Gensoukyou:Yuyuko Saigyouji

Background
An innumerable number of years ago, a poet wandered into a part of Japan which would later become Gensoukyou. A lover of nature, and a master of words, he spent his years wandering Japan, building up a reputation as a legendary poet. As he approached his dying days, the man chose the most beautiful cherry tree he could find, and took an everlasting nap underneath its blossoms.

Word of the tree spread, and people begun to make pilgrimages to it, for the sole purpose of resting underneath those beautiful blossoms in their final hours. Gradually, as the bodies of those who ventured to it nourished the tree, and as it grew an infamous reputation, that tree began to grow into a youkai known as the "Saigyou Ayakashi." As a youkai, the tree became supernaturally captivating, driving everyone who approached it to take a nap underneath its blossoms. A nap from which they would never awake, as the tree feasted upon their souls.

Over a thousand years ago, a girl named Yuyuko Saigyuoji was born, underneath the Saigyou Ayakashi. Perhaps it was sheer force of will upon seeing her child's face, or perhaps it was simply an anomaly, but the birth of the girl gave her mother the strength to bring her back from the demonic tree, only to immediately perish upon returning home.

Brought up by an absent father, the girl lived a life of poverty. Thankfully, a woman known as Yukari Yakumo saw fit to befriend the girl, and help her survive. And beyond that, Yuyuko's powers gave her motive to stay alive (and perhaps for Yukari to provide her kinship); possessing the ability to both see, interact with, and to a limited extent command the souls of the departed, Yuyuko spent her days alternatively playing with spirits, and hanging out with her friend.

As the years went by, the village began to suffer from a rash of deaths. More then just souls wandering underneath the Saigyou Ayakashi, individuals were found simply dead in their beds, never to awake again. Meanwhile, as Yuyuko grew older, she and her father began to came to blows. Finally, their feud culminated in a single sentence, and a single angered wave of the hand.

"Why don't you just die, father?"

To Yuyuko's shock, her father simply collapsed upon the spot, his breathing ceasing and his pulse fading. As she stared at his corpse, which looked as if it were in peaceful slumber, it became apparent to Yuyuko the cause of the deaths in the village, and the true extent of her abilities. She had been inviting those around her to their deaths, without even realizing it.

Perhaps most frightening of all, in her rage, she had committed the sin of patricide.

Meanwhile, the Saigyou Ayakashi's hunger began to grew, its influential aura beginning to expand at an alarming rate. A plan was formulated to seal away the tree; as Yuyuko had absorbed some of the tree's power upon her birth, her body could be used to seal away the tree. Realizing that her power would only cause immeasurable agony and loss so long as she continued living, the girl agreed to the plan.

And so, underneath the gorgeous blossoms which the poet had taken his everlasting nap so many years ago, Yuyuko Saigyouji committed suicide.

Her body was buried underneath the Saigyou Ayakashi, and was used to seal away the tree. However, that was not the end for Yuyuko. Reborn as a ghost, it was soon discovered that her memories had completely faded. The pain of her life of poverty, and the weight of the sins of patricide and genocide upon her soul, they had all been lifted. For her selfless act of suicide, Yuyuko Saigyouji was rewarded with the position of ruler of the netherworld, as well as the palace Hakugyokurou.

Though slightly confused at first (especially given that all parties involved refused to divulge any details of her past life or death), Yuyuko nonetheless embraced her new (un)life. No longer burdened by her memories, and no longer afraid of her powers, she enjoyed it to the fullest.

Hundreds of years later, she finally made her presence in Gensoukyou known to those beyond the Yama and the Yakumos, starting what would later be known as the Netherworld Incident. Intrigued by stories that she had found of the girl who slumbered under the Saigyou Ayakashi, Yuyuko attempted to resurrect the girl by stealing the essence of spring and forcing the demonic tree to bloom once more. While she failed in her attempt (it was a futile task from the beginning, as her own subconscious self-preservation would absolutely prevent her resurrection), Yuyuko began to take a more active interest in Gensoukyou, and as of present day, now makes occasional journeys out of the netherworld and into the land.

Power/Combat
Utilizing butterflies, lasers, beautiful multi-colored danmaku, and even her own two fans in combat, Yuyuko is a strange case of being both one of the scariest individuals to face in a fight, and being one of the easiest to duel. While she will give her all when she is actively fighting for a reason, for friendly duels, Yuyuko will only put out as much power as she thinks her foe is comfortable with facing. And for those she fights out of boredom, she will go extremely easy upon, preferring to not cause her opponent any real difficulties.

Manipulating Death

Put simply, Yuyuko has the capability to, without exception, without fail, and without any possible means of resistance, end the life of any living being, be it human or youkai, causing them to seem as if they had slipped into a peaceful, everlasting slumber. In her human days, she possessed very little control of this ability, leading to the death of nearly her entire hometown. In death, she has far more control over this ability, to the point where she can utilize it simply to cause an individual to faint. While she has no qualms about using it to the full extent, it is not something she does lightly. It should be noted that consumers of the Hourai Elixer cannot be affected by this ability, as they are outside the cycle of life and death entirely.

Manipulating Departed Souls

Yuyuko also possesses the ability to manipulate the souls of the dead. While in life, this was more useful for allowing her to observe and interact with ghosts, even in spite of being alive herself, in death this ability is simply used to command the dead of the netherworld, and keep them in line. It also enables her to bind them to the Netherworld, allowing Yuyuko to force them to return with so much as a passing thought, and to make escape from it impossible.

Personality
Upon the surface, Yuyuko can easily be mistaken for an airhead. Playful, good-mannered, friendly, and unrelentingly cheerful, she has a tendency to make bizarre and rather nonsensical remarks. Combined with her charm, ability to seemingly overlook the obvious, and gluttony for all aspects of life (or as she would put it: "Food, Festivals, and Fun"), and one could be forgiven for assuming that the ghost princess is something of a ditz.

However, if one looks past that, they will find an incredibly cunning, perceptive, and knowledgeable side to the ghost. Between her opaque and inane, yet startlingly accurate remarks, and her ability to seemingly always know the gist of what's going on, one can deduce that Yuyuko is far more intelligent then she lets on. Even so, she is almost never serious, and what tidbits of information she has to share often have to be deciphered or even wrestled out of the ghost.

Finally, it should be noted that, whilst Yuyuko is incredibly teasing, and often prone to messing with just about everyone, the ghost princess is incredibly friendly. Any who choose to visit the netherworld she will consider honored guests, so long as they do not interfere with what few rules she sets down. In addition, she's always up for a friendly chat, spell card duel, or even a game of chess. From children to youkai sage, she treats all with open arms and friendliness.

Major
Yukari Yakumo - A friend, both in life, and in death. Youmu Konpaku - Her current gardener/servant. He also is one of the few individuals who know the full story behind her death. Youki Konpaku - A gardener/servant of the past.

Minor
Eiki Shiki - Co-workers, in a sense. Lunasa, Lyrica, and Merlin Prismriver - Yuyuko often hires them to perform for her.

Trivia
She is noticeably rather tall, especially for Gensoukyou, being a good head or two's worth of height above most of the residents.

She uses the phantoms which surround her as extra arms, of a sort, utilizing them to hold spare objects.

She is fond of making minor adjustments to her outfit, such as changing the patterns or removing the ribbons upon her shoes, but usually sticks to a blue kimono and mop cap.