Kunoichi

Sekiko was born the youngest daughter in a cruel and neglectful household, unloved and unwanted. The family home bordered a lush forest and, when, in her childish curiosity, the infant Sekiko crawled into its depths, disappearing without a trace, no effort was made to search for her. Though death seemed a certainty for the child alone in the forest, through chance, or perhaps fate, the first creature that happened upon her was not looking for an easy meal. Instead it was one of the kitsune, a creature of legend known for its cunning, magical shape-shifting abilities, and as a bringer of good fortune. It looked down on Sekiko with kind eyes. Resolving to take the infant in and raise her as one of his own, the fox, known as Kuzu, picked Sekiko up by her scruff gently in his jaws, and trotted off to his den. Over the years, as she grew and learned from her adopted father, Sekiko saw Kuzu in both his fox and Human forms. Though they spent most of their time in the forest, where Kuzu was most fond of remaining as a wizened old fox, with a graying muzzle and scruffy fur, he often took the form of a Human beggar, so that they might walk through settlements unnoticed to teach Sekiko of Human ways. Whenever Kuzu transformed, there was always one thing that caught Sekiko's eye: a long, jagged scar that ran from his ankle to his hip. At first, she thought this was an affectation of his transformation and, like the limp with which he walked, it was to better pass himself off as a beggar. However, when she finally plucked up the courage to ask him about it, she received a shocking answer. Having been raised almost entirely by Kuzu, Sekiko knew little of the history of Yakai, and nothing of the Mikage Autocracy, and their hunting of the foxes. Fear and anger rose inside her as Kuzu recounted how many of his kin were killed by the brutal regime, and how he himself was nearly hunted down. The scar on his leg, which was obscured by his fur as a fox, was from a trap. Kuzu only escaped after tricking the hunter into freeing him, falsely promising him great luck and riches in exchange for his freedom. Sekiko was sick with disgust, incredulous at the idea that anyone would harm the joyful and kind being who was father to her. That day, everything changed for Sekiko. The idyllic and peaceful ideals she had cultivated were shattered, and in its place something far more wild grew. She begged Kuzu to teach her more about the Mikage Autocracy, about the warlords at its head, and about those figures who had survived its downfall. She persuaded him to train her in the ways of the Kunoichi, a famed ancient sect of female warrior-assassins in Yakai, taking up paired claws resembling those of a fox. Together, they carved the fox mask that became her calling card, so that her prey would know just who hunted them. Though Kuzu was at first reluctant, fearful of where this path will lead, he knows he cannot hold back the fire that stirs in his daughter. Now, approaching adulthood, Sekiko is ready to make her mark on the world. All remaining Mikage and Demonspawn in Yakai will know no peace, for she will hunt them down, just as they hunted the kitsune.