Shigure

Shigure is a 22-year-old weapons master. She is very beautiful and dresses in a small pink kimono; underneath she wears bandages over her chest and a fundoshi. When fighting seriously she dons chain mail. Shigure's past has been shown more in depth than any other of the other masters'. When she was a young child, she lived with her father in the mountains. Her father, who never named her, was a weapon maker and master of incredible skill, who made swords for Yami. Akisame, seeking to find the maker of a particular sword, met Shigure's father, who requested that Akisame kill him. When Akisame refused, the man forced him into a fight, which Akisame managed to win. Shigure's father stated that he wanted his daughter to see what kind of future a person like him, who had created things that had taken lives, would have, and he promptly took his own life. After defeating some Yami members, Akisame named her and took her to live with his friend, an old man who taught her the Kosaka fighting style. She remained there until the old man died, after which Akisame took her to Ryozankapu.

Shigure is a very mysterious person. She speaks very little and has a habit of falling asleep on the rafters of the ceiling and also traverses atop them more than she uses the floor. She has little knowledge of most things outside of weapons and has trouble interacting with normal people due to her blunt personality and the fact that she always carries a weapon. Before Kenichi came to the dojo, she rarely interacted with any of its other residents except Akisame and Apachai and even refrained from such practical things as having dinner with them. Shigure is apparently quite fond of Kenichi; with him around, she smiles more often (though she still rarely does so) and interacts with the others more, eating dinner with them. She also didn't mind Akisame telling Kenichi about her past, saying that it was okay simply because he's Kenichi. The dramatic change in her personality has caused Miu to harbor suspicions about Shigure and her attitude towards Kenichi.

Even as a young child, Shigure had incredible potential, which Akisame noticed immediately. She was incredibly fast and was able to defeat Sai Kagerou, a sword master, so quickly that he didn't even realize that he had moved. Despite her lithe frame, she is very strong and can cut weapons made of metal to pieces using something with a dull edge, such as a spoon. She once cut a cannon off of a tank and then jammed it through its side.

Shigure has a pet mouse, Tochūmaru, used mostly for comic relief, such as causing Apachai to be blamed for its stealing a lunch Miu made. Tochūmaru is shown to be extraordinarily strong for a mouse, beating one of Boris's men with nunchaku and, in an omake, beating a cat with its tail. While referred to as male, it is always seen with a feminine bow on its tail. Similar to other residents of the dojo, it seems to be knowledgeable of martial arts.

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