Sakurazukamori
 |
|
| Sakurazukamori | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Homeworld | |
| Birth | December 8 |
| Died | |
| Family | Unknown |
| Occupation(s) |
Onmyouji, Assassin, Dendrologist, Botanist |
| Alias | |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Human |
| Gender |
Male |
| Hair color |
Black |
| Eye color |
Gold |
| Height |
5'10" |
| Statistics | |
| Weapon(s) |
Hand to Hand, Shikigami ofuda, Shikigami Familiar (Hawk) |
| Abilities |
Casting Psychotropic Illusions, Casting Spell Traps, Manupulating Sakura trees and blossoms, Brief moments of super speed and strength, Has the ability to seal or enslave spirits, demons and souls. |
| Affiliation |
Had a long term "crush" on Neko-Furu/Furu-kun |
| First Appearance | |
|
|
|
Contents
The Clan
The Sakurazukamori (Cherry Blossom burial mound guardian) is a mysterious onmyouji clan who are empowered by black onmyodo and is a top assassin who "feeds" his victim's bodies, blood and souls to the sacred Sakura trees. It is said that the blood the tree takes from the bodies that rest beneath its roots is what gives the cherry blossoms their pink coloring and are always in bloom even out of season.
A Sakurazukamori is expected to kill their target without compunction, as well as anyone else who witnesses them at their grim work. Although it is stated that the Sakurazukamori have many "allies and clients", the clan of the Sakurazukamori in fact consists of only one member at a time, with the new Sakurazukamori killing their predecessor. As if a twist of irony, it is said that every Sakurazukamori would be killed by the one they loved most. Since each successor is raised to be devoid of emotions, it would seem their fate is to die by the hands of the ones they fall in love with, be it their family member (Like parent to child) or someone completely unrelated, thus passing on the rites and traditions of the Sakurazukamori to be carried on by this killer. Each Sakurazukamori successor is trained both in terms of physical and magical abilities, and the successor is also trained to be devoid of emotions (with love apparently being the only exception), and to place no value on human life.
Sakurazukamori can be either a man or a woman, depending on who the current successor is.
Setsuka; A Female Sakurazukamori
Abilities
As a clan of Onmyouji Spiritualists, the Sakurazukamori have a wide array of abilities that range from Esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science, and the occult. They mostly rely on relics and spells to entrap and confuse their quarry, to attack physically or mentally, and to conjure creatures, forces, and objects to do their bidding.
Small papers with shikigami spells written on them. These can be used in many different ways depending on the spell that is written or being cast.
Shikigami Ofuda can be used to create an inverted pentagram to either shield the caster, or fire off spiritual ki attacks that will cause physical harm against an opponent.
Shikigami Ofuda can be used to create a kekkai (barrier) to protect the caster, entrap others or to keep them out of an area.
Shikigami Ofuda can be used to conjure smaller, less powerful familiars to assist the caster, normally appearing as a flurry of black birds.
The spell "Shukuyindo" summons a very powerful shikigami familiar in the form of a hawk. Depending on how much power is used to summon this familiar can determine the size of the hawk.
Known as the "Hand seals of the Nine Syllables", this mudra and mantra of Rin (臨), Pyōh (兵), Tōh (闘), Sha (者), Kai (皆), Jin (陣), Retsu (列), Zai (在), Zen (前) gives increased spiritual power to spells, familiars, and the caster.
Om (ॐ) is a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning and end of the prayer or mantra. It is used at the end of an invocation to the god being sacrificed to as an invitation to and for the latter to partake of.
And unspoken focused attack of the Black Onmyodo power. Can hit with enough power to break bones, rend flesh, or throw the target back with the force of getting hit by a truck if it cannot be blocked by an equally powerful Kekkai.
Onmyouji, like the Sakurazukamori, have a limited array of spells that can be used to manipulate the environment and conjure elements to assist or defend the caster.
A signature move for the Sakurazukamori, to entangle their prey in twisting, vine-like branches of the Sakura.
Can conjure up large stones and rocks to act as projectiles or as an obstacle against attacks.
A very rare elemental manipulation, where the caster can create a blast of flames to act as either defense or offense. So far, only Subaruwas known to use this element, and he required an Ofuda to cast it.
Sumeragi Subaru's Fire Cast.
These dimensional shifts are a powerful unspoken focused black Onmyodo spells are generally used as traps that the Sakurazukamori uses to isolate, ensnare, disorient and corner their prey, and will generally block others from entering this dimension and interfering unless they can use a stronger power to find and break through the rift.
The Sakura takes the victim into the spiritual plane.
A dimension with no light or sound. Typically used as a means to disorient the victim or even drive them Mad. Sometimes you will hear the Sakurazukamori's voice mocking you before the final blow.
A dimension that is able to recreate your worst fears and nightmares into what seems like reality. The victim can hear, smell, sense, feel, and even taste everything in the nightmare, as if it truly did reflect reality. Typically used to cause mass hysteria, panic and torment the victim. A means of "punishing" the victim for their own wrong doings before they meet their end or descend into madness.
A dimension that replicates an empty abyss with tall jagged stone spires and cliffs. Typically a trap that leaves the victim with no where to run or hide while the Sakurazukamori toys with them and kills at his leisure.
A special dimension that invokes the presence of the Sakura. The victim finds themselves standing before the ever blooming tree and the Sakurazukamori as they are either killed before the tree, or they are consumed and engulfed by the tree itself.
An unspoken focused Black Onmyodo attack which invokes the Sakura to steal away your blood and life in an instant. Essentially, the victim is "Swept away by the Sakura". Only works effectively against mortal souls. this attack takes a vast amount of power to focus and cast. The Sakurazukamori must rest and deflect the fallback of this spell or else the rebound would kill the caster in return.
Known Modern Sakurazukamori
The clan of the Sakurazukamori record of the members is not well known since the successor can either be related to his or her predecessor or could be a complete outsider who inherits the duties. Only a few known modern members have been recognized.
Sakurazuka Setsuka
Setsuka was known as the 12th head of the Sakurazukamori. She was mother to her successor, her son Seishiro whom she loved the most. On the day of her last kill, she told her son about her love for him, and then she asked her son to kill her. Seishiro killed Setsuka without hesitation by piercing her heart with a single knife strike with his hand. Setsuka happily praised her son's actions and with her dying breath told him of his fate as the Sakurazukamori to die by the one he would love the most, just as she had.
Setsuka's death at the hands of her son, Seishiro.
Sakurazuka Seishiro
|
Seishiro was known as the 13th head of the Sakurazukamori. He took his place when he killed his mother at the age of 15. When his mother told him about how much she loved him, he replied that he loved her too. Setsuka smiled and told her son that she was not the one that he loved the most. As she was dying, his mother told him that his fate was to be killed by the one he loves the most. Seishiro simply replied that he was incapable of loving anyone, but Setsuka knew he would find his love and his successor. When Seishiro was 18 years old, he had an encounter during one of his assassin missions: he had just killed a small girl when an innocent 9-year-old boy approached, and attempted to exorcise the cherry tree that accompanied him. Seishiro told the boy a Japanese folk tale that every cherry tree has a corpse buried beneath it, whose blood dyes the white blossoms pink. He was intrigued by the boy's innocence and concern for the dead feeling pain buried under the tree, and held off from killing the boy as he should have done; instead, he whispered a bet to him: "If you and I should ever meet again, let us live together for one year. My heart is the direct inverse of yours... you are kind, pure, and honest and I am sure that is how you will continue to grow up. Your heart will remain pure. So, if we should ever meet again, I will try me hardest to learn to love you. Just for one year... and after that year, if I can consider you 'special', you will have won and I will not kill you. But if I decide that I cannot consider you special to me -- if I cannot distinguish the difference between you and that corpse, then... I will kill you and so today... I will let you go." Seishiro then kissed the boy on the backs of his hands, marking them with inverted pentagrams, so that he would recognize the boy if they ever met again. It wasn't until 7 years later that Seishiro met the boy again. The boy turned out to be the future 13th head of the Sumeragi clan; Subaru Sumeragi. At the time, Seishiro was working as a local veterinarian in Tokyo. Since all spiritualists know that that the power of any spell will rebound against the caster with equal power, Seishiro took a job as a veterinarian and used the animals he would treat as sacrifices to suffer the effects of the rebounds and die in his place, allowing the Sakurazukamori to continue his work in secret and without restrictions. He struck up a friendship with Subaru and his twin sister Hokuto, all the while putting his bet to the test. Over the course of a year, Seishiro watched over Subaru, often he professes his love for the boy and that he wanted to marry the boy, much to Subaru’s embarrassment. Seishiro would secretly follow Subaru on his jobs as he would perform onmyouji exorcisms or trying to help people in need with spiritualism. When Subaru was threatened, Seishiro would step in and use his Sakurazukamori powers to protect and kill the people threatening Subaru. When Subaru is attacked in a hospital by a desperate mother armed with a fruit knife, Seishiro puts himself between the madwoman and Subaru, and she stabs him in his right eye. The hospital staff manage to disarm the mother, and rush Seishiro to emergency surgery to try to save his eye. It is this incident that causes Subaru to eventually come to the realization that he has fallen in love with Seishiro. Seishiro loses his right eye and is given a glass eye replacement. When Subaru comes to visit Seishiro while he is recovering from the surgery, the Sakurazukamori reveals his true nature, as well as the nature of the bet. He traps Subaru inside an illusion featuring the same cherry tree under which they had met many years before and tortures the young Sumeragi, all the while insisting that he was unmoved and thinks of Subaru as nothing more than an "object". He almost kills the young onmyouji, but Subaru's grandmother intervenes with a spell to free her grandson from the illusion, leaving herself crippled as a result.  |
|
Hokuto, fearing that Seishiro will come after her brother. She dons her brother's ceremonial robes and goes to confront Seishiro beneath the blooming cherry tree. She offers up her own life in place of Subaru's. Seishirō accepts her sacrifice and stabs her through the heart. Hokuto then casts a spell on Seishiro with her last breath. Her spell was to curse Seishiro to prevent him from ever hurting Subaru again. If he tries to kill Subaru the same way he killed her, his attack or spell would come back on him. After her death, Subaru awakens from his catatonic state and Seishiro vanishes.
When the year 1999 came, Seishiro's next mission came in the form of divine destiny. As a war to determine the fate of humanity was to be fought by 14 chosen people who were granted special abilities. The Dragons of Heaven; who would fight to preserve the fate of mankind to continue to exist. And the Dragons of Earth, who would fight to eliminate mankind to allow a rebirth of the Earth, and allow it to heal. Seishiro was chosen to act as a Dragon of Earth, and Subaru was chosen to be a Dragon of Heaven. For the majority of the battles that took place, Seishiro remained hidden, observing the other Dragons as the fought and tried to slaughter each other. It wasn't until Subaru had been attacked and loses his right eye to the leader of the Dragons of Earth, Fuuma, that Seishiro came out of the shadows. Fuuma spoke to Seishiro after his fight with Subaru, and told him it was Sumeragi's wish to lose his right eye just like Seishiro, but that the Dragon of Heaven onmyouji's true wish was different from what Seishiro assume it was.
After Subaru recovered from the loss of his eye, Seishiro met with Subaru on the Rainbow Bridge for their fated battle. As they attacked one another with powerful spells, shikigami and illusions, Seishiro shared the information that Fuuma told him about Subaru's true wish. Seishiro asked Subaru if his true wish was to kill him for revenge, but Subaru told him he was wrong. As they prepared their final attacks Hokuto's curse took effect, and Seishiro ended up impaled with Subaru's hand piercing his heart. As Seishiro lay dying in his arms, Subaru told Seishiro that his true wish was to let the Sakurazukamori kill him at last, and end his tormented love. Seishiro reveals that he knew about the curse that Hokuto had placed upon him, and by fulfilling Subaru's wish, Seishiro ended up fulfilling his own wish...to be killed by the one he loved the most. Thus making Subaru the next successor as the Sakurazukamori.
Seishiro's death at the hands of Subaru.
Sumeragi Subaru
|
|
Subaru and his elder twin sister Hokuto were born to the Sumeragi Clan in Kyoto, a clan of onmyouji who are empowered by white onmyodo who have served Japan and the emperor for centuries. He was very gifted with spiritual powers even at a young age. Hokuto also had spiritual powers, but were far weaker than her brother's abilities. Subaru was trained from an early age to become the 13th Sumeragi clan leader, chosen to succeed his grandmother. When he was 9, he was separated from his sister for a year of intensive training in Tokyo to prepare him to take the title of the head of the clan. While in Tokyo, Subaru encountered a mystical haunting cherry tree and he tried to exorcize it until he met a mysterious young man who told him a folk tale that every cherry tree has a corpse buried beneath it. Saddened and worried, Subaru asked if the dead people were in pain, and this amused the young man. The mysterious youth whispered something to Subaru and then kissed the back of the little boy's hands, carving an inverted pentagram into his flesh. When he is found by his grandmother, the young Subaru is left in a trance with the pentagrams bleeding from his hands. He remembers nothing of his encounter, but his grandmother knew the sign of the Sakurazukamori and knew her grandson had been targeted. Subaru's grandmother forces him to wear gloves from that day forward and never allows anyone to see his hands. The old onmyouji cast a spell on the gloves that would stop anyone who wanted to remove them. Due to a spell placed over Subaru's memory by the Sakurazukamori, the young onmyouji remembered nothing from this encounter and had no idea why he was required to wear gloves. |
A photo of Seishiro, Subaru and Hokuto.
When Subaru and his sister turned 16, they left Kyoto and went to live and work in Tokyo. Hokuto, being eccentric and outgoing, took up a hobby of fashion designing while Subaru, more cheerful and bashful, took up spiritual work exorcizing demons, helping lost souls ascend to the afterlife, entering the minds of comatose people to bring them back to the world, and fighting those who abused spiritual powers. Hokuto and Subaru befriend a kindly and magically-aware vet named Seishiro Sakurazuka, who they met at a railway station after Subaru's shikigami led him on a bizarre chase. Seishiro acts as guardian to both and claims to love Subaru romantically. Subaru is frequently embarrassed by these claims, as well as Hokuto's gleeful attempts to bring the two together, despite her own suspicions that Seishiro may be connected to the Sakurazukamori due to his surname.
After Seishiro loses his right eye protecting Subaru from a maddened woman in the hospital, the young onmyoji realizes he does love Seishiro. When Subaru visits Seishiro in recover after his surgery, Seishirō reveals that he is indeed the Sakurazukamori, raised to be incapable of either love or hate. Lifting the veil he had placed on the boy's memory, Seishiro states the nature of the bet he had made: that if they met again, he would live with the boy for a year to see if he could learn to love Subaru. However, the assassin claims he was as barren of emotions and that Subaru meant nothing to him. Seishiro traps Subaru in a dark illusion tortures and attempts to kill Subaru until his grandmother casts a spell to release Subaru from the spell. Traumatized from the betrayal, Subaru descends into a catatonic state. Hokuto begs Subaru to awaken, but her pleas go unheard. Fearing that Seishiro would return to kill Subaru in this vulnerable state, she takes her brother's ceremonial garb and goes to confront Seishiro under the blossoming cherry tree. She makes Seishiro kill her and casts a spell to protect her brother. Not knowing of the spell she casts, Subaru telepathically senses Hokuto's self-sacrifice to the Sakurazukamori and awakens from his catatonia, yet now he is even more devastated at the loss of his sister at the hands of the one he loves, and he lives on with survivors guilt.
|
When the year 1999 comes, Subaru was chosen to be a Dragon of Heaven in the battle for mankind against the Dragons of Earth. He is very quiet and reserved since the tragedies he suffered from 9 year prior. He has spent these years traveling Japan, still practicing his exorcisms and assisting lost souls, although he seems to no longer find joy in putting spirits to rest. Despite his position as a Dragon of Heaven, he expresses no interest in the fate of humanity. His only concern is to settle his score with Seishiro and to have his own wish fulfilled. However, with persuasion from fellow Dragons of Heaven Sorata Arisugawa and Arashi Kishu, he joins the other members of the Dragon of Heaven in Tokyo. One of his first acts is to bring Kamui Shiro out of the catatonia into which he had fallen after seeing his childhood sweetheart, Kotori Mono, killed by her brother Fuuma. Subaru and Kamui develop a close friendship based on their similar hardships, with Subaru acting as a mentor to Kamui during his further trials. When Subaru faces Fuuma in battle, the Dragon of Earth manipulates the onmyouji's mind to see the younger man as Seishiro. Because of this illusion, Subaru loses his composure and drops his guard, allowing Fuuma to attack him and blind him in his right eye. Subaru is taken to the hospital by the Dragons of Heaven as Fuuma later reveals to Seishiro that Subaru wished to be blinded in his right eye, just as Seishiro had. This information surprises Seishiro but Fuuma also adds that Subaru's true wish can only be fulfilled by Seishiro himself. This spurs the Sakurazukamori to seek out Sumeragi on the Rainbow Bridge, where they engage in an intense battle of spiritual powers. Subaru reveals his true wish to Seishiro; After having tried unsuccessfully to eradicate his feelings for Seishiro, Subaru wished to be killed by him, as thus he would exist in Seishiro's heart, even if it was only as another victim of the cherry blossom. However, due to a spell cast by Hokuto at her death, the killing strike by Seishiro is reversed, and Subaru kills Seishiro instead. Subaru is shocked by the turn of events, and Seishiro reveals to Subaru the purpose of Hokuto's curse. He then whispers to Subaru his final words which have a profound effect on the young man, being something he had not expected Seishiro to say. Following Seishiro's death, Subaru is slated to become the next Sakurazukamori, for the ritual of succession for Sakurazukamori is for the predecessor to be killed on one the love the most. Seishiro wished for Subaru to erase the mark another man had left on him, by which he meant Fuuma's taking of Subaru's right eye. As such, Fuuma gives Subaru a container that holds an eye, the only remains of Seishiro's found after the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge. Fuuma tells Subaru to use the eye to replace the one the young onmyouji lost. This act would complete the ritual and, after regaining his full sight, Subaru becomes the 14th Sakurazukamori. |
|
After the Events of 1999
Subaru was now the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, and the 14th head of the Sakurazukamori. It did not take the onmyouji long to realize that as head of both clans it would cause a great imbalance in the onmyodo powers. Subaru knew he had to find a way to separate both clans from his single persona. He had his doubts, considering that the one he loved, Seishiro, was already dead and Subaru was certain he could never love another. During his journeys across Japan, he came across a powerful spiritual presence from a foster home in Kobe. He found that the spiritual energies were coming from a pair of twin boys. He took the boys with him back to the Sumeragi clan in Kyoto and started training them in some of the basic practices of the onmyouji. Subaru's grandmother was wary of these children Subaru has brought with him and she was suspicious of his reasons for bringing them into the clan. Both young proteges took to the spiritual magics with ease and were great students. Subaru remained emotionless and strict with them while he trained the boys. The eldest of the twins remained cheerful, caring and warm. Subaru began to notice the younger twin's personality was also warm and welcoming, but then the boy would seem to revert to a darker persona with a calculating look in his eyes. Subaru could see the onmyodo dividing before him. When the twins reached the age of 9, Subaru began training them separately to test their abilities. The eldest twin excelled in the white onmyodo magics, while the younger excelled in the black onmyodo magics. Subaru then took the boys to Tokyo to train them to be his clan successors. While in Tokyo, the oldest practiced his exorcisms of a few minor spirits demonstrating his succession as head of the Sumeragi clan with Subaru's blessing. Subaru then turned to the youngest twin's training, only to find that the boy had wandered off into a park. After some time, Subaru found the young boy had been drawn to a cherry tree that was in bloom out of season. The young boy turned to Subaru and smiled...reminding Subaru of Seishiro. When they returned to Kyoto, Subaru's Grandmother warned him about the younger twin's powers and that the boy should not be allowed to continue his practices. She told Subaru that she knew that the boy had the power of the black onmyodo within him and that he would be cast out of the clan. That night, Subaru killed his grandmother and ensured that his "sons" would be kept safe within the clan. Subaru began to change more while raising his sons. He would leave on his journeys throughout Japan to complete his work only to return home to the warm welcome of his adopted sons. He became very close to the youngest twin, seeing this boy take on more of Seishiro's personality. Subaru knew that the succession of the Sakurazukamori would come true, for even though Seishiro was dead, Subaru had learned to love his youngest son the most...
Suburban Senshi Sakurazukamori
Not much is yet known about the Sakurazukamori who occasionally visits the home of the Suburban Senshi. He is described as an ominous looking young man with an intense dark aura in his golden eyes, and he seems to possibly be the 15th head of the Sakurazukamori clan, but this position has not been confirmed. Apparently he had an ongoing crush with Neko-Furu (Furu-kun), but since his crush hasn't appeared in the box for some time, he is now looking out for a new potential "prey" if they happen to catch his eye. He obscures his true identity and personal details, since as an onmyouji could be attacked by someone knowing their true date and place of birth, and avoids admitting even speaking his own true name. He does provide a false birth date, just so folks could have a reason to offer a celebration, and it keeps people from inquiring further into his life's details. He does like the free cake as well.
In 2007, Sakurazukamori won the Chatbox Division Budokai tournament. No lives were actually lost in this competition.
In 2015, Sakurazukamori planted a Sacred Sakura Tree out front of the HOTEL in the yard. The tree protects the HOTEL from spiritual attacks, and will physically defend the HOTEL and itself if threatened with living roots and twisting branches. It happily accepts blood offerings for its service, which Sakurazukamori regularly provides...no questions asked. The tree is territorial and will not allow any other trees or foliage in its yard. Many shrubs and hedges were lost during this takeover of the front yard.
Sakurazukamori recently had taken a liking to Plant-kun and has since moved the sadistic house plant from the HOTEL. He has hinted that Plant-Kun fits in well at his greenhouse.
