Characters

Hoshino Ryu Height: 5'8" Weight: 120 lbs Hair Color: Dirty Blonde Eye Color: Dark Green-Gray Age: 19 Birthday: The 24th day of the first month of the year of the DRAGON. Ryu has the soul of a warrior, and a will stronger than any demon, and she is responsible enough to never fight a battle she does not believe in. Surprisingly, these uncommon traits have never drawn much attention to her. She prefers to travel alone, but she extends love and compassion to her fellow man with an abandon that often comes as a shock to those who don't know her very well.

Yasha Height: 5'9'' Weight: 135 lbs Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Violet Age: ? Birthday: ? Yasha is difficult to understand and even more difficult to explain. She exercises an odd combination of ruthlessly ambitious manipulation and infuriatingly bouncy cuteness to get what she wants, and it appears to be quite impossible to wheedle out of her precisely *why* she wants it.

Supporting characters!

Hoshino Reina Reina is Ryu’s 16 year old little sister who runs the family inn in Ryu’s hometown, and she knows Ryu better than even Yasha, who’s seen her soul in less conventional ways. She’s a confident, vivacious sweetheart who likes to take care of people, and she’s still in the process of raising the twins. She’s about 5’3’’, and she was born on the 22ed day of the eleventh month of the year of the Sheep (she’s 9-purple for those of you who understand Japanese astrology, which makes a lot of sense in the story).

Hoshino Riei Riei is the older of Ryu’s 12-year-old twin sisters and appears on the left in the picture. She’s the one who prefers her hair to be sorter. Riei is the kind of girl who would live in a tree if she could get away with it. Or she would run off with the circus or join a band of pirates if she thought it would be fun. She’s very blunt and says exactly what’s on her mind, which sometimes gets her in trouble, but she takes her responsibilities seriously and would do anything for her sisters or friends. She is currently about 4’10’’ and growing rapidly. She was born on the sixteenth day of the sixth month of the year of the Boar.

Hoshino Ria Ria is the younger of Ryu’s twin sisters and appears on the right side of the picture. She likes her hair longer so she can easily tie it back or play with it. She has a tendency to follow Riei, but she doesn’t always agree with her and is very vocal about it when she doesn’t. She would only run off with pirates if Riei could promise her they’d sail to an island paradise somewhere where she could conquer it and rule as its queen. She has a tendency to hold her peace and not say anything to people even when she’s very angry, but her bottled up feelings can fly to the surface at lightning speed if she’s pushed too far. She is also 4’10’’ was born on the seventeenth day of the sixth month of the year of the boar (a good six hours after Riei).

Yamano Kaimarou Kaimarou is Ryuu’s 21-year-old childhood best friend. They’ve been very, very close since she was six and he was eight, and this is mostly because Kai is attracted to Ryuu’s frank and bold personality as well as her unwavering convictions, and Ryuu is attracted to Kai’s devotion and steady character. They need one another. Kai’s father had a very serious stroke when Kai was 19 and he has been managing the family general store on his own since. Between the store and caring for his father, he has little time for himself, but when he can find time, he likes to visit with Reini and the twins (unless Ryuu is in town, in which case he will invariably spend as much time as possible with her). He is 5’11’’ but he likes to lean on things and slouch, so one rarely sees him at his full height. He was born on the thirty-first day of the twelfth month (and in fact in the final hour) of the year of the Ox, which puts him right on the verge of the year of the Tiger… which might explain the more explosive parts of his generally steady/laid-back personality.