Yaone

Yaone (八百鼡) is a member of Kougaiji's group, whose goal is to obtain the Founding Scriptures of Heaven and Earth, especially the Maten Scripture from the Sanzo Ikkou. She is also one of the heroines of the Saiyuki Premium OVA.

Appearance
Yaone is of average height, with curvaceous body. Her eyes are slate blue, and befitting of a demon, her ears are long and pointed. She has especially long, dark blue hair, styled with white ribbon into a high ponytail that splits off into two sections, making it resemble twintails instead. Her bangs reach the top of her eyes and split in the middle, and she has braided strands in front of her ears, reaching down to just past her shoulders. She has fair skin, and her demonic birthmark on her left shoulder, composed of three red sickle or crescent moons facing outward in a circle.

She wears a dark blue leotard that reveals the vast majority of her chest, and it's held up by silver chains that cross from one point of the leotard's top to across the opposite shoulder. Over it, she wears a sleeveless jacket that curves around her chest, secured by a brown belt around her waist, and a large white bow with black blue trim on the ends. The jacket's fabric is yellow, with thick black trim along the shoulders and hem. She wears boots that match the colour scheme.

The outfit is accessoried with thigh-high socks secured by grey trim, and long, white gloves past her elbows secured around her middle finger. For any other outfits she wears, such a pink cheongnam, Yaone has a habit of applying bows to her clothing.

In the anime:

Gensoumaden- Given the Premium OAV's accurate portrayal, Yaone's appearance is drastically different in the later installment. Her eyes are amber, andher hair purple. Her birthmark is light blue. The 'leotard' is magenta, and its length extends to her thighs (this is later changed to the leotard's original length in Requiem), the jacket and boots pale blue with teal trim, and the bow almost periwinkle.

Reload - More accurately depicts her design, with violet eyes. Although the leotard is its actual length, transparent stockings cover her otherwise bare thighs.

Personality
Yaone is very much the polite young lady. Much like Hakkai, she is courteous and formal when she speaks. She also cooks. She is extremely loyal to Kougaiji after he saved her life. She's very caring and concerned with the well being of innocent people. Although normally polite, Yaone does seem to have a dangerous side when provoked. Even though she is exceptionally loyal to Kougaiji, there are times when even she has to disobey him, taking matters into her own hands. For example, in Saiyuki Premium, when Yaone heard that Ensui had destroyed a village in an attempt to challenge the Sanzo Ikkou, she didn't hesitate and left to stop him herself—she was worried for the safety of the villagers who might get involved.

Yaone is very brave in the face of adversity. She was willing to take on the Sanzo Ikkou all on her own in their first confrontation. She even attempted to take Ensui on as well. Yaone is very self-sacrificing. In the manga, when the Sanzo Ikkou and Kougaiji's gang were fighting Chin Yisou's Shikigami, Yaone pushed Kougaiji out of the way of some falling rubble. The anime severely undermines her strength. She is not really prone to playing the damsel in distress though, even when she is in danger. For instance, when Lirin was taken by Dr. Ni and his associates, Yaone was tied up and left behind. When Dr. Ni taunted her, saying he could keep her mouth busy, she told him she'd bite it off if he tried. Yaone is meant to be a very inspiring character and should be as she is one of the few heroines/reccurring female characters of the series.

As a last note, Yaone also seems to be very well-informed and knowledgeable about old tales and current rumors circulating amongst demons. In Saiyuki Premium OVA she knew the background of Ensui and in the movie Saiyuki:Requiem she knew more about the status of the Houmaoh clan than Dokugakuji. Also, at their last appearance in Saiyuki Reload she informed Kougaiji and the others of Zakuro's strange changes of alliances.

Weapons/Abilities
Her weapon of choice is a short spear, explosives and various poisons. In volume two of the manga, she attempts to eliminate the Sanzo-ikkou, first by poisoning their food, then gassing them. Her main fighting opponent is Hakkai, who is very similar to her in terms of personality, being calm and collected. Curiously, she somewhat reminds Hakkai of his deceased sister/lover, Kanan. Also, both are seen sometimes fighting alongside each other, against other antagonists, along with the whole of Sanzo-ikkou. However, she has made it clear that she's completely devoted to Kougaiji.

Background
In both anime and manga Saiyuki, Yaone is a yokai and Prince Kougaiji's personal apothecary. She comprises one of the four members of Kougaiji's elite Team, making up the same number as the Sanzo Party. She is a foil character to the healer of the Sanzo Party, Cho Hakkai.

Yaone was the daughter of a pharmacist, and was selected by the woman-eating centipede yokai, Hyakugan Maoh, to be his concubine. She was saved from this fate by Kougaiji, and has since sworn her life to his service. Unbeknownst to Yaone, in her place Hyakugan Maoh ended up taking another woman, Cho Kanan, the lover and sister of Cho Gonou, who would become Cho Hakkai.

Aside from her work as apothecary, Yaone often takes on the role of caretaker of Kougaiji's sister, Lirin.

In the anime, Saiyuki Reload, Yaone's full name is revealed as Yaone Kusushi. It is also revealed in this anime that Yaone is the one who killed her parents.

Saiyuki
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Saiyuki Reload
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Saiyuki Reload Blast
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Anime and Manga Difference
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Saiyuki Premium OVA
When the dangerous and volatile explosions expert Ensui is assigned to eliminate the Sanzo Party, Yaone is the first to go to Prince Kougaiji with her concerns. She tells Kougaiji that, while a genius with dynamite, Ensui is also a madman who fancies himself an artist. When Kougaiji tells her that the orders came from Gyokumen Koushu herself, Yaone refuses to accept inaction and resolves to go and stop Ensui herself.

Kougaiji, Dokugakuji, and Lirin decide to follow after Yaone, who has arrived in a town where a festival is taking place, and where the Sanzo Party and Ensui have already converged.The town is attacked by a Godzilla-size Hercules Beatle, and in the ensuing attempt by the Sanzo Party to draw the monster away from the villagers, Cho Hakkai is injured. The Sanzo Party flee to a deserted cave to tend to Hakkai’s injuries, which is where Yaone finds them. Though on opposite sides of the Minus Wave conflict, Yaone administers medical aid to Hakkai, claiming that it is payment for a time that he saved her life in turn. She goes on to explain to the Sanzo Party that it was under Gyokumen Koushu’s orders that Ensui was deployed, not Kougaiji’s. Then, when the Sanzo Party leave to aid the villagers and defeat the Hercules Beatle, Yaone goes to confront Ensui himself.She is then captured and taken as a hostage by Ensui in a stand-off against the Sanzo Party. Just as it seems that they will not be able to save her from the bomb Ensui has planted inside of the Hercules Beatle, Kougaiji and his team appear and snatch her out of the jaws of death, leaving Ensui to fall victim to his own explosion.

Relationships
Kougaiji - Yaone is very loyal to Kougaiji ever since she was saved by him, when she was selected to bring to Hyakugan Maoh. She swore that she will stay on his side. She respect and cares for him. She’s always concern for him especially when she sees him sad. She always follows the orders of Kougaiji, but when she failed, she attempted to kill herself and claiming that she failed Kougaiji. She was later saved by Kougaiji and shouted on her (because Yaone promised she will stay on his side). Although Yaone is friendly to the Sanzo party, no matter what, she's on Kougaiji's side.

Dokugakuji - Dokugakuji and Yaone are friends. They were usually seen together along side Kougaiji and Lirin. But especially while Kougaiji and Lirin were under the custody of Dr. Ni and Lady Gyokumen, they seemed exceptionally close. The two comforted each other and often seen embracing. They understand each other pain towards their Lord Kougaiji and Lirin. Along those same lines, they have a fellowship and do not seemed to be anything more then friends.

Lirin - Yaone is Lirin’s babysitter. Lirin used to escape from her in order to play with the Sanzo party. Yaone is very loyal and caring for Lirin despite the fact that she’s the daughter of Lady Gyokumen. She usually asked help for Dokugakuji to look for Lirin.

Quotes
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Gallery

 *  Main article: Yaone gallery

Trivia

 * Minekura initially intended on basing Yaone on the rabbit demon from Journey to the West, but instead made her an original concept.
 * Dokugakuji_Kougaiji_Yaone_Extra_Chapter.jpg Saiyuki Reload Volume 1 Chapter 4.1, Dr. Ni gave Kougaiji's team (excluding Lirin) a bunny costume without knowing that they were wearing it. This made Yaone feel so embarrassed.