NAME: Kuri Saito (known only by Declan)
NICKNAME/ALIAS: Kaoru (used by Declan only), Amaya (her alias)
AGE: 127 (looks 19, vampire for 108)
BIRTHDAY: April 20, 1883
SPECIES: Vampire since 1902
CLAIMED STATUS: None
OCCUPATION: Unemployed

SEXUALITY: Bisexual
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None other than Declan.
SIRE: Declan
SIBLINGS: Edmund & ___. Kaoru is the baby.
CHILDREN: None
GRANDSIRE: Roman

APPEARANCE: Amaya is a petite little thing that comes up to just bellow five feet in height. In her time period, this was on the tall end for a Japanese woman, and would now be considered around the average mark in modern day Japan. Her skin is flawless and pale, the height of perfection for the skin of a Geisha and marks her as the vampire she is. She has the standard almond shaped eyes with big eyes so dark a brown they can look black (which take on a dark maroon tint when she feeds). Her dark brown hair is long and silky with just a tiny bit of wave to it, and is always kept to just below her shoulder blades.

Amaya has no marks to mar her perfect skin, no tattoos, but does have her ears pierced. And as for her manner of dress, so sports the (naughty) school girl look more often than not, and goes Lolita when she’s wants a bit of special fun. Then during those moments when she’s needed to dress up she either goes for the sweet and innocent secretary/assistant look or dresses in a traditional kimono. She also has a penchant for the less clothing being the best, a habit she picked up from her sire. She also has a secret love for bikini’s, and has far more than she likely should. They are like outfits to her and she can’t help but buy all she finds cute.
PB: Nozomi Sasaki | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

LIKES: Declan, comfort, showing skin, being in or near water, Declan, playing with humans, lollipops, school girl clothing, Lolita clothing, Japanese culture, American culture, sexual based songs/music, sex, Declan, human blood, teasing, Traditional Japanese Dancing, human and vampire interactions, and did I mention Declan?

DISLIKES: Edmund, bagged blood (but will drink it), stuffy conservatives, child abandonment, senseless violence, sexual and physical abuse, fire, her inability to stay in the sun for long periods of time, people who try to become romantically involved with Declan.

STRENGTHS: Observant, adaptable, loyal, protective, difficult to anger, the sexual arts, plays the shamisen & flute, Traditional Geisha Dances, speaks and writes all Japanese dialects, knows two languages other than English and Japanese (Italian and French; both are rusty from lack of use).

WEAKNESSES: Declan, jealousy (only concerning Declan), love of teasing, self preservation, extravagant, computers, what she views as hers, her 'family', physical combat, mentioning Edmund.

FEELINGS ABOUT HUMANS: Humans make for great and very interesting toys.... Ok, really, she likes them. She likes observing them, and seeing how they'll react to certain situations, mainly sexually. She thinks they are interesting and great fun, so they get ranked as more than food in her book.

DETAILED PERSONALITY: If one was to look at the woman that is Amaya, they would almost immediately have a low expectation from her. She presents herself as an easy, sex crazed floozy. Short skirts and a lot of skin shown along with her pouty lips and expressions make for the perfect mask. A mask that she likes and enjoys. It makes people underestimate her, as well as draws people in, especially prey and new toys.

However, it is just a mask. Sure, she is a sexual deviant, but she is also so much more than that. Amaya is a Geisha trained, and as such she is truly not as sex-minded and flighty as she may seem. She is very adaptable, and can shift to match the environment she is in. She can comfortably meld in with humans, as well as vampires. She can be proper and reserved when in the presence of conservatives, and she can be easy and approachable when needed. She can even adapt a cold and unapproachable (lofty even) persona. It all depends on what is needed of her. However, she rarely adopts these other personas if not asked by Declan, as she prefers her standard mask, or unless it is needed to protect herself.

Amaya also is a bright girl, though she may not be as into book learning as others would be. She is, essentially, a social genius. She loves observing, and picks up on things quickly. Amaya also holds a love for the arts, though her tastes mainly flow toward Japanese culture. She may not be able to play more modern instruments, or dance the more modern dances, but when it comes to those she was trained in, and still practice, she has few equals.

Because of her dance style, which is very akin to Tai Chi, Amaya can, at times, seem to have this graceful and almost ethereal presence to her as she moves. This comes out, mainly, while she drops all guises and is herself.

Now, when one gets past the layers to who truly lies beneath, they’ll see a woman who is, really, rather average. Sensual, loving to those she cares for, protective. She may not be easy to anger most times, but she does have her triggers (such as Declan and what she views as hers). She is also not above jealousy, since she is very attached to her sire. She does not share well at times, at least not sharing emotionally.

Amaya is also a lover of teasing. She sees humans as toys, and is not above playing with them. She’ll respect a vampires ‘claim’, but otherwise? She loves to toy with humans and learn from them. She sees humans as interesting and wants to learn about them. Plus, they’re fun. However, she grows tired of her toys fast and will discard them once she is bored with them, generally. This is likely why she has yet to be interested in claiming any as hers.

And then there is Declan, her sire. Well, to say the least, he is her biggest weak spot. She loves the vampire fiercely. He is her one and only, no other can compare to him. He is her father, mentor and lover. He taught her all she knows of love, sex and the world, and she will never sever ties with him. And because of this feeling, she has a distinct dislike for Edmund, despite having never met the eldest child.

Also, her attachment to Declan makes him her biggest weakness. She’ll do anything for him, and anything to protect him. Really, Amaya generally thinks of her own safety first, a habit born of the fact she really doesn’t know how to protect herself physically. She’ll run rather than fight. However, for Declan? She’ll stick it out, even if it means she’ll die.

HISTORY: The beginning of Amaya’s life is now a blur, not only because of the passage of time, but because she’d rather not remember. She was one of many in a poor Japanese farming family. She was just another mouth to feed, neither the oldest nor most useful. At least if she was a boy she could work the fields more or be made useful in some way, but as she was not… Well, her life was hard to say the least, little to eat, too much work, and strict discipline. It was almost a blessing when, at nine years of age, she was sold into a Geisha house.

Kaika Hana was a prospering house in Kyoto taking in young girls to train under their successful Geisha’s. Their training was strict and rigorous, and it left the country bred girl unable to enjoy the new sights of an unfamiliar town. At least she had clean clothing, a warm futon and food to eat. Hunger became a thing of the past, but it was replaced by a harsher, stricter environment.

She and the other three young girls were charged with cleaning the house and doing chores, as well as attending school so they could know the basics for their eventual training in being a Geisha. Her days were chalk full and she was left with little time for fun. It wasn’t until she was fifteen and about to enter into an apprenticeship as a Meiko when her life would change. The house next to their home had seen many owners coming through, never staying long. None of them paid the young women of the house any mind, not until Declan.

When Amaya first met him, it was while at market running errands. It was a chance encounter as she was running, late in returning to the house. She bumped into him and spilled her purchases. The foreign man dressed in strange, western clothes had stopped and helped her retrieve her things. He was burned into her mind because of his strange features, and his green eyes… They met a few more times in the market, but still she did not know he was the new owner of the house next to Kaika Hana. Not until when, on a warm night, she went out into the garden by the fencing.

Through a particular gap in the fencing they started up a conversation that led to a strange kind of relationship that progressed. And Declan, the strange foreigner became a young teenage Meiko’s confidant and first crush. He was so very different and intriguing, he drew her in like a moth to a flame, and she was incapable of resisting. And he eventually became a patron of the Geisha house, which ensured that she was able to see him even more often.

And then, most of the way through her sixteenth year, Amaya entered into the same fate of all Meiko’s. It was time for her virginity to be auctioned away, and she feared this. One particular Geisha had found it amusing to terrify her and the others by teasing them with stories of how horrible it was, and how much pain they would go through. This caused Amaya to go to Declan with her fears, admitting to him that if someone was to take her virginity, she would rather it be him, since she was sure he would not hurt her. After saying which she fled and avoided him, ashamed by her boldness.

And then the auction came. Never would Amaya have believed she made an impression on anyone, even though she was considered the prettiest of the current Meiko’s. But, unfortunately, one of the house patron’s had a particular like for deflowering girls, and had the funds to endorse such a habit with the taking of a Meiko’s virginity. This caused Amaya a great deal of sadness, and upon finding out she avoided her friend, Declan. Not because she thought he failed her, but because she knew she had expected too much of him.

However, unknown to her, Declan had bid on her and lost just barely. Also, she would not find out until years after she became a vampire that Declan had found the name of the man who won and sent him to an early grave. All the Geisha House knew was that he met with a horrible accident. And so Amaya went to the next bidder, which was Declan.

The night Amaya lost her virginity was a night she would never forget. It was also the night that cemented her attachment to the foreign man. He was a tender, attentive lover; touching her, arousing her, giving her pleasure without taking her virginity, at least not yet. And then, when the time came for the final act his words rang through her mind. He told her that she would not remember the pain that the only thing she would keep with her was the pleasure, and he was right. It would not be until she was made a vampire that she would understand he had put her under thrall during the initial pain, not releasing her until it was nothing but pleasure. And with him she stayed through the night and into the next day.

That one night with Declan was a treat to her senses, but it was nothing like what she experienced upon waking in the morning. He doted on her, making her tea, caring for her. He did everything no Japanese male would have ever done, and it captured her heart. How could it not? She was a girl born into poverty who never had freely given love and caring before, and here was a man, a very attractive man, lavishing her with attention.

She returned to the Geisha House uncaring of the displeased atmosphere she returned to, since she had been kept so long past the time she was to return. They could never take that pleasure from her now. In fact, all it served to do was awaken her sexual desires. She became a new creature, more sensual than ever before, and she craved it, craved more of it, and she got it. Declan never turned her away after that night.

So, the Geisha in training gained a secret lover. And with him she learned the hedonistic arts, and while she never had sex with clients, they could definitely see a change in her. She became more confidant, more sure of herself, and it made her practically glow.

Then, a few months after her own virginity was taken, her roommate’s came up to be auctioned off. Remembering their sister Geisha’s terribly stories, the girl was terrified. Amaya told her not to worry, that it would not be painful, it did not prepare them for the outcome. The winner had been a new patron, one they would never see again. He returned the girl beaten and bruised. Her first night was, indeed, painful. And, feeling sorry for her, Amaya tended her. But not just that. She did not want her friend and fellow apprentice to remember sex as this, she wanted her friend to know the pleasure of sex as well.

And so, Amaya seduced her friend once she was well enough, and unwittingly had her first female experience. It would not be her last, for she found that the female body excited her as much as Declan’s. The years passed in this fashion, with Amaya fulfilling her duties and sating her sexual desires with Declan and her female friend. There were times were she became stressed and sad, when the older Geisha’s became angry with her and petty because she kept gaining more attention, but she could deal with it. She had Declan there, after all.

When she was nineteen was when she would find out about the fact Declan was a vampire. At the time she thought him a demon, but the distinction would come later. Since she first started to visit Declan in the nights, there were always some night she was forbidden from coming to his home. She always followed his restrictions faithfully. But after a particularly horrible prank from the older women, she broke this rule and went to his home, thinking he would not be there. But at least she could find comfort in the surrounding she associated with him.

She did not expect to see him there, or to find him having just finished feeding on another human being, blood dripping from his mouth. It made her very afraid to see, but by that time he had captured her heart completely. Four years of knowing him and coming away unharmed. For years of dedicated, tender care… She disregarded her fear and accepted him, even if he was a demon. He was her protector, and she loved him, no matter what. So even though he was angry with her at first, it did not cause much of a hiccup in their relationship.

When Amaya was turned, it was just before Declan left. Four years in Kyoto, and he needed to move on before he was found out. And that terrified Amaya. She begged him not to leave her. She did not want to lose him, since she viewed him as her only sanctuary, and if that meant becoming like him? Then she would do it willingly. And so, Amaya cast of her mortality and took to the road with her lover now turned sire.

The years she spent with Declan as a vampire were the best years of her life. She was his very willing student, and she soaked up all he had to teach like a sponge to water. She yearned for everything her new life had to offer. She opened up, shedding her reserved outlook and taking up the curiosity and hunger for life she had always kept hidden in her human life. It was as if, in Declan’s hands, she morphed from a caterpillar into a butterfly.

For eighty-nine years she traveled with her sire and learned from him. She learned of his long life, and learned about his sire. She also learned of Edmund, who she came to dislike a great deal. How could he leave Declan when he loved the other man so much? She would give anything for her sire to love her as he did Edmund, but she knew that she had her own special kind of love from her sire, and she was content with that. She was, after all, his only female child.

But then, since eighty-nine years was quite long, Amaya decided to strike out on her own. She loved Declan, and was in no way abandoning him. She just felt the urge to see if she could stand on her own, as well as wanting to return to her homeland. And so she took leave from her sire, with his blessing, and went back to Japan. She spent a couple years in Kyoto, becoming familiar with it once more. And then she moved on to the busy hub that was Tokyo. She spent fifteen years there, playing and honing her skills, even going to far as to put herself through the modern day training as a Geisha while there, just to see. She honed her skills, learning all she could about her culture. The music, the dancing, the languages… She soaked them up just like everything else she had ever been hungry.

Despite the fact Japan was the technological mecca of the world, basically, Amaya never really got the hang of a computer. She tried learning from various pets she would keep, but she never took to it, not like she did with the cell phone. Essentially, she became as proficient with a cell phone as most people are with computers, but it was more like she could do without a computer, but a cell phone was needed to fulfill the persona she had become enamored with, that of an innocent, yet naughty, looking school girl.

However, Tokyo eventually lost its sparkle, and her loneliness spiked. She began wanting her sire’s presence more strongly. Nineteen years away from him… and it was too much. She needed him. Thankfully, she had kept in contact with him over the years, out of wanting to as well as it being the terms of their separation. So she knew where he was, and it took little time to liquidate her gained assets and pack up.

Shadow Falls, here comes Amaya, Declan’s baby child, his little flower, his Kaoru.

SONG: Song Instead of a Kiss - Alannah Myles