Hyou Shusui

Hyou Shusui (縹 珠翠 Hyō‎ Shusui) is the former Chief Lady-In-Waiting in the Imperial Harem and an assassin from the Wolves of the Wind, the current Head of the Hyou Clan with the title of "High Priestess", the wife of Ran Shuuei and the mother of Ran Shijaku.

Appearance
Shusui is a pale-skinned woman with wavy waist-length olive-brown hair that hangs on either side and deep blue eyes.

She was a well-known beauty of the Imperial Harem that Shi Ryuuki mentions she is to be comparable only to Kochou, a famous courtesan in the Red Light District.

Personality & Characteristics
Shusui is a refined and graceful young woman who is considered the perfect lady. However, she is very strict, especially with Ran Shuuei as she scolds him about his behavior whenever she sees him.

Shusui is actually a kind and and gentle person but she doesn't show this to many people and instead, puts up a front. The only people she shows her softer side to are Kou Shouka, Kou Shuurei and Shi Ryuuki, which may be because of the brainwashing of the Hyou Clan and she is afraid of hurting anyone who gets close to her.

Plot
Shusui was Kou Shuurei's main Lady-In-Waiting while Shuurei was staying in the Imperial Harem as Emperor Shi Ryuuki's consort.

She is actually from the Hyou clan and a daughter who was born powerless, which is why she was brainwashed and turned into one of the Assassin Dolls of the Hyou clan. Later due to her beautiful appearance, she was chosen as the next host and attendant of the Red Immortal also known as the Rose Princess. When Shouka took the Rose Princess away from the clan, he also took Shusui, whom he adopted and later sent to the palace. She became an assassin as part of the Wolves of the Wind. Sa Enjun  believes that she is an assassin loyal to him, but she is actually a double agent under the orders of Advisor Sho Yosei, the real master of the Black Wolf and Wolves of the Wind. After leaving the Hyou clan, Shusui's powers finally awakened which allowed her to see a little more than thousand miles if she wished to with her farsight ability.

In the second season of the anime, Shusui starts to hear sounds in her head; fearing to fall back into the control of the Hyou clan, she attempts suicide. When she passes out in Shuuei's arms, she breaks his heart by calling out Shouka's name instead. He later uses Shouka's name to snap her out of a hypnotic trance. Afterward, she insists on remaining in Ran province to face the Hyou clan, leaving her position as head lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Harem. She is deemed officially missing (though the Emperor knows where she is) and her position has been filled in by Ran Jyuusan. Even though she knew that Hyou Ruka would never forgive her for betraying the clan, she returned to face her. Ruka noticed the change within Shusui and decided to test her. She threw her in the Prison of Time, a maze like dungeon within the Hyou clan which muddles the sense of time of the prisoner and slowly eats away the person's soul with the evil spirits lurking there. According to that prison's time, Shusui resisted the evil spirits for an entire year.

While Ruka was being flattered by a priestess named Tatsuka, who was jealous that Ruka was paying attention to a traitor like Shusui and not to loyal attendant like her, she revealed to her that the last person who was inside that prison as a captive was Ruka herself. It is revealed later that it is the final trial for a person who is chosen as a High Priestess candidate to test her endurance and mental strength. After she was saved from the prison by Ran Shuuei, Shusui visited Ruka and helped her remove the locust plague and recover the sacred artifacts. She later found Ruka in a deep slumber and met the spirit of the priestess who guards the prison and protects the priestess candidates, a priestess with white robes and a red umbrella (most likely the first High Priestess Sou Youki). Later on, Ruka gave up the imperial throne of the High Priestess and enthroned Shusui as the High Priestess shortly before her death. She got married Ran Shuuei at some point, eventually giving birth to three of his sons with the eldest one named Ran Shijaku.

Embroidery
Despite her upbringing, she is hopeless at embroidery, a fact that Ryuuki likes to tease her about. When she attempts to embroider a sunflower pattern onto a handkerchief for Shouka, he mistakes it for a lion.

Assassination
Shusui was brainwashed into becoming an assassin doll for the Hyou Clan and after being rescued by Shouka, she becomes as assassin for the Wolves of the Wind. She is a fearsome assassin with incredible skills in weaponry and in hand-to-hand combat, which was demonstrated in her attack against the Vice Minister of Arms and the guards couldn't get close to her. Ryuuren is suspicious of her swift agility in dealing with Kourin 's clumsiness.

Clairvoyance
Though she was originally powerless, Shusui soon developed them. Her power is a "special sight" known as the 'Senrigan' which allows her a little more than thousand miles if she wishes.

The Red Immortal
Shusui was chosen to be the attendant of the Red Immortal, as well as the Red Immortal's the next vessel. She deeply cared for the Red Immortal as she treated her nicely. Because Shusui wanted the Red Immortal to be freed, she led Shouka to her. After the Immortal took the identity of Kou Shoukun and became Shouka's wife, Shusui devotedly served them as their retainer. However, Shouka thought they weren't fit to be her parents, so in order for her to learn to live a normal life, Shoukun and Shouka sent her to the palace to enter the harem as a lady-in-waiting.

Kou Shouka
Shusui is deeply attached to Shouka, although he oblivious to her feelings for him and doesn't feel the same way torwards her because he is still very much in love with his wife. He only sees her as an adopted daughter. She is the only person (besides Ryuuki) who says that his tea is delicious (though her facial expression looks like she is facing death). In spite of her feelings for Shouka, she accepts the fact that he is still very much in love with his dead wife.

Kou Shuurei
She dearly loves Shuurei as she is Shouka and Shoukun's daughter. She served her as her lady-in-waiting during the time she was the emperor's consort. Shuurei was also the only person other than Shouka who could snap hernout of her trance. Later when Shuurei came to the Hyou clan, Shusui made her medicine everyday and was very strict about Shuurei's health as she refused to let even Shuurei make her own medicine. She also helped in drawing back Shuurei's lost life force.

Ran Shuuei
When Shusui helped Shuuei once in the past, it was love at first sight for Shuuei, but sadly, Shusui does not even remember the meeting. He later rescued Shusui from the prison of time and eventually earned her respect. At a later point he married her, having three sons with her.

Etymology

 * Hyou means "light blue" (縹).
 * Shusui means "pearl, gem, jewel" (珠) (shu) and "green" (翠) (sui).