Name: Ukiko Hotaru

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Appearance:


Personality: Brash. Daring. Mischievous. Reckless. All these describe Ukiko and her tendency to seek out trouble before it finds her. Displaying fearlessness that borders on arrogance, she acts like every challenge is no problem for her, right down to taunting her enemies as she fights them. She likes hearing scary stories, and telling them. Urban legends, horror movies, haunted houses, you name it - if it gives her the chills, it's right up her alley.

Of course, it's said courage is not the absence of fear, and this is painfully true in Ukiko's case. Not that she'll admit it. Behind her bold mask, she's constantly plagued with terror - of not being strong enough, of failing to defeat her foes, of letting someone down. The attitude she puts on is for the sake of overcoming said fear.

Skills: Knows a lot about urban legends and stories of supernatural occurrences, as they can be hints at where to find shades. She's also good at bolstering people's mood with her bravado - when she's not annoying the crap out of them, in any case.

Brief Backstory: As a child, Ukiko was the opposite of who she is now - she was quiet and timid. She was only comfortable around her best friend Aika, who'd bring her out of her shell and encourage her to try new things. For years, they were as close as sisters, until everything changed one evening.

They were both 12, on their way back from school, and Aika got her to explore the woods. There were rumours about the place, none of them good, but Aika wanted to prove they were false. As they ventured further in, something moved in the distance. Leaves crunched, as if something was chasing them. Both girls turned and ran. Ukiko, in a state of utter panic, didn't look back until she was out of the forest. That was when she noticed her friend wasn't there. Desperate, she sought help.

Thankfully, Aika was found alive. It turned out a mysterious woman had discovered her injured and unconscious, and gotten her to a hospital. While she did make a full recovery, it was a slow one, physically and mentally. She had little memory of the incident, and deep gouges down her back that looked to be from an animal, but nobody could identify what kind. Worse, it was as if the creature had drained the liveliness out of her - she became withdrawn and depressed for months, verbally lashing out whenever Ukiko tried to help. For leaving her, for not even looking back. Something told Ukiko her friend's mental state wasn't solely a result of trauma.

Even after Aika recovered, both girls were torn up with regret over their actions, and drifted apart. A few years later, Ukiko's family moved to Tokyo anyway. Ukiko took this as an opportunity to start anew. She wouldn't be that helpless coward any more. Slowly, she started to face her fears. She researched urban legends, and the weaknesses of the beings they featured. She learned basic self defense. She started putting up a tough front. If anything like that happened again, she wouldn't let anyone else down. She'd do something, somehow.

That determination was what got her chosen as a magical girl. Once Ukiko had gotten over her bewilderment at a fairy appearing to her, offering her the power to fight shades, it all made sense. The attacker in the woods had been a shade, and a magical girl had saved Aika's life. Now Ukiko had the chance to be something other than useless, and make sure the incident wouldn't happen again. She took it right away. That was the day she cast off the last few traces of the scared girl she used to be, at least outwardly.

Magical Girl Appearance:


Concept: Ghosts

Archetype: Chochin-obake (ghost lantern)

Abilities: As is fitting for a spectral magical girl, Ukiko can float, and become invisible for a few seconds at a time. She can also become immaterial and phase through solid objects, although not through shade attacks since shades aren't exactly corporeal beings, or energy attacks if she were to get into a fight with another magical girl - using this ability several times in a short span of time is also a significant drain on her magic reserves.

Her offensive power takes the form of ghostly flames, similar to hitodama, which she shoots at enemies. These flames are blue-green, and cold instead of hot. A chochin-obake familiar accompanies her, able to breathe this same fire. Together, they can combine their attacks for a powerful finishing move.