Ayumi Tanaka

**Ayumi Tanaka** is one of the main player characters in the Band of Fools series. Known as the "Arrow Blade", she is a member of the Blades of the Parliament, a guild of vampire hunters.

She was first introduced in Blades of the Parliament, where she and her fellow Edgeling Ikarus Stone were given a mission to assassinate Giacomo Salvatore as their last test before their Unsheathing ceremony.

## Personality

Ayumi's VIRTUE is Curiosity, while her VICE is Silent. Due to her upbringing and being accustomed to an unconventional lifestyle that had to be kept secret, Ayumi is silent and behavior blind, keeping to herself most of the time unless absolutely necessary and unable to read other people's emotions and actions, leading to unpleasant and awkward interactions with other people at best, and failure to complete tasks due to lack of communication and coordination with her colleagues at worst.

While she is a diligent and hard-working student, she is prone to fits of sadism and sociopathic tendencies, especially toward vampires, as she is obsessed with finding answers to the origins of their existence and if such a condition could even be cured. The level of her obsession with the macabre is borderline unhealthy, dedicating much of her time and energy studying and gathering resources to perform unethical experiments.

## Story

### Early Life

Ayumi hails from a prestigious line of vampire hunters who groomed her to fight and kill vampires. Despite this, Ayumi developed a passion toward a different path - medical science. Seeing how enthusiastic she was, her parents sent her to medical school for her studies. Ayumi was a diligent and curious student, and through it all, her vampire-hunting training continued, practicing the art of archery and combat.

Growing up, she became curious about the vampire condition and the idea of developing a cure and finding answers to the origin of vampiric existence. Upon encountering and killing her first vampire, she was determined to examine its carcass, and began hunting more down for the sole purpose of quenching her thirst for knowledge. Little did anyone know, however, that she was developing an unhealthy obsession. Knowing this, Ayumi kept it to herself. This, in addition to her family's unique lifestyle and profession led to her distancing herself from the other people and the social norm.

### The Vanishing at 300 Block

Upon reaching the age of 18, Ayumi's parents endorsed her to the Blades of the Parliament guild. After several months of training and missions, he was paired up with fellow Edgeling Iks Stone to execute one final mission before their Unsheathing ceremony.

Their mission was to assassinate Giacomo Salvatore, a significant political figure within Kindred society and has murdered around 30 mortals in Grotthaven, Italy. However, due to their lack of coordination and communication, they botch the assassination and encounter two Bloodwilder vampires, Vorrigan and Kozani. While Iks quickly eliminates Vorrigan, Ayumi barely escapes her encounter with Kozani. Just before Ayumi escapes, Kozani recognizes that Ayumi had previously killed one of their own: Fane, and recalls the disrespect with how she treated his body after serial experimentation. Frustrated, Gregory Hampir commands them to take shelter in the nearby town of Delsangue and gives them a second chance - if they can somehow dismantle the Bloodwilders, they may just pass their Unsheathing. There, she meets Lady Baeline and Count Brightbury, rival shopkeepers who sell her useful items for her journey and compete for their customers' attention. Meanwhile, a vengeful Kozani is able to track them down after injuring Ayumi and following her blood trail to Delsangue.

Kozani arrives at Delsangue the next day and provokes the village by killing a few of its residents to force Iks and Ayumi to come out. The two Edgelings lure Kozani into a secluded backalley, and though Ayumi wanted to preserve her for interrogation and study, Iks cuts Kozani's limbs off, killing her, much to Ayumi's annoyance. Ayumi heads to the town cathedral, where she meets the High Priestess who blesses her with a protection spell against the damned. Hampir tells the pair that the Bloodwilders' outpost is in Colombera, several miles away from Delsangue. After parting ways with both Brightbury and Baeline, the two depart for their final destination. There, the pair encounter Moldark, the leader of the Bloodwilders. An enraged and impassioned Iks takes the fight to the outpost and defeats both Moldark and a mysterious, powerful hybrid vampire named Asphodel, with the latter act further disappointing Ayumi since she was interested in studying the hybrid while it laid dormant within a hidden room in the outpost. Nevertheless, Ayumi was silent throughout the whole ordeal and managed to collect some of Asphodel's blood and viscera from her carcass.

With their mission accomplished, Iks and Ayumi are brought back to the Parliament headquarters. A week later, they undergo their Unsheathing ceremony officiated by Hampir. Ayumi is inducted as an official Blade of the Parliament, and christened the 'Arrow Blade'. Iks and Ayumi part ways with mutual dislike.

Ayumi would later on to continue her work at the guild and secretly use Asphodel's remains for study and vow to search for more like it someday.

## Powers and Abilities

The following data is accurate as of *Blades of the Parliament*.

### Stats

* Health: 7
* Willpower: 4
* Size: 5
* Speed: 9
* Defense: 2
* Initiative Mod: 4

### Attributes

* Intelligence **•••**
* Wits **••**
* Resolve **••**
* Strength **••**
* Dexterity **••**
* Stamina **••**
* Presence **•••**
* Manipulation **••**
* Composure **••**

### Skills

* Medicine - **First Aid** **•••••**
* Occult - **Vampire Anatomy** **••**
* Science - **Anatomy** **•••**
* Firearms **••**
* Survival **••**
* Animal Ken **••**
* Empathy **•**
* Intimidation **••**
* Persuasion **•**
* Subterfuge **•**

### Merits

* **Status (Medicine) [•]**
* **Eidetic Memory [••]**
* **Holistic Awareness [•••]**
* **Natural Immunity [•]**

## Equipment

* **Compound Bow:** Ayumi's weapon of choice. Archery is a skill that she takes great pride in.
	+ **Poison Arrows:** Purchased from a shop in Delsangue, Ayumi would use these arrows against the Bloodwilders. They are coated with a potent toxin which can immediately take effect once it hits a target, causing pain and deterioration.
	+ **Armor-Piercing Arrows:** Purchased from a shop in Delsangue, Ayumi would use these arrows against the Bloodwilders. Forged and tempered by an exceptional fletcher, these arrows can pierce through ordinary armor.
* **Bowie Knife:** A knife that Ayumi uses in battle, especially against vampires. Without proper surgical equipment on the battlefield, she routinely uses it to open up and examine vampire anatomy, dead or alive.
* **Stethoscope**
* **Booster Serum:** Ayumi carries self-brewed serums that she claims are able to temporarily enhance her physical traits. This remains to be seen, however.