Izumi "Goldpen" Kotone-Marsh

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=• CHRONOLOGY • =

 Origins
Kenneth Marsh was an ambitious young engineer when he was recruited by the Illuminati. While this had undeniable advantages, the downsides started to wear on him. He was not quite as ruthless as needed. While on an extended business trip in Japan, he went to a tea house evening organized by the hotel at which they were staying. His life changed when he met Miyuki Kotone at the tea house owned and operated by her mother. He did not know that the Dragon closely monitored his presence at the tea house. Miyuki was tasked with keeping tabs on him. She deployed her charm and he sought her out, which made her task significantly easier. Eventually, he opened up about not liking his work... Miyuki used the opportunity and after several months of planning, Kenneth Marsh vanished from the Illuminati radar, joining the Dragon. As recruiter, Miyuki took care of Marsh's acclimatation and they worked a lot together, becoming very close. This did not please certain people, Marsh being a gaijin, a stranger. Despite ruffled feathers, Marsh became a useful member of the Dragon and later, he and Miyuki got married.

 Izumi's childhood
On October 29th of 1977 at the Kyōtodaiichi Red Cross Hospital in Kyōto, Kenneth Marsh and Miyuki Kotone-Marsh become parents of a baby girl. They name her Izumi, a name meaning fountain or spring. Izumi grows up in Kyōto, occasionally allowed to go with her mother at the tea house. From the moment she saw a geisha, she is smitten. She tries to go at the tea house as often as possible. The little girl is fascinated by the atmosphere, the beauty and the geisha. When she turns 5, Izumi is allowed to help at the tea house and given a kimono for this purpose. She attends the Shintō Elementary School in Kyōto from kindergarten to grade 3 inclusively. She does well in school. However, whenever possible, she runs to the tea house. She has a few friends with who she plays. Japanese kickboxing becomes the rage during that period and some of her friends introduce her to this emerging martial arts. She signs up for the Japanese kickboxing classes after convincing her parents. Izumi's relationship with her obaasama, her grandmother, is tense. Miyuki's mother, Satomi Kotone, operates the Hitomi Ochiya tea house. She is a strict woman with an iron hand. She rarely ever say a good word to Izumi and seems to keep the child's affection at bay. Even if her mother explained that Satomi was a good woman but not demonstrative, Izumi remains wary of her grandmother, even though she shows her the uttermost respect.

 Unfortunate guest appearance
Izumi turns 9 in October 1986. Her birthday is celebrated the last Friday of October at the tea house, decorated for the occasion with colorful paper lamps and images of roosters. The geisha and maikos scheduled to perform for customers also offer a performance in the salon where the Kotone house is celebrating the birthday. Izumi comes across one of the American guests who were in a nearby salon of the tea house. He engages conversation with the little girl and learns that the tea house is owned by the girl's grandmother and that her parents also work there. Later that night, the American guest is seen having a tense discussion with Kenneth Marsh outside the tea house. Soon after, Izumi's parents leave Kyōto, allegedly on business trip that would last a few months. Izumi stays with her grandmother, with sporadic news from her parents and rare phone calls, always short.

 Breaking news
On February 13 of 1987, Izumi is sent away from the tea house, to stay with an acquaintance of her grandmother. Late that evening, the television starts broadcasting news of a shootout at the Hitomi Ochaya, the tea house. The reporters talk about a confrontation between rival gangs in organized crime. The incident being all over the news, Izumi learns about it the next morning. In the afternoon, her father arrives. With news that Izumi's grandmother was fine, and explains they arrived the previous evening and were planning to pick her up in the morning. The next days are spent in shock, preparing for Miyuki's funeral. Miyuki Kotone-Marsh is cremated and her funeral held about ten days after her death. After the damage from the shootout was repaired, the tea house finally reopens for business. Izumi is informed of the possibility that she would have to move if her father's business, currently under negotiations, would turn out that way. In May, Izumi's father takes her with him and they take a flight from Tokyo to Montreal, leaving Japan behind to settle in Canada.

 Quiet times
The family moves in a house at 40, Edgehill street in Westmount, in the heart of Montreal, Canada. Izumi is allowed to take the final school tests remotely, under supervision, and completes her 3rd grade from Shintō Elementary School. In September, she begins grade 4 at St. George's School, which is close enough to walk to and from every day. The next years are quiet, Izumi going to school, her father working as architect. She finds classes to continue her kickboxing and between school, friends and her training, she finishes elementary school and enters as boarding student at the Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Canada, from which she graduates in June 1996. Bishop's University courts her but Izumi has other plans. Instead of entering university immediately, Izumi opts for building her portfolio. She takes sculpture courses at Centre d'arts La Salamandre during the fall 1996 and winter 1997 sessions.

 Eavesdropping
In June, Izumi finishes her sculpture courses and plans to spend some time in Kyōto after her father finally tells her how Miyuki died. She learns about their parents belonging to the Dragon, about Kenneth Marsh having defected from the Illuminati. Marsh is worried his daughter would start chasing ghosts, arguing she was not ready. Izumi finally convinces him to help her prepare for the possibility of hostile encounters. He calls upon a contact with the purpose of training Izumi. This triggers a chain of events that will finish separating the Kotone-Marsh family. Kenneth Marsh's phone was under surveillance. As soon as he placed this phone call, he was flagged and an operative showed up at their house. Yasu, who flew in from Japan, is with Marsh when the operative arrives. Izumi runs to her room and the fight takes place in the living room. The assailant is quickly dispatched, Marsh coming out of it with a gunshot to the arm. He tasks Yasu to take Izumi to safety. She finishes packing and is driven to St-Benoit-du-Lac, not far from the St-Benoit-du-Lac abbey, to a place called simply “The Shelter”. Kenneth Marsh goes off the radar for a while.

 Disappearing act
After learning that the man responsible for ruining their life was imprisoned, Izumi decides to confront him. She flies to Japan later in August. From the airport, an officer drives her to the facility, blindfolded. She is escorted to the prisoner's cell. Records show that her visit to the prisoner lasted approximately twenty minutes. After that, an officer from the detention facility drives her to the airport. This is the last time Izumi Kotone-Marsh is seen. She is assumed to have stayed in Japan for the next fifteen years, but no trace of her presence in Nippon territory can be found.

 The Canadian period
Izumi Kotone-Marsh finally reappears about fifteen years after flying to Japan. The first trace dates from July 2011, on the form of a phone subscription and a lease for an apartment in Ealdwic. At the same time, she appears on the founding documents of Nine Swords, where she oversees the Rapier Division. She also works as curator, jointly with Conlan Sinclaire, for Gaeaf Manor, located on Holy Isle near Isle of Arran, in Scotland. Conlan Sinclaire was appointed jointly in March 2010 with Maxime Deveaux, to whom Izumi Kotone-Marsh succeeds in July 2012. In mid-February 2013, she leaves Nine Swords and applies with the Scarlet and Cross Institute, along with Conlan Sinclaire. In March 2013, both of them are hired at the Institute where they work as field investigator. She spends most of her time in Ealdwic, with occasional trips to Gaeaf Manor and Castle Hopewell in Scotland, and British-Columbia in Canada.