Kioku Danpen

## Description

Kioku is a girl who appears very young, much like a child. She doesn't seem to look older then 10 years of age, though she has existed since the dawn of man. She has fair skin, and a body that is very short and lithe. The most telling indication that she is not all that she seems is her hair, which is dark and flows down to her knees.

Kioku presents herself in an air of elegance, preferring to wear long and fanciful kimonos covered in imagery of flowers. She also enjoys ribbons and strings, and often ties a large bow into her hair, and strings around her fingers. Though she may seem elegant, however, her movements seem to be more aimless. She lets her feet carry her wherever they move, on a slow journey to anywhere they choose to go.

Kioku's eyes are large and golden. They don't shine, but are very deep, as if the light in her eyes were plunged into a golden abyss. She has a tendency to stare, her eyes unfocused but unmoving. Aside from seeming extremely curious, her expression is quite unreadable, made more cryptic by her tendency to keep her mouth covered by her hands or a fan. Even covered, her mouth rarely opens, though when it does, her voice is very quiet and soft.

## Background

Since ancient times, memory has been one of humanity's most powerful tools. Memory allows us to pass our knowledge onto our kin. Memory allows remember our mistakes so they cannot be made again. Memory allows us to know our heritage. Memory allows us to keep our skills sharp, and even improve them.

Since ancient times, one of humanity's most powerful fears has also been losing their precious memories. From that fear, a youkai was born. Her terrible power was to eat memories and thoughts, spreading epidemics of memory loss and forgetfulness. Knowledge and skills were erased, leaving only the fear they may not be regained. Many times was mankind set back. Like many youkai as old as she, she was once savage, deadly, ripping away at whatever memories she could get, inspiring even more fear. Men were helpless against her, even forgetting how to fight, the instinct of running always kicking in as they learned (and subsequently forgot) who she was, but remembering the terror instilled by her. She would travel the world spreading her terror, but never written about. Those who knew of her would soon know nothing more, as she spread her disease of the brain.

However, as the millenniums went by, humanity became more civilized, and so did their thoughts. Eating these new, sophisticated thoughts, Kioku would no longer be as savage, evolving with humans. She would still consume the thoughts and memories of others, however, and the harassment would continue.

Eventually though human intelligence continued to evolve despite Kioku's influence. The drive to preserve memories began with art, though crude. Kioku's mistake was thinking it was, perhaps, too pretty to destroy, to further impede the humans and spread her fear. Soon, the art of memory would grow further. Early writing would be created, and with it, written history. Ultimately, it would prove to be her bane. Records were not so easily taken and consumed, for unless one destroyed the record itself, it would prove simple to remember what one had forgotten.

Slowly, Kioku's power began to wane with her influence over memory. What was once absolute control was slowly slipping from her grasp. Her disease still impeded history and people as it does today, but memory now could not be so easily lost. Kioku began to grow desperate, fearing she might one day herself disappear. The irony, of Kioku herself being forgotten, was not lost on her, as her own power prevented others from recording her within the annals of the very memories they seek to record.

Finally, one day, in a fit of desperation, Kioku did something entirely drastic in her battle against written history. She found the biggest library humans had built, and in one fell swoop, sent it burning to the ground, destroying huge collections of memory, a victory much in her favor. However, with this, she gained the ire of the powerful magician which maintained the precious knowledge. Rather then fear Kioku, they used their lifetime of memory to fight back against the mighty youkai.

The battle raged on for days. As spells were slung, a battle of attrition began between magician and youkai. With each spell thrown, the knowledge of it would soon be consumed and laid to waste, but the mighty sorcerer had studied thousands upon thousands of spells of which to give. Just as it seemed like the battle was near its end, the youkai having consumed much of the magician's memory, yet weary from the endless magic thrown at it, one final spell, of epic might, was unleashed upon Kioku, far too much for it to handle.

Rather then seal Kioku away, the magician chose to shatter the power the youkai held. The insatiable feast of the mind suddenly turned inwards on itself as Kioku found herself the subject of the very diseases she spread.

The advancement of science continues to wane her power even more, with research into brain disease, the preservation of thought even beyond death, and other wonders of humanity. However, now Kioku wanders the earth in search of something even more important then power: she searches for herself. The memories she had of her former glory were now forever lost, never recorded to begin with. None could ever remember her, and now she seeks for new memories to fill the void. New knowledge, new experiences, collected from humanity itself. In much the same way she destroyed the thoughts of humans, now she keeps them to herself, a library of experiences of others, and willingness now to record a few of her own.

And, perhaps one day, she might stumble upon the one who may indeed have remebered the past that was now lost. Perhaps there may be a fragment of her legacy that remains within the works of humanity after all...

## Personality

Kioku is a very reserved youkai, more interested in eating then bothering people, almost to the point of being meek. Like the satori, people who are aware of her power usually seek to avoid her, but she is more or less okay with that (if not a bit shy). She prefers not to talk unless spoken to, and has few interests. She is interested in learning things and gaining new experiences, so she will often wander around or pursue sources of knowledge. Since she often forgets her own memories, knowledge and experience are held dearly to her.

Kioku, taking the traits of many youkai, doesn't put thought into the considerations of others, mostly only thinking for herself (when she can remember her own thoughts). Most people avoid Kioku for her power, and those that don't often become forgetful anyway, so she generally doesn't have to worry much about others. She doesn't treat others like cattle, and in fact can be nice if talked to peacefully, but being introverted, she doesn't go out of the way to start off nice or interact with other people. She is inquisitive, often savoring thoughts about who people are when interacted with. If she can she also enjoys eating good memories of other people, and she is interested in the experiences other people have had. She can get a little emotional in an especially strong memory, like a tragedy or someone having the best day of their life, and it can affect her mood a bit.

Her favorite activity is, of course, to go out in a well-populated public place and gather the thoughts of others nearby, eating them and learning things. She also enjoys other forms of gaining knowledge, such as reading or watching television, although since this doesn't 'feed' her as effectively, she doesn't do it too much.

Kioku enjoys interacting more with people she finds to be 'interesting', having a good number of intriguing life experiences. Good, unique experiences taste 'better' to her. and thus she prefers to indulge on any memory not similar to those she has tasted before. Similarly, vivid, mentally impactful memories like trauma are more 'nutritious' for her, so she is attracted to someone who recently or regularly experiences such things.

When she is not near a populated area, Kioku has a tendency to be drawn towards places that have been 'forgotten'. Old buildings, ruins, castles, and museums are frequent places she'll end up at, or places like Muenzuka or landfills that contain many 'forgotten' items that gather.

Kioku is not really a malevolent youkai, at least in these times, and does not seek to attack others, just consume their thoughts. She is actually a peaceful youkai, albeit a dangerous one due to her power. She is, however, an extremely dangerous foe if forced to protect herself, however, using her powers to her fullest extent if she needs to, but ultimately does not see a point in fighting past self-defense, and won't kill if she can avoid it.

## Ability: Consumption of Thoughts and Memories

Kioku is the embodiment of lost memories and amnesia.

She is able to eat thoughts, skimming them from the minds of those she sees nearby. It is much in the same manner of mind reading, however, once a thought is taken, it is much more difficult to think back and regain.

The bare form of this power is involuntary. It is automatic, as thoughts and memories are Kioku's primary food source, and her hunger is insatiable. She is able to restrain the use of her power, but it requires a very large expenditure of effort and concentration to do so. Furthermore, as she is unable to eat without cannibalizing her own thoughts while the power is restrained, she becomes hungry very quickly, making it extremely uncomfortable for her in a short amount of time.

To a person first influenced by her power, it manifests as a mental 'itch'. The 'itch' within the mind encourages one to 'scratch' it, allowing Kioku to read ones thoughts. It can be ignored, and therefore resisted, but continued presence around Kioku continues to strengthen it, making it harder and harder to resist. If one continues to 'feed' Kioku as well, the itch only gets stronger within them, and allows her to burrow deeper within the mind.

Inversely, when alone for an extended time, or restraining her power for too long, the very same powers she is able to cast begin to take effect on her instead, as her hunger turns inwards. Therefore, she requires being in the presence of others to preserve herself, and will become an amnesiac if unable to find a source of food after a long period of starvation. Her own long term memories can eventually be regained, and much more quickly, but have a tendency to be incomplete and fragmented when she is able to regain them.

Additionally, she is able to request specific information from a person through subtle mental suggestions she is able to give to those she can influence. Though the voice one hears asking does not sound like their own, there is a compulsion to answer that gets greater if one remains her her, nagging for answers until she gets them. Once answered she is able to 'eat' and gain the information when the answer is 'thought'. The most common mental question asked is 'Who am I?', so that she may learn a name and basic information without having to verbally ask, but can range from almost any sort of 'request' for memory, from knowledge to records of life experiences (typically getting more personal the longer one stays around her). In this way she can learn about people more intimately then just through ordinary discussion, as she is able to read a thought with more senses then just a heard description.

Though, the memories she is able to eat will not be able to be recalled as one remains near her. Eventually, as she parses through life's memories, one will begin to feel the effects of such manifest as amnesia, as they are unable to recall their past.

Removal of oneself from Kioku's presence can undo this process, though only after a longer time. As well, only long term memories can be regained if they are allowed to be 'eaten' by Kioku. Simple short term thoughts are as lost as easily as they were gained in the first place. The most important memories to a person, such as their name, are too ingrained into a person to eat. While the thought of what your name is can be eaten, the memory of it will allow you to recall it instantly.

She is able to use this power on multiple people around her at the same time, though she will focus her power on anyone she deems 'interesting' enough to grab her attention.

Kioku is able to travel in and out of Gensokyo by willfully 'forgetting' about the effects of the Great Barrier, which is made up mostly of illusions. In a way, her rather aimless method of traveling allows her to not get turned around by the illusion as she 'forgets' about it, so she is able to bypass the effects. She doesn't travel to Gensokyo often, but is powerful enough that she can overcome the strong effects that keep most youkai inside. Her power tends to create problems when she remains within the same area for too long, so it becomes needed for her to travel around.

## Spellcards

As Kioku is often not in Gensokyo, her attacks have both a version following spellcard rules, and a version in which she focuses attacks on the foe mentally, not bothering with magic. As her reason for fighting is often defensive, many of her spellcards often incorporate mental attacks regardless of version. **Danmaku versions are denoted with an 'SCR'.**

### Forgetful Sign ｢Memory Lapse｣

Kioku causes general forgetfulness as she initiates the spellcard, causing a foe to distract themselves with questions, before trying to run away.

* SCR: Kioku fires three different sets of danmaku in short bursts. In order: Aimed (strafe), Side-aimed (stay still), and Random. Each time she fires a set, she attempts to eat the foe's thoughts as they dodge, so they'll forget which set is next when she repeats her rotation. She rotates three times.

### Recollection ｢The Lost Memory｣

Kioku collects the remnants of an old and forgotten strategy the target uses, and then unleashes an attack back at the target based on that strategy.

* SCR: Essentially lets her 'borrow' a spellcard from the opponent. The opponent will be temporarily be unable to use the same spellcard.

### Thought Cannibal ｢Clarity｣

Kioku clears her current thoughts by eating them, allowing her to make more focused and deadly attacks.

* SCR: The same, but her attacks are a mix of homing danmaku and bursts of danmaku aimed towards where she predicts they'll move.

### Mind Flayer ｢Brain Drain｣

A strong mental attack that greatly disrupts the target's current thoughts, possibly disrupting their current attack.

* SCR: The same. Meant to disrupt an opponent's spellcard like a 'bomb'.

### Amnesia ｢Feast of Raem｣

Kioku attacks the hippocampus to eat your long-term memories, especially tragic ones (which are more valuable to her), and unleashes a powerful mental attack based on the strength and type of the memories eaten.

* SCR: Unused

### Dementia ｢Forgetting Oneself｣

Kioku inflicts amnesia on herself to power this devastating attack, delivering a powerful mental attack that targets the strongest memories, such as self-identity, using them inflict even more damage on the target's mind.

* SCR: Kioku unleashes a huge field of randomly danmaku powered from the energy of her own memories, making it very dense. As the spellcard continues, she focuses her power to read where the opponent is thinking of moving, then directs lines of danmaku based on the thoughts.

### Heartstopper ｢Nervous Breakdown｣

Koiku's event horizon. Kioku unleashes all her remaining power at once, causing it to spiral out of control. Directly attacks the brain stem, eating away at the unconscious thoughts that control your breathing and heart rate. The mental attack is extremely dangerous, so perusing her is likely to be akin to suicide. It forces those around her to mentally and manually control their own breathing and heart rate, while forcing them to endure an onslaught on their mind. This is a last resort, only used to aid an attempt of Kioku to flee, but pursuers may be wise to disengage or find themselves dying of a heart attack. This far out of control, her powers are causing the same effects on her as well, and once her power runs out, she falls unconscious, barely clinging to life.

* SCR: Unused. Will begin using the lethal version if she feels the combatant has broken the spellcard rules and is putting her life in danger.