Iori Kumiko

**Iori Kumiko** (苦味子 庵, *Kumiko Iori*), known by her hero name of **Tech Wizard: Robo Amazon** (テック・ウイザード：ロボ・アマゾン), is a JapanesePro Hero.

In spite of her status as a Hero and otherwise heroic actions in the eyes of the Japanese public, Iori herself was born from rather questionable origins. The original possessor of the body can be thought to be dead, and the one known as "Iori Kumiko" is currently a separate soul within Iori's body; a former villain who went by the name of **Ghost** (魔残 (ゴースト), *Gōsuto*; lit. "Daemonic Remnant"). Due to this, Iori possesses the Astral Projection Quirk, in addition to Iori's original Quirk. Iori is currently Ghost's eighth vessel.

Iori is the main character of Earth-5.

## Appearance

Iori's current appearance is that of a voluptious, well-endowed woman with pale skin, platinum blonde-hair, and purple eyes. This body belonged to the original "Iori Kumiko", before Ghost took over her body. It is said that in the years since Ghost overshadowed Iori, her skin turned the pale sheen it is now, and that it used to be a richer, more natural tone. She typically wears business suits and the like, appearing well-dressed in the eyes of the Japanese public. While she typically wears glasses, Iori is known to primarily wear contact lenses, as corrective lenses interfere with her hero duties.

Her original form as 'Ghost' is unknown; even when Ghost emerges from the body, it no longer bears the appearance of Iori's original human form, but a daemonic spectre that has entirely lost its original human shape. Because of this, whether Iori was male or female, adult or child, in their original incarnation is unknown.

## Personality

Iori Kumiko, as the current vessel of Ghost, exhibits none of Iori's original personality in private. Publicly, Ghost displays Iori's personality to the best of their acting ability. Iori Kumiko was a warm, earnest woman, displaying personality traits similar to that of her mother — which makes it easier for Ghost to act as she did to the world — and is beloved as a hero, despite being only the thirteenth ranked hero. Fully confident in her abilities, Iori would rush out into battle quickly and utilise her powers to bring a quick and seamless end to a battle. If she had a flaw, it was perhaps that she was too trusting. Iori would never suspect someone she loved, least of all her mother — and this was her undoing, as she never realised the mother she knew had never existed; Shinobu had been Ghost's vessel since before Iori was born.

Iori's ideals were fitting for those of a hero. What one would consider a 'true hero', Iori made her debut flashily, but was quick to show that she placed the citizens above her own wellbeing, and had been criticised on more than one occasion for taking excess damage to keep innocent people safe. Iori never considered becoming a Hero to be something worthy of praise: "If someone posseses the power to protect others, then they should keep the world safe with all of their strength". It was her idealogy, and her brief tenure as a Pro Hero before Ghost claimed her body and soul showed these feelings to the Japanese public. Even in her downtime, she proved studious, dutifully keeping paperwork and affairs that a Hero would need to perform outside the battlefield in order, and even filling in at U.A. in the cases of abentee teachers due to Pro Hero work.

Yūrei Banashi, known primarily by their villain name of "Ghost", is far more of an enigma. Their defining trait, however, is their downright fear of death. From the moment Ghost discovered their Quirk, it did nothing to assuage their fear; knowing that a Soul existed, but seeing no proof of an afterlife or anything else, perhaps only fueled the fire. They longed to find a way to fight death — what some would consider an utterly futile task — and become immortal. This dream would be realised when they stole Miko's body and proceeded down a long line of "heirs". The fact that they could manipulate their Soul from an early age caused Ghost to disregard human life, and truly, all life in general. Their soul manipulation gave them complete dominion over people, beyond even the understanding of even the earliest heroes, and Ghost would casually kill or make people hurt when they realised they could.

Ghost themselves have never had anything resembling a meaningful relationship, but this was due to a lack of disinterest in their original lifetime. They viewed attachments back then as unnecessary; if they were living to die, what was the point of connecting with others? The closest Ghost could have said was a bond to anyone was with the Hero, Miko. Miko considered Ghost a blight upong humankind, a daemon that devoured humans, and Ghost considered Miko to be the one hero at the time they could compete with them as an equal. When they would meet, Ghost would experience what they considered "joy", and perhaps they did feel some love for Miko in the end; the love of an equal existence that could validate them. Ghost admits, through Iori's body, that she hasn't met a single person in over a hundred years that fascinated her in the Miko did.

While Ghost doesn't process human emotions in the way most people can, they are fantastic actors, having impersonated eight different hosts over the course of a century plus, emulating them to the best of their ability. This acting extends to their cruelty; Ghost possessed Shinobu for an extended period of time, retaining her marriage to her husband, and conceiving a child, raising a child, and stealing that child's body when they came into their own: this child was Iori. Adult, child, woman, man, young, or old, Ghost does not consider humans to be "human" anymore, but observes them with the curiousity of a woman shopping for clothes.

After having spent a century possessing humans with powerful Quirks, Ghost has proclaimed to be bored. They lost any drive to be a villain long ago, and act as 'heroes' to alleviate boredome, to stubborn and set in their ways to die. Ghost goes through life after life, and no longer knows what they're searching for, beyond the next host.

## History

The original Ghost was born in Tokyo, Japan, under the name **Yūrei Banashi** (話 幽霊, *Banashi Yūrei*), more than a century prior to the current year. They were renowned as the villain **Ghost** (ゴースト, *Gōsuto*), who utilised the dangerous Astral Projection Quirk to commit various heinous acts of villainy. In their heyday, Yūrei was considered to be one of the most dangerous villains in Japan. They were defeated, however, by the hero known as **Miko** (巫女), who was thought to have purified them from the world. This would be the first victim, however, of Yūrei's body shifting: Miko would become the first vessel of Ghost.

Throughout the ten decade period, Yūrei would take over different hosts — some earlier than others due to complications involving altercations with other individuals that possessed powerful Quirks — and would always try to steal the body of a Pro Hero. Her third vessel was a villain, and it was notably short-lived due to the intervention of stronger heroes at the time. As such, her M.O. is to steal the bodies of those who uphold justice, and therein live longer and more fulfilling lives while treating their life's work as an act — a play on which she is an actress and the world her stage.

After the death of her most recent host, **Shinobu Kumiko** (苦味子 忍ぶ *Kumiko Shinobu*), a woman known primarily by her hero name of **Hera** (ヘラ), Ghost possessed the body of her daughter, Iori Kumiko, which is now their current host. Ghost, now Iori, would eventually begin to the act of cultivating a new vessel, selecting specifically a student from U.A. High School. The new vessel in question is the young girl Kaki Arakawa, who Iori claims to the public is her protégé.

## Abilities

Iori, though under the influence of Ghost's spirit, is ranked as the No. 12 hero within Japan. While this may not be the top ten, it is a far cry from the lowest of the bunch. She displays complete and utter mastery of her Quirk, Technomancy, and showcases a vast knowledge of weapons and other assorted technological marvels that give her a massive edge on the battlefield. For many heroes, it is standard practise to come equipped with gear that adds to their Quirk — such as gauntlets which shield the body from excessive force displayed by their power — but for Iori, she herself *is* the gear, capable of producing any weapon to fit the situation. Her body, while not trained for physical combat, is still surprisingly sturdy and strong. She attributes this to the fact that, as a child, watching heroes on television, she would try to create large weapons because they were "super cool", and her taste in weapons hadn't changed into adulthood. Due to this, she can physically lift objects larger than her frame implies, and while she doesn't possess super strength, a punch from her is incredibly painful. Iori is capable of withstanding damage to a staggeringly high degree; her body is similarity built due to carrying the amount of heavy weaponry she does into battle, and this unintentional weight training has only made her more capable of enduring physical force.

### Quirks

#### Technomancy

**Technomancy** (高度技術器造 (テクノマンシー), *Tekunomanshī*; lit. "High-Tech Weapon Creation") is the Quirk that Iori Kumiko was born with, and that Ghost primarily uses while possessing the woman's body. Her Quirk is an example of a composite Quirk, the fusion of Iori's parents' Quirks. The first was Technologic, the Quirk her father possessed, which, so long as he understood the schematics and functions of a piece of technology, he was able to replicate it. The second Quirk was that of her mother's, Itemization. This Quirk allowed her mother to create and manipulate simple items — more complex creations such as guns were out of her reach. These two Quirks combined and manifested into the powerful Quirk used by Iori herself.

Similarly to her father, as long as Iori understands the schematics of a weapon, she is capable of replicating the technology herself. Unlike her father's Quirk, which was limited to non-offensive pieces of technology — computers, televisions, and the like — Iori is capable of creating a vast array of items, but primarily focuses on weapons, a trait gained from her mother's ability to generate simple items. It is similar in essence to the Creation Quirk, but at the same time limited as Iori can *only* create technology with her Quirk; technology in the case of Iori's Quirk is specifically machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge. Unlike with Creation, Iori can utilise any part of her body as the catalyst for the creation of tech, and so often uses her hair to form the devices she wishes to utilise. Once detached from her body — if she so wishes, Iori is capable of generating tech attached to her body and utilising them in this manner — they are self-sustaining, and can be used in tandem with another weapon or given to someone else to aid an ally.

#### Astral Projection

**Astral Projection** (アストラル・プロジックション (星気体), *Asutoraru Purojekkushon*; lit. "Astral Body") is the Quirk that Ghost was born with as Yūrei Banashi. This Quirk allows the user to project their soul — invisible to all but themselves — from their body and interact with the physical and spiritual world in ways that they see fit. It initially had no proper combat application, and when Yūrei first unlocked their Quirk, they could only project their entire soul, leaving their body immobile and comatose. There were other limitations at first as well; when Yūrei first manifested their Quirk, their soul, while projected, was linked to their body by a string. This limited the distance that Yūrei could project their soul.Through honing their Quirk, this limitation would be removed, and Yūrei could freely project their soul an unlimited distance from their body. The method in which Yūrei could interact with the world was at first limited, but they soon found that they could manipulate physical objects in a manner similar to that of a poltergeist.

Through continued development of their Quirk, Yūrei became able to manipulate their soul in various other manners. Utilising their soul to supplant thoughts into other individuals, that would cause them to act as she wished without the knowledge they were being manipulated. Communication with other individuals through their dreams. And she would later come up with offensive applications of the ability that allowed their to fight whilst in their physical body, such as the forcible removal of someone's soul using a portion of their own. The most valued ability that Yūrei would come to possess, however, was the ability of complete possession. Yūrei discovered this ability at the end of their life, against the hero Miko, whose body they would go on to possess and claim as their own.

Furthermore, beyond the applications of their soul in offense and defensive manners, Ghost's soul is abnormally strong due to this Quirk. It is because of her strong soul that Astral Projection bypasses the requirement of the "Quirk Factor"; there is no known biological factor that explains the ability to forcibly extract one's soul. This allows her to continue to utilise the abilities even beyond her first "death". It is also because of her strong soul that she can suppress the souls of others and steal their body.

Due to the fact that her soul is invisible, Iori can utilise certain abilities even whle utilsing weapons created via Technomancy.

##### Named Super Moves

* **Astral Shield:** By utilising a portion of her soul's energy, Iori is capable of creating an invisible barrier around her that deflects incoming attacks. The barrier is capable of withstanding immense physical force from power-boosting Quirks such as Muscle Augmentation — though it is unknown how the barrier would hold up against the likes of One For All with even all of her soul forming the barrier — as well as elemental and other assorted Quirks.
* **Astral Contact:** An offensive application of Astral Projection, by coating her fist in the energy of her soul, Iori is able to quite literally punch the soul out of her target. This ability, without exception, weakens the bonds that tie a soul to its body, and expel it from the target, instantly killing them. Astral Contact as such is referred to as Yūrei's "One-Hit Kill Technique" (必殺技, *Hissatsu Waza*; lit. "Certain-Kill Technique"). The effectiveness of this ability depends on Ghost's current host: Iori, who isn't a physically offensive host, makes the least use of this skill.
* **Astral Link:**The Astral Link is a technique where uses a portion of her soul and connects it to an intended target. The ability has no strength on its own, it merely links the soul of Ghost and the target together. This is described by Iori as a failsafe; when Ghost's current host dies, their soul is immediately pulled towards the linked target, and Ghost can begin to possess them. This was the technique that Ghost used during their time as Shinobu, having linked to her daughter at birth. When Shinobu's body was on the verge of death, Ghost used the link to pull itself towards Iori, to steal her current host. A portion of Ghost's soul is now linked to Kaki Arakawa.
* **Astral Pull:**By projection her soul from her body, Iori is capable of pulling her body to the location of her soul. When this is done effectively, it gives Iori the appearance of possessing immense speed. This technique, however, has various combat applications, as it can be combined with Astral Link; by linking a portion of her soul to a target, she can then use the Astral Pull to pull them towards her, making them wide open for a point-blank Astral Contact. Given that her soul is invisible, and only Iori can see it, this sort of set-up makes her the most dangerous person in the room, as she is more than capable of linking to multiple targets by dividing her soul more than once, and thus can kill multiple targets when applied correctly.
* **Astral Claiming:** Ghost's most notorious ability — the possession of other bodies. Ghost discovered it at the end of their first life, whilst fighting Miko. Before Miko dealt the killing blow, Ghost ejected itself from its original body, and forced their soul into Miko's body. Due to the abnormally strong nature of Ghost's soul, they are able to completely seal off the soul of the body that they overshadow, but they do not truly "kill" the person. To the person who is possessed, they are in an eternal sleep, but can never pass on. Ghost, however, is capable of using the body as if it was their own, and each time they pass onto another host, the souls which were suppressed are taken with Ghost, strengthening their soul still further while keeping the original souls unable to pass on. Astral Claiming can be used with or without being set-up by Astral Link.

## Trivia

* Iori's name comes from the word "ioriwomusubu" (庵を結ぶ), referring to the act of building a hermitage for oneself.
	+ The name of her previous host, "Shinobu", can be translated as "to hide" or "to conceal oneself", which is fitting given how Ghost operates.
* LastationLover5000 considers "Ghost" to be an analogue to "All For One" in their actions; while All For One is the oldest known character in the series and has spent it amassing power, stealing the Quirks from people and otherwise ruining their lives, "Ghost" is a relatively old (older than anyone that is not All For One) entity that has spent its time collecting "lives", stealing the bodies and lives of people, killing individuals for their own gain.
	+ Her growing strength with each host she overshadows parallels darkly the traits seen in One For All. While One For All builds power for the body, and is passed along via a successor chosen by the current user, Iori's Astral Claiming builds spiritual strength by forcibly possessing another entity against their will.

## Quotes

* "*Why? If you have to ask that, you're idealistic to the point of naïvety. I fear death. I'm utterly terrified to die. Why should human life be so short, but there be so much to experience? Why should the very idea of death be filled with with such uncertainty that it breaks the mental fortitude of even the strongest people? It's only natural I would find my way around it...even at the expense of others. And now you know, don't you? So I'll let you experience death firsthand. I hope it finds you well on the other side.*"
* *"I've never overseen the training of an up-and-coming hero before. But I've taken quite a shine to you. Your determination and strive to succeed. And that powerful Quirk. U.A. is prestigious, but why don't you let me take you under my wing? I can't stand by and watch your potential be squandered by relying solely on the education of that facility. I will mould you, Kaki. You will become ideal.*"
* "*Miko...I've never met a single soul like her. The ability to get under my skin the way she did. The other Heroes simply rebuked me. I killed their friends. Families. Random passersby. There was no redemption for me. I didn't want to be redeemed. I merely wanted to push forward into the future. But rather than reject me...she tried to understand me. That woman had the audacity to place herself in my shoes, to see it from my point of view. She wanted to reason with me, to connect with me. But in the end...I rejected her outstretched hand, and I put myself in her shoes instead. Not in a hundred years has anyone been as interesting as that woman.*"