Senju

##Tsukigo Where life withers in the sun and blooms under moonlight. Latticed branches stand against the Sun's advance, but bow to the Moon's ascent. Beneath them, flowers lift their heads to soak up its radiance. To consume moonlit blooms is to receive lunar grace. Its effects are random and endless; to humans they made no sense. Only the usamimi, raised under the moonlight themselves, could see patterns in lunacy. With medicine drawn from moon-fed blooms, the usamimi transcended their transience. Humans may rule Tsukigo from its sunlit clearings, but the dark forest hides the region's true masters. ##Yoru no Ashura (夜の阿修羅)/An Old Tale A collective nightmare of all those who threatened the usamimi in the last hundred years. An assassin who left only bodies, never witnesses. Was it truly a single person? Or a title shared by many? No one could say for certain, but everyone wanted to believe that only one such killer could exist. The only thing an outsider could bet on was that Yoru no Ashura served the Umetsuki clan. Lethal gases without smell or color. Poisons that slew giants. Yumi that hit their marks from impossible distances. They were all hallmarks of the usamimi's most militant clan. Only when the Shogun unified Aishiji did the killings stop. For two decades, Yoru no Ashura vanished. Now, as war tears the island apart once more, the usamimi call for their shadow-saint's return. ##Umetsuki Senju (梅月千手)/Backstory Yoru no Ashura was, in truth, a single woman: Umetsuki Senju. Though that secret died with her targets. Assassination work was in low demand during the times of peace. Weaving intelligence networks became the main focus of every shadow-saint worth their fame. Senju had to reinvent herself. As she pondered her future, she had a realization: men guard their secrets in their hearts, and a woman's charm is the fastest route there. A strategy she never found necessary herself, but one widely popular among the junior kunoichi of her clan. They too needed new purpose. Usamimi courtesans became Aishiji-famous almost as quickly as they appeared. Their beauty and talent enamored all men. So renowned, they became status symbols among the powerful. Lords, merchants, crime bosses...each poured their hearts out before their charm. None knew their secrets would end up with the Umetsuki of Tsukigo. Running that whole operation proved far more amusing than enduring nights under yet another target's floorboards. No assassin's legend could compare to the dirt her girls dug up. Dangling those secrets in their owners' faces was the highlight of her day. Her new reputation was also far more flattering than that of a ruthless killer. Since she ran things mostly from the shadows, various exaggerated tales of the unattainable beauty heading these courtesans spread far and wide. Even the Kaedeji daimyo demanded to know who this famous usamimi really was. The Umetsuki saw no harm in telling him. In fact, they urged him to employ her. Not as a courtesan (much to his disappointment), but as unofficial spymaster and secret bodyguard to the human clan. In both roles, Senju's services proved more than satisfactory. Even if every usamimi courtesan were to retire today, it would barely shake Senju's web. Wherever they are, whoever they work for, lowlives of Aishiji owe Senju all they know. ##Appearance As an usamimi, she sports a pair of rabbit ears and a complementary tail, though the latter is often hidden under clothes. The rest of her body is exactly like human's. Her white hair falls all the way to her knees, as such she often wears it tied into a messy ponytail. As for her eyes, they are crimson-colored. Petite in build and youthful in looks in spite of her abilities and advanced age. Only about 146cm tall, which makes using the yumi pretty annoying. Her skin is fair and perfectly smooth. Wears whatever is the most convenient. Usually a loose dark kimono combined with a short hakama skirt. More often than not, her kimono slides down her shoulder to reveal a sarashi binding her modest chest. For legwear she wears white tabi thighhighs and on her feet, dark geta. ##Personality Her fellow Umetsuki were impressed with how well she played the role of a sleazy old courtesan...at first. Their wonder became concern when she kept the 'act' up even back home. But that's just how dedicated Senju was. Or so she claimed. In truth, she got a little too comfortable playing her role. After decades of precise, rigid work, playing a bawdy madam made for some fun times. Why return to hiding under floorboards when she could drink, gamble, and collect secrets alongside her darling juniors? Centuries of life gave Senju an odd relationship with mortality. She doesn't look down on shorter-lived people, but she rarely takes their concerns seriously either. Watching humans fret over problems that will resolve themselves in a few decades amuses her. Their accomplishments, however brief, she finds charming. Senju rarely panics or worries in general. She maintains an (often frustrating) 'I've got all the time in the world' attitude, even when her allies have tight deadlines to meet. Still, her patience lets her yield better results than frantic scrambling ever could. In spite of everything, she does remember how to be proper. When duty calls, and while she might complain, she's the competent mentor, spymaster and bodyguard Tsukigo's clans rely on. But the moment she steps out of their sights, Senju returns to doing things whichever way she considers the most amusing at the time.