The Ochiai Sirens – The Power to Dominate Water Operations in Kozan

Even though Kisumi Torisawa is a journalist for KBN and at Kozankyo University, she has explored other ventures since her youth – one of those being cosplay. Torisawa is a fully-trained geisha and kimonos were one motivation that got her into cosplay and becoming a geisha. But there are two other things Torisawa enjoys cosplaying. She is also a ballroom dancer and has also been a local freshwater mermaid ever since she was a teenager.

Both of Torisawa’s daughters, Kagami and Yumi Ochiai, ended up inheriting one of her desires of cosplaying mermaids. There are various times where all three are in the same style of cosplay even though their tails are different colors of orange, violet, and cyan, leading to the term the Ochiai Sirens coming into play, named for Kagami and Yumi.

We don’t mean the loud sirens produced by fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars. Sirens have their root in Greek mythology with their backstory of attracting anyone who hears her voice and then slaughtering them upon sight. Hideo Ochiai, the father of Kagami and Yumi, has commanded the three to slay anyone who may be affiliated with SPASDOT, but only in aquatic areas. You would only see them present local swimming pools, but they are also present in rivers, streams, lakes, or even off the coast of Kozan.

But where would their origin species come in? Well, the entirety of the Ochiai Clan are all youkai-borns, one of the two dominant races in Kozan, besides humanoids. Even though it isn’t really possible in reality, youkai-borns can transfigure into and from other objects, whether it be inanimate or animate. They aren’t necessarily tsukumogami, but their backstory would definitely fit for youkai. Many argue that magic isn’t real. In reality, it is – through science, and magic is becoming more and more possible thanks to the rise in computers and robotics.

Both their light and dark sides fit with the actual siren. Both Kagami and Yumi are idol singers, though their mother Kisumi is not technically a singer but she had to learn to sing kouta (short songs) during her time as a maiko. Their dark side is fighting against their enemy SPASDOT. According to some Kozanese philosophers, youkai-borns are said to be stronger than their humanoid counterparts. This is the reason why Kagami’s weapons within Chuhou Joutai are stronger than Driller’s.

In the water, there are still limitations for them. Youkai-borns are still regular humans but with spiritual blood, and they have a limited amount of time they can stay underwater before they must return to the surface or otherwise face death from drownage. Don’t tell me that’s not an actual word, but it should be because I just coined it. It’s another word for drowning. Believe it or not, there are humans in the real world that are born with gills and can breathe underwater. Humanoids who are born with this defect are the perfect candidate for being mermaids, or perhaps sirens in my opinion.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that Crown Princess Konata of the Kirisame dynasty in Kozan is also a cosplayer of one.