The First Member
The Right-Hand Man
"They're all about to see what wrath truly feels like."
Name: Shakkin Shiruetto
Alias: The Shadow Summoner
Gender: Male
Blood Type: AB-
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Red
Height: 5'9''
Birthday: May 31st
Birthplace: Salem, Massachusetts
Age: 15
Affiliation: The Death Court
Occupation: Bokor
Powers and Abilities: Voodoo, Fortune-Telling, Spell-Casting
Paraphernalia: Talisman, Cane
Status: Alive
Parents: Unnamed mother (deceased), unarmed father (deceased)
Background
Shiruetto's past is mostly unknown, though he mentions being a descendant of royalty through his father (whose severed, shrunken head he keeps in his emporium in a box under a stack of books). His motivations toward joining the Death Court were the result of a poor upbringing, where the wealthy either treated him with disrespect or ignored him altogether.
At some point in time, through unknown circumstances, Shiruetto encountered a group of dark Loa and formed an alliance with them, granting himself power over black magic, which he would regularly use to swindle the citizens of numerous cities for easy money by "granting" their wishes — posing as an amoral businessman of sorts. Shiruetto refers to the Loa as his "friends," and they typically act as his lackeys throughout the Voodoo doctor's various schemes. His crooked nature and affiliation with these shadowy figures earned Shiruetto the nickname "the Shadow Summoner." However, Shiruetto's power come at a price: should he fail to remunerate his "friends" for their services, he must recompense with his soul.
Shiruetto is usually accompanied by his shadow, which has a will and personality of its own. It is obedient to his wishes and seems to reflect his inner mood (ex. when Shiruetto was luring an unsuspecting Morana and Kurayami to his Voodoo emporium, the shadow is briefly mentioned following them like a serpent, hinting at Shiruetto's treacherous intent). His emporium is his base of operation, which is filled with strange objects and Voodoo paraphernalia (some of which he admits that he "ain't even tried yet").
Personality
Shiruetto is a scheming bokor, driven mostly by greed and the desire to have authority over others; more specifically, the villains of Musutafu. As others mention, Shiruetto can indeed be suave, smooth-talking, polite, and often charming, which aids him in luring unsuspecting victims into his lair. When it comes to sorcery, however, Shiruetto isn't as powerful as he seems, as his magic is primarily derived from his "friends," forcing Shiruetto to mostly rely on his power of persuasion to carry out his bidding. Shiruetto knew that this was a weapon that was even more dangerous than any other black magic he had seen during his life, and was able to maintain control over his "friends" by repeatedly manipulating them with charm and temptation. Because of the unlimited power the Loa had, however, this made the Voodoo demons just as susceptible to Shiruetto as his human victims.
Shiruetto is an opportunist and can be quick to formulate plots. After hearing of the infamous villain, All For One, he immediately creates a Voodoo doll in order to not only kill another unsuspecting victim, but to also gain control over the rest of the villains (despite this, he hardly seemed interested in controlling Morana and Kurayami, seeing the two as nothing but cowards).
Though he's a polite, charismatic showman, Shiruetto can also be cruel, remorseless, and sadistic. He has no qualms with terrorizing innocent civilians if it means reaching his own goals and often relies on manipulation and false promises to achieve said goals. As evidenced by his words to his "friends" while ordering them to find a cure to the curse that was (unintentionally) placed on Austerus and Aoyama — "If you happen to find any no-good villains on your search, or just any rude person in general, don't leave their hearts pumping! Not one bit!" — Shiruetto is not above killing his victims once their usefulness has been fulfilled, even if they are villains and have proven themselves unredeemable.
His murderous state has been shown when other people interfere with his plans, as he quickly resorts to murder them to prevent further interference, and hardly feels any guilt about the matter. On a larger scale, Shiruetto would gladly even use Musutafu's denizens as a bargaining chip, offering their lives in exchange for more power from the Loa.
While generally composed, Shiruetto has instances of lashing out in anger, particularly when he feels disrespected. Likewise, Shiruetto's equanimity is somewhat of a façade. Although he gives off the impression of being totally in control of every situation, in reality, he lives in constant fear of being unable to repay his debt to the Loa. When the notion of failure comes into play, Shiruetto becomes vulnerable, desperate, and high-strung.
Physical Appearance
Shiruetto is a tall, skinny, teen, dressed in very linear black-and-gray clothing. He has red eyes, along with bony fingers, and lanky arms and legs.
Dressed as the infamous Loa of the dead, Baron Samedi, Shiruetto wears a top hat with a grey band around it, a grey feather sticking out of it and a skull and crossbones on it; the skull can be magically duplicated and changed into a skull make-up — though it only covers up the upper half of his face — as Shiruetto often does it to make himself more intimidating. Around his neck, he wears a necklace with two white fangs hanging from it. Shiruetto also wears a black undertaker tailcoat and black pants, white spats over black shoes, a white vest under his tailcoat, and a grey cummerbund. One might say he somewhat looks and performs like a showman.
He wields a cane with a crystal on top, though its never revealed what the crystal is for. Shiruetto seems to use his cane for show performances, a tool, and a weapon. He carries a Voodoo talisman around with him that he had gotten from Austerus, which then becomes the fragile source of his powers. Any person, aside from Shiruetto himself, who wears the talisman becomes whoever they want, provided it has a particular person's blood.
Powers and Abilities
Voodoo: Shiruetto is a bokor that performs left-and right-handed Petro Voodoo (the dark and stereotypical Voodoo magic). He is a conjurer and sorcerer of sorts, possessing powerful dark Voodoo magic capable of accomplishing nearly anything. He can see into the past of a person and see what people desire the most. He is proficient in sleight of hand, effortlessly shuffling, twisting, and manipulating his deck of tarot cards. He is a skilled conjurer as well, being able to pull his cane and tarot deck out of thin air (although this may also be attributed to sleight of hand.) Curiously, despite having great power in the nature of his Voodoo powers, Shiruetto is unable to conjure anything for himself. Instead, he has to rely on trickery and guile to manipulate other people into doing what he wants. The nature of his power seems to stem around making deals; he only gains full access to his Voodoo when fulfilling someone else's wishes (although he can usually twist them to suit his ends) or when tempting them.
Fortune-Telling: Shiruetto's tarot cards possess unique properties: the images on them seem to change, reflecting the history and/or desires of his victims. The cards usually show his victims their future in a positive light; however, his victims are unable to corrupt the truth entirely, as the cards usually include a clue that shows the victim's real fate.
Spell-Casting: Shiruetto can cast spells through the use of a strange purple powder. The effects of this powder include the reversal of spells that have already been casted, producing puffs of the same-colored smoke that display memories of the past and the present, and the creation of full-scale renditions of what his victims desire the most (although it's implied that what he works with are only illusions).
Relationships
Dwekehen Austerus: Shiruetto and Austerus have a leader/second-in-command approach when dealing with business that involve gaming souls for the Loa or dealing with troubles that the Court faces. Though they aren't friends, both Shiruetto and Austerus aren't exactly acquaintances either, as it's somewhere in the middle of something that they really couldn't care less about. Shiruetto is often the only one who understands the troubles that Austerus has gone through, which makes him feel sympathetic towards the other teen. Despite his treacherous tendencies, Shiruetto remained faithfully loyal to Austerus and to the Court, finding it the only place where he can live without any fear.
Otokonoko Tsukuru: Shiruetto and Tsukuru's alliance relies on the fact that both of them own debts for exchanging their lives for power — Shiruetto to the Loa and Tsukuru to Austerus, which comes from the latter giving him the Feng Shui Engine (though it does come with a more dangerous ability). The two are often seen side-by-side, and are often paired on missions whenever Austerus sends the Court to do something that can really make their lives all the more risky. Much like Austerus, they aren't friends, but they're not acquaintances either.
Akutō Satsujin: Shiruetto respects that Satsujin is a human of few — if any — words. As he sees Satsujin as the most unhinged in the group despite his normal-looking appearance, Shiruetto makes it clear to stay away from the other's killer instincts, as anyone within ten feet of him will soon be nothing more but a dismembered, bloody corpse. He often wonders how Shizukana, his boyfriend, is able to calm the murderous human down with only a few words, but he's smart enough to not ask that question directly.
Mujihi Shizukana: Shiruetto, much like Satsujin, respects Shizukana and sees him as the second most calm person aside from Austerus, hardly ever going into fits of rage or always showing a desire to kill (even if he does have it). Their partnership consists of them discussing ways to improve their powers and choosing their next victims, doing these things while either playing poker or throwing darts at a picture of the League of Villains.
