“ | Noshiko: "They are unstoppable. They've been riding the storm and taking souls since long before I was born." Liam: "We won't survive them. Not without your help." Noshiko: "Kira entrusted me with her sword while she's with the Skinwalkers. And now, I'm trusting you... because I believe she would want me to. Do not mistake this for me agreeing with your decision. [...] Once it's done, whatever happens is your responsibility." |
” |
— Liam Dunbar and Noshiko Yukimura in Ghosted
|
Noshiko Yukimura is a supporting character in Teen Wolf. She is the wife of Ken Yukimura, the mother of Kira Yukimura, and a former internee at the Oak Creek Internment Camp during World War II. She was first introduced in Season 3 as a stay-at-home mother who had just moved with her family to Beacon Hills from New York City.
However, it was soon revealed that Noshiko had uprooted her family and moved to California for a specific reason—she is a nine-hundred-year-old Celestial Kitsune who had returned to Beacon Hills to slay the Nogitsune who had recently escaped the prison she created for it in the Nemeton almost seventy years earlier. When it became clear that she and the Oni she had summoned by sacrificing her Kitsune tails were not strong enough to defeat the Nogitsune themselves, she made it clear that her daughter Kira, who was revealed to be a Thunder Kitsune, would have to do it for her by killing the Nogitsune's host, her good friend Stiles Stilinski.
Fortunately, Kira did not have to kill her packmate in order to neutralize the Nogitsune, and after the Dark Kitsune was taken care of, Noshiko intended to return the family to their home in New York. However, once it became obvious that Kira had made a home in Beacon Hills with her new pack, they decided to stay in their new town for her sake. From then on, Noshiko helped Kira by instructing her on what it meant to be a Kitsune, such as teaching her how to heal and helping her identify her first Kitsune tail. She also helped the McCall Pack with the supernatural drama they had to deal with when possible, such as helping Scott McCall fake his death in order to draw out and identify the Benefactor, who had been funding the Deadpool hit-list.
In Season 5, Noshiko and her husband Ken became concerned when it looked as though Kira was losing control over her Kitsune powers, leading Noshiko to test her in battle with katanas. When Kira nearly killed Noshiko and did, in fact, kill a female Chimera during a black out/fugue state, she realized that Kira's Fox and human sides were out of balance and decided to take her to Shiprock, New Mexico, in order to get assistance from the Skinwalkers who resided there, as they had experience dealing with shapeshifters with dual natures. Despite Kira living in Shiprock while she trains with the Skinwalkers, Noshiko and Ken still appear to reside in or near Beacon Hills.
Noshiko is a member of the Yukimura Family and is an ally of the McCall Pack.
Early life[]
As a nine-hundred-year-old Celestial Kitsune, Noshiko has presumably been alive since sometime in the 12th century, but the majority of her life prior to being introduced on the series remains unknown. ("The Fox and the Wolf") At some point between the 13th century and the 20th century, she became old enough and powerful enough to take a human form and began living in the human world. ("De-Void")
In the 1940s during World War II, she was living in Beacon Hills, California, when she, along with her friend Satomi Ito, was forced into the Oak Creek internment camp due to the fact that she was Japanese, as the recent bombing of the Navy base at Pearl Harbor by Japan had caused distrust toward immigrants of that heritage. She nearly died in the riot that occurred there after she and her lover, Corporal Rhys, discovered that two of the camp's MPs were working with the camp physician to sell necessary medications on the black market, which led to many of the internees dying of pneumonia due to not getting the antibiotic treatment they needed. Noshiko was so injured by gunfire that the MPs believed her to be dead, and she knew that she would be unable to heal quickly enough to fight back after they took her and the other victims out to a field to burn the bodies and thus cover up the evidence.
Distraught by everything she had lost and furious at the thought that the corrupt camp employees would be getting away with the cover-up of the deaths of so many of her people, Noshiko prayed to her Kitsune ancestors for kitsune-tsuki, or possession by a fox spirit; specifically, she wanted a Nogitsune who fed on chaos, strife, and pain to give her the power she needed to heal and take revenge on the American military for what they had done to compatriots.
However, since trickster spirits are prone to having very dark senses of humor, the Nogitsune possessed the body of Corporal Rhys, who had died from his own injuries after being hit by a Molotov cocktail and set ablaze in the riot, particularly due to the fact that the camp's morphine supply had been sold on the black market as well. The Nogitsune then went on a rampage through the camp, killing American soldiers and nurses as well as Japanese and Japanese-American internees. It wasn't until Noshiko grabbed her magical katana and gained the assistance from her friend Satomi, a then-Beta Werewolf, that she was able to neutralize the Nogitsune by reverting it to its fly form and locking it in a jar, which she then buried within the roots of the Nemeton, a mystical and sacred tree used as a meeting place for Druids that had yet to be cut down in 1943. ("The Fox and the Wolf")
At some point in the mid-late 20th century, Noshiko met the South Korean human Ken Yukimura while he was studying history in graduate school in Japan. Ken was a World War II buff, and since Noshiko had firsthand knowledge of the war, the two began to bond over their shared interests and eventually fell in love. They were married in Japan, with Ken taking the last name "Yukimura" due to Noshiko's unique lineage as well as Japan's legal requirement that married couples belong to the same koseki and have the same family name. Some years later, the two moved to New York in the United States and had a daughter, Kira, who reached supernatural puberty with regards to her Kitsune abilities just a few months before the family moved to Beacon Hills after Noshiko learned that the Nogitsune had been released once again. ("Galvanize")
Throughout Teen Wolf[]
Noshiko first appeared in Galvanize during a family dinner she hosted with her husband and daughter in order to thank Scott McCall for saving Kira from a coyote and to get to know him better. During the dinner, Noshiko noted with amusement that Scott had never eaten sushi before, and she watched with mixed feelings as Kira caught the sushi roll he dropped with her chopsticks and cutely fed it to him, commenting to Ken that sushi was perhaps not the best choice for a first date. When Scott asked if Yukimura was a Japanese name, Ken explained that it was, but that he was actually Korean. Ken and Noshiko briefly and vaguely discussed Noshiko's unique lineage, but the dinner was awkwardly interrupted when Scott accidentally put too much wasabi on his sushi (mistaking it for guacamole) and burned his tongue and throat. In Riddled, after Kira accidentally caused a light bulb to explode with her electrokinetic powers, Noshiko came into her bedroom to see what happened. When Noshiko changed the light bulb, she inadvertently revealed that she had powers as well when foxfire sparked from her fingertips upon making contact with the bulb in its socket. At the end of the episode, Noshiko appeared in the elevator at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital just as Stiles Stilinski, whose body was now completely under the Nogitsune's control, was about to escape by using the live wire flipping around outside as a distraction. Noshiko asked the Nogitsune if he remembered her, and when he nodded, she reminded him that this meant that she wouldn't be deterred by his choice of host, even if it was an innocent teenage boy. The Nogitsune asked if she was threatening him, which caused Noshiko to summon two of her Oni and insist that now she was threatening him. When the Nogitsune insisted that her "little fireflies" didn't scare him, Noshiko made it clear that if the Oni couldn't defeat him, she knew of someone else who could, insinuating that it would ultimately be Kira who would slay him. In Letharia Vulpina, Noshiko caught up with Kira at hospital after Kira used her Kitsune powers to absorb the electricity from a live wire so that no one else would be hurt by it, sharply chastising her for using her powers where other people can see her. The next day, Kira saw Noshiko and Ken at the high school and sneaked outside of Ken's classroom to overhear their conversation. Noshiko saw Ken pull out a large textbook and wondered why he wouldn't hide "them" somewhere more secure, but Ken assured her that no teenager has ever voluntarily opened a textbook. When Noshiko opened the book, it was revealed that her Kitsune tails, in the form of black ceramic daggers referred to as kaiken (Japanese: "dagger"), were hidden inside it in nine slats carved into the pages, though more than half of the slats were empty. When Ken reminded her that she had already sacrificed five of her tails and that three of her Oni were already dead at the Nogitsune's hands, Noshiko insisted that she was willing to sacrifice all of her tails if it came to it. She then pulled out two of the four remaining tails and snapped them to summon two more Oni, assuring Ken that these ones would be much stronger due to the fact that the tails were older and more powerful. In The Fox and the Wolf, after the Nogitsune, still using Stiles Stilinski's body, tried to infect Ken with his Nogitsune flies, Noshiko called Kira and Scott to bring reishi mushrooms to cure the infection before revealing that the Nogitsune was after her last kaiken, which she had stashed in her jacket. After Ken recovered, Scott showed Noshiko what his friend Malia Tate had found hidden in a wall at Eichen House-- a katana and a photograph of a person who looked identical to Kira, which was taken in 1943. When Kira asked Noshiko if the photo was of her grandmother, Noshiko grimly admitted that it was actually of her. Stunned, Scott pointed out that this meant that Noshiko was at least ninety years old, but Noshiko, mildly amused, retorted that she was actually closer to nine-hundred, finally confirming that she was, in fact, a powerful and ancient Kitsune. Horrified by these revelations and appalled that Noshiko kept these secrets from her, Kira demanded that Noshiko tell her everything, leading Noshiko to glare at Scott and pointed out that Foxes and Wolves don't get along, but Ken insisted that all allies are welcome in times of war. Noshiko picked up the katana Scott and Kira brought and unsheathed it over Ken's desk, revealing that the blade had been shattered into pieces in 1943, when she last used it to excise the Nogitsune from its host. She then went on to tell Ken, Kira, and Scott the story of how she came upon the Nogitsune while she was essentially a prisoner in Camp Oak Creek, including her love affair with Corporal Rhys and how she had the help of a then-Beta Werewolf, Satomi Ito, to neutralize the Nogitsune before imprisoning it in its fly form in a jar buried within the roots of the Nemeton prior to the tree being cut down. (See "Early Life" for the full story). During this explanation, Noshiko accidentally cut her hand from gripping a shattered piece of the katana, and demonstrated her accelerated healing ability to Kira before informing her that Kira had it as well, which was why she's never been sick. She then insisted that Kira help her reassemble the sword, and when Kira asked her why she couldn't just do it herself, Noshiko revealed that she wasn't a Thunder Kitsune, but Kira was, and that she needed a bolt of Kira's lightning. Taking Kira's hands in her own, she helped guide her daughter's electrokinesis through the sword, reforging the blade. Upon its completion, Noshiko explained that her power now belonged to Kira, and that if Noshiko and the Oni couldn't defeat the Nogitsune, it would be up to Kira to finish what she started. However, neither Kira nor Scott would accept that killing Stiles was the only way to defeat the Nogitsune, despite Noshiko and Ken's arguments, and left to go try to save him. After they left, Noshiko assured Ken that she would find a safe place to hide her kaiken, but Ken replied that he was more concerned with the situation at hand, reminding her that history had not done well with turning children into killers. Noshiko, however, pointed out that "these children" (Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, and Allison Argent) had played a role in this situation long before they returned to Beacon Hills, revealing that it had been their surrogate sacrifice ritual in Alpha Pact and the subsequent earthquakes caused by Jennifer Blake that released the Nogitsune from its prison. In De-Void, Noshiko went to Eichen House to hide her kaiken where she had also hidden Rhys' body in the wall, but she was confronted by the Nogitsune, who asked her why she carved the jiko kanji where she had buried him. Noshiko angrily replied that she did it to symbolize that Rhys had died as himself and not as a monster like him. The Nogitsune reminded her that she was the one who had prayed for kitsune-tsuki and asked her what happened to the woman who called out for chaos, strife, and pain to rain down on everyone after the Camp Oak Creek riot and subsequent cover-up. When Noshiko stated that she didn't want that anymore, the Nogitsune insisted that he did before stealing the kaiken from her hand and using it to slice open his stomach, releasing a horde of millions of Nogitsune flies that ultimately ended up infecting and possessing Isaac Lahey, Derek Hale, Ethan, and Aiden. In Insatiable, Noshiko showed up at the McCall House with two of her Oni at Stiles' request, despite Kira's protests against it out of fear that the Oni would kill him. However, both Noshiko and Stiles, the latter of whom had recently been de-possessed by the Nogitsune, ignored Kira's protests and allowed the Oni to perform their check on Stiles and branded the jiko kanji behind his ear. When Stiles asked if this meant that he was himself, Noshiko confirmed that he was at the very least more himself than the Nogitsune. She then admitted that it would be unlikely for the Oni to catch the Nogitsune that night, since it was too close to dawn, meaning they would have to wait until the next night; she grimly added that even then, it wasn't guaranteed that the Oni would be powerful enough to kill him, considering the amount of chaos, strife, and pain he had induced and fed on over the past few weeks. When the topic turned to Lydia, who had been captured by the Nogitsune prior to his escape in the previous episode, Noshiko pointed out that he would only take her for an advantage and guessed he needed her Banshee powers. Later, when Kira and Noshiko returned home, Kira demanded to know how the Oni were going to find the Nogitsune that night and what they were supposed to do until then, but Noshiko simply pulled out the game board and pieces for the strategy game Go and insisted that they would sit and learn. When Kira protested against playing games at such a bad time, Noshiko reminded her that Scott said he saw Stiles and the Nogitsune playing Go in his mind, which could be a crucial detail in their fight against the Dark Kitsune. She then began teaching Kira how to play the game, claiming that the survival of her friends depended upon her learning the game better than the Nogitsune, who was currently winning. After Stiles and Isaac talked to another Banshee, Meredith Walker, who got a message from Lydia saying "Coup de foudre," they realized that the Nogitsune and Lydia were at Camp Oak Creek where Noshiko had originally summoned it. When Kira returned home to find Noshiko and give her this new information, her father Ken admitted he didn't know where she was before bringing up the fact that he did know that Noshiko was trying to keep Kira out of the supernatural world as long as she could. The topic turned to the fact that Noshiko was teaching Kira to play Go, and Ken began discussing the different styles of play before noticing that Kira and Noshiko's game was still left out from earlier. When Ken pointed out that the white pieces, which Noshiko placed to represent the Nogitsune, were in Noshiko's aggressive style of play, Kira realized that this was all just a distraction so Noshiko could try to deal with the Nogitsune by herself. Kira, Allison, Isaac, Scott, and Stiles then all went to Camp Oak Creek, splitting up so that Scott and Stiles could find Lydia while Kira, Allison, and Isaac confronted Noshiko, who had brought all five Oni with her. Noshiko immediately told Kira to leave and take her friends with her, but Kira insisted that she couldn't, stating that when she took a good look at the game board, she realized who she was really playing-- her mother, not the Nogitsune. When Allison and Kira demanded that Noshiko call the Oni off, Noshiko continued to argue that she was naive to believe that she could save Stiles by taking the Nogitsune alive before reminding her daughter that she tried the same thing seventy years ago and it didn't work. Kira maintained that it was possible to save Stiles and implied that Noshiko refused to believe it because if it really was true, then that it she could have saved Rhys. Noshiko, both frustrated and impressed, remarked that Kira had taken her place as the young Fox with grim amusement before reiterating that the Nogitsune was her demon to bury, not Kira's. However, before the argument could go any further, Noshiko suddenly sensed something was wrong and opened her closed fist, revealing that the firefly that represented her control over the Oni had died and turned into a puff of black smoke. When Kira frantically demanded to know what that meant, the Nogitsune, who had broken the kaiken he had stolen from Noshiko, materialized in front of them and revealed that the Oni had experienced a change in ownership, taking great pleasure in gloating about how they now belonged to him. He wasted no time ordering the Oni to attack them, and Noshiko, who had no weapon due to her assumption that the Oni would do her fighting for her, was forced to duck out of the way and watch as Kira, Isaac, and Allison jumped in to fight the Oni as best they could with their katana, claws, and bow and arrows, respectively. Unfortunately, when Isaac, who was in full Werewolf form but was slowly getting more and more injured by the Oni's ninjatos, desperately demanded Noshiko to tell them how to stop the Oni, Noshiko, who was panicked by this unexpected turn of events, yelled that they couldn't be stopped. She was just as shocked as anyone when Allison managed to kill one of the Oni by shooting it with the silver arrowhead she had made earlier to symbolize her graduation to full Hunter status, but Noshiko's shock turned to horror when Allison, a regular human girl among Kitsune, Werewolves, and Oni, was stabbed in the abdomen by another Oni and killed right in front of them. Knowing that Noshiko and the others would be too distracted by Allison's death to come after him, the Nogitsune decided this was the best time to retreat and disappeared with the Oni, allowing them to rush toward Allison without any further injury or loss of life. In The Divine Move, Noshiko returned to the Yukimura House with Kira, Ken, and Stiles after Allison's death to recover from everything that had happened in the battle against the Nogitsune and the Oni. Noshiko handed Stiles a cup of tea and assured him that it would calm him, and when Stiles comically asked if it was magic tea, Noshiko, who was both annoyed and mildly amused, stated that it was chamomile before insisting that he drink it. When Ken pointed out that Stiles wasn't safe there at their house, Noshiko reminded him that he wasn't safe anywhere, though both adults became quiet when Kira brought up the shocking fact that Allison had managed to kill an Oni before her death, something that Noshiko claimed shouldn't be possible. After Stiles lamented Allison's death and implied that the one good thing about the situation was that his deteriorating condition seemed to indicate that he was going to die as well, Noshiko gently stated that the Nogitsune made a powerful move by splitting the two of them apart and taking Stiles' form as his own. When Kira asked what their next move was, Ken replied that they needed a "divine move," which Noshiko defined as a "truly inspired, out-of-the-box move." She went on to say that since the Nogitsune had sente, or the advantage, thus far in the game, the McCall Pack would need a divine move to turn the game back around in their favor. Kira suddenly remembered that Noshiko had said she trapped the Nogitsune in a jar in 1943, but Noshiko corrected her, stating that it wasn't the jar that trapped the Nogitsune, but where she buried it. Stiles realized she meant the Nemeton, since she buried the jar in the roots of the tree, but Noshiko admitted that she didn't know much about it before Kira and Stiles left to talk to Alan Deaton, who, as a Druid, was much more knowledgeable about the ancient tree. |
In Muted, Noshiko was seen unpacking a crate full of what appeared to be silver bars while Kira and Ken were getting ready to leave for school. However, when Kira saw a "For Sale" sign in the front yard, she grabbed it and rushed back into the house to demand to know what it was doing there. Noshiko attempted to play dumb by pointing out that "For Sale" signs are used to tell other people that a house is for sale, but Ken followed Kira inside and reminded Noshiko that she was supposed to tell Kira that they planned to leave Beacon Hills and return to New York. When Kira voiced her disagreement with this plan, Noshiko reminded her that she always knew that their move to California was only temporary, but Kira argued that the aforementioned discussion happened before Noshiko told her that she was a Kitsune and would have to kill one of the few friends she has made in town. Noshiko smiled fakely and pointed out that she didn't actually end up having to kill Stiles when he was possessed by the Nogitsune and insisted that Kira should see that as a win. Kira went on to point out that they had to stay in Beacon Hills because Ken's work at Beacon Hills High School was too important, and Noshiko gave her a knowing look as Ken remarked that in New York, he worked as a professor at Columbia University. When Noshiko and Ken reminded Kira that she had friends in New York, Kira insisted that they weren't like the ones she has there, and started to describe her friendships with Stiles, Lydia, and Malia, but Noshiko knew that what Kira was really worried about leaving was Scott. Noshiko went on to point out that she has had boyfriends before and would find another, causing Kira to sigh and argue that Scott wasn't her boyfriend. That night, Noshiko had just finished setting up for the open house, but when no one had arrived, she called out to Ken to call the realtor to find out why. Just then, Ken came inside with the "For Sale" sign, which looked like it had been cut up with a very sharp sword, and sheepishly explained that he believed this to be the reason why no one had come. Noshiko then yelled for Kira, who was in her room, smirking in satisfaction as she spun her lacrosse stick around. In Time of Death, Noshiko assisted Kira in helping Scott fake his death in hopes of luring out The Benefactor to learn who had created the Deadpool. Liam Dunbar, Scott's Beta, seemed extremely nervous about this plan and asked Noshiko if she had ever done this before, but Noshiko, not exactly thrilled with the plan herself, replied that she had only ever seen it done before, and insisted it wasn't as good as doing it herself when Liam asked her about it. When Noshiko remarked that this was a terrible plan, Kira threatened to do it without her, which led Noshiko to reluctantly talk Kira through what she needed to do. She instructed Kira to hold her hand over Scott's heart, but before Kira could use her powers, Scott stopped her and asked Noshiko what he would feel while he was unconscious. Noshiko explained that he might feel like he was dreaming, and when Scott questioned her on whether they would be good dreams or bad dreams, Noshiko pointed out that it would be up to his mind. She then watched as Kira reached out and held her hand over Scott's heart before using her foxfire to shock him so much that his heartbeat slowed to an imperceptible level. After Scott was rushed to the hospital with what was believed to be cardiac arrest, Noshiko, Kira, Stiles, and Liam waited in the morgue for Melissa McCall to join them. When Melissa saw Scott and tearfully remarked that he looked dead, Noshiko instructed her to put her hand on his heart and wait until she felt a heartbeat several minutes later, assuring her that his heart rate was enough to keep an Alpha alive. However, Noshiko was slightly appalled when she learned that the McCall Pack hadn't informed Melissa that, if Scott's heart wasn't restarted with Kira's powers within 45 minutes, he would die for real. Noshiko and Melissa then went out into Noshiko's car in the Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital parking lot, where they kept watch for The Benefactor's arrival. Melissa, still worried about Scott, asked Noshiko how they could keep allowing their children to fight these kinds of fights, Noshiko reminded her that they do so because the alternative is telling them to run and hide. After a while, the two went back into the hospital, where they found the room where Kira, Stiles, and Liam were supposed to be watching the surveillance cameras completely empty, and the cameras shut down due to the power outage. When Noshiko asked Melissa if the electricity went out often, Melissa retorted that it was only during attacks from supernatural creatures. Unfortunately for the two women, they ran into one of Kate Argent's Berserkers, and when Melissa asked Noshiko if she was still a Kitsune, Noshiko, looking scared, replied, "Technically." She was then attacked by the Berserker, likely while trying to protect Melissa, and afterward, she was airlifted to a hospital in Palo Alto for more specialized treatment. In Smoke and Mirrors, she astral-projected to where Kira was being held hostage by Kate Argent in the Temple of Tezcatlipoca in Mexico. When she found Kira dying of a stab wound to the heart from being attacked by Scott McCall after he had been turned into a mindless Berserker by Kate, she helped Kira learn how to trigger her healing ability with a large shard of obsidian, allowing her to survive her wounds and make the shard of obsidian her first Kitsune tail, which Ken modified into a shuriken. |
In Strange Frequencies, Noshiko became concerned by Kira's recent violent and aggressive behavior and decided to test her by sparring with her. However, their battle only caused Kira's overpowered Kitsune spirit to take control and nearly kill Noshiko, revealing to her that something had caused Kira's inner Kitsune spirit to become out of balance with her human spirit. In Ouroboros, Kira read Gabriel Valack's novel The Dread Doctors and learned that she was experimented on by the Dread Doctors during the events of Creatures of the Night; when they summoned a lighting bolt into her eye, her inner Kitsune spirit was so made so powerful that it was able to act independently of Kira and occasionally even exert control over her actions. After a dead Chimera was found with Kira's katana impaling its chest, Noshiko determined that Kira needed more help than she could give her, and so the family left to seek out supernatural assistance. In Damnatio Memoriae, Noshiko was seen with Kira in Shiprock, New Mexico, where Noshiko had brought her to see a trio of female Skinwalkers in hopes that they would be able to show Kira how to control her abilities. When the Skinwalkers crawled out from underground after sensing the two Kitsune on their land, Noshiko informed Kira that they were powerful shapeshifters before instructing her to take out her katana and prepare to fight. In Codominance, Noshiko watched as Kira battled the Skinwalkers, wincing in pain and concern when Kira was ultimately impaled through the shoulder with one of their spears and pinned to a nearby sandstone boulder. When the Skinwalkers determined that Kira was afraid of losing control rather than fearing them, Noshiko asked them if they could help her. After some consideration, the Skinwalker leader agreed to try, but stated that if Kira failed their test, then she would become a Skinwalker like them and walk with them under the sun forever. Noshiko visited Kira later in one of the Skinwalkers' tents in order to see how she was healing and explained the Skinwalkers' methods to her. When Kira balked at the thought that she could be spending anywhere between months and years with the Skinwalkers in order to train and learn control over her powers, Noshiko reminded her that if her inner Fox spirit became too powerful, it could consume her completely, and she wouldn't even exist anymore. Kira asked Noshiko if she would really leave her in Shiprock with them, Noshiko insisted she would if it kept her alive, and stated that becoming a Skinwalker could save her. Kira argued that she would be left with "three crazy women" wearing animal pelts ad wielding spears, and that all the stories say Skinwalkers are evil, but Noshiko reminded her that since Kira carries a sword and wears a leather jacket, she isn't that different from them, and that the legends also say that Kitsune are evil as well. When Noshiko came to check on Kira again later on, she found, much to her surprise, that Kira's shoulder had already fully healed. Kira was becoming nervous about the test that evening, but when she asked Noshiko for advice, Noshiko simply replied, "Don't fail." After Kira left to take her test, which involved battling a Desert Oni that caused her to sustain every wound she inflicted on it, Noshiko anxiously watched from near the Skinwalkers' tents. At dawn, Kira returned with the severed head of the Oni and insisted that she had passed, but, much to their horror, the Skinwalkers appeared and revealed that Kira had actually failed, since it was the Fox inside her who won the battle with the Oni and not Kira herself. Despite Noshiko's earlier statement that she would leave Kira to become a Skinwalker if it saved her life, she ultimately decided against it and ordered Kira to get in the car when they insisted that Kira would stay with them. She pulled out her own sword and reminded them that she was a 900-year-old Kitsune, and that if they wanted Kira, they would have to go through her. The Skinwalkers destroyed the tires of the Yukimura family car so they couldn't leave, but before Noshiko could engage in a battle with them, Scott and Stiles arrived in Stiles' Jeep just in time to rescue them. As they sped away, Stiles asked Noshiko if she was all right, and when Noshiko looked in the backseat to see Kira kissing Scott, she smiled and seemed relieved to see her daughter for the first time in quite a while. |
In Ghosted, Noshiko was contacted by Liam Dunbar and Hayden Romero and met them in the underground tunnels beneath Beacon Hills to talk to them. While Hayden and Liam were walking toward where Noshiko was waiting for them, she overheard them talking about whether or not she knew how bad of an idea their plan was and interjected that anyone would know what a bad plan it was. She went on to confirm for the final time that they truly wanted to go through with their plan, which was to free Theo Raeken from his underground prison in hopes that the electromagnetokinetic powers he stole from Josh Diaz could help them trap a Ghost Rider.
Liam, looking grim, insisted that he had no idea what else they should do, because the Wild Hunt appeared to be unstoppable, and Noshiko agreed that the Riders were exactly that, adding that they have been riding the storm and taking souls since before she was born around nine-hundred years ago. When Liam stated that they wouldn't survive their attacks without Noshiko's help, she held out Kira's belt, in its katana form, and revealed that Kira had entrusted her with the sword while she trained with the Skinwalkers. She then continued on to say that she was now going to trust them with the sword, as she believed that Kira would want her to do so, though she took great care to make it clear that she did not agree with what they were doing. Liam assured her that he understood and remarked that when Kira imprisoned Theo, she plunged the sword into the ground, and Noshiko replied that if Liam wanted to do this, he would have to do it himself. Before she left, she looked Liam in the eyes and emphasized that once Theo was free, anything that happened afterward would be his responsibility.Personality[]
Noshiko is known for being a relatively strict, passionate woman with the tendency to be very aggressive when necessary. She has a strong sense of honor and duty, as evidenced by her determination to hunt and kill the Nogitsune she had previously summoned once and for all, even if it meant killing his innocent host in the process. She has a very no-nonsense personality, and is not someone who can easily be bullied or pressured into doing something she doesn't want to do. She bears some similarities to Victoria Argent in the way that she teaches her daughter to be strong through tough love and practical lessons, but at the end of the day, she would do anything to make sure that her husband and daughter are safe and healthy. Due to being alive for many centuries, Noshiko has amassed a lot of knowledge and wisdom, and is skilled in many areas, particularly involving Eastern Asian cultures, such as mythology and holistic medicine. She is also known for being quite a powerful warrior, even after losing the majority of her tails to her fight to defeat the Nogitsune.
Physical Appearance[]
Noshiko is a very regal and attractive woman of Japanese heritage who has tan skin, shiny long black hair, and dark brown eyes. In her youth, she was identical to how her daughter Kira appears now, but she has since taken on the appearance of a woman in her early 40s. She often dresses in a very trendy style in mostly monochromatic black color scheme, favoring dresses, skinny jeans, and skirts paired with knee-high leather boots. In high-stress situations, she is known to carry a katana strapped to her back in a scabbard.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Celestial Kitsune Physiology: As a 900-year-old Kitsune, Noshiko has amassed a great deal of power and wisdom over the course of her long life. However, because she has sacrificed the majority of her tails, her strength has diminished considerably from the level it was at her peak. Though Will Wallace has revealed that Noshiko is a Celestial Kitsune, very little is known about this type of fox spirit, making it difficult to determine which of her powers are common among Kitsune in general and which are attributed to Celestial Kitsune specifically. The powers Noshiko has demonstrated are as follows:
- Super Strength: As a Kitsune, Noshiko possesses superhuman strength, though this strength is inferior to that of a Werewolf and even other Kitsune due to losing her tails. She has demonstrated this strength in flashbacks to her battle with the Nogitsune and her sparring session with Kira in the present day.
- Super Speed: Noshiko is much faster than even the finest human athlete, as Kitsune are among the fastest creatures in the Teen Wolf universe. However, this ability has been weakened due to the loss of her tails.
- Super Agility/Reflexes: As a Kitsune, Noshiko is very agile, and can jump very high and very far, easily dodge attacks and projectiles, and can perform impressive gymnastic and acrobatic feats. She demonstrated this ability during her sparring session against Kira, during which time she was shown doing flips and jumping spins.
- Accelerated Healing: As a Kitsune, Noshiko's cells regenerate at a very high rate, causing her to be immune to all human diseases and conditions and heal from minor to moderate wounds in moments. As a result, she cannot get drunk on alcohol or high on drugs because her body heals too fast. However, due to her loss of tails, this power has been diminished considerably, though she can still heal much faster than a normal human. This ability allowed her to survive being shot by dozens of bullets in 1943 during the riot at Camp Oak Creek, when she still had all of her tails, and she healed within hours. After losing most of her tails, Noshiko was still able to heal a cut on her hand within moments, and she survived a serious stab wound to the side in a battle with a Berserker, though it took her several days to fully recover.
- Longevity: As a Kitsune and a supernatural with a heightened healing factor, Noshiko has an extended lifespan and a decreased rate of aging, which has allowed her to live for nearly 900 years. It is unknown what is the highest age a Kitsune can reach, but the oldest known Kitsune was over 1,000 years old, suggesting that Noshiko possibly live to be that old or possibly even longer if she is not killed first.
- Shapeshifting: As a Kitsune over the age of 100 years old, Noshiko was granted the ability to take on a human form, though what shape she was when she was born is still a mystery. However, it is unknown to what extent this shapeshifting ability can be used; since she had the appearance of a woman in her late teens or early twenties as recently as 1943, its possible that she was able to use her shapeshifting ability to make herself age along with Ken.
- Aura Manipulation: As a Kitsune, Noshiko has a fiery aura that surrounds her body, though it usually can only be seen with supernatural vision or with flash photography. She has the power to conceal this aura from supernatural eyes, and can also project it outward so it can be seen by naked human eyes.
- Foxfire Production: As a Kitsune, Noshiko can produce foxfire; according to legend, this is done by the Kitsune rubbing their tails together. Though she has yet to be shown using foxfire on a large scale, she did create sparks of static electricity from her fingertips when she was changing a light bulb.
- Electricity Immunity: As a Kitsune who can produce foxfire, Noshiko is immune to the effects of electricity. If exposed to it, it will safely and painlessly pass through her body with no negative effects.
- Astral Projection: As a Kitsune, Noshiko has been shown to possess the power to astral project to different locations on Earth. She was shown to use this power to astral-project to where Kira was dying from a stab wound to the heart at La Iglesia in Mexico, allowing her to teach Kira how to activate her healing ability so she could survive. It is unknown if this is a power possessed by all Kitsune, or if the Kitsune in question needs to be of a certain type or age in order to utilize it.
- Intuitive Combat Proficiency: As a Kitsune, Noshiko is naturally and intuitively gifted at combat, both unarmed and with melee weapons such as swords, spears, nunchakus, etc.
Abilities[]
- Bilingualism: Noshiko is fluent in her native Japanese, English, and French, and possibly speaks additional languages as well.
- Holistic Medicine Knowledge: Due to the wisdom Noshiko has gained throughout her long life, she is very knowledgeable about Eastern holistic medicine, such as using chamomile and reishi tea for supernatural ailments and performing acupuncture to help bring balance between a Kitsune's human and Fox spirits.
- Supernatural and Mythological Knowledge: Due to the wisdom Noshiko has gained throughout her long life, she is also very knowledgeable about the supernatural, including mythological creatures and beings such as Werewolves and Banshees. She is especially knowledgeable about Kitsune, including their history, culture, customs, rituals and powers, as she evidenced when she was able to explain how Kira's Thunder Kitsune powers worked despite not being one herself, and when she prayed to her ancestors for kitsune-tsuki in order to be possessed by a powerful Nogitsune.
Weaknesses[]
As a 900-year-old Kitsune, Noshiko has no specific weaknesses. However, she is susceptible to fatal blows and massive amounts of physical damage, as evidenced in the flashbacks that showed Noshiko being shot by dozens of bullets during the riot at Camp Oak Creek; it took almost all of her power to heal from these wounds, causing her heart rate to drop so low that she appeared dead to the human physicians. The loss of Noshiko's tails has also weakened her considerably, as proven when she was attacked by a Berserker and almost died at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital.
Her daughter Kira has demonstrated a slight vulnerability to Wolfsbane, suggesting that other Kitsune may also have this vulnerability, though not to the same extent as a Werewolf or Werecoyote. Additionally, since the Nogitsune was severely weakened by a shot of letharia vulpina, or "wolf lichen," it is likely that Noshiko would be vulnerable to this as well.
Equipment[]
- Kitsune Tails: As a 900-year-old Kitsune, Noshiko has accumulated nine tails over the course of her life, which she used magic to turn into nine black ceramic daggers, called kaikens, to hide for safe-keeping. She was shown to have broken seven of her tails to summon Oni demons to fight the Nogitsune, and had one of her oldest kaikens stolen by the Nogitsune himself to take control of the Oni. However, it is possible that she still has one kaiken left.
- Magic Katana: This katana was used by Noshiko to slay Corporal Rhys, her then-lover and the first vessel the Nogitsune took on earth in 1943. However, the power of the Nogitsune shattered the katana into dozens of pieces, and it wasn't repaired until 2011, when her Thunder Kitsune daughter used her electrokinesis to repair it. Afterward, Noshiko gave Kira the sword to use in the fight against the Nogitsune's second vessel, an exact copy of Stiles Stilinski's body.
- Other Weapons: Noshiko has been shown to possess several other ordinary katanas, along with other weapons that she and her husband have in their collections.
Etymology[]
- Noshiko: Noshiko is an unusual name and does not seem to be common enough to have an easily traceable etymology. In the Japanese language, the suffix -ko typically means "girl," while no-shi literally translates to "of death," indicating that the literal meaning of the name is "girl of death," though, since the name appears to be made-up by the writers, this is not certain. It is an interesting name for Noshiko Yukimura, however, given that her daughter Kira's inner Fox spirit refers to herself as "the Messenger of Death" when she is in control.
- Yukimura: Yukimura is a locational family name stemming from the Japanese words 雪 (yuki) meaning "snow," or "happy" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village."
Trivia[]
- Noshiko was valued at $5 million on the Deadpool, putting her bounty at $1 million less than her daughter, Kira.
- There has been speculation regarding Noshiko and how many Kitsune tails she has left. When she first appeared in the series, she had nine tails, five of which she broke to summon and control five Oni demons to hunt and kill the newly released Nogitsune. She then broke two more to replace the ones that the Nogitsune/Stiles Stilinski killed, leaving two tails remaining. In The Fox and the Wolf, Noshiko claimed that the Nogitsune was after the "last kaiken," which suggested that she only had one remaining, though it was never shown or mentioned that she broke another tail to summon another Oni. For this reason, it is speculated that she does still have one more tail, though this has never been confirmed.
- It is also still unclear how the loss of eight or nine of her tails affects her powers and her standing as a Kitsune, though she did mention to Melissa McCall that she was "technically" still a Kitsune in Time of Death. Judging from Kira's comment that Noshiko doesn't heal as well as she used to, it appears that the loss of these tails has weakened the strength of her powers considerably, though she is still powerful in her own right.
- Noshiko, at almost 900 years old, is the second-oldest character to appear on the series. The oldest character is the Nogitsune, who said that he was 1,000 years old in The Divine Move.
Gallery[]
See also[]