Kizuna

Kizuna (born Lilyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMabGipWLMk, known as Tigerlily or The Karmic Blossom in the RPG adaption) is a major character in TOME. Kizuna was formerly Netking Number 7, who was responsible for bug-testing the game, but after the original incident with the Forbidden Power, she and her partner, Zetto, split off from the Netkings. She acts as the administrator of D-Buggers.org, disguising herself under her alternate armored form, Tigerlilly. She is an Animalistic character with the power of sharpshooting.
==Appearance==
=== TOME 2011 ===
Kizuna has three different forms. Her standard form is humanoid, with long red-brown hair in a large low ponytail and a multipurpose pistol. Her season 1 design features a navy poncho and skirt, a light grey bodysuit underneath, and matching light grey arm gloves and knee-high boots. She also wears a brown belt with a pistol holster. Her season 2 design is similar, but has a redder palette overall; the navy poncho and skirt are absent from her design, and her light grey bodysuit is instead dark red. 
Her second "legal" form is a small red cat; in season 1, her cat form dons a green collar with a golden bell and a matching tail band, while in season 2, both turn gold. Her third form is a hacked version of her "Beast Armor" ability, named Tigerlilly. This form is a quadrupedal mechanical beast with large claws, 4 green eyes, and some cat-like qualities, such as small triangular ears. It is noticeably larger than other players.
=== TOME RPG ===
Although she retains the Animalistic class of her previous counterparts, she takes on the appearance of an anthropomorphic feline, rather than a cat-like humanoid. She retains her golden eyes, though they now have slit pupils. Her palette is pinker overall, with a fur pattern reminiscent of a tabby cat; she has a lighter underbelly which leads up to her face and dark pink stripes along her waist, thighs, and cheeks. Various scars are scattered across her body. 
Her attire consists of a small brown top lined with gold, a red skirt, a green necklace composed of beads and leaves, brown leg warmers lined with white fur, a golden band near the end of her tail, and a small brown bag fastened with golden beads on the waistband of her skirt. Yellowed bandages are wrapped around her right arm and thighs, and she wears a tigerlily flower on the top of her head. Her pistol was omitted, with her design elements instead pointing towards her natural element.
== Personality ==
Kizuna has little character development over the series, but she is shown to be able to focus intently on one task without letting other things distract her. For example, her participation in the Gemini Tournament with Zetto was nothing more to her than a favor, since it was just part of the plan to get the Forbidden Power. This can lead her to be curt and narrow-minded at times, as she sees her goals as the most important at any moment in time. While she is patient, having to wait several weeks to let certain schemes play out, she gets frustrated easily when something goes awry.
Based on her behavior in Episode 15, it can be concluded that Kizuna's cold and detached attitude stems from her desire to keep Zetto safe, and her insecurities around having her feelings exposed. She gets increasingly upset when she says that SOFDTI could very easily release another virus that could hurt Zetto or cause him to go crazy trying to get rid of it, showing a more emotional and paranoid side of her that wishes to protect the one she cares about.
In Episode 00 (File: 00), it was revealed that Kizuna's personality used to be far more easygoing and lighthearted. After SOFDTI openly revealed her feelings for Zetto, she closed herself off and became irritable and frustrated, with her negative feelings only growing stronger after the incident with the Shadowguard Beast.
==Biography==
=== Season 1 ===
Although Kizuna's first appearance as herself was in episode 8, her first technical appearance was in Mansion Midnight, as D-Buggers.org. This is her only "character" appearance until the Gemini Tournament begins. As D-Buggers.org, Kizuna gives the six hackers different jobs to work towards capturing the Forbidden Power. Her first appearance in her cat form is in episode 3, walking past The Platform while Saturndiva and Whyti are chatting with Flamegirl about Alpha.
She then appears as Tigerlilly for the first time in episode 5 while the main cast are training for the Gemini Tournament in ;Lavendera. Using her Sonic Screech, Tigerlilly riles up the Forbidden Power inside of Alpha, causing him to lose control. Demon Alpha attacks Tigerlilly; however, Kizuna disconnects from the game right before she's defeated, likely to avoid the pain the Forbidden Power would cause.
Tigerlilly appears again in episode 6, after Gamecrazed and Nylocke have successfully reunited Hyprelynx and Elescope in ;Mechcity. Tigerlilly leaps from the Moon and attacks the party, nearly defeating them, but she is defeated by Gamecrazed when he uses the Drain Edge to absorb her attacks. It is unknown why Tigerlilly appears in this episode, but it's most likely that she was attempting to steal the Drain Edge from Gamecrazed, planning to use it to seal the Forbidden Power away.
In episode 8, Kizuna appears in human form for the first time, acting as Zetto's partner for the Gemini Tournament. She has a casual demeanor throughout the tournament, easily defeating opponents and telling Zetto that the whole thing isn't a big deal for her. After taking out the Twin Blades, Kirbopher, and Alpha and Flamegirl, Kizuna and Zetto reach the final round against Gamecrazed and Nylocke. The battle is very close, with both sides virtually matched, but Nylocke and Gamecrazed forfeit in order to make a point about fun. At the end of the episode, Kizuna is seen at the trophy ceremony, holding her side of the trophy with a frustrated look on her face.
=== Season 2 ===
Kizuna reappears in Episode 11 with a redder palette overall. She first appears in her cat form, overlooking the main cast as they take care of Odboll and complain to the moderators of ;Sanctuary. After that, she teleports to the Moon, where she has set up a monitor overlooking ;Sanctuary to search for the Forbidden Power after its disappearance in Episode 10. Zetto appears as well, and the two argue over how TOME isn't just a game, and that the Forbidden Power is a real threat. Kizuna believes it should be captured as a tool, but Zetto is fully convinced that the Forbidden Power must be destroyed. Later in the Episode, Kizuna can be seen in the Moon again, frustrated that she cannot find the Forbidden Power.
Kizuna appears again at the end of Episode 12, once again in the Moon. Zetto arrives to tell her that the Netkings will be making their move the next day. When he asks her what to do, Kizuna tells him that she has to make some important calls.
The next time she appears is at the end of Episode 13, where she is giving instructions to Odboll.
In Episode 0, Kizuna appears with a different design that has aspects of both her season 1 design and season 2 design; her color scheme is the same as her season 1 design, but her hair is more like her season 2 design. Instead of her typical handgun, she wields a wooden staff. She is seen messing around with Zetto, teasing him playfully, when SOFDTI comments that they both have strong feelings for each other. Kizuna has an outburst at this, insulting SOFDTI and asking her to stay out of her head. She is there again when Zetto fights against the Kajet, with Webmaster telling her to spot for bugs. She jokingly taunts Zetto, who sighs in response. When he attempts to fight Kajet, she notices the Forbidden Power entering it, and tries to stop Zetto from fighting it.
Her next appearance is in Episode 14, where she is discussing with Zetto about whether or not they can pull off their plan. She guarantees that this is their only chance to strike, and that whatever the Netkings are going to try will not work. She says that they are almost ready to launch before heading down to make sure things run smoothly. When Alpha and Neomutant enter the hacker base, she attacks them as Tigerlilly. She manages to defeat Neomutant, but Alpha breaks her armor, and she flees in cat form. Later on, she drops down from the ceiling while Alpha and Flamegirl are talking, putting her handgun to Alpha's head. When the Dragon Bug activates and Flamegirl glows pink, she remarks that it 'isn't supposed to happen,' which Zetto affirms. She is shocked when Flamegirl is absorbed into the Dragon Bug, and watches as Zetto tries to shut it down, questioning what he is doing.
In Episode 15, Kizuna joins the group, woefully remarking that the Dragon Bug and Forbidden Power must have cancelled each other out. She helps in hunting down Rubirules, and it's revealed that she's known he was behind it all, like Zetto. She is the first to pursue him, asking Zetto if he's coming with her. The two of them make it underground, but she is removed from the battle after she turns into Tigerlilly and her armor is broken by Rubirules. After his defeat by Alpha, Kizuna gets back up and attempts to kill SOFDTI. She says that SOFDTI will just read her mind again, and how she is a pest that needs to be destroyed. She says she is mad at her because she, due to creating the virus, almost took Zetto away from her. She tries to get SOFDTI to say her feelings for Zetto, but Zetto shoots her in the back to protect SOFDTI. Shocked, she looks back at him, before she is defeated.
== Abilities ==
* Golden Bullet: Infinite ammo fired from the user's weapon. She is extremely skilled with her handgun and never misses.
* Cat-like Reflex: An agility-boosting power-up that combines with the user's physical attacks for deadly accuracy.
* Beast Armor: Creates a temporary metallic shell that slows the user's speed but increases their physical offense and defensive powers. This ability was hacked to last as long as needed for her mission.
* Sonic Screech: A powerful sound-wave attack that can cover a large area. This technique was hacked to be so loud that it could physically strain any surrounding players that hear it, often used as a distraction. 
Kizuna also has the ability to change into a small cat; this is likely another hacked skill.
==RPG Adaption==
Kizuna's inclusion (alongside Zetto's) in the RPG adaption was open to question since the campaign's launch date. The duo were officially announced to be part of the RPG on December 28, 2019, in which they were revealed to be "Solo Entrants" of the Campaign of Champions with no relation to a particular guild or team and are one of the most difficult opponents that the players must face. Kizuna was officially renamed Tigerlily in homage to her disguised form, and received the most changes out of the two. 
In this RPG adaption, Tigerlily is revealed to be a 33-year old beta-tester named Yuno Hu (in reference to her previous iterations) whom, alongside Zetto, tested the game before release. She intimidates Zetto into leaving Alpha and the White-Hat Hacker alone and escorted them throughout Morganite Valley to find both the Pearl gem and a hidden sector in order to retrieve the Cat's eye gem. She also manages to face against Ravenfreak, Asterologist and Snyperyda as retaliation for Ravenfreak tricking Alpha previously. After vanquishing the Ruri beast, she reveals that she had another Cat's eye gem and merely helped Alpha to ensure the gem would go to the right hands. She tells Alpha that he should stop being hard on himself, and that they'll be rivals when competing for the Campaign of Champions. The game also reveals that she was the one whom sent the White Hat a copy of TOME in order to infiltrate and stop any black-hat hackers in the game. Her second motive is to prevent Zetto's competitive nature from interfering with the Dandy Alliance's mission in the Campaign of Champions. Tigerlily had her character for years on other games, with her nature-based techniques being influenced by her love of plants. Tigerlily officially joins the Dandy Alliance in the third week of the campaign, by plea from the White Hat Hacker, following the incident in which the The Troublemakers erased the prerequisites for the alliance to enter that week’s regional event.
== Gallery ==
*Kizuna/Tigerlily/Gallery
==Trivia==
*"Kizuna" means "bond" or "ties" in Japanese, foreshadowing her previously strong bond with Zetto. It also contains the word "Kizu" which means "scratch."https://www.deviantart.com/kirbopher15/art/TOME-Kizuna-423083520
**It also may be a wordplay on "Bisuna", the Iraqi Arabic word for "cat".
*Kizuna is the only known user with multiple identities on TOME that only has one account. "Tigerlilly" is a disguise created by Kizuna hacking her Beast Armor ability.
*Kizuna's pistol is called "Spellcheck."https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=987878754605562&set=a.987878677938903
*Kizuna's design in Episode 0 is most likely a callback to the character she is based off in TV TOME Adventures, Ruri.
*Kizuna, alongside Zetto, are playable characters in the Nintendo Switch game Combat Core, making them the only two Terrain of Magical Expertise characters to appear in a non-TOME based video game project. Miller reprised their role from the original series.
*Kizuna's font is "It Ain't Rocket Science."https://www.tumblr.com/moonlightchronicle/152251904868/whats-the-name-of-the-font-used-for-zetto-on-the
Category:Female Character
Category:Hacker
Category:Animalistic
Category:Antagonist
Category:Netking
Category:D-Buggers
Category:Character
Category:Secondary Character
==References==
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