Kirishima Izumi
Jun 30, 2022 13:30:36 GMT -5
Post by Izumi Kirishima on Jun 30, 2022 13:30:36 GMT -5
Kirishima Izumi
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Race: Human
Nationality: Moonglade
Appearance:
Long purple hair and lavender eyes are the most notable features of Izumi. Izumi stands at five feet seven, with a muscular build than most women her age and height. This was primarily due to her training as a samurai and her focus on sparring to increase both her muscle strength and stamina. She has a beautiful purple orchid tattoo on her shoulder blade and often wears clothing that show off her tattoo every chance she got, taking a traditional kimono and twisting it so that it starts around her chest. She often puts up her hair with chopsticks, the way geisha or priestess do.
Personality:
Izumi has somewhat of a bipolar personality. Although not to be mistaken with bipolar disorder, she has two different trait sets that she identifies with depending on the situation presented. Around most people, her primary (or surface personality) is the one that most of her subordinates, comrades and enemies would see. This primary set is easier defined when she is her true self, Izumi Kirishima. On very rare occasions does her secondary personality show through, usually under very specific situations, when she allows herself to adopt the traits of Sakurako. It is important to note that she no longer recognizes that when she is exemplifying her secondary personality, she is dabbling into her experiences as Sakurako. She only knows she is capable of such traits that are very different from who she is as Izumi.
The Kirishima family code (which also is the bushido code, or the way of the samurai) embodies five main characteristics: honesty, courage, humble/sincerity, respectful and loyalty. To this day, Izumi still has all of these characteristics, as well as other traits such as integrity and an intense amount of self-control. It is easy to say that she is very careful about how she presents herself, how the world sees her, and cares a lot about her image. It’s not uncommon that she would try to influence people to adopt the same code, especially her students. She is very strict and demanding, expecting excellence.
She is an extremely polite person, humble and modest. Sometimes this can be seen as being her negative trait as well, as she never boasts or speaks of her accomplishments. This is something that she learned from her mother, and had chosen to follow, despite the boastfulness of her father. She respected the elders in her family, respected the codes and regulations, and never dropped things like honorifics. Izumi is especially careful about how she speaks to her superiors, and takes exceptional care to not berate those below her. When she speaks to people, she will address them in the politest of ways, and even though she is blunt, her word choices depict her upbringing. She understands that speaking is an art, and will often go out of her way to make even an insult sound nice. Sometimes her modesty or humble nature is taken as her trying to fish for compliments, and through the years, she has learned not to voice anything that could make people think that way of her. If someone compliments her on her achievements, for instance, she would neither deny nor acknowledge, giving a faint smile in hopes to end the conversation. It is also because of this that she doesn’t know how to receive compliments from people and thus can’t give them out either.
She doesn’t have many friends, as her idea of friendship is a lot more serious than most. The idea of a friend is one who can be loyal, transparent, honest, compassionate, empathetic, genuine and kind. In her eyes, she finds it very difficult to find anyone who fits all of these traits. Even though she is honest to those around her, she finds it hard to trust people, and will not trust anyone lightly. Perhaps this is a defensive mechanism she has developed over the years of interacting with people, she feels that two people must be able to stand the testament of time to be called true friends. Izumi classifies most of the people she knows as acquaintances and those she does call her friends are few and far between. To her friends, she is loyal and would risk her life for them in a heartbeat. She is not afraid to put herself in relatively trying or life-threatening situations for the sake of protecting her friends, and this loyalty knows no boundaries. The way of the bushido prohibits her from walking away from those she has sworn to protect and it doesn’t matter how far she must go when it comes to her friends. There is also an unwritten rule between her and her friends that while she is willing to go to extremes, she expects the same from them, the idea of give and take very transparent within the friendships.
History:
Izumi was born to a family of samurais, her father being one of the most talented and skilled warriors of the land. Her mother was a medic, her soft-hearted personality provided the best balance to the rather boastful nature her father exhibited. She was the only child, and at the time of her birth, the elders of the family were very displeased that they had birthed a girl. It was only natural that a samurai family of such high prestige and reputation would want to have a son to take on the family crest and name, and woman samurai were almost unheard of. But both her parents doted on the girl, for her father had secretly wanted to have a girl rather than a boy, the idea of having someone take on the looks and characteristics of his wife more important than having a heir to the family. Although unconventional. he understood that being a samurai had its own dangers, and he didn't want to put another woman in the same position he had put his wife in for the five years they had been married had they had a son. So Izumi was loved and cherished, much to the displeasure of the elders.
Her mother though had different opinions of having given birth to a daughter. It was true that she loved Izumi, giving her everything that she had, but the woman was guilty that she had failed as a wife, having not been able to provide the Kirishima family with a son. And because they had had Izumi had an older age than most couples, the possibility of her birthing another child was almost impossible. So, her mother had hoped that her daughter would be able to be a samurai like her father, and possibly become the first female samurai. Such a desire was not easy to meet, her mother holding the highest expectations since she was a young girl. Izumi learned swordsmanship, stealth and agility techniques, while practicing medicine at the same time. Though harsh, she would grow to be the embodiment of both of her parents, taking on the fierceness of a warrior while keeping the gentleness of a healer.
Until she was thirteen, the girl would train with the rest of the family and her father's followers, learning all the techniques and trades of a samurai. She became an excellent fighter, with a sharp instinct with weapons. She would carry on trying to appease her father until he lost his life in the hands of a magic user, or a mage, spawning her extreme hatred for all those who used magic, swearing that she would one day kill all those who used magic.