a surprisingly large amount of energy, however, so if she enters a combat scenario or other high-stress moment, the illusion dissipates and her true form is revealed.

Seduction - When it is called for (though she prefers to not use it), Yuki can use a combination of normal means and subtle magic to VERY quickly seduce someone of the opposite sex.

True Form, and Foxfire (SEALED) - Yuki, before her ill-fated wedding, had the ability to become either a normal fox, or her true form, a fox as large as a wolf and with four tails. She also has the ability to control Foxfire, a purplish flame that burns with intense heat, but convects very little heat, if any. However, her ability to do any of these is completely destroyed, severed away from the rest of her..

Equipment: Yuki refuses to wear armor. Instead, she wears a heavy ceremonial kimono with the obi undone, shoulders pulled slightly down her upper arms. When the situation calls for it, she can either remove it entirely to reveal a tight-fitting black dress, or pull it over her shoulders and tie the sash to fit into high-society events. She carries a set of six throwing knives in a small, unobtrusive belt worn beneath the kimono, and a pair of long, straight knives are strapped horizontally on her back, also beneath the kimono. She takes great pains to hide her weapons as best she can, because it gives her an edge in negotiations if she isn’t seen to be armed. However, she can unsheath them in a blink and use them to terrifying effect.

Name: Pan Chao
Age: 40
Race: Human



Personality: Pan is quite simply a generally unpleasant individual. On the surface he is cantankerous and driven by the twin vices of greed and wrath. However these traits belies some inner virtues, as he is also guided by the virtues of familial piety and valor. In short while he is an ill-tempered covetous furious human being, he does value the importance of family and acting courageously, and tries to keep both his virtues and vices in check.

History: Many heroes hold tales of simple upbringings. Regardless on your view of Pan Chao as a hero or not, he held this simple upbringing. For Chao was born among the peasant farmers in a series of rice paddies which were on the far outskirts of the coastal city of Namchon. Early childhood life was monotonous and uneventful, as Chao learned how to properly harvest and care for rice. The most interesting events that happened in his childhood was when merchants would occasionally come from Namchon to get rice to sell, and talk about events that occurred in the city. The young boy found himself fascinated to hear the stories these wealthy men told and thus the seeds of wanderlust were placed in his brain.

However he did not act upon these desires until he was in his early teens. Chao knew in his heart that he could no longer accept the tedious life of a farmer. And thus in the dead of night he fled towards Namchon. The peasant boy was enamored with the plethora of options that were now available to him. And so Chao began to indulge in the ways of the City. Of course without any money to properly gain these services, he found himself in many brawls which he found himself on the losing end of. However during one of these brawls Pan Chao managed to amuse a sailor who directed him to his employer.

The next step of his life as he grew from a older teenager to a younger man was full of heavy lifting, countless expeditions across the sea, sometimes for fishing, sometimes to transport cargo, and countless roughhousing in bars and sometimes upon the ship. All the while Pan Chao grew bitter about how much he earned in comparison to the men who were directing these operations, and of course the criminal organizations that operated in his preferred bars. This is when Chao had yet another revelation; he had to become a criminal leader. And he was not going to be able to achieve this goal as a simple sailor.

When the ship he was serving on arrived back to Namchon after finishing its delivery, Pan Chao quit his life as a sailor and began to delve into the criminal world. Thus the Rainbowfin Anglers was born, as Chao gathered up some fellow disgruntled sailors city dredges who weren't officially aligned with any gangs. Pan took the money he had earned from sailing and invested it in a run-down bait-shop which served as the first front of operations, where he could start some simple rackets. Pan Chao was eager to establish his organization in the eyes of the underworld.

And this is where Anjou influences the story through his minion Yu Ru. Namchon was crime-ridden and this was not going to be tolerated much longer. Yu Ru was appointed as the new Namchon Administrator in order to bring across swift discipline to those who opposed the rule of Anjou. And to help him in this task he was sent alongside a crew of incorruptible guards. No one was going to stop the criminal expansion of the Rainbowfin Anglers, so Pan Chao swore to not only remove Yu Ru from Namchon but to dethrone Anjou for this insult. However dethroning Yu Ru would be difficult if caught. He alongside part of the Gang would be out of Namchon to avoid getting caught and to start gaining new resources, men, and to expand so Chao can dethrone Yu Ru and usurp Anjou for honor and gains for his criminal enterprise.

Skills:
- Vicious Wave Style: The Vicious Wave Style is a martial arts style that focuses primarily on close-up hand and arm techniques with occasional short leg kicks. Attacks based in this style are focused on quick and ruthless barrages.

- Criminal Leadership: While not quite a prestigious organization yet, Chao is the leader of the Rainbowfin Anglers and has their loyalty and service. Not to mention that as the commander of this organization he is knowledgeable and familiar about the practices and doctrines of the underworld.

- Seafarer: Chao is versed in sea-bound voyages. He knows his way around the structures of various ships, how to operate the structures such as sails, and how to navigate upon the sea.

- Agricultural Knowledge: People who grow up tending to the rice paddies tend to learn about how to cultivate and care for those crops. Pan is no exception when it comes to this and as such he knows about these things.

Powers:
N/a

Equipment:
Lamellar Vest and Leggings
Full coin satchel
Canteen

Age: 42 [Although he doesn’t seem to age beyond when he transformed into a yokai]

Race: Yokai - Bakeneko

Personality: Most people would already shiver at the sound of a Bakeneko entering their household. Now multiply that fear thricefold for Akira. The cat-turned-yokai is a very mischievous character, often playing pranks and casting illusions to throw humans off just so he can laugh. Tricking and scaring humans must be his favorite past time. However, while he does like doing all of those, he doesn’t cross the line and try to actually kill a human. That’s beyond him. So he tends to avoid old people, and even if he hangs around them, he wouldn’t even dare to scare them. Trick them, maybe, but they’re usually wise so they sometimes know if he’s fake or not. Sometimes. Rarely.

Although when he isn’t in mischievous mode, he’s actually pretty lax about almost everything. He would often be seen relaxing in some place. When he feels like it, he sometimes helps out humans. Transforming into their loved ones can be both terrifying and can be their closure; he does both. He is well-known around the yokai world thanks to his mischievous acts that sometimes victims yokai. But almost every yokai knows that even if he is a handful, he’s most of the time fun to be around. With all his stories and his jovial nature, he can approach anyone without any problems. He is passive about many things, not taking too many things to heart.

History: Akira, like all Bakenekos, started off as a normal cat. He was adopted by the Igarashi family when he was just a kid and was given the name ‘Akira’. He enjoyed his time there as he was well taken care of. However, his master’s husband had died from old age. The family continued on fine but Akira admits that he missed the guy. The next tragedy that befell the Igarashi family was when his master’s son died because of some sort of lover’s rivalry, the killer being part of the Ueda family. Akira was sad, but it wasn’t really much of a problem to him. Humans tend to die easily, just like him.

But the mother had spiralled into depression and kept talking to Akira, pouring all the sadness, hatred and other negative feelings on the cat. Akira had turned fourteen years old when his master committed suicide. He turned into a yokai, a Bakeneko, after licking his master’s blood. He began haunting the Ueda household, bringing misfortune and confusing them greatly. They had become a cursed household and they died out. This is also the time when Akira adopted his master’s son’s appearance as his default human form.

Finding no purpose in the world, Akira began travelling all over the country, bringing misfortune on the family that deserves it. He never had a master after the Igarashi family so he was a simply yokai stray, not that many would appreciate having such a cat-yokai in their home.

One time, however, someone had approached him. An agent of the nine-tailed fox named Anjou. Akira had heard about the guy, but couldn’t care less. He brought a message about wanting Akira to help with Anjou’s plan, inviting him into the group. Akira refused to join, mostly because he wants no master besides his human one. The guy didn’t respond too kindly to the rejection and fought with Akira.

He managed to hold out, but the guy was stronger than him. His necromancy power was taken from him, along with his dignity, and left. This angered Akira greatly. Having the power only to lose it didn’t sit well with him. But even so, this wasn't enough to anger Akira completely. Another year passed by and he went back to the Igarashi family grave. Then he found out that the grave has been desecrated and the obvious answer was Anjou or his minions. This snapped something in Akira.

And so he yearns revenge, to both take back his pride, his power and to take out his anger at them for ruining his family's grave. This happened years ago and that’s why he trained with weapons so he can hold his own against Anjou.

Skills: Akira rarely fights, mostly because he prefers running to fighting. However, when he does, he mostly uses his ghost fire to fight. Hurling it at the enemy is one way to do it, and also surrounding his enemy with fire to prevent escape. When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, he tends to jump around quickly and then attack and retreat as quickly as possible. Given his cat-like agility, speed and control of body, he makes an excellent hit and run person. His claws also hurt. A lot. Like a cat’s.

However, he has great accuracy. While hurling ghost fire at people is one way to use it, he learned how to use human weaponry. He mostly uses bows and arrows, and coats the tip of the arrow with his ghost fire. Then he will shoot the arrow towards the enemy, If it hits, the ghost fire spreads on the person. If it doesn’t hit, then it will spread around them. He likes this method very much but if he doesn’t have a bow, then he’ll just resort back to hurling fireballs. He knows how to use the sword and occasionally coats that with ghost fire when he fights. While it can’t spread to other weaponry (that are made of steel), if it reaches your clothing, then it can spread.

Powers: Bakenekos are famous for their ability to shapeshift into other cats or humans. This gives them the ability to take the place of another human. This is how Akira turns into a human, a half-cat half-human, and a cat. Although sometimes his human form differs when he is tricking someone, he has a default human form [The picture above without the cat ears and tail].

He can also summon ‘ghost fires’ or blue-red flames that can and will put things on fire when willed, but can disappear as quickly as it appeared. Touching his tail would result in a burning sensation, and when his tail brushes onto some flammable thing… well, let’s just say that it would burst into flames.

Note that these flames act like normal fire, and thus is easy to put out with fire. But it tends to spread quickly so you have to hurry.

He can eat poisonous food without a problem, loves it even.

[Sealed] After a particular encounter, his ability to raise the dead and use them as puppets was sealed. He can’t even use a bit of that power.

Equipment: