hyou shusui

Shusui Hyou serves as Shuurei's main lady-in-waiting during her tenure as an imperial concubine. Her beauty is described by Ryūki as being on par only with Kochou, a renowned courtesan in the Red Light District. Shusui has a fondness for the scent of sandalwood and cherished a sandalwood fan as a prized possession, which she later gives to Shuuei. She harbors deep feelings for Shouka, even though he does not reciprocate them, and she is the sole person who praises his tea. Despite her kind nature, she struggles with embroidery, often teased by Ryuuki; once, when she tried to embroider a sunflower-like floral pattern, Shōka humorously mistook it for a lion. Shusui appears warm and nurturing towards Shuurei and Ryuuki, but Ryuuren questions her unusual agility when handling Kourin's clumsiness. Later, it is revealed that Shusui hails from the Hyou clan and is destined to succeed Ruka as the leader of psychics. When Shouka removed Shokun from the clan, he also took Shusui under his wing and sent her to the palace. Although Sa-Taiho believes she is an assassin loyal to him, Shusui is actually a double agent working under Advisor Sho, known as the Black Wolf and leader of the Wolves of the Wind, an order of assassins loyal to the Emperor. In the second season of the anime, Shusui begins to hear voices in her head, fearing a relapse into the control of the Hyou clan. This leads her to attempt suicide. When she faints in Shuuei's arms, she breaks his heart by calling out Shouka's name instead. Shuuei later uses Shouka's name to snap her out of a hypnotic trance. Determined to confront the Hyou clan, she decides to stay in Ran province, leaving her role as head lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Harem. Officially declared missing (though the Emperor knows her whereabouts), her position is taken over by Jyuusan-hime. In the 16th novel, Shusui finds herself trapped in the "prison of time" but is eventually rescued by Shuuei.