Sayo "Shinya-nami" Kurogawa

Sayo Kurogawa (born November 01, 1990) is a character of The Secret World. She is a professional thief and was a member of a Dragon Organization to regain and secure Gaia's Artefacts.

=• Biography •=

Childhood
Sayo was born short after midnight on 1st November 1990 in a small private hospital located in the outskirts of Izumi, one of the medium sized towns of Japan's south (with a population of about 55.000). Her name "Sayo" can roughly be translated into "Born in the Night".

She was a child of love for her parents Shin and Mizuki Kurogawa. Why the small family left Japan to travel to the Phillipines in 1991 is unknown, also the reason why they went to the Mount Pinatubo Wikipedia: Mount Pinatubo is lost with her parents.

The family resided in the immediate vicinity of the catastrophe when the volcano erupted on 15th June. Rescuers found the crying baby Sayo within the destruction of a small village on the slopes of the volcano. She was alone and the sole survivor of the town, four natives and her parents were missing, the rest dead. With her only a purse with the identity cards of her mother and father were found.

Soon she was given to the Japanese Embassy and left the Phillipines on the same day. It's unknown why the officials decided to hand her over to the care of the Neise Orphanage on the Yakoshima Island.

The leadership of the orphanage laid in the hands of Mister Hiroki Shimamoto, a very rich Art Dealer of honorable reputation. Sayo was raised like the other children at the orphanage and it was a hard and simple life. Additional to normal school the children attended to lessons about the mysteries of the world. That should prepare them for what laid outside the wooden walls which surrounded their home.

Sayo followed those lessons with much enthusiasm and with growing age she understood much more of the events in and outside the orphanage.

So it seemed to be common that every year one or two of the children were sent on a short trip to the surrounding forests, "to find their fate" - that's how this journey was called. Most of them returned, but not all.

Sayo was send on that mission on the eve of her 8th birthday - and returned.

Sayo after 1998
After she succeeded in her task to find her fate - nobody but herself could say what that would be and she told no one beside some very close friends of what she experienced on her mission - Sayo was welcomed in the circle of the Dragonfly, a criminal organization of thieves. From then on she got a different education than the other children. She was trained by the Headmistress Yumi personally. To her new subjects counted things like sneaking, lock-picking and a very hard physical training (with a main focus on agility and speed).

Sayo befriended a one year younger girl called Suki who got through the "Task" the year after her. They trained and lived together since 1999 and became a team, the best team of the orphanage in this decade. Sayo called Suki her sister and always felt responsible for the girl.

In 2003 the orphanage was officially closed due to a dangerous malaria epidemic. Unofficially the orphanage was continued (even in its original function). Now they hosted orphanes from families with a strong tie to the Dragon society and not only the children who finished the special test each year were trained in the arts of dexterity.

Adolescence
Suki and Sayo grew up into an organization which demands complete obedience in exchange for a place to live and three meals a day. Their whole training was built around this simple concept. They were trained thieves and their role was to steal secured items for the organization.

In 2005 both girls moved to a private school in Tokyo, to get some basic knowledge of the real world and for their first assignments. Sayo wasn't good at school, she was way too distracted by simple things and mysteries. She excelled most of the other pupils in sports. Suki however showed more talent for technical subjects. Education wasn't a goal of the organization, though.

Yumi, the Headmistress, accompanied them to Tokyo and was responsible for accomodation and everything else the girls would need. She gave them their first mission: to steal a small jade statue from a backyard-shop who dealt with various pieces of Japanese history. The owner of the shop turned out to be a man with connections to the Secret World and that he didn't rely on a shotgun under the counter to fend thieves of. Their first mission was more a test of their abilities than a real job, but they performed it well.

Since then they were a fully integrated part of the Dragonfly's organization

Serving the Dragonfly
2008 moved the team from Tokyo to Europe to complete missions of the Dragonfly there. They were excellent. Sayo had learned much more about security systems and countermeasures and in return passed her knowledge about fighting to Suki.

The fist real cut in her life since the death of her parents was the seperation of Suki. In 2009 they got the assignment to steal a vase from the Museum of Antique Arts in Madrid. It was the first mission that they failed. Suki was captured and Sayo seriously wounded.

Suki had to return to Japan for an office job as punishment and Sayo was given to the hands of a man she only knew as Akira, the right hand of the Dragonfly.

He was now responsible for her and perfected her skills. Unfortunately he was a cruel and cold hearted man, with sadistic tendencies and very possessive. He saw Sayo as his property he could use as he wanted. She was his big deal, his main income, because her skills were outstanding and somehow he had to better his reputation within the organization.

The Years in Europe (since 2009)
Akira and Sayo travelled through Europe from one mission to another. They were very successful. Sayo hadn't the chance to speak with Suki for about a year. The only sign of life she got in that time was an E-Mail in which Suki told her that she worked in an office in Tokyo. Sayo missed Suki terribly, but Akira did everything to prevent contact. Sayo had to beg Akira to speak to Suki from time to time and he took a liking to it.

Things worsened drastically after they were ordered to steal a painting in Rome in 2011. To get close to the painting Sayo had to join Art students from abroad. She befriended a girl called Jane Reynolds, an Art student from the USA. She soon discovered that she felt the same for Jane as she felt for Suki, even knowing that a relationship of this kind wouldn't last only as long as the mission would take.

Both get close to each other and in the summer vacation Jane took her to her parents in the USA. On returning Akira asked impatiently about Sayo's advances to get the painting, knowing that she hadn't time for the mission. Sayo told him the truth and endured his rage, not realizing his growing possessiveness. Jane Reynolds was later found by the police tortured and murdered in the apartment she shared with Sayo. They were alarmed by an annonym call.

Officially she became a victim of the mafia, but even Sayo only knew half the truth. Akira told her that a second party was after the painting and killed her friend. The Rome mission was a desaster and Sayo, psychologically injured, didn't ask questions. It was easy for Akira to manipulate her and he began to practicate sadistic games with Sayo.

After the Rome desaster they travelled to Germany, staying there for more than a year until Akira send her head over heels to London, only telling her that something went wrong and they had to part for now.

New Orientation - 2013
In London she was left alone for the first time since she worked with Akira. With all what he had done to her and surely would do, she realized that her life needed a change, but it would be easier to swim through a shark tank with a bleeding wound than to escape a man like Akira.

Fortunately she met a woman who initiated this change she longed for. This woman was Gwyneth Lynell. They met by chance and talked to each other. Sayo was searching for a place to live and Gwyneth was searching for a solution to hold up the rent. They became roommates and very close friends, so close that they both call each other "sister".

Whatever happened to Akira, the man wasn't seen after mid 2013 again. Sayo left the Dragonfly's organization and they parted in good. Now she applied to the Wingate Foundation as security staff.

=• Personal Information •=

Appearance
Sayo stands about 5 feet 6 inches tall. Her body is slim, not showing her true strength and someone who see her in action may wonder how that Asian girl can perform such things. As most Asian women she has black silken hair which she keeps short normally. She let it grow longer lately.

Most people who watch her first notice her eyes. They are of an emerald green color with some darker spots in them. People watching her directly into her eyes often feel like being chained to them.

Her only mark is a big tattoo on her back, a towering wave spanning from her hips up to her shoulder blades. Within the wave are grimaces of different kind. At the base of the wave are whales which seem to hold the water on their back. Above the wave are stars which mirror in the water. One star is bigger as the rest and seems to shine in a black light.

Her clothes are functional, form fitting and tight. Anything that could hinder her abilities in close combat or agility is normally avoided. She would say: "Always wear something with which you could climb a wall if needed." Sayo places not much value in fashion.

Due to her agility training she moves silently most of the time - even if she doesn't want to. She is used to not be heard or seen by others.

Sayo's voice is soft and low, almost shy.

Personality
Sayo was trained in hiding her true emotions and intentions so for a stranger it may be impossible to know the true "Sayo". To the outside she is always concentrated and shy. Her moving eyes may let others think that she is nervous.

She tries to get rid of that habit and is more communicative lately and shows more of the true Sayo. Her eyes are only moving around because she wants to collect all available information about her surroundings to react in the best possible way.

The true Sayo is a young woman who was trained (not to say conditioned) to obey and serve. The living at the orphanage was hard and sharing with the other children and caring for them dayly routine. So today she feels responsible for the people who are close to her. She tries to care for them as best as she can, she would fiercly fight for her friends if needed. If something troubles them she tries to find a solution, even if it's obvious that there is none she could offer. She is a very reliable and loyal person.

She is still shy and cautious, but takes the initiative if something or someone seems to be interesting. She isn't used to social things like parties or public events, so it may be difficult for her to act in such an environment. She feels uncomfortable if confronted with more than one interlocutor and usually will fall back into the quite role of an observer in such situation. Between Jane's death and her trip to London she was controlled by Akira who prevented most contact to other people.

Because of her past relation to Akira her ability to build up relationships (especially to men) is limited.

Goals and Views
Goals

Sayo was trained for only one purpose: to be a perfect thief. The training and to carry out plans to steal art objects was the whole meaning of her life until she broke free from Akira and finally left the Dragonfly. Now she looks after something to do, to use her skills in a better way and to not let anyone take advantage of them unrightfully. Her ultimate goal is to care for her new family, her sister Gwyneth Lynell and Gwyneth's husband-to-be, Evan Holguin. That is above everything else what she has in mind as a goal.

She thinks about adopting a girl from the orphanage where she was raised. The little girl called Ruri touched something in Sayo's heart and soul which made her fond of the child. Sayo is inwardly torn apart by the knowledge how much better Ruri's life would be with her and the truth that she feels way too young to care for Ruri.

View on the supernatural

Sayo believes in supernatural things, magic, occultism, miracles, dreams and entities mighty enough to kill a human being with a blink of their eyes: all that belongs to the real world for her. She also believes in Fate, a force no one can escape from. Some are aware of their fate, some are not. She equates Fate with Gaia, at least for the fates of everyone on earth. For her, fighting against her own fate is futile, what could make her vulnerable to someone who wants to manipulate her by convincing her of a specific fate.

Another important thing is the concept of the "true names", that everyone has a name which is connected to his or her fate. Knowing the true name of someone gives the knowing being a kind of power over that individual. Sayo told her true name only to three people so far and guards that secret well.

View on worldly things

"Whatever you do, do it with all your love, your soul and a strong hand." That sentence could be from Sayo. Whatever she starts, she does it with passion. Not to be 100% dedicated to what you do is pointless in her eyes. She is not a perfectionist, but she tries hard to reach whatever goal she might have.

Death is an inevitable fate, she doesn't fear death or the dead. They are part of the world, of the circle of life. Reanimated dead are a perverted form of life and have no right to existence. She seeks to destroy them on sight. Killing living persons or animals is a different matter. For such an act of violence she needs a good reason. She prefers to find another solution than to outright murder someone who is between her and her goal. She doesn't hesitate if there is no other option left, though.

Money and status is nothing she is after. Both have its meaning in the world, but both you can gain or regain if it's lost somehow. She doesn't fear losing money or valuables. If she owns some: it's good, but also if not. She's not too bad to steal for a living.

Love is something she doesn't experienced so far. Constantly under the control of the organization and later her cruel mentor Akira, it was impossible for her to think about her own feelings. Now, after she left the organization, emotions unknown to her grow and may easily overwhelm her.

=• Noteable Relationships •=

Gwyneth Lynell

Nobody in Sayo's life ever had such an impact on her like this Irish girl. Both are connected by a deep invisible bond of friendship and understanding. They both refer to each other as "sister". Sayo gave Gwyneth the additional name "Nozomi" which means "Hope", after a near-death-experience in which Sayo could feel her sister near her. Sayo trusts in Gwyneth like in no other person. She is family for her and Sayo would unhesitatingly jump into fire for her (and Gwyneth would do and has already done the same for Sayo). At present they are roommates.

Suki

Sayo knows Suki since she was 8. Suki came to the orphanage after she lost her parents to a fire and Sayo took care of her. They became close friends and later a team. Their relationship suffered from a failed mission in Madrid, after which Suki was ordered back to Japan to an office job as punishment for her failing. Sayo was sent to Akira instead and was able to continue with missions for the Dragonfly. Both were seperated and without much contact. Suki was the first person, Sayo called sister. They are still friends, but not like Gwyneth and Sayo are today.

Ruri

The little girl from the orphanage found her way into Sayo's heart. Sayo is thinking about adopting her (see "Goals"). She reminds Sayo of herself many years ago.

Mister Hiroki Shimamoto

Somehow Sayo sees in the Dragonfly a father, strict but fair. Since he stated to her that she is equal to him, she struggles with that view on the man who took care of her after her parents got lost. She is still in contact to the Dragonfly (in both of his identities) and he watches her career closely even after she left his organization. He once offered her to be his right hand, but she declined and suggested Suki for that post.

=• Trivia •=

 the character "Quorra" played by Olivia Wilde in "Tron Legacy" was the initial inspiration for Sayo  Mr. Shimamoto and the Dragonfly are one person, the first his official ID the last what he really is  the Neise Orphanage was build by the German Preacher "Tobias Neise" in 1897, German is still one of the languages taught to the orphanes  Sayo always carries photos of people with her, which are or were very close to her, that are actually a picture of Suki, Jane, Wren and Ruri  she enjoys eating and making Sushi 