Kaki Yukimura

Overview
Kaki Yukimura was a member of the original Spook Squad in Saskatoon, and retired after the defeat of Hyde and the Concerned Citizens. She was inducted into the Wardens at the age of nineteen, and is a friend of the Summer Court of Fae. She is the eldest of the current magical generation of Yukimura's, and mentor and Warden Commander to Jirou Yukimura.

Character Aspects
High Concept: Trouble: Phase: Name Meaning: Fire (火), spirit (気)
 * Troubled Fire User
 * Pyromania was just the beginning...
 * Oops
 * Some people make better friends than enemies
 * To improve is to change
 * Don't forget you're a Warden
 * Cleansing Flames

Childhood in Regina
Kaki Yukimura was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, to Kazeo and Mizuki Yukimura in 1994. At age of seven, Kaki discovered her ability to manipulate fire by accidentally burning a classmates. Her parents attempted to make her forget about it, and for the most part she did, until she met Maya Henderson when she was ten years old.

Kaki accidentally revealed to her friend Maya Henderson when she was thirteen her ability to manipulate flames when Kaki helped her from getting mugged. Kaki expected Maya - a devout Christian - to turn her away after the discovery, but Maya was enthralled by the whole thing. Maya convinced Kaki to practice her abilities, and the two practiced for three more years together.

This ended shortly after Kaki turned sixteen - she had accidentally burned Maya's hand, ensuing her hand would never work again. Kaki retreated to her room for weeks in guilt, despite Maya's willingness to forgive her for the incident. Kaki's mother attempted to solve the issue but ended up getting into an argument with Kaki, and kaki accidentally blew the power to her whole house. Terrified for the safety of her loved ones, Kaki ran from home, to Saskatoon, mid-November in 2010.

Time with The Saskatoon Spook Squad
After running to Saskatoon, Kaki began getting more involved in the supernatural. She saved hikers along the Meewasin trail from being abducted by winter faeries, and in doing so, burned her hair fairly badly, and cut her long hair to a pixie cut, starting her new life in a new city. Shortly afterwards, Kaki had her first encounter in what one day would be her husband, Ed K. Danvers. She helped him while he was having an altercation with a biker gang, and she blew the gas tank to one of the bikes tanks, causing a large enough distraction for him to escape.

She was eventually approached by James Tyveck of the Saskatoon Police, to join his group of Supernatural investigators known as the 'Saskatoon Spook Squad'. She accepted the request, and there she was formally introduced to Ed Danvers, Mark Manners, and Eric Becker. Her assistance was more or less random and scattered while the group dealt with the Red Court invasion of the city, but soon she was able to join the group full time.

After the Spook Squad defeated and destroyed members of the infamous Lawbreaker group, The Ring, Kaki was approached by Warden Esmerelda to join the White Council and the Wardens. She was allowed in, and her career as Warden of the White Council began.

Kaki was involved in the ritual to free Ed Danvers from his bond with Poseidon, and in doing so return Ed back to life. Ed went on vacation after his return to the living, and Kaki noticed his lack of presence rather strongly. While he was gone, she and her companions traveled to Europe to assist the Wardens in an investigation and uncovered a traitor named Crystal Wells. After this excursion, Kaki developed a rather severe PTSD problem, and became more paranoid than ever before.

Kaki was the first - if only - of the Squad to ever suspect John Norton of treachery. While she had PTSD, she began to experience dreams from Cassandras Tears, the worst of which showed John Norton becoming the Hyde. During the same dream, Mark Manners became a full Red Court (the only prediction of the dream that didn't come true), Roland Carter was preparing sacrifice for the Elder Gods, Marie Lavaeu sacrificed herself to destroy the Hyde, Sirka became a full fae, and Fortunato Malvora stood idly by. Afterwards, Kaki became incredibly weary of John Norton, and began to observe his every move. Despite her attitude, none of her friends believed her feelings about him, must to her dismay.

Time Back in Japan
"'Tell you what - you four versus me. Whoever lasts the longest gets to be my apprentice.' -Kaki makes a challenge"Shortly after the return of her best friend, Ed Danvers, the Ring also returned to the city. The Squad mobilized to deal with the issue, though Kaki was forced to retreat when she recognized her old flame, Maya Henderson, among the Ring. As a Warden, it was her responsibility to kill Maya, and she couldn't do it. Kaki took the opportunity to return home to Japan, and she began traveling across the country.

She spent the later half of her journey at the Yukimur estate in Tokyo, with her family, mostly with her two eldest cousins, Jirou and Shinichi, who she hadn't seen for at least six years. She also spent quite a bit of time with her grandmother, and learned the legacy of the Yukimura line, which had started centuries ago, with the first Samurai. She learned the Yukimura line had been a long line of both Samurai and Warden, and she was given both a Katana and a Wakizashi by her grandmother, that had been passed through generations for centuries.

While she was in Japan, she was begged by the second eldest of the Yukimura's, her cousin Shinichi, to take him as an apprentice. Kaki was not a fan of Shinichi's suggestion - not only did Kaki not necessarily want an apprentice, she definitely didn't want Shinichi as an apprentice. Shinichi was brash and full of himself, in Kaki's opinion, and she wasn't sure if she could teach him. To both teach him a lesson and get him to stop asking, Kaki set up a challenge that he couldn't possibly win - she challenged her four younger cousins to magical battle, and the one who lasted the longest would win. As Kaki had expected, Shinichi was the first to lose, and instead, his younger brother Jirou won the competition to be her apprentice. He was hesitant, but agreed. Kaki had to overcome the pleas of his parents to take Shinichi instead of Jirou, so to overcome the problem Kaki made two unwise choices - the first, she swore by her power she would do what she could to protect Jirou (Which she soon overcame by discovering the farther she was from her apprentice, the safer he would be). The second, she swore she wouldn't let Jirou die. With these assurances, Her aunt and uncle agreed to let her take Jirou Yukimura as an apprentice.

Also while she was in Japan, Kaki was attacked spontaneously by seahagen, announcing 'friend of the apostate, you will die.' Kaki almost immediately blamed Ed, and began to attack the seahagen. She was aided by Nathan Gordon, who by coincidence, was going to be sent to Saskatoon to reconvene with an old friend. Kaki asked him to say hello to everyone for her, and gave him notes for both Maya and Ed.

Return to Saskatoon and Retirement
"'I might not come back from this one, Jirou.' -Kaki, before leaving for her final battle"Kaki returned to Saskatoon after a short break, nearly two months, and her first stop was the house of Ed Danvers. She then asked him to join her on a trip to Regina - after all, it was only so long before her parents realized she had spoken to her family back home. Ed agreed, and the two traveled to Regina the day after. Kaki enjoyed a tearful reunion with her parents, who she hadn't seen in five years. Soon after she returned to the city, she and Ed discovered all hell had broken loose. Maya Henderson had become a Red Court Vampire, Roland Carter had been exposed as a fraud, who they soon dubbed Fauxland, and the real Roland had been hidden away in a Red Court base and was now dead, and Evander Summers had offered one hundred years to Odin in exchange for removing the Red Court infection from his sister, Evelyn Summers. Evelyn and Maya had fled the city together, apparently after becoming very close. Also news to Kaki, while she was away, John Norton had taken the Hyde potion. Kaki shouted for weeks about how she had told them all, and they should have listened to her.

That evening, the Squad all went for drinks, and Kaki finally asked Ed on a date, and the two began a relationship together.

It was soon revealed that John Norton had assembled a task force who they called 'The Concerned Citizens', to take down the Spook Squad, and they had prepared an ambush with all of the Squads major enemies; Marion, new Hand of Poseidon, who was out to kill Ed; Johan Frankle, the new leader of the Red Courts in Saskatoon, who wished to restart the Red Court war with the White Council of Wizards, and therefore destroy Kaki; Crystal Wells and the Lord of Crows, who desired Marie Lavaeu for immortality; Fauxland - who's name they learned was actually Ninurta - who's main goal was to tie up loose ends; Maya Henderson and her now wife, Evelyn Henderson, attempting to 'free' Kaki from the Spook Squad; and of course, John Norton, the Hyde, who's only goal was to make his old Squad stronger.

Kaki beheaded Johan Frankle during the fight, therefore technically igniting the war between the Red Courts and the White Council once more, which was soon forgotten after the Red Courts were destroyed. Marie Laveau, much like her nightmare had predicted, called upon the power of her past lives to destroy the Hyde and Ninurta, destroying herself in the process. Euddard finished the job on John Norton, and faded away himself soon after. Sirka fell comatose after killing Crystal Wells and the Lord of Crows, who were using a ritual to block Kaki's magic. Again, like Kaki's nightmare but not quite, Sirka was woken up later after becoming the Summer Knight. Maya Henderson and Evelyn Henderson were taken out mostly by none other than James Tyveck, who was an expert sniper. Alexis Crawshaw revealed a terrible nature by taking out almost every enemy remaining, leaving only Marion to Ed Danvers.

Kaki decided after that it would be time to retire. She spent a few months training up her apprentice to protect her stead in the city, and soon left with Ed Danvers, to protect her apprentice and begin a new life in another city.

Personality
Kaki was known to be brash, strong willed, and quick to act. She used primarily fire magic, and had just as fiery a personality to match. She's quick to anger, and even quicker to act on it.

She was fairly unstable, and generally had a hard time with her mental health. She was often paranoid, unsure and untrustworthy. Despite this, she is also incredibly loyal, particularly to Ed Danvers and her young apprentice - now Deputy - Jirou Yukimura. Kaki is unafraid to kill when necessary, especially after her failure with Maya Henderson. She became almost cold with relation to death, and was willing to kill her own apprentice at one point when he had told her he had killed with magic (she soon discovered he hadn't killed a person but a creature, and declared him blameless).

She's very ambitious, and is doing her best to move the ranks in the Wardens and the White Council in general. She takes her job very seriously, and considers it almost a way to fix what she had done in the past.

On good days, Kaki can also be silly and fun. She tries to make her magical training with Jirou part serious and part fun. If she's in a good enough mood, her training regiment will fall apart, and the two will goof around with magic. However, Kaki does take Jirou's training regiment very seriously, on time when she was around to train him. She was determined to make sure that Jirou would be able to make his way through the supernatural world.

Ed Danvers
"'Ed... Before we go, I love you. Also, promise me you won't die.' -Kaki, before leaving for the final battle" Kaki's relationship with Ed Danvers started rather rocky - he was generally cynical and presented a 'devil-may-care' attitude, which at first drove Kaki insane. After Kaki realized he was generally just messing around, their friendship began to grow. It grew incredibly quickly after they started to hit it off, and the two soon grew inseparable.

When the Squad travelled to Russia to free Ed from his bond with Poseidon, Kaki was almost mortified to hear that Ed likely wouldn't be returning. But Kaki cared for him enough to know that it was all he wanted, so she helped with the ritual and gave it her all. She was overjoyed when instead, the ritual brought Ed back. She missed Ed terribly when he was gone, and had a very hard time without him. It was then she began to realized that maybe she cared for him more than as a friend.

It was her in a drunken stupor to ask him on a date shortly before the final battle with the Squad. The two are still in that romantic relationship, and eventually ended up getting married.

Jirou and Shinichi Yukimura
"'This is my apprentice, Jirou. He's great and strong and really good with magic and he's going to be an excellent swordsman.... Still a piece of shit though.' Kaki, on her feelings about Jirou"Of all her family back in Japan, Kaki was closest to her two cousins, Jirou and Shinichi. She enjoyed more the company of the younger, Jirou, who was fairly soft-spoken and shy, which was one of the reasons she chose him as her apprentice. Those she masked it as a contest, Kaki had picked one that she knew Jirou would win, since she picked him as her apprentice to begin with.

While Kaki does like his older brother, Shinichi, she can get very exasperated with him very quickly, as he speaks a lot and is very full of himself. She's not too fond of his attitude in general, with his whole belief that he's the best thing walking.

Kaki has a very strong protective instinct for Jirou, and will kill or harm anything or anyone who would attempt to bring him harm. At the same time, she hides these feelings by giving him small joking insults. However, her pride for him shines through very often. She can't help but to compliment him when he's done well, or inform him when he's done something right. Kaki also hand picked him to be her deputy when she became a Warden Commander, and has high hopes for her Deputies future.

Maya Henderson
Kaki had an enormous crush on her childhood friend Maya Henderson while they were still friends, and still regrets not telling her. The two were likely close enough to dating while they were younger that Kaki often considers it that way anyway. She had a very hard time dealing with seeing Maya back once more, especially with the circumstances of her return, and worked carefully on learning how to let it all go. Kaki felt tremendous guilt over what happened to Maya, and had worked for years to try and overcome her guilt.

John Norton
At first, Kaki and John had a rather amicable relationship - she trust John enough to trade away a vial of her blood, a decision she soon came to regret. He was a useful member of the party, and she found his abilities as a potion master to be very impressive. Her distrust began when she suspected John was responsible for the death of another person, and only grew over time. There was an almost exponential growth after her nightmare where she saw him become the Hyde, and she became incredibly frustrated when no one believed he was a danger. She felt incredibly justified when she was proven right, and to this day never ceases to remind people she was right. Despite this, she does try to remember the amicable relationship they once shared.

Other Spook Squad Members
James Tyveck: Kaki had a professional relationship with the first pseudo-'leader' of the Saskatoon Spook Squad, though she held very high respect for him. She was saddened when he was forced to quit the police force, though she was glad that he did end up finding other work. She feels a small amount of debt to him for killing Maya Henderson, though she wouldn't admit it.

Eric Becker: Kaki had always liked her companion Eric. He was just about as brash as she was at the start, and four times more paranoid. The two got along fairly well, considering Kaki's affinity for burning things and Eric's for shooting them.

Mark Manners: One of Kaki's closest friends, Mark helped train her for a very long time, on both combat and on helping her control her strong and explosive emotions. She was always thankful for Mark's help, and his lessons continued to serve her even after they lost contact with one another.

Cara Anderson: Kaki respected Cara Anderson, though she didn't have very much contact with her, since Kaki didn't spend much time with the Squad while Cara was a member.

Alexis Crowshaw: While Kaki respected and on some level liked Alexis, she also had a constant eye on her and was never sure if she could trust her. Considering Alexis was a thief, Kaki was always weary of her pockets around Alexis. She was especially weary when an unholy grail went missing in Alexis' presence, and while Kaki was sure Alexis had used it at the final battle, not only could Kaki not prove it, she didn't want to: Alexis' actions likely saved her now husband Ed, and she felt a stronger responsibility to that than anything.

Fortunato Malvora: Kaki was more frightened of Fortunato than anything, but Kaki knew very well that some people made better friends than enemies, and so she at least managed a professional relationship with her companion.

Morganna: Another who Kaki was slightly more frightened of than anything, but she eventually grew to like Morganna, despite he place as a friend of Summer and Morganna's as a changeling of the Winter Court.

Marie Laveau: Kaki considered Marie a good friend, and was devastated when Marie destroyed herself for the sake of the party. She got into quite a few shenanigans with Marie, and felt often her silliest when she was around the voodooist.

Sirka: Kaki was fond of Sirka, and she feels she owes him a very large debt after his sacrifice during their final battle together, which arguably saved her life. She enjoyed Sirka's company, and considered him a good ally to have in battle.

Roland Carter: Kaki's first impression was that Roland was nothing really to be considered, until she took a step into his shoes and his life, when they encountered something from beyond the outer gates. She developed an immediate trust and respect for him, and it stayed long after his death. She was incredibly shocked to find that he had been impersonated for quite some time by Ninurta.

Evander Summers: Kaki considered Evander just a companion for quite some time, until it was revealed that he was a Tengu, to which Kaki responded by immediately treating him as a highly respected spiritual being, much to Evanders dismay. Kaki, however, had no intention on stopping, and still considers him as such.

Euddard Tremaine: Kaki was never sure what to make of this one, considering the short time she spent with him. She was, however, glad for his takedown of John Norton in the final battle.

Trivia

 * -Kaki can play the violin and the piano, though she only keeps up with the violin


 * -Kaki can dance very well, both ballroom and ballet, and has been dancing since she was ten
 * -Kaki doesn't technically have a high school education - she dropped out when she was sixteen
 * -Though the magic of the Yukimura family is a legend within the family, Kaki was never actually made aware of the legend until she was in her twenties
 * -Kaki cried while cutting her hair, though she felt relieved about it afterwards
 * -the first time Kaki had to kill someone, she felt awful about it. It doesn't bother her anymore
 * -My personal fan-cast for Kaki is Karen Fukuhara