Ageha Ikuse

**Ageha Ikuse** was the former matriarch of the Ikuse Family. She was the wife of Koichiro Ikuse, the mother of Risei Ikuse, and the grandmother of Tobio Ikuse, the wielder of the Longinus Canis Lykaon.

Prior to her marriage and exile, she was the heiress of the Himejima Clan, the older sister of Suou and Sumire Himejima.

## History

Ageha Himejima was born in late September, 1927 as the eldest daughter of the Himejima Clan. Her younger siblings were Suou and Sumire Himejima, born in early 1941, though this came with a cost as their mother died during delivery.

Throughout her youth, she was extensively trained in all types of Eastern mysticism, especially in the magical teachings of the Himejima Clan. Like other witches in the Five Principal Clans, she was blessed by the Shinto Gods and was able to manipulate one of the Five Phases, which was Fire, in addition to becoming the host of the Vermillion Bird and becoming the new [Suzaku Himejima].

Despite this, when she was about 20 years old, she willingly passed down the position of [Heir] to her younger brother Suou and left the Clan, as she found herself incapable of living in such a toxic environment any longer. When people sent by the Himejima Clan came to either take her back or take her out, she violently lashed out, threatening to kill all members of the Himejima Clan using the powers of the Vermillion Bird before breaking the link with the Sacred Beast.

In 1952, Ageha met and fell in love with Koichiro Ikuse. In 1955, the two get married and moved to Fuyuki City where Koichiro had grown up in to make their own family. While Koichiro worked as a government official, Ageha remained home to be a homemaker, raising their son Risei, though she did become their neighborhood's secret guardian, protecting the mundanes from evil spirits and monsters.

In 1994, when Ageha's only grandson Tobio was born, she was forced to temporarily seal away Tobio's Sacred Gear as it had already been awakened from the moment of his birth and nearly taken his mother's life had Ageha not been there and saved her with Healing Magic.

In 1997, Koichiro passed away in his sleep and Ageha went on a 3-years-long personal journey as a way to process her grief. In late 2006, Ageha was admitted to Fuyuki City Hospital due to her deteriorating health, and on June 18, 2007, Ageha passed away due to natural causes, later revealed to be Type 2 diabetes. She was buried in Fuyuki City Cemetery and her funeral was attended by Suou Himejima, Head of the Himejima Clan, marking the first time he had tried to make contact with his sister's family since the day she left.

## Appearance

An elderly woman, Ageha was described to have a familiar resemblance to her grand-niece Suzaku. She had gray hair that was once black, and red eyes so dark that they can be mistaken for brown.

## Personality

Ageha was described as a kind-hearted woman. Ageha loved her grandson Tobio dearly and was very protective of him, having sealed his fully activated Longinus from the moment he was born and created prayer beads with a powerful protection spell for Tobio for his safety.

Despite this, she also had a terrifying temper, as shown with how she threatened the Himejima Clan into withdrawal, allowing her to live a peaceful mundane life.

## Abilities

**Expert Magician**: Ageha had great skills in the Eastern Magic of Buddhism, having been able to seal Canis Lykaon, an immensely powerful Longinus, in order to save Tobio's life when he was just born. She could also imbue spells into objects, having imbued *japamala* prayer beads with a powerful one-time protection magic that can protect the wearer from fatal harm, as well as a crystal with a magical voice recording that remains functional after her death.

* **Fire Manipulation**: As a member of the Himejima Clan who was blessed at birth by Kagutsuchi, the Shinto God of Fire, Ageha possessed the power to create and control powerful spiritual fire. This power was further enhanced during her time hosting the Vermillion Bird, Zhūquè.

## Trivia

* Ageha is considered one of the strongest witches that have ever been born into the Himejima Clan.
* While the exact details are not shown, Ageha's power-rankings are:
	+ P.O.W.E.R.S. System: "Low Threat"
	+ M.A.S.T.E.R. System: "Exceptional"