BtS: Senbazuru

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Name: Senbazuru "Tsuru"
Title: God of Last Wishes
Gender: Male
Age: 20s (appears 16/17)
Height: 5’6”/167cm

Rank: Minor God
Regalia: Gakuwa (Flute)

Dissociation
Tsuru can dissolve his body into a flock of a thousand paper cranes. In addition to travel, it comes in handy for confusing and escaping dangerous opponents. He will sustain a minor injury for every crane lost or damaged while in this state. The number of cranes will regenerate over time. He can alter the colour of his flock to camouflage if needed.
He needs at least 501 cranes to reform his body (ie. he cannot reform in two places at once), but he can split his awareness between two flocks, so long as each flock’s number does not dip below 250 (ie. he can only split himself into four). If it does, the smaller flock will lose awareness and flee to merge with the larger.

Flock Rush
Tsuru can land a barrage of superficial cuts to another by running his entire flock of paper cranes into them. They can range from a minor to severe papercuts.

Vitality Boost
The health and vitality of those around him (both human and spirits) are elevated when he is around. This does have a slight effect on Blight and corruption related afflictions by slowing the spread, but ultimately holy water is far superior.

Imbue Vitality
He can imbue items with vitality boosting auras of benefit to the person who carries them. He is sometimes called to local temples to imbue omamori with good luck and good vibes.



Personality:


There are stories about a single wish granted to those who fold a thousand cranes.

Tsuru came to be one day when a determined young child had managed such a feat. A set of a thousand colourful paper cranes, a thousand wishes, draped over the side of her hospital bed. Despite the harsh reality of the diagnosis, just having the cranes and something to look forward to did wonders for her mental health. She wished to see the next summer festival in all its glory - in person, not from the hospital, despite the great view from her window.

It was within Tsuru’s power to help the girl fight on through illness, and she lived to see the fireworks. He was proud, young, idealistic then, overjoyed to see his purpose fulfilled. She went on to make more and more resolutions - to see the autumn leaves, to play in the snow…

The disease claimed her the following spring.

His story should’ve ended there, but so long as there was belief in the power of these cranes, Tsuru would remain in the world. It was a bare existence he felt unworthy having - he was a wish that couldn’t even come true. He lived within the confines of the family home, growing more solemn as he came to the realisation that he was never a wish of healing, but a wish for happiness before the inevitable.

The family spread word of their little girl’s joy in her last days and cherished the set of a thousand cranes, to Tsuru’s surprise. He eventually grew strong enough to venture out of the home, and discovered how big the world truly was - full of wonders and dangers, of prayers spoken to the divine that needed an answer.

Years on, Tsuru now wanders the cities looking for wishes to fulfil, hearts to soothe, souls to satisfy. More often than not his followers would die soon after praying to him, when he gives them the happy final days they asked for.

It is this hope that fuels his existence. But alas, there can be no hope without despair.

So when Heaven raised their hand to lay judgment, he raised a hand back. Despite the clear power imbalance between them, Tsuru defended the phantoms among the group despite his reservations about them. And when Heaven gently lay their hand down and revealed the stressful event to be a test, his disillusionment from being a minor god only deepened from being played with.

Despite his feelings about the ordeal, he agreed to join the Alliance. At least with a few dozen others at his level, maybe serving under Heaven won’t make him feel so small.

Additional Info:

•  Hardly sighted without his black haori. Other than that, Tsuru tends to favour brightly coloured clothes.
  
  
•  Hangs around hospitals, mostly around the terminal illness ward to find more clients. He is busiest in the afternoon - during visiting and temporary discharge hours.
  
  
•  Folds a paper star or crane for every person he helps. He strings the stars into bracelets and may give them out to humans who need them.
  
  
•  Although part of him really wishes to see his creator again, he has found peace in the fact she (to his knowledge) didn’t become a loose spirit.
  
  
•  Prior to Gakuwa, Tsuru found it difficult to find a regalia that could weather the emotional toll of his jobs. Sometimes it manifested as blight, so despite his fragility he is (unfortunately) quite used to it.
  
  
•  Generally wary of phantoms given the fragile nature of his existence/general warnings for minor gods, but has started to ease up his prejudices.
  
  
•  Has a small hokora on a roadside somewhere near his creator’s home. People tend to leave jars and plastic bottles filled with paper stars or strings of cranes.

Gakuwa
His current regalia. A young man with an unfailing optimism despite everything they’ve been through. Tsuru is happier because of him and thanks his lucky stars that maybe he’s found his potential Blessed Vessel. He tries his hardest to make life comfortable for him as thanks, and to encourage him to stay (though he has realised he has little trouble with the latter).

Ikaru
The first phantom he has learned to trust. After Ikaru saved Gakuwa’s life (and discovered they were friends) he has started to change his opinion. All in all Ikaru, while a little brusque, is well meaning and has broken a lot of assumptions Tsuru had about phantoms being all mean and scary.

Hikoto
A fishing god he has made friends with over the years when visiting coastal hospitals and hospices in Hikoto’s local area. Occasionally they go fishing together.

Wakana
A music goddess who doted on him like a mother back when he was younger.