Kondo Kiichi

Kondo Kiichi was a warrior and a member of the Kuroda family of the Tribe. Alongside Muto Shizuka, to whom he was attracted he was sent by the Tribe to keep an eye of Shirakawa Kaede by entering her service, but soon served her out of genuine devotion. He ultimately helped rescue her from Lord Fujiwara, sacrificing his life while killing the nobleman in the midst of an earthquake in order to help her escape.

Background
Kiichi was the illegitimate son of a Seisshu woman, presumably from the Kondo family, and Kuroda Tetsuo, a member of the Tribe. His upbringing was spent with the Tribe until he was twelve, after which he split his time between working for the Tribe and serving in his mother's family's household as a warrior-for-hire.

When he was seventeen, Kiichi married a woman who was also from the Kuroda family, but they had no children, and she gradually descended into schizophrenia. Although Kiichi was able to help ease her fears of the visions, during one of his absences on a mission she hanged herself, causing him some grief.

Grass for His Pillow
Kiichi was a member of the small retinue of warriors Daiichi sent with Kaede to protect her on her journey home. He successfully defended both her and Muto Shizuka, her handmaiden, from an attack on the road by brigands; in reality, the attack was a poorly-concealed assassination attempt by Daiichi on Shizuka, since he believed she had betrayed him. Although Kaede never completely trusted Kondo, she increasingly relied on him to oversee minor tasks around the Shirakawa estate, to act as messenger to her followers, and to enforce her authority. After Kaede's father, driven insane by his dishonored status and the truth about Kaede's "marriage" to Shigeru, tried to force himself on her, Kondo and Shizuka rescued her and killed him; Kondo then told Kaede to tell her men that her father had killed himself to restore his own honor, as he had often spoken of doing. When she publicly declared herself her father's heir and two of her warriors refused to follow her, Kondo quickly killed both of them and dared any others to follow their example.

Along with Shizuka, Kiichi was sent away from Kaede's service shortly after her arrival at Terayama, as Takeo (who she planned to marry) did not trust any member of the Tribe not to kill him.

Brilliance of the Moon and Death:
Somewhat dismayed by Kaede's dismissal of him (as he had felt genuine loyalty toward her) Kiichi cautiously attempted to make advances on Shizuka. She initially refused (partly because she had recently entered a relationship with Dr. Ishida, Fujiwara's physician) but eventually had sex with him, partly out of pity and partly because he would not be a bad choice for a Tribe marriage. However, after talking with Kenji she decides to make no major decisions yet, and Kondo is instead sent by Kenji to ascertain Arai Daiichi's feelings towards Zenko and Taku, his sons by Shizuka.

After Kiichi reached Inuyama, he was arrested as an associate of Kaede (who Daiichi perceived as having betrayed him) and, after he was recognized, as a member of the Tribe. Expecting to be executed, he was spared by a sudden outbreak of smallpox, which killed Daiichi's only legitimate son. After the mourning period, Kiichi was brought before Daiichi, who questioned him at length about the whereabouts of Shizuka and her sons. Claiming he was in Kiichi's debt for saving Shizuka and Kaede from the earlier brigand attack. Daiichi then offered to confirm Kiichi's rank as a warrior and give him his own household and stipend, in return for acting as a messenger to the Tribe. Kiichi, seeing how it might benefit both himself and the Tribe, accepted and carried a message to Shizuka: that Daiichi wanted to resume his relationship with her, and to adopt his sons. Meeting with Shizuka and Muto Kenji, Kiichi told them of Takeo's defeat by the Arai and Fujiwara's kidnapping of Kaede. He expressed his outrage at the way Kaede had been seized by Fujiwara's men and forced into marriage with him.

Subsequently, Kiichi traveled with Shizuka and Kenji to Shuho, a town in the northern part of the Western Country, where Takeo had surrendered to the Arai army. Kiichi willingly swore his allegiance to Takeo and was sent south, with Shizuka, to keep an eye on Kaede and look for an opportunity to rescue her.

When Shizuka was captured by Fujiwara's men and set to be tortured in front of Kaede, Kondo appeared, posing as a warrior of the Arai clan, and claiming that Daiichi wanted Shizuka spared. Suspicious, Fujiwara ordered his men to disarm Kondo, but as they began to battle, a huge earthquake ripped across the Three Countries. Fujiwara's estate was torn apart and quickly caught fire; as chaos ensued, Kaede was seized by Fujiwara and cried out for help. Kondo cut off the nobleman's hand, then told Kaede to run, telling her Takeo was waiting for her; as the enraged Fujiwara tried to pursue her, Kondo restrained him. Both men were consumed by the burning house and died.

Personality, appearance and abilities:
Kiichi was a somewhat mysterious man, always acting formal and sincere yet at the same time speaking in an ironic voice that made Kaede wonder if she could ever trust him. He was more adept than many members of the Tribe at masking his emotions, though in private he was often very vocal about them. For example, when he spoke to Shizuka alone he was very forward about his feelings for her, but when they later spoke with the elders of the Muto family and it was clear she did not want to marry him, he was very careful not to show any possible dismay or jealousy. Shizuka wondered if Kiichi had only shown attraction towards her when she provided a convenient solution to his master less status, as he showed no interest in her after Daiichi confirmed his warrior's rank. He is adept at reading people's emotions and motives.

Having spent a great deal of time both with the warrior class and the Tribe, Kiichi was ruthless, but much more open-minded than most Tribe members. He retained a strong sense of honor and respect for the traditional social heirarchy, and thought it dishonorable for him to murder Lord Shirakawa, even though he did so to save Kaede's life. He understood the internal conflict that made Takeo choose the Otori over the Tribe, being of mixed blood himself. At the same time, he seemed to respect women more than most, speaking to Shizuka as an equal and expressing his outrage at Fujiwara's treatment of Kaede. Ultimately, his loyalty to the latter outweighed even his obedience to the Tribe, as he bravely sacrificed his life to save her; he also saw his own death as penance for his earlier killing of her father.

Although he was from a Kuroda background, Kiichi had the Muto ability of disassembling his features so that he was impossible to recognize; he was also skilled at assuming different dialects to disguise his voice as well, having worked as a spy across the Three Countries in nearly every level of society. He had lightning-quick reflexes that augmented his already-considerable skill with a sword, and was extremely strong.

As a warrior's son, he had a naturally charismatic and commanding presence. He had an unremarkable face but long, hairy arms and large, long-fingered hands, causing Kaede to mentally nickname him "Long-Arm" before she learned his actual name.