Rihko/Introduction
Rihko Kirijo
(Pronounced: Re·ko Key·re·joe)
RSX Contractor, Engineer/Artisan, Self-Alleged 'Mad Engineer'
(The official Zephyr file:)
Rihko was one of the middle children of the Kirijo family of New York. Her father, Matsu, was an emigrant who earned his citizenship in the US Air Force. Her mother, Susan, was a counselor and the two met through a mutual friend. Rihko is the only survivor - Susan Kirijo was the only known relative to survive PN Day, and she died shortly thereafter when she left the bubble after contracting an inorganic mutation variation. When she initially joined Zephyr and was asked to identify a next-of-kin, Rihko declined, stating that she did not have a single surviving relative of any variety. When originally asked if she had any friends she wanted to declare as emergency contacts, Rihko likewise declined, stating none were currently alive. She has subsequently listed Taggart, her mate/fiancee, as her emergency contact.
Rihko traveled extensively before PN Day. She was the Purchasing Director for a small museum/gallery in San Diego, California, and worked with private collectors on a freelance basis. Her job sent her on frequent trips, both cross-country and international. During the Outbreak, Rihko volunteered for the rescue operation in San Diego, helping in triage and logistics. She contracted a relatively mild nanite infection at the time, which left her still looking human, but she received the Zephyr inoculation just to be safe. Since she was already 'contaminated' Rihko applied for a position with Zephyr. She spent several years working with Zephyr before being transferred to RSX, and is currently listed as the Business Director for Eire Nua, or the New Ireland Pub, which relocated to Clairmont after the founding of the Clairmont Project.
Other Zephyr staff members have noted Rihko for her positive attitude and resilient personality. When she first arrived in Fairhaven, Rihko did not have any experience fighting and frequently ended up in Zephyr's triage - while dealing with the other associated trauma of being overrun by ferals. Despite her trials and tribulations, though, she always remained positive and upbeat, and continues to enthusiastically pursue, well, whatever task she's currently working on.
Further, Rihko showed initiative when she started a business of her own: Kirijo Arms, selling various armaments to other survivors. She runs the business in tandem with her children. It currently operates out of Woodfield, primarily under the direction of Rihko's daughters.
Known Immediate Relations: (Pre PN Day) Matsu Kirijo (Father) (Deceased) (Went feral, put down by Susan Kirijo in self defense)
Susan Kirijo (Mother) (Deceased) (Died after leaving the New York bubble)
Miri Kirijo (Sister) (Deceased) (Murdered by feral formally known as Matsu Kirijo)
Yuko Kirijo (Sister) (Missing, Presumed Deceased)(Last known location: Las Vegas)
Angela Kirijo (Sister) (Deceased) (Murdered by looters in St. Louis)
Daniel Kirijo (Brother) (Deceased) (Killed by ferals in Minneapolis)
Tatsu Kirijo (Brother) (Discovered) (Clairmont)
(Post Fairhaven)
Taggart (Fiancee/Mate) (Owner/operator of New Ireland)
Takumi Kirijo (Son) (Oldest son, kitsune, usually tends to the Inari Shrine)
Jorge Kirijo (Son)
Natasha and Natalya Kirijo (Daughters)
(Unofficial Addendum)
Rihko does not just tinker with parts now and then; over the years she has mastered many nanite crafting schematics, and she is a natural engineer and excels at the practical application of mechanics and electronics. She has further applied this with her commissioned work and with Kirijo Arms. (OOC: Rihko is a Top Tier crafter, efficient tinkerer, and expert of repair; she also has 33 Design, 30 Comprehension, 32 Security, 21 Research, 21 Computer, and 21 Installation)
Rihko's personal philosophy is not one that she has shared with a lot of people, but she believes that, above all, one must be focused on the now. She believes that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing enthusiastically, and tends to throw herself into whatever it is she is doing - be that something as tame as filing paperwork or talking with a friend, or something like scavenging and fighting. She also believes that she shouldn't drop her problems on other people, so she tends to avoid talking about any of her past that she thinks others might find unpleasant.
Shortly after PN Day, one of Rihko's ex boyfriends in San Diego tracked her down. The man, the latest in a series of poor relationship choices, had decided to take advantage of the fall of society and attacked Rihko. He broke one of her legs, knocked her out, and tied her to a bed so he could rape her repeatedly. Fueled by rage and hatred Rihko broke her own hand in order to slip free from the bindings, and instead of going for help she found a knife and murdered her ex. She went to post-trauma counseling for a while, but she never admitted that deep inside, there was a piece of her that had woken up. Something ruthless and feral, that crowed with joy as her ex's blood ran down her hand and the life fled from his body.
All her attempts to contact her family had failed, both in the immediate aftermath of PN day and throughout her counseling, so she decided to set out across country and find them. Under normal circumstances, the trip to New York meant four or five days to a week on the road (if she couldn't find a plane), and in the chaos following PN day Rihko couldn't find a plane. The trip ended up taking her a little over a month, and Rihko ran into some other unpleasantness on the way, but she did eventually make it to New York.
There, she learned that her father had gone feral, and killed her sister. And that her mother, now mostly robotic, had killed Matsu in self defense. The two set out to find the rest of the family together, and Rihko watched her mother die as they left the bubble of New York, her inorganic body unable to sustain itself without the nanite cloud.
Over the course of the next year, Rihko traveled to the other places her family had lived, and ran into the same sort of stories - people with problems, people with issues, and her family dead and gone. She also had to defend herself, with lethal force, on several occasions. Each time, she became more and more comfortable with her Beast as she called it, calling on it for survival, feeding it all of the hurt, all of the sadness, all of the despair she felt so that it could strengthen her with rage, fighting it for control after each encounter.
She would likely have gone down a short, dark road into true psychopathy had it not been for a man she met on her trip; David Williams, a Kitsune. He could sense her trouble, and he was impressed by her determination and control, and by her dedication to her family. He started traveling with her, teaching her things about the world and helping her find ways to channel and control her emotions, instead of being controlled by them. In the end, he helped sponsor her to Prince Inari and with nothing else left, Rihko pledged her service and become a Kitsune in turn.
She took the job in Fairhaven, to try and keep an eye on what's going on and an ear to the ground, helping the Kitsunes as needed and helping civilization cling together and rebuild. Even after the Incident, where she lost her full connection to Inari and left the clan proper, she has remained an ally of the Kitsunes and the shrine in Fairhaven, and was eager to join the Clairmont project to aid in the rebuilding.
"We must remain resolute, and guard everything we hold dear, for unstable times lead to uncivil societies." - David Williams
"The best cure for hard luck, is hard work." - Susan Kirijo
