Kotoba Shirazakura

**NOTICE: *This article is a property of 3-Kizuna. Read at your discretion and warning for spoilers.***

## Vital Statistics

### Race

Human (Formerly)
Vampire

### Age

11 (*Catastrophe*)
19 (*Phantom Flower*)

## Professional Status

### Affiliation

Order of the Imperial Demons (Formerly)
Japanese Imperial Demon Army (Formerly)
Order of the Imperial Flowers

### Section

Bloom Demon Company
Kotoba's Squad (Leader)

## Personal Status

### Relatives

Hanako Shirazakura (Ancestor)
Shinra Shirazakura (Father)
Inori Sakakibara (Mother, Deceased)

## Portrayal

### English VA

Jessica Boone (Anime, English)

**Kotoba Shirazakura** 「白桜 言葉, *Shirazakura Kotoba*」is the main protagonist of the *Seraph of the End: Phantom Flower* fancomic series and a minor character in *Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign* manga series. She is the heiress and a member of the prestigious Shirazakura family as well as a soldier of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army

She is a First Lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the leader of her squad in the Bloom Demon Company.

## Appearance

Kotoba has a waist long white hair that she designs with a half ponytail and violet-gray eyes. A noticeable trait about her is her semi hime-cut hairstyle.

In Vampire Reign and Phantom Flower, she wears the standard JIDA uniform consists of a long-sleeved black tailcoat with light green details including the shoulder epaulettes, which has a fourragère around her right side connecting to the lapel of the coat, and two rows of gold buttons on the front. Along with that, she wears a pair of white gloves, an armband on her left arm, and a white web belt with a gold waist-plate. She also wears a frilled short black skirt, dark gray pantyhose and knee-high black boots. She tends to wear one of JIDA's standard cloaks when going out to battle and she dons a white holster on her left thigh that holds her Cursed Gear.

When not in battle, Kotoba usually dons a royal blue kimono with golden accents with her hair rolled up into a bun that was designed with golden hairpins and hair clips.

## Personality

Often mistaken as a gentle and kind person due to her appearance, Kotoba is a rather blunt, sharp-tongued person who doesn't hesitate to comment about something that disgusts her. She also tends to like things to come quickly whenever she orders it and grows rather irritable when she is forced to wait due to some setback. But even so, Kotoba does acknowledge the skills of others that impress her.

As a member of a family that has somewhat equal status to the Hīragi family, Kotoba is fiercely loyal to the Order of the Imperial Demons and their doctrines, and as such, takes great pride as heiress of the Shirazakura family, doing whatever means necessary to make sure that the title doesn't go to anyone else. However, despite her loyalty towards the Hīragi family, Kotoba takes an interest towards Guren and the Order of the Imperial Moon during the mission in Shinjuku, and eventually learns to admire and even respect Guren's leadership and prowess.

However, despite her contradicting personality, Kotoba seems to enjoy flower-viewing and dancing, finding a serene calm when performing both activities on her free time.

## History

Despite not being a branch family itself, the Shirazakura's serve the Order of the Imperial Demons due to the fact that the Hīragi's were very infuential and powerful all over Japan. Tenri Hīragi, himself, found it strange that a famed family like the Shirazakura's would follow their methods, but was nonetheless, more than happy to have the Shirazakura's on his side.

Like a typical rich child, Kotoba was spoiled and fawned over by many because of her family's popularity, something that she takes great advantage of when she wants to get something that she wants/needs. After the apocalypse that killed her parents and lost many vassals, however, Kotoba became serious in her standing as the sole redeemer of her family and would often times consult her father, Shinra Shirazakura, for advices - and as a result - she joined the Japanese Imperial Demon Army at such a tender age in order to become strong.

When she became at the age of 15, Kotoba was granted the rank of Warrant Officer because of her family status and impressive skill sets, which enable her to command a squad of her own despite being young in the Moon Demon Company. After four years, she was promoted three times and gained the rank of First Lieutenant.

Due to her high resistance, Kotoba was more than capable to handle a weapon of the Black Demon Series that she was even recommended to have one, but she chose not to, and instead, wielded a weapon from the demon series her family had develop some time ago, the Yin-Yang Spirit Series that lets her obtain Asahikaku without much trouble.

## Story: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen

Not much was mentioned of her, but her family was said to be one of the many followers of the Order of the Imperial Demons.

## Story: Vampire Reign

### Shinjuku Arc

At the mission of Shinjuku, Kotoba and her squad were called in for reinforcements prior to the berserk transformation of Special Private, Yūichirō Hyakuya in his seraph form. She, along with many soldiers that witnessed it, were stunned at what happened and she grew bewildered. However, she never mentioned it in the future.

### Post-Shinjuku Arc

Prior to the start of the mission for Nagoya, Kotoba was given word that her squad would be assigned in Nagano instead, making her and her squad members absent in the whole duration of the Nagoya arc.

## Powers and Abilities

### Natural Abilities

Kotoba, like all users of Cursed Gears, have heightened physical and regenerative abilities. Being raised as a Shirazakura under the tutelage of the Order of the Imperial Demons, Kotoba is shown to be a highly capable fighter that mixes both power and elegance in the battlefield despite her Cursed Gear being that of a battle fan. For someone of her age, Kotoba can be quite agile. Even Asahikaku, herself, recognizes Kotoba's prowess and comments that Kotoba is the best host she could ever ask for.

Kotoba also seems to be quite knowledgeable about politics, family status, Cursed Gears and vampires to the point that she shows it off when the opportunity presents itself.

* **Talismans**: Kotoba is skilled in using talismans, often cloaking her presence with them, sealing up the movements of her enemies, and making barriers with them. But often times she does use a talisman, it is only for explosions, emergency exits and distractions.
* **Dancing**: Despite being keen to her goal on carrying the family name, Kotoba tends to dance different kinds of Japanese traditional dances that uses a fan for the initial purpose of venting out stress. Eventually, as she grew older, she mixes the stance from this dances into her fighting, and as a result, Kotoba becomes very flexible and graceful enough to enthrall vampires for a bit.
* **Swordsmanship**: Even if Kotoba specializes in medium-to-long range with the use of her Cursed Gear, she is very much familiar with the use of swords and she can modify her fighting style similar to kendo if the situation calls for it but she chose not to for the reason that it requires a lot of strength and doesn't suit her style.

### Cursed Gear

* **Asahikaku**「朝日鶴, lit. *Morning Sun Crane*」: A possessive-type demon weapon of the Yin-Yang Spirit Series, representing Yang. It takes in the form of an elegant battle fan that specialized in both medium and long ranges. While somewhat mediocre in physical attacks, it compensates through the use of its army-affected special ability.
	+ **Bedazzling Dance**: Asahikaku's special ability that affects anyone within a distance of 10 radius away from where Kotoba is standing. The ability is activated when Kotoba calls out Asahikaku as she performs a fan dance stance, emitting an immense demonic aura to surround said area. Within the power's vicinity, anyone not strong enough to withstand it often fall into her spell as Kotoba usually orders the possessed ones to commit suicide, regardless if they are vampires or humans. However, this only applies to the first thousand affected.

## Trivia

* Shirazakura「白桜」 means "White Cherry blossom".
* Kotoba「言葉」 means "Words".
* People often mistook Kotoba as a gentle person due to her appearance and they were greatly shocked when they realize how much pride she held in regards to her family and skill set. But, even so, Kotoba never once uttered a swear or curse before.
* It is coincidental that Kotoba's hair and eye color are the opposite to that of Sen's hair and eye color. This is most likely due to the fact that both are heirs of the families that hate the other.
* Even if she's quite arrogant, Kotoba seems to care for the other people she gets close to. An example of this would be her former squad as she practically forces Kureto to promise her that he'll keep them safe when she's away on her reassignment.
* While somewhat pleased at the advantage of her rank, Kotoba finds it bias that she was promoted based on her family status and even mentions that the rank she thinks is suited for her - if based on age and skills - is Second Lieutenant.
* According to her creator:
	+ Interests / Likes: [Interests] The Shirazakura family's relation with the Hiragi family / Flower-viewing events / The Shirazakura family status in terms of power
	[Likes] Highly expensive perfumes / Jewelry with her birthstone
	+ Favorite Food: Manju / Any traditional Japanese sweets
	+ What she looks for in the opposite sex: A man who is kind and influential / A man who will 'whisk her away'