Chizuru "Corvus" Shiratori

### Dislikes

Beating around the bush, People who hurt others for pleasure (unless it’s a consensual fight)

## Magic

### Magic Type

The Shiratori exclusively engage in supernatural techniques through martial arts and ki rather than typical magical schools.

### Principle

Martial arts

**Chizuru Shiratori** (**白鳥 千鶴),** also known as "Corvus", is a member of the Snake Tong, specifically its Assassination and Infiltration unit, Unit 8 "Cloak and Dagger". Hailing from a line of shinobi dating all the way back to the Warlord era of Japan, Chizuru has centuries worth of ninjutsu taught to her, creating a highly skilled assassin and infiltrator. Just noticing her presence would require supernatural or superhuman detection. Her Shinobi Six Sense in the form of "Bird's Eye" makes her one of the most intuitive stealth and counter-stealth specialist. When the Corvus finds her vantage point, there is no hiding from her.

## Background

The Shiratori are a family that have been working as assassins and saboteurs since the days of the Sengoku Jidai. They were amongst the ninjutsu practicing clans who were aware of the supernatural and often integrated it into their work. This made them a highly successful lineage and their services were highly sought after.

The Shiratori have long been traditionalists, revering the old ways. So in 1853 when the shogun bent to the demands of the western powers, they were outraged. They vehemently protested against the influence of these Americans and even attempted to assassinate the shogun a few times. Naturally they threw their full support behind the Meiji restoration, only to be disappointed when westernization still continued. Considering their homeland to be dishonored, they left to seek their fortune elsewhere.

For decades they lived as nomads, selling their services to anyone who respected their skills and ways. They spied, sabotaged, and killed all over east Asia. In 1919, Chizuru’s great-grandfather took a job that brought him to the Philippines where he unknowingly interfered with the turf of the rising Snake Tong. Acknowledging his skills he was offered a position that he accepted, agreeing to work with the Snakes. This would ironically lead to Chizuru’s grandmother fighting against Japanese forces alongside other Snakes.

This is the lineage that Chizuru was born into. As soon as she could walk she was put through intense training to become a killer who would serve the Shia-shi well. She was taught how to hide, how to make her presence disappear, where to stab a man, how to infiltrate positions, etc. When she was six her parents brought back one of their targets to be her first kill so that she could get used to it young. Everything they did was to turn her into the perfect concealed blade and this only further intensified when they discovered her invaluable psychic ability. She was to be the masterpiece of the Shiratori.

Once her skill in the Shiratori arts was satisfactory, she was sent to go through the trials of becoming a full snake agent. She would join unit 8 around the same time as Mao and Ricardo, finding the assassination focused unit to be most suitable for her skills. When she first joined she was cold and almost emotionless, only feigning feeling when needed for missions. After all, her family had trained her to be an assassin and a snake but little else.

Because of this she was surprised how Unit 8 acted around each other and her. Treating each other like friends and even family. She was hesitant at first but eventually began to open up as well, engaging in conversation more often and participating in group activities outside of missions. Although she did not resent her parents for how they raised her, she did find she quite liked this new dynamic she’s been introduced to.

Thanks to her time in Unit 8, Chizuru has grown into a much more outgoing adult than she was as a teenager. She has become fond of her comrades too and would go to any length for them.

## Personality

Chizuru hates collateral damage on missions, none of her weapons are meant to harm over a wide area nor are they weapons that can miss and hit unintended targets. Hurting people who didn’t need to be hurt is a blemish on the skills of an assassin that she was trained to have, it means that she did not properly track and approach her target. More than that she sees it as a waste of life. She may be ok with murder but she believes any action to harm others should be deliberate and for a reason, even if that reason is money.

Naturally, she has some pride and confidence in her skills. It is a quiet sort of pride however, she does not boast about her skills and she can acknowledge when others are better than her. She aims to be the best assassin that she can and hopes to be the best stealth field agent in the snakes.

When off the clock so to speak, Chizuru can be a surprisingly lighthearted and social individual. She enjoys talking to others in her off time and she likes to go on outings with her friends. This is in stark contrast to how she used to be as a person, only seeing herself as an assassin as being important. Now she thinks about her other sides too. Chizuru has found herself to have a talent and enjoyment for singing, mostly traditional Japanese songs. She prefers to sing in private as she is pretty embarrassed when someone actually hears her singing. In fact, she’s relatively easy to fluster in general which makes her an easy target for the friendly teasing and ribbing of Unit 8 but she does not mind.

While on missions, Chizuru is the epitome of a ruthless, determined, and relentless hunter. Her nickname is partially in reference to the association of ravens and crows as symbols of death. Once she has locked onto a target she continues pursuing them until they are dead no matter how many times they escape, only backing off if ordered to do so. It is in these times when she is hunting down a target that her cold stare and demeanor return, combined with her hood and mask that leave only her eyes visible she can be quite an intimidating figure when on the job.

Although she can be accurately described as ruthless, Chizuru is not a cruel person. She will track down her target without mercy but once she has caught up she will make the kill clean. If a target can see her coming and compose themselves well enough to make them, she is even willing to consider final requests. She has done things like ensuring the safety of family members who were still being targeted by other groups, bringing final letters to spouses, making sure heirlooms get passed on instead of being looted by the Tong, showing her face, and taking requests on how she eliminates the target.

Because of her traditionalist and hyperfocused upbringing, she can be a little clueless when it comes to social norms and modern customs. She had never even heard of video games until Masami offered her a discount on her commission if she played one. She can have a hard time picking up on subtext sometimes which can be a little frustrating for her, being pretty straightforward herself in social settings. She also doesn’t always understand jokes that rely on an understanding of modern society.

One quirk of her personality is that she enjoys being high up for some reason, with people often joking that “Corvus is in her perch”. Because of this she really enjoys hiking and climbing which also provide an opportunity for physical activity and nice scenery. Being in her “perch” is one of the places where she feels comfortable enough to sing.

Another quirk she has is that she really loves dogs. Even the difficult ones she has a lot of patience for, although she is still stern with them. She often adopts strays that need help and shelter dogs that are up for euthenization. She has six dogs at this point and would have more if unit 8 hadn’t staged an intervention for her that forbids her from going anywhere near the local shelters anymore.

## Abilities

### Shiratori-Ryu

A combination of climbing, jujutsu, ninjutsu, tactics, and parkour. She was thoroughly trained in it every day since childhood. The fighting style of Shiratori-Ryu is largely focused around jujutsu which deals with fighting unarmed or with small weapons. It is a fighting style that focuses more on throws, pins, and dodging rather than striking as it was developed to work against armed and armored foes who you may not be able to block against and against whom unarmed strikes will be largely useless. On the supernatural side of things she has learned to completely suppress her killing intent, unlike her teammate Ricardo this does not take the form of making her physically invisible but rather makes her extremely difficult to notice. When she stands in a group of people, even her teammates would find it nigh-impossible to keep track of her despite her remaining perfectly visible. She is also able to use ki with which she further enhances her body and can sense the ki of others who are nearby.

### Other martial arts

Other than her training with the Shiratori arts, she also received training from Katja and Gjerta after joining unit 8. Katja’s Teräskäsi balances out Shiratori-ryu well. Where Shiratori-ryu is about redirecting, only attacking vulnerable points, and using an opponent’s power against them, Teräskäsi is about applying one’s own power thus giving her explosively powerful strikes as well. Gjerta taught her more about how to use a knife in open combat, making her even more deadly with a knife than she already was with just Shiratori-ryu which focuses more on catching an opponent unawares or exploiting blindspots. In open combat she generally fights unarmed or with a knife, keeping her hidden blade in reserve for decisive surprise attacks.

### Bird’s Eye

A psychic ability that Chizuru was born with. It is named for the phrase “bird’s eye view” due to her nickname and how effective it can be from a vantage point, not to mention how it helps her hone in on a target before moving in for the kill like a bird of prey. If one were to apply principles to the ability they would be “Intuition”, “Knowing”, and “Instinct”. It is a sort of sixth sense that helps her figure out things, even ones that she should have no way of knowing. Guard routes are practically marked to her eyes, she can instinctively sense who is her enemy even in a crowded room where they are disguised, the mechanisms for opening secret passages are almost highlighted for her, invisible ink reveals itself to her, etc. She will often start off missions by reaching a discreet vantage point and allowing this sense to carry her eyes to what they need to see, bringing her attention to routes toward her target, traps, etc.

### Physical abilities

Although she can not perform feats like lifting up a car and throwing it or tearing people into pieces, Chizuru is slightly superhuman even without enhancement from her ki thanks to intense physical conditioning. She can run faster, hit harder, and go longer than any sleeper by a noticeable amount.

### Equipment

#### Hidden blade

A weapon that Chizuru commissioned from Masami. She requested a blade that could be hidden under her sleeve, something that she could carry anywhere while appearing to be unarmed. She was given a retractable blade that could be strapped to the inner side of her arm, inspired by a game series that Mess happens to be a fan of. Made with material unique to Mess’s crafting process, it is sharp and durable enough to pierce through stone or metal with not damage to the blade, it also won’t be picked up on by metal detectors or other security measures. The blade is activated by flicking one's wrist with the intent to use it. Although not actually requested, Masami included another feature in the blade. The hidden blade has a similar effect as Snake keys, able to disrupt magic and open holes in barriers. This makes the blade even more deadly as not only can it easily pierce physical protection, it can also ignore magical shielding and enhancement. Whenever she’s questioned on why she doesn’t make this type of snake key for every member, Mess always replies something along the lines of “If I made the same enchantment for everyone then it wouldn’t be special anymore now would it?”

#### S11 ‘BB’ Bulletproof Body Suit

Standard issue magic armor that Snake Tong provides its members. It is a black suit which was made to be bulletproof (tested with 9mm, 7.62, NATO/.308) and provides magic resistance, dispelling low level spells. It is considered to be one of the iconic uniforms of the Shiai-shi. The suit is made with a composite of multiple magical materials, a major one being Huohuan Bu Silk from a Spider Yaoguai. This makes the Suit durable (enough to withstand modern gunfire and magical projectiles), easily enchantable with magic, and has innate fire resistance. If the Suit was stained, one simply needs to burn the area with the stain and the mess will soon disappear without damaging the cloth.

#### Shroud Collar

A variation on the standard issue shroud tie, a piece of equipment that can turn into a balaclava with the same protection as the suit. Since Chizuru felt more comfortable in a slightly less formal looking suit type she does not have the usual necktie. As a result, hers is instead integrated into the collar of her suit. Upon being activated it extends into a beaked hood fitting of her codename as well as a mask that covers her face from below her eyes to her neck. The mask doubles as a filter against smoke and gas to go with one of her other pieces of equipment.

#### Flight Feet

Shoes she commissioned to help with her parkour. They essentially boost her jumps, allow her to glide, give her feet better grip, etc.

#### Smoke bombs

A set of four smoke bombs she carries on her for quick escapes or to eliminate groups of enemies without resistance. Using her skills, her ki sense, and her psychic ability she can simply close her eyes and still navigate fairly well even when she herself is immersed in the smoke.