Character Name: Shikabane Ryo
BL/CA: Ryu
IC Rank: Mercenary
Age: 18
Sex/Gender: Female
Mental Description: Ryo is a corpse. Not in a sense that she herself is dead, but rather, the essence of life itself was never gifted to her. A person without a "soul," floating along the current of life without ever learning to swim. She's learned from a young age how to fake those required social scenarios no matter how exhausting they are. Sure, she'd like to have friends, but from in her line of work it's impossible to form those meaningful bonds. Paranoia and distrust clouding every interaction. Every warning - a veiled threat. Every compliment - a painted target. Better to keep a safe distance and stab them in the back before they stab you. None of this is to say that Ryo herself is an emotionless husk, quite the opposite in fact. Ryo exists in the moment, the drama of it all. She finds herself often looking for the vibrant luminescence of other hearts like a gluttonous beast even if her attempts are futile and transient. If her current affairs begin to be so troublesome, she is prone to flight rather than fight. Everything Ryo does is motivated by some kind of personal gain, whether it be money, status, social currency. She loves earning favors - being owed by people she so graciously assists. Effective cost/analysis - Risk/Reward. Quick to betrayal when it suits her or a loyal lapdog if the payments keep clearing. To the victor goes the spoils and Ryo craves being spoiled.
Character History: Ryo never knew her father and her mother was wholly undeserving of the title. She never learned anything about her father other than he was a "no good scoundrel whose ideals were more important than his own wife." He was a shinobi that had abandoned his family for some unknown purpose and the fallout of that choice would always scar Ryo and leave her without a last name to cling to. Not even an idealized version of him could exist in her head, his only gift, a curse. Maybe things would have worked out differently if he'd stayed. Maybe Mother wouldn't have become the wretched woman she was, entangled in addiction and using her only daughter for personal gain. A victim of abuse and a life of having to scrape and crawl to earn her meager existence in this bleak world. Stealing and eating discarded trash to survive. Ryo and her mother existed in a crime-ruled town and Ryo had shown an aptitude for - let's call them, misdeeds, and the willingness to commit them. And so, what else could she have done? The only escape Roy had was proving herself to the local yakuza families, for protection and a rope to cling to with bloody hands, lest it find itself around her neck. Perhaps it would have been easier to lay down and die like a dog, but Roy's mother had other plans....
Thankfully whoever her father was left behind a gift in this abominable body. She discovered very early on that she could create weapons from her scales. A great talent to have for an assassin and the gang captains seemed to believe so too. A small girl that could materialize a weapon from seemingly nowhere, dressed in rags and covered in filth. Who would ever expect their life was in danger from something so pitiful? Her first time wasn't easy, no matter the emptiness that began to take root in her heart. That dim hope - the innocence of a child that slowly gets snuffed out as every kill gets easier and easier. It was necessary evil. Ryo understood that. She had to learn to suppress those pesky morals and guilt if she wanted to survive. Like a marionette dancing to Death's refrain, wilted roses for eyes as she eliminated her targets. "Corpse Princess" was a moniker she obtained from her "colleagues," for both the mountain of bodies left in her wake and the detached demeanor she maintained while hanging off those strings. If that was what people perceived her as then it would make a fine enough last name. Shikabane Ryo... An amusing name with an abnormal feeling swelling up inside. Was this pride?
She got quite good with her abilities. Learning how to fully create her own dolls to play with, channeling chakra through them with the results varying on her feelings or emotions that day. It broke up the monotony of how easy it was to slaughter her marks, most being rabble that could barely hold a sword. It was always fun to create something new, in a flash of brilliance and building up such a collection of toys that could at least stave off the boredom for a little while. But as time passed Ryo grew more and more restless. She was better than this. She could do anything she wanted. So why bother wasting away here for a bunch of cowards and weaklings? There's a whole world out there to experience. But could she just simply walk away from this life after so long? Why not? All Ryo has to do is sell out her boss and be on her way... It was a fairly easy endeavor contacting all of the other factions and rival families, trading secrets for cash, orchestrating a massacre that would free her from her leash. Humans really do just chomp at the bit for a little bit of power and influence, huh? This too, was a poignant lesson at the depravity and desires of man. Roy didn't stick around to see the fireworks, getting out of town at the first sign of panic amidst her gang. By the time they realize what's happening it'll be far too late.
Now she wanders, a rogue vagabond with no ties to anyone or anything. A princess climbing down her throne of corpses into the abyssal chaos of the future.