Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry, Samurai Shodown, Rising Zan, or the Bushido Blade series. Let's just say that a few boys wouldn't get to go adventuring much if I did.
I'll take a wild guess that if you haven't been traveling with me on this six-year journey called my dealings with Shainto, you are sitting there, scratching your head, and thinking "Who the fuck are you, you blue-haired freak, and what the hell are you talking about?"
All right, you guys, I'll talk. And have caffeine on hand as well as a thinking cap on you head- because this might be painful otherwise.
My name is Tachibana Sakura (We Japanese use our surnames first). I am the daughter of Tachibana Ukyo and Odagiri Kei (All of you acquainted with Samurai Shodown know who they are, right?) and the oldest of their five children. Sasame, my younger brother (And my personal favorite- don't tell Akira or Mirei I said that!), is fifteen, followed by twelve-year-old Akira (He can really be a pain in the ass), my eight-year-old sister Mirei- in whose eyes I can do no wrong-, and baby (at least she was the last time I was home) Suzaku. The seven of us live in a big house on Gairyu Isle with lots of servants and fellow Shainto. (You really think that Kounoshima was the only place we Shainto gather? I don't think that any of the four hundred people on Gairyu aren't at least affiliated with the swords school!)
Fortunately, (Or maybe unfortunately) for the five of us, our father became a vampire to cure his consumption in 1790 and married our mother a year later. All five of us have "contracted" vampirism (it's perfectly natural for us) in some form or another. Unless you're really active, sick (which doesn't happen very often) or badly hurt (Even Mama-chama fights when called to it), the need for blood isn't so bad.
More often than not, our "affliction" is a boon- granting better speed, strength, judgement, and special abilities when called upon (Sasame and I can control water by force of will and shapeshift). Our family's unique fighting style- the Tachibana stance (an iaijutsu - sword in the sheath until attacking or defending- stance facing away from the opponent and making full use of magic, lightning-quick killstrikes, and diving attacks) is one of the most venerated and difficult postures to adopt in a fight (it also looks damn good in the eyes of a camera or mirror).
Technically, every Tachibana is a member of Shainto - the sword school violently opposed to the Narukagami and the demons plaguing this world of tears- at birth, but we only become active members when we master our family's famous fighting style. I mastered it at the tender age of fourteen- six years ago.
Our grandmaster, Hiiragi Daina , quickly took notice of my skill and paired me with a cocky, platinum-haired yari master named Narazu Kaun – who is also not quite human , launching me – at least part of the time (control over time is only one of our school's many secrets bequeathed by the gods) into the present era.
It was there – in 1998- that I first discovered many things that Gairyu Isle and dusty books could not teach me. For one thing, I quickly discovered that there are fanatics who want anything of supernatural blood wiped off the face of the earth. Pizza, chocolate, (I grew up on a tiny island in the early nineteenth century!) anime, video games, technological magic (you can hex someone through email), and boys came a bit later.
Fortunately for Kaun, I was skilled with more than knocking his ego back where it belonged, as we both discovered two years later when we encountered the deadly Narukagami warrior Black Lotus (now known to us as James "Jamie" MacCaullay or Highwayman) and I more than held my own. We quickly became friends after that, which is how I met the werewolf Utamaru and the American half-devil Dante Sparda.
Fate had different plans than what three rowdy supernatural adolescents had in mind a year later. In a rapidly culminating crisis to destroy everything Shainto has worked so hard to preserve, we were called to Riten Kyo in the year 1810 on a mission to stop the Hagyo Razor Trio. Utamaru was nearly killed and I made a sacrifice that I still regret some days. I allowed Kuki Tohma- a full-blooded vampire- to "turn" me, taking away the last half of my humanity in order to destroy him, Mikoto, and Oboro- the Hagyo Razor Trio.
Kan and I had a massive falling-out when I returned to our inn of choice and he realized what I had become. I was reassigned to a tiny town in 1840's Nevada – Gold City – where I met the Super Ultra Sexy Hero, Rising Zan (Funny ass name, isn't it?) and became embroiled in Shainto affairs once again as well as a brief, disastrous relationship with Zan (whose ridiculously overblown ego I cold not deflate in time to save his life).
I spent the next three months at home and found my life filled with joy as my baby sister Suzaku greeted the world before I was called back to Kaun's era- the year 2001- to avenge the sorrow of our ancestors. It was here that things really got crazy as my era and his crossed. My blood-sister (best friend) Hattori Mai (youngest daughter of ninjas Hanzo and Kaede – also of the Samurai Shodown saga) and her older sister Hirari (Japanese version of Hillary, named for the Samurai Spirit Hisame Hillary nee Hillary Mullins.)
Six months ago, a devil named Nelo Angelo decided that Mai and I made good sword targets. I was powerless to stop him when he crept up from behind and ran his massive sword through my best friend's chest. Now, Hiiragi Daina has assigned me to help Dante and given me a shot to avenge my beloved friend. Even if Dante were nothing more than a friend (which only he assumes – perhaps it's best that he doesn't know how he haunts my dreams), revenge is a good enough reason for me.
