Power Level: PL 10/11 (172/172PP)
Trade-Offs: None
Unspent Power Points: 0
In Brief: Timelost Japanese supersoldier turned popular Internet personality
Alternate Identity: Neko Musume (she prefers just 'Neko')
Birthplace: Iya Valley, Japan
Residence: The apartment beside the Espadas residence
Base of Operations: The West End, Freedom's Little Tokyo neighborhood
Occupation: Online streamer
Affiliation: Various sponsoring agencies
Family: Various heroes like the Espadases, Sparkler, etc
Description:
Age: 19/95
Apparent Age: 19
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian
Height: 5’ 1"
Weight: 120 lbs
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: White
Neko is short and slight, with big eyes that are distinctly yellow and fluffy white hair speckled by brown, crowned by what are clearly two big boofy cat ears. She has slightly pointed front teeth and nails that grow in sharp. She has two tails when she wants it - a mark of her growing age and power, white speckled with brown spots. She has a lot of borrowed clothes but actually prefers to wear kiminos and bare feet, usually bright Art Deco colors.
Neko has lived in the present long enough to adopt a superhero costume - finally.
What she wears is a sleek, form-fitting bodysuit made of stretchy, breathable fabric in a dark navy blue color. The suit has long sleeves and pants, with a high collar and a full-zip front that can be easily opened and closed. Over the bodysuit, Neko wears a bright red and gold kimono-style robe with flowing sleeves and a wide obi sash tied around her waist. The robe is adorned with intricate gold and silver embroidery and bold, stylized Japanese characters that spell out "CAT" and "MAGIC" and "IYA VALLEY". The kimono and suit are both cut to give her tails freedom. To complete the costume, Neko wears a pair of tall, laced-up boots in a matching navy blue color, with thick soles to provide stability and support for her acrobatic movements. The boots have a slight heel, and are made of a durable, lightweight material that allows Neko to move quickly and easily.
History:
Neko was born in 1929 in the Iya Valley on the Japanese island of Shikoku. Even today the Iya Valley is remote, tucked away beneath sheer mountain slopes on either side, and in 1929 it was even more so. Neko's family had come to the region sixty years earlier in their grandfather's time, when their forebears realized that the new Meiji government would be hostile to their way of life. For Neko's family were the children of nekomata and bakeneko, cats imbued with fantastic supernatural powers, and carried that magic in their very veins! She learned some of that ancestral magic as a small girl, how to change her form and other fantastic abilities, and lived the relatively simple life of a peasant girl, carefully adopting human mannerisms and appearance when the government inspectors came by to study the local school. Though she heard about things like Japan's righteous war to liberate the oppressed people of China, their bold attack against the forces of the Americans in December of 1941, and their war against the wicked foreign foe, it didn't really mean anything to her.
Until June of 1944, when American bombs began falling on Japan in large quantities thanks to Operation Matterhorn. Though civilian casualties were few compared to what would come later, she would learn much later that this had been a terrible insult to the Black Dragon Society, proof that their magics were not so great and powerful after all, but what it meant for her was that a small delegation of the Crimson Katana's elite troops arrived in her home village and announced that they were recruiting volunteers to defend Nippon against the hated enemies who had brought death to their shores. Neko looked around, saw older siblings and cousins debating what to do, and stepped forward with a cat's boldness. "I volunteer!"
And so, at fifteen, she was taken away for training. She remembers the look in her parents's eyes still. "Bootcamp" was not easy but she was quick and clever enough to pass her trials, and the sheer gaping size of nearby Nagasaki was terrifying enough that she slept in her bed every night despite her fears of the Crimson Katana and his magic. She knew better than to risk his wrath, and she knew full well what they might do to her home village if she did flee.
In late summer of 1944, having passed her trials, she was sent away to war, specifically to Burma, where the recent failure of Operation U-Go meant that Japanese forces were now on the defensive. It was supposed to be a minor, even inconsequential posting for the youngest piece on the Crimson Katana's shogi board, the latter being focused entirely on his American rivals. Until the Allies attacked in December of that year, and she found herself in the midst of her first battle. It was terrible. Any hopes she might have had that her fellow Japanese really were righteous defenders of justice faded when she saw what they did to those they captured, and any hopes she might have had that her enemies were really friends faded when she saw what they did to the Japanese.
She might have fallen into grief and faked her own death, or something even more drastic, had she not met Kid Gawain, attached with his master to the British forces in Burma. Gawain was an enemy and so they fought, but they realized quickly how displaced they both were. Burma was as far from Camelot as it was from the Iya Valley, and Kid Gawain's dreams of knightly honor had faded before the reality of 20th century war. They began meeting occasionally, having the kinds of conversations that neither of them could have with any of the adults in their lives - and then came the mission in February 1945. A powerful American cryonic weapon had been stolen by a Japanese agent who had himself been killed in a bombing run.
In a cave near Mandalay, the Crimson Katana (who had himself arrived to supervise the evacuation of Green Dragon assets from Burma), the Green Knight, Kid Gawain, and Neko no Akuma fought to the last. The Green Knight's ax and magical healing powers proved stronger than the Katana's blade, and the Katana (who never really believed in bushido, as convenient as it was) fled after triggering the cryonic device while ordering Neko no Akuma to cover his retreat. Thinking of her village, she stood between the knights and the way out; only to be pinned under a rock when bombs struck the roof of the cave mouth.
She remembers Gawain and the Green Knight shouting at each other, namae o age rarenai uragiri, then Kid Gawain kneeling at her side in prayer, hensai dekinai shakkin, then a terrible feeling of cold - and then she remembers nothing for a long time.
Until today. Things are - okay? She got good grades in high school, made many friends, got a boyfriend, found clues about her missing family - and her pretty face, exotic looks, and willingness to hustle has left and her friends financially comfortable. She's worked hard to get where she is!
Personality & Motivation:
Neko has had a lot of trauma. But she is good at hiding it behind the perky aura of beloved Internet star Neko, heroine and narrator of Catgirl Reacts! (a show where she reacts to video games, conventions, and food - and various other things.) Part of her is a normal teenage girl, another part is a cold-blooded feline magical predator - the last daughter of the demon-haunted Japan of myth and legend. Maybe she can't find that Japan anymore, but it's with her - always.
Powers & Tactics:
Neko's illusory abilities are vast, enough that she could easily dominate a WW2 battlefield in which she mostly fought mundane targets. She will mostly prefer to try and drive off foes, or fool them into doing something rash or self-destructive. If really and truly angry, she will pour down a terrible curse on their head, striking them with a powerful weapon pulled from her own sub-conscious. When using her powers, her eyes glow bright yellow and her ears and tails seem particularly obvious. She has has something of a cat's physicality, enough to escape from some though not all crises.
Complications:
Out of Time: Neko is from almost seventy years ago, and had an isolated, rural childhood in a rustic region before that. There's a lot she still doesn't know.
Ghosts: Spirits and ghosts are drawn to the children of cats, often for ill.
My Enemy: There is much left undone from that great and terrible war, and wounds left deep in her psyche.
My Language: Neko's English is still not perfect; the GM is welcome to tell her she has lost the thread of a conversation or misunderstood something, especially if spoken loudly and at some volume.
Abilities: 14 + 10 + 14 + 4 + 0 + 6 = 48PP
STR: 24 (+7)
DEX: 20 (+5)
CON: 24 (+7)
INT: 14 (+2)
WIS: 10 (+0)
CHA: 16 (+3)
Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP
ATK: +4 (+7 Melee/+10 Yokai)
DEF: +10 (+3 Dodge, +3 Shield, +4 Base, +2 flat-footed)
Grapple: +14
Init: +5
Knockback: -5
Saves: 0 + 5 + 7 = 12PP
TOU: +10/+7 (+7 Con, +3 Protection)
FORT: +7 (+7 Con)
REF: +10 (+5 Dex, +5)
WILL: +7 (+0 Wis, +7)
Skills: 72 r = 18PP
Acrobatics 2 (+7)
Bluff 12 (+15, SM)
Climb 3 (+10)
Concentration 4 (+4)
Diplomacy 2 (+5, SM)
Intimidate 12 (+15, SM)
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 3 (+5)
Knowledge (History) 3 (+5)
Knowledge (Popular Culture) 3 (+5)
Handle Animal 2 (+5)
Languages 2 (English, Mandarin, Base: Japanese)
Notice 5 (+5)
Sense Motive 5 (+5)
Stealth 10 (+15, SM)
Survival 4 (+4)
Feats: 17PP
Attack Focus (Melee) 3
Benefit (Cult Hero [her many fans])
Challenge (Fast Taunt)
Distract (Bluff)
Dodge Focus 3
Evasion 2
Luck
Prone Fighting
Ritualist
Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Stealth)
Takedown Attack
Taunt
Powers: 2 + 2 + 4 + 36 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 5 = 61PP
Comprehend 1 (Yokai heritage, spirits) [2PP]
Comprehend 2 (feline physiology, Speak to and Understand, Flaw: Limited 1 [felines]) [2PP]
Device 1 (Ladybug, Flaw: Hard to Lose) [4PP]
Feature 2 (AV Recording, Internet Connection) {2}
Super-Sense 3 (Radio, Tracking 2 [half-speed, radio]) {3}
Yokai Array 16 (32 PP, PF: Alternate Powers 3, Subtle) [36PP]
BE: Concealment 8 (all visual, auditory, and olfactory, Flaw: Phantasm, PF: Close Range) [9] + Illusion 6 (all senses, Flaw: Phantasm) [18] + Morph 4 (humanoids, +20 Disguise, Flaw: Phantasm, PF: Covers Scent) [5] [9 + 18 + 5 = 32/32]
AP: Illusion 10 (Yokai magic, all senses, Flaws: Action [Full], Phantasm, PFs: Progression 12) [32/32]
AP: Damage 10 (illusory weapon, Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Range [Perception, +2], PFs: Indirect 1, Subtle) [32/32]
AP: ESP 4 (Cats; Auditory + Visual Senses, 1 mile, DC 24 Notice; Extras: Action [Free], Duration [sustained], No Conduit, Simultaneous; PFs: Fast Task 4 [Full Action to search 1-mile-diameter area]) {32/32}
Leaping 1 (feline physiology, x2; running long jump 26 feet, standing long jump 13 feet, high jump 6 feet) [1PP]
Protection 3 (Yokai heritage) [3PP]
Shield 3 (Yokai magic) [3PP]
Speed 1 (feline physiology, 10 MPH / 100 feet per Move action) [1PP]
Super-Movement 2 (feline physiology, Slow Fall, Sure-Footed) [4PP]
Super-Senses 5 (Yokai heritage, Auditory [Extended] [1] + Olfactory [Acute, Illusion Awareness, Uncanny Dodge [3]}, Visual [Low Light Vision] [1]) [5PP]
48 + 16 + 12 + 18 + 17 + 62 = 172/172
