Ashikaga Kuro

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**Ashikaga Kuro** is the present leader of the Equilibrium Confederation, as well a prominent member of the Kichisan Expedition, a Western-backed faction. She is also the deputy to Ryūzaki Hikaru, current leader of the Alley Cats Gang, a longtime adversary to the infamous Eastern-backed Night Wolves Clan. Formerly living in the Kichisan slums, Kuro now resides in the Yoitsune Estate as a servant to Yoitsune no Holoyashi, who gracefully allows the nekomimi to use her uncle's estate as a base of operations for the various organizations that Kuro belongs to.

Gallantly fighting for the rights of the impoverished citizens across Haruka, she seeks to create a place for the poor through equality, bringing light to the suffering of the poverty-stricken Harukans, whether human or demihuman.

As a pupil of Saionji Akeno, Kuro's adventures have brought her great prestige among the slum populace. With numerous accolades, like the chrysanthemum crown awarded to her by a ragtag group of orphans for her daring exploits, the nekomimi is seen as a hero throughout the slums. After the events of the Kichisan flu, Kuro swore an oath to never cut the life thread of another being, breaking it only under dire circumstances. This oath had brought her criminal activity to a minimum, leading many merchants to believe that that the demihuman was finally dealt with.

Currently, Kuro seeks out those who would so humbly hear the Equilibrium Confederation's call. As the Confederation grows, so does the possibility of an empowered penniless society, equal to those prosperous enough to rapidly spend on luxuries. Kuro seeks to make the Confederation a long-standing entity throughout Haruka, as well bringing the organization to other nations located deep within the Sea of Clouds to help the world's poor to find a purpose and equality.

# History

## Early Life and Education

### Childhood

Born to Mom's Character, a kitsune general, and Ashikaga Shino, a butler to the Domain, Kuro and her younger sister, Ashikaga Kana spent the first few years of their lives hidden away in the servant's quarters. Raised with little interaction except with her family and the servants, Kuro was taught the finer parts of maid etiquette through aiding the servants with the meals were ordered to cook.

Though, her and her sister were born unlucky as illegitimate children, and as such, had to be sent away when war called away their mother to hide suspicion from the noticeable similarities to Mom's Character.

## Endmatter

### Notes

1. ↑ The Kichisan flu was brought upon the slums as a result of Kuro's rampant theft. Several merchants dumped diseased cow dung throughout the slums in order to finish off the nekomimi. This action ended up killed hundreds, including her parents.

older sister of Kana, and one of General [Mom's character]'s illegitimate children conceived through the kitsune's rampant sexual outings with her servants. Having to hide her false children from the prying eyes of retainers, [Mom's Character] had placed the nekomimi girls in the care of her most trusted servant, Ashikaga Shino, their father, along with a wet nurse disguised as their mother, sending the children off to live a poor life in the slums of Kichisu. Life in a rotting shack proved harsh on the family, and Kuro would often have to supplement their impoverished lifestyle by swiping food and other necessities from various merchant stalls.

By the time Kuro reached her first decade of life, the nekomimi grew braver with her crimes after watching a samurai spit and stomp on a starving child that had crossed his drunken path. While she could not stand toe-to-toe with any man with a sword, Kuro used her small stature to blend in the busy crowds loitering in the expensive districts of Kichisu, snatching rich tarts and other sweets to cheer up the impoverished neighborhood. Proving hard to catch, the merchants began to call Kuro the *Merchant's Nightmare* and the *Akuma of the Kichisan Market*s*,* promoting an anxious atmosphere among the market streets where scores of armed men sprouted as "watchdogs" to keep the nekomimi's sticky hands away from the numerous goods.

However, the slums' happiness would be short-lived, as the angry merchants devised a plan to eliminate the thorn in their side. Bringing several shipments of diseased cow dung to the slums, the merchants dumped manure throughout the neighborhood. Rapid illness brought from the excrement began to prove fatal, wiping out numbers of poverty-stricken Kichisans, including Kuro's parents.