Shizuka Minazuki

Aliases:	Silencer of Souls, Deathclaw
Birthplace:	Osaka, Japan
Birthdate:	June 11 (Age 16)
Blood Type:	AB
Hobbies:	Magic tricks for kids, fighting games
Favorite Food:	Sakura mochi, the way Mizuki makes it
Favorite Sport:	Clay pigeon shooting, paintball, hunting
Most Valuable:	Thanatos (boa constrictor), Twin Viper Swords, shotgun
Hates the Most:	Anime, Otaku, Fan service in general
Fighting Style:	Shinto priestess (Genbu), Shimozuki-style swordfighting
Distinguishing Trait:	Eight-petal cherry blossom (death blossom), black crescent moon

Quote 1: "Freedom isn't a right; it has to be EARNED!"

Quote 2: "The most common message in Anime is that love conquers all; yet it is my hatred that drives me to succeed. Hate is a form of love, too."

Smug. Honest. Rude. Self-confident. Full-of-herself. Curious. Smart-ass. All those words describe the same person-- Shizuka Minazuki, a priestess of Genbu and demon hunter, and an enigma as far as humans go.

Although she is 16-years-old, Shizuka behaves both older and younger than she appears. She constantly asks questions like a curious child, which leads others to believe she is slow and dumb, but on the other hand the priestess of Genbu also possesses a hard edge of opinion that could slice a hair in half easily, thanks to a jaded outlook on life. She is not afraid to try anything new, but at the same time is very conservative in her thought processes. Where others would be flattered toward physical beauty Shizuka always thinks the worst of the compliment-- in other words, she sees the glass as half-empty, and then questions why it is as such. Bouts of analysis often lead Shizuka to moments of indecision and carelessness.

Although she is technically a shrine maiden, Shizuka spends almost no time cloistered in the Shrine of the Four Gods (or observing any traditional ceremony, for that matter), and travels as a Demon Hunter. She is considered an outcast among her peers and those who know of her occupation, but Shizuka doesn't care, knowing that she enjoys the path she chose in life rather than the one chosen for her.

If there is one thing that Shizuka values above all else, it's the truth. Having been lied to by her peers and parents alike over the years Shizuka has learned to distill the good information from the false, resulting in an uncanny knack at perceiving deceptions. Knowing that it is in human nature to fabricate truths Shizuka respects those people that are honest toward her, and despises those that live in fantasy worlds or deny their true nature.

Complex

Although she evidently puts as much effort into any venture equally Shizuka is simply a jack-of-all-trades, and master of none-- she is not particularly good at any one thing, but on the flip side she is good at what she does. Shizuka lacks the attention span or the motivation to pursue any interest to the furthest extent possible, and until such a motivation arises opponents can use this to their advantage. Such a lack of discipline also makes Shizuka susceptible to distractions, and she tends to give-up easily if her committed attack fails.

Thanks to her thoughtfulness (or lack thereof) Shizuka often commits herself to long and heavy speeches, spelling-out every detail she can think of, if possible, to try and get her point across, even when the listener(s) don't want to know. Often she can organize these thoughts rather well, and it makes a useful psychological weapon at times, but most of the time others find this trait plain annoying-- particularly since she sets herself up as being 'the right.'

History

At the age of four Shizuka was taken to see an oracle to divine her future. Her parents were disappointed that their firstborn child was female, but their hopes raised when her younger brother was born earlier that year. The oracle, who would later turn up as Sypha Blade, revealed that Shizuka could not bear children of her own, which panicked her parents. Playing on the suggestion that Shizuka was useless to them Sypha maneuvered one of her pawns into place by directing her parents to send her to the Shrine of the Four Gods to become a priestess-- a role which would bear fruit twelve years later.

Alone, Shizuka fell under the wing of Mizuki, a girl four years older than she was who entered the Shrine under similar circumstances-- the loss of her parents. The two became fast friends, and Shizuka would learn many tricks of the trade from Mizuki. Years later Mizuki took up the demon hunter profession, Shizuka tagged-along as well.

Time passed, and when Shizuka became twelve Mizuki suddenly decided to give up demon hunting to pursue a role as high priestess, after failing to conquer the tests in the Genbu Tower. All responsibilities fell to Shizuka and she learned to fight on her own, using the swords Mizuki passed to her care.

At the age of 16 Shizuka was tasked with the role of taking out the renegade spirit from the future, Seiryu, and in this and subsequent adventures she would meet Ranma and company. Given the choice to change her past, Shizuka refused, because if she did she would never have met so many interesting people.

Fighting

Shizuka fights primarily with a single-barrel, manual-loading shotgun, inspired from spagetti Westerns. She also fights with Twin Viper Swords-- samurai weapons with snake heads for pommels-- passed down from Mizuki, and wields them underhanded, striking like the fangs of a viper. Steel cards are also used as projectiles, as practice for throwing paper wards in the future. She also has a grapple gun strapped to her right leg, and fires it to hang on the ceiling for very brief periods of time. Finally, she also has a string of summoning beads at her disposal, hanging from her left sleeve. Each cube or spherical bead of porcelain has several words of power etched on them, used to summon a beast from the Kami Plane as a last resort. Shizuka only needs to throw one to the ground and command a beast to come forth by name, and she will only summon one when she feels she is losing (which happens quite often).

Relationships

Mizuki Shimozuki. Shizuka looks up to Mizuki like an older sister she admires greatly. Mizuki taught Shizuka all she knows about fighting, and encouraged her to become a demon hunter early on, because she shared such an activity at the time. After failing at the Genbu Tower, however, Mizuki gave up her profession to pursue becoming a high priestess-- a change Shizuka doesn't understand, and is a source of resentment. Sharing a common history Mizuki is very patient with the chaotic and curious mind behind the younger girl, and sometimes others observed this to be a mother-daughter relationship.

Shion Kagami. He was introduced to the priestess of Genbu after being hired to dig-up dirt on her mysterious past. Since that information was used as a weapon against Shizuka the infamous Warlock, strung by an unknown chord, succumbed to his conscience and put himself at her mercy. Shizuka admires Shion for his honesty, something she values highly-- enough so that she could look past his obvious otaku behavior. Like Shion, Shizuka experiences a strange feeling when around the mercenary, one which she can't put a finger on.

Deathclaw. Her soul is the other half of that of an ancient kami ghost bone dragon-- Deathclaw has succeeded in fulfilling the terms of his curse by possessing Shizuka, and he can now die a final death. However, unlike previous hosts, Shizuka possesses a strong temperment of her own, being a part of Deathclaw's soul, and more often than not she controls their shared body with ease, irritating the ghost dragon. However, their relationship is symbiotic rather than parasitic, as, while their personalities are generally the same, each of them possess traits that complement one another. Given the choice Deathclaw would like nothing better than to take over Shizuka's body and live out her life for her, and despite knowing this Shizuka can't help but sympathize with him.

Thanatos. An aging boa constrictor, Thanatos was partnered with Shizuka not long after Mizuki retired from her hunter role. He shares a psychic link with Shizuka, often communicating with her by thought with a mind supposedly greater than the average snake... but sometimes it appears he can 'speak' to others as well. Thanatos often helps Shizuka in her hunts by offering advice and strategy with a cooler head-- something the priestess lacks-- or by direct constriction for imobilization.

Ziel Kagura. Like Shizuka Ziel, a descendant of demon blood, feels like an outcast among humans, and thus the two feel a kinship in this manner. He is very difficult to be around, as he possesses a holier-than- thou attitude thanks to his wind mastery, but Shizuka's smart-ass attitude is more than enough to keep up with him.

Chika Hisho. Shion's step-sister happens to be one of Shizuka's biggest rivals, as Chika does not like the idea of her being around her step-brother. Shizuka thinks she is an annoying pest, and thus doesn't take her very seriously. The normally-shy Chika will often find the courage to go out of her way and insult the priestess whenever she can, unconsciously hoping Shizuka would leave and take her entourage of trouble with her.

Cinder. Now that the salamander has become Suzaku Shizuka has something to look forward to when she eventually tries the Genbu Tower, as Cinder remains mostly unchanged by bonding with the god. He is the first she knew before and after the Tower tests, and the results are encouraging. Therefore she pours a great deal of respect into her words when speaking with the kami lord, but Cinder hardly gives her notice due to his lack of interest in any humans save his pupil, Miranda.

Sypha Blade. The two were once at odds with each other, until it was made clear that Shizuka was no match for the kami dragon. With her return to the Kami Plane there are no hard feelings between the two-- not even due to their shared history.

Kanna Rajura. Since she is one of Shion's best friends, Shizuka tries to kiss-up to the college genius, but Kanna pays her no mind, busying herself with more important matters than silly little girls.

Ranma Saotome. Shizuka is convinced she can defeat Ranma in even combat, but as of yet, no dice. She is annoyed that he can't admit even the simplest truths about himself. On the other hand, Ranma can't stand watching such a pathetic girl get thrown around by the resident martial artists, so he often keeps an eye on her while she's in town, just to be nice (a feeling that is not likely to be reciprocated anytime soon).

Ukyo Kuonji. Shizuka and Ukyo hate each other, plain and simple. Whereas Ukyo doesn't like Shizuka's attitude, Shizuka hates the fact that Ukyo gets everything in life easy when she has to work for it. Thanks to a glimpse of the future through Seiryu Shizuka knows that it would be a simple matter for the okonomiyaki chef to simply walk into the Seiryu Tower and emerge with the great Guardian power-- a thought that infuriates the priestess to no end because Shizuka doesn't know if she could do the same. Shizuka goes out of her way to insult Ukyo whenever she can out of jealousy.

Nabiki Tendo. Shizuka perceives Nabiki to be a pathological liar, and something to despise. She also owes the mercenary for using her past information against her. Nabiki, like Chika before her, feels a need to rid the town of annoying people, and that includes out-of-town rude country bumpkins like Shizuka (but any profitability for teaming-up with Chika remains untapped, as the two despise each other as well, being rivals for the same position in Inner Circle heirarchy).

Higure Furui. Shizuka looks to this old man for advice for when she loses her way, as his experience while an immortal is both invaluable and accessable.

Hokuto Takemasa. Hokuto appeared at the Shrine of the Four Gods as a runaway; in the same manner Mizuki did for Shizuka Shizuka took in Hokuto. Despite her eccentricities Shizuka learned to tolerate Hokuto, and even though she knows Hokuto likes her Shizuka doesn't care, and isn't bothered in the least about it. For a time Hokuto used her esper powers to show Shizuka what her subconscious desire self was like, and for this Shizuka is all the more grateful of the way she turned out.

Seraph. She is Shizuka's subconscious self given form by Hokuto. Seraph is a mirror parody of Shizuka, as she is actively emphasizing qualities Shizuka suppresses, such as personal beauty, thoughts in terms of guys' opinion of her, general phobia of combat and work, and a constant worry of the future. She is generally noticable for her extravegant outfits and rice-powdered skin.

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