Kusano is one of the protagonists of the story and is Minato's second and youngest Sekirei.
About Kusano
She is commonly referred to as 'Kū-chan', "Green Girl" or "Green Lady". Her "regulations" (regulator Sahashi Takami) are still incomplete and her powers are uncontrollable, which is why her powers tend to go out of control and causes the plants around her to grow when she's sad or upset. This causes her to be trapped in the botanical garden after an attempted winging of her by Mikogami Hayato with #43 Yomi on his side[1]. She calls Minato, Onii-chan (older brother), and is the most attached to him. She does not like fighting or quarreling and she can be seen stopping them when they start[2]. She's influenced and sometimes copies Musubi, Tsukiumi and Kazehana's actions. She has expressed a desire to be Minato's wife when she grows up[3]. Her name (kusa+no) literally means a "grass field". Her power can be difficult to control because of her age and because her adjustment wasn't finalized. She has a very close sibling-like relationship with #107 Shiina, despite the fact that his power is naturally opposite of hers[4]. In the manga, when Minato initially brought her to Izumo Inn, Asama Miya drew and pointed a sword at Minato's face for she thought that Minato had kidnapped her[5]. Miya's nickname for Kusano is "Adopted Child".
Appearance
Kusano is the smallest and youngest Sekirei in Minato's group. Her appearance remains throughout the entire story the same except that she wore a ribbon in her hair when she first appeared.[6] She has yellow hair, wears a one piece with a ribbon on the back and often tries out a costume from Uzume's collection in order to show it to Minato. While at the beach or washing with a hose she wears a dark blue one piece swimsuit with number 108 on the front. She is also seen in a green nightgown or an orange pajama while in bed.
Personality
Kusano has the personality of a little kid. She cries easily and hates it when people fight. This fear of people fighting has broken up a couple fights before[2], making her one of two people to break up fights in Izumo Inn, the other being Miya. However, she is rarely (if ever) bratty and mostly a cheerful, innocent girl, and the second nicest of Minato's Sekirei after Musubi. She usually carries a potted plant or seeds around so that she can use her abilities anywhere she goes[7][8].
Kusano is also shown to hate being alone, as after being separated from Takami, she cried and begged for someone to help her before being saved by Minato, Musubi and Seo. She is very close with No. 107 Shiina, because his power of decay is what used to stop her plant powers from going out of control[4]. Because of this, she misses him dearly and wishes to be reunited with him.
Kusano, like all of Minato's other Sekirei, is very fond of him, and calls him her Onii-chan (Big Brother). She is very determined to be his wife when she gets older and can be quite clingy, though this only really started once Tsukiumi started declaring herself as Minato's wife. She is also violently protective of him, and is prone to biting Seo whenever she suspects he might be bullying Minato. She is the most attached to Minato and can be very possessive of him at times, even biting her fellow Sekirei when they start to get too close to him [9] (and on occasion Minato himself when she thinks he is paying more attention to others of his Sekirei).
One odd thing about Kusano is her wisdom, which is great for her age. She is the one who convinces Tsukiumi to go help Minato when he is fighting the Disciplinary Squad on the bridge by stating that "she is not Minato's wife, even if she wants to be, if she doesn't even support him when he truly believes in something"[10]. She is also very impressionable and often copies Musubi, Tsukiumi and Kazehana's mannerisms.
Abilities and Powers
Kusano chooses her Ashikabi and gets winged
Kusano has the power to control plants, she's able to make them grow at accelerated rates and to unnaturally large proportions; she uses the plants to trap or disable her opponents without hurting them. She has also used her powers to hide herself in a large forest she created. She is often seen carrying a potted plant so that she is able to use her powers at places without plants nearby. She's also able control plants while they're still in their seed form[8]. She is also able to communicate with plants, even over a distance. She was able to "ask" a tree to catch Minato, and learned from it about Shiina being released from the labs.
Matsu speaks about Takehito and Mutsu's Norito Forecast in a secret meeting.
Asama Takehito hypothesized before his death that Kusano actually held the mirror ability to Shiina and not just limited to plant life[11]. During a battle of Stage 4 on Kamikura Island when Sahashi Minato activates Kusano's norito a number of Sekirei believed to be terminated recover including newly Winged Akitsu [12].
Matsu hypothesizes that any sekirei, who hasn't been terminated long could, with the assistance of "stimulation" such as Kusano's norito can be used to reactivate a sekirei. This includes traditionally terminated, and other sekirei who had been "frozen". Matsu further states in theory, that it could be directed and controlled.
Kusano herself states she could hear the whispering voices of "everyone who was sleeping". Displaying an level of understanding of who had been revived. Unfortunately it also appeared to affect the invading soldiers[13].
It is also stated, or reflected on that it might have been usable on Uzume. This left the impression it was/is far too late for that instance.
Norito
- Further information: Norito
Executing Norito.
Norito is a procedure winged Sekireis can use to use a large amount of power. Every Sekirei is said to have one. The form to execute it requires two steps:
- A kiss with their Ashikabi.
- A prayer.
It is yet unknown if there are different types of Noritos Sekireis can perform or if each Sekirei has more than one Norito. Kusano currently only has one known Norito:
- Prayer: Life of my Pledge, Shine on my Ashikabi.
- Sakameka-san (??, Earth Mother): Effects seem to be a wave of growth in life, and probably rebirth/rejuvenation to those within the radius of its effect. Sekirei believed to be terminated revived shortly after Kusano utilized this[12].
History
Takami shows Kusano the outside world for the first time.
Not much is known about Kusano's earlier life, except that her tuner was Takami and she lived in a laboratory; a place she wasn't very fond of. It is known, however, that Sahashi Takami took Kusano outside once to see the outside world. As they were about to turn back, Mikogami Hayato and his Sekirei Yomi attacked Kusano. Takami was injured while protecting her and still has the scar over her eye from the incident. Because Kusano felt guilty about Takami being injured and was afraid of Mikogami, Kusano's powers went out of control and created the Botanical Garden Plant Barrier[1]. Shortly after, she made telepathic contact with Minato who came to her rescue, with Musubi and Homura protecting them both from Yomi and Mikogami.
Synopsis
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 8
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 22
- ↑ Sekirei Manga chapter 30
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 13
- ↑ Sekirei Manga chapter 10
- ↑ Sekirei Manga chapter 4
- ↑ Sekirei Manga chapter 21
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sekirei Manga chapter 105
- ↑ Sekirei Chapter 30
- ↑ Sekirei Manga chapter 42
- ↑ Sekirei manga Chapter 169
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sekirei manga chapter 170
- ↑ Sekirei manga chapter 171