Bushin Takegami

## Takegami Bushin

* Religious Garb
* Combat Garb

**Bushin Takegami** (武神 武神, *Takegami Bushin*), born **Ryuuko Shichiya** (七夜 竜子, *Shichiya Ryūko*) is a martial artist hailing from the lands of Til-Xiao. She is played by Seira Astramor.

## History

### Early Life

Though no one is truly certain where Bushin's origins, she was born as Ryuuko Shichiya as evidenced by the note left with her basket on a cool autumn night in the outskirts of Sandanzuki. According to the wandering monk who discovered her, she did not make a single sound as she simply stared up into the fathomless expanse of the night sky, her green eyes wide and alert as they reflected the firmament above. Taking pity upon the infant, the wandering monk brought her to the Zenshin Monastery near the foot of the Morayuki Mountain to be raised as a monk.

During her childhood at the monastery, Ryuuko remained as silent as she was the night she was found. It was not as if she lacked the ability to speak, but she merely did not deem it necessary. Instead, she contented herself with listening to the countless scriptures recited at the monastery and submerging herself in martial training, even volunteering to take a vow of silence despite her young age. Like her, many of the other children at the monastery were orphans, but her relationship with them was incorporeal if it existed at all. A lonely child who did not know that her self-imposed solitude was the root of her suffering.

### The Brightest Burn the Fastest

As she matured, Ryuuko found herself surrounded by none asides from her training and her teachers. She was known throughout the monastery as a dedicated student, and her rote recitation of scripture after her vow of silence had ended impressed quite a few of the instructors. Her physical development and martial skill was well above that of her peers, and she was widely regarded as the monastery's rising star. However, for all the attention that she received, Ryuuko could not help but feel a gnawing emptiness from deep within. As soon as practice ended, she would find herself at the training grounds once more, the ghostly wind tousling her hair as it swept across the rough surface of empty stone tiles. She was alone.

The stronger she became, the further away she grew to her peers, and it was not as if she was close to them initially. Like a star shooting through the twinkling tapestry of space, hurtling away from its cluster and destined to burn out, Ryuuko's indwelt spirit dwindled day by day despite fortifying her body within those same hours. Yet still, she could not find the source of this emptiness welling up from deep within her. She had attended her due ceremonies, whispered her due prayers, and put in her due practice. To her, there was nothing that could possibly be missing.

### Flint of the Soul

Eventually, Ryuuko found herself walking down the path of a warrior monk, destined to defend the monastery and perhaps one day even be recruited into an elite force which protected the Imperial Palace itself. Bestowed her dharmic name, Ryuuko now adopted the moniker of Takegami Bushin, only allowed to shed its weight once she had walked her nine steps to Enlightenment and completed her journey as a monk of the Zenshin Monastery. Quickly showing herself to be among the betters of her batch, Bushin found herself acknowledged by her seniors and her instructors yet again, and in her humble silence and acquiescence, she unknowingly pushed away those who she wished to become close to yet again. But not this time.

Much to her surprise, a boy from her recruitment batch reached out to her after their group's first training session, engaging her in lighthearted conversation that she had never thought possible outside of her fantasies. For the first time in her life, Bushin had managed to make a friend. Socially savvy, the boy introduced Bushin to the rest of the group, allowing her to open up and finally reveal what she was truly like. Though her peers had initially been intimidated by her prowess and her cold demeanor, they began to poke fun at her unexpectedly shy and socially inept personality. At last, that emptiness which had plagued her for so long began to disappear.

### Flame of the Spirit

For the next few years, Bushin spent her time engrossed in a harsh training regimen enforced by the monastery's warrior-monks. Every day was like a living hell as they were forced to temper their bodies in the searing heat and the frigid cold, honing not only their muscles but their minds as well. But Bushin did not falter, for no matter how horrendous her situation felt, she knew that she would have her comrades to lean on and they would have her. Acting as pillars of support for one another, Bushin and her friends endured each grueling day with steadfast determination, finding solace in the hearth and mirth that they shared in the evening when they were finally allowed to return to the monastery proper and partake in their meals.

It wasn't long before Bushin and her friends were due for their final test before they became fully recognized warrior-monks of the Zenshin Monastery. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, Bushin and her group were sent far up the Morayuki Mountain for a simple task which would prove their worth: slay an oni and return to the monastery. Having now gotten used to the brumal temperatures of the mountain, Bushin and her friends faced little resistance as they trekked upwards even as snowstorms buffetted them constantly. When no quarry was to be found as night fell, she made camp with her friends and took the time to rest. However, it was not long before her relatively idyllic life would come to an end.

Ambushed by a lone oni that had picked up their scent, the group encountered their most fearsome foe yet, and also their final one. Though Bushin and her friends fought fiercely with every fiber of their beings, their strength was simply no match for the great beast even when combined. Their efforts had managed to greatly wound the creature even as it felled them one by one, slowly staining the snow a deep crimson. With most of her friends dead, Bushin could no longer find the will to continue fighting. Yet as the oni prepared to slay her, one of her wounded friends leapt before her, desperately clutching the monster's massive weapon even as blood streamed from their wound. She could not let this sacrifice be in vain.

Bushin had been the only one to return alive to the monastery on that following morning, the corpses of her friends strapped to her back and the head of the oni clutched in her left hand. Though her eyes were rimmed red and her cheeks still wet with tears, Bushin swore to live a life illustrious enough for all of them even as she laid her friends to rest. Officially recognized as a warrior-monk, the time for tears had passed. Bushin had shed enough for a lifetime. Her friends could no longer smile. She would have to smile enough to make it up to them.

### First Step of Nine

Recognizing that the death of her friends had caused a profound change in Bushin's very core, the Zenshin Monastery's abbot had summoned her to the monastery's inner sanctum. There, Bushin was informed that she would not serve as a simple guard for the monastery. Instead, she would be permitted to wander through the land of Morisia in search of enlightenment and understanding so that her heart would not go astray. Her primary mandate was to do good and bring honor to the Zenshin Monastery's name and its patron Goddess.

It was a vague assignment at best, but Bushin knew this. There had been those who never progressed past the first step of Enlightenment, and even more who had never been permitted to even take that first step. To be permitted such a journey was an honor of the highest order, especially for one of her age. And so, Bushin packed her bags and boarded the next ship at the Glimmering Port, content to led the winds of fate take her wherever they wished as she found solace in the cool ocean wind and the boundless horizon which laid before her.

## Appearance

Bushin stands at an average female height of 5'6", though her immaculately sculpted musculature gives her a domineering aura which more than compensates for her lack of imposing stature. Though not overly muscular, she sports a toned and lithe build suitable not only for the rigors of combat, but also the elegance of a ballroom as well. However, due to the nature of her occupation, Bushin does not receive many chances to reveal the fruits of her training as her uniform generally consists of rather ornate and flowing garb as well as a gilded shawl.

Inspired by her limitations, Bushin tends to take some liberties with her manner of dress. She prefers to don a uniform that reveals her powerfully chiseled midriff while wearing her alabaster hair in a ponytail, allowing her to show off her immensely defined back muscles whenever she wades into combat and removes the shawl. Though her painfully bright green eyes can be described as piercing, they burn with a pious flame dedicated to not only the Goddess who she worships, but also the sect that made her who she is today. As her chosen artform is martial, she takes great pride in the state of her body, though she restrains herself enough to wear her religious garb in full dress regularly.

## Personality

At first, Bushin appears to be demure and almost stoic when she is enraptured in training or worship, devoting the entirety of her being towards her dedicated task. However, such an appraisal couldn't be further from the truth as Bushin is a rather boisterous and gregarious woman, exhibiting a rather refreshing duality when she is not engaged in her personal or occupational matters. Some of her colleagues may refer to her as crass and unwomanly, but Bushin chooses to take their remarks as compliments in stride, seeing their words as testaments to the strength that she had so painfully toiled for during her childhood. Though she may not be an expert in etiquette, she lands on her feet wherever she goes thanks to her personable attitude and her willingness to make friends.

Despite her sociable tendencies and conversational aptitude, Bushin is capable of becoming an extremely fierce individual to those who treat her friends and family poorly, refusing to show mercy or de-escalate a conflict when she believes that her adversary has greatly wronged the ones that her heart is loyal to. Still, Bushin is a woman of honor and does not toy with an already defeated opponent, giving them a swift and clean end or allowing them to retreat should they truly repent. Truthfully, she despises this side of herself as it threatens to consume her with bloodlust if not for her steadfast spirit and devotion to her ideals.

## Goals

* Complete her pilgrimage and achieve Mushin.