[CHAR] In Full Bloom

[DAWNSTAR]

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The Men and Women of In Full Bloom

Shimzau Hana
Moon-Hye
Aika Kagennotsuki
Yamada Kiyoku
Zhang Li Xun
Botan Ichihara
Ni Utsusemi

[McHaggis]

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[Shiinen]

Aika Kagennotsuki

Age: 20
Gender: F
Eye Color: An unusual case. Her left eye is a sea green, whilst she keeps an eyepatch over her right eye. The reasoning for this? Her right eye is a literal moonstone, and despite looking normal and having a pupil and iris that can move, she is completely blind in her right eye.
Hair Color: A grayish-black.
Physical Description: Aika's physique is a strange combination of femininity and warrior's code. Muscles that are firm yet smooth, a body tones for response -- fight or flight -- yet deceiving "small", to put it to her advantage. Standing at 5'7'', and with a weight of 138 lbs., her strength is outstanding and she's better on par to fight with a man than a woman's body should.

Personality:
[Responsibility]
The younger sister of the next in line of a daimyo -- this requires a need to be responsible for people. Corruption of any kind is unacceptable as a fact, for if anything should happen to her older brother, she would need to take responsibility until circumstances would smooth out things appropriately.
[Honor]
Anyone born of a daimyo's family is one that needs to have honor without restriction. Whether it be to defend the weaker, poorer citizens, or to take on a duel to the death for the sake of retaining the peace. Without a care to danger, or to consequence, it is in Aika's nature to be a chivalrous individual. This...can sometimes have her mistaken as a very effeminate man, since it's not the most common thing for a woman to go defending the peasants and those of more unsavory professions.
[Unaware]
What even if being taken care of by other people? Her brother rarely does that, and it's usually tough love. She's used to taking care of other people.
Biography:
A symbol to the Tongai by public means -- Aika is the younger child born of the third leading Tongai Daimyo. She was born with a grace of the Moon God, it is believed. Her right eye was a stone of Tsukiyomi himself, clear in color and glowing with the moon's light. While some thought her blessed, to stare into that eye caused the whispers of the full moon to overtake the mind and bring madness. While some thought her cursed, she could see through the eyes of the others -- glimpses of events yet to come, and sometimes she could help.

With eye hidden to protect the people whilst the desire to follow in the steps of her father, Aika tries hard to maintain the length of "The Wandering Caretaker".

History:
[REDACTED]
Place of Birth: The Tongai Shogunate

Weapon of Choice: A katana forged of a curious design. With dust of moonstone, shards of iron, and gentle sparks of glass to portray the true "starlit sky" of the night time. She has a habit of carrying crushed moonstone sand for general purposes.
Personal Affects:
Aika's Moonstone Eye is a blessing and a curse to be born with. To gaze upon her eye slowly induces madness in the viewer as time progresses on, from simple shivers of the spine and tensing of the body to full-blown hysterics if left in her presence long enough should she stay within appropriate view to see her eye for all it is worth.

Alternatively, her eye is capable of "seeing" glimpses of future events through the eyes of others. From a first person view, she can see simple moments -- basic "limited clairvoyance". This usually leads to her trying to be the big damn hero, even if she is incapable of doing it.

[INVENTORY]
- Moonblade Katana
- A large sum of gold pieces kept to give to those in need or basic necessities
- Spare eyepatch in case hers breaks
- Crest of her family and status
- A pocketwatch forged for her sake
- Basic traveling essentials

Other: Her name translates into "Lament of the Full Moon".
Aika does not believe in the commitment of seppuku. Therefore, she refuses to carry a wakizashi or tanto at her side. The only way she should die is in battle or of age by her standards.

[Missy Mina]

Moon-Hye

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Age: 26
Gender: Female
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black

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Personality: While she often easily disguise herself physically and socially as a delicate flower of a young girl, she is anything but. She's often a bit mischievous and her first language seems, at times, to be sarcasm. While not dressing as a dim witted young beauty to acquire information or sneak into places she perhaps shouldn't be allowed, she often goes about in the much safer guise of a young boy. She's often more comfortable dressed as a boy if only for the ability to be a bit more smart mouthed as a cheeky, growing boy. She isn't all cheek and sarcasm, though. She can be quite stern and serious at times. She has a very professional demeanor in front of her employers once she's been hired. Despite this, she can often be caught acting very much the idiot child even when money's involved.

Theoretically, she has a code of ethics. Only, no one's seemed to have cracked it yet. It is a little known fact that making deals with her won't always guarantee she'll hold up her end. And, despite her rather steady income, she still has a bad habit of pickpocketing people she doesn't like... or people that have something she wants... or if she's bored... or if they look like a challenge... or look too easy... or-- okay, maybe just reference back to uncracked code of ethics above.

Biography: After being kidnapped from her home, she was sold as a handmaid to a low ranking nobleman's daughter in the Qing Shogunate. She learned to read and write a little from the young lady, as well as how to portray proper elegance. She even took the opportunity to begin training as a body guard for the lady. But after several years, she ran away to seek out her family. She continued her training in the use of an iron fan as both a defensive and offensive weapon and soon fell into the art of qi blocking.

History: Moon-Hye was stolen from her family at a very young age. She cannot even remember her family name or the faces of those who bare it anymore. Nor can she remember much about her village. She was sold rather quickly into the house of a kindly low ranking nobleman and made into the handmaid of the man's daughter. As they were both around the same age, they took to each other almost more as playmates than mistress and servant. But as they grew, their statuses were enforced more strictly and they were forced to grow apart by degrees. Still, the lady taught Moon-Hye how to read and write her basics as well as other various skills that would eventually help Moon-Hye develop her dim witted but elegant young beauty facade. While in the service of the nobleman's daughter, she also manage to convince him that it would be wise for her to learn some arts to protect his daughter. They all lived in troubled times, after all. She trained for several years in defensive and offensive techniques of war fans and in the stealth and precision Qing is known for. But soon she knew it was time to leave and find her home. And so, she slipped away into the night.

After a bit of time begging and pickpocketing while disguised as a boy, she drew the attention of the man who would teach her how to manipulate qi. They traveled together for many years, far and wide. But, again, their paths were fated to part. Called back home to fight, he returned to his family's home and took to the battlefield to bring them honor. Moon-Hye chose, instead, to continue wandering and began to walk the line of assassin and bodyguard. Her proficiency with such innocuous weapons as well as her every growing skill with qi techniques have allowed her to develop a bit of a reputation that she gladly upholds. While she has no more master to train under for her qi techniques, she still experiments with those who cross her and hopes to some day become a master herself. Of course, what better way to find poor souls to practice on than to follow the rumors of money to be made at the beautiful Festival of Flowers!

Place of Birth: Unknown. Declared Qing

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Weapon of Choice: Iron fan, hands
Personal Affects:
- 1 hanbok
- 3 sets of boys clothes (hat included)
- Bathing supplies
- Travel food
- Two fans
- Bed roll for camping
- Spark rocks
- Money earned in previous job
- A wooden comb given to her by the nobleman's daughter
- Flask for water
- A few utensils and small cooking items
- A bag to put it all in

Other: Crazy addicted to sweets. She doesn't usually have any on her or even eat them in massive quantities but she will never turn down daifuku or sweet candies. They are extremely effective bribery. Just remember, even with bribery, follow through is not garunteed.

[Hebigami Shiho]

'My, that seems like a lot of work, I'm sure there are plenty of people available out there instead of me. None as skilled, though.'

Zhang Li Xun

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Age: 27

Gender: Male

Eye Color: Yellow

Hair Color: White

Physical Description: Xun is quite definitely a slim guy and of average height. Standing at a solid 1.75 meters and weighing 65 kg, Xun's weight is more because of his muscle mass rather than fat. Almost always, he wears light clothing or armor in order to be able to move faster through the field. If anything, he hates being slowed down by anything and prefers to always keep things simple when it comes to his clothing. His shaggy white hair is usually really messy, without as much as passing a brush by it every morning. Seeing him with bedhead isn't something odd, and telling him about it seems to make him proud rather than upset. His yellow eyes almost always seem to be tired and about to close down. He's got fair sking and his fair share of scars across his body, though not visible with his clothes on.

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Personality: There are several words Xun knows. Complicated words, words in other languages, and many other things. But there's just one word that isn't in his dictionary. Work ethic. Incredibly lazy and a big slacker, Xun isn't one to run around trying to get as many works as he can, in fact, he only works once a month in a big kind of job so that he can get enough money to live comfortably for a month. There is little to no motivation in Xun's whole system, and if you want to get him to anything, you might as well threaten his life right off the bat, or he won't even budge an inch. He can go as far as hiding away from whoever wants to make him work, in several, over the top places you wouldn't even imagine searching in.

Aside from this, Xun is actually friendly and talkative. He'd be a perfect friend, loyal and someone that would stand up for you if necessary, if it weren't because he is an arrogant *sshole. He cannot stop bragging about himself and whatever little accomplishments he has. To be honest, it seems that in his eyes, there's no space for anyone else but himself. This trait also makes him quite a flirt, and someone quite insistant at that, or maybe not, that's not quite the right word. If you shoot him down once, then he'd probably just move on to the next one, it isn't exactly a matter of trying again and again until he can do it, but more of a matter of not losing heart no matter how many times he fails.

Biography: Born in the Shogunate of Qing, Xun was trained since he was a little boy to become a mercenary. He knows how to wield a sword expertly and how to move stealthly, unfortunately though, he wasn't one to have a work in the military, or in an organized mercenary group. More than soon enough, Xun was not only expelled from the army and mercenary group he was once a part of, but also from the Shogunate itself, due to his extreme lack of work ethic, or interest in work, at the very least.

After such an event, he started wandering the whole country, in search for a work big enough to feed him for at least a month. Coming across such work wasn't as hard as one would think, but actually getting it done is actually quite hard. Most of the scars he bares in his back are a result of this, but it also helped him become the skilled man he is today. Still, he has decided not to turn to being a criminal because it would be completely terrible to being deprived from his freedom, as his wanderlust has only grown stronger with the passing years. He also made it a custom of his to go to the Festival of Flowers.

History: WIP

Place of Birth: Qing Shogunate

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Weapon of Choice: A pair of ninjatos, as well as several throwing knives.

Personal Affects:

• A bag with all of his belongings, which include a photo of his family, a really old and rusted wakizashi, a maneki neko, a bag full of coin, a light sheet he uses whenever he needs to sleep outdoors, and whatever food and other things he might find in his way.
• A pendant he always has around his neck

Other: He often likes to think of himself as a ninja.

[Argetlam350]

Botan Ichihara

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Age: 36
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Ocean Blue
Hair Color: Dark Brown

Physical Description: Botan stands at 5' 8'' with a moderate build that isn't lean nor bulky. His body is well toned and carries the scars of his past. The only signs of aging would be the distinct notice of gray hair and a few wrinkles that lie on his face.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personality: He is a rather silent man, rare to start conversation amongst the company of others giving the impression of a man who is impassive to many when in truth he is quite the opposite. He cares for his fellow man and still holds the ideals and honors of what it means to be a samurai even if the title has been stripped from him. He is a loyal warrior willing to give his life to protect the innocent and bring justice to those who are not. He carries the scars that he has on him as proof of his honor, to show that even if he is ronin he still upholds his master's values that were taught to him.

Biography:
He was trained to be a samurai, beginning training in his young teenage years. Botan showed his strengths through perseverance and dedication, never giving up in his training. He and his fellow samurai protected the village that they lived in from those who would try to harm the citizens. He was honored to work with such a master that he had and his comrades became his brothers and a few sisters as well who were given the same honor. He brought honor to his family. The good times though would not last.

On the year of his twenty fifth birthday, his master was killed changing the fate of all those that had been under him. It was deemed an honorable death one through combat from what was examined on the body but Botan did not believe this to be true and chose to become ronin as to seek the truth. His fellow samurai chose separate paths some committed themselves to being into the villages own personal army merely becoming one of many of the warriors that protected it, though with better skills with a blade. Some chose to join their master with an honorable death while others went to seek out new masters who would let them join. His village became one with no samurai in the end.

History: Optional

Place of Birth: Tongai Shogunate

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Weapon of Choice: Nagamaki

Personal Affects:
-Money from his occasional hired jobs.
-Tanto just in case his nagamaki is not with him he has something to use, be it for combat or an honorable death.
-Bed roll since a luxury to sleep indoors is not one he is usually accustomed to in his wanderings.
-An old worn pendant that belonged to his master. He does not wear it but looks at it when he needs guidance on his wandering.
-Spare set of clothes. Even being ronin he has a sense of needing to look at least presentable at the festivities.

Other: N/A

[zaga2575]

Ni Utsusemi

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Age: 21
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black

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Personality: Ni is devout. He is thorough when it comes to body and mind. Patience can be a hard thing for him sometimes, but he is trying to improve. Even though he is serious when it comes to training, Ni has a bit of a goofy streak in him. He sneaks in practical jokes when he can. He likes jokes to be about others and not about him, this is what can lead to his loss of patience.

Biography: Ni grew up being the middle child. He has an older brother that constantly picks on him and a younger sister who died when she was seven. The Utsusemi family is known for their stealth in the shadows, and Ni is no novice. He has surpassed even his brother at the art of espionage and diplomacy. The game of politics has always amused Ni. Although his brother is the superior swordsman, their have been many times where Ni held Ichi's life in his hands. He has been trained in the Qing Shogunate in the art of the shadows. But he has retained the family weapon of dual tae kuk bear. Ni has learned to dance with the blades that has earned him the name Shikon Hebimaru. The deception of misdirection is also something he uses often to achieve whatever goals his family has set for him.

History: The Shogunate of Tongai is an ethnically blended region. It was no different than the town of Genpai. It is a rural town on the outskirts of one of the major cities in Tongai. It is also where Ni's family set up its claim. It made a central hub because it was located right on a trade route between the major cities in the area. Goods weren't all that game through the town of Genpai. Knowledge is a powerful thing indeed. Powerful and expensive, Ni's father came to realize. Ni used to get sent in the market as a boy to "overhear" many of the travelling merchants bragging about new inventions, or if any towns were invaded. Ni's father would sell the information to the right person and a cost. The Utsusemi name travelled fast in the underground. Ni, however did not like his family gaining repertoire solely from selling information.

Information also comes with a price, if the wrong people find out what you give them is false, or withheld. As was the case when his sister was killed by an unknown culprit. Her body was left on the doorstep wrapped in what used to be white sheets. Also, a note was nailed to her chest with the a message stating: "You were wrong." It was Ni's old brother Ichi whom discovered her that fateful morning. Ni had been fortunate enough not to have seen the corpse, because he was sure Ichi still awoke in the night to nightmares. After that, Ni's father drastically reduced his amount of hustling information and used what money he had to pay for Ni and Ichi's training. The family took up farming, but Ni was determined to find out who killed his sister, so the information dealing continued.
Place of Birth: Tongai

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Weapon of Choice: Tae Kuk Bear x 2
Personal Affects: Tae Kuk Bear x 2
Backpack containing: a bedroll, canteen, 2 sets of close and robes. A necklace belonging to his sister.
Other: Ni is scared of spiders.

[Tatsua Aiisen]

Yamada Kiyoku

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Age:
19

Gender:
Female

Eye Color:
Yellow

Hair Color:
Pink

Physical Description:
Kiyoku is a modest, youthful girl whose lithe body is the result of nineteen years of careful attention and training. She is not so attractive as to stand out from others, but just enough so that she can use her feminine charms when necessary. Her muscles are ever-present, but not defined enough to be overtly noticeable, maintaining a certain healthy image at all times.

Her eye and hair colours are kind of... exotic, don't you think? Maybe she's secretly a foreigner's child? How exciting!

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Personality:
At her core, Kiyoku possesses the nature of a calm, collected professional, a broken example of a human being incapable of a wide, complicated range of emotions. All that remains is a handful of basic, primal feelings, which she is able to keep killed so long as nothing plays to her psychological vulnerabilities.

She's a near-perfect example of the Yamada-style Kunoichi, a virtually unfeeling operative who will dutifully and unquestioningly complete all of her duties without fail. Her training in the art of deception from a young age allows her to take on all sorts of personas and images, properly equipping her to fill in a wide variety of roles and disguises where necessary.

In order to conceal her discipline, Kiyoku normally takes on the appearance of a ditzy, happy-go-lucky maid. Her devotion to this image has transformed her from what would otherwise be a traditional, ordinary Kunoichi, into what could also be called the Ultimate Ninja Maid. She is highly regarded as a servant due to a combination of her obedience, attention to detail and wide range of skills.

Her tendency to stay in character at all times, unless ordered otherwise, makes her seem surprisingly unprofessional. This is a fault of hers, born from her inherent need to fulfill a particular state of mind.

Biography:
While little is known about the Yamada-style training techniques, it cannot be denied that they produce some of the most excellent ninja on the market. They "adopt" children from all sorts of environments, taking them before they've begun to learn any bad habits, and forge them from a young age to be perfect, emotionless operatives.

Kiyoku graduated from their Kunoichi program at sixteen, and after going through several years of additional training, eventually found herself sent to the service of a particular individual in a faraway village. She does not know what her duties will be, but entered the village in the dead of night several days before the upcoming Festival.

Place of Birth:
Unknown. Claims Nagisara.

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Weapon of Choice:
Tantō - Kiyoku's only "real" weapon, taking the form of a small, concealed blade, used for self-defence and quickly eliminating unaware opponents. Despite not really being a fighter, she's surprisingly good with this sorry excuse for a weapon, likely out of necessity. Usually coated with small amounts of poison, just in case.

Personal Affects:
-Standard tools of the trade, including Kiyoku's set of poisons and basic explosives. Rather than being carried with her, these items have been tactically hidden so that she may retrieve them when necessary for her mission.
-Travel gear, including a bedroll.
-"Maid Necessities", including an additional apron, basic cooking gear, tools for cleaning and a "Sexy dress".
-Additional spare clothes, two sets.
-Small sum of money

Other:
-Claims to be called "Izumi Suika".
-Only her client knows the name "Kiyoku", and that is how she identifies whoever she is bound to the service of.