Shishikura Makiko
Brave Guardian Lion
Brave Guardian Lion Shishikura Makiko (a.k.a. 獅々倉 牧子)
Mental characteristics
Personal history
When Shihikura Makiko was a child, she hardly said a single word. Her parents worried about her, fearing that they had taken some wrong step in rearing their child. While the other daughters of noble families were laughing and playing with a kemari ball out in the courtyards of Wakigami, Makiko simply watched, silently. She made no friends, and indeed, seemed unable to connect with another human all the way into her adolescence.
One day, while her parents dithered about, trying to decide on marriage plans for their virtually-mute daughter, Makiko saw something in the street outside. A group of burly, swarthy men, all muscles and power, standing together while a towering Oni bellowed orders at them. For the first time in her life, something clicked. Makiko realized that she didn't want to be demure, or diplomatic, or the wife to some nobleman. She wanted to be powerful.
Without a word, she stood up and left her parents, still quibbling over various noble houses. They didn't even notice as she stepped into the street, well used to her strange behavior at this point, and soon she was out of their sight. The monstrous General of these men stopped as she approached. Makiko stepped right up to his leg, the muscular limb as big as she was, and looked up at him. Though she did not speak, something passed between them, and Baby Huey understood.
When the Tea Bucket Men left that night to make camp, Makiko followed, and General Baby Huey did not object. He saw her as a strange case. Her body was weak and fleshy, her stature was tiny, and yet in her eyes he saw the fire of the Oni. After much deliberation, he decided he would train her as one of his own men. If she truly did have that fire, she would survive. If not, he would step in and return her to Wakigami.
Her first day of training was brutal. Makiko had to take far more breaks than the other men, and several questioned why she was there at all. All throughout it, however, she didn't quit. Every time she fell in the dirt, she got back up and kept going, always without a word of complaint. By the end of the day, she could not even stand up, and yet the next morning she was standing shakily in line with the others.
After a time of this, it became quickly apparent that she would never be as strong or as hardy as the other Tea Bucket Men. Her body simply wasn't built for this, generations of noble genetics instead preparing her for a life of sitting on cushions and drinking tea. Even so, she was becoming stronger. She could now keep pace with the men, and didn't slow them down nearly as much as before. Makiko was easily the poorest in the group, but she was no longer a liability. The others began to accept her slowly and, during their off hours, they even taught her to wield a blade, the likes of which she had never held before.
Here it became clear that though she was weak and feeble, Makiko was not without talents. Her talent with a sword was clear, and her quick strikes, though lacking in power, were able to fly past the guards of all of her opponents. If a match was to be determined by power, she would always lose, but in battles of technique, Makiko was always the clear winner.
When the Tea Bucket Men began to leave for their specialized training at Mount Ōe, General Baby Huey made one of the most difficult decisions of his career. He asked Makiko to stay behind. As much as he was impressed with the young woman's spirit, he was certain that the increasingly intense training at the Mountain would end up getting her hurt, and he didn't want that for her. Though she was crushed by the news, Makiko's spirit was again raised when Baby Huey gave her an Oni mask he had carved himself, just the right size for her head. That scene will forever be engraved into her mind:
"You. Stay. If go now, you die. Some of men might die at mountain. But they only might die. You truth die. You not late training become stronger. Too early, still too weak. Crying okay, but cry Tea Bucket Men tears. CRY LOUD! MORE TEARS!
Baby Huey waited as Makiko cried her loudest before continuing on.
GENERAL BABY HUEY SEEN STRONG ONI BUT WEAK EYES.
Baby Huey thought back to when he was just a simple Oni raiding the countryside, and sitting by the river, recognized his own eyes content at being just strong.
GENERAL BABY HUEY SEEN MAKIKO WEAK BUT MAKIKO EYES STRONG AS ONI. MAKIKO DESERVE ONI STRENGTH. MAKIKO! I GIVE WOOD ONI MASK! WHEN TIME COMES, BECOME TRUE ONI! TEA BUCKET MEN! MOVE MARCH! WE LEAVE WEAK ONI BEHIND."
The squad marched on, some with tears escaping their eyes. Some of them already knew full well that Makiko's fiery Oni soul had them beat. The speech wasn't just for Makiko. Each of the Tea Bucket Men took to heart what General Baby Huey had screamed for the whole province to hear.
General Baby Huey yelled his words loud enough so that the Oni on Mount Oe were warned of the marching army, hungry to become stronger than Shuten-doji himself.
Though Baby Huey was leaving her behind, he had encouraged her to continue her training, and to seek employment with the Hashinara Clan. They had a history of taking on eclectic recruits from all backgrounds, and would surely give her a good home. Tears welled behind her mask as Makiko watched the massive General depart with his men, the only man whom she had ever been able to speak to without the use of words. As she returned to Wakigami, however, she did not go back to her family. Rather, she approached the castle and, with a voice weak from disuse, asked for an audience with Tōdaisen Nobuhara. The future was uncertain, but she held in her heart the pride of a Tea Bucket Man, and she was never going to let that go.
Though Baby Huey was leaving her behind, he had encouraged her to continue her training, and to seek employment with the Hashinara Clan. They had a history of taking on eclectic recruits from all backgrounds, and would surely give her a good home. Tears welled behind her mask as Makiko watched the massive General depart with his men, the only man whom she had ever been able to speak to without the use of words. As she returned to Wakigami, however, she did not go back to her family. Rather, she approached the castle and, with a voice weak from disuse, asked for an audience with Tōdaisen Nobuhara. The future was uncertain, but she held in her heart the pride of a Tea Bucket Man, and she was never going to let that go.
Social
Speech
Hardly speaks.
Relationships
History
General Baby Huey instilled in Makiko the pride she needed to become an admirable samurai.
History
Shishikura Makiko was assigned beneath Lord Maxim but did not form a relationship of any kind with him during his brief stint as commander.
General Rank
C
General Type
Samurai
Known Languages
Japanese
C
General Type
Samurai
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
勇ましいな獅子: Brave Guardian Lion
Year of Birth
1542
17 Years old
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Wakigami Castle
Gender
Female
Hair
Shoulder-length, white, unruly
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale
Height
5'2
Weight
110
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments