Nishiko Sai was a Sagittarian Acolyte who previously attended Cancer's academy on Elara. She was close friends and bandmates with Deke Moreten and Rhoma Grace. She was killed by her former colleague Blaze Jansun to let her friends escape him.
About[]
Early Life[]
Nishiko was an only child born to unnamed, wealthy parents on Sagittarius. As many Sagittarian children do, Nishi grew up traveling and being encouraged to do so by her parents. She chose to attend school on Cancer's moon of Elara.
Acolyte Life[]
While attending the academy, Nishiko met Rhoma Grace and Deke Moreten. Initially, she and Rho clashed because of Nishiko's straightforward, fast style of talking, but the two eventually grew into best friends. Nishiko and Deke Moreten held feelings for each other, but weren't in a relationship at that time. Together, the three of them formed a band called the Drowning Diamonds to help them learn to Center. Nishiko filled the role of singer, Deke played the guitar, and Rho the drums. One day during practice, Nishi remarked that the band's sound was off, and that they should get a bassist, but she also felt that the band was good enough to perform at the academy's musical showcase, and without notifying Deke or Rho, signed them up to participate. When she delivered the news, Rho became upset and nervous about performing for a crowd, while Deke remained neutral. After Nishi and Rho got in an argument, Rho stormed off. Unbeknownst to Nishi and Deke, she ventured outside the academy's airlock and barely made it back inside before curfew. Nishi later came to her quarters to apologize, and Rho agreed to performing at the showcase.
The Drowning Diamonds would eventually become very successful and well known both within and without the academy. Nishiko was very much the star and held much of the audience's admiration, for her beautiful voice and looks. The Drowning Diamonds were so well liked at the academy, that it was arranged for them to perform for the Lunar Quadract celebration on Elara. That night in the moon's crystal dome building, Deke procured 4 vials of Abyssthe for the group, which when used outside of an Ephemeris, has a mood-altering effect. Nishiko remarked that he probably stole it from the Zodai University's labs. The group took it before the rest of the students arrived at the dome. As the band was performing for the celebration, a fireball crashed into Thebe, and the debris struck the Academy compound, destroying it. Nishiko and the rest of the band managed to put their compression suit's helmets on in time before Elara's crystal dome shattered, exposing the Acolytes to the vacuum of space. Many of them didn't have time to don their helmets and died shortly after, along with many of the students inside of the Academy compound during the attack. Nishi and the rest of the survivors made their way to a nearby space port, operated by Mathias.
Zodiac[]
Investigating Ophiuchus[]
After arriving at the space station Oceon 6 to reconvene with other survivors, Nishiko, Deke, and the rest of the surviving Acolytes were all considered graduates from the academy and began receiving Zodai training. Meanwhile, Rho, now preparing to be sworn in as the Guardian of Cancer, began to suspect that the mysterious 13th Sign had something to do with the attack on Cancer's moons. She asked Nishiko to investigate the legend, and Nishiko later came by on the night of Rho's swearing-in ceremony to deliver her findings. Every House had a tale, poem, or fable about a mysterious 13th sign, a figure whose name differed across each tale. Nishi proposed that all of the stories were talking about the same thing, and revealed that the 13th House even had a name: Ophiuchus.
After Rho was sworn in, Nishiko dutifully continued to investigate the myth, and later informed Rho that Ophiuchus's old glyph was a man wielding a caduceus, a staff entwined with two snakes. According to a Capricorn myth, an alchemist named Caduceus was banished by Lord Helios for discovering a way to evade death- hinting that the Ophiuchus behind the attacks on Cancer might not be a group of people at all, but an immortal man.
Rho would later face Ophiuchus himself after digging too deep into information about him. While she left to warn the other Houses about the threat of the 13th Sign, Rho asked Nishiko to stay behind and spread awareness of their cause.
Spreading the Message[]
Although many of Nishiko's efforts remain unmentioned and undetailed, it is known that she dutifully followed Rho's wishes and did everything in her power to warn the Zodiac about Ophiuchus. To raise support for her friend, Nishiko revised the lyrics of a song the Drowning Diamonds had performed, Across the Zodiac, and changed them to be about Rho. The song was thusly renamed Trust in Guardian Rho. Rho later heard the song on a video broadcast as she was traveling to Virgo, but seemed embarrassed by the lyrics. Nishiko's efforts paid off, though, as when Rho later appeared before the Planetary Plenum, a wave of her supporters crashed in to show her their appreciation. Not everyone seemed enthused by Nishiko and Rho's efforts, with Sirna remarking that Rho had started an "Ophiuchus cult". Nishiko stayed with the Cancrian refugees with Deke for the remainder of Zodiac, rather than fighting with the armada. Even after the armada's failure, Nishi remained loyal to Rho, and stayed by her cause.
Appearance[]
Nishiko, like many Sagittarians, has black hair, cinnamon-brown skin, and slanted, cat-like amber eyes. Her eyes being slanted may refer to them having a mono-lid or epicanthic fold. Her hair is kept long and in a flat cut with bangs.
Personality[]
Nishi's personality is characteristic of Sagittarians. With her fast-paced and straight-to-the-point conversation style, she's a skeptic, and always asks as many questions as possible. Although some might find this grating when they first meet her, there is a kind, sweet side to Nishiko that her friends know and love. She is a loyal and forgiving friend, and cares deeply for the wellbeing of others. She lives in the moment, always looking ahead. However, this can equally be her downfall. After the death of Deke Moreten, Nishi became extremely shut off from her negative emotions, instead pouring herself into her work to distract herself from having to process her grief.
Relationships[]
Rhoma Grace[]
Though they didn't always get along and their personalities initially clashed, Rho and Nishi grew to be best friends. Nishiko was always loyal to Rho and her cause, and never doubted her intuitions. Their bond was so close that after being trapped in the Sumber by Imogen, Nishi and Rho were able to find each other due to their strongly connected Psynergy signatures. Nishi helped Rho escape the Sumber, and Rho later sacrificed everything she had to save Nishi from the Tomorrow Party.
Deke Moreten[]
Though they were initially in denial of their feelings for each other due to being from different Houses, Nishiko and Deke eventually started a romantic relationship and had plans to start a family together. On a mission to find the leader of The Marad, Deke proposed to Nishi, but he was later tragically killed before their plans to come to fruition. Nishiko was emotionally destroyed by his death.
References[]
- Zodiac and Wandering Star
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