As a child, Shigure's appearance was so boyish that even the immensely perceptive Akisame mistook her for an actual boy. As an adult, Shigure is a fairly tall and beautiful young woman with a remarkably curvaceous-figure and well-endowed breasts. She has long waist-length raven hair usually tied back in a high ponytail, peach skin, and light purple eyes. She normally dresses in a small pink kimono and long purple stockings; underneath she wears bandages over her chest and a fundoshi. When fighting seriously she dons chain mail. She is almost always seen carrying her father's last and finest ever sword; a tsuba-less nodachi strapped to her back with makeshift grip of bandages wrapped around the hilt.
Shigure believes that weaponry should be seen as an extension of the body: simply relying on the weapons strength alone will not make you a master of it. She seems to have a great deal of love towards weapons, as at one point during the DofD arc she asks to keep a tank, treating it like a pet and even naming it 'Little Cattaleya'. Likely due to her emphasis on the Katsujinken, most opponents she faces end up losing without significant injury or by simply having their clothes torn (which she often does to Miu, Kenichi, and Freya's Valkyries). She seems to be aimed at women probably due to the fact that more times than not, women will stop fighting and try to cover themselves up.
When initially introduced she appeared to be a loner, often avoiding interaction with the other members of Ryozanpaku (besides occasionally Apachai). At the same time, due to her unique childhood experience with Akisame, she has developed a strong respect and loyalty to him, at times seeing like a surrogate father, as she will follow his requests without question. She will usually retaliate violently to Kensei's perverted antics much like Miu. However, she still has a feminine side, blushing in reaction to Akira Hongō refusal to fight her for being a woman and showing she was grateful for someone considering her as a woman.
Shigure is known to occasionally pause between words when talking. She is usually seen with an emotionless demeanor, rarely ever smiling. She is usually seen smiling when proud of Kenichi's progress. She was even cheering happily when Kenichi imitates her while battling Odin and copying her fighting style like the other masters. Shigure also has a great love of animals. Her best friend is her mouse Tochumaru and will not forgive anyone who hurts him.
Shigure seems to have sleeping issues, has shown by Sakaki that she sleep walks and mutters some words in her sleep that Sakaki states is creepy and somewhat scary, making this the only thing he's afraid of.
Shigure's behavior has changed noticeably since Kenichi's arrival, as noted by Miu who once wondered if Shigure sees him as more than her disciple. She begins opening up to the others, and even joins them for meals. She become's indignant when the other members of the dojo express relief that Kenichi was alright after a training trip with her, though this could be due to her taking their relief as insult to her mastery. Shigure even allows Kōetsuji to tell Kenichi of her past and is quite candid around him. She would even bathe right next to him, unconcerned with him seeing her nude and even suggests that they bathe together again. Out of all the masters, Shigure trains Kenichi the least, yet it is implied she yearns to train him, and is disappointed with Kenichi's reluctance (and fear) to use weaponry but often tries to convince him to train more. When she finds the ability to give Kenichi words of advice during her task to revive Kenichi as a martial artist, she pumps her fist triumphantly for succeeding as a teacher to Kenichi.
There's a running gag that Shigure has shown to have no modesty in the slightest causing others to be uncomfortable (or pleased) and that usually ends for trouble for others. Such as when Kenichi went to wake her up from a mission she had, she barely had anything on and caused him to gain a nosebleed. She even wanted to bathe with Kenichi, showing no discomfort at all and even fought several opponents naked and not even embarrassed by it. When she fishes for food on her own, she is naked and not uncomfortable at all. She is even fine with undressing in front of others such as Kenichi despite his protests (and Miu covering his eyes).
oth crafting and wielding weapons. During this time, she met Sai Kagerou, who retrieved Setsunamaru from her father and tested it on a swallow, Shigure's "first friend".
On one ofteenage Shigure
Akisame's travels, he discovered the then-nameless Shigure and her father. Because her father was suffering from a terminal illness, he requested Akisame to take his life away in a duel so that he could die a warrior's death. Akisame initially refused, but eventually had to throw him off a cliff after a forced confrontation. Before dying, her father admitted he did not really want to die in battle, but was trying to be a bad example so his daughter would avoid repeating his mistakes. Shigure, seeing her father's death, quietly sheds a tear whilst clutching the final sword Hachirobe crafted, the only thing to remember her father by. Akisame then gave Shigure her name (her father never gave her one) after seeing the rain and took her to be raised by Akisame's old friend, the late master of the Kōsaka-style weapons combat. After the old man passed away, Akisame brought Shigure into Ryōzanpaku. Shigure goes on missions to locate swords crafted by her father and takes them out of circulation, keeping her exact motivations for this a secret.
Shigure is first introduced when Miu brings Kenichi to Ryozanpaku to train. At first, Shigure didn't think much of him, and continued to be a loner from everyone else. Eventually, Kenichi asked her to train him and she agreed (she pumped her fist in happiness). She trained him to fight unarmed without weapons and how to use them if needed. On the beach trip, Shigure decided to teach Kenichi to swim since he didn't Shigure First Smile
know how. She also briefly smiled at his progress as noted by Kenichi. She later helped save his sister, Honoka from getting killed by sharks. Shigure would develop, with Apachai, a freindly relationship with Honoka and teach the two how to act more normal, such as teaching them how to make tea, shocking both of them. Shigure would be asked by Miu to act as her step-mother and be paired with Sakaki as her step-father. Unfortunatly, the two screwed up due to their lack of people skills and how they are the worst at lying, but Miu was left alright. Despite being a loner, Shigure, like Miu, considers everyone at Ryozanpaku as her family. Later, when Kenichi is attacked by The Valkyries, Tochumaru signals her (due to him having followed Kenichi) and she arrives to fight and easily defeat them with just a spoon and tears their clothes to almost nothing. When Kenichi fights the leader of Ragnarock Ryuto, Shigure gives a happy expression when Kenichi mimics her fighting style with the other masters.
After Ragnarock is defeated, the masters now must deal with Yami. When the Elder mentions to Shigure alone that Miu's mother was killed in a snowstorm, Shigure is shocked. At some points, Shigure would go on trips to find valuable swords and try to find her fathers sword, and when she returns home, she would usually go to bed from traveling all night. Shigure would allow Akisame to tell Kenichi about her past stating if it's him, it's alright. Around the time of the D of D tournament, Shigure would fight Female Weapon Guard and win easily. She would even want to take a tank home and call it a "pet" while grabbing it. She would accompany Sakaki to save Jenny Grey, and would act surprised when Jenny asked if Sakaki and Shigure were a couple. They all eventually defeated the enemies and saved Kenichi from getting killed from the soldiers. Shigure would congratulate the Shinpaku members for defeating Fortuna and they all went home.
After Kenichi's near death experience at the hands of Tirawit Kokin, Shigure would take him on a trip to remove the seed of fear in his heart. Shigure would go to a resort with him and even be in the same bath with him, greatly flustering him and wishing not to bathe with her. They would be ambushed and, despite not having clothes on her, Shigure would defeat all of them. Afterwards, Shigure would give Kenichi a present from the Elder, which are Miu's father's battle gloves. Sai Kagerou would run into Shigure and Kenichi, remembering that this is the man that killed her father, fought and easily won. The both would run into Sai Kagerou again and Shigure would convince him to trade sides for her fathers sword and help defeat the enimies and he agreed. Since then, he's mellowed out. After returning home, Shigure would act depressed due to the others not having any faith in her skills muttering "How...rude". After telling Kenichi about the lesson of the trip and how fun it was to bathe with him (shocking Miu and Kensei), she wishes to train him sometime again. Miu would be angry about the bathing moment and walk away from it despite Kenichi trying to explain, and then, Shigure for the first time, smiles at Kenichi stating his and Miu's relationship is really good and special, surprising him. Miu returned and said she was just kidding and noted Kenichi had a reason and knew Shigure did what she did for a reason. Miu then noted about how Shigure having changed since Kenichi entered Ryozanpaku, suggesting she views Kenichi more than just a desciple, believing she may have feelings for him.
When Rachel Stanley is taken by Jenazad, Shigure helps with the other master to save her and defeat the guards there. Afterwards, when the Yami weapons group would try to steal valuable weapons, Shigure, Sakaki and Kenichi would guard the weapons at their location. They would eventually engage with the enemy and meet Sai Kagerou again and tell him that she destroyed the sword he wanted back, leaving him depressed and unable to fight. When Kushinada Mikumo would try to attack Sakaki, Shigure would step in and fight her and only be able to give her a cut on her shirt. Mikumo left, but stated they'll fight again someday. When Kenichi had to defend the sword they came to protect, Shigure would convince Sai to trade sides for her father's sword and help defeat the enimies and he agreed. Afterwards, they met again and gave him the sword. Since then, he's mellowed out.
When the weapons division comes again but with more danger and having taken Freya's grandfather, Shigure leads the Shinpaku Alliance to save him. She would run into Agaard Jum Sai and fight him, however, even Shigure was no match for him and would have lost and been severly injured if not for her guard vest. She later took Kenichi to watch the other masters praising him for fighting a master class opponent and when he smiled tears of joy, Shigure also smiled. After heading to Okinawa for Apachai to fight Agaard, Shigure would fight Lance Of The West and win. After returning home, Shigure and the other masters had to disband till the police left their home. They eventually returned home after catching Miu kissing Kenichi on the cheek. Shigure and Apachai would later follow Kenichi and Miu when they want to find out more about Miu's past, but would lose track of them due to them stopping for bento. Thanks to Tochumaru, they made it in time for Shigure to fight Akira Hongo, but he refused to fight a woman (though Shigure was flattered that someone thought of her as a woman). After the Elder told Miu about her parents, they returned home.
Shigure is quite distant to the other's around Ryozanpaku, although since Kenichi became a disciple to it slowly she became to bond with everyone. She used to eat alone, go somewhere mysteriously, did not partake in any activities. However she started playing shogi and go with Apachai, helping Miu with the dinner preperations, she even asked Kenichi to throw kunai with her. She also enjoys playing games with Apachai and Honaka. She's quite close to Miu, often giving her advice when she needs some, even encouraging her to show how much Kenichi cares for her. She gets along with Sakaki most the time and share thier loner side of their personality. She was rather surprised when Jenny asked if they were a couple. She tends to tease him about being protective towards Kenichi's well being and calling him a "den mother". Out of all the mastesrs, she's seemingly closest to Akisame. The two have known each other since she was little and he took her in after her fathers death and gave her the name Shigure. She is very close to him and does anything he asks her to do without question. As such, the two have developed a sorts of a father-daughter relationship. She seems to view Kenichi more than just a disciple, as noted by Miu, as she's slowly opened up more and is even fine with Akisame tell him about her past since it was him. She would even like to bathe right next to him when they were on their trip together, unconcerned with him seeing her nude and even suggests that they bathe together again. Out of all the masters, Shigure trains Kenichi the least, yet it is implied she yearns to train him, and is disappointed with Kenichi's reluctance (and fear) to use weaponry but often tries to convince him to train more. When she finds the ability to give Kenichi words of advice during her task to revive Kenichi as a martial artist, she pumps her fist triumphantly for succeeding as a teacher to Kenichi.
Hachirobe is Shigure's step-father, as Akisame asked him to look after her in honor of her father. He was also a skilled teacher towards her and taught her everything he knew. She hasn't really shown any interation towards him, put it's implied she cares a great deal for him.
Shigure's unamed father was a serious man. He also taught her about weapons and drove her to who she is today. Though he was rather strict with her, he clearly cared for her very much as her daughter and didn't want to let her see his fight with Sai. When he died, Shigure shed tears over her fathers death, a noteworthy moment since she's never been seen crying in the series once. This shows that she loves her father very much.
Tochūmaru is Shigure's pet mouse and is considered her best friend. She occasionally eats meals with him and has him follow Kenichi to make sure he's safe. He tends to be a little trouble maker and gets Apachai in trouble for eating his food, something Shigure's fine with. When Tochumaru was injured in a fight, Shigure became enraged and fought to save him and will not forgive anyone who hurts him. She was releaved to see he would be fine afterwards.
While the youngest master of Ryozanpaku, Shigure has repeatedly proven herself a formidable person to face. As the successor to the Kosaka-Style, Shigure has remarkable mastery of all forms of weapon combat, earning her the title of "The Prodigy of Sword and Mistress of all Weaponry". Even when wielding dull utensils such as wooden spoons, her attacks have shown potentially lethal might behind them. In all the fights she has been in, she has yet to be seen receiving any major injuries even against other master-class weapon-users.
Innate Talent: Living up to one of her nicknames, Shigure since childhood has shown remarkable athleticism and skill with any tool in her hand. She could skillfully dive for fish and hit any moving target she desired as a means of fun. During her first time wielding an actual weapon against actual warriors, she left the men in awe at her ability to skillfully wield a blade more than twice her height. After her father died and she was raised by master of the Kōsaka-style, she quickly mastered all he had to teach, greatly impressing the old master. In battle, she has been able to easily overwhelm most weapon-masters at least twice her age.
Immense Speed: Shigure's attacks in battle are shown to be remarkably fast as most people cannot follow the number of strikes she launches. Even when her guard is down, she can in an instant unleash a large flurry of attacks with no wasted movement. The speed of her attacks is so great, that while playing an interactive sword-fighting video game, she discovered that she had to hold back considerably for the system to register her moves. On her feet, Shigure can out run most cars, able to easily jump from vehicle to vehicle.
Immense Agility: Shigure has demonstrated remarkable grace and balance even while performing the most basic of tasks. Regularly at home, she is seen practically climbing all over the walls to get around. In more extreme cases, she can jump across town from rooftop to rooftop, never losing control.
Stealth Master: Keeping to her ninja-like attire, Shigure is highly sneaky when she wishes. Constantly, she is seen appearing from seemingly nowhere without making a sound. Shigure has also used various camouflages to disguise her presence.
Immense Accuracy: Possibly her most remarkable skill, Shigure has perfect aim with any tool she handles. With projectiles, she can precisely hit any speeding and squirming target from a considerable distant. She can even strike it without hitting any vital points. At close-range, Shigure strikes can skillfully cut through targets with such precision, the sliced target can momentarily appear unaffected. Her precision was also able to destroy Boris's boots when the Sambo disciple invaded Ryozanpaku without harming his feet.
y peel the thin side of a leaf into two halves. When used against opponents, she usually doesn't aim to kill so it usually cuts their clothes. Even then, the force of the attack is usually enough to stun them.
Kousaka Ryuu: Samidare Shuriken (Kousaka Style: Summer Rain Shuriken): A technique where she launches multiple shuriken at once. Her skill with this is so great that she can even change their trajectory and flight path of the Shuriken while they're still in the air.
Shinto Kourenzan: A technique where she "merges with her sword" and rapidly slashes her opponent. Said to be the highest level of sword mastery and her most powerful technique. She can perform this technique with much greater proficiency and power than most because she uses her father's last sword, which means there is a special bond between her and her sword
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