Clara “Shiroiya” Ikeda

### Dislikes

Abandonment, Magus society, Bad parents, People who try to get friendly with her too quickly.

## Affiliations

### Faction

Kagedomei

**Clara Ikeda** (**池田 クララ** ) is a Kagedomei of the Igaseishin. A highly skilled shinobi in both stealth and combat, she serves the Igaseishin as "Shiroiya". Despite her adapting the martial and cultural ways of the Igaseishin, she is still considered a foreigner and simply tolerated as an adopted outsider who was abandoned by her original family. Few individuals in the clans view her in a more positive light. Nevertheless, she has chosen to continue as a shinobi in defiance of those who shun her and want her gone from the Igaseishin.

## Background

Clara was born into the Silva lineage of mages, a family that had come to South America during the colonial period. They were Astromancers who took many opportunities in this new world including financial ones that led them to obtain great wealth. In the current generation, the Silvas had twins, Clara and her sister Cassia. Clara probably would have grown up studying the family magic and advancing its goals if it weren’t for one thing, she was born as a Psychic rather than a magus.

This was discovered when she was about four. While Psychics do have power of their own it is almost never related to a specific type of magic and even if it were, Clara would be incapable of passing on a mana lobe as she lacked one herself and would also be incapable of advancing the family magic for the same reason. The Silva family was a very traditional and pragmatic lineage, if Clara would not contribute to the family then there was no reason to waste time and resources raising her. Due to this, she was sold to the Chengshi She or as they more commonly known: the Shiai-shi, the Snakes, or the Tong.

However just as the deal was going through the whole thing was interrupted. The Snakes realized they were being watched by assassins, presumably sent to kill them or the Silvas. In fact they were a group of shinobi from the Ikeda and Sarutobi families of Igaseishin but they had merely been hired to observe. A rival of the Silvas was curious about this exchange, if it could be used to dig up some dirt on them or if there would be something worth stealing.

The shinobi weren't given time to explain though and after a brief skirmish, the Snakes and Silvas both left to regroup. The Kagedomei were left with only a small girl who had been between the two groups, left unclaimed by both. They realized what happened after recognizing her as a daughter of the Silvas and not seeing anything else they could have been exchanging. Although Clara would have been ok if they had simply left her there for the Snakes to retrieve, the Shinobi didn't know this. So one of them, the patriarch of the Ikeda family, felt some sympathy for the girl. She had been sold by her own family and would presumably be used for labor or parts by the snakes. He decided and managed to convince the others to take her back with them.

Clara was naturally pretty nervous about this. She had just been given away by her parents and now this separate group of assassins was taking her who knows where. She stayed quiet and distant the whole way back to Japan, not really trusting them but having nowhere else to go either way. She only listened silently as the man who proposed taking her back talked about where they were going and how she would become part of their family.

Eventually, they arrived back at Hinansho and the village within. It was a spectacular sight to be sure but it still wasn't home for her. As she walked through the town many people spoke in hushed tones about her. Worrying about bringing in an outsider, looking down on her as a foreigner, wondering if she’ll be able to contribute, etc. When she was brought to the Ikeda home she was taken to a room, not long after they closed the door for her she heard an argument between the patriarch and his spouse. She didn’t understand the language at the time but she could guess what, or rather who, they were arguing about.

The family and the village as a whole decided to reluctantly accept the decision of the Ikeda patriarch. Clara was officially adopted into the Ikeda family but that did not mean everyone else actually saw it that way. Her new siblings and cousins treated her as a foreign interloper. They would often bully her, pushing her around, insulting her, hiding her equipment before training sessions, things like that. Her new mother wasn’t quite so openly hostile but was still fairly blatant about her disdain for her. Her father was usually kind to her but he clearly favored his biological children and often turned a blind eye to their treatment of her.

Outside of the family things weren’t much better. Most people were just indifferent towards her, though even then they would often display some casual discrimination for her origins. There were still many others though who treated her as poorly as her siblings did. In fact sometimes her siblings would play a leading role in getting together with other kids to keep harassing her. Despite their official decision most of the village hadn’t truly accepted her and even the ones who voted to let her stay did little to make sure her stay was a good one. Tormented by her peers and ignored by the adults, she was truly an outsider.

The only positive interactions she had growing up in the village were with a few kids around her age. They came from the other ninja families and would sometimes see her in the more general training sessions or when she was avoiding her siblings. At first she was suspicious at being approached. She believed this to be some trick to get her hopes up. Over time though she came to realize that these few people did genuinely want to be her friend. They became the only people she could laugh and play with like all the other kids. They even helped her fight back whenever she was being tormented.

They trained together for a while longer as well until each had progressed enough to begin specialized training with their families. Clara's training was pretty harsh, especially in comparison to the other trainees who were given more lenient treatment by their parents, uncle, grandmother, etc. Clara took it in stride though, viewing it as a way to develop her skills faster. Indeed she was a quick learner and built on every criticism and pointer she was given, rapidly rising in skill.

This trend of adversity continued even when she came of age and began taking on jobs. She would often end up stuck with challenging missions with the intention of making her look bad but thanks to her intense training she always managed to pull them off. Though many still downplayed her, these missions ended up making her seem more impressive. Through training and experience, she has continued to improve. She has grown a deadly reputation throughout the underground and magical world as “Shiroiya”, the foreigner turned deadly shinobi.

## Personality

Due to being abandoned by her own parents who she should have been able to trust above all else then being rejected by what should have been her new family, she has big trust issues. Even though that was a lifetime ago, it left its scars on her mentality. Wanting to make sure that she never gets betrayed again she can potentially take years to open up even a little to people. Treating everyone as though they intend to betray her until she’s sure they don’t. A guilty until proven innocent mindset.

Clara prefers to go by her title “Shiroiya”, using it as a way to distance herself from her past. She doesn’t often even refer to herself as Ikeda as she still feels like an outsider within her own home. However, she won’t correct anyone who does refer to her as such. Calling her Clara will draw her ire if she does not know you well since she won’t consider you a friend. Most seriously she hates being called “Silva”, she will calmly correct anyone who somehow does this unknowingly but against those who purposely refer to her as such she has even gotten into fights with.

Shiroiya is grateful to the Ikeda patriarch for taking her in when she had nowhere to go. Despite this though she has never truly been able to feel like she belongs. Between the rest of her family actively rejecting her as a foreign intruder and the rest of the village generally treating her as a foreigner as well, she was never once able to say she felt like she was welcome. Although she goes by the Ikeda name she doesn’t really consider herself one in her heart, bearing no blood relation nor camaraderie with her siblings and cousins.

Although she constantly feels and is treated like an outsider, Shiroiya stays anyway and has little intention of leaving. For one thing it’s not like she could really pursue many other lifestyles with her skillset, the village is all she’s known for much of her life. For another thing she does feel some gratitude and attachment to some of the people in the village. Even though he displays clear favoritism towards his other kids, she has genuinely good memories with her father and wouldn’t want to leave him or her few friends behind. A third reason she has is simple spite. As far as she’s aware, her family which constantly shunned and bullied her wants her to leave so she refuses to do so. Lastly she does harbor some hope within her, a hope that one day she may be accepted if she continues to prove herself. She won’t admit it and she doesn’t even let herself believe that she has this hope but it is there.

Because of her experiences with both the Ikeda and the Silvas, Shiroiya does not put much stock into the family. She considers family bonds to be unreliable and to have less meaning than most think. She’s experienced and seen it multiple times, that sharing blood or a name means very little. Shiroiya does acknowledge that family can be a good starting point for a relationship but it guarantees nothing. Bonds are formed by growing up with others, working with them, playing with them, and sharing experiences. Family alone is not strong enough to weather all tests and biases.

Shiroiya spends much of her time either on missions or training for them. Being on missions gets her away from her family as long as they aren’t assigned to the same job and training lets her get stronger to accept more missions. When she’s not training she’s usually hanging out with her few friends. Exploring Hinansho, playing games, getting into fights, or just enjoying each other’s company.

## Abilities

### Mind's Eye

A psychic ability that Shiroiya was born with instead of magic. Most other versions of Clara only specialize in firearms and other ranged weapons, thus they assume that the ability simply boost their aim and timing. In fact that is only a part of it. The true power of their ability is to possess an innate understanding of movement, angles, trajectory, force, etc. The misunderstanding comes from the fact that this ability becomes stronger when applied to disciplines that the user has actually mastered. Most Claras can rely almost entirely on their firearm skills or have a multitude of gadgets to make the difference in other situations. Ikeda on the other hand has a much more traditionally oriented skill set, she is a master of the bow and of the sword. Through this she learned the true nature of their ability and can use it to its full extent.

### Kyujutsu

Although one would be hard-pressed to find someone who will admit it, Shiroiya is amongst the very best archers that have ever been produced by the Ikeda family. She has been able to hit moving targets on rainy nights, accurately fire while falling through the air, hit targets that she only had a second to process, etc. Combined with her psychic ability she can even shoot further than the limitation of her eyes, being able to fire at targets from huge distances that should make it extremely difficult just for her to know where they are.

### Martial arts

Although her training focused more on stealth and archery, Shiroiya still learned much about fighting with a sword or unarmed. In particular she was well trained in Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, Kashima Shinto-ryu, and Tatsumi-ryu, giving her a good assortment of techniques from defending oneself unarmed to quickdrawing one’s blade. Using her psychic ability she can keep track of both her and her opponent’s movements with extreme precision. She can easily adjust her sword to the exact trajectory and force she intends, making her swordplay incredibly precise. She can also use this ability to accurately predict what her opponent will do and quickly spot any weak points in their form. Through intense and constant conditioning, Shiroiya has been able to reach slightly superhuman levels of physical ability. When she combines her physical ability with her skill and her psychic ability, she is fast enough to aim-dodge and deflect gunfire. In most situations however, she can not react to a bullet that has already been fired and automatic gunfire gives her trouble even if she sees it coming.

### Presence Concealment

As a trained Shinobi, Shiroiya is naturally experienced in matters related to keeping oneself hidden. By entering a certain calm state of mind, she can make her presence become harder to detect. Hiding her presence is especially easy as even without doing so she would seem like a normal sleeper to most mages.

### Equipment

#### Bow

The archers of the Ikeda family use specially made bows to remain competitive with guns and magic. They have been made with special wood and magical rituals that enhance the power behind the shots without increasing the draw weight to impractically high levels. The power and range behind the shots are quintupled which can theoretically allow a skilled archer to fire as far as most snipers. The shots are powerful enough to punch through metal armor and can easily fire through multiple targets. The bows have also been modified to activate the Ikeda family’s special arrows upon firing.

#### Combustion Arrows

Combustion arrows are engraved with spells related to fire, force, and heat. At the user’s discretion, they can act as typical incendiary arrows or they can explode upon impact. These arrows are useful when one needs a diversion or destructive power.

#### Split Arrows

An arrow type meant to be used against groups. The split arrow will part way through its flight split and reshape itself into six smaller arrows. The split arrow is tricky to shoot correctly since the arrow will suddenly change direction and weight part way through its flight. Shiroiya is skilled enough to reliably get six heart or head shots with these six arrows.

#### Poison Arrows

Poison arrows come in two varieties, one has a hollow head with the poison going inside while the other is covered in poison. The hollow version can carry more and therefore have more of an effect but it does need to be injected, glancing blows or shots that punch all the way through the target are not effective. This means more precision is required to ensure the proper shot when using the injection method.

#### Anti-spirit Arrows

Anti-spirit arrows are meant to fight against spiritual beings. It is made with sacred wood and covered in talismans. Upon being fired the anti-spirit arrow generates a field around itself, inside of this area the existence of hostile spirits is rejected. The usage and even holding of this arrow type is heavily restricted within Hinansho due to their friendship with the local spirits. Outside of Hinansho, it is a useful tool against targets who use spiritual guards and the like.