Kamigawa Subaru//character application for the Amaranthine Tea Kettle

Name: Kamigawa Subaru - "Kamigawa" is spelled with the kanji for "god" and "child"; "Subaru" is written in hiragana
Age: 17
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 1XX lbs.
Hair: brown
Eyes: gray
Blood Type: A

Subaru is a swordswoman by trade, and already has some impressive experience under her belt. At fifteen, she was a general in the army of a certain empire... her term of employment ended, however, when the emperor gave her orders she didn't like and she killed him. Since then she's done a lot of freelancing as a mercenary; her no-nonsense attitude and sheer skill with a blade have gotten her a great deal of money. There isn't much she can't do with a sword, and in addition, she's a spirit mage--she has a dark sprite (Shade) bonded to her through whom she works dark spells.

If there's anything Subaru particularly cares about, it's her family and companions. She has a younger twin brother, Tsukasa, and is close with her cousins Kamigawa Uriko and Ryoko. She's extraordinarily protective of her young "apprentice" Tsutomu Vandole; their motley party also includes Kaoru Freewill, Amalie Spinel, Marshall Tor, Eliot Hallowheart, Cassiel Bellax, Vanadise Godhammer, and Lethia Cressholt.

//Personality//
Subaru can *deadpan* and *drywall* with the best of them; she's a fairly expressionless and even more no-nonsense person. She's so masculine in personality that sometimes it's possible to forget she's even female; she's rather antisocial and a bit forbidding. She's scary when she loses it... but she's fairly good at keeping her control. Usually she's taciturn and professional; she can be sarcastic when annoyed and has a rather dry sense of humor. Her greatest annoyance is the concept of "destiny"... and it particularly annoys her when people start talking about hers...

...but has she got a softer side? Subaru has been known to adamantly stand between the helpless and those who would happily take advantage of them, with sharp objects pointed at the latter. Drastic injustice gets on her nerves as much as it gets on her do-gooder baby brother's. She's no martyr, and she dislikes being classified as a "hero", but she has nothing against bludgeoning blatant evil with her sense of honor (such as it is). Certain of her compatriots have experienced the rarity of "gentle big-sister Subaru"--those who haven't seen that side of her firsthand, though, insist that it doesn't exist.

In terms of, say, Negima!... Subaru is probably Tatsumiya Mana + Sakurazaki Setsuna, with maybe a little Okochi Akira or Chao Lingshen thrown in. ("badass professional" + "overprotective warrior" + "caring Good Samaritan" + "forceful/stubborn/idealistic radical"...? whaaaaaaat?)

//Personal effects//
Subaru's usual costume consists of black leather tight pants and an olive-green leather vest worn over over a skintight gray short-sleeved shirt. She wears functional boots of worn and supple leather, and fingerless padded gloves.

If you desire to put her in modern clothes, she'd wear darkwashed jeans over her usual boots and a t-shirt. The standard t-shirt would be preferably black, and if it's got a print/slogan on it, make the print flight-related and the slogan/quote as smartassed as possible.

The two "musts" of her attire are her hair ribbon and sword. The orange hair ribbon was her mother's and is the only feminine thing she'll ever really wear. If she doesn't wear it in her hair, it should be put on as a scarf or sash; as a hair ribbon, it's drawn realistically floppy. For serious battles, she removes it first, always by grabbing one end and pulling. It's silk, so it slides off in one fluid motion.

Her sword, "Sword of Fate", is a family heirloom. The sheath is blue with gold embroidery, and the blade is gold in color (the sword isn't actually made of gold, though); Subaru is right-handed so it's always belted at her left hip.

//The Amaranthine Tea Kettle//

"...so it's a tea kettle. A magical purple tea kettle... like a genie lamp... that grants wishes. Riiiiiight."

Subaru examined her nails for a moment and looked up at the girl in front of her with one eyebrow upraised. "...precisely how much of a sucker do you think I am?"

The girl pushed at her rather straggly blonde hair and looked down at Subaru with tired eyes. "I promise you that this is true. We--I need it. It may be the only way for me to free myself... from her..."

"...You are serious, aren't you?" The eyebrow rose a little higher. "Why so worried about it? Surely since you've been speaking to many people about this..."

"I need as many as I can... as many strong people as I can, because Susan wants this too, and if I don't--"

"What would you do with it?"

"Beg... pardon...?" The girl blinked.

"This tea kettle of yours. What wish do you need granted so badly?"

"I want to get rid of Susan." She reddened, and mumbled something indistinct under her breath.

"...What's that, now?"

"...and maybe a first-edition copy of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde," she said a bit louder.

"Don't you mean THE Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde?" Subaru asked. It wasn't as though she could help it.

"Was originally... supposed to be printed... but they made him put in the article..." The girl's eyes grew round and rather moist. "Please, please, please! You can have it when I'm done with it; that's all that matters to me right now!"

Freedom. And a rare book. This girl... came rather cheaply. "What if I were to wish for something distinctly not in the best interests of this world with that kettle?" Subaru asked frankly.

The girl blanched. "But--but that can't be. No one who loves and knows as much about classic literature as you could possibly--"

"Luckily for you, I don't have evil intentions for the world. If this kettle exists--and it does what you say it does--then I know people it can help, and after that, it needs to not exist anymore." Subaru stood, stretched, and slid her sword back into its sheath. "...Seeing as I'm in a financial position where I don't need lots of payment... you got yourself a deal, Miss..."

The girl's face brightened with a smile, the first true smile Subaru had seen there. "Anna Enfield."