Ikaruga Kagetsukiko

Ikaruga Kagetsukiko (also known as Master Kage, by most people) is a prolific ninja that once lived in Kaminari no Tochi and the father of Aideen Kagetsukiko. Due to his death at the hands of his wife's brother, he died with many regrets. Months later, he would be given another chance to let go of his regrets as a Phantom.
== Known Attacks/Abilities ==
* Lightning Dragon's Blessing: Ikaruga was blessed from a young age with immense might. This is because lightning constantly courses through his body as if it were blood, giving him strength far beyond any other human, as well as durability and speed to spare, allowing him to dash about at incredible speeds and take nigh fatal wounds. As a Phantom, this blessing conferred unto him pushes his strength, durability, and speed to even higher levels. It never drains Akehura unless he's doing something that would push his limits. Unlike Aideen's enhancement, Lightning Dragon's Blessing doesn't make any noise at all, making it seem as though his strength is entirely natural.
* Chain Lightning: Ikaruga focuses his energy into a thin beam of lightning that pierces the enemy, doing no damage to the body initially. When he decides to do so, he can explode the lightning he's implanted into the body of the enemy, sending a massive surge through their body as well as striking anybody nearby as well. This is more often than not used to incapacitate the enemy rather than to kill them, but enough strikes will kill anybody quickly enough.
* Shadow Step: Ikaruga uses his Void Akehura to soften his steps to the point of making absolutely no sound. Even those with heightened senses would not be able to detect him by smell, or sound. When there is low light, or no light, Ikaruga's body disappears as well. Ikaruga can also hide in shadows, allowing his body to dematerialize and form inside of a shadow protects him from physical harm, and makes stealth much easier than normal. Conversely, he can make his own shadows, enveloping his body and moving elsewhere if turning into lightning doesn't work.
* Empty Curse, Blank: Literally a blank curse tag with no curses to provide. Ikaruga uses these tags in two ways. Since his tags have a limited range, he can increase the range by adding blank tags to the area. The more blank tags he uses, the larger his range of control. The second use is as a burst of energy that pushes a target away, and momentarily clouds their vision while he sets up any other traps he may have had in mind. This makes him a particularly difficult target to catch under the right circumstances.
* Ghost Step: An alternative to Shadow Step when confronted with enemies who can locate Ikaruga. He uses his lightning abilities to create copies of himself composed entirely of lightning. These copies are armed just like Ikaruga, and attack exactly the same way. The difference is that each one of their attacks is electrically charged, and destroying one only takes a single hit. Striking one of these copies, however, will cause them to detonate, sending fatal lighting Akehura through the target's body.
* Graveyard of Swords: Ikaruga solidifies the lightning that he summons after it strikes the ground all around him. He can either wield the swords and use them to kill the enemy that way, or he can detonate them all at the same time, causing massive damage to the bodies of those nearby, and killing them if they cannot somehow mitigate the damage. He can localize this ability, creating a dagger made of lightning that comes from the gauntlets he wears, or if he has to, he can conjure the daggers into his hands. This is used for immediate assassination rather than combat given the frailty of the dagger version of this ability. 
=== Special Form Attacks/Abilities ===
* Revenge Curse, Devourers: A curse created by Ikaruga to distort the enemy's sense of reality and mind games. Revenge Curse is triggered by crossing a straight line left between two curse tags, or by having a single curse tag placed on the body. It causes momentary blindness and difficulty breathing as black muck runs from the eyes, nose, and mouth. When this clears, the target will have half a skull painted visibly on the left side of their face. The world becomes distorted to them, and by then, their perception of both time and space is also twisted to the point where judging real from fake is a challenge, while vengeful spirits attack from all angles, causing dread, and ripping the enemy to shreds, only to bring them back and restart the process. For every death the enemy suffers in their mind, a massive gash appears on their body. Breaking Revenge Curse is simple. Ikaruga has to be distracted from keeping it up by any means.
* Recurrent Curse, Demon Snare: One of Ikaruga's many abilities brought forth by the cursed tags he brings into battle with him. Setting up Recurrent Curse creates a black circle wherever the tags are placed. Crossing these bounds instantly causes phantasmal chains to explode from their bounds and bind a target to place. The Recurrent Curse is further amplified by remnants of ghosts holding a target to place. These ghosts are marked by Ikaruga as Akehura eaters, which prevent the summoning of Akehura so long as the chains persist. Attempting to use magic causes the chains to tighten thanks to the ghosts utilized by Ikaruga. Breaking the curse involves a second party to sever the chains, meaning that falling into the trap alone is never a good idea.
* Void Curse, Hunger: Ikaruga uses his scroll for this ability, and as it stands, it is one of his more powerful defensive moves. He opens the scroll which is marked with the sign for emptiness, and from there, swallows any attack that its it into the void. He can hold any attack of any intensity without issue, and can continually absorb that same attack or variations of it. The only problem is that it can only absorb that one type of attack. It can also only hold one at a time. If Ikaruga wishes to use other abilities, he must release the first.
* Unnamed Curse: Unlike most, Ikaruga is called a "reaper" for a reason. He can see lines in the target that represent their life. Attacking the target while using this unnamed curse prevents any kind of regeneration while he is in his Finale, allowing him to kill even the most stubborn of targets by halting their healing capabilities. Breaking this Unnamed Curse is impossible. The only way to stop it is to force Ikaruga out of his Finale.
== Background ==
Ikaruga Kagetsukiko was born into a poor family. With four siblings and both his parents alive, life was tough, but good. But good things tend not to last. Ikaruga’s parents were assassinated, and his siblings vanished. The emperor and the empress of Kaminari no Tochi took pity upon Ikaruga, son of their loyal servants, and brought him into their family. However, he wasn’t simply just taken in. His new adoptive parents noted the boy’s athletic proficiency, and set him to train as ninja. Ikaruga excelled in his training, showing an inextinguishable drive. At age nine, he was deemed skilled enough to be sent on his first mission.
Upon the completion and success of his most important mission, the assassination of a prominent regional lord, he received commendations from his adoptive parents and earned the right to act without orders. Soon after his twelfth birthday, despite a good number of disappearances throughout Kaminari no Tochi, his adoptive parents offered him the position of emperor. Ikaruga would refuse, and a few years later, at age fifteen, he would leave Kaminari no Tochi for good.
At age seventeen, he would meet a mermaid on his travels. Despite the complete difference in habitat and species, the pair would fall in love and marry, and at age nineteen, Ikaruga would become the father to Aideen Kagetsukiko. However, much like his childhood, good things didn’t tend to last. His wife’s brother did not at all approve of Ikaruga, and forcibly took his sister back to the depths of the sea. Outraged and ready to fight for the return of his wife, Ikaruga went out to sea with his daughter, intent on ending his brother-in-law. However, Ikaruga was no sailor, and going out into a merman’s territory wasn’t the brightest idea. The weather took an unnatural turn for the worse, thanks to manipulation from Ikaruga’s brother-in-law, and the storm overtook his boat. The boat was crushed under the weight of the water, sending Aideen to parts unknown… and ending Ikaruga’s life at the young age of twenty-five. When his wife heard of his fate, she would commit suicide.
Months later, Ikaruga would wake up. Which was odd, considering he died. But Ikaruga had woken up in the Abyss, reborn as an undead Phantom.
Category:Characters
Category:Male
Category:Phantoms
Category:Swords of Lightning Members
Category:Valentine Valtieri
Category:Diviner