P A R T I : you.

Name: Filigree Ingrid.

Website: http://www.lotus-eater.org/

E-Mail: filigree.ingrid @ gmail . com

P A R T II : civilian information.

Civilian Name: Ishida Beniha.

Name Meaning: "Crimson leaves in the rocky rice field."

• Ishida, rocky rice field."husband, man"
• Beniha, crimson leaf.

"Beniha" was chosen in reference to her usual profession as a herbalist. And, more importantly, it's pretty. The surname of "Ishida" is less obvious. Amethyst, as a stone, is considered a protector against drunkenness. And what is most Japanese liquor made from? Rice, of course.

Gender: Female.

Age: 25 years old.

Birthday: 19 February.

Astrology Sign: Sun in Pisces, moon in Libra, Scorpio ascendant.

Blood Type: Rh negative AB.

Likes:
Anatomy Textbooks -- She likes the pretty pictures. The human body is never as neat and tidy as the textbook might lead you to believe. But still, Ame finds herself wishing she could see a real life example of a textbook perfect body. Her favorite kinds of books are actually in black and white, with the intaglio-style printing. She also likes refreshing her memory as to the names of all the muscles, bones, ligaments, etc., not that her memory ever really fails. Ame has a particular fondness for Latin. All the words are predictable and tidy, albeit very long sometimes. But it's not as ambiguous as some languages can be, which she approves of.

Words -- It's not just Latin that Ame likes, she tends to like all words in general. The way they sound, how they can be strung together to create sentences or nonsense. She loves those "Word of the Day" calendars, even if she knows most of the words on there. Being reminded of the words is good for her vocabulary, or so she believes. Not that she does a whole lot of talking, she tends to sing to herself more than speak. Her songs can be real ones, or ones she makes up as she goes along. Either way, they annoy even the most patient of souls. Ame also writes poetry. It is meant to be read aloud, but she'd been kicked out of local poetry readings for grossing people out. This is because Ame mostly uses her vocabulary to find new ways to describe gruesome scenery. Not exactly the most popular of subjects.

Sento -- Ame loves company, anytime, anywhere. This includes during bath time. Thus, Ame never uses the bath in her apartment, preferring instead to go to the local sento, or public bath. She is happy to wash someone else's back, if they will wash hers. This is also the only time that Ame is remotely chatty, as bath houses lend well to discussion of health. Ame knows about health and medicine, and will lend advice whenever possible. She takes advice as well, particularly on shampoo and lotions. She doesn't particularly care about their supposed properties (unless they could damage her), as she is more interested in scent. Obviously, Ame is eerily comfortable in the nude. She's seen so many naked bodies, in various forms of well-being, it just doesn't even occur to her anymore.

Make-up Palettes in Magazines -- The kind that have the cosmetics spilled, smeared, smudged, etc. all over a white surface. She loves the textures of the different types of make-up, all the different colors and how the breaking up of the make-up changes how it reflects light. (Sparkly and shimmery lipsticks and powders are her favorites, although nailpolish is okay too.) She doesn't actually care to own make-up, or apply it on herself or anyone. Nor does she care about trends in colors. Her apartment has a fat file of pages ripped from magazines, as Ame has no patience for the rest of the content.

Misc. Likes -- Repetitive activities, glass bottles, bread and honey, brand new pens, stationary, catchy tunes.

Dislikes:
Horror Films -- She doesn't care about the content as much as they almost never get the gore right. Brains aren't gray! Blood from an artery isn't that color! She also dislikes how unrealistic the actual damage is. They never seem to get dismemberment or bullet wounds right. If she's upset enough, she will write appropriately upset letters to the production company. She disturbed that people would have such ridiculous ideas about what internal organs are like, and wonders that horror films perpetuate the misinformation.

Sleeping Alone -- It's dumb, and childish, but Ame has never enjoyed sleeping alone. Even when they were adults, she and her sister slept in the same bed. And if Chalce wasn't there, her boyfriend, Hematite, was. Having another warm body in the room is immensely calming to her. She sleeps better, and deeper. There's also the bonus of having a bed-warmer. Ame gets pretty cold at night, so she can get pretty clingy. Not that she can't sleep when she's alone. It's just not as pleasant. She usually has to find an electric blanket, or a lot of normal ones. Drinking herbal tea before bed, and playing music helps her sleep, too. Overall, it's much, much more of a hassle. She'd just rather bunk up with one of her comrades, but she suspects that is not the best of ideas. Although it may not stop her from trying in the future.

Cooking -- Ame never, ever had to cook on Nemesis. Which is why she's really, really bad at it. Not "this is barely edible but it works" bad, but "this is inedible, I wouldn't give it to a dog" bad. She has no understanding of what flavors do and don't go together, or how most cooking utensils should be used. It is understandable, since she never had to cook before. They had hired help for that. Ame also believes they won't be on Earth long enough for her to need to learn how to cook. (Which is to say, she has no desire to learn how to cook, which is why she's a terrible cook.) Which is why Ame survives off take-away and convenience store bento. Yeah, she is gaining a bit of weight because of it, but she doesn't seem to mind.

Beards -- Hematite kept trying to grow a beard and Ame didn't like it one bit. They're scratchy and hurt when she kissed him. There's also the part in that very, very few men look good in beards. And even if they do, they're still scratchy. She is glad that clean-shaven is the look to have in Tokyo. Even just stubble kind of gets to her, especially if she is being threatened by having to actually touch it. When I say "gets to her", I really mean it gets to her. She will stare at a beard if it's in her vicinity, and avoids talking to the owner. Usually her mind focuses on the "soup strainer" aspect, and just grosses her out. Which is hilarious, since she doesn't mind being up to her elbows in gore if she's working.

Misc. Dislikes -- Bright colors, horses, money, attics, hidden norms, shag carpet, sweetened condensed milk.

Hobbies:
Napping -- Mmm, sweet oblivion. Ame really enjoys a good nap, and it's all the better if someone is around. Not that she would turn down a nap alone either. Ame doesn't actually have a lot of hobbies, so her favorite form of killing time is sleeping. She also apparently needs all that sleep, since she's particularly useless if she doesn't. She isn't too picky about where she sleeps, either. On the train, at the park, at work, whenever she doesn't have something in particular to do. Fortunately, she's a light sleeper, and knows when to set her alarm. (Undisturbed, she would just sleep for another twelve hours.)

Massage Therapy -- On Nemesis, Ame had a very holistic approach to medicine. Massage therapy was and is one of her favorite treatments, since people tend to heal better and faster on the regimen. Ame is quiet good at it, too. Her big hands actually help her out, since it's easier for her to work someone over. During a massage is possibly the only time she can read someone's emotions easily, as well. If they're tense or relaxed, or if they flinch when she touches them, with the addition of her actually being alert to the person, Ame will have a solid idea of their emotional state by the time she's done with the massage. Her style involves aromatherapy and smooth, sweeping motions with her hands. She usually uses her thumbs for actual pressure. The effect is sort of like smoothing out sheets after making a bed. Naturally, she employs other methods when she has to, but her that is her signature style.

Herbalism -- Ame is amazingly good with using herbs to heal. It's like her own little sixth sense, since she seems to know instinctively what should and shouldn't be used. (Not just for properties, but Ame is very good at judging when a batch of herbs are too old or something is wrong with them.) But her specialty is finding new uses for her medicines, or discovering new combinations of herbs that help cure or heal faster. As heartless as it sounds, she is not easily distracted by her patient's suffering. She is very aware of what are symptoms for the disease, and what are side effects for the medicine, as well as how quickly the patient recovers and which problems heal first. This information files itself away neatly into her brain. So, next time she treats someone, she has first-hand knowledge to balance what she has been taught. It can be alarming to her co-workers, since they tend to go with what they were taught, not what they witness. But the results prove that Ame is not crazy, and she knows what she's doing. Ironically, she does not have a dab hand at actually raising and growing the herbs, but because her black thumb does not extend to people, no one is the worse for it.

Poetry -- Haiku, mostly. Ame is more of a writer than a reader, although she does have a few select volumes of her favorite authors. It is known that Ame writes poetry on the Black Moon, but nobody is particularly interested in reading her work. Ame writes about what she knows, and what Ame knows is medicine. And while she doesn't mind reading about evisceration in detail, most people would rather do without. (It's actually fairly well-written poetry, aside from the subject matter.) Interestingly enough, she also uses haiku as a mnemonic device, since she has trouble remembering things that aren't medicine. She is currently perfecting haiku to help her remember how to order at a restaurant politely.

Goals:
More than anything, Ame wants to live in peace. She sometimes thinks she would even forsake her life as a part Black Moon Clan, if she was promised that she would be allowed to live a life in peace and quiet. But she knows that isn't true, and betraying the Clan would make her incredibly heartsick.

Good Points:
Negotiable Morality -- Ame is no idealist. She understands that sometimes in order to get the outcome you want, you gotta get your hands a little dirty. Or a lot dirty. She knows that war with anyone and anything is nasty and ugly, and even under the most noble of causes, it will hurt people. So, Ame thinks that the damage is inevitable, and doesn't do as much as she could to try and minimize it. She figures it's pointless, and getting it over faster would be a greater boon than drawing it out trying to do the "right thing" all the time. However, she only negotiates with her morals for the Black Moon. She will only do it for her Princess and comrades, never for herself.

Drink You Under the Table -- For someone who doesn't drink a lot, Ame has a distressingly high tolerance for alcohol. What might sicken or even kill a normal person leaves Ame feeling a little woozy. (Sort of the hazard of being named Amethyst, 'cause of the whole "protection from intoxication" thing.) If it occurred to her, she could make a tidy living off bets in bars. Sadly, this is Ame, and it doesn't. The only think she'd noted is that it would be a very expensive evening if she did want to get drunk.

The Bitter Cure -- On the rarest of occasions, Amethyst knows exactly what to do to help someone with their problems. Unfortunately, it almost always involves hurting them first. Emotionally, that is. While Ame tends to keep her opinions to herself (until asked, anyhow), when a friend is in need of some cold truth, she will be the best to offer it. She will sit her friend down, and tell them exactly how it is. In these rare occasions, she's had quite a bit of insight into someone. Probably more than she'd like. All their actions, what they've said, come together in a tidy comprehensible package, not unlike how she observes symptoms and cures. She can tell them things they don't know about themselves, and why it is hurting them. Because her own emotions are slow to awaken, her words won't be skewed, so they're less likely to cause collateral damage. She also knows that when she is done, the person might hate her. But she's willing to take that risk, knowing the possibility that they can help themselves is there.

Flaws:
Captain Oblivious -- One thing people tend to notice about Amethyst is that she doesn't... notice things. She seems to be completely oblivious to the world around her. She's almost run over on a daily basis when she's in Tokyo. (She didn't see the massive truck, really!) A bank robbery could occur, and she'd walk right past it. If an earthquake happens, and all her co-workers are asking her if she felt it, she wouldn't remember it. Unless stuff was falling off shelves and tables, Ame wouldn't really notice. It's an interesting process, what goes on in her head. She'll feel the shaking, etc., but unless something happens because of it, her brain decides this information is useless and tosses it out the window. (Information relating to medicine is always important, of course.) This is an unconscious process for Ame, which sucks for her.

No Illusions -- if you shoved Veritaserum down her throat, and shot her up with sodium pentathol, Amethyst would admit that she doesn't think the Black Moon Clan can win. What's more, she would be surprised to hear herself say it. She doesn't consciously know that she has such a pessimistic view of the future. But it is a reasonable one, considering only the White Moon Kingdom has been able to defeat Chaos, and the Black Moon could not defeat the White Moon. Not exactly the best attitude when you're trying to win.

Please Don't Ignorez-vous Me -- As oblivious and prone to (accidentally) ignoring people, Ame hates being ignored herself. Her desire for acknowledgment is a far cry from being an attention whore. Ame likes to get a pat on the back when she does something right, or a slap on the wrists when she does something wrong. Something to let her know which direction to steer herself. When she isn't doing something that needs approval, she wants to be known still. If someone else is in the room with her, she wants to be talked to, even just a short exchange. One of the few reliable ways to get Ame to resent you is to ignore her, even if it's just as accidental as her ignoring of others.

Needs A Personal FFC -- Ame has trouble censoring herself, a lot of trouble. It doesn't occur to her that maybe discussion of a particular bowel-related illness is not something others want to hear in on. Of course, gory and messy conversation topics are the least of it. Ame doesn't censor her opinion, either. She doesn't shove it in people's faces, but it's unwise to ask what she really thinks of your significant other. Because she will tell you, and she won't sugar-coat it. Then she'll be surprised you're hurt. Ame doesn't really understand the concept of a white lie. Probably because she doesn't want to waste effort coming up with something other than the truth.

Never Undercover -- Ame is the worst undercover agent ever. Ever. She cannot disguise her personality much beyond omission of information. It works for her job as a school nurse, but she's in the medical profession already on the Nemesis. So she really doesn't have to change much, which is just as well. She could never cleverly elicit information from someone under false pretenses, or pretend to be someone else completely. Her poor little brain just doesn't work that way. She understands why it would be necessary, but it doesn't mean she would be good at it. She would probably end up doing some sad form of the, "So I have a friend..." schtick.

Personality:
Ame is a creepy little girl. Except she's not little, and at age twenty-five, she's not really a girl either. She's hit that woman stage, except it seems to be all physical and not really touching on the mental portions. One thing people tend to notice about Ame is that she isn't. She isn't mean, but she isn't nice either. She isn't aloof or cold, but she isn't welcoming and friendly. She isn't fitting into any generalizations other than "strange", which doesn't really do much. What Ame does have a an interesting balance of sanguine and sangfroid. As she rarely voices any doubts, and in fact, doubts rarely voice themselves in her head, she is perceived as confident, optimistic, even. But she isn't exactly cheerful. Nothing seems to ruffle her feathers. Although, it is less composure under fire, and more not really noticing the fire. All these traits are only noticeable under long surveillance, however. So people are more comfortable telling themselves she's just a "strange girl," and leaving it at that.

While most people with morbid tendencies have to carefully cultivate them, Ame's came to her naturally. Although, she never wanted to be part of the gothic subculture, either. She has always had a fascination with death, ever since she was a little girl. She would be the child staring at the dead bird on the sidewalk, if there were sidewalks and birds to be had on Nemesis. (Notably, she never caused the death, she was just interested in it. She doesn't want to hurt anything or anything, but she does want to know why it was hurt and/or dead.) Now that she's all grown up, she gets to not only look at the dead birds on Tokyo sidewalks, she can put on some latex gloves and poke and examine it. Sometimes she even puts it in a box to take home and dissect it, if she finds the specimen particularly interesting. Ame wants to know why the bird died, and what happened because of that instance. This sangfroid attitude holds true in most instances. Horrific car crash on the street? Ame doesn't scream somebody should help, she is the help. Her best friend (if she had one) could be severed in half and she manages to keep her cool. Ame is the pinnacle in professionalism, but that does not mean it is entirely a good thing.

It's really difficult to upset, anger, frustrate or annoy Ame. It's also very difficult to make her particularly happy or excited. Everything, good and bad, seems to flow past her without disturbing her. If something happens that directly effects her, she does deal with it. For example, if Pearl filled her bedroom with crickets, even if he bragged about it to her face, she would just go get a couple frogs to take care of the problem. She might even adopt them, so she has someone to talk to at home. (Her names for them are very creative, Midori-chan and Kerroko-kun.) She has the same attitude if she was given someone else's mess to clean up. There's no resentment, no complaining, just eerie acceptance and compliance. But as aforementioned, she deals with crises as easily as small annoyances. It is not really normal. She does have emotions, but they are slow to rouse. Very, very slow. In a crisis, she puts them in lock down until she has the time to deal with them. ... Which is never. This is partially because Amethyst has absolutely no idea how to deal with emotions like grief, or anything else, really. She thinks she needs a step by step guide, instead of working through it intuitively. The other part is that Ame thinks of herself as a lot busier than she really is. So she can always push things aside because she has work to do. She's a very busy woman, she obviously has no time for emotions!

Another thing that contributes to this mess is that when it comes to people, Ame is not the most perceptive when it comes to other people. Things have to be RIGHT THERE, IN HER FACE in order for it to process. (Somedays, you can even hear the 'kachunk' as her mental gears change.) She doesn't notice if someone is slightly or even moderately distressed. Or even moderately happy, for that matter. She is utterly oblivious. Someone else's mental well-being (or lack there of) is not high on her list of priorities. If a person is particularly close to her, she might make an effort. Sort of. Not really. They just get bumped up her priority list. She is often perceived as very cold because of this. She would never reach out to help a stranger on the street with anything less than a severe injury. Which is the only reason she'd notice them, anyhow. The only time she isn't completely oblivious is if someone is trying to hide an injury, and they're somehow in her care. Ame can sniff it out like a bloodhound (I'm waiting to be struck by lightning, I really am). She knows how people should move, and no matter how stoic a person is, she would notice the irregularity in their movement. And, even scarier, she would be mad. Ame does not like it when people hide wounds, it makes her feel like she's an inadequate medic somehow. She also retains some of her oblivious shield when she is caring for them. Being excessively tall is handy when you want to drag someone to the hospital and they don't want to go.

Ame has an ongoing conflict with social norms. Which is to say, she doesn't know that half of them are there, or even 80% of them are there. Social norms, of course, do not appreciate this. After all, social norms has the entire country backing it up, and Ame has herself. Like most things, this does not trouble Ame, nor intrude on her thoughts. She just floats along as she usually does. To most people, this is absolutely bewildering. Ame doesn't understand taboos, non-law enforced mores, or anything else that society tends to teach that isn't entirely, if at all, logical. One example might be not wearing outdoor shoes inside. (Which also tends to add to the belief that she is not native.) Ame doesn't get that. They're shoes, they cover your feet. She gets not wearings shoes at all indoors, but having two pairs of shoes? She doesn't understand it, so she doesn't follow the convention. Another example would be how nudity is something to be embarrassed of. As Ame sees it, everyone is nude for portions of their lives. So seeing someone for the minute-and-a-half it takes for them to get dressed is hardly anything remarkable. This attitude follows through for a great deal of her world-view. Prejudice against someone because of color, creed, lifestyle, etc. just doesn't occur to her. And because she is untroubled by social norms, she seems to be immune to shame or embarrassment, at least over more or less common occurrences, like saying something "stupid", or mistaking one person for another. Which is a shame, she looks pretty when she blushes.

Although Ame had natural inclinations towards such a unique attitude, her sphere of innovation has done some damage as well. Ame's mental picture of things is clear and not obscured by what society might think, or what the proper/normal thing to do is. She doesn't think from A to B, B to C. It's more like A straight to Z, because that's where she wants to end up. She isn't burdened by tradition or the past. Because she doesn't have all these preconceived ideas of how things should work, she can often see through all the tangles of assumption and come up with a simple solution. She doesn't think outside the box, because that would imply she knows the box is there. She has Superman's x-ray vision on all the time, and just sees through the box. She is the dictionary definition of lateral thinker. Unfortunately, she doesn't know how or when to attempt otherwise, for the sake of the sanity of those around her.

This all does not mean that Ame lacks morals. She does know that killing people is bad, that you shouldn't steal and that it definitely isn't nice to cheat on your lover. But is also willing to put these compunctions aside (probably in the same corner her emotions go, so they are not lonely), in order to get a job done. Of course, this doesn't mean any job has this privilege, just jobs for the Black Moon. If Mara told her to acquire information at any cost, Amethyst would follow her order to the level. Any cost, including herself. It is her own way of protecting the others in the Black Moon. Ame feels that she is the more experienced of the group, and that the sooner they return home, the better. And even better on that, if she can keep her comrades safe. The less they know of real warfare, the better. Ame exploits any vagaries in orders to accomplish this. She will carefully cut out any work that might "dirty hands" and keeps it to herself. A shrink might say after the loss of her sister, Ame is trying to self-destruct. Ame certainly hasn't thought things over in that mindset.

Mara is the only living person who has any idea that Ame is more than she appears to be. When Ame spoke to Mara about going to Earth, it was one of the few occasions she really has pulled all her thoughts, feelings and ideas together from their separate corners and made they play nicely. Even her ex-boyfriend tended to believe that she was just good at healing, and not much else. Well, besides being pretty decent at the mattress mambo. Chalcedony was the only person who had any idea that Ame was not as oblivious and forgetful as assumed, but Chalce is very dead. It is important to note that Ame doesn't try to keep up a false appearance of anything. She doesn't try to be duplicitous, she just doesn't fit into the nice little categories people set up in their heads in order to understand others better.

Appearance:
Face -- As cliché as it is, Amethyst looks like she just stepped out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. She's fair-skinned, with delicate facial features. Her face is diamond-shaped, having defined cheek-bones, a pointed chin and a clean jawline. She has a narrow and straight nose and small mouth with pale pink lips. Her eyes have heavy lids and thick eyelashes. Unfortunately, the actual color of her eyes is a little too light for most people's comfort. Ame's irises are pale lavender, with hints of near white and silver in the stroma. Her eyebrows are softly arched and high over her eyes. Her expression is usually one of faint amusement, mixed with distraction and absence of thought.

Hair -- Ame has enough hair to be noticed, although she doesn't have the yards of hair some (hi Esmeraude) have. Dark pink in color, her hair is wispy and wavy, reaching about the small of her back when loose. In theory it could be longer, but her hair is fragile and tends to break off after a while. But Ame doesn't like having loose hair, and usually braids it, or coils it up in a lover's haste knot at the nape of her neck. (Sadly, she has no idea it's called a lover's haste knot. Ame thinks of it as, "Not getting hair in my patient's wounds knot".) On the Black Moon, she usually has strings of beads in her hair, matching whatever she is wearing. Her hair isn't densely beaded, just enough to have an artistic touch.

Build -- The similarity to pre-Raphaelite paintings end with her face, as she is neither delicate nor waifish. Ame has the kind of figure Japanese men dream of (if you used anime as any sort of reference). She is curvy, and very, very top-heavy. The problem is, she is also very tall. Not tall by Japanese standards tall, but tall by American or even Dutch standards. At 180 centimeters (5'11"), Ame towers over most of Japan. Thus a great deal of her appeal goes straight out the window, since most men prefer women who are shorter than they are and all. (Although, because of the height and chestiness, she's sometime mistaken for a transvestite. Having big hands doesn't help matters either. Ame finds it amusing, considering Pearl's inclinations.) She isn't particularly muscular, she runs around a heals people, after all. So she definitely has some cushion. Her arms and legs are less defined, and she would probably a lot look better with a bit more muscle in her calves (as well as wider hips to balance her bosom). But that is why she prefers ankle- and floor-length dresses. She isn't a complete fool, just a partial one.

Voice -- As she has a soft, breathy and lilting voice, some (which is to say, many) people have trouble believing that Ame is 25 years old. She sounds more like a soft-spoken but precocious child, rather than a respected healer and noblewoman. Ame's speaking style can be confusing, as she tends to mirror the formality used by whomever she's speaking with. If someone calls her Amethyst-sama? She uses "-sama" in return. It lends to her distracted air, as if she's not really paying attention to the conversation. As for her singing voice, she's a high soprano, although she only sings to herself as opposed to at karaoke or some form of choir. She's not entirely tone deaf, she just tends to wander off-key when holding notes. But she does sing to herself a lot. A lot. As in, basically whenever she isn't talking to someone else. The more focuses she seems on her singing, the harder she is thinking.

Clothing -- On the Black Moon, Ame has two wardrobes. One for work, and one for play. As a healer, her clothes can get more than a little messy. So she keeps things plain, with a simple cambric shirts and trousers in browns and beiges, with a special wrap that she wears over her clothes designating her as a healer. It's not unlike a doctor's coat, although hers have a few more blood stains. As for play, she wears elegant although austere clothing in the appropriate shade of purple. Her skirts are usually floor-length, with a bodice in a different shade. Jewelry tends to be around her neck, as opposed to her wrists and hands. She doesn't wear the black crystal earrings distinctive to the Black Moon, as they hamper her healing gifts.

History:
Amethyst was born to Sir Jasper and Lady Quartz, although her story, in a way, started slightly earlier. Quartz was of the commoner class, and Jasper was not. Despite being an accomplished healer, Jasper's family didn't approve of the match. Their marriage caused the usual kerfuffle in the court that inter-class marriage does, and provided the lovely mindset that Ame was raised under. Jasper was not disowned right out, but the threat remained until his parents' death. Just in case Jasper had the gall to produce poor quality children as well. This was not the case, fortunately.

Quartz raised Ame with an eye at class distinction, and eventually any kind of prejudice. But instead of constantly telling her child not to dislike people for silly reasons, Quartz, and Jasper, simply did their best not to display any prejudice themselves. This was enough to solidify Ame's strong inclinations towards ignorance of social norms. Her tendency barely notice anything other kids did troubled her parents, but Ame seemed intelligent enough, despite her fascination with the dead. It was not an idle fascination, Ame always wanted to know why and how. (It helped that no one's pets turned up mysteriously dead.) Her parents hoped that this meant she would be a healer, like her mother. After all, knowing how something died is key to knowing how to fix it before they die next time.

When Ame was six, it was announced that she would have a new sibling. Ame took Chalcedony's arrival in stride, and once Chalce was old enough, Ame even helped care for her. In time, she even took it upon herself to be Chalce's protector, in her own strange way. Not that Chalce was ever bullied, but Ame would take note of any of her friends or boyfriends, in case they weren't sincere.

During the onset of puberty, Ame began to show the tell-tale signs of a healer, much to her parents' relief. Her mother took up the job of training her. The gifts of a healer are rare on Nemesis, and Quartz wanted to make sure that Ame's skills were developed to their utmost potential. Ame was tutored daily, and showed quick progress. Her bedside manner was lacking a bit, as Ame was not the best at reassuring conversation. But many patients found her straight-forward manner and blunt honesty a bit of a refreshing change. (The others just found it distressing or creepy, but you win some, you lose some.) They knew that Ame would tell them the truth, without sugar-coating matters. This still didn't keep Quartz from redirecting Ame anytime she headed towards a terminal patient.

Quartz began to grow round again when Ame hit her mid-teens, but perhaps the years of exerting herself in healing did untold damage. The little boy was stillborn, and posthumously named Spinel. After that, Ame's parents decided they did not want to try for any more children. And although Ame didn't know it, it contributed to Quartz's early retirement. The day after Ame's twentieth birthday, Quartz announced that Ame would replace her as Chief Healer. This was expected, although not so soon, providing much material for the rumor mill. But Ame had shown talent beyond reckoning, and considered the best for the job. Chalce never developed the healing skills Ame did, but she had talents elsewhere. She proved skilled in law, possessing the ability to see through out-dated laws and ways to mend without destroying the system.

Despite her busy days as a healer, Ame found herself growing closer to one of her childhood friends, Hematite. The match was considered suitable, for Hematite was of the same social class, and therefore encouraged. Despite the lack of engagement ring involved, they became lovers. (The naughty kids.) The passion was not a lengthy one, however. After only a year and a half, things became routine. Ame even suspected that Hematite was in love with someone else, for he seemed distant whenever they embraced. However, neither had the guts to break it off.

The decision made by Demando and Sapphire barely affected Ame, since she dealt with the casualties of war, not the cause of it. The year passed as any other for her. (Which is to say, in an over-all boring fashion.)

When Princess Topaz gathered the court and told them of what happened to Demando and his allies, Ame did not feel the soul-rocking shock and horror that many others, including her sister, felt. Chalce took the news hard; she locked herself away in her room, and did not open it for anyone. For days, she barely ate or slept. Ame could hear her weeping in the dead of night. She could only guess that Chalcedony had loved one of Demando's associates, but she couldn't guess who. But she possessed an emotional maturity Chalce did not, and believed that her sister would recover, in time. But one day, Chalce didn't accept the food and water placed by her door. She had been unusually quiet that night as well. Fear struck Ame's heart, and she forced the door open. Chalce had committed suicide, opening her wrists with a shard of broken mirror. A note was left for Ame and her parents, explaining how dearly Chalce had loved Rubeus.

The household was thrown into tumult. Ame's parents, deeply grieving, could not believe that their daughter had been so foolish, to throw her life away for a man she barely knew. Ame herself wondered how she had grown so far apart from her sister, to not realize that Chalce would kill herself in sorrow. Still, Ame found herself unable to weep. She was too confused, she almost hated her sister for making such a ill-considered choice. She could not understand such grief, to want to die because of it. She also hated herself, for not protecting her sister from herself.

Her family's grief grew stifling, for they knew what they felt and she did not. After some consideration, Ame decided that she wanted to join the newly renamed Topaz, the Princess Mara, on her mission to find and destroy Chaos. Sometimes she knew exactly why, that it was her duty to the kingdom and her family. Other times, she was not so sure. But she approached Mara in a time she was sure, and explained her sister's death and how Ame believed her skills as a healer could be vital to the mission. Anyone who knew Ame would have been surprised at how long she spoke, that her voice sometimes trembled with strange emotion. Mara accepted Ame's request, and she was permitted to join the group traveling back in time.

Ame kept her good-byes short, wishing not to add to her parents' grief. Including a tearful farewell, she left them letters as well. She knew that her words may fade in memory. Not knowing when or if she would return, she decided to break up with Hematite as well. In a way, she had been waiting for a reason to do so, she had known he was not in love with her for a long time. She just wished he would be the one to admit it. She also handed in her resignation as Chief Healer, although it was hardly necessary. In short, she cut off as many ties as possible, almost making it as if she never existed. In a way, it was an adult form of running away from home, although no one noticed this.

The day she left for the past, she never looked back.

Current Situation --
Ame is currently living almost exclusively on Earth. She says that returning to the Black Moon for any reasons that are less than vital are a waste of resources. Well, when pushed for an answer she does. Usually she says something like, "I don't want to." She pretends to be a school nurse, as it did not escape her notice what the sailor senshi's uniforms look like. It's a public school, so sometimes, she's called to other public schools to help deal with any major health problems, giving her more chances to snoop around. Although she has never said as much, she has inclinations to believe that the senshi possess important information on destroying Chaos.

She lives in a small, one-bedroom apartment in the same area as Hiyori's. It's very tidy and bare, aside from an inundation of books. She favors white furniture and bedding, mostly because it makes it easier for her to find things. (Unless it's papers or other white things, but nothing's perfect.)

P A R T III : warrior information.

Symbol: The symbol of Earth, which is a circle with an equilateral cross splitting it into quarters.

Main Color: Scarlet Red (#8c1717).      

Secondary Color: Metallic Gold (#d4af37).      

Transformation Sequence:
Kazuo takes a green rosebud from his shirt pocket and with his left hand, brings it close to the right side of his face. He closes his eyes, and then the sprig suddenly blossoms into a brilliant red rose. The petals fly from the rose-head and sweep around him, and his whole body is awash in black and red color briefly. The petals make a second sweep around him, then scatter to the winds when he's revealed to be in full fuku with his cane in-hand. The whole thing takes just a few seconds.

Introduction Phrase:
Tuxedo Kamen does his best to avoid being seen or heard by the enemy - cue him sneaking around in the shadows and jumping around on roofs. In spite of his best efforts to hide, he tends to be called out rather quickly, and so people tend to do his introduction for him ("Oh! It's TUXEDO KAMEN-SAMA!!") But once he is seen, he will stop what he's doing and strike a pose -with his feet together and his chest thrust out, Tuxedo Kamen throws open the left side of his cape, causing a random flurry of rose petals to sweep past. He doesn't introduce himself, but he does taunt the opponent by pointing at them with his cane and calling out the first phrase that comes to his mind. So if he's at a candy store, he'll say "Four out of five dentists agree; you are a rotten influence on this town! I will see that you are brushed out!" and holds his stance for a few seconds.

Then, after the phrase sinks in, Tuxedo Kamen ends up face-palming himself, if that counts as part of the pose.

Fuku
Hat -- Black with a scarlet ribbon.
Coat -- Long black tuxedo jacket with sharp silk lapels. There are no buttons on the jacket, so it is always left open. The lapels and two pockets at his waist are edged in scarlet. He also has a breast pocket on his left side, and the inside of the coat is lined with scarlet silk.
Shirt -- White wing-collared tuxedo shirt. A stripe of scarlet silk runs down the centerline, and silk-covered scarlet buttons keep the shirt fixed together.
Vest -- White vest with scarlet buttons down the side, just like the shirt. His vest also has finely embroidered scarlet roses and vines - the vines seem to climb from the center of the vest and curl out into roses..
Bow Tie-- Metallic gold tie.
Medallion -- Scarlet crystal starburst medallion, secured by a golden ribbon.
Gloves -- White leather gloves (since throwing roses with any other fabric would sort of suck). The edging and the button at his wrist are both in scarlet.
Pants -- Black double-pleated tuxedo pants.
Cape -- He has a great floor-length silk cape fixed to golden epaulets at his shoulders, and it has scarlet lining on the inside and black on the outside. The cape is somehow connected to his roses - without the cape, he cannot summon the roses he needs for his attacks (or the fluttering rose petals he needs when he poses sexily).
Shoes -- Black patent leather Oxford shoes that look normal, though the bottoms of the shoes have scarlet treading on it, making Tuxedo Kamen even more sure-footed.
Accessories -- It's slightly difficult to be a Tuxedo Kamen if you lack a mask. He has a long black mask in a sharp angular shape, like two symmetrical elongated triangles that meet over the bridge of his nose. The eye holes are covered in a dark semi-opaque film that obscure his eyes in most light.

Additionally, he has gold rose-embossed cuff-links at the sleeves of his shirt, and wears a pair of red suspenders. In his breastpocket is a golden handkerchief with a scarlet embroidered rose in one corner. Tuxedo Kamen has a scarlet red cummerbund over his waist as well.

Attacks

Name -- Rose-Colored Reverie

Effect -- Pointing the capped end of his cane at his opponents, Tuxedo Kamen starts by whispering "Lost in the daydream of romance..." Then he starts to make great circles in front of him with the point of his cane, as if he's hypnotizing his opponent. After five seconds, a rosey-pink colored circular pulse starts radiating forward from the circle, complete with a spiral of rose-petals, and the pulse overall appears rather soothing in color and very sweet in smell. This pulse is a lure, meant to attract people within range of his attack. After another five seconds, he calls out "Rose-Colored Reverie!" and then a red flash, like from a high-powered camera, bursts forth, temporarily startling any people who have any part of their body in the circular pulse area.

Other than the flash, there is no physical element to this attack. Instead, people caught in the flash will start exhibiting the traits of a person really really lost in the throes of romance (regardless of whether or not they are currently in love), so much that it becomes a detriment to them in battle. Of course, how they exhibit this depends on how the individual would react to being in an incredibly intense crush. Some victims may start to show off excessively, so much that they put themselves in unnecessary danger just to impress others. Some may exhibit codependency and cling to the arms of their allies. Some may get carried away in their daydreams or narcassism. Some may even start to see their allies as 'rivals', and either act haughty or wallow in a pool of self-loathing. Regardless of the victim's individual reaction, they will probably be distracted enough by their own behavior that they can't think straight in battle.

Restrictions -- This attack does take a relatively long time to activate, so Tuxedo Kamen might get attacked while in mid-charge (for this reason, he tries to keep this attack long-range). While the attack can hit targets at a long distance (up to thirty feet), it has a narrow effect range, so only three people maximum might get caught in the light. Dodging the attack is also very easy (keep your body out of the circular pulse). Also, because Tuxedo Kamen doesn't have great magical stamina, he can use this attack only once per henshin.

Name -- Desperate Rose Requital

Effect -- Tuxedo Kamen makes a rose appear from his cape, but instead of throwing the rose, he takes a second to wave it under his nose for a sniff. Quite suddenly, he snaps off the head of the rose, holds it in a fist over his head and yells "Desperate Bloom Requital!". He then throws the now semi-crystallized rose-head like a baseball at his opponent. It shatters apart on contact with the target or any other surface, then explodes outwards in a great burst of rose petals. Nearby targets are overwhelmed by the petals and by a very dense smell of rose, so much that it forms a red fog. If the target takes a breath of the rose-scent, and then they will suddenly be struck with the most potent memories of romance that they possess.

Which sounds nice, except that the thoughts will make the target deeply crave to be with the person they romantically loved the most in their lifetime. The overbearing urge to see this loved one feels like a hand literately squeezing the target's heart, and the pain will only be relieved when they can hold the hand of their loved one, or say "I love you" to them. In the cases where a target can't touch or speak to their loved one, the pressure on their heart will not fade until the smell of rose disappears. The target's loved one does not necessarily have to be requiting the target's feelings, and so unfortunate targets may end up prematurely confessing love to their crushes just to make the urge and pain go away. It could also bring repressed romantic feelings to the surface, which could be very distressing for people not wanting to confront their feelings. Confessing insincere love will not cause the attack's effects to fade. Only three rose-heads can be summoned per battle, and Tuxedo Kamen is likely to use them in quick succession to cause the most fog and confusion.

Restrictions -- This attack affects all people who can smell the roses, including Tuxedo Kamen and his allies, so he should try calling out a warning beforehand. Targets who cannot smell for any reason will not be affected by the attack's psychological element, and in open-air or blustery environments, the fog and the smell of the roses will diffuse a lot faster. Likewise, targets who genuinely never romantically fancied anybody in their life won't be affected by the psychological element either (though this is rare - who hasn't had at least one awkward middle school crush?). Desperate Bloom is best when used as an exit attack to help Tuxedo Kamen and his allies escape a battle.

Name -- The Rose Whisperer
(This is not a formal attack, but a henshin-only special ability.)

Effect -- Ever since his past life, roses and Endymion have had a mysterious, but very close connection that not even the prince ever fully understood. Roses recognize him as 'kin' - specifically, they see Endymion as a dim, wayward brother who's always throwing himself into deadly trouble (...which would be correct), so they go out of their way to protect and aid him when they can. Some small favors they might do is sway in the direction of an enemy, or perhaps a vital clue Tuxedo Kamen was looking for conveniently happens to be on top of a nearby rose. Maybe a rose vine 'accidentally' trips an enemy chasing him past a garden, or ensnares the ankles of enemies who actually dare tread in those gardens. They can do some big favors too - if Tuxedo Kamen is falling off a building, a pot of roses sitting on somebody's balcony will grow rapidly, then lash out to grab his hand. If not that, then roses in a small garden at the base of the building will burst forth and create a cushion for his safe landing.

Basically, this power is a delightful deus ex machina, brought to you by botany. The perpetual rose-scent that Kazuo and Tuxedo Kamen generate are explained by this power, since that is how the roses recognize him.

Restrictions -- First off, while Kazuo does have an affinity for roses in civilian mode, the roses only go out of their way to help him if he's in his powered-up mode. In addition to that, Tuxedo Kamen has no ability at all to command the roses. He could yell at a rose bush for an hour, commanding it to turn into a ladder, but it will never listen to him. Likewise, if the roses think grabbing his foot while he's falling midair is more helpful than grabbing his hand, he can't tell them otherwise. Also, the roses do demand his delicious energy in return for their services. Small favors require so little energy that Tuxedo Kamen barely notices it, but massive favors such as creating a rose-cushion for a fall will bring him to the point of passing out.

Also, realistically, it's rather unlikely that Tuxedo Kamen will happen to be near a rose bush every time he is in great peril. He can stack the odds more in his favor by luring enemies near floral shops or parks, but otherwise he's out of luck. Only roses that are still rooted to soil are able to help him, so his weapon-roses cannot be used in these capacities.

Weapons:
Tuxedo Cane -- His weapon is a black wooden cane, only a foot long in its base state but extendable to fifteen feet. The cane has a golden cap at the top end that is shaped like a rose-head halfway through bloom. While it is an extremely durable, tough, and reliable weapon, Tuxedo Kamen definitely could use some training with the other sword-wielding Senshi. He does innately remember some sword training he had as a Prince (particularly defensive maneuvers), yet he tends towards simplicity and mostly uses the cane to gracelessly clobber the tar out of his opponent.

Roses -- From the mystery-space that is his cape, Tuxedo Kamen can produce roses that can be used as projectile weapons in battle. And these mo-fos are FREAKING HUGE. They are Mister Lincoln variety roses that are three-feet long each, with fist-sized red roseheads. The ends are each cut diagonally to a point, and the thorns are intact and ready for some scratchin'. His roses don't have any fancy abilities such as defusing magic, but they are good at stabbing things from a far distance, which is good enough for him. Tuxedo Kamen limits his use of roses to mostly long-range combat, since in close-combat he finds using the cane much more effective (and more threatening...he's still not quite sure why people always seem amused, rather than frightened, whenever he uses his roses as weapons).