Kayoko Sasaki

Born to a wealthy family in the town of Clover, Kayo spent most of her young life in the lap of luxury in her family’s estate. Her family’s wealth and power never went to her head though, and the naturally shy little girl grew up to be rather sweet and meek. She was never one to speak ill of anyone, and always one to speak up even for the least deserving, so long as it wasn’t to strangers. Kayoko was well known among her family and their friends as an odd girl with a heart of gold. She never had a lot of friends due to her almost crippling shyness. Kayoko delt with her family and their servants primarily, and didn't have any friends her own age due to being unable to talk to them. Those who weren't in her family would occasionally mistake her for being rude or antisocial, a fact which she disliked, but could never bring herself to dispute.

Despite her shyness, she had a flair for finding adventure, and one day when she was about fourteen, she stumbled upon a shady magical artifact peddler who liked to peddle the magical items of his victims to others for profit. When Kayoko overheard his plans to create  even more business by killing some people, she panicked and tried to run. The man heard her, and his men gave chase. She ran through where he was keeping his stores, and while trying to scramble around a table with weapons spread all over it, she tripped, grabbing at the weapons and table to try and steady herself. Instead, she grabbed a rather large sword, which in her panic, she subconsciously imprinted her magical signature on, activating it. The sword took on the properties of her own innate magic, and she was able to fend off her attackers. None of them were killed, however.

Kayoko spent her time learning how to use her magical sword, finding that she could use it with relative ease, though others often claimed the sword was quite heavy if she let them hold it. She was too quiet and shy to join a guild, but she managed to develop her magic on her own regardless, due in no small part to the way her swords abilities came as naturally to her as breathing, though only a little at a time.

Kayoko was largely spared from the war, herself, though her family made a rather large profit selling things to the army for a hefty profit. They were talented businessmen, and knew how to turn a profit while looking good in the eyes of the people. Other than knowing who they were selling to, Kayoko was simply a shy girl with an oversized sword. Still, she felt better having it in case anything bad happened in town.

Clover town took damage in the war, as most towns did, but Kayoko at her family’s request had been hidden in a secret passage in their house along with their favored servant and Kayoko’s then primary caretaker. It was days before she got to emerge, and she was terrified the entire time, but when she did, she found her own home had not been touched, thankfully.

About a year passed and Kayoko, once again wandering the streets alone, discovered a young girl who seemed to be part cat. Both intrigued and worried about her, she took the girl home to take care of her. When it became apparent she had nowhere to go, Kyoko begged her parents to let the girl stay. She even promised to take care of her herself. They agreed, reluctantly, and for the past year, the pair have lived together. Kayo called the cat girl Cali, and the two developed a relationship that was somewhere between pet and owner, and sisters. While she didn't always understand Cali, she did identify with her apprehension around strangers, and the first part of their relationship involved an entirely too shy Kayoko failing to communicate with the cat girl she was trying to take care of. Eventually, she managed to get herself to speak to the girl, who in turn started to trust her unlike any other human. She now serves as a companion and self-imposed bodyguard for the shy teenager.

The sky was overcast above the streets of Clover as a cute-looking teenage girl with an alarmingly large sword slung across her back wandered aimlessly through the marketplace. Everyone was bustling about as they tried to get their shopping done before it started raining. Kayoko Sasaki, however, didn’t much care if she got a little wet. She was more than happy to seek shelter when the time came. As it was, she was enjoying walking the streets with her younger sister, of sorts - an eleven year old cat girl called Cali.

“Looks like its still crowded from the tournament,” Kayo commented offhandedly as she looked around at all of the unfamiliar faces. She occasionally got stares for carrying around her sword, but she was used to that. She would be good as long as she didn’t become the center of attention. She hadn’t paid much attention to the tournament. It was a bunch of wizards fighting to prove they were better, and she didn’t care for fighting, despite her large weapon.

“Hey Cali, what do you think? Should we get a snack while we’re out?” Of course, Kayo would happily pay for it, but she depended on Cali to buy the snacks. Kayo hated talking to new people. Well, hate was a strong word. She would have liked to if she didn’t turn into a bumbling mess every time she tried. It intimidated the poor noble girl a lot.

Cali walked along side her older sister in the overcast weather. Her ears twitched, taking in every sound around her. Her nose took in the scents around her, and her bright yellow eyes shifted around as she couldn't focus on any one thing.

“I think snacks would be a great idea, Calico says enthusiastically” She said happily as she as she hugged her little black cat bag to her chest, with her arms crossed so they were almost to her shoulders. Her white and red Kimono hung loosely off her tiny frame, and she had to walk faster just to keep up with Kayoko.

“What should we get? Asks Calico with excited curiosity, ” Cali said as her eyes lit up slightly. “We could get salmon... or... or... Tuna! Tuna would be good! Calico says as a veiled demand.”  

Kayo should have known her younger sister would want fish. She loved all sorts of things cats liked, which Kayo honestly found absolutely adorable. Just as adorable as the little kimono and cat bag she had. Really, to her, Calico was just plain adorable, even if she didn’t play well with most people. She smiled her gentle smile as her own orange eyes took in the cat girl. “If you want to talk to the fish man you can get yourself a fish,” she told Cali. Of course, she nearly always gave in. Especially since she didn’t have to worry about paying for everyday things as long as she lived with her parents.

“I think I’ll get something else though. I’m not quite as catty as you,” she said smiling some more. Outings were always fun when Cali was involved. “You can get a fish if you’ll get me some chocolate, deal?” Kayoko had bent down to be closer to Cali’s eye level when she said it in order to make sure she was listening to more than “Go buy fish.” She handed the girl her money pouch and then followed her toward where she knew the first destination would be. She idly shifted her large sword on her back. It wasn’t that heavy to her, but it was still somewhat cumbersome occasionally. Still, she felt much safer with it, especially knowing that somewhere out there was the man who had tried to kill her three years ago.

“Yay! Fish time fish time! Calico says in a sing song voice,” Cali said as she took the money. She quickly stuffed it into the black cat bag and then hugged it tight again as she began running ahead. She was on a first name basis with the fish man, and quickly had her fish. Then she was running again.

This time she stopped and picked up the chocolate Kayoko wanted. She liked chocolate too, but
she liked fish even more. But with her hands full she was forced to put the fish in her mouth. Then she came running back, chocolate in hand and fish in mouth, to Kayako.

Holding out the chocolate she let go of the fish, finally able to balance everything as she spoke again. “Nyah, here's your chocolate big sis. Calico says in a satisfied tone.”

“Thank you!” The older girl answered enthusiastically as well. Chocolate was her biggest weakness. She took it as greedily as the shy girl got, tearing open the candy bar and shoving most of it in her mouth rather quickly. She broke off a small piece first though, and held it out in case Calico wanted a piece with her fish. Even if she didn’t want it, she felt less like a pig for offering. “Now, how are we fixing that fish of yours?” she asked in a motherly tone as she put a hand on the cat girl’s head, scratching behind her ear slightly.

She turned to head back toward their manor so they could fix the fish, though if Cali didn’t want to fix it that was okay too. Cat’s didn’t cook things… and she was like half cat.   It was then that a merchant decided to try and sell her some jewelry. He told her she would look great in it, and knowing she was rich, of course offered only his best. But as usual Kayoko wasn’t good at dealing with people she didn’t know. “er… um… I…” she blushed, not making eye contact with the man. She stepped back uncomfortably, arms held out, but with her elbows to her sides in an effort to keep the man from overwhelming her. But it wouldn’t take that much, and Cali would know that. “…Please…”

Calico gave a small laugh as her big sister seemingly tried to eat the chocolate in one bite. For all the refinement and lady like tendencies she had, chocolate brought out the worst in her. As she popped the chocolate in her mouth, Kayoko started scratching her behind the ear. She let out a small purr as she leaned into her hand.

But that's when disaster struck. Someone tried to talk to Kayoko! And it made her stop scratching behind her ear... And now her big sister was on the defensive. People needed to learn that her sister wasn't good with people. So she slipped in between the two, fish still in hand.

“Big sister Kayoko doesn't need any jewelry. Calico stats matter of factly,” Cali said with closed eyes and a quick nod. Then she looked up at the man and gave him a mischievous smile as she
continued. “I'm sore some other not so good looking girl would like your wares. Calico states evenly.”

The man wasn’t sure how to deal with the younger cat girl when she insisted that her sister was entirely too good –looking for his wares. He blinked at her, then looked over at the still-cowering Kayoko, shrugged, and moved off shouting about his wares at a more socially adept woman. Meanwhile, Kayoko sighed, letting out the stress she felt when she had to talk to people. “Thanks, Cali.” She said with a relieved smile, reaching down and scratching her ear again. She squatted down. “For your help, I’ll let you get one more thing before we go back home, since you did such a good job helping your pitiful sister.”

Cali still had the money anyway, and Kayo trusted her with it. Not that it especially mattered if something happened to the small sum she kept on her, but it was enough it would be a bit stressful to lose. “So  if you’d like, you can get whatever you want.” She probably spoiled the smaller girl. She wasn’t exactly her mother anyway. And she was hardly a leader or teacher. She was best at making sure people were happy. And treats usually worked rather well on children.

She stood back up, stretching. She raised her arm, resting her hand on her blade’s handle in a way that it would be easy to draw it if she wanted to. But the girl didn’t draw her sword unless she needed to or was practicing. She was doing neither, and wasn’t that fond of either anyway. She simply rested her arm like that occasionally, making her feel secure. Especially after an encounter with people. Maybe Calico was right, and she was meant to be a cat girl too.

“You're welcome. Calico says w- ahh...” She couldn't finish as the back of her ear was assaulted again. This time her foot began to tap slightly involuntarily. When Kayoko stopped though, Cali's face lit up. “Oooh! Then I want to get some milk! Calico says excitedly.”

She was quickly off and disappeared into the crowd this time. But it didn't take her long to return. Though now the cat bag hung off her side like a purse so she could hold the fish and the milk. She hummed a little when she came right up next to Kayoko.

“Nyah they actually had sweet cream this time. Calico says with a slightly surprised tone,” Cali said as she started walking back to the manor. She wasn't sure how she wanted the fish prepared, but she would figure it out by the time she got back. “We should get back before it rains. Calico says with disdain.”