Izumi

Name: Izumi Murakami

Age: 400 years old, appears to be 25

Gender: Male

Species: Wolf Yokai

Height: 6' 1"

Occupation: Front Desk Manager of Kachō 

Personality: Izumi is Takenari's right-hand man and best friend. While he is very good at maintaining a professional facade and putting on a polite smile for the sake of customers, he is actually quite lazy. He’s snarky, quick tempered, and a bit of an asshole. Izumi’s also incredibly vain and often focuses more on his appearance than his duties, which he likes to pawn off on Momo. He's been in love with Takenari since they were children, and because of Takenari's relationship with Momo, Izumi resents her and tends to push extra work on her every chance he gets. Izumi will occasionally dress as his womanly persona, "Koizumi", or waltz around in short/revealing kimonos so as to gain the attention of Takenari, but this often gets him into trouble with the male guests and leads to a harsh scolding from Yujiro. 

Likes: Takenari, his looks, cosmetics, fashion, gossip, sake, cross-dressing, yakitori, gyudon 

Dislikes: Momo, dirt, filth

Relationships:

• Koharu - His younger twin sister. He wishes she was a little more feminine, but he dotes on her nonetheless.
• Takenari -  His best friend and first love. He loves this man to pieces and would do anything for him, despite the fact that his feelings will never be returned.
• Momo - His rival in love and a pain in his ass. He resents her and tries to keep her as busy with work as possible.
• Yujiro - He envies his beauty, but they have been friends almost as long as they've known Takenari.
• Yuki - His best gal pal. They love to share sake together and gossip in their free time, especially about Momo.
• Ayami - He absolutely adores her and thinks she's the cutest thing; he fully supports her relationship with his sister.
• Mamoru - He thinks he’s stoic and boring but can’t deny that he’s an incredible cook.
  

Background: Izumi and his younger twin sister Koharu had a very harsh upbringing as children, as their father was a Daimyo, a high ranking noble of the military forces and leader among the Murakami clan/village. When it became clear from a young age that his son was homosexual, their father stripped Izumi of his title as heir to their clan and treated him like an outsider behind closed doors. Embarrassed and disgraced but determined to save face, their father forced his children to take on each other's identities. Koharu was deemed the new heir and forced to dress, act, and train like a man, while Izumi was dressed and trained to act like a proper woman under the name "Koizumi". Izumi was also regularly beaten by his father, and he became frequently bullied by other boys his age who knew the truth about his identity. At times like these, Koharu never failed to come running to his defense, taking on the bullies herself, and finally threatening their father to expose the entire charade if he laid another hand on her brother, which brought the beatings to an abrupt halt.

It was shortly after the kick start of this charade that the siblings met Takenari Ida while staying at his family's inn, Kachō. The three became fast friends, and Izumi's first love blossomed. Their parents were all good friends, and Izumi's family became frequent customers, which gave him more opportunities to spend time with Takenari. It was during one of their visits that Izumi slipped up and revealed his and Koharu's true identities to Takenari, but to their surprise, he had already figured it out. The siblings, feeling as though a large weight had been lifted from their shoulders, confided in their friend, and they told him of the farce they were being forced to live and how they longed for the freedom to be themselves. Takenari took their story to heart and assured them both that should they ever find themselves in need, the doors of Kachō would always be open to them.

After his sister declared her true identity and sexuality to the entire clan, hanging their father's schemes for all to see, Izumi and Koharu were both disowned by their family and kicked out of their village. While it severed any friendship or future business with the Murakami clan, Takenari and his father adored the siblings for who they were and gave them a place to call home. The two have been working happily for the Ida family at Kachō ever since.