Sakuya Izayoi

Sakuya Izayoi (十六夜 咲夜 Izayoi Sakuya) is a heroine from the Touhou Project series who debuted in the 6th game, the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. She is shrouded in mystery, and her real name is unknown.
She is the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion who diligently serves Remilia Scarlet. She is the only human living in the mansion, commanding the fairy maids due to them being useless. She has the ability to control time.
==Appearance==
Sakuya is described as "tall", having rather pale skin, and grey hair of medium-length tied into two braids with ribbons. She typically wears a maid outfit including a headband, white waist apron, and short dark blue skirt.
Otherwise, her design varies throughout many of the games:
*(Touhou 9) Dark blue eyes, silver hair, has a long braid on each side of her face with green bows at the ends, she carries many knives. Wears a pink and dark blue French maid's outfit with long sleeves, and a white maid headband on her head. The Roman numerals for 1 through 12 line the bottom of her apron.
*(Touhou 9, alternative outfit) Same as above, but her outfit is mainly dark red instead of dark blue.
*(Touhou 7.5, 8, 10.5) Same as Touhou 9 outfit, except her apron has no text and is wearing short sleeves.
*(Touhou 7.5 and 10.5, alternative outfit) Same as above, but her outfit is mainly light blue with a white apron and her hair is light green.
*(Touhou 7) Same as Touhou 9 outfit, except her apron has no text and is wearing blue colored long sleeves and a red scarf.
*(Touhou 6) Same as Touhou 9 outfit, except she had bright red eyes, short sleeves, and the phrase "Red Magic" embroidered on her left sleeve.
==Relationships==
*Remilia Scarlet (Mistress): Sakuya serves Remilia diligently and without question. It is unknown why, but it seems that they have a close relationship as she decides to come join her on her adventures even if she doesn't want to, and the fact that she treats Sakuya with respect, unlike other fairy maids. She seems to be able to act jokingly with her, as she mocked her age in Imperishable Night.
*Patchouli Knowledge (Mistress's friend): Sakuya refers to her as "Lady Patchouli". Patchouli often acts derisive and mocking to her, but also appreciates her and thanks her for her work.
*Flandre Scarlet (Mistress's younger sister): Sakuya seems to have a good relationship with her, as seen in Cheating Detective Satori when she helps clean up her mess.
*Hong Meiling (Fellow employee, Friend?)
*Eirin Yagokoro (Unknown)
*Koakuma (Unknown)
==Trivia==
*She is featured as a character from the spin-off series Koumajou Densetsu and is the main protagonist of Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem by Frontier Aja.
*Sakuya claims she's in her late-teens, but Hieda no Akyu says Sakuya's refined manner and the level of her ability seems like that of a human that's been living for hundreds of years. According to a quote from Remilia Scarlet and Sakuya's ending in Imperishable Night (Good Ending #3), Sakuya has been working at the Scarlet Devil Mansion for so long, Remilia doesn't feel it fitting to call her human. With a comment like that, it seems safe enough to assume she has been at the Scarlet Devil Mansion for an extremely long time.
*Hieda no Akyuu believes Sakuya has managed to live so long while still looking like a teenager by manipulating time. It's true that Sakuya can increase the speed at which something ages, such as making bamboo flowers bloom instantly in Marisa's A ending of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, even though this would normally take 60 years. It seems safe enough to assume she can decelerate aging for a specific object, too.
*Despite helping rebuild the Hakurei Shrine later in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Sakuya casually ignores Reimu Hakurei's donation requests for shrine upkeep in Immaterial and Missing Power, saying she doesn't believe in gods anyway.
*Sakuya's involvement in the human cuisine of the Scarlet Devil Mansion is unknown. The Scarlet Devil Mansion has humans to eat, but Sakuya has never been shown preparing humans to eat. She has been shown to seek out rare (non-human) ingredients as well as prepare noodles and tea (accompanying context/dialogue usually implies it's not human), but the closest she has ever been depicted cooking humans was asking Remilia if she thought her latest (not humans) tea tasted like blood in Strange and Bright Nature Deity. Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu states that Sakuya's sin is coldness towards humans, with nothing about cooking them. Flandre Scarlet confesses to Marisa Kirisame in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil that she has no idea who prepares her human food, but doesn't think it's Remilia. Music comments in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil by ZUN state that Remilia's tea is blood, but the tea Sakuya serves in most official works is usually implied to be normal tea with Sakuya's latest experimental ingredient. Sakuya's ending in Immaterial and Missing Power mentions that tea time is usually "red tea", which is perhaps separate from the experimental teas Sakuya personally prepares. Could the usual non-experimental "red" tea be blood, and does Sakuya realize this?
*Sakuya is constantly seeking out new varieties of tea flavors for Remilia to try, as shown in several official works. For example, she mentions in Phantasmagoria of Flower View that with so many flowers around, she can make as much tea and pastries as she wants. (Flowers have often been used to provide flavoring for tea, especially in the past, and are still the basis of jasmine tea.)
*In the games, it is shown Sakuya has the ability to make knives appear mysteriously when time is stopped, but in her artwork in The Grimoire of Marisa, she is shown placing the knives physically.
*Her alternate outfit in Immaterial and Missing Power and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody is a homage to Ruukoto, the first maid of the Touhou Project. In Touhou Hisoutensoku, more alternate outfits were added, including a Shinku palette and a Dio Brando palette.
*Despite appearing in many games, she is one of the most enigmatic characters in the series.
*According to ZUN's emails, Youmu Konpaku is in the 120cm range, and according to another statement from ZUN with Sakuya being perhaps a head taller than her, Sakuya is presumed to be at least in the 140cm range.
*Sakuya is often represented with the color blue.
*According to Remilia Scarlet in Imperishable Night who is 500 years old, she is younger than her (and Eirin Yagokoro).
==External links==
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