Mizuko Hoshiko

"Hey Manami, I know we're not on the best terms and anything, but I'd just like to say thank you for having me as your sister. Being in a family...is truly one of the greatest experiences I'll ever have. Even if my own family returns, I will always be grateful."

- Mizuko to Manami Yume

Mizuko Hoshiko (星子 水濃 Hoshiko Mizuko; Lit. Star Child, Dark Water) otherwise regarded as Mizuko Takara (宝 水濃 Treasure, Dark Water) or even more rarely by some as Mizuko Magatta (曲がった 水濃 Warped, Dark Water) is the daughter of former Kenmeiotome leader Yuu Hoshiko and Grandmaster Guardian Inbouka Magatta. Though the time of her conception isn't known, it was apparently just prior to the comatose state in which her mother is currently in. As a result, she was adopted by Kiyoko Takara, and subsequently Kei Yume into the Yume Clan, and exists as their official, adopted daughter.

Mizuko is the official "rival" to her adopted sister, Manami Yume, and is a student at the Seta Girls' Academy; her outstanding talent providing her with the position of Head Girl within the House of Lumiére, a notch beneath her rival. Though appearing initially as somewhat archaic, arrogant and dismissive around others, Mizuko is an internally conflicted woman whose heritage has labelled her with an identity some bless, and some despise. These conflicting ideologies would soon give Mizuko the resolve to pursue the position of the Leader of the Kenmeiotome, doing so with the assistance of her recently acquired Focus, Kenichi.

Prior to the Collapse, Mizuko was visiting her adoptive father Kei Yume alongside her sisters, Manami Yume and Chihaya Yume in Soul Society while their mother Kiyoko Takara stayed in Eden to oversee Kenmeiotome matters. She was at the forefront of the Collapse and manage to survive the disastrous event, albeit at the cost of Kei Yume mysteriously disappearing. Along with Manami Yume and Chihaya Yume, Mizuko met with the other survivors of Soul Society, eventually joining the reformed Gotei Remnant. Although the Yume Sisters could return to the World of the Living, Mizuko decided to stay and aid in the Gotei Remnant, which was possibly inspired by their father's sacrifice.

Appearance
Mizuko is a young woman of great beauty, as remarked by many who are acquainted with her. Because of the traits inherited by both her father and mother, she is generally considered a very beautiful individual, epitomizing the traits that her parents gave to her. Though she appears as a woman with a relatively tall, lean stature; what seems to be most notable about Mizuko's appearance is her staggeringly deep maroon hair. The majority of her hair was cut short but she kept some of her hair long, which she tied into two pairs of braids. Her braids were long and thin, reaching all the way down to her abdomen. Mizuko was known to show great displeasure to anyone who mocked her braids as well show great happiness to anyone who complimented her.

In addition, Mizuko had four blue bead accessories on her hair, two on each side. Mizuko kept on her hair because it complemented her clothing as well as being a gift from Kei and Kiyoko. As well as this, she inherited her father's rather sharp facial features, much to the chagrin of some, while possessing the feminine charm of her mother; demonstrated accurately through her thin nose, slightly angular cheekbones and deep green eyes. It should be noted that both her eyes and hair were inherited from her grandmother, perhaps indicative of enormous spiritual potential. Though regularly complimented, some of the Kenmeiotome within Tougenkyou have regarded her appearance as distasteful, thanks to her striking similarities with her father, something which has lead her to constantly seek therapy from Hime Senritsu to overcome. Strange as it seemed, Mizuko developed a case of Heterochromia. This mysterious change in eye colors occurred right after the events of The Collapse. Her normal green eyes changed to gold and sapphire respectively, an attribute she did not entirely mind. Manami and Chihaya believed that her Heterochromia was a result of her Shinigami-Hollow blood partially taking over after seeing Kei Yume disappear during The Collapse.

Due to the position she holds in the school, Mizuko is obviously quite strict in regards to what attire she wears. It appears to be reminiscent of a seemingly formal dress: consisting of a long, white top-dress with long sleeves, which were lined with a black trim. Aside from this, there doesn't appear to be any notable features of the attire, aside from a pair of stockings, dress shoes, and a Chinese medallion around her neck. To round out her common attire, was a long violet scarf that she kept on at all times for unknown reasons. Aside from this attire, she appears to dress rather casually; constantly appearing in summer outfits, she was a fan of loose-fit clothing of bright colors, particularly in the lighter reds along with certain shades of blue and white. Lower-body wise, it is quite often that Mizuko will be wearing either a short, loose skirt, or perhaps a pair of shorts or jeans, depending on the occasion; her passion for wearing such clothing has lead her to be known quite wildly as "Summer Girl" by the locale.

Personality
Mizuko is described quite succinctly as a woman who is proud of her origins. Thanks to her ancestry, Mizuko constantly portrays the demeanor of an individual above everyone else, leading her to be in conflict with most individuals she interacts with. Such an attitude is reflected quite prominently through her daily life. Foremostly, the young woman holds an air of authority and superiority around her, appearing as though she is the greatest of all the individuals in her vicinity. Likewise, this extends to her own abilities, which she is prideful in, despite full-well understanding the limitations behind them. To this extent, Manami describes her as "haughty, selfish to a fault, and an absolute pest".

Through such a personality, Mizuko's mannerisms are noted to be quite outlandish for one of her age. Despite understanding the principles of etiquette, Mizuko rarely engages in respectful conversation, preferring to use subtle insults weaved into her general manner of speaking to leave others speechless. Though in most cases, her attempts at making witty remarks revolve back at her, because of her inability to formulate such insults on the spot, making her easily flustered as a consequence of this. Notably, Mizuko also refers to select few others by their actual names, preferring to use derogatory terms such as "you", adding salt to the already salty surface of Mizuko.

However, within this personality lies a young girl who has been given contradictions her entire life. In essence, what could be said is that her entire life is a paradox and nothing else. Though proud of her heritage on the outside, she internally curses herself for being born to the very individual who warred with peace. It is a result of this very insecurity that she developed the personality she expresses outwards, as she does not wish to allow anybody to see weakness within her. Furthermore, her hate towards her true heritage goes to the extent that she didn't wish to adopt the name of both her father and mother, preferring to disband their abilities, traits and everything else in favor for a completely new identity. This was until she learned of the excellence of her mother, at which she began to take upon her last name.

Internally conflicted, Mizuko almost constantly appears solitary and depressed whenever she isn't in public; some individuals even remark that Mizuko requires professional therapy. However, Mizuko disregards such comments with apathy and disdain, believing wholeheartedly that she does not need such things from others, and that she is fully capable of stepping out of this when she is comfortable doing so. However, because of such conflict within her, Mizuko can occasionally be subject to very mild cases of, expressed primarily when her dormant Shinigami blood boils, particularly through the use of her zanpakutō. In these stages, she appears as a very aggressive individual, whose spiritual abilities are increased to the optimum level her body could sustain. Likewise, her killer intent also rose substantially, and she would easily lash out at people.

What Mizuko has always wanted from her own life is just someone to truly show her affection. Though perhaps the manner in which she desired it was unorthodox, she eventually was able to find those very few people who were able to accept her for who she was. Around these people, Mizuko was light-hearted and free of any concern. She could drown into them her deepest worries without fear, and allow them to see the positive nature that radiated from her. Among these people, Mizuko also showed a number of attributes akin to that of a -archtype, though this would obviously be due to the idea of her internal conflict constantly looming over her.

While Mizuko is a very serious person generally, she also held an unorthodox sense of humor. She found pleasure in rather unusual things, particularly the things that most boys used to enjoy, or at least, stereotypical boys did. She is an avid fan of a variety of western comics, particularly and, though she had no particular favorites from the two different brands. Likewise, she also enjoyed a variety of manga, for she believed their plot to be far richer than  and  manga and anime respectively. Furthermore, Mizuko was quite fond of cosplay and dressing up, showcasing her love for such articles of clothing by earning her own money most of the time to fund for her "projects", as her family didn't want to spend trivial funds on such activities.

Powers and Abilities
Vast Wisdom Power:

 (歩法 Agility Lit. Way of Walking):
 *  (瞬歩 Flash Steps):
 * Shūreiho (秀麗歩 Graceful Step)
 * Yūboshi (優星斗 Graceful Star): Yūboshi is a unique movement technique exclusive to hybrids of Shinigami and Kenmeiotome, thanks to the expression of both forms of movement being rather different in their usage. However, the difficulty to express both at any given time is notably high, making it highly difficult for Mizuko to use this technique as-of-now, due to her lack of experience. From what Kiyoko has taught her, the technique appears to employ the graceful steps and visual effects of the Shūreiho in conjunction with the instantaneous high-speed movements of Shunpo to create a dazzling, instantaneous step used primarily for evasion and distraction purposes.

Shinjitsu
Ryouotome (竜少女, Dragon Maiden):

Zanpakutō
Rakkangyōka (楽観教化 Optimistic Civilization) is the name of Mizuko's zanpakutō. It appears that she was granted the same  (浅打ち Shallow Hilt) that her own father used; keeping it on the behest of her adoptive mother that it would allow for a quickened channeling of her Shinigami powers, allowing her to fulfill her own goals faster. In the process, Mizuko was surprised that it actually did so. This was done through the base theory behind the Asauchi, in that they imprinted the essence of the soul of the Shinigami within the sword, allowing it to manifest and take upon a corporeal form and abilities that complemented the Shinigami. Due to the residue energy of Inbouka retaining on the blade, the zanpakutō spirit was initially reclusive and unable to bond with Mizuko, thus leaving them constantly clashing. However, after extensive practice into, with assistance from Kei Yume, her adopted father, Mizuko had been able to finally reach a stage where she could form a bond with her zanpakutō spirit, revealing its name to be an almost direct opposite to her father's zanpakutō. Prior to her obtainment of her Shikai, Rakkangyōka's base state was exactly the same as her father's, in that, when sealed, it bore an appearance of a standard katana, with a crimson hilt and guard. The guard itself displayed a unique pattern with an ovular shape similar to that of an eye that had various circular patterns within it. The sheath of the blade was a slightly darker maroon and bore no unique designs, but was a potent shield.

However, after the awakening of her Shikai, the blade changed in design to compensate for the new soul imprinted into the "template", thus causing her own inner world to change as well. The current appearance appears to be a slightly elongated katana, which has to be carried on Mizuko's back. The blade itself has no unique features, aside from a four-character idiom engraved on the edge of the blade, which reads 有難迷惑, otherwise romanized as arigatameiwaku, which idiomatically reads "mixed blessing", a reference to her upbringing. The blade itself has a unique guard, which doesn't appear to protrude outward very much; steel blue in color, it has an unorthodox, star-like shape, but with only four sides, appearing as a three-dimensional diamond of sorts. The guard of Rakkangyōka appears to be a much darker, navy blue, which holds various ribbons of sky-blue around it, whilst being attached to a light green tassel through a clover-like shape at the butt of the sword's hilt. Overall, the color scheme of the blade appears to make it appear hopeful, as that is what the colors used symbolize most evidently; while the subtle implementation of darker blues seem to contrast this, reflecting her conflicting mind, a manifestation of her.
 * Shikai Special Ability:
 * Shikai Special Ability:


 * : Not Yet Achieved. It is thought that her status as a mixed race makes it difficult for her Soul to properly harmonize with her zanpakutō to a point where this state is reachable.

Focus
"Mizuko: You...you are? Kenichi: I am Daiou. I am the greatest of all the Focus in existence. I am the weapon that brings about the greatest wars, and the happiest eras of peace. And you? Mizuko: I...I am the daughter of your first master; the very one who waged war. Kenichi: I see. It appears that I will have to submit to you? Mizuko: If you so choose. Kenichi: Lenient, I see? Very well then. I am in your services, madam. Mizuko: My name is Mizuko; Mizuko Hoshiko. Kenichi: Yes...Madam Hoshiko."

- Mizuko and Kenichi forming a contract.

Kenichi (健一 Healthy, First Son), once and still regarded as the greatest of all Focus, Daiō (大王 Great King) is the Focus currently in possession by Mizuko. After having been wielded by many individuals for hundreds, if not thousands of years, Mizuko came across Kenichi while in her brief travels to Eden. It appeared that the only one who was able to see Kenichi at the time was Mizuko, likely due to her and Wisdom energies being compatible with his own, thanks to her ancestry. It is unknown what method of contract Mizuko and Kenichi went through, however, Kenichi appears to instinctively appear before Mizuko whenever she requires assistance, likely using an unique Kenmei Kōsaku technique to do so. Because of the manner in which Mizuko allows Kenichi to fight independently from her, Mizuko rarely ever wields him as a weapon, preferring to do battle alongside him with her own abilities. Thus, any actual skills she shows through the use of Kenichi aren't known. Kiyoko has remarked that their relationship is very much like one established with that of a, akin to the one shared with  prior to the revelation of both sides to his powers.

Family

 * Kei Yume: The adoptive father of Mizuko; Kei was always regarded quite highly in Mizuko's eyes, despite initially despising the man at first. Foremost, Kei appeared to be one of the few individuals to truly express genuine kindness and affection to Mizuko when she needed it most. Even when becoming his adoptive daughter, as well as the birth of his own daughter, Mizuko was treated with the very kindness that he expressed to her all of those years ago. As such, Mizuko opened up to Kei, constantly calling him "Ke" or "Key", the latter being inspired through her enjoyment over the game franchise. One of the most prominent aspects of their relationship was observed when, upon news of Kei's death, Mizuko began to unconditionally break down, saying that "One of her greatest fears was losing the Father she had grown to love and cherish", indicative of their bond.
 * Kiyoko Takara:
 * Yuu Hoshiko:
 * Inbouka Magatta:
 * The One:

Manami Yume
"Mizuko: Do note I'm not doing this for you! Manami: I don't consider this a favor. Mizuko: Hmph! You're still repaying me! Manami: Only because I don't want any damn debts! Mizuko: Well good for you then!"

- Mizuko and Manami, after Mizuko lent her some clothing.

Quite possibly her most complicated relationship; Mizuko and Manami were rivals from the day that Manami was capable of coherently speaking. Though younger than her, Manami constantly proclaimed that she was the best. This fiery spirit, though initially admonished by Mizuko due to her young age, was immediately turned into her own rivalry upon witnessing the ascent in Manami's spiritual and physical abilities, as well as her capabilities to make friends. To this extent, Mizuko constantly used to cause trouble for Manami, and vice-versa, usually forcing their family to intervene and place them in separate rooms until the matter was resolved. It should be noted though, that beneath this superficial rivalry of sorts, lies an inherent competition for the title of "Kenmeiotome Leader", something both individuals pursuit thanks to their heritages, respectively. As well as this, this rivalry is constantly demonstrated in school, particularly considering that the Lumiére and Étoile house aren't on the greatest terms; the constant competitions that are enacted between them serve to further enforce the deep richness of their rivalry.

However, even with this rivalry, both Mizuko and Manami acknowledge one another as perhaps the closest individuals they will ever have. Inadvertently, Mizuko and Manami appear to share everything with another, and are each other's method of consolation when a major event occurs. Behind the curtains of their rivalry, both Manami and Mizuko have an absolute respect and admiration for one another; while Mizuko acknowledges Manami's ability to lead others and become a symbol of hope, Manami admires the tenacity of Mizuko's wish to reunite her people and rid herself of the paradox that she has been branded with. To this extent, Mizuko and Manami are constantly sparring in secret, though the effects of this sparring aren't exactly secretive. It is nonetheless noted that the affection both sisters share for one another is far beyond that of simple surrogate sisters, and appears to be closer than that of blood ties.

Likewise, Mizuko and Manami are capable of doing anything and everything for one another whenever they are required to. They are an absolutely frightening tag-team, and will not hesitate to come to one another's aid even if it meant going out of their way to injuring themselves heavily. This was shown primarily through an event in their childhoods, where while Kei and Kiyoko were unable to sense their daughter's peril, Mizuko immediately ran out of the house, and tracked Manami being kidnapped by a number of spiritually powered kidnappers. This very event triggered Mizuko's wrath to the point where she nearly caused an entire street block to lose their power, as well as cause the kidnappers to go into serious condition. As such, both girls consider each other a part of one another's lives, like Yin to the Yang and Yang to the Yin; they're incomplete without each other.

Friends & Allies

 * Hime Senritsu:
 * Kirino Māikaze:

Trivia

 * Although Mizuko was widely known as Mizuko Hoshiko, she possessed four surnames including her given surname: Mizuko Hoshiko, Mizuko Magatta, Mizuko Takara, and Mizuko Yume.
 * Mizuko was initially hesitant on taking her mother's surname, but did so on the behest of her adopted mother to provide Yuu with the satisfaction that a legacy follows her.
 * Chronologically, considering her birth was years prior to her actual aging process was visible, Mizuko is the oldest Kenmeiotome-Shinigami Hybrid in existence, despite not having the ability to back this up.
 * To an extent similar to her rival and sister, Mizuko was noted to have a high fancy for a variety of comics, television shows and the like. Her targets were mainly western though, contrary to her rather regal appearance. Manami described it as "frighteningly inelegant".
 * Finally, it is noted that her hair color is rather odd considering the hair color of both of her parents. This is attributed later on to the hair color of her grandmother, which was commonly seen as a deep red, almost maroon-like color in her various human-like apparitions.

Behind the Scenes

 * Mizuko's Pre-Collapse appearance is based off of Takiko Souma from the anime,.