"Basil"
Name: Basil
Race: Bakeneko (Nekomata)
Age: Unknown (Given age 13)
Speech Color: "Green"
Gender: Female
Preference: Female
Occupation: Assistant (Café and Curio Shop)
History:
Basil, (formerly known as Chen) was the shikigami of a power yokai named Ran Yakumo. She was known back then as the “Black Cat of Ill Omen”, because of her nature of being a black nekomata. Her life had been quiet, until her master had vanished (due to the whims of her master’s master, Yukari Yakumo). The antics her master’s master sends her are harmless, however in one particular instant Ran had been sent to another dimension, right into another dimensional tear. Thus, her master was lost forever. She knew this instinctively; her ties as Ran’s shikigami were severed. After convincing her master’s master, Basil went to the dimension to try and find her master, to no avail. Like her former master, Basil was lost in the multiple dimensions, encountering many versions of her former master Ran with and without a “Chen”. She had encountered dimensions were either “Ran” or “Chen” were gone; sometimes both. Oftentimes, she had experienced dimensions where the history she knows has altered drastically and some which have made her feel alienated completely. This has caused her to adapt, with her foregoing her former vestments.
Having been traveling through dimensions, Basil had lost all concept of time. In some dimensions, she had instances of meeting other instances of “herself” and not “Chen”, who have had varying philosophies in dealing with the changes.
This version of Basil has focused on speed. “It’s my victory if you can’t hit me and I hit you!” is what Basil says. She focuses on closing the distance and launching attacks at close range.
Behavior:
Basil, for the most part, is a bubbly nekomata. She is however not like how she was before, having lost the clumsiness and unreliability, and gaining restraint. She is still bubbly, but not to the extent of her former self. If one were to look at her, one would think she was a real miniature adult, with some teenage quirks. That was the only giveaway to how much she had matured from her past self, which was needed for the hardships she experienced.
Note that this is a rare occurrence, but Basil this time is accompanied by Sage. Sage is the name Ran had taken when she had also let go of her past and forged a new identity for herself. Basil for a time thought that Sage was "her" Sage, from her dimension. The both of them soon realized that this was not the case. Basil fought the urge to look up to her in the relationship they had before; now she looks up to Sage as her big sister.
Abilities:
Agility, Perception, Strength:
Basil over the years has honed her physical capabilities well. By her physical condition alone, she can make great leaps, reaching two kilometers in the sky straight up and five kilometers in any straight direction with one bound.
Standing still, her physical power is able to break a tree trunk as if it were a twig, but still delicate enough to pick up a grain of rice with chopsticks. She had learned to be able to do this through forced training, as she had lost her ability to fly.
With her speed and strength, she is like a pocket maelstrom that comes and goes as it pleases.
Fire magic (radial, explosive):
Basil has an uncanny affinity to fire magic. Her mastery of fire allows her to create flame projectiles that scatter in front of her, akin to the blast of a shotgun, with fireballs that explode on impact.
Her defense to fire magic is great; a firestorm would most likely simply leave her with sunburns.
Martial Prowess:
Basil had in the past few decades, learned about hand-to-hand combat. If confronted with a situation where she faces someone in close quarters (her forte), she can call on her knowledge and skill in many disciplines to counter.
Inner Focus:
Prior to being lost in the maze of dimensions, Basil was known to be susceptible to being fooled. One of the things that she had developed since then is her mental acuity to prevent being deceived. It is still not impossible to fool her, like anyone can. However distractions in battle or outside of it will not catch her attention. “Eh? You’re trying to bait me with fish? You think I’m THAT low of a nekomata?”
Weaknesses:
Swarm Tactics:
Basil is a strong front-line fighter. However, her major flaw is that she can be overwhelmed when confronting a group of people, even if their capabilities are a bit weaker than her. Crowd control is not something she can do.
Water Magic:
Basil has a weakness to water magic, because of her specialization to fire magic. She tends to endure the pain, trying not to give her opponent a “tell”. However, it does not hide the fact that she does get hurt a lot when facing it.
Too keen senses (hearing):
Keen senses can be both a boon and a bane. She will become disoriented if she fights someone who can manipulate sound waves (she had met people in her past that can use this, which at the time she only overcame thanks to her shikigami contract).
Not-so-solid Defense:
Common knowledge in combat is to be able to receive a blow and be able to withstand a blow of equal force. However, in the case of Basil, she is easier to hurt when she defends. It is not because she is weak; she simply attempts to avoid taking damage. Due to that mindset, she hasn’t paid particular attention to her defense.
