Shiori Kirihito

""Jin Kisaragi's life will be stolen. However, everything about you shall also be stolen.""

Shiori Kirihito (シオリ＝キリヒト) is a talented assassin from the Kirihito branch family of the Duodecim's Hazuki household. She is madly in love with Mai Natsume and will do anything to protect her. She was formerly hired by the Kisaragi family to assassinate Jin Kisaragi, infiltrating the Military Academy with Chachakaka.

Shiori first appeared as a minor antagonist in BlazBlue: Remix Heart before becoming a protagonist in later chapters. She reappeared as a supporting character in BlazBlue: Variable Heart. She was revealed as a playable character for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War on the 10th of June, 2021.

Appearance
Shiori is a pale girl with shoulder-length blonde hair tied into two pigtails with blue ribbons, and bright blue eyes. Her outfit consists of a white shirt with a black waistcoat, of which there is attached a black cape and hood. She also wears a blue skirt with a brown belt with multiple compartments on her left thigh, and black and white knee-long boots with heels. Shiori's look is finished with black gloves that come to her elbows and are finger-less on the index and thumb.

In the Academy, Shiori wore its standard female uniform with a red cravat and short black skirt, accompanied by white knee-long boots with sharp heels. In her profession as an assassin, she wore a long black coat with multiple straps and buttons across it and a white mask with horns and a diamond pattern on the face.

Personality
Initially, Shiori portrayed herself as a sweet girl with average abilities and a frail body, but in reality, she is far from that. Her sweet facade belies an unhinged young woman who desires the suffering of those around her. She delights in erasing people's memories, and contemplates making her victims killing their loved ones, only to restore their memories afterwards. Her behaviour often meant that Chacha had to tell her to behave on their mission within the Academy. In some respects, this can be attributed to her upbringing which made her seal off her emotions.

Despite her savage personality, her emotions eventually start to show. She greatly loves Mai and is willing to sacrifice herself for her if need be. Shiori also detests losing in anything, being fiercely competitive and a sore loser. When addressing others, she will use honorifics such as "Sir" or "Lady", and is known to frequently swear when she is annoyed. Often, she refers to herself in third person, which is a sign of childlike behaviour in Japanese culture.

Powers and Abilities
Due to her lifelong training, Shiori is an accomplished assassin. She has remarkable skill with throwing kunai, being able to hit a bullseye while running as a child. What makes her truly formidable, however, is her knowledge and usage of poisons. Her kunai are dipped in a poison which targets one's hippocampus, the part of the brain related to memories - according to Shiori, the poison destroys this part of the brain, but she does remark that she can wipe out memories and bring them back later on. In addition to her various poisons, Shiori is immune to them should they be used against her.

Shiori is also rather flexible and acrobatic, being able to strike the nape of a man's neck with her kunai mid-flip off of a tree branch. She also excels in infiltration, being able to not only sneak into the Military Academy, but managing to pass-off as an average student during her entrance exams.

BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Official Site Profile
''A student in the same year as Mai at the Military Academy. Infatuated with Mai.''

BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War Official Profile
Hailing from a family of assassins by trade, this young woman attends the NOL's Military Academy. The Kirihito Family specializes in assassinations through poison, and she is no exception. She may be courteous and sociable, but at her core she is still a coldhearted assassin.

From the depths of her heart she truly loves Mai, and would have no hesitation in giving up her entire being for her.

Trivia

 * In the BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Shiori placed 50th out of the 84 candidates. She scored one place above Raquel Alucard and one place below Eight. She had 125 votes.
 * Shiori is one of the handful of confirmed LGBT characters in the BlazBlue series.
 * Mai briefly alludes to Shiori in BlazBlue: Central Fiction in her victory quote against Hibiki Kohaku, noting that his assassination techniques are different from the Kirihito's.
 * Shiori's moveset in BBDW mainly revolves around poisons and insects.
 * Shiori originally debuted in BBDW as a non-playable character, first appearing in the Wondrous Glasses and A Test of Love ~Spectacles of Eros CARNAGE~ event.
 * Shiori shares her Japanese voice actress, SAITŌ Chiwa, with Taokaka.