Yumiko

IC Information
Real Name:	Yumiko Kisaragi (Kisaragi Yumiko)
Gender/Sexuality:	Female/Bisexual
Species:	Fox-human
Place of Origin:	Osaka, Japan
Birthdate:	She no longer remembers.
Hair Color:	Orange
Eye Color:	Crimson
Romantic Status:	Enigmatic
Occupation:	Wandering swordsman and instructor
Likes:	Sake, festivals, poetry, philosophy, rain
Dislikes:	Nothing in particular

Yumiko is a woman of many mysteries. She claims to be the daughter of a union between a mainland Japan Kitsune and a human farmer, some five hundred years ago. There is no possible way to verify this, however, since her only magical powers are that of creating illusions of limited size and success. The fact that she has but a single tail also contradicts her claim. Even so, she carries herself with dignity and invites people to believe what they want.

Fancying herself as a wandering swordsman, she is often away from Yuriba for long stretches of time, sometimes even dragging her pupil, Kitten, along for the journey.

General Information

Yumiko is, to some extent, a very traditional woman. She prefers dressing herself in kimonos which she wears in a somewhat relaxed manner, often exposing more skin that would be morally acceptable in the past. She is never seen without her oil-paper umbrella nor her clay gourd, which is almost constantly filled to the brim with the finest, Tanuki-brewn sake.

Even though her heritage as part-kitsune is not perfectly clear, it is certain that she carries many of their tell-tale personality traits. She often speaks in riddles and enjoys teasing people verbally and physically. More often than not, her eyes will give a mischievous twinkle when she finds herself another 'victim'.

Description

Fiery bright, almost orange-colored hair cascades from the head and down along the back of this rather elegant-looking woman. She has set a single pin in her hair just to make sure that it remains out of her face, otherwise keeping it fairly loose. A pair of fuzzy ears, colored with just a shade darker orange than her hair (save for the tips that are white), sticks straight out from the sides of her head. She appears to be fairly young but looks can deceive, for her eyes, so slitted and thin that they are rarely seen, seem to hold a wisdom bestowed only to those who have lived long enough to attain it. She seems to be constantly wearing a smile of amusement, as if enjoying some sort of private joke at the expense of the people around her.

Her choice of dress might be seen as formal to the eyes of some people, others might just see it as too some extent traditional. A blood-red kimono is worn in a rather relaxed manner upon her body. It hangs slightly off her shoulders in a way that causes a fair share of skin to show, and it certainly gives people a fair view of her ample cleavage. The fabric of the kimono is adorned with patterns of white cherry blossom petals scattered about, most likely to give the impression of being blown about by the wind seeing as in the very bottom of the kimono, a sakura tree is illustrated. Holding the robe-like attire together at the waist is an Obi, even darker in color than the kimono itself, but instead of a long sheet of silk tied in the back, several bright red strings have been tied over and around the obi, perhaps to make it easier for the woman to carry around the wine-gourd she has tied to the piece of clothing. Keeping her feet safely off the ground are a pair of platform-like sandals made of wood, painted in different shades of red, fashionable geta-sandals, if you will.

Perhaps not a part of her outfit but nonetheless an important part of Yumiko is her umbrella, seeing as she carries it with her wherever she goes. It is a traditional oil-paper umbrella with a handle made of bamboo, the entire thing colored a deep red, much like her kimono. She rarely seems to let go of this possession and when she does, she always keeps it within arm's reach.

Early Life

While Yumiko no longer remembers the exact year of her birth, it has been confirmed that she was born sometime in the middle of the Heian period, in the 16th century, in Osaka. Her father was at a time a farmer, living a few miles away from the city. It is said that one night he met a Kitsune woman whom he immediately fell in love with. The Kitsune was flattered but she would never be allowed to wed a human. The man would not give up and each night he would wait for her and, despite her reluctance, she returned every night as well. After some weeks of this, the two decided to run off together and they settled in Osaka. Not long thereafter, Yumiko was born.

Little Yumiko was very sheltered during the first years of her life, her parents never allowing her out of the house or in the sight of the other townsfolk until she was old enough to magically mask her rather obvious Kitsune-traits; her ears and tail. She lived a fairly happy life as a child, despite the many political disputes that troubled the city.

Tragedy struck when Yumiko's mother contracted an illness, something that some say should be impossible for a Kitsune. There is a possibility that her clan, which forbid unions between kitsune and other creatures, placed a curse on her. Little yumiko lost her mother at the tender age of thirteen.

When she was sixteen, things were looking grim for Yumiko and her father. They were impoverished. Before, they would always have enough money for food and even a few luxuries thanks to her mother's skill at sweing and her father's natural talent for business. Now though, they had no such wares to sell. They managed to get by for a while by selling whatever wares they could buy cheaply but even such tactics has their limits. One day a noble was passing through their neighborhood, most likely feeling that he was doing the people a favor by gracing them with his presence. He noticed Yumiko when she peeked out of the house curiously and he promptly proposed to her. Yumiko was shocked and didn't know what to do, young as she was, so she asked her father what was the best to do. Her father didn't want to lose his daughter but he knew she would have a far better life living with a nobleman. After humbly asking the noble to reassure him that he would treat his daughter well, he gave Yumiko his blessing and saw her off with a smile.

Still, Yumiko missed her father and so, the very next day, at dawn, she snuck out of the noble's mansion and rushed back home where she found, to her horror, her father lay dead on the floor, with his stomach cut open. After all was said and done, the poor man really couldn't bear the thought of losing first his wife and then his daughter and so, in his grief, he killed himself.

Instead of returning to the nobleman, young Yumiko left Osaka and searched for what was left of her parents' families. Her father's parents would not accept her and chased her off, leaving her sad and rejected. Her mother's family was a lot harder to track down but thanks to her innate instincts she finally found her way to what should have been her second home after many long weeks of traveling. She was once again rejected, and lucky that she was not cut down on the spot. Half-blood, they called her.

For many weeks, Yumiko wandered the countryside aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do, and living off what little stolen food she could scramble together. One day though, when passing by a field near the foot of Mt Fuji, she saw something that would become the turning point in her life, and it would shape her into what she is today. On the field was a samurai, but he was different from the ones she had seen before in her still rather short life. The samurai she had seen before this only trained by doing nothing but swinging their swords forward in nearly continuous frontal strikes or sparring. This man, however, was different. He moved gracefully, drawing and re-sheathing his blade several times, and Yumiko could almost see the imaginary opponents as the man cut them down.

From that day on and for the next five centuries to come, Kisaragi Yumiko would dedicate her entire life to the art of Iaijutsu.

Standings as a swordsman

Yumiko is the mistress and creator of the Kisaragi Shinto-ryu, a Iaijutsu-style swordplay that she has spent her entire life to perfect. Iaijutsu, or Iaido as it is called in the modern era, focuses on the art of quickly drawing your sword, deliver a blow, block or perform a kata and then quickly re-sheathe your blade again. Yumiko is know to be able to draw the sword hidden in her umbrella and perform several attacks without her opponent even getting the chance to notice her blade.

Her skill with the sword has earned her quite a few disciples through the years, she even claims to have secretly overseen the training of one of the Seated officers of the Shinsengumi in the later years of the edo revolution. In recent days, she has taken on the hyperactive cat-girl Kitten as her pupil.

In her younger days, Yumiko became so confident in her skills that she made and oath to herself; if there ever came a day where her sword lost to someone, she would give herself entirely to that person. She would love them and marry them. She never lost a battle for several centuries after making that oath, but then came Saber.

The defeat that followed their initial duel was the first one Yumiko had ever felt and she was shocked, her pride completely shattered. Even so, she also felt completely ecstatic to have found someone stronger than her. And so, with her kimono torn and ruined, her hair a mess and her blade lying on the ground beside her, she went down on her knees and bowed to the woman who beat her and with a smile on her face declared herself Saber's wife, much to the shock of her opponent.

Romance

Since arriving in Yuriba, Yumiko has had several romantic encounters with women in Yuriba but due to her commitment to her sword and her oath, nothing serious ever came out of those encounters.

It wasn't until her defeat at Saber's hands that she finally allowed herself to truly try to love someone. Even though she said that she would give herself entirely to the woman, Yumiko was still considered the dominant personality of the pair, something that resulted in her almost always being the one to make the first move. Her love for Saber certainly never seem to stop her from teasing the poor woman and making fun of her in public.

Still, Yumiko could found it hard to settle down in one place. Having commitments and duties elsewhere, she could not give up traveling. This of course tore at her relationship with Saber. One day when she returned from a particularily long journey, she hurried on fleet feet to her lover's home only to find her gone. Since that day, Yumiko continues to travel, carrying with her the ring given to her as a gift by Saber as she constantly searches for her lover.