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[insect]

> CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Shinobu Kocho (first name, last name)
CANON: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
AGE: 18
CANON POINT: Chapter 143, before being consumed by Doma.

HISTORY: Character profile, character history
PERSONALITY:

"I once believed that the road of happiness continued forever and ever into the distance. When it was destroyed, I realized for the first time that it lies upon a thin sheet of glass."

As a member of the Hashira, an elite group of swordsmen within the Demon Slayer Corps, Shinobu holds herself with grace and poise one would expect from someone of her station. Calm, polite, and professional, she is rarely seen without a smile on her face no matter what situation she's in and goes out of her way to be welcoming and approachable. Despite her delicate and lady-like appearance, she is a competent combatant and her expertise in medicine has earned her respect amongst her peers and trainees. It's easy to talk to her and it is just as easy to like her—Shinobu doesn't hold herself as better than others and frequently goes out of her way to help them without expecting anything in return. For those she's closer to, they're treated to a more playful side where she often teases them to ease the tension or bring them out of their shell. However, beneath her kind and tranquil disposition lies a deep well of bitter anger and hatred for the demon who killed her sister, as well as every other demon who has taken away her family and the families of all the girls who have come to live under her care.

Before the death of her sister, Kanae, Shinobu had more brash and outspoken personality, bluntly stating her disagreement and displeasure whenever the opportunity arose. By contrast, Kanae was soft-spoken and kind, compassionate to both humans and demons alike, and had a dream of both humans and demons being able to coexist. Shinobu later reveals to Tanjiro that in her dying moments, Kanae pitied the demon who defeated her and wanted nothing more than for Shinobu to leave the Demon Slayer Corps and live a normal life. Shinobu admits that she couldn't understand her sister's sympathy for demons, and that the idea of not seeking vengeance was unthinkable. While unable to fulfill her sister's wish to live a normal life, Shinobu devoted her life instead to finding a way to carry on Kanae's dream, furthering her training and eventually taking her sister's place as a member of the Hashira with the goal of developing a way to avoid killing demons. She molded her personality into the softer, more cheerful disposition that Kanae was so fond of to honor her memory, yet it's clear that doing so has taken its toll on her over time. She confesses to Tanjiro that she's grown tired of keeping up her sunny disposition, and that her attempts to find compassion and sympathy for those who have taken away her entire family weighs on her. As a result, she felt hindered in both her progress to carry on Kanae's dream and her desire to avenge her.

It's a difficult decision—Kanae was the only remaining member of her family and was (and still is) the most important person to her, yet she ultimately chose to entrust Kanae's dream to Tanjiro instead in the hopes that he would be able to find the compassion for demons that she lacks, admitting that the prospect of his success soothes the anger she has carried with her for so long. Despite her optimistic outlook, at her core, Shinobu is a pragmatic realist: she frequently makes the hard choices that will ensure her success in the end, finding ways and alternatives around the numerous obstacles stacked against her and isn't shy about using whatever she has at her disposal to give herself the advantage. Whether it is developing a new combat technique to make up for her lack of strength, or devising and executing a plan to kill the demon who murdered her sister a year in advance, once Shinobu sets her mind on something she will stop at nothing to achieve it—even at the cost of her own life. Her strong will and determination has led her to where she is today, and though there are times when she falters, times where her lack of physical strength makes itself known during her toughest moments, she picks herself back up again and again. Her tenacity is likely her greatest asset, giving her the strength to keep pushing herself forward in spite of the hardships she has endured.

While not as openly kind and compassionate as her sister, Shinobu cares deeply for those around her, often putting her own safety on the line if it meant being able to prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate she did. Strength comes with a price, and if she is able to pay that price to save another innocent life, she will gladly pay it in full.

"And just as we were saved, there were those whose happiness haven't yet been destroyed."

CRAU: N/A

SPECIES: Human
APPEARANCE: Here.
SKILLS:

Physical combat
As a member of the Hashira, Shinobu is one of the strongest swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps. Although she lacks the physical strength to decapitate demons, years of harsh and rigorous training have honed her speed and weapon skills to a near superhuman level; she is able to match the speed of most Upper Rank demons and also possesses superior stabbing strength. Shinobu is also shown to be very graceful and agile, making her a very difficult target to hit and subdue. As a note, her speed will be toned down to match that of an olympic athlete.

Swordsmanship/Insect breathing
Shinobu is the creator of the Insect Breathing style, which is a sword style that is inspired by and mimics the movements and lethal stings of various insects. This style mainly focuses on stabbing and thrusting, the goal of which is to create numerous shallow cuts in the target to allow for the injection of a large dose of poison. As it was created by Shinobu, she is currently the only user of the Insect Breathing style and is the only person able to utilize it to its full potential with her weapon, a modified katana with a needle tip that resembles a rapier, allowing her to inject her various poisons into demons. The different forms (also referred to as "dances") of the Insect Breathing style takes advantage of Shinobu's superior speed and medical expertise, relying on her precision to target the areas of the body that would be most susceptible to poison (i.e.: neck, heart, torso, etc). A list of techniques and their descriptions can be found here. As a note: she will not have her poisons in game, which means she'll have to create new poisons from scratch with whatever materials she finds.

Medical skills
Shinobu was born to a family of pharmacists which facilitated her interest and skill in the medical science field, carrying over to her proficiency as a frontline medic. The Butterfly Estate owned by Shinobu is the current recovery base of the Demon Slayer Corps, with Shinobu spearheading most of their patients' healing and recovery processes. Aside from her medical expertise, Shinobu is also proficient in creating and counteracting poisons, having made her own wisteria-based poison herself that she is known for using in combat. With help from Tamayo and Yushiro, Shinobu was also able to create a drug capable of reverting demons back to their human form and regain their memories, a feat that was widely considered to be impossible. By working together with Tamayo, Shinobu's four-stage drug was capable of significantly weakening Muzan, the origin of all demons and the main antagonist, providing the other demon slayers the chance to finish him off before he could escape. While Muzan was capable of decomposing the first stage of the drug, Shinobu's failsafe second stage was crucial in turning the tide of the battle in Tanjiro's favor, further proving Shinobu's keen intellect in planning ahead to ensure their success.

Miscellaneous/Body modification
In preparation for her inevitable confrontation with Doma, Shinobu began ingesting a highly concentrated dose of wisteria poison every day for a year leading up to their encounter. As a result, she has completely integrated the poison into her body, from her blood and organs down to her cell structure. The poison is non-lethal to humans and other species aside from demons, and it is only detectable by smell if recognized. Due to her smaller stature and body weight, her body now contains the equivalent of 37 kilograms worth of poison, which is approximately seven hundred times more than the lethal amount needed to kill an average demon.

NEW POWER: Insect manipulation. At its base level, Shinobu will have the ability to take control of an insect of her choice, being able to see, hear and feel through its perspective as a means of gathering information. Initially, she will only be able to take control of one for a maximum of five minutes, but over time she'll be able to prolong it and will also be able to take control of more than one insect at a time.
POWER REASONING: As she's often underestimated by her stature and strength, a lot of Shinobu's character revolves around finding alternatives and utilizing what she has at her disposal efficiently in order to achieve the results she wants, which often means gathering information and research. She is a skilled tactician, and the more she knows about her enemy, the better and easier she can bring them down. She's the kind of girl who would cut off your supply chains right from the get-go; the girl who would first come for your gold, your lands, and then eventually, your head.