Ana Ishikawa

Lauren Luthor, Evelyn Grace, Beryl Grace, Karin Grace (Maternal First Cousins, Once Removed)
Brant al Ghul, Thalia Grace, Jason Grace (Maternal Second Cousins)
Kai-Ro (Godson)
Curaré (Goddaughter)

## Background

### 1993 - 2011: Ana Ishikawa

Ana Ishikawa is the daughter of Catherine Colby, an American missionary & Shiro Ishikawa, a Japanese native. Shiro was a descendant of the Ishikawa clan, an ancient and secretive Japanese order dating back to the year 700 BCE. While samurais no longer exist, the influence of them is still prevalent in the country & its culture. Her parents met at a market as her mother was visiting Japan with her group to promote their faith & perform ministries of service. The two engaged in a secret affair for the following months & when it was time to go, Catherine's love had grew so strong that she told her group she was going to stay. Shortly after, Catherine confessed she was pregnant. After giving birth to a son, Catherine & Shiro were married in a traditional wedding with Shiro's father presiding over the ceremony. A few years later, they had their daughter Ana.

Though her mother had abandoned her occupation as a missionary, she still embedded catholic virtues & teachings into her children. Her father then taught them simple combat techniques so that they would be able to defend themselves. Shiro's family, the Ishikawa clan, had a long standing feud going on with the Yakuza, a notorious Japanese organized crime syndicate. For the most part, Shiro's family was left alone if they did not directly engage with the crime organization. But Ana's brother, Toro, got into some trouble after both him & another member of the Yakuza, Masahiro Arashi, desired the same woman. When Masahiro came to the house to battle Toro, their father took their place & easily gained the upper hand. He would have come out the winner of this encounter but Ana's arrival back home distracted him. Her brother Toro then came to his father's defense but suffered the same fate. Her mother forced Ana's grandfather to flee with her as the man then turned to slay her like her father & brother. The last thing Ana heard was her mother's screams as her & her grandfather ran from their family home.

### 2011 - 2014: Shi

Ana spent the following weeks with the guilt of their deaths on her conscience. But her guilt soon turned into anger, with Ana vowing she would get revenge on the Yakuza for the deaths of her parents & brother. Though her parents had been against it, Ana was trained in the Sohei (Japanese Warrior Monks) ways by her paternal grandfather to be one of the world's deadliest assassin. After learning all she could from him for the next year, he sent her to Nanda Parbat to finalize her training. She made good friends with another student, Nina Chen, with the two frequently practicing together. Their friendship pushed both of them to become better. While Nina excelled in combat, she could never beat Ana if she had a sword in her hand. After spending what felt like years (though was mere months) with the monks, she deemed herself ready to get her revenge. In honor of a Feudal Japanese Warrior, she dressed in red battle garb & painted her face white. Inspired by the the legend of Yuri Ishikawa, also known as as Tora No Shi / the Tiger of Death, who had fought against the Emperor's repression of Japanese Christians, she took on the name of Shi, meaning death.

Ana's ferocity on the hunt, combined with her resemblance to her legendary predescessor, made her a elite warrior. As she went on her quest for revenge, her catholic upbringing conflicted with her desire to extract revenge for her fallen family members. Many times, she could not bring herself to kill her opponent as she knew her mother would not approve of her ways. Ana eventually tracks down Masahiro Arashi but cannot bring herself to kill him. However, she almost dies herself due to the adverse weather condition but manages to survive by the timely intervention of Officer Peter DeNyse. Though she planned to leave the location after the confrontation, she ended up staying after spending some time with the detective.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Hand to Hand Combat:** From a young age Ana was trained in to be a Sohei Warrior. She has been able to read and react to fighting styles of her opponents. She then trained further at Nanda Parbat.
* **Meditation:** The monks at Nanda Parbat trained her mind as much as her body. She uses this to calm her self down, balance her aura & strengthen her mind.
* **Swordsmanship:** Ana is well verse in the use of many weapons but her primary weapons are a Naginata (Japanese long spear & curved blade) & katana swords.

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** Unknown
* **Strength:** Unknown
* **Speed:** Unknown
* **Occult:** Unknown
* **Weapons:** Unknown
* **Range:** Unknown
* **Strategy:** Unknown
* **Combat:** Unknown
* **TOTAL:** Unknown

## Trivia

* Though they do not fight on the same side, she still considers Nina to be her best friend. She is also the godmother to Nina's children.
* She is good friends with Dominique Thiebaut.
* Her godchildren, Kai-Ro & Curaré, are also are her second cousins, once removed.

## Notes

* Ana Ishikawa/Shi is a character from the Crusade Comics. She's had crossovers with Cyblade, Daredevil, Grifter & Wolverine.