Name: Tachibana Himeko
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Birthplace: Fukuoka, Japan
Appearance
For better or for worse, Himeko perfectly resembles one’s stereotypical image of a Shrine Maiden. Below shoulder-length straight black hair, brown eyes, and a body height just under the average for Japanese women. Despite being the elder sister, Himeko is shorter than Naotsugu. When performing her duties or working on-site at her family’s temple she inadvertently blends in perfectly with her matching environment.
In private she prefers the simplicity of comfortable clothing and usually pins up her hair to make it more manageable. Most of her comfort clothes are either unisex or bought in the male section of department stores due to going shopping together with Naotsugu and preferring the freedom of loosely cut clothes. She isn’t above letting herself be seen slightly disheveled when running errands, though she will more often than not dress appropriately for the occasion. Her forearms are heavily scarred due to an incident in her past, and Himeko makes a conscious effort to hide them with long-sleeved attire and thick arm-warmers.
Reference Image:files.yande.re/sample/ea8cec6db2f19c7…Character
Though raised as the center of attention due to being the eldest daughter and successor to her family’s legacy, Himeko was pushed to the sidelines after it was discovered that she was infertile at age 9 and thus unable to pass on the secrets of her family’s magecraft. Instead, her younger brother Naotsugu who had initially shown little promise in magecraft was chosen to be the next heir. The child she was, Himeko attempted a ritual far beyond her capabilities in a tantrum to show that she was better than her brother, jealous of how he now monopolized their parent’s attention and still shaken from the revelation that she was barren. While their family was not one harsh enough to pit one child against the other to select the most optimal heir and cared for their children as far as their capacity as mages allowed them, it was undeniable that Himeko felt helpless after she was raised for a singular purpose only to be abandoned for a more qualified successor. Thus, whilst the transferring of the Family Crest was still in-process, she ineptly invoked Kamaitachi and caused a recoil reaction that cut deeply into the flesh of both her arms and mildly damaged her Circuits, and more importantly, the remainder of the Magic Crest still residing within her. Himeko’s body healed, but the Crest had now lost several years of accumulated progress, a significant set-back her brother was now forced to inherit. In the weeks it took for her to recover from her wounds, both physical and spiritual, Himeko started to consider the position of her brother for the first time and suddenly realized the consequences of her naive blunder. Merely a year younger than her, he was already grappling with the responsibilities of his status as heir and future head of their family, as well as overwhelmed with the pressure of mastering their magecraft despite his apparent lack of talent, a struggle worsened by the damaged condition of his inherited Crest. Not once did he complain however, and instead prioritized the expectations of his family over is own personal wants.
Himeko changed after that. Witnessing the situation her brother now found himself in due to her own inadequacies, her jealousy was immediately replaced by feelings guilt, and in an attempt to ease them, continued her practice in magecraft so that she might support her brother in her own way. While he was still the future head of the family, Himeko now took it upon herself to deal with assignments and responsibilities related to magic so that Naotsugu would not have to, and could thus focus on the management of the household and the mastery of his inheritance. Though both would dislike the comparison, it would be apt to say that Naotsugu and Himeko became the Brain and the Brawn of the Tachibana household. That being said, over time Naotsugu proved to be a prodigy of the self-sacrificial art Onibi due to his exceptional vitality, though his proficiency at Kamaitachi remained basic at best. Meanwhile, whereas Naotsugu showed little skill in utilizing any of their family’s Mystic Codes, Himeko was adept at most of them and showed proficiency in Onibi and Suzaku, though the trauma of her past never allowed her to invoke Kamaitachi ever again.
Himeko possesses the composure of an experienced magi, as should be common with active mages, yet ironically this calm demeanor is built upon a rather relaxed lifestyle. Other than her duties as a mage and the local responsibilities to her household’s temple, Himeko is largely left alone by her family and is free to do as she wishes, an unexpected consequence of being discarded as an heir. Having carried over as a passion from her childhood, Himeko greatly enjoys magecraft as one would a way of life. Though she doesn’t see it as a “method to reach the Root” due to having given up on the traditional path of a mage, neither can she imagine a life without it, seeing as it has played such a central role for herself and her entire family. She takes pride in the ancestral task carried out by her household and can’t help but feel the rush of being in possession of a skillset not everybody can attain. As such, she unconsciously views herself as superior to non-mages and is proud of that fact, but with it comes the responsibility of aiding those without power precisely because they lack it. This drive is less a desire to become a hero of justice and could be best described as her simply working a job, not too dissimilar from a medical professional doing theirs. She still enjoys the act nonetheless and diligently performs her duty.
Himeko is slightly embarrassed by her given name, and while she was rather self-conscious of her stereotypical appearance in her youth, she has come to accept it over time. She is still bothered by tourists trying to take pictures with her in her traditional attire however. Furthermore, she is greatly ashamed by the ugly scarring on her arms due to both their appearance and proof of her childish naivety as a child, and will take great pains to hide them even from her own family. With them she is naturally more relaxed and simply doesn’t want to expose her scars needlessly, but in regard to strangers Himeko will react rashly depending on the situation. Similarly, anything related to the history of those scars, mainly the events of her childhood, are a highly sensitive topic to Himeko for obvious reasons.
Though a mage, Himeko has never killed humans before due to her mainly specializing in exorcisms and combating the spiritual over the physical, and will thus likely refrain from killing in combat. After all, due to the lack of attention directed towards her and her relatively carefree lifestyle (considering her status as eldest daughter to a mage household) she was never made to steel her mind and discard her empathy towards opposition like her brother was made to. If faced with the choice of killing an opponent or receiving a massive loss, Himeko will have great difficulty convincing herself to justify the former, though only after a moment spent sorting her thoughts, leaving her distracted on the battlefield. While she isn’t bound by any particularly strong ideals, it simply boils down to the fact that she was never forced to seriously consider what it means to take one’s life, regardless of the circumstances. As such, even though she is an undoubtedly capable mage, she is woefully inexperienced as a warrior. In the case of the Grail War, she is aware that extreme measures might be necessary, but can’t bring herself to seriously think about what that means by herself. If taking one’s life cannot be avoided, Himeko will try to distance herself from the act and have her Servant to do it for her. Killing somebody herself will cause significant emotional damage.
Though Himeko comes from a very old Japanese household, she has not been properly taught the mannerisms of those befit a high-status. This is partly because her family isn’t particularly high-class nor wealthy; their influence is mostly restricted to the magical world; and also because there was no need for her family to teach Himeko those things as she was neither the heir anymore, nor could be used for marriage because of her inability to bear children. As such, while living in a traditional household has certainly affected her lifestyle, her habits have been naturally shaped by living in a modern age as well. In other words, she owns a phone, knows how to drive and use the internet, and for the most part wears modern clothing. Neither she nor her family have failed to adapt to modern times, yet whenever returning to home she will wear traditional attire like the rest of her family, and will likewise don shrine maiden attire when performing exorcisms; even when performing it in foreign countries. While she cannot deny the embarrassment of wearing such clothes outside the temple, it only feels right for her to dress appropriately when combating the spiritual. Likewise, this is also her “combat uniform”, though it obviously doesn’t provide her with any protection. Aside from magic Himeko only knows how to wield the bow, and as such, has only average physical proficiency and is helpless in close-quarters combat.
Background
Himeko was born the eldest in a family of four, her parents and her younger brother Naotsugu, and was blessed with the talent to carry on her family’s legacy. However, at the age of 9 it was discovered that Himeko was infertile and could thus not continue the family lineage. The Magic Crest that had already been transplanted into her just a few years prior was removed and transferred over to her less-talented younger brother, the 9th Head of the Tachibana Line. Unlike Western Magi, Eastern Practitioners often taught their magecraft to all children as opposed to selecting only a single one since the foundation of their magecraft was deeply rooted in one’s religion and culture. The basics would be taught regardless, so most schools of oriental magic merely took the extra step to include magecraft in that education process. In any case, annoyed at being removed from the spotlight and degraded from the object of her parent’s attention to a replacement, Himeko attempted magecraft beyond her capabilities in a childishly naive attempt to prove herself, receiving a serious backlash in return. The spell she attempted, Kamaitachi, cut deep gashes all across her arms and left lasting scars that remained to this day. It took Himeko a while to recover, both physically and mentally, but eventually she outgrew her unreasonable tantrum and became aware of the burden she had placed not only on her family, but most importantly the brother she had previously been jealous of. From that point onwards, things changed. Neither were envious of each other anymore, no resentment existed between the two of them. She had an affinity for magecraft while he excelled at managing their household. There was no jealousy to be had when each of them were simply gifted with their own specific set of skills. Himeko continued her duties as a shrine maiden and mage, living her life in relative peace while searching for a way to make amends to her family.
Family HistoryThe Tachibana trace their bloodline all the way back to the Tachibana Clan of the Sengoku Period. Tachibana Dosetsu, the Family Head at the time, was unable to father any sons to carry on his line. Though he eventually nominated his daughter Ginchiyo to succeed him, he had produced one more illegitimate child with a concubine in hopes of birthing a son, though he ended up entrusting the child to a nearby Shrine to be raised without anyone’s knowledge after she turned out to be a woman. Nothing became of it and the two would never meet again, but this woman was the first definitive ancestor of the current Tachibana household, though at the time she had been given a fake surname to hide her origins. She inherited her father’s fierce nature and affinity for attracting phantasmal beasts, so much so that one day she stumbled upon a wounded Kamaitachi near the temple gates and nursed it back to health. In gratitude the beast decided to teach her magecraft and remained with her as a familiar. Using this newfound knowledge for the sake of the temple that raised her, she began opposing the local Yokai that harmed the common-folk and become the founder of what would later become a small group of exorcists. Soon even the Shrine’s Deity would show itself in response to the priests under its protection returning wounded or even dead from their new duties, offering to aid them in their efforts in exchange for continued worship. Over time her family line would continue to grow and develop more effective techniques to combat the spiritual and phantasmal, continuing their roles as exorcists all the while. The Tachibana have refined their magecraft ever since and currently perform minor contracts for the Mages Association, to which they have a neutral relationship with.
In the 20th Century, having lived under a fake alias until then, the Family Head at the time changed their name back to Tachibana in an act of pride without disclosing their connection to Tachibana Dosetsu, assuming that enough time had passed and noting that the name had become moderately common in modern times. In the early 1900s they befriended Tachibana Kazuo, the current Head of the Main Tachibana line, and together they established the “Historical Museum Ohana” in 1951 that aimed to preserve the legacy of the Yanagawa, though the museum would go through two iterations, once in 1995 when it was renamed simply to “Ohana Museum” and once more in 2012 when it was officially given the title “Tachibana Museum”. Two years later the Tachibana Foundation would take over management of the museum from the Ohana Corporation, securing the legacy of the Tachibana once and for all and keeping it on display for the public. Despite the close friendship between the two houses, the Illegitimate Tachibana Line has never divulged the secrets of magecraft to the Main Line seeing as they still exist as two separate houses.
Magic Circuits
Circuit Quantity: C
Circuit Quality: B
Skills
KyūdōKyūdō is a Japanese Form of Archery that traces its roots back to the 12th Century in the hands of Samurai, though images showing the distinct Japanese asymmetrical longbow can be found as far back as the Yayoi Period. In modern times Kyūdō has largely become a ceremonial practice after the Art of Archery has mostly lost its purpose at the dawn of the Meiji Era in the 19th Century. Nowadays it has become a competitive sport which incorporates aspects of moral and spiritual development also seen in other Japanese Martial Arts and had moved away from its original purpose.
Himeko’s mastery of the bow is one which will allow her to hit conventional targets consistently, seeing as her usage of it is directly tied to her occupation. She is just well practiced in Archery and relies on it to be the conduit of her magecraft, though compared to more experienced Kyūdō Practitioners, Himeko seems to lack the crucial spiritual element of the Art. She strings her bow with the intent to hit and disregards the process in-between, a straightforward approach based on practicality that mirrors her spiritual unrest. In local competitions Himeko thus always places last, though this naturally doesn’t affect her ability on the job.
Shinto RitualsHimeko can expertly perform any Shinto Rituals that are required of her as a Shrine Maiden, including the preparation and presentation of offerings, cleaning duties of various kinds, maintenance of equipment, and ceremonial performances such as the Kagura Dance. These skills are of no practical use in battle and are simply inherent to Himeko as a person.
Magecraft
OnibiA purifying anti-spiritual magecraft. This magecraft is named after a very common type of phantasmal species that existed before the Age of Man, referred to in Japan as Yokai. Once invoked, the user will conjure up blueish white flames that are cold to the touch for humans. In fact, these flames are inherently incapable of affecting any non-spiritual beings and objects, and is thus harmless against humans. The true use of this magecraft is to combat spiritual threats such as ghosts and wraiths, as well as most other existences that can be classified as non-human like Dead Apostles. Onibi is, by nature, a purifying flame used in exorcisms ever since the Sengoku Period.
What makes these flames dangerous is the fact that rather than them being powered by magical energy, they consume and burn Prana itself. It is a flame targeted solely at magical beings, though the violent property of this magecraft means that it poses a threat to the user as well. Most commonly a practitioner will store Prana in an object separate from their own body an use it as a medium to invoke Onibi, though this limits the output of the flame to the limited amount of magical energy stored. At its strongest, Onibi can be released from the body of the user itself, granting them access to an over-abundance of magic devouring flames. Were a user to completely cover themselves and their surroundings with Onibi, their protection against enemy magecraft would be comparable to D Rank Magic Resistance. That being said, Onibi devours everything spiritual and magical, including the user’s very own vitality. After all, Onibi isn’t powered by Prana, it incinerates it, so prolonged use will result in significant repercussions to the user. If used even for just a few minutes in this state, the sudden decline in vitality would be significant enough to comatose its user for a full 24 hours, requiring another additional 24 hours of rest after waking before the user’s condition is stable enough to utilize Onibi again.
Mages under the effects of Onibi would need to briefly halt the activity of their Magic Circuits from producing magical energy to allow the flame to be starved of its only source of energy, removing it without much effort. In the case of Servants, rather than igniting their entire bodies at once due to them being solely composed of magical energy, the raw strength of their mystery will be able to prevent the flame from spreading and limit its effects to a minor burn wound, though due to its nature as a purifying flame, Onibi will nonetheless be able to harm Servants, if only to a limited degree. The lingering fumes of burnt targets can be picked up by practitioners of the art and used to deduce one's general location so long as not too much time has passed. Onibi will burn to much greater effect against Evil Aligned Servants.
SuzakuDespite the grand name, this magecraft is simply one that conjures flames. Suzaku is much less taxing on the user than Onibi due to being decidedly more ordinary. The flames themselves hold no special property.
HoujutsuBased mainly in her use of Ofuda. In contrast to her cousin Kyouko, Himeko’s proficiency in this magecraft is slightly below average and can thus only use it for supplementary effects.
Basic MagecraftThis covers the basic essentials such as the transfer of mana, establishment of contracts, suggestion, reinforcement, creation of bounded fields, etc.
Mystic CodesAzusa Yumi - A black lacquered sacred bow made out of cherry birch wood that is closely tied to the Goddess Amaterasu. It was said that once a golden bird perched on the bow of Emperor Jimmu, the great grandson of Amaterasu and first human ruler of Japan, which granted his bow the power to dispel evil merely by plucking its string. Ever since then Azusa Yumi have been enshrined at the Ise Grand Shrine, the main residence of Amaterasu, and have played part in Shinto rituals.
The Azusa Yumi is a powerful Mystic Code that creates a soundless melodic wave each time its bowstring is pulled, one with the ability to dispel low-ranking evil spirits. In regards to stronger spiritual beings, such as evil aligned Heroic Spirits, the sacred melody will cause a sharp piercing sensation in their minds so long as they are exposed to the sound only they can perceive, and while it technically does not deal any mental or physical damage, the sensation is potent enough to briefly stun them if they are caught unaware or if it is their first time hearing it. An evil aligned Heroic Spirit can choose to ignore this pain after hearing it just once of course, likely shrugging off the sensation after a mere second or two, but the piercing sensation of the sacred sound will remain. This Mystic Code can be used as a medium for magic.
Shimenawa - Rope fashioned out of rice straw and infused with mana. In practice it is used for ritual purification and binding sacred or pure spaces. Used by Himeko, it can be used to create a Bounded Field that rejects spiritual beings of the evil alignment, making the destruction of the Shimenawa necessary for them to cross into the designated space. Once the rope is severed or cut, the Bounded Field will immediately crumble. Spiritual beings on the level of Servants are powerful enough that simply the action of crossing into the space will cause the rope to burn and destroy itself, though they will experience a momentary shock due to the violent feedback. Servants of the good alignment will not trigger this rejection reaction.
Gohei - A wooden wand decorated with two Shide used during rituals. It acts as a Mystic Code for storing magical energy and is a medium for the magecraft “Onibi”. It allows the user to draw upon the mana soaked into the Shide instead of one’s own, making its power easier and safer to regulate.
Ofuda - Talismans that offer protection by inscribing them with the name of a Kami and the Shinto Shrine it resides in. An Ofuda can have a variety of different uses and effects, and if combined with other spirit-repelling Mystic Codes, is capable of constructing a formidable Bounded Field. More commonly they can be used as charms and trinkets once turned into Omamori for a variety of effects.
Shide - A zigzag-shaped piece of paper often attached to objects in sacred rituals for purification of blessings. The Tachibana make them out of the same material as their Ofuda, Isewashi, and store large quantities due to them being essential for their occupation as Exorcists. They have come to rely on them as external mana sources and use them to enhance their magecraft or remotely maintain spells and Bounded Fields.
Other EquipmentYazutsu - A long cylindrical quiver made out of leather and decorated with colored cord. Himeko possesses two of these, one for normal arrows and one for arrows that have Shide attached to their tips as an external mana source. The latter are used to invoke her magecraft Onibi at long range. In battle she carries both quivers parallel to each other diagonally over her right shoulder.
Incense Sticks - Special type of mystic incense said to burn for 3 days and 3 nights. The composite material reacts to magical energy and burns faster in the presence of mana. The released fragrance keeps the the lowest level of ghosts and wraiths away, though any higher spiritual beings will have no issues ignoring this inherent property. While they might compare it to an “unpleasant smell”, it won’t affect them otherwise.
Weaknesses
Though Himeko is a capable exorcist with years of experience vanquishing wraiths and lesser ghosts, unfortunately this protective nature of her brother denied her any effective combat experience against more substantial threats. As the Head of their Household he had seen to it that his younger sister would only be assigned to cases he knew would pose no considerable danger, keeping the more dangerous tasks out of her reach. As such, she has virtually no combat experience against sentient opponents whose intelligence amounts to more than the primitive instinct of minor spiritual entities, much less so against opponents that are human. She has never killed and never witnessed a murder, nor does she possess the mental fortitude to take a life or even consider such an act. She is naive and oblivious to the cold pragmatism of the battlefield, the sheltered and protected nature of her upbringing only leaving her woefully unprepared for the promise of bloodshed and war. While this doesn't mean that she is dim-witted and incapable of strategizing with her partner, coming up with ruthless schemes to end the lives of her opponents would be beyond her. This does not mean that she is an incorrigible idealist however. She understands the consequences of the war and can be made to accept that the defeat of her opponents is required for the completion of the Grail, but she could likely never bring herself to kill anyone with her own hands. If the deed must be done, she will place that burden on her Servant while doing her best not to think about it.
Furthermore, while she keeps her body at a healthy fitness level thanks to her practice of Kyūdō, the Eastern Schools of Thaumaturgy believing in a harmony of body and mind for effective use of magecraft, that is the extent of her physical capabilities. Neither does she know any form of self-defense, nor has she ever trained for or experienced anti-personell combat, and as such, her pain tolerance is extremely low. Unlike her brother who has trained with the sword, she has dedicated her life to the bow, so she is inherently a long-ranged fighter. Additionally, while her fire-based magecraft allows her to defend herself somewhat, she is mostly dependent on her Mystic Codes and Shinto Rituals for a majority of her spells, and is relatively helpless without them. In fact, she requires the Shimenawa and Shide for the construction of her Bounded Fields, and can only invoke Onibi in a controlled manner under great difficulty without the aid of her Azusa Yumi or Gohei, both of which require Shide to function.
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