[hider=In The Mountains of Grief]
[center]
[h1] Kiyomi (鬼黄泉) Mayama (魔山) [/h1]
[h3] Kiyomi (紀代美), Kiyo, The Demon Princess of Chūbu, Big Sis [/h3]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/KeEb4UJ.png[/img]

[b]Age:[/b] 
26

[b]Sex:[/b] 
Female

[b]Alignment:[/b]
Lawful Evil
[hr]
[hider=Mayama Family Primer]

A family which claims descent from the Oni, Seki no Tarō. They appeared within the Gifu prefecture during the 1200’s, so this claim may not actually be far from the truth. The family lived as all half bloods did for most of their existence, preying on humans. They were feared as the “Great Monsters of Hida” during this early era of their existence, when their demon blood was much more thick.

The family remained this way until the arrival of the Portuguese, which would forever change their future. While they may have initially rebelled against the influx of Western concepts and goods entering their land, the success of Oda Nobunaga showed them they were wrong. The West held power. Onis like power. Therefore, the ways of the West needed to be bled dry until nothing was left.

Still, the ways of the past should never be lost. Japan was a mystical place, something that Western influence would surely destroy. Since this was the case, the Mayama took it upon themselves to record this information. They would take the ways of the past, the ways of the land, the ways of the Kami, and record it all to be kept forever. Using themselves as an archive, the Mayama would engrave these onto their flesh. It was this realization that sent them down the path of Magi in a world where a mixed blood had more mystery than any spell. Of course, their goal was largely different from those in the West.

It was around this time, in the early 1600’s, that the Mayama entered the criminal world. As they wanted action on Western knowledge to gain power, the family ended up enrolled with the newly formed Yakuza in Kyushu. In doing this, the Mayama also decided to gain backing from the Japanese Association, which was connected to some sort of weird magic organization in the West. They would act as something analogous to Enforcers in Japan, though this largely meant ensuring people paid their taxes. In exchange, they would no longer be active targets.

Basically, the family became a bunch of brutes who used the government as a shield in order to collect excess funds.

Of course, simple monetary value wasn’t enough for this family. They were Oni, existences which sought to gain power through any avenue they could. In this case, it was stealing the lifeforce of others. Normally, such a procedure was actually pointless in regards to a family which cared about their dynasty. Any excess lifeforce would simply disappear the moment the head of the family died. In order for this to benefit an entire family, something needed to be done.

The family made their land in the mountains surrounding Mount Haku. With this newly acquired sacred mountain of immense magical energy, the Mayama put their great ritual into action. At the center of a nearby (non-volcanic) peak, the Mayama built a great magical furnace. Within it, the excess lifeforce/karma/fortune taken from others would reside and be directed to the family head of the Mayama, which was decided by a special tattoo among their many. The excess lifeforce/karma/fortune was later saved for a ritual for their heirs. In burning the collective karma of others, it would allow their heirs to have a karmic inheritance which never properly belonged to them. It was an incredibly vampiric ritual, one which would only grow more and more sinister over the years…

They would sign contracts with others, with the collateral being their life. For those who could not pay, their excess lifeforce was given to the Mayama. Of course, as lifeforce is gauged by one’s natural lifespan, the family has been working hard to ensure that the Japanese have incredibly long lifespans. 

The Mayama always had twins, there was never an exception. In order to provide the strongest possible head despite their thinning blood, the younger sibling would exist for the other’s sake. They would be forced to bear the same name, giving all of their lifeforce to the other, taking on the burden that comes with being a mixed blood, and act as a means to absorb the curses targeted towards the older sibling. 

In essence, the younger was nothing but a battery for the elder. How such a difference a matter of mere minutes makes.

The Mayama were observers of the second and third Holy Grail War, though they took no active part in it. The family wrote notes about the war, seeing it as the most entertaining spectacle. Who didn’t like seeing idiots throw themselves into a grinder?

In the modern era, the Mayama family has only accrued more wealth and power. Despite being the most powerful Yakuza family in the Chūbu region of Japan, they’ve been funneling much of their wealth towards building up Japan since the Second World War. Now that Japan has taken everything of value from the West, the Mayama have been investing in an isolationist, Japan-First focused policy. Their bribing of wealthy politicians has been successful, though they’re currently struggling with Japan’s declining birth rate. They assume they should have it fixed in the next 17 years or so. With the large market share present in video games, the Mayama took a large amount of shares of the company SEGA. Kiyomi has worked as a creative lead on the release of next year’s blockbuster,

One of the Mayama’s greatest revenue sources beyond their yakuza ways is their construction company. As the Mayama act as the Suzerain of Oni in Chūbu, as well as Second Owners of a large amount of Gifu, their company has a near monopoly in the region. Of course, this construction company isn’t clean. Many of the cities near their home have been constructed entirely by their company, which has designed these cities as meccas of depression. The way nature in which they are constructed causes people to fall into sin and depression. This allows the family to then harvest it, and further add it to their furnace. It is truly a macabre display of power, but that is what it meant to hold power, right?

The Mayama’s main rivals are the Oni which reside in the Kanto region. This has been a century spanning in rivalry which has seen many die, yet it still does not end. There have been rumors of the Mayama coordinating with those in Kyushu in order to put an end to them, but these are merely rumors.

Probably.

Their connections as yakuza and Oni are largely kept in the south. Their closest ties are with those in Kyushu. The Suzerain of Oni have been their closest allies in the magical world, while the Fujimura Group in Fuyuki are their closest allies on the yakuza side of things. Rumor has it, the current head of the Mayama, Kiyomi, spent much of her time as a youth at their estate. She still occasionally goes hunting with the current head of the Fujimura Group.
[/hider]
[hider=Kiyomi's Backstory]
Kiyomi was born a “miracle” child.

Of course, such a thing was simply forced by the Mayama, so even calling her a “miracle” is incorrect. The modern era has allowed an increase of lifespans unprecedented in the previous generation. The increased lifespan the family accrued with their “business” deals was all directed towards making Kiyomi the greatest heir the family had ever seen. 

The blood of others paid for Mayama's greatest “miracle.”

Of course, Kiyomi was born with a twin, just as all the Mayam were. In make, they were exactly the same. The amount of Spiritual Debt in order to forge such two masterworks was astronomical, but clearly it was worth it in the end. Unfortunately, the twin, who was only thirty minutes or so late, was going to live a truly cursed existence.

The siblings lived as fairly standard children for the first eight years of their life. They understood what they were and how important it was to keep it a secret, but that was really the extent of it. The children found it odd that they both shared the same name with different characters, but they resolved it by creating nicknames for one another. The older sibling became “Kiyo” while the younger became “Yomi.”

Of course, the distinctions between the two would very quickly become near nonexistent.

The age of 8 was when children would truly enter the world of magic. This meant that Yomi needed to stop existing for her own sake, while Kiyo needed to be molded into the proper heir of the family. Of course, this meant that Yomi would be permanently locked to her bed while Kiyo would take all of Yomi’s energy. Kiyo was also forced to begin the family’s ritual tattooing procedure. 

Now, the pain of tattooing a child was already probably enormous. However, it was far from that simple. The “ink” used by the family were negative thoughts and feelings which corrupted the flesh it touched. The sins harvested over four centuries were being inscribed upon the body of the child. The secrets of the family, their mountain, their kami, kami taken from others, and so forth would take over Kiyo. These tattoos would end up taking over nearly every inch of her torso and thigh. 

The pain was indescribable, but even more harrowing was the mental torment. Humans often couldn’t even cope with their own sins. Imagine experiencing the sins of many many others, nearly all of which experienced a traumatic end? Truly, such a mental burden was too much for the child.

Her mind was broken. It was probably broken multiple times over. However, it was able to be pieced back together. Kiyo was the ideal heir to the Mayama, was she not? If she could not handle such strain, then the family’s hard stolen sacrifices were clearly wasted.

The recovery period was months, but Kiyo was ultimately close to a normally functioning person. Something was still clearly broken within her mind, but that was normal for both magi and descendents of Oni. 

The greatest casualty of Kiyo’s procedure was Yomi. She was stripped of her identity, forced to give all of her life force to her twin, act as an anti-cursing device, and take on most of the mental burden felt by Kiyo. Much of the mental toll in regards to the tattoos is shifted over to Yomi, as well as Kiyo’s oni instincts whenever they flare up. Yomi’s existence was to support Kiyo, regardless of what they felt about the situation.

As the two were bound together, they could communicate with each other regardless of the distance. The two kept in contact with each other, even if they were barred from ever meeting in person again. Yomi’s mask was great, but it was clear that the burden she carried was going to be too much.

Kiyomi spent the rest of her childhood practicing and perfecting her family’s techniques and craft. 

Yomi spent the rest of her childhood in her room, with her mind and body slowly degrading. 

Kiyomi’s early adulthood was eventful. There was another fight with some of the few remaining Mixed Bloods from the Kanto region, but another peace treaty was established. She’s sure this will fade away in enough time, but it was largely unimportant. It wasn’t like they had a True Crimson Red Vermillion or anything like that.

Sheesh, imagine if they had one of those? Would be a wild fight.

A few years later, she was caught up in a ritual with one of the strongest magi in Japan. Despite them being Western in approach, they had a largely pleasant conversation while trying to solve the mystery behind the ritual. In the end, the maid did it, of course.

Several subspecies wars were beginning to appear in Japan, which forced Kiyomi to smash them out of existence. While her family had an interest in the grail, such knockoffs were pointless to them. It did allow Kiyomi to better grasp the nature of this “grail” and ritual, but they had neither care nor time for fakes. Japan was their land, and such rituals had no place along their sphere of influence.

This may or may not have resulted in several legal battles with the Association over certain dead magi, but Kiyomi’s ace legal team was always able to bail her out of any major consequences for her over-policing.

The last massive event to have occurred was Kiyomi running a few errands for the Association in Hokkaido. A Dead Apostle outbreak at occurred within the northern portion of the island. It was a dangerous event, but Kiyomi was able to put down the ringmaster of the event. They were a powerful type of Dead Apostle which achieved that position via magecraft, forcing Kiyomi to actually address them as something nearly equal.

This led to a minor crisis about how her own existence was no different from a Dead Apostle. In fact, if taken to the extreme, she was already towards the end point of a Dead Apostle conceptually. What else was she? She was a parasite which devoured the existence of others. Most importantly, she was something which devoured her own sister on a daily basis. 

The guilt she had over her sibling was always there, but the encounter with the Dead Apostle only forced it to the forefront. More than that, it made the guilt worsen. Over the next few years, Kiyomi would grow to hate her own existence. Why was she a parasite? Why was she born first? Did the matter of 30 minutes really mean that much?

Well, it certainly did. It gave Kiyo a life of power and privilege, while Yomi a life of torture.

Talks of the return of the Original Holy Grail had reached Kiyomi through her networks. This caused her to track through the founding families, seeing as she had assumed at least two of them had died off. It appeared that the old vampire and his kin survived, the Einzbern remained eternally stagnant, and the Tohsaka had gotten deeper with their Western roots.

Disgusting, but none of it was truly surprising. 

Still, this would provide her with a chance to right the wrongs of the past. She grasped the true nature of the ritual, but it was possibly her only opportunity to let Yomi live a life she deserved. Kiyo was the big sister, right? Wasn’t it her job to protect her younger sibling? It was something she had always failed to do until recently.

The Mayama were observers for the previous two Grail Wars, but they would no longer fill that role. Kiyo would ensure her wish, and all the consequences of pursuing such a wish meant nothing to her.
[/hider]
[b]Magic Crest:[/b]
None. 

[b]Magic Circuit Switch:[/b]
Imagining the pain of stabbing her eye with a tattoo needle.

[b]Quality of Magic Circuits:[/b]
A

[b]Quantity of Magic Circuits:[/b]
B 

[b]Elemental Alignment:[/b]
Fire and Water

[b]Origin:[/b] 
Restitution
[hr]
[b]Magecraft Abilities:[/b]

[i]General Magecraft (日本語):[/i]
The basics, just in Japanese.

[i]Mixed Blood:[/i]
The Mayama are a family which are descendants of Oni. While their blood is not as thick as some families, it is thick enough for members of the family to still be called monsters. The standard mixed blood has increased regeneration, and their physical abilities are placed well above the capabilities of a normal human. In Kiyomi’s case, who is actively stealing the strength of her sister, her physical ability further transcends what even most mixed bloods are capable of. Of course, she could still never match the ability of the Tohno’s secret weapon. 

Beyond that, Oni mixed bloods have the ability to drain the lifeforce of others. The Mayama make active use of this in their contracts. They can also give their lifeforce to others.

[i]Irezumi:[/i]
The practice of inserting ink. In other words, tattooing. For them, sin is used as the ink for their creations. The Mayama are experts at the cultivating and harvesting of such things, so their inkwells are never low.  This allows the family to manifest these sins upon their body and in reality. Specifically, the family are experts in using the memory of the sins and bringing those to reality. Of course, as a result, one is forced to wear the sins upon their body. Their impurity is worn on their sleeves, instead of burying it deep within. In essence, this is the medium in which the family actualizes their magecraft. It also makes for very potent ink to sign contracts with.

[i]Yokai Creation:[/i]
Ability to create yokai. Yokai exist as negative reflections of humanity, given birth by humanity’s inability to grasp the world around them. They act as explanations for unknown “phenomena,” tainted by the negative aspects of humanity in their representation. Yokai were forged and defined by humanity. Since this is the case, could they not be recreated by man once more?

The Mayama use the sins they collect in order to give birth to these yokai. As they were reflections of humanity’s negativity, this acts as the best method to give them life. They share the properties of the images they are built after, also acting as memories of them. As yokai can also be called living examples of sin, they make surprisingly good tattoos for Mayama family purposes. 

[i]Contracts:[/i]
The magical ability to exploit language in written form to extort others. This ability in of itself isn’t actually magical, but the contracts used by the family certainly are. Kiyomi is an expert in regional, national, international, and magical law. She is also an expert wordsmith when it comes to the creation of said contracts. Kiyomi also has endless amounts of bribe money and blackmail material towards politicians in both the normal and magical world. In other words, she is among the most dangerous existences in regards to the law.

[i]Fertility Rites:[/i]
Simple rituals that assist with fertility and childbirth. The Mayama family only uses this to help secure twins and has little to no use beyond it. Kiyomi is personally disappointed in her family’s lack of attention towards them, as they could help solve Japan’s declining birth rate. 
[hr]
[b]Mystic Codes:[/b]

[i]Cursed Body:[/i]
The litany of tattoos littering the hidden parts of Kiyomi’s body are made from the family’s collection of sins. The sins presented here range from the mundane to the truly atrocious and all of them engrave their existence onto Kiyomi. They are often used as a source for the creation of her Yokai, which can then be tattoo’d back onto her. Another major use is using them to influence her while fighting, though this is much less often used.

[i]Yomi:[/i]
Her sister acts as a natural anti-curse agent, with curses sent to Kiyo directed towards her instead.

[i]Omamori:[/i]
An anti-curse amulet. What kind of big sister lets their younger sister be a shield?

[i]Mayama Family Furnace:[/i]
As the head of the Mayama, Kiyomi has access to the family’s collection of excess lifeforce. It serves little purpose other than to be given to others. 

[i]Kappa Maids:[/i]
Kappa created by Kiyomi in order for them to act as maids. Since being a maid requires a higher level of intelligence, they’ve been given more brains than your average Yokai. However, in doing so, it created the opportunity for the Kappa to unionize. In order to stop this Mass Kappa Unionization Movement, Kiyomi has been paying them in cucumbers. 

[i]Yokai Clothing:[/i]  
Kiyomi’s attire is actually just several yokai in the shape of clothing. It is as durable as the Church’s attire, and acts as an autonomous defense system.  As it is a yokai, she can change her outfit as she desires. This is a powerful boon for when the beach episode comes around.

[i]Yama-Koroshi-Gatana (山殺し刀):[/i]
An ancient relic of the Mayama family, dating back over 5 centuries. It was built when a member of the family defeated a member of the Touzaki, and used their magnum opus as a basis for the new sword. This new sword was forged on the Mayama’s Great Furnace, imbuing it with the cursed properties such a flame holds. 

Since it is ultimately a sword made from the magnum opus of another, it can not match a true Touzaki mastercraft in strength. However, it is ultimately not that far off. The real power of this sword is its age. It is a sword which has accumulated the mystery of over 4 centuries. Simply removing the sword from its sheath is enough to crush lesser mysteries like bounded fields of modern magi. 

It is the ultimate weapon of the Mayama family for a very good reason. A non-Oni could never handle such a cursed instrument.

[i]Limitless Sake Gourd: [/i]
A gourd with an endless amount of Oni-tier sake. It is unknown how the family acquired such a powerful device, but they wield its mightiness with a proud smirk.

[i]Extra Magical Contracts:[/i]
A surplus of contracts which happen to be magical in nature.
[hr]
[b]Non-Magecraft Abilities:[/b]

[i]Mayama Family Swordsmanship (Complete):[/i]
The extension of the Mayama family’s ancient swordsmanship. The hidden sword techniques of the Mayama were feared across Japan for centuries, but was still fundamentally lacking something core to Oni. It remained incomplete until the Meiji Restoration, when all sorts of Western concepts were rapidly flooding into Japan. It was then when the Mayama Family were able to completely Oni-ize their fighting style.

In essence, Japanese swordsmanship is fatally flawed for the purposes of Oni. Oni are existences which value strength above all else, and as the ultimate avenue by which power is shown. Japanese Swordsmanship is tied towards Mysticism, with the pursuit of the state of [ ] being the ultimate end goal for them. What value did Oni have in such a thing? There wasn’t strength in that. The West saw swordsmanship as a method of murder. It was a very Oni approach to things.

The Mayama Family shifted away from the mysticism present in Japanese swordsmanship, and replaced it with methods to further crush those who challenged them. This is not to say it is a brainless style of fighting, but one which maximizes the ability to kill others. In this regard, it is the ultimate technique for combat. It may be a system void of mysticism, but their techniques are something which may even reach a level akin to magecraft. As Kiyomi is the greatest practitioner of these techniques, it is fair to call her the “Greatest Killer.” 

Actually, it isn’t. However, it acts as a great ego boost for her.

It is fundamentally a system alien to those present in the East. 

[i]Mayama Family Martial Arts (Complete):[/i]
The Mayama family’s secret Martial Arts technique. It is seen as an extension of their swordsmanship, meaning that it also saw an “upgrade” with the rise of Meiji. Once more, the mysticism of it has been torn away, being replaced by a mindset completely devoted towards killing.

It is an absolutely savage fighting style focused around strikes which maximize internal damage. Blows towards the torso to damage vital organs, punches to the skull to damage the brain, and so forth are the goal of this system. 

As it is an extension of the family’s sword techniques, if one is a master in one, they are a master in the other. The two can not truly be separated, as the bond of ultimate bloodshed is shared between them.

[i]Mayama Family Marksmanship:[/i]
Despite the name, it really isn’t different from being a good shot. Guns are a device which only knows death, so there really isn’t any sort of fancy thing to be done with them. Still, in order to make other families envious of their skills, the Mayama claim to have a super secret gun technique they’re hiding from the world.

[i]Diplomatic Immunity:[/i]
The Holy Grail War is moderated by the Church. Kiyomi’s existence is an affront to the Church. Needless to say, she would normally never be allowed to participate in such a ritual. However, Kiyomi had managed to acquire a letter from some of the Association’s higher ups, which labelled her as an “Association Asset.” As this is the case, being hunted down by the Church would spark an international incident between the two factions. Of course, this becomes null-and-void the moment Kiyomi strikes one of them, becomes a city-tier threat, or threatens the secrecy of magic.  
[hr]
[b]Non-Magecraft Items:[/b]

[i]Motorcycle:[/i]
Kiyomi is in possession of a limited edition reinforced bulletproof Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in Red. Kiyomi has a large collection of motorcycles, but she decided to bring her favorite down for the war. Obviously, she can drive it like a pro.

[i]BlackBerry 7100t:[/i]
A cell phone. It was still a flex to own one of these in 2004.

[i]Nintendo DS:[/i]
Using her connections, Kiyomi was able to procure one of these months before they were released. However, it lacks games.

[i]Nintendo GBA SP:[/i]
The device she actually plays games on. It comes in red. She has a collection of games she has brought to this war in case she gets bored.

[i]M1911:[/i]
Don’t ask questions.

[i]Katanas:[/i]
Extra Katanas she has brought. She is the type to only use her prized sword against those she finds “worthy.”

[i]Money:[/i]
She’s a Yakuza Queen, so she has lots of access to her wealth. She carries a decent amount in cash, but also has access to several cards.

[i]Cucumbers:[/i]
This is the currency in which Kappa deal with, so Kiyomi is always sure to bring a supply.

[i]The Great Demonic Alliance of Mayama:[/i]
An elite team of 50 lawyers which serve the Mayama directly. Many of these members are from branch families. They are feared throughout Japan and the greater magical world for their ability. This team has managed to win seemingly impossible cases, including a situation where familiar footage was obtained of Kiyomi breaking several violations.
[/center]
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