Leiko "Kitsune" Ara (Inari)

BASICS 

Name: Leiko Ara 

Nickname: Lei; Nari 

Age: 21 [S2], 23 [S3], 24 [S4]

Birthday: July 30, 1994 

Astrological Sign: Leo

Gender: Cisgender Female 

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Romantic Orientation: Grayromantic  

Main Universe: Young Justice 

HISTORY 

Under the codename Kitsune, Leiko joined the Justice League’s covert op team mid-2011. It was a rough start, her abrasiveness and ego initially rubbed teammates the wrong way, but one can only help save the world so many times before friendship comes into the mix. The Team helped refine both her power and character; within the span of a couple years, Kitsune formed into a dependable, dedicated hero. However, there was something that even the collective brainpower of her teammates couldn’t help her figure out: The mystery of the maternal side of her family and how it tied in with the fox spirit within her.

It wouldn’t be until late 2012-- while working on a case regarding an uptick of supernatural occurrences in New York’s Little Tokyo neighborhood-- that Kitsune faced an ambush by a group of women with bestial, but notably fox-like, abilities. Outnumbered, outmatched, and outdone before she’d gotten the chance to call her team for backup: Kitsune disappeared off the streets.

When it became apparent Kitsune was MIA, the Team scrambled to find her. Zatanna’s locator spell tracked her down half-way across the globe in Hokkaido and they set off to infiltrate an estate belonging to the Miyamotou family. The Team was taken by surprise, however, to not only come across a woman already waiting for them, but evidently Lei herself.

Yet when ‘Leiko’ addressed them, ‘she’ informed the Team that the real Lei had been forced into dormancy in her own body and that the being before them was actually the fox spirit formally trapped within her since infancy.

The Miyamotou clan were multi-generational practitioners of tsukimono-suji, secretly tending to wicked kitsune as their familiars in return of good fortune, wealth, and power. They were equal parts influential and feared, with a reputation of leaving no enemy standing, but kitsune are fickle creatures. A Miyamotou woman brought the wrath of the kitsune on herself and creatures cursed her newborn to be deathly ill, her family disgraced her shortly thereafter. To save her child and reinstate herself in her family’s good will, the woman persuaded another younger, brasher kitsune to cure her baby. The kitsune, charmed by the woman and tricked by its own ego, conceded, but had largely underestimated the power needed. It healed the child, but in doing so, it had become trapped within her and went into a forced hibernation.

The woman’s husband, a modern man who operated outside the Miyamotou’s traditions, became suspicious of his daughter’s sudden recovery. The woman thought to let him in the family’s secrets, believing he’d immerse himself in their ways, but instead the man recoiled. He fled with his infant to the States, leaving the woman to deal with the consequences. The Miyamotou clan faced the scorn of their kitsune, who were furious at the taking of their sibling and turned against the clan. Their wealth and power were stripped away, the Miyamotous were demoted to slaves for the kitsune, who swore they wouldn't bring them back to glory until their missing kin was returned. 

For years it seemed impossible and the clan was doomed to servitude, but news of a rising hero from America eventually caught their attention; it became clear that the hero was their key back to power. The clan had sent a group to scout Kitsune and when the opportunity arose they forced her back to Japan; with the joint efforts of the clan and the fox spirits, they awoke the Fox and seated it as the ‘rightful’ possessor of her body. It was the Fox who informed the woman with it of the Team’s eventual arrival, knowing they’d go to the ends of the Earth to save their friend, as it had hoped.

To the Team’s relief, the Fox hadn’t alerted the rest of the clam swarming the estate, and it wasn’t waiting to spring a trap. It wanted to help them rescue Lei and had convinced the woman to aid. Lei’s consciousness had been shoved far back into her own mind and with enough time threatened to fade all together, it needed Miss Martian’s help to bring Lei back to the surface. As Miss Martian, led by the Fox, dove into Lei’s psyche, the estate erupted into chaos as the Team was discovered. The Team and the woman-- Leiko’s mother, Miyamotou Cho-- held off the family and it’s familiars as best they could. Miss Martian, still wary of the Fox, asked why it’d decided to turn against its kin. It admitted that through its sleep, it had still been aware of Lei’s life through a dream-like state. It had originally been resentful of her and its situation, but over the years it formed an attachment to her and the life she was carving out for herself. The life she was leading was worlds more fulfilling than the one offered to the Fox. It couldn’t bring itself to be happy even as its family celebrated its return and had grown bitter of their greed and injustices. It no longer desired this life; a golden cage is still a cage.

Between Miss Martian’s mental support and the Fox ultimately sacrificing itself to give Lei its power, Leiko was restored with new found strength.

The Team, back together, fought their way through the now crumbling estate, the kitsune once again turned against the Miyamotous, blaming them-- Cho, especially--for bringing their ruin. They fought amongst one another, adding fuel to the fire, and Cho had fully accepted her end at the hands of her enraged relatives. Kitsune, however, was unwilling to abandon her. Even though she wasn’t sure where feelings towards her mother lay, she set aside her turmoil for her duty as a hero: To help those in need.

But despite her best efforts, Cho was still struck by a fatal blow. They had managed to carry her aboard the Bio-Ship and as they set course back home, Cho’s last words to Leiko were not of the regret she had felt all those years living in fear, but of the gratitude for the glimpses of pride and courage Leiko had kindly shared with her.

Overwhelmed by the days trapped within her own body, the Miyamotou’s disastrous end, the Fox’s sacrifice and her mother’s parting words, Leiko broke to pieces.

The following couple months were rough. Her friends and family did their best to support her, she underwent regular counseling with Black Canary even after she took a much needed break from the Team when her attempts at overworking herself backfired spectacularly. Still, she couldn’t help feeling as if her chapter in Japan hadn’t yet finished. The more she thought this over the more it bothered her, until she’d convinced herself that-- as the remaining Miyamotou-- it was her responsibility to at least try to fix the damage her bloodline had done.

While it was no small decision and it came with another round of tears, Leiko ultimately decided to pack her bags and move to Hokkaido.

Japan would come with its own host of trials, but Lei wouldn’t have to face them alone. Finding the ruins of the Miyamotou property swarmed by guards of a then unknown faction, Lei snuck in and came across another trespasser-- a woman named Masako Abe. She had come to investigate the Miyamotou’s sudden downfall. The women allied themselves when they were discovered, leading Masako to extend Lei an invitation to a secret sanctuary in Sapporo. Masako was the head priestess of a hidden shrine the Miyamotous had targeted for the last handful of years.

There Lei would befriend the shrine’s other inhabitants: Masako’s archer grandson, Soichiro Abe, a nagita-wielder with ties to the crow tengu, Saito Koimaru, and a half-oni child, Shizuka Amachi. Masako would become Lei’s official teacher in the ways of the onmyoji, as Masako’s bloodline were the descendants of Japan’s greatest legendary magician, Abe no Seimei.

It wasn’t long before Lei began her moonlighting once again and Kitsune patrolled the nights. During one such outing, Kitsune came across a weapon smuggling ring-- brought to her attention by the amount of mystic residue coming from the supply-- and she met a young guard she would later come to know as Tatsuo Sumioka. Despite their initial encounter on opposing sides, Kitsune would ally with Tatsuo, and either through luck or fate, she would find out that the man Tatsuo was employed under was of a familiar surname: Masaru Miyamotou.

Masaru, her maternal uncle, had looked into other avenues for power when his family’s relations with their familiars took a steep decline. That avenue came in the form of the Yakuza’s Tachibana-kai branch, which heavily involved itself with smuggling mystic artifacts and weapons. Masaru himself was a powerful sorcerer and had quickly risen through the ranks; by the time Leiko would come face-to-face with him, he’d settled himself in the lofty rank of oyabun.

While he’d long known about the way his family had been running itself to the ground, the sudden and utter destruction of the clan hadn’t sat well with him, especially since he’d hadn’t uncovered a clue regarding what happened even after he sent his men to take over his former home. However at meeting the woman who’d seemingly single-handedly taken down his family and stood as his only remaining relative, Masaru offered Leiko a seat at his side in the Tachibana-kai. The offer was unceremoniously rebuffed and instead Lei challenged him.

Lei had grown in experience and strength thanks to the Fox’s power and Masako’s rigorous training, but Masaru was on a league of his own. If not for her friends at the Shrine, Lei would have lost her life. Masaru had chopped off her long, signature plum colored hair and he’d seared the skin of her hands and forearms with permanent burn scars. It should have sent the likes of the vain and prideful Leiko Ara into despair, but instead, the defeat sparked the fire she’d been missing since the incident at the Estate. She would not stand down.

Over the next 3 years, Leiko trained and fought with her companions at the Shrine. She faced scrutiny for it, especially from Saito, who’d never wanted the Shrine to be casted into war and had been distrusting of her since the beginning due to her lineage, but soon they began to gain ground against her uncle and his forces. Tatsuo shifted from the occasional ally to a loyal friend and Leiko became set on helping him escape the Yakuza’s clutches.

Things seemed to be going on the up and up, until the news of Artemis’ death rocked Lei to her core. Kaldur’s apparent heel-turn had not been taken well, but Artemis’ death at his hands was a whole other level of grief. She tried reaching out to Artemis’ spirit for a proper farewell, but she came up empty, sparking suspicions and a sliver of hope.

Her friends at the Sapporo Shrine urged her back home, Masako more fervently as she had a hunch things were about to go sideways, and so Leiko made plans to return to America. Before she set off, she searched for Tatsuo, seeing this as a chance to finally cut him from the Yakuza. With Tatsuo in tow they made their way towards the airport, however Tatsuo’s own problems had reached a boiling point. His own uncle, the sadistic Yohei Ishimura-- a fellow oyabun ally to Masaru, had figured Tatsuo was secretly aiding the hero Kitsune. Lei and Tatsuo were ambushed by a joining of their uncles’ men.

They tried to fight their way to safety, but ultimately Tatsuo forced Lei to leave him behind, buying her time to escape. Reeling in the failure of saving another loved one and afraid of what’s to come, Lei prayed to whatever pantheon would hear for a miracle.

Upon landing, Lei zeta’ed to Palo Alto in a half-stupor, to Wally West’s apartment. She mourned for Artemis and hoped Tatsuo would pull through. But, unbeknownst to her, Wally was in on Kaldur and Artemis’ infiltration plan under Nightwing’s orders, and her arrival only cemented the guilt he felt at keeping the rest of their friends out of the loop. When she gave into exhaustion and her injuries, Wally secretly caught Nightwing up on the situation, including her suspicions about Artemis’ death. Hesitantly, he kept his word about telling no one, although he knew it was only a matter of time before things would come to a head.

Leiko rejoined the Team as soon as she awoke, despite Wally’s protests, and true to his prediction, things turned ugly. A strike squad hit the Cave just a few days later, led by Kaldur’ahm and Artemis-now-Tigress, and it was there Kitsune instantly recognized Artemis under her glamour charm. Kaldur’ahm was quick to subdue her before she could sound alarm. Nightwing pulled Kit aside to the Hall of Justice to let her in on the plan-- and where they were joined by Wally-- after the Cave was destroyed. Betrayed and furious, she pulled away from them both, but as much as she wanted to blow the lid on the secret, she reluctantly agreed to keep it under wraps.

Over the next several weeks, Kitsune made a public return as a New York hero, helped rescue Reach captives, and even had a brief stint in space while on the Warworld. Her friendship with Nightwing had formed a deep fissure and while she’d arguably felt more hurt by Wally due to how fragile a state he’d seen her in, he made strides at repairing their relationship. Lei and Wally had been tip-toeing between platonic and romantic for years, even when Lei moved away and Wally entered other relationships. The secrets had been a setback for them, but as they had many times before, they found themselves right back at each other’s side. One night, meant to be a lighthearted barhop between friends, ended with them in the same bed.

They loved each other and knew it deep down, but their diverging roads kept them from following through with it. Wally was set on continuing his studies outside heroics and Lei felt as if she was just reaching her prime, so with no ill feelings for each other, they decided to keep things as they were.

Kit forged on with her team until it all culminated in a showdown in Santa Prisca, where she was delighted to fight alongside her old friend Kid Flash after 4 long years. The Reach had one last trick up their sleeve, Black Beetle set off various field disruptors around the world. Kit and Kid were sent off to Paris, where they none-too-subtly admired as a nice place for a date. It was obvious that while they’d originally said they were alright as friends, neither really was willing to set aside their wants and wishes, especially where each other was concerned.

Wally’s sacrifice forced it all to a screeching halt.

With the Team securing this battle's victory, Leiko took a short trip back to Hokkaido, where she allowed herself to quietly mourn in Masako's arms. Her attempts at finding Tatsuo yielded nothing, but she held faith he was still powering through somewhere. She caught up with her friends and to her surprise, found out they'd also had an encounter with the Reach while she was gone. The youngest, Shizuka, had spearheaded a rescue against the invaders coincidentally at the same time the Team had rescued the metateens onboard the Reach ship in the Pacific. Shizuka had long since admired the Justice League and personally looked up to Leiko's exploits as Kitsune. Spurred by the good Shizuka had done with the demon blood she'd always considered a curse, she asked Leiko if someone like her could be a hero too.

Leiko, moved by Shizuka's wish and knowing first hand what the influence of young heroes could do, offered her a spot on the Team as her protegé. Shizuka accepted on the spot, even as Lei warned her this life was not an easy one.

Soichiro had his own gift for Lei. Even though he'd been raised largely under Masako's care and the Shrine was undoubtedly a part of his life he'd defend to his last breath, he'd long since known he wanted a civilian lifestyle. He respected and feared Leiko's stance in the heroic spotlight and was more than a little worried for Shizuka, who rarely set foot outside the Shrine-- let alone Japan-- but he knew he wouldn't be able to change their minds. They would need the help they could get, so he decided to hand over the Abe family's heirloom to Lei, the Hoki Naiden. While Masako had passed the powerful spellbook onto him as per tradition, he saw it fit to give it to Leiko. She'd need it more than he ever would.

By July 4th, Leiko and Shizuka-- now going by the codename, Oni-- had permanently moved to America. Leiko had also chosen a new name, having felt her time as Kitsune had come to an end.

Inari now burns through the darkness with brilliant blue-white flame, a beacon of determination. Her road has been an arduous one, but with her friends and allies by her side-- even with enemies new and old rising to challenge-- Inari can’t help but feel as if she’s only just beginning…

ABOUT 

Personality Type: ENTP-A [Assertive Debater]  

Temperament: Choleric-Sanguine 

Alignment: Chaotic Good 

Charismatic | Self-Assured | Driven | Critical | Sharp

With an easy charm and a captivating smile, Leiko Ara has a way of making others forget their attention had been anywhere else. She exudes a cool and collected devil-may-care attitude with a coquettish sense of humor, quick to sway her intended audience. With close friends, she’s a warm, lively woman down to party or just going out for coffee, who loves as fiercely as she does tenderly. She’s deceptively intuitive and unafraid of tackling situations head on. When it’s time for hard choices, Leiko pulls through no matter what.

As Inari, this ability to compartmentalize and set plans into motion makes her a dependable teammate on the field-- even as she retains her love for theatrics. She enjoys poking and provoking enemies, having an almost devious delight in unnerving opponents with glimpses of what lurks behind her porcelain mask. Even so, as much as she likes to have her fun, her priorities are her mission and the safety of her allies. She’s proven on multiple occasions to be reliable, resourceful and more than willing to stand up to any challenge.

Leiko has matured much since first donning her fox mask as Kitsune, having grown in both strength and spirit, but she’s aware she has her faults. She still struggles with mending over past wounds, typically falling to pettiness and sharp criticism when they are prodded. Her pride makes it difficult to settle grudges and her anger can be cold, biting, and unyielding when stoked. Her ego is still a work-in-progress; she’s curbed it considerably over the years, but she’s still prone to being carried away if her friends aren’t there to keep her grounded.

Occupation: Fashion Designer, Unofficial Manager at Jenson’s Comics 

Likes: 

• Fashion and Make-up

• Shopping Sprees 

• Heavily Meat Based Meals

• Costumes 

Dislikes: 

• Messes and General Untidiness 

• Strong Smells 

• Rain 

• Being Told She’s In The Wrong

• Being Told She's In The Wrong 

Hobbies: Modeling, Shopping, Magical Research and Archiving, Singing, Photography, Clubbing, Casual Dating

Fears: Being Unable to Help Loved Ones, Accidently Pushing Others Away, Losing Control of Her Body in Any Capacity

Talents: Singing, Winning Games of Luck, Electric Guitar, Being Unnaturally Photogenic

Bad Habits: Loves Gossip, Overly Critical, Is Condescending Even Without Meaning To, Goes into Massive Shopping Sprees When Stressed, Can’t Apologize Well, Thinks She’s The Smartest Person in the Room at All Times

APPEARANCE 

Height: 5’6 without heels; 5’9 as Inari; height fluctuates depending on footwear

Skin Tone: Fair 

Eye Color: Black; Fully Golden-Yellow and Slit-pupiled as Inari

Hair Description: Plum-Black; Worn in a sleek short bob

Ethnicity: Japanese 

Nationality: Japanese-American

Species: Human Merged with Yokai Life Source

Style: If it’s designer brand, she probably has it somewhere in her ridiculously large walk-in closet, but she is fond of business casual. 

RELATIONSHIPS 

Father: Ryuu Ara 

Mother: Cho Miyamotou [deceased] 

Siblings: Shizuka “Oni” Amachi [surrogate]

Best Friends: Artemis “Tigress” Crock, Tatsuo “Irezumi” Sumioka [@Triskata], Zatanna Zatara, Charlie “Scribe”" Jenson

Friends: Will “Red Arrow” Harper, Raquel “Rocket” Irving, Conner “Superboy” Kent, M’gann “Miss Martian” M’orzz, Apollo “Kage” Ito [anakluxmos], Soichiro “Ichi” Abe, Saito Koimaru, Roy “Arsenal” Harper, Munch “Yellow Jacket” Martinez, Lark “Music Meister” Harris 

Love Interests: Wally “Kid Flash I/Flash III” West [ev.]; Tatsuo “Irezumi” Sumioka [one-sided; briefly F.W.B], Saito Koimaru [one-sided; his part], various one-nighters and non-romantic agreements

Rivals: Noh, Felix Faust, Abracadabra, Lark “Music Meister” Harris 

Enemies: The Miyamotou Clan, Masaru Miyamotou, The Light 

Mentors: Masako Abe, Charlie “Scribe” Jenson 

HERO ID 

Code Name: Inari

Place of Origin: Hokkaido, Japan 

Residence: New York, New York 

Affiliations: Sapporo Inari Shrine, The Team 

Year of Joining Team: 2011-2013, 2016+

POWERS AND ABILITIES

ABILITIES AND WEAKNESSES 

Powers and Abilities: 

Physiology: Lei doesn’t possess a human soul, but of that of her namesake, a kitsune. Her “soul” is in fact a Hoshi no Tama, usually referred to as her ‘Soul Bead.’ It is a fist-sized pearl that resides within her body. This is the source of her magic as well as her heightened physical attributes. 

• Enhanced Senses: Lei demonstrates fox-like senses. She sees just as well at night as she does during the day, hears better than a normal human, and has a better sense of smell. This doubles in the supernatural side as well, she can see, hear, and smell beyond the mortal plane. 
  • Note: The most common demonstration of this is her Kitsune no Me, her ‘fox eyes’, which she uses to see into an individual’s soul. She often uses this ability to keep track of who is around her even in unseen areas as well as gain information on the person, down to even vague emotions. 

• Enhanced Physiology: Lei exhibits above-average speed, strength, endurance and rarely if ever comes down with diseases, viruses and the like. 
  • Fox Transformation: The kitsune merged with her allows Lei to take the form of a 6 tailed fox in battle. She can also simply tap into this power without physically shifting, which grants her a physical boost in brute strength and speed. 

Onmyodo: A traditional Japanese occultism

• Illusion Magic: Lei’s strongest suit is her hold over illusion spells. Using a variety of paper charms, mirrors, physical cues, written and verbal spells, she's able to create confusion over her opponent. These illusions range from visual to audial, making it difficult to rely on one's own senses if not prepared. Her illusions are often grandiose, jarringly colorful, with nods to the overall aesthetic influence of traditional Japanese art forms. In turn makes her relatively immune to similar tactics.  
• Barriers: Can alternately use barriers as a sort of defense or a barring mechanism. Barriers set up by paper charms are stronger and more durable than barriers set by simple verbal spells, however combining both techniques grants the best results. 
• Shikigami: Spirit servants summoned for various purposes, usually given presence by cut paper manikins. Inari’s most commonly seen shikigami is unsurprisingly of a kitsune, affectionately named Jiji, who can be anywhere from the size of a small kitten to rivaling Wolf’s. 

Kitsunebi: A mystic fire she can conjure in the form of pillars and spheres. Notably different to “mortal” flame, as it burns exclusively supernatural/otherworldly beings, but brings the sensation of weakness and cold to the human body. By extension, she is immune to flame abilities. 

Weapons and Inventory: 

• Hoki Naiden: Inari’s prized spellbook formerly belonging to the legendary onmyoji Abe no Seimei; while her inventory is extensive, Nari sees this tome as her greatest weapon

• Ofuda: These paper charms can be used as delayed “bombs” affected by sticking them into walls, either simply timed or activated by touch. They also serve for warding spells. 

• Gohei: A short wand with a decorative paper trail, the length of the trail stretches during use. Lei uses it as a sort of weaponized gymnast ribbon, or a whip. Most effective against intangible objects or enemies. 

• Mirrors: Inari holds a small, two-faced mirror and a larger single faced mirror. The smaller mirror serves to see through glamour illusions; although, more often than not, she uses it to admire a makeup job well done. The larger mirror she uses in battle, to trap and summon spirits as she so chooses. 

• Tanto: A mystic blade gifted to her by one of her closest companions, Irezumi, this tanto is able to inflict damage directly onto a person’s spirit. 

• Opium Pipe: Inari has a specialized opium pipe she uses for a specific transportation spell. The pipe’s smoke overwhelms opponents and whisks them to an otherworldly dark forest where Inari holds dominion of both the realm itself and the spirits lurking within. Where this forest is actually found is unknown even to Inari, outside it being somewhere in Japan. It’s a strong spell and admittedly Inari still has some kinks to work out, she’s gotten stuck there herself more often than she likes to share 

• Sake Flask: Sake, a rice-based alcohol, serves as a power up for her kitsunebi. Too much of it, however, will eventually impair her due to inebriation. While the gourd is small, it holds much more than it possibly should. 

• Purification Salt: Ghosts in particular are vulnerable to salt, circles of it makes areas inaccessible to them. 

• Calligraphy Set: A horse-hair brush, inkwell and a small stash of paper for written spells 

Weaknesses 

Water and Aquatic Environments: As a fire kitsune, Inari’s main and biggest weakness is water. Being around areas with large amounts of water dampens the potency of her magic, being doused in it cuts off completely until she dries off. While her parasol helps repel rain and small splashes, it can only do so much. The water effect includes any type, Lei incapacitated by things such as baths and showers as well until she properly dries herself off. 

Stats

Strength: 8/10

Speed: 8/10

Agility: 7/10

Intelligence: 8/10

MISC.

Quotes: 

• “My, my...what do we have here..?”
• “Oh, don’t feel too bad, it was a good effort! Not good enough-- but a good one, nevertheless.”
• “Tell you what, we’ll flip for it. Tails, you lose. Heads, I win? Yes?”

Art Gallery: dA Folder

Playlists: 

Kitsune | Inari

Kitsune | Inari (Instrumental)

Food: Steak; Medium-Rare 

Drink: Assorted Iced Teas; Coffee 

Color: Red, Black, Gold, White 

Animal: Fox 

Element: Fire 

Flower: Gladiolus 

Gem: Ruby

Notes: 

• Inari’s mask will “come alive,” opening its eyes and mouth, spewing fire and laces her voice with something deeper and not quite human. It also has a more realistic form, where it makes Inari appear as if she truly is a fox-faced woman. Taking the mask off without her permission triggers an illusion rendering her face completely featureless, a nod to the noppera-bō spirits.

• Leiko uses a glamour charm to hide her burn scars as they are unfortunately quite extensive and casting her own illusion would take too much energy for everyday life. She only takes it off around people she’s extremely close to. 

• Lei eats considerably more than people think she does, notably indulging in red meats. 

• Ever since Lei merged with her Fox, her cynophobia seemingly evaporated. Large, aggressive dogs still make her vaguely uncomfortable, but she doesn’t fly into a blind panic anymore. 

• Leiko’s mother, Cho, had been a popular 80’s pop singer. Leiko will listen to her records and since then has formed a love for Japan’s 80’s city pop genre, which she finds lends well with her own strong vocals.

• While she’s no longer under her former mentor Scribe's guidance, Lei still handles much of his business concerning both his civilian shop, Jenson’s Comics and his mystical bookstore, the Spiral. She dislikes being called the shops’ manager, even though that’s practically what she is.

• When Tatsuo eventually joins the Team as Irezumi and reaches out to his half-brother, Apollo “Kage” Ito, the three band together in a strange trio. They take on the personal mission of recovering paintings done by Tat’s ancestors and find their lives have been oddly intertwined much farther back than they realized.

• Noh, Masaru’s shapeshifting head assassin and a constant thorn in Inari’s side, has followed her to America. Inari’s absence in Japan had left him a little bored.

• As she had done with both Artemis and Tatsuo when their deaths had seemed certain, Lei had tried reaching out for Wally through the beyond. Tried…and failed. She’s told no one out of fear of misguiding ideas and has yet to figure out what this could possibly mean, but as much as she tries to fight it, deep down she latches on to the hope that he’s out there somewhere. And he’s coming home.