Yamashiro Kazusa (山城 上総) is a side character featured in Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse, first introduced in the anime.
A fairly serious individual who holds herself to an expected standard of piloting, she started out fiercely competitive with Takamura Yui, and later becomes one of her inner circle of friends.
Total Eclipse
Kazusa was a cadet from a samurai family who attended an eishi training school in Kyoto. Hailing from a low-ranking but distinguished samurai family known for producing TSF pilots, she has a highly competitive attitude, and initially viewed Yui as a rival. She quickly became one of the top level students in her class, and after some initial tension, becomes one of Yui's friends, along with Iwami Aki, Noto Izumi, and Kai Shimako. Kazusa, despite remaining a tozama vassal below that in status to Yui, managed to achieve a promotion to squad leader status thanks to her family's influence with the school and other members of nobility.
Some time after the BETA invade Japan in 1997, Yamashiro was deployed alongside Yui and the other newly-commisioned pilots of their cohort at Arashiyama Supply Base, in an effort to hold the Japanese capital of Kyoto from the BETA onslaught. Throughout the fighting, Kazusa kept a cool head, performing admirably as an Impact Guard in her first sortie. She managed to keep her wits around her even as the squadron continued through the chaos of their squadron commander and fellow pilots being shot down by Laser-class BETA.
During the retreat through downtown Kyoto, Kazusa crashed into Izumi's Type-82A Zuikaku when the latter attempted to avoid crashing into Fort-class BETA; Kazusa's TSF crashed into the interior of a building. When her unit was found by Yui on foot later, it was already surrounded by a group of Tank-class BETA, intent on tearing the machine apart. Kazusa, with both her arms heavily injuired, was in no position to fend off the BETA, and implored Yui to kill her before the Tank-class could get to her. Yui missed all her shots due to her own fear and panic, and Kazusa, wordless in her final moments, was consumed alive by the BETA.
Kazusa's last moments became one of Yui's most traumatic memories, and served both as a driving force behind her determination, and the catalyst for her mercy killing of Corporal Yamamoto during the Ц-04 Frontline Supply Base Incident in 2001.
Etymology
- Yamashiro means "mountain, hill" (山) (yama) and "castle" (城) (shiro).
- Kazusa means "above, top, upper" (上) (kazu) and "total, gross, general, all, whole" (総) (sa).
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