Character Name: Hisaki Mai (日幸 まい)
Her surname, Hisaki, contains the kanji for "sun/day" (日) and "fortune/happiness" (幸). It is not a common surname; in fact it was not seen on the Japanese census prior to the reign of Neo Queen Serenity. Her first name is written in hiragana, and thus has no established meaning. It is a fairly common female given name.

Gender: Female
Age and Date of Birth: 12 years old; August 7 (Leo)
 
Used Canons: Sailor Moon, most influenced by manga and 90s anime. Character could be used in most Sailor Moon universes.
 
Appearance: Mai is slightly short for her age, standing at 146cm (approximately 4'9") with a build that is thin but fit. It's clear that she's lived a rather frugal and active life, which is certainly true due to having been raised on the island. Her skin permanently resembles a tropical suntan, regardless of how much sun exposure she's received. She has thick, straight, glossy black hair and dark brown eyes. Her hair is cut just slightly longer than chin-length in a tidy bob. She often wears a side-ponytail on her left side, to keep her hair back from her face. It's fastened with her Heron Amulet barrette. Mai has longer bangs that nicely frame her face.

As a student of Neo Academy and permanent resident of this island, Mai is most often seen wearing her ivory school uniform. As she is currently a member of the middle school division, the bow tied under the collar of her blouse is green. She wears a lapel pin of a gold star with a white wing, because she is a sailor soldier. As she has no family on the island, she's mostly seen in her school uniform. She doesn't own many casual outfits, and what she does have are hand-me-downs from other students.

Personality: Most adults describe Mai is "mature for her age". She had to be. She's been taking care of herself for a long time. Mai doesn't have a specific legal guardian—there is no one or two people with a particular vested interest in her. She's learned that she has to act and advocate for herself. She's still young, so she makes mistakes, but when she does, it's often mostly on Mai to fix the problems.

Her performance in school is very good; she spends a lot of time studying, partially because she doesn't have close friends and partially because she craves attention from adults, like her teachers. She has a hard time admitting that she is lonely, even though it forms the perspective that distorts her daily life. She gets along well enough with her classmates, but maybe they can tell that she's trying too hard or maybe they just have a hard time connecting with someone who lives a life unlike their own. Her usual "cheerful" demeanor seems forced—because it is.

Mai has been told before that she needs to manage her anger better. It's been suggested that being "too angry" interferes with her getting along with other children her age. She tries to pretend that she isn't upset, wearing a smile, but it's not always convincing. When people ask what's wrong, sometimes the words tumble out too fast and strong for them. They didn't realize what they were asking; they don't really want to have such an in-depth conversation. They back away. Mai doesn't flare up at others or start fights. Her feelings are buried, burning slowly and hotly—wondering why she's alone when it feels like everyone else around her isn't. When she tries to get close to others and learns they care for someone else, she recoils and puts up barriers, but she tries to pretend she isn't hurt. Mai is desperate for someone to care about her, but she makes this difficult due to envy and a lack of self-confidence.

She is extremely sensitive about her early life, her parents, and her status as an orphan. Mai doesn't like talking about these subjects with anyone. She doesn't remember much of her young childhood, other than a few bright moments and a general sense of being happy. She feels jealousy towards other people's families—although she has done fairly well, she constantly wonders what her life would have been like if her parents had survived. (She might have wondered why she lived through it, but given where she is, it was explained to her enough that it must be because she would be a sailor soldier. This doesn't feel like a satisfying response, but she can't deny it appears to be accurate enough.) She longs for the closeness that she sees with others, but she hasn't been successful in forming friendships to stand in for the family she lost.

Mai loves reading, especially as a form of escapism. Some of her favourite books involve orphans who wind up doing amazing things in their futures; she very much hopes that someday she'll be like them. She treats these works of fiction as guidebooks and instruction manuals, trying to find ways to use the information within in her own life. It doesn't always work out very well. In fact, it usually doesn't work out very well. That's alright. She's determined to keep trying.

Being awakened as a sailor soldier provided a great deal of relief for Mai. Although she began living on Atlantis because she had some proof of ability, she always worried about negative "what ifs"—such as: "What if I never become a sailor soldier after all? Will they kick me out? Will I have to pay them back? Where will I go?" Those no longer need to be concerns for her. She's determined to work hard at being a soldier just as she has worked hard for her scholastic progress. She hopes, not-too-secretly, that being assigned to a team will give her friends... something she wants so very much.

She isn't sure what she wants to do with her life. Sometimes she dreams of leaving the island, and sometimes she thinks it's the best place to be. Maybe she wants to help others, like a case worker, and other times she wants to learn she has some kind of amazing talent that sets her on a path. She dreams of having a family of some kind, just a group that actually wants her there.

At this point, Mai is a confused kid, with the potential to be sweet, loyal, generous, kind, empathetic, if she could satiate some of that hunger, starved for affection. She doesn't mind working hard and trying to keep going on her own, but she needs someone to reinforce that she actually matters as a person.

Any Unique Abilities/Skills:
• Solar Healing - When exposed to sunlight, specifically the UV radiation, small wounds or injuries on Mai heal so rapidly that the repair can be watched. She can concentrate this effect and heal other people with her touch, but with much less success than her passive ability.
 
History: Born to a fairly average couple in sunny Okinawa, Japan, Mai's earliest years were calm and mostly happy. Her parents loved her and each other. Eight years ago, an earthquake destroyed their home and orphaned the young girl. It was amid the tragedy of the incident that her potential to become a sailor soldier was revealed. When found by rescue crews, the child appeared to be dead. They watched in amazement as a brilliant golden glow surrounded the girl's body, almost like flame, and restored her to life, healing her injuries. It made her a candidate for Atlantis, and that's where the 4 year old was sent.

Assigned an animal ball to train with and placed into school and housing, she's been considered a "ward of the isle" since her arrival. For the most part, Mai's time in Neo Academy has been decent and generally uninteresting. She has little contact with the outside world and was mostly shielded from the events of the Black Moon Clan attack due to her age and the fact that three years ago she had not awakened to her identity as Sailor Bennu and thus was not eligible to fight.

Only this year have things changed. It began when she received a strange parcel via the mail. She knows no living relatives and has little spending money, so this seemed extremely unusual. Inside the box was a scarab-shaped figure of polished stone, backed with a gold-coloured metal. When she held it in her palm, she felt a sudden flash of recognition—memories.

Mai didn't even realize she had passed out until she awoke in the infirmary.

Staff would later tell her that she transformed, congratulating the girl on graduating from "sailor hopeful" to "sailor cadet", now eligible for more focused teaching related to her budding powers. For the the upcoming semester, she could now be slated into a sailor team.

Other Noteworthy Facts:
Blood Type: A
Hobby: Reading
Favourite Sport: Badminton
Favourite Colour: Violet
Favourite Subject: Mathematics
Least Favourite Subject: Handwriting
Favourite Food: Rice balls from the convenience store
Least Favourite Food: Jelly beans
Weak Point: Familial jealousy and snakes
Dream: To be part of a team
 
Storyline Specific Information:

[Relaxed] N.E.O. Sailors:

 
 
Senshi Name: Sailor Bennu
Realms of Influence: Sun, plasma, birds, creation, and rebirth
Transformation Phrase: "Bennu Power, Make Up!"

Senshi Fuku: In her form as Sailor Bennu, Mai's hair is now a soft gray, like that of a heron, paler near the top of her head and darker near the bottom of her hair. Her eyes change colour to a bright topaz. She has arrow-shaped black markings on the outer edges of her face, framing her eyes.

Sailor Bennu's primary colour is a rich tiger orange, and her secondary colour is pineapple yellow. Her uniform consists of a white bodysuit with a reinforced chest area demarcated with a seam line roughly following the lower edge of the rib cage. The short white sleeves look like stylized feathers. Her sailor collar is rich tiger orange, as is her short pleated skirt. The skirt attaches to her bodysuit below a padded waistband of white fabric that follows a sloping v-shaped line, with the lowest point centered at her body's front mid-line. Centered on her chest below the sailor collar is a pineapple yellow bow. Her Heron Amulet is now centered on the bow's knot as a brooch. There is a similar pineapple yellow bow at the small of her back, on the waistband for her skirt. She wears white gloves that reach just above her wrists, banded with two padded rolls of tiger orange. Her footwear consists of flat-heeled black sandals with soles that form a pointed, curled toe. There are straps over her foot and stabilizing around her ankle. On her forehead is a golden tiara that slopes into a v-shape, with an oval orange topaz at the nadir. She wears a close-fitting choker made of several rows of small beads sewn together with golden thread, alternating between rows of tiger orange, pineapple yellow, and onyx black. Her golden earrings are small hammered-metal discs. There is an oval orange topaz in her hair where her Heron Amulet is typically worn as a civilian.

Powers:
• "Solar Feather-flare!" - Sailor Bennu releases a sudden flash of plasma that seems to generate from the gem in her tiara. She waves her arms forward and the flash changes shape, forming glowing, red-hot feathers-like shapes that fly towards her opponent. The feather shapes are very sharp and quite hot; they can cause cuts and burns. She can use this attack to illuminate a dark area if she concentrates. She can attack a single enemy or multiple enemies.

Weapons or Magical Items:
• Q-Ball - A floating orb, similar to Chibi Usa's Luna-P, that vaguely resembles a fat steel-gray quail with two fluffy black antennae, black markings around the eyes, and a bright yellow beak. It was assigned to her upon her arrival to Atlantis.
• Heron Amulet - Mai uses this item to transform into Sailor Bennu with "Bennu Power, Make Up!" It resembles an ancient Egyptian scarab funerary amulet made of smooth polished yellow-orange stone with the heron hieroglyph inscribed on the gold-coated back. She has fashioned it into a barrette and wears it in her hair. She received it in the mail from a false return address and is unaware of its true origin.
• Bennu Crystal - Her Sailor Crystal, a citrine-looking wing-shaped object that Mai possesses as Sailor Bennu. Typically it is unseen, part of her heart.

Guardian: At the moment, her "Q-Ball", mentioned above, serves as Mai's guardian.
 
RP Sample: "Where are you going, Mai?" called the familiar voice.

Across the yard, she spotted the waving form of the new Literature teacher for the grade she had just graduated from. It seemed that the young man had a shift in the library, the dark-haired girl's most common hangout besides the small room of her dorm, and they'd spent several afternoons chit-chatting during the brief school break before the new term. Mai's eyes lit up to see him; she thought for sure she'd be forgotten, totally overlooked once he was assigned his class of rambunctious children. She jogged over, hands gripping the straps of her backpack to keep it on her narrow shoulders.

"So, you going to the ice cream shop? I heard a bunch of the other girls asking each other when they walked by. I'm pretty sure they're from your class, aren't they?" His voice was bright and even. He didn't understand the gravity of what he said so casually.

Mai struggled to regain her footing, feeling suddenly so lost. She hoped he wouldn't notice, although she saw that trace of confusion flicker across his eyes as she wasted precious moments of awkward silence trying to find the right response. The knuckles of her hands were white, squeezing the straps of her backpack tighter in a bid for stability.

"Oh... Yeah," she stumbled, the dark eyes looking away, guilty. "I've gotta go, I guess. Have to catch up."

He didn't seem to notice that she was floundering. Just like most adults. She was used to it. She knew how this worked. It was time for their conversation to be over, before she said something she regretted and couldn't even count on him saying hello when she stopped by the library. The girl's worn sneakers took a few steps sideways, ready to keep going.

He just smiled and nodded, offering a wave.

She choked back down those sour emotions and returned it, giving a quick smile.

"Well, bye! Have a good night!" The words burned her tongue.

She didn't hear his reply, her feet already carrying herself around the corner. If he were more observant, or simply more concerned, he might have noticed that it wasn't the direction of the other girls going into town.

He didn't.

:< SWEET BABU go forth and make friends ;n; 


Approved!

Made a tiny tweak—changed the bow on her school uniform to green for middle school. I assigned her to the wrong school level when I wrote this.

approved!