Akiyo

Creator: "Ahh I feel like I haven't done Akiyo justice being that this is the best I can do in present circumstances and I feel as if I could have added more history and more fully explained what I intend her abilities to be but for the time being I'm satisfied with what I have down. I await your review."

Personality
Akiyo is generally quiet in most situations and when she does chose to talk its more so to prove someone wrong; therefore, annoying them. She much more prefers giving people facial expressions to express how she feels rather than words. As such, she comes off as a cold, uncaring person who cares for no one but herself. But people still 'like' her in a sense not just because of her looks, but because she's powerful in a sense and will protect those whom she cares about, the only problem is that there are few people she care about that are still alive or not captured. So you could say that people fear her because of her title as the Vampire Alchemist (being that she does look a bit like a typical vampire, has fangs almost, red eyes, an obsession and love of blood, and the ability to do wonders with blood) and her coldness towards others.

In reality Akiyo just doesn't want to grow close to anyone because most of the people she's loved or cared about have either died (by others or in some cases... her own hand) or been captured by others thus meaning that they're dead or going to be dead or as good as dead. She obviously has trust issues, thus her tendency to talk to others very little and even then, she won't truly reveal who or what she is to anyone. Being the daughter of two test subjects doesn't make it any easier on her since others would more than likely love to know how her genes affect her life and would love to study her. But her father died in a border skirmish and her mother disappeared after going to a doctor who would supposedly cure her fatal illness, very few people are aware that Akiyo is indeed a daughter of human test subjects.

What Akiyo seeks is unclear both to herself and others. She lives because she has yet to die, but she doesn't know why. She's an Alchemist but she doesn't want power, fame, or wealth. She heals others with her ability with blood and the body itself... but at the same time she kills with the same abilities. She goes about the land from city to city, town to town, village to village, never knowing what she's doing or trying to do asides from the simple fact that she heals people who come to her for aide and kills those who threaten her or people annoy her enough that she agrees to help them.

In reality, Akiyo fails to realize that she does care, care about humanity in general. She's helped children and families more times than she count, regardless of their race or heritage. And for some odd reason she always manages to do what's right while still within the laws of being an Alchemist and Amestris Citizen. She doesn't realize it, or at least she won't admit it, but she's a sort of "Robin Hood" for the oppressed. And being an Alchemist and identified as one for the poor and oppressed, she brings a good name to Alchemists.

Appearance
Akiyo generally leaves her black shoulder length hair down at all times as seen above. Her outfit is generally the same when she's not traveling or if she is staying in one place for long periods of time. When she's traveling or only staying in one area for a few days she tends to wear worn black jeans, a thin semi-tight dark gray tank top, a black collared button up long sleeve shirt, short black ankle length socks, and a pair of black tennis shoes.

Her bright red eyes often attract everyone's attention and is the result of a genetic mutation from her father's origins in Creta as a test subject for various drugs and alchemic studies. From her father she also obtained an odd, pale, barely noticeable scar upon her left wrist and left ankle.

Having generally lived outside for most of her life, you would think Akiyo would have a darker tan, but due to her mother's genes (also the result of being a test subject for various drugs and alchemic studies) her body's skin isn't as affected by sunlight as others and always appears 'flawless' save for her birthmark scar, but her eyes are rather sensitive to light leading to her perfect vision and excellent night vision. Also from her mother, seeing as her mother was once a dancer, Akiyo's movements are rather graceful and light no matter what she's doing. And due to being taught by her mother as a child, she also very quick and lithe while her father taught her the basic skills of fighting as he had been a low level soldier in Creta's Army leading to her being in good physical shape.

Akiyo also seems to have a high metabolism thus her often slight form despite how much food she consumes. Due to her mutated and mixed genes, the dark circles under Akiyo's eyes from an extreme lack of sleep is not noticeable. Over the years, Akiyo's canine teeth have elongated to a point slightly (thus leading to her name as the Vampire Alchemist along with other odd tidbits about her). Usually this is also unnoticeable unless you are specifically looking for elongated canine teeth or have been staring at her teeth the whole time. Unusually, they do become extremely noticeable when Akiyo's eyes glow a light red (which is barely noticeable due to her eyes being a bright red in the first place).

History
The early days of Akiyo's life are rather normal to other children save for the odd tidbits here and there about her blood obsession. One would think that because of her 'monsterous' qualities she would have few friends, but it was quite the opposite. Certa had developed over the years to be a holding place for numerous test subjects. As such, Akiyo wasn't the only strange one there. There were others who could be considered even stranger. From red and blue skinned people to those that survived on human flesh alone, Akiyo could almost be considered normal there.

Her father and mother were odd, but more normal than others as well. Her father, Yamiyo, had had his genetic make up altered and mutated so as to create a 'god soldier'. The result had appeared to be successful in Yamiyo's early days, but as he became an adolescent it became apparent that the 'god solider' dream still need to be perfected as Yamiyo was prone to taking illness and took weeks to get better. Of her mother, Akihime, her area of testing had merely been in youthful immortality. Again, such testing had proved successful until adolescence. But these traits seem to be more successful in Akiyo as she is slightly stronger and in better physical shape (despite not doing much work) than others without having to try and has maintained the same outward appearance for the past couple of years.

Akiyo managed to spend seven fleeting years with both of her parents before her father finally died on the battlefield during a border skirmish. In those seven years Akiyo would learn basic combat skills and much of her mother's more artistic abilities in dancing and drawing. At some point during this time Akiyo had stumbled upon Alchemy Books along with her close friends Silvia, Starling, and Gaeul.

The study of Alchemy amongst test subjects was strictly forbidden save for specific individuals chosen by the scientists who 'created' them. As such, the four of them studied the books in secret and struggled to make sense of them with their limited vocabulary and knowledge. Eventually Akiyo and Gaeul would fully understand them and help their two friends to perform Alchemy. Alchemy was more of a pastime and game to them than anything else. Later on the four of them would learn that these books had been left behind by various officers and soldier of the Amestrians during border skirmishes due to the insignias pressed upon the leather-bound books.

Just months later Certa would be absorbed into Amestris. Two years later Akihime would suffer from an illness that derived from her mutated genes, thus meaning it was generally incurable. Akiyo had thus taken up a sense of responsibility for herself and her long time friend, brother like, half crushing on Gaeul. He had began to live with her just a few days after her mother's illness since his own father (and last family member) had passed away of lung cancer through smoking all his life. Akihime eventually went off with various other personnel of the town to get cured by the state government.

Akiyo never saw or heard of her mother again. So at eleven she was effectively an orphan as she had finally come to terms that her beloved mother was never going to come back. By this time Starling and Silvia had also joined Akiyo and Gaeul. The four friends would live together as best as they could and even considered the option of using their Alchemy abilities to make their lives a little more comfortable.

Akiyo had abilities with blood and water in general, Gaeul with wind, Starling with the concept of heat, light, and fire, and Silvia was well versed with metals and earth. It would have been rather easy for them transmute gold and obtain a peaceful living, but none of them really felt like 'cheating' to live when they already got by as it was.

Silvia and Starling both would become State Alchemists at the young age of thirteen, leaving behind Akiyo and Gaeul with the promise that they would continue to support the two of them as the four had become increasingly close to one another. This separation between the four tempted Akiyo and Gaeul to become State Alchemists themselves, but their outward appearances as test subjects discouraged them from doing so, especially after receiving coded letters from Silvia and Starling detailing what some Alchemists really did.

But border skirmishes began anew again and native Amestrians held resentment towards the odd Certans and thus led to Akiyo and Gaeul taking to the road at fifteen and seventeen. Their relationship reached a sort of point where they had both acknowledged the fact that they had feelings for one another beyond friendship and family. Their time together would come to halt as they received news Silvia had 'died' from Starling.

In the coded letter to them, it was revealed that Amestris government had uncovered some truths about Certa being a holding ground for test subjects that half succeeded or did succeed under Cretan studies. As such, various Certans were steadily being taken into custody under the pretenses of 'harmful, violent, traitorous citizens'. Silvia's origins had thus been discovered and became one of the first to be captured and 'studied' upon.

Starling was currently fleeing for her own life and could no longer make adequate contact with them anymore. Akiyo and Gaeul were then forced to think of their dear friends in the past tense and struggled to come up with aliases for themselves. Eventually, they were found by renegades of the Amestrian Military and joined their ranks for a time to secure their own safety and to perhaps find out if their friends truly were dead.

The news they received wasn't exactly heartwarming though. Recently, those 'captured' and held 'prisoner' by the Military were never seen again. Their hope for their friends hadn't completely disappeared though and they struggled for information about Amestrian Governmental studies of humans. What little knowledge they gained was barely enough to conduct adequate research as to their friends' status.

After much thought and planning, Gaeul would at last decide that the only way they could ever gain enough information or find them... dead or alive... was if one of them joined the Military as a State Alchemist. Gaeul with his shocking white hair, vivid white eyes, deathly pale skin, random visions of a possible future, and high abilities with wind made him a little more normal than Akiyo with her strange demonic like appearance and cold attitude. Whereas Gaeul, despite his appearance, was rather friendly and nice.

A year later Gaeul was accepted as a State Alchemist and Akiyo withdrew from the renegade Militarists. She constantly traveled around Amestris, half wondering if she shouldn't just flee to another more accepting country, but her tie to Gaeul prevented her from doing so. Every so often she'd receive coded letters from Gaeul on his recent findings and status due to his little visions that let him more or less 'guess' where she was going to be.

These letters have increasingly declined over the years though and Akiyo is almost certain that Gaeul has been caught or is being watched. She's stayed relatively low-key and unimportant in the time that he's been gone by just helping the poor and oppressed in their illnesses but she's becoming restless and worried. Silvia is as good as dead if they hadn't received word from or about her in years, and Starling hadn't sent them any sign of being alive for a few years now and Gaeul's messages have been nothing more than 'I'm doing fine, I miss you, wish you were here.' in general.

As such, for the time being Akiyo herself is trying to get information on her own and maybe find clues as to what's happened to friends and mother. She still has the faint feeling that they're alive... somewhere. Why they'd still be alive or if really are still alive is still unknown to Akiyo and this rate, likely to never be answered.

Alchemy
Akiyo's primarily Alchemic Ability deals with the usage and manipulation of blood. In other words her specialty lays in the usage of water in general and in blood specifically.

Due to her genetic make-up, Akiyo already has odd abilities and functions when it comes to blood, thus leading to her appearance having barely changed over the years and her strange obsession with blood and ability to survive off of blood alone. Her blood oddly seems to have no particular blood type, but can be given to anyone or receive any type without difficulties.

Asides from this latent ability of hers, Akiyo understands that the majority of blood is composed of water molecules, thus meaning that blood that can be utilized much like water itself and water can be converted into blood and vice-versa provided one add in a few extra materials here and there. For such materials Akiyo will generally use her own blood as medium to make it easier to manipulate blood and create it or transform it.

By changing the molecular components of blood and its structure Akiyo can change it from water to blood to water. In addition, she's able to increase the pH level of blood with more focus. Other aspects of her abilities in blood include the 'creation and destruction' of blood cells by manipulating the properties of other body cells. Were she to study more about the human body she might be able to become a medical based alchemist, but her studies are limited to blood only and as such can only work with blood related items in depth. But since blood is a vital key to life and how the body functions she can generally manipulate parts of her body in vague ways through a trickle down effect rather than directly manipulating how her body functions.

And since most diseases involve the bloodstream Akiyo has the uncanny ability to single out particular diseases or illnesses and let the body naturally take care of it, or add/take away/rearrange substances in order to turn such an illness into blood or a more harmless material/disease. But such an ability requires much concentration by Akiyo and research upon the disease itself as Akiyo is only beginning to learn how to utilize blood in this fashion. As such it is limited (at the moment) to common ailments and the healing of minor to average cuts/bruises/wounds. (In other words she can heal faster or help others heal faster, but can't do things like regrow whole body parts or save them from immediate death.)

Trivia

 * Akiyo is known as the Vampire Alchemist (even if she isn't a State Alchemist) due to the common knowledge of her love of blood and abilities with blood. Asides from this, not much is really known about her other than she's a satyr for the poor and oppressed. There are rumors of Akiyo being gay or bisexual, but none have truly confirmed this. Rumor has it that she comes from a town that originally laid in Creta, but again there are no hard facts asides from her vividly colored eyes. Her age is debatable among many as well due to her generally young appearance.