Kiyomi Kato

[Kiyomi Kato]

KIYOMI KATO


~ We have to distrust each other. It is our only defence against betrayal. ~

NAME: Kiyomi Kato
AGE: 26
GENDER: Female
RACE: Human
OCCUPATION: Emperor's Hand // Master thief
REGION: Japan
ERA: Feudal
POWER:
Extensive ninjutsu training~ Raised initially as a ninja, and then trained further to become one of the Emperor's Hands, Kiyomi has been trained extensively in the 18 arts of ninjutsu. She is, to all intents and purposes, a living weapon, who despite her slender physique is one of Japan's most deadly warriors. She is capable with almost any weapon that may fall into her hands, and is cunning and deceptive enough to overcome those physically stronger than her. She prefers the use of Taijutsu (unarmed combat) and shurikenjutsu (thrown weapons) over most of the other skills she possesses. Like most ninja, she is able to move undetected, and infiltrate almost any strong hold.

Athletic prowess~ In the early stages of her training, Kiyomi quickly realized that she lacked the physical strength of many of her peers, and that to overcome them she would need to use her considerable speed and more flexible body. Over time, she honed her skills in both fields, and now seems both much faster and much more athletic than most her size, making her both a better fighter and a better thief.

Master thief~ Atop her ninjutsu training, Kiyomi has spent much of her life learning the subtle arts of deception, and she is able to divert peoples attention with ease, using seduction, distraction or otherwise. Taking things from people's person is no issue for her, and she has learned to replace items stolen with those of similar weight so that those pick pocketed are usually unawares for some time. Her stealth skills are useful when stealing from another's home, as she can often enter rooms and leave them without being seen or heard.

EQUIPMENT:
Kunai~ Despite having access to a wide variety of ninjutsu equipment, Kiyomi almost exclusively uses Taijutsu and shurikenjutsu, meaning that she needs to carry very little. Tending to use her hands in close quarters combat, her only commonly carried piece of equipment is a set of kunai, hidden about her person.

Body-suit~ Needing a flexible and unobtrusive garment, Kiyomi tends to wear dark, form-fitting body-gloves, with little extra clothing but a waist sash (for carrying her kunai), neck scarf (to hide her identity) and wrist and shin guards (protection against bladed weapons when using her Taijutsu.) She will occasionally wear an over-robe, but only when needing to blend in with the general population.

Nunjutsu equipment~ While it is very rare she carries it, Kiyomi does have access to a wide variety of ninjutsu equipment, ranging from ninjato to grappling hooks. Should a certain mission as the Emperor's Hand demand it, she will utilize the wide variety of tools at her disposal.


LIKES:
~ Proving her superiority over other ninjas
~ The occasional act of theft
~ The sun, especially bathing in it
~ Taijutsu, as it constantly tests her strength
~ Training, both the body and the mind
~ The respect she has earned, and the pride it affords her
~ Material wealth
~ Spiritual wealth
~ Freedom

DISLIKES:
~ Losing fights on terms other than her own
~ Being caught in acts of theft {though it rarely happens}
~ Being caught unawares {though again, it rarely happens}
~ Being chained to any one order
~ Using weapons besides her fists
~ The Emperor of Japan
~ Doubting herself
~ Standing still
~ Injury

FEARS:
~ Having her treachery uncovered
~ Being ridiculed, humiliated, or having her pride stripped from her

SECRET:
~ She is, despite her high ranking position within the Japanese army, a double agent. While she has sworn her loyalty to the Emperor, she is in fact working secretly for Orochi, as he has promised her the life of her little sister in return for her services.

PERSONALITY:

~Cautious and quiet; her extensive training in ninjutsu has left her a very cautious person, especially around those she doesn't know. Kiyomi tends to seem guarded, and will remain quiet in discussions with people she knows little about. Many tend to be ill at ease around her, finding her preference of silence discomforting, especially due to her occupation. Her natural caution makes her slow to warm to people, and she very rarely puts her trust in others.

~ Confident and risky; despite her somewhat quiet demeanour around those she doesn't know, leading many to think she has issues of self-worth, she is actually remarkably confident. She is happy to speak her mind, but prefers to watch and work people out before she does. Kiyomi is utterly confident in her own skill, and knows the limits of her ability like the back of her hand. She will never reach for something unattainable, but she is more than happy to put herself to the test, and perhaps take action that others would think 'risky.'

~ Proud; Kiyomi is ridiculously proud, and while she wouldn't openly admit it, her pride is the thing she cherishes most. She will challenge anyone who she feels threatens it. Kiyomi feels that orders from others are only valid because they allow her to make her living. For the most part, she will rarely take advice and yet will give it often. This also leads to her great dislike of being controlled by others.

~Family~orientated; The only people that Kiyomi ever felt a connection with where her family. Despite having lost all of them other than her father, she will stand up for those she considers family no matter the odds or the situation. She will fight for them with reckless abandon, and she has left many wishing they did not cross those she holds dear.

~Caring; Despite the saying 'there is no honour among thieves', Kiyomi has spent much of her life trying to prove that there is. While she is happy to steal from the rich, she will rarely take from those in need. She also bears a strong sense of right and wrong, and a conscious that won't allow her to see unnecessary suffering. She will not take lives unless ordered to, and even then she tries to avoid it.


HISTORY:

Kiyomi's life is one that is shrouded in mystery, and very few are sure of her true origins. She is thought to have been born to wandering ninja and a priestess from a far off land, hence her somewhat tan complexion and well-endowed form. However, she never knew her mother, and her father never revealed the reason behind her absence. Some have said she died at birth, while others suggested she left, returning to her own lands, leaving the girl and her father to fend for themselves.

Whatever the reason, Kiyoni grew up lacking maternal guidance, and in an effort to please her father, desperately trained in the ways of the ninja. While struggling at first, under his tutelage she became fairly accomplished, and she came to enjoy the challenge ninjutsu offered her. For ten years of her life she wandered the wilderness with her father, constantly studying both martial arts and methods of survival.

It was around her eleventh birthday that her father decided that it was time to finally rest in one place, and he and he daughter went to live among a small community of ninjas, an old clan that had lost many of it's members to inter clan war. Kiyomi found life there much harder, and was teased due to the colour of her skin and her difference in build. She was also one of the only females learning the ways of ninjutsu, furthering the ridicule aimed at her.

However, she withstood verbal assault for her father, who had found happiness, settling down with a widow and having another child. Kiyomi was blessed with a little sister, who she grew instantly attached to.

As her father aged, he told Kiyomi that there was no more she could learn from him, and he asked the elders of the village to train her as they had the other youngsters. After watching her fight only once, they agreed. At first, many of the boys were stronger than her, and often in their sparring matches abused her, throwing her slighter frame around as if she were a rag doll. However, they only strengthened her resolve, and she tried harder to beat them. She quickly learned that her strength lay in her speed and athletic ability, and after honing a number of her already impressive skills, became one of the villages most impressive warriors.

Time passed, the inter clan wars ended, and a new Emperor was put upon the throne. Kiyomi had come to adore her life, finally having a female companion in her little sister, and was skilled enough to keep many of the boys who would attempt to degrade her at bay. But she was torn away from her family by official decree, the Emperor asking her to become one of the 'Emperor's Hands', an elite group of guards and assassins used to do his bidding. While she had no wish to agree, she could not shame her family, and so went to receive further training at the Imperial Palace, where eventually she lived. Swearing her allegiance to the Emperor, she was tattooed on her left wrist and inner left thigh, proving her to be one of his trusted soldiers.

Years passed and Kiyomi's already prodigious skill improved, until she became one of the Emperor’s favored warriors. She did not, however, feel similarly of the Emperor, and held a constant grudge against him for the low wages he paid, and for taking her away from her happiness. As a personal form of rebellion, Kiyomi became a thief in secret, taking items from nobles and distributing them among the poor, those that lived as she had done.

It was through doing this that she learned of her families decimation at the hands of an unknown force. Wanting to bring a gift to her father, she returned to the village after stealing a large amount of the Emperor's golden jewellery, but found it in ruin. All were dead, bar her father, who had been seriously wounded. She had lost the sister she loved dearly, and was forced to find care for her elderly father. She blamed the Emperor for her not being there to protect her family, her hatred for him only growing.

It was then that she was approached, in secret, by a snake-eyed man who gave no identity. He revealed that he had the power to raise the dead, to give them life again. While not able to believe him at first, he demonstrated the fact by bringing her sister to her for the shortest of times, and then let her die once again. Mortified and confused, Kiyomi demanded an explanation, although none was given. Only a bargain was offered. In exchange for her sisters life, Kiyomi was to betray the Emperor, get close to him, and be ready to kill those of her own order, perhaps even the Emperor, when a certain signal was given. Wanting her sister back, she agreed. The deal was sealed with a hand shake, whereupon touching the man's skin, a strange shape appeared over her right eye, looking much like the tattoos already marked upon her.

Since then, she has continued life as normally as she can, still one of the Emperor's Hands, still a thief in secret. However, she awaits the day the snake eyed man calls for her with dread, feeling both dishonourable and cruel, although no matter what she does, she cannot convince herself that their lives are more important than that of her sisters.


ROLE-PLAY SAMPLE: Already done this!
OTHER: Nope
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ALIAS: Kuro

[MIKA]

Looks good! Accepted!