Rokkaku Raiu
Laughing Rainbow
Melody of the Torrid Pulse
Bishamon-myo no Kanpeki
Custodian of the Torn Blossom
Dance of the Thrashing Dragon
Jina of the Court of the Ebon Flame
Description
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 134 lb.
Ethnicity: East Asian
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Long simple black
Clothing: Black or red clubwear or ethnic
Comportment/Cadence: Welcoming
Distinctions: Fabulously beautiful Japanese woman of great self-assurance and pride in every graceful step, commanding a sense of fashion and elegance few can match
Supernatural Qualities: Her lively vibrancy seems almost urgent with the energy that drives her constant motion
Accoutrements: Light jewelry, concealed knife
Traits: Appearance 5 (erotic); Style 5 (ethnic)
“Each petal is fragrant and ripe in its own time.”
History
Date of Birth: July 8th, 1852
Home: Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan
Family: Matsui Kazuyuki and Hama (parents), Tomotsune (older brother); Yuriko (birth name)
Second Breath: Personal Tragedy (poor farming family hit hard by Meiji Restoration land reform taxes, forcing them to "sell" their daughter to the pleasure houses of Hagi; there, the girl was raised and trained as a skilled courtesan, and as she matured, she climbed to the respected courtesan rank of oiran, servicing samurai, wealthy elite, and even politicians who would be instrumental in the Meiji Era), 1876
Mentor: Tsunobue
The Test: Trial by Wit (but then certain samurai clans began to revolt against the emperor; because of her proximity to some of the rebels, she was arrested and imprisoned, presumed to be aware of their treachery; she perished in jail from typhus, forgotten and abandoned by her clients; her soul slipped down into Kakuri, doomed to serve as the lowest of sex toys for her demon captors, so she resolved to satisfy the demonic jailer who favored her so well that she could sneak out of that dark brothel; but she didn't make it far, and her soul nearly sank into the frigid wastes of Hell, chased by her jailers; by pure coincidence or auspicious luck, a powerful bodhisattva called Tsunobue had undertaken an Orphean quest into that terrible place, and rescued her, even though he had come for another)
Comrades: Fu Mei, Jiang Da-chun, Feng-ying Chen, Chang "Kaji" Jin, Chingwan Hsiao-Fan, Haima Tate, Hasina Tate, Xie Shuren, Rokkaku Raiu, Wakai Tokiko, Sachi Shinwa
Key Event #1: Awe & Wonder (restored from chih-meh ghoulishness and inducted into House Bishamon, she quickly drew to the Dharmic path that not only appealed to her nature but her savior followed: the Dance of the Thrashing Dragon; although her powerful savior was not her assigned jina sensei, she felt obligated to serve him since he gave up his quest to rescue her unworthy soul from Kakuri)
Key Event #2: Treachery (at first, Tsunobue wanted nothing to do with her and her sensei encouraged her to stay focused on the Ré; however, during the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Tsunobue found use for her as a provocateur for the uji against Green Court rivals and sent her to Seoul, Korea; there she assisted the Genyosha ronin by manipulating Queen Min's royal officers into aiding the assassins gain access to the Korean queen in her palace; Raiu admitted to herself some sorrow for her role in the plot, and never did discover Tsunobue's goals or purpose in that shadow war, and he never called on her again)
Key Event #3: War (but her Road Back only grew grimmer as two world wars in a row unfolded; she loyally served House Bishamon in the brutal wars waged against the Quincunx and later Kin-jin invaders; she honed her combat skills in deadly battle in Nanking and Shanghai, until the atomic bombs dropped, ending the war, and all gaki forces withdrew)
Key Event #4: Awe & Wonder (the post-war peaceful interlude saw her return to work for the uji as a provocateur, manipulating yakuza gangsters most often; she also served as a guide for Urns, acting in a jina role despite her relative youth, as the clans needed to replenish their numbers lost from the wars earlier that century)
Key Event #5: Awe & Wonder (a deal between the Bishamon and Quincunx saw her "loaned out" to the Flesh Court in Shanghai as part of a show of good faith between the Hungry Dead, and there she continued her most recent responsibilities, serving as teacher and guide to Running Monkeys, and she otherwise grew further into the jina role)
Transition: Reassignment (her service to the Quincunx extended and attached her to the Great Step Outward, placing her in a foreign court in the Midwest of America, where she might continue to guide new disciples and keep the integrity of the Great Principle against the shared enemies of all Wan Kuei, namely the Kin-jin; she expanded on this goal, working with Sachi Shinwa to open dialogues between multiple shen species)
The P'o
Appearance: Raiu's P'o is remembered image of her oiran taskmaster, outwardly cold and critical, with none of the inner warmth Raiu knew the real thing kept in reserve.
Trigger: Whenever she fails at even the most menial task.
Jade Talismans
Green
Appearance: A classical kanzashi hair needle made of finely polished cherrywood and mounted with a green knob, the jade of that knob especially creamy and vibrant
Origin: Gift
Significant Others
Names: Sachi Shinwa, 2005; Chingwan Hsian-Fan, Xie Shuren, 2011
Nature: Romantic; Companionship
Sachi
Shuren
Hsiao-Fan
Weakness
The Connections We Make
Raiu is outgoing, friendly, welcoming, and passionate. She commands elegance and charisma, true, but ultimately she truly does enjoy interacting with people and helping them. Sometimes, she helps them to help in its own right, but usually she helps others to help herself. This sort of "selfish altruism" is always superficial and transparent.
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
Raiu's well on her Road Back and has encountered few obstacles that threatened to tug her off the right path and send her spiraling back to Hell, her self-confidence and radiant inner beauty seems to repel such shadow.
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Coalition of Little Asia
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