Mikuruneko

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Miku-pic.jpg
Mikuruneko, in civilian clothes
Mikuruneko
Player: @Mitsukineko
Origin: Science
Archetype: Scrapper
Security Level: 50
Personal Data
Real Name: Mikuru Natsukawa
Known Aliases: Mikuruneko, Mikki, Miku
Species: Human / Feline Hybrid
Age: 24 (Born 01/06/1988)
Height: 4' 0"
Weight: 83lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Red
Biographical Data
Nationality: Japanese
Occupation: Licensed Super Hero, Former Vanguard Agent
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
Base of Operations: Paragon City, Rhode Island, USA
Marital Status: Divorced
Known Relatives: Ritsuko Natsukawa (Sister)
Tohru Natsukawa (Brother)
Hikaru Natsukawa (Sister)
Misaki Natsukawa (Mother)
Dr. Ryuga Natsukawa (Father)
Known Powers
Regeneration, Super Jumping, Super Speed
Known Abilities
Mastery of various sword-fighting arts
Equipment
Custom-crafted katana, multifunction wristcom, PersoStore 500/SD PDP
Has Omega-level Clearance


Mikuruneko is a catgirl character based loosely around the character Mikuru Asahina from the anime series The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Character is moderately RP. You will oftentimes find her hanging out with fellow listeners of The Cape Radio in Pocket D.

Mikuruneko speaks fluent Japanese and English. Mikuruneko's driver does not. (At least, not the Japanese. The English is arguable *grin*)

Contents

Current Affiliations

Supergroup: First Light

Former Supergroups: Heroic Symphony

Personality

Mikuruneko's personality could be described as her being a kinda bubbly but grounded and intelligent girl, somewhat chatty, bold and ready to jump into action. She doesn't take defeat, and will fight to the last for her friends and anything else that matters to her. She wasn't born a catgirl, but she's adapted to the changes and accepts them as part of herself and seeks to make the most of them.

Powers

Mikuruneko possesses enhanced mobility based on the modifications to her DNA she experienced. Her feline-hybrid DNA has given her enhanced agility, most predominantly in her jumping and running abilities. Mikuruneko has the ability to jump long distances and heights, enabling her to reach high rooftops with ease. She also has the ability to run at drastically-increased speeds, crossing miles of ground in mere minutes with ease.

Her genetic modifications have also given Mikuruneko a vastly improved and rapid regeneration and healing system, enabling her to survive injuries several times worse than most humans. Bullet wounds and cuts close in seconds, burns heal over almost as quickly as they occur, illness is almost nonexistant for her, and most poisons have a greatly reduced chance of lethality for her.

Abilities

Mikuruneko's improved agility and reflexes have helped to make her a keen swordswoman. Though she had never practiced before, she quickly developed a knack for a number of different swordfighting techniques as she trained with Freedom Corps. She has found favor with the katana, and uses it with great precision and efficiency.

Mikuruneko is also fairly adept with electronics, given the nature of her parents' jobs and the neighborhood she grew up in. Her family's connections have granted her access to a number of advanced technologies, which she has adapted well to her heroic efforts.

Weaknesses and Limitations

Classified - Omega Clearance Required

Equipment

Katana

Mikuruneko's most prized possession and crimefighting tool is her katana. Custom-forged by a master swordsmith in Japan with modern materials and techniques, it is truly a versatile weapon. The blade itself is made of a proprietary high-tensile, heat-resistant titanium alloy which has been impregnated with silver. This enables it to withstand significant sheer forces as well as some of the most extreme temperatures. The silver embedded in the blade makes it useful for dealing with certain classes of creatures which are hyperallergenic to the material.

In addition to the blade's physical properties, Mikuruneko's sword also has been blessed by high priests of the world's religions, and has been magically warded and imbued with its own anti-ward enchantment. This makes it very useful against spirit creatures and magical beings as well.

Mikuruneko's katana also possesses a miniature dimensional anchor in the hilt which is linked to her PersoStore implant, enabling her to summon it to her across distances should it be knocked away from her, and also to be brought forth at will for combat from storage. This enables Mikuruneko to carry the weapon anywhere needed, without having to worry about cumbersome scabbards or other methods of concealment.

Mikuruneko received her sword from her swordfighting sensei as a graduation gift, having turned out to be one of the best students he had ever taught. This sword was her constant companion fighting crime for most of her career, unfortunately the original blade has been lost to her; only the Rikti know where the blade is now. Mikuruneko's replacement blade is of similar design to the original, but Mikuruneko laments the loss of her original blade due to its sentimental value.

Following her recent capture by Arachnos and her subsequent rescue, her father gifted her with a new katana based on reverse-engineered Vanguard Talsorian energy weapon technology. She has retired her normal sword for the time being.

Wristcom

Mikuruneko is also in possession of an integrated communication system / MediCom EMT beacon / data computer system. This enables her to get access to a vast database of information at the push of a button, contact and coordinate information with fellow heroes, and receive immediate medical attention should she receive life-threatening injures in combat. The bulk of this system is integrated into her combat armor, while the MediCom beacon is a subdermal implant but can be damaged by extreme shock.

Her wristcom's streaming radio system is usually tuned to The Cape Radio.

Storage System

Mikuruneko also uses a very advanced piece of equipment developed in Japan and marketed by multiple companies. This device enables her to create, and gain instant access to, a small dimensional pocket. The technology is similar to how the Pocket D is maintained, just on a microscopic level. While the storage space is finite, it enables Mikuruneko to move most of her storage requirements to a small subdermal implant, rather than carrying heavy, bulky bags of supplies or a scabbard for external storage of her katana.

The PersoStore 500/SD is able to bring any item stored inside it into this dimension at any location within a short distance around Mikuruneko, and is specifically keyed to her katana's dimensional anchor. This enables Mikuruneko to call her weapon into play instantly when needed, and serves as a perfect way to conceal her katana when not in use. The device is thought-controlled, and therefore is perfect for covert ops use. The specific system Mikuruneko uses was designed by her father at his workplace.

Character History

Past History

Mikuru was born January 06, 1988, the eldest daughter of a respected family of scientists in Japan. Raised in childhood in Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood, Mikuru was always surrounded by both consumer electronics and the advanced research projects of her father thanks to his employment at Arima Heavy Industries, an industry-leading research and development corporation with several major government contracts. Mikuru was an ordinary child, not having been born with any mutations or innate super powers.

Her childhood was relatively normal, and she was fairly popular in school, partly because of her personality, and also because of some early physical developments. Even with this, she did not enjoy a major height difference, in fact her height was well below average for her age. Even with this, Mikuru excelled in physical activities, but did not join any sports clubs out of concern she wouldn't be able to keep up with her taller classmates.

Her relatively normal life would change drastically upon entering into highschool. Her first year was relatively normal, but early in her second year, she met a charismatic but eccentric classmate who strongly insisted she join her club, which was primarily interested in aliens, espers, sliders and time-travellers. Mikuru consented, and went through several strange adventures as a result, but nothing she encountered could have prepared her for what was in store.

Origin of Powers

Towards the end of her second year, the president of the club Mikuru had been recruited into decided that to best enjoy the end of the year, their club should go on a school-supported field trip. Mikuru's school allowed for this, but required that if the field trip was to be sanctioned by the school and occur during school hours, it must be educational and could only be to local area businesses or landmarks. Always on the lookout for something "interesting", the club president decided to choose a newly-built research lab, ran by a relatively unheard-of company in Japan - Crey Industries.

The field trip itself started off innocuous enough; the head scientist of the lab showed the students around, explained some of their work they were doing, showed off some of the lab equipment, but kept avoiding one particular section of the lab with no explanation. The club president, smelling adventure, pressed the scientist on the contents of the lab. Seeming to give in, the scientist explained it was a new project they were working on, codenamed "Nekomimi". He gave no further explanation of what the project was about or what it entailed, which only served to fuel the club president's curiosity further. At her insistance, the scientist agreed to demonstrate what they had working so far, and asked for a volunteer.

Rather than agreeing to participate herself, the club president opted to "volunteer" Mikuru for the demonstration instead. Shocked and unable to say anything quickly enough, Mikuru was taken over to a large machine and placed inside a chamber built into it. The door was closed, and the scientist activated the machine. Loud hums were heard, lights blinked furiously on the machine and a fog filled the chamber, but nothing else seemed to occur. In fact, everything seemed as normal when a few seconds later the fog cleared, the door opened and out stepped a confused but otherwise unaffected Mikuru. The scientist showed them out the door, and everyone went home.

Mikuru, fatigued from her experience at the lab and also from a late-night study session, went to bed that night and instantly fell asleep. She would not awaken the same person she was the night before. Over the course of her sleep, a Crey-developed retrovirus that had been introduced into her system while she was in the fog of Project Nekomimi's machinery had busily gone about its purpose, rewriting large parts of Mikuru's genetic structure and causing rapid growth of new cells, forming cat-ears and a cat tail on her body, as well as performing less visible changes to her.

Mikuru did not notice the changes at first. Still tired from the night, she remained oblivious to the physical changes to her body until she arrived at school, where her classmates stared in shock at her. It was not until one classmate pulled on her tail that she realized she was not the same as she was before. Initial shock devolved into ridicule and teasing throughout the day, with Mikuru eventually retreating to the school nurse's office until her parents could pick her up.

Doctors in Japan were unable to explain the source of her mutation, and the changes left Mikuru in a very bad way - the tail and changes to her reflexes had made her very klutzy as she tried to get used to them, and she could no longer go back to school as she caused a disturbance whenever she tried. Her only chance, the doctors explained, lay in seeking help at the only place equipped to truly handle such strange occurances: the medical facilities in Paragon City.

Early life in Paragon

Mikuru's family decided to look into this chance to help their daughter and moved to Paragon City, with her father getting a transfer to the research branch of his company that had just opened up in the Founders' Falls area. After settling in, Mikuru was enrolled into the local highschool to finish off her last year. While there, she was extensively coached in the English language, which resulted in her speaking very clean, crisp English rather than the usual, accent-heavy English of other Japanese. This helped Mikuru avoid a language barrier, but there would be more hurdles for her to get over than that.

Mikuru found that in Paragon City's school system she was still somewhat ostracized; there were other catgirls here, so she wasn't as out of place, but many of them seemed to behave very peculiarly, oftentimes arriving at class wearing nothing at all, or speaking very broken languages if they said anything at all. Some only made cat noises, and were the hardest to get along with. Her only saving grace in this final year was her classroom teacher, Evelyn Ramius. A very kind and caring teacher, she recognized Mikuru's predicament and offered to be a mentor to her, and used her Freedom Corps ties to get Mikuru into their training program after she graduated. She had heard of Mikuru's struggle to find a "cure" for her, and knew that Freedom Corps would have access to some of the finer scientific minds in the city.

Once in the training program, Mikuru learned more about what was causing her klutziness; the mutations she had endured had also given her above-average muscle response and power. As she was trained in the use of these powers, she became able to jump farther and higher, run faster and faster with each passing day. She also learned how to finely control her new power, becoming very agile and flexible through extensive training. As the Corps personelle helped her grow and control her power, she watched other trainees using their own powers, talked with them about their hopes, but every day wished she could be rid of all of her extra "gifts".

As she pushed herself to new heights with her enhanced running and jumping, Mikuru also found herself seemingly tireless, even after running long distances, and seemed to come away with no more than a light bruise from falls in excess of 300 feet. Freedom Corps scientists explained to her that she appeared to have enhanced regenerative abilities due to her mutation, though to what extent they could regenerate her was unknown.

She would receive news, while during training, that would permanently decide her fate. Freedom Corps scientists had found the source of her mutation, and while analyzing it, had also found that she could not be cured. After finding out about Crey's involvement and the permanant damage to her DNA they had caused, Mikuru found herself with a new goal in life. From that day forward, she vowed to use these powers of hers to bring Crey to justice. The only way she could do this would be to become a fully-trained, licensed Hero. She fully devoted herself to this cause, beginning to excel beyond everyone's expectations.

To fight crime, she would need a weapon. Her body, even though it was powerful and agile, was still petite and would not be able to win by fisticuffs alone like her tanker training-mates, nor could she shoot bolts of energy or control the elements like her blaster and controller friends. Instead, she found that the strength she had and her agility gave her an edge in arts that were as Japanese as she was - the art of the katana.

Mikuru underwent intense training in multiple swordfighting techniques, becoming very adept with her chosen blade. Rising quickly to the top of her class and gaining the admiration of her sensei, she eventually earned her Level 1 Security Clearance and was given a special gift - a custom-crafted katana that she would use for most of her career. Having earned her way as a hero under the licensed name Mikuruneko, she set out to make the world a better place - a place without Crey Industries ruining people's lives.

Present Day

Currently holding a Level 50 Security Clearance, Mikuruneko has been instrumental in foiling plots of world domination and destruction from a number of factions, notably including the Council, Nemesis, Crey, The Praetorians, and most recently the Rikti themselves. She has received numerous badges and medals, and tirelessly fights for justice. During the Second Rikti Invasion in 2007, Mikuruneko joined Vanguard for sometime, fighting on the front lines until an almost-fatal injury sidelined her. After recovering from her injuries, Mikuruneko continued to work for Vanguard as a Federal Liason Agent, until stress and increasing bureaucracy and corruption within Vanguard forced her to resign her position in protest.

Mikuruneko currently performs freelance hero work and helps fellow heroes when needed.

Recent Events: Second Rikti Invasion

Mikuruneko would face her greatest struggle for survival during the 2007 Rikti Invasion. Having fought several skirmishes against the Rikti, she ventured to the War Zone to more directly fight the Rikti and stop their invasion. While on patrol for Vanguard, she came across a large group of Rikti that were about to embark onto a dropship bound for one of the city zones. In an attempt to save lives and stop the bombings that ship would perform, she attacked the crew head-on.

The battle was fierce, almost beyond Mikuruneko's skill to win, but slowly she was gaining the upper hand until the commander of the ship arrived on the scene. The commander, a large, heavily-decorated Chief Soldier, charged straight into the melee and with one swing of his sword sent the tiring Mikuruneko flying through the concrete wall of a nearby, wrecked building. The impact smashed her wristcom, leaving her unable to call for help and also damaged her EMT beacon, preventing her from receiving medical transport service. Lying on her back, out of breath and unable to move with her sword lying 40ft away, she was helpless to stop the advancing Chief Soldier.

Raising his sword high above him and slamming it down with all his might, the Rikti pinned Mikuruneko to the ground, his sword completely through her left side. Standing above her, in a rare display of emotion, the Chief Soldier imparted her with the last words she would hear for 2 days: "Termination: Mikuruneko: Most pleasurable." The Rikti then pulled the trigger on the plasma rifle built into his sword, and Mikuruneko's world faded to black. The Chief Soldier then picked up Mikuruneko's sword as a trophy, and boarded his ship to cause more death and destruction in Paragon City.

Two days later a Vanguard patrol was pursuing a similar group of Rikti when they stumbled upon the unconscious, barely breathing Mikuruneko clinging to the edge of life thanks to her regeneration abilities. As teleportation itself might kill her, a medical transport was called and Mikuruneko was taken to the hospital in Founders' Falls, where doctors were able to stabilize Mikuruneko and allow her regeneration to gain ground in healing her body.

Mikuruneko has acquired a new sword, and now fully healed except for a scar on the left side of her abdomen from the plasma rifle blast, she is now back to taking the fight to the Rikti.

Recent Events: Vanessa DeVore's Shadow and Mikuru's Darkness (RP Story Arc)

The Fight

In late 2007, Mikuruneko became involved in a series of events in her efforts to help her friend Folie, an ex-member of the Carnival of Shadows. Folie was attempting to free herself forever from the mental effects of the Carnival, but was still linked to the Carnival's leader, Vanessa DeVore. In Folie's quest to find DeVore and free herself, Mikuruneko found herself volunteering aid in the fight, eventually leading to a showdown with Vanessa DeVore herself.

The battle was fierce, and although Mikuruneko initially was knocked out by DeVore's mental powers, she recovered with the help of her friends and together Mikuruneko, Folie and the rest of their team were able to defeat DeVore, but at a two-fold cost, part of which would be known immediately, and a more insidious cost to show later. Folie was dead, suffering a brain hemmorhage that effectively killed her physical body, splitting her mental self off in a manner similar to War Witch's existance.

Mikuruneko's cost for this battle would not be known for some time.

Mikuruneko was the first to observe Folie's collapse from this injury, and simply snapped - blacking out for the next few minutes as she tore her way through the remaining entourage of Carnies Vanessa had with her. This would not be the first time she would black out. In the month following DeVore's defeat, Mikuruneko would be plagued with further blackouts, during these blackouts she would often display unusual emotions and thoughts for her: coldness, a callous disregard for life, a taste for violence. Mikuruneko never remembered these incidents, only finding out what she had said or done after waking up from them.

Mikuruneko sought assistance regarding the blackouts, as her friends seemed to think it was simply stress from work and from what had happened to her friend Folie. A psychiatrist prescribed anti-anxiety medication and Mikuruneko also took a trip to Hawaii to relax, taking her friend DJ Pyrria and her significant other, Kabutomushi Aoi with her. The trip and medications seemed to help, as Mikuruneko did not have any further blackouts during the trip or immediately after her return. This would not continue to be the case.

Mikuruneko had been on leave from her employer, Vanguard, for her Hawaii trip. Mikuruneko received a call shortly after her return, cancelling the rest of her vacation to deal with a serious issue. Mikuruneko was sent against a group of rogue Vanguard agents, and in an effort to clean up the corruption was forced by Vanguard to fight Longbow and to steal data from them. This put Mikuruneko at odds both with her morals and with her friends in Longbow, who believed that all of Vanguard was now corrupt. This incident, as well as other pressure at work, forced Mikuruneko to quit her job with Vanguard. The stress of the situation also caused Mikuruneko's blackouts to recurr.

The Fall

In celebration of her quitting Vanguard, Mikuruneko had acquired a new costume, complete with neurally-controled prosthetic cherubic wings, which Mikuruneko was very fond of. She seemed particularly fond of the bright white color of the feathers on the wings. Mikuruneko did not know that the color could be controlled, and this would prove to be a telling feature in the days to come.

Due to the recurrance of her blackouts, and at the insistance of her friends, Mikuruneko sought further testing to determine the main cause of her blackouts. She had already consulted with Sister Psyche at the behest of the now in-spirit-only Folie, and it was determined that Mikuruneko was not under any sort of mental compulsion. Folie had been concerned that the blackouts were being caused by Vanessa DeVore, due to them having started only after their fight with DeVore. Sister Psyche had confirmed that while Mikuruneko's mental state seemed to be 'disturbed', there was no ongoing external influence at work. Mikuruneko had several tests ran by the doctors at the hospital, and awaited results.

During one of her usual visits to the Pocket D on a sunday, during DJ Vangelus' show, Mikuruneko would have her worst blackout to date, an incident that would gravely concern all of her friends and Mikuruneko herself. During the blackout, which was the longest Mikuruneko had had yet, Mikuruneko displayed an increasing mental instability and attempted to depart the area while still blacked out. Mikuruneko had blindly jumped backwards to get off the raised speaker platform, but did not jump high enough and caught on the railing, causing her to fall to the floor and hit her head, hard. This sort of injury would not have normally been a major concern, however it soon became apparent that her regenerative powers were not working properly. Mikuruneko departed to a hospital after regaining consciousness, now back to her normal self. It was not noticed at the time, but the coloration on Mikuruneko's wings had changed, and was now slightly tinted grey.

At the hospital, Mikuruneko finally received her test results, and the results both explained her situation and frightened her and her friends. It was surmised that during Mikuruneko's fight with Vanessa DeVore, Ms. DeVore planted some sort of a psychic timebomb in Mikuruneko's mind, the result of which either created, or splintered off, a second complete personality inside her mind. This second personality, which was weak at first but growing stronger, appeared to be the source of Mikuruneko's blackouts and was decidedly darker in nature than Mikuruneko herself, probably Ms. DeVore's intent. Mikuruneko was placed on experimental drugs to attempt to suppress the second personality while a permanent cure was researched.

After being placed on the drugs, Mikuruneko noticed she no longer had the blackouts that had been increasingly plaguing her. Thinking things were taken care of, Mikuruneko went back to her normal routine. Soon afterwards, however, Mikuruneko indicated she was beginning to have headaches, which she was able to take care of with painkillers. These headaches continued to persist, though no further blackouts occured. Thinking the headaches were a side effect of the drugs, Mikuruneko did not seek any further opinion. Mikuruneko's friends, however, were growing increasingly concerned, for as the headaches continued, Mikuruneko's wings on her costume kept getting darker and darker, eventually turning pitch-black.

The Departure

Events came to a head on a Friday, when Mikuruneko did not come home to her residence after drinking heavily at Thursday night's radio show. Her sister and her old teacher, Evelyn Ramius, were sent out to find her, worried about Mikuruneko's worsening condition. Ms. Ramius enlisted the help of Mikuruneko's friend Nezumi-Ko, as well as another agent present at the Pocket D, to search for her. Ms. Ramius was not able to stay the entire time, and departed. Shortly after her departure, Mikuruneko arrived at the D, looking to be in very poor shape and not entirely lucid. Mikuruneko's friends attempted to keep her at the D, and tried to offer her help, but Mikuruneko was growing increasingly paranoid and began suffering a rapid breakdown in her mental stability, ending with her fleeing the Pocket D.

Mikuruneko's sister happened to see her leaving the D heading towards the Independence Port entrance in Kings Row, and was unable to detain Mikuruneko. After that, nobody saw or heard from Mikuruneko again. Her friends, extremely concerned for her well-being, had Nezumi-Ko attempt to find her location via dowsing. This succeeded, but the news was not good - Mikuruneko had fled to the Rogue Isles, in the Port Oakes area. Kabutomushi Aoi, upon hearing this information, immediately went in search of her lover, and found where Mikuruneko had been at the time of the dowsing. Mikuruneko herself was nowhere to be seen, but Aoi did find traces of her blood, spent shell casings and other signs of a struggle... as well as the pendant Aoi had given Mikuruneko recently, now damaged from the struggle.

Further inquiries were made with friends and other people who lived or operated in the Rogue Isles, in an effort to determine the fate of Mikuruneko, but nobody had seen Mikuruneko after the apparent struggle. In search of any further information, Lunar Eclipse hacked into an Arachnos database, and while searching for anything regarding his missing friend, found a "want list" issued by Lord Recluse himself, of heroes to be captured at any cost should Arachnos be in a position to do so. He and Mikuruneko's other friends were horrified to find that Mikuruneko's name was on that list, possibly due to her direct confrontation and momentary defeat of Recluse in a recent battle. Another agent enlisted in the hunt for Mikuruneko, Iceciro, also discovered that shortly after Lunar Eclipse found that memo, all information that referenced Mikuruneko in any way was purged from the Arachnos data network.

Having ran out of clues and leads, Mikuruneko's friends would be at a loss for how to proceed. Evelyn Ramius was only able to turn up a photo on an Anti-Arachnos activity watch forum of Mikuruneko being assaulted by Arachnos soldiers, but it was not until the efforts and skills of DJ Pheonyx resulted in acquisition of some surveillance photos from a spy satellite, that Mikuruneko's fate was discovered. The photos revealed shocking and brutal torture at the hands of Arachnos, and her transport deep into Arachnos-controlled territory - Grandville. Most striking in the photos were the presence of Blood and Night Widows and an inordinate amount of Fortunatas around Mikuruneko. For what purpose their presence was needed, it was unclear. At least Mikuruneko's friends knew her fate - She had been captured by Arachnos, and taken to Lord Recluse himself.

The Darkness

With knowledge that Mikuruneko had been captured by Arachnos, her friends at least knew what had happened to her. Their next efforts would be to attempt to recover her from Recluse's clutches. A possible glimmer of hope came from the intervention of Iceciro, who reported that an "accident" involving the security grid at the facility shown in the surveillance photos had left the facility unable to prevent an escape, should one be attempted. Iceciro was unsure if Mikuruneko had been able to avail herself of this chance happening, however. Days would go by with no word on her status, making escape seem unlikely. Then things changed.

A strange man, a Praetorian Hero Hunter, visited the Pocket D one night, searching for his quarry, Nezumi-Ko. Nezumi was not there, but while present Draco Schwartzritter did overhear Evelyn Ramius discussing the capture of her friend with others present, and made a startling revelation - He had seen a girl who almost exactly matched the description of Mikuruneko running around Mercy Island... but operating under a new name: Assassicat. Evelyn and Mikuruneko's other friends were surprised to hear this, and with the new name to investigate they set out to uncover whether this Assassicat was Mikuruneko or someone else. They would not have to wait long to find out.

During one of the Cape DJ's live broadcasts, Lunar Eclipse reported hearing a whispered voice calling his name, but was unable to ascertain who it came from... only stating that it sounded like Mikuruneko. This strange occurance would happen again, during the Herro Sushi Christmas party. Lunar Eclipse and Nezumi-Ko both heard a voice sounding like Mikuruneko, but again could not find the source. The words they heard were not what they had hoped, either, but threats on their safety and their lives. Before they could do anything further, however... a figure dressed in red dropped down from out of nowhere, and with a flash of knives departed again, leaving a startled but uninjured Lunar Eclipse and Nezumi-Ko behind.

Later on during the party however, Lunar Eclipse, Nezumi-Ko and TimeShifter Amy would come face to face for the first time with what had become of Mikuruneko: the crimson-clad, dual-blade wielding Assassicat. Assassicat, however, was nothing like their friend - cold, sadistic, ready and willing to kill to meet her goals or whims. Attempts to reason with her, to bring out the good side of Mikuruneko would fail, and eventually in an effort to knock some sense into her, Nezumi-Ko and Assassicat fought in the Pocket D arena. Things would not be so easy, however, and Assassicat severely beat Nezumi-Ko, leaving her battered and bruised on the floor of the D to go about her business elsewhere, indicating to Lunar Eclipse that he would be next.

Their next encounters with Assassicat would be no better - Always hostile, always ready for a fight and always eluding the group, Assassicat struck again. During another Cape live broadcast, Assassicat appeared again, this time her target being Kabutomushi Aoi. A brief, curt conversation occured, ending with Assassicat lunging at Aoi, moving to kill her. Whether by DJ Zero's intervention per Pocket D's mandate of non-violence, or by some other force acting against Assassicat's wishes, her blades did not find their mark; the blades instead only piercing and wounding Aoi's shoulder. Assassicat would quickly depart to regroup however, returning later to attempt a second strike, this time on TimeShifter Amy.

Amy was ready for a fight, knowing Assassicat was targeting Mikuruneko's friends. In the Arena this time a different story was told, with Amy gaining the upper hand on a furious and frustrated Assassicat, who had not known true defeat until this point. Weakened and confused from the fight, the first real glimpse of hope appeared - Mikuruneko spoke once again, asking her friend Amy to help. Assassicat quickly recovered, however, and escaped once again. Working with the knowledge that Mikuruneko was still inside, waiting for help, the group quickly formulated a plan to capture Assassicat.

The Trap

With Kabutomushi Aoi's assistance, Mikuruneko's friends were able to secure a tome of Mu lore, containing possible spells Nezumi-Ko could use to attempt to rescue their friend from darkness. Given their inability to track down where Assassicat hides out, they settled on a method to converse with the buried good personality within, to try to get information that could help them effect a capture. The spell Nezumi-Ko was to cast would render Assassicat unconscious as if in a deep sleep, leaving her open to suggestion. They would soon get their chance - Assassicat appeared once again, this time to target DJ Pyrria. With Lunar Eclipse's assistance Assassicat was subdued, and the spell was cast. At first nothing seemed to happen, but with Lunar Eclipse's continued questioning, Mikuruneko finally responded.

They could not gain much information from her, however. Mikuruneko indicated she was in a great deal of pain, but had been able to exert some control over Assassicat's actions, interfering with her attempt to kill DJ Pyrria and Kabutomushi Aoi. Much of what she said was garbled, but she imparted one final warning before Assassicat's personality took over again and broke the spell - Assassicat was not what she seemed. Assassicat once again escaped from the group, leaving Lunar Eclipse with the impression that he would be her next target. The effort was not wholly for naught, however - the spell cast on Assassicat had left a trace remainder, one that could be tracked to some extent. Nezumi-Ko was able to provide a crystal that could detect that trace signature, and glow whenever Assassicat was near, up to 50 feet away.

They would not see Assassicat for some time after the trap was sprung, allowing Mikuruneko's friends a brief time to relax and to formulate a new strategy. With the knowledge gained from their first attempt on capturing Assassicat and recovering Mikuruneko, Nezumi-Ko believed she could use her magical powers to forcibly extract the Assassicat personality from Mikuruneko, though what would be done with that personality afterwards was subject for debate and no definite conclusion was reached. Time, it seemed, was not on their side and the need for effecting this plan began to grow based on information provided by an Arachnos operative named Kyuushima.

Kyuushima, acting in the interest of her patron Captain Mako, indicated that Recluse seemed to have big plans in store for Assassicat, fully believing she may be one of his Destined Ones, possibly the greatest he had found. Captain Mako was worried about Assassicat's rise to being Recluse's favored pet, and indeed rumors of Assassicat even being used to replace Ghost Widow began to circulate, though no definite information could be found - Recluse's tight grip on any solid information pertaining to Assassicat continued to hold.

This opinion of Assassicat's stature amongst Recluse's core group would receive a boost when Assassicat returned from the shadows once again, with an offer to Mikuruneko's friends, seemingly from Recluse himself: Cease their efforts to apprehend Assassicat, and Recluse would not send Assassicat to kill them. Given the emphasis in the offer regarding who Recluse would prevent from harming the group, the offer was soundly rejected. DJ Pyrria, in fact, seemed to be spoiling for a fight with Assassicat, but none of Mikuruneko's friends wanted to give up on recovering her. Pyrria would not get her chance that day, however, with Assassicat departing after the offer was made but leaving Pyrria with a final statement, indicating that she admired Pyrria's willingness to fight her and that perhaps she "wouldn't kill her after all."

Before Assassicat departed, however, Kabutomushi Aoi would arrive once again to face her down, offering her a repaired necklace and pendant that she had given Mikuruneko once before. Assassicat scorned the offer, leaving the necklace on the ground by Pyrria but seemingly unable to break or otherwise dispose of it. Kabutomushi Aoi would express her continued desire to be with Mikuruneko, no matter what or who she had become, and told Assassicat she would wait forever if she had to, before departing.

After the encounter, one thing seemed clear: If Recluse was making offers, however minor they may seem, Mikuruneko's friends must be getting close to something major that he did not want them to find out. What that might be, they would not find any more information on for a little while longer.

The Seperation

At DJ Pyrria's next show, Mikuruneko's friends would encounter something unexpected, both good and bad. One of the partygoers, Defcon 0, overheard an explanation of Mikuruneko's fate given by Evelyn Ramius to one of Mikuruneko's other friends, Hydrophidian. Hydrophidian offered the help of one of her acquaintences, Serenity Harper, and Defcon 0 offered his own assistance. Having trained under monks in they mystic arts, he too was capable of magic of a sort, and had prior experience in dealing with seperate personalities inhabiting one body, and the seperation thereof. It was Defcon 0's opinion that what had occured to Mikuruneko was not the development of an entirely new personality, but rather the manifestation of latent feelings and urges within Mikuruneko already, in a manner similar to the classic tale of Jeckyl and Hyde. This explanation seemed to make the most sense to Mikuruneko's friends, as it would not have required nearly as much time and effort on Vanessa DeVore's part to accomplish and seemed to best match the evidence at hand.

Defcon 0 offered to help seperate Assassicat and Mikuruneko's personalities, but cautioned them that there would be a price - while at worst nothing would change, at best both personalities could end up feeling incomplete without the other, even resentful, and may end up in an eternal conflict against each other.

Evelyn Ramius and Mikuruneko's other friends were willing to take this chance, in the hopes they would get their friend back. However, one other at the party was not so willing. A rat-person by the name of Ribsl insisted that Mikuruneko's friends give up on her. Stating that Assassicat was "happier now" they way she is, Ribsl urged Mikuruneko's friends to cease their efforts to regain Mikuruneko, even going so far as to state that himself and other members of the Rogue Islands Pet Shelter, where Assassicat evidently had taken refuge, would actively fight to retain Assassicat and that they would not allow any sort of "experimentation" be done on her. Defcon 0 indicated after Ribsl departed that the spell to seperate the two personalities would require intense concentration to be done right, and urged Mikuruneko's friends to ensure at the time of the seperation that no interruptions occured, especially from people such as Ribsl.

With the revelation that Assassicat had stayed at the Rogue Islands Pet Shelter, the group now had a new target to investigate, however Evelyn Ramius expressed concern; Could the information about Assassicat given by Ribsl be trusted? Or was the pet shelter a trap by Recluse to capture Mikuruneko's friends and prevent them from recovering their friend? In order to verify this information, Evelyn Ramius suggested to Lunar Eclipse that they attempt another dowsing with Nezumi-Ko's assistance, to determine Assassicat's current wherabouts.

The next Sunday, Mikuruneko's friends gathered in Pocket D to discuss the seperation and how to go about trapping Assassicat. At Evelyn Ramius' behest, Nezumi-Ko performed another dowsing to determine Assassicat's wherabouts before she could strike again. This time, however, Nezumi's dowsing results were very peculiar, causing her to redo them to confirm. Each time, however, the results were the same - Assassicat appeared to be in _two_ places at the same time - Sharkhead Isle, and Bloody Bay. This result confused Mikuruneko's friends greatly, as she obviously could not be in both places. Evelyn surmised it could be interference from the Fortunatas, based on the information Lunar Eclipse had recovered about increased control measures.

While in Pocket D, Evelyn received a call from Defcon 0, indicating he was at the D. Evelyn, Nezumi-Ko and Lunar Eclipse went to meet with him, to discuss the trap and seperation. They decided to use Lunar Eclipse as bait, as DJ Pyrria was not around. Evelyn believed it was time to set the trap, unsure if Assassicat would show up but believing she would, based on reports she had received recently about Assassicat's renewed aggressiveness. Evelyn contacted Serenity Harper and Kabutomushi Aoi, both of whom would be needed in the trap if Assassicat arrived. With their arrival in the D, the trap was set.

The Rescue

Mikuruneko's friends' efforts would not go unrewarded for long. Bloodthirsty and looking for a fight, Assassicat showed up true to form, finding Lunar Eclipse right where the group had planned him to be, along with a newly-arrived DJ Pyrria. Assassicat would not be disappointed, as Lunar Eclipse played right into her hands as planned, luring her into the Monkey Fight Club where their trap was set. As soon as Assassicat reached the second floor, she was surrounded by Serenity Harper, Defcon 0, Lunar Eclipse, DJ Pyrria, Dynamite Sexy, Kabutomushi Aoi and Nezumi-Ko. Nezumi cast an immobilization spell on Assassicat, who was now furious to discover this was a second trap.

With Nezumi holding her in place and Serenity Harper using her powers to help calm and distract Assassicat, Defcon 0 began the spell to seperate Assassicat from Mikuru into a clone that had been procured to contain Assassicat's personality after the seperation. Serenity's powers were strong, breaking down Assassicat's will and eventually rendering her calm, and Defcon 0 was able to complete his spell. Assassicat collapsed to the floor, and Mikuruneko's friends all gathered around her to help... only to come to a sickening realization. Assassicat awoke with a cold, evil laugh... had the spell failed? Mikuruneko's friends backed off in horror, and Assassicat turned to face them, blades drawn.

The spell HAD been a success, Assassicat informed them... but they had been operating all this time on a false premise, that Assassicat and Mikuruneko resided in the same body. Assassicat revealed to the horrified group that the body they had seen that they believed was Mikuruneko was in fact a shell created by Arachnos to house Assassicat's personality, and that the spell had severed the connection between Mikuruneko and Assassicat's shell, leaving her in control and Mikuruneko at the mercy of Arachnos, who would be quick to dispose of the hero now that her usefulness was at an end.

Desperate to save Mikuruneko, Kabutomushi Aoi, Lunar Eclipse and DJ Pyrria challenged Assassicat in combat, vowing to beat the information about where Mikuruneko was located out of her at all costs. In a long and bloody battle, Mikuruneko's friends emerged victorious, and in a last-ditch effort to save her own life from the vengeful group, Assassicat made a deal - She would give them the location where Mikuruneko was, if they let her go unhindered. The group agreed, and armed with the location of the Arachnos base Mikuruneko was being held at, the group rushed to Bloody Bay to save their friend if she was still alive. Assassicat was escorted out by DJ Pyrria, and departed to a destination and fate unknown.

Upon arrival in Bloody Bay, Lunar Eclipse, Hydrophidian, Posthaste, Dynamite Sexy and Nezumi-Ko found the Arachnos base, just as Assassicat had informed them. Rushing in, the group proceeded to scour the base for signs of their friend. An announcement over the base intercom, still unaware of their presence, indicated that the termination of a prisoner was scheduled to be taken care of very soon. Deciding to check there, the group assaulted the detention area of the base, alerting the base to their presence but having the desired result - Mikuruneko was located in one of the holding cells, unconscious, barely breathing, stripped of most of her clothing and obviously severely injured.

While the rest of the group defended the area against arriving security forces, Nezumi-Ko would eventually succeed in reviving Mikuruneko. With their friend somewhat recovered though barely able to walk, the group made a hasty retreat from the base, but not before they planted explosives on the base's power generators. Upon their exit from the base, the explosives were detonated, destroying the base and any remnants of the horrible project Mikuruneko had been subjected to. They then exited Bloody Bay, taking Mikuruneko to Skyway City to recover somewhat, then eventually to her home in Founders' Falls. Posthaste would set up a security detail to watch over her home for a few days, and Nezumi-Ko stayed a while with the somewhat-recovered but still very emotionally shaken Mikuruneko. Mikuruneko was now safe once again, and without the burden of the darkness that was Assassicat. Only time would tell what scars remained from her ordeal.

Trivia

Retrieved from "https://virtueverse.net/wiki/Mikuruneko"
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