yoshua171

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

I have gone ahead and added exact ages to Majime and Kōunora. The former is 81, while the latter is 615.

Also, managed to get time to post today ^_^

I'll introduce Majime later when Mogami and Kōunora get to the Kido Corps barracks, because he ought to be there anyways, probably looking after the transportation since he'd be informed that people would soon be outgoing. So yeah. Hope everyone enjoys that.

Btw @Tarquin my post was almost wholly directed at you. Just tagging you here so you know I eagerly await your response! ^_^

No rush--seriously, I mean that. Take your time.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

Yōki, Kōunora

Theme I /|\Theme II /|\ Theme III

---

Her eyes closed, the room lined with captains in two rows, Kōunora remained silent throughout while the Captain Commander spoke. It had been a short meeting, she noted as all, but a few were dismissed. She opened her eyes, the motion of the Commander's arm, notifying her that she and Airi were to follow him. Falling into step with Airi, she let the silence hang, smiling slightly as they reached the middle of their journey to his office, having counted the seconds till the Commander spoke. Right on time, she thought with a small upwards quirk at the edge of her lips. The man had always commanded attention and respect, and Kōunora not only valued this, but quite understood why it was so. The man understood the power of silence, tone, and timing very well, in her experience, and he used this to make himself out as the most important person in most scenarios. Of course, that was not to say that he wasn't, after all the man was the Captain Commander for a reason.

Noting the reason for her summoning, not to mention Airi and the others, Kōunora listened in stark silence, while Airi scratched notes into her book. So diligent, she thought to herself, having glanced at her fellow captain briefly before turning her attention back to the captain. She nodded her head as she was given her task, happy to be assigned to the same mission as her friend Yuka. As, much like Airi and her who, while not in total agreement in regards to philosophy, worked together rather well, Kōunora was friendly with the 5th division's captain.

Her attention again shifting as the Commander dismissed them, she half turned to leave, before Airi's question stopped her progress. Turning back and watching with one raised eyebrow, interest in her eyes even as she considered whether or not Yuka would have questions of her own.

A smile crossed her face, as she heard Airi's request, though Kōunora's attention swiftly refocused as she glanced to the Captain of the 5th division. While she had nothing to say to the Commander, perhaps Yuka-san might. As such she remained where she was, but spoke up, her voice quiet, but intense, as she spoke directly to Yuka, the tone not meant to catch the Commander's attention. "Mogami-san, do you have any requests of the Commander, or shall we get to work? I am interested to see Hueco Mundo again after so long." There she stopped, falling silent again, her gaze locked on her friend while she waited. Her red eyes were bright with focus, and sharp in their intensity. She hoped they could move on to their duties quickly. As while she did not crave conflict like perhaps Kenshin or a member of his division might, she could feel her sword spirit humming in her inner world, the sound one of anticipation.

The spirit was begging to be used...and soon. With their agreement, the captain could not very well deny her zanpakuto his amusement.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

@Zero Hex For when you get back, because I forgot to tag you.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

_{<Snipped quote by yoshua171>}
Thank you for offering actual help. Trust me, I know what Toshiro's style will be like so that's a non-issue. But no seriously, you do see how a couple of the skills you've given me are just another way of describing things I already had but were shot down, right? Beyond the fusing the Zanpakuto with the body, which is something I love but avoided because we already have two lieutenants who operate like that so I didn't want to add another to the mix. I'd like to talk about this a bit more, over application and theme and whatnot, but I need to leave for several hours, just letting you know I've seen it and it's helpful.

@Zero Hex

No problem, I actually really enjoy helping with zanpakuto abilities and figuring out unique skills to go along with it. Also yes, you're right in that they are fully explained/remixed versions of what your character has, give or take absolute immunity and a few traits, but that's the thing, because they're explained fully, they're balanced and have their own very apparent limitations. As Vongola mentioned, that was the main issue, is that you described the various abilities without saying how any of it happened.

In my personal opinion (take with a grain of salt as you would anyone's), if you're just using a relatively simple melee-type ability, or an elemental thing that people see often enough to understand, you only have to do minimal explaining, but when you have an ability that is either more complex, or more broad/powerful in its scope, then you are, in my opinion, obligated to explain. By defining HOW something works, you also define how and where it DOESN'T WORK, and thus where it can be circumvented and countered. While you don't have to necessarily state someone's explicit weaknesses, you do have to make it possible for people to figure out those weaknesses. Not explaining something that is potentially going to limit practically everyone's abilities and put them at an extreme disadvantage so that its abilities can be understood, as you've seen, ends up with people calling it unreasonable.

I know. I had to learn to be able to explain my abilities because on the surface level people tend to get really intimidated by stuff I do. In the past they were right to be weary of my characters, but now I've learned the mechanics of the verses I RP in, so that I can adequately explain exactly how their abilities work, thus revealing the limitations and weaknesses therein, or allowing me to build them into the character intentionally--usually a mixture of the two.

Anywho, I'm sure I could think of something else. Just maybe give me a few other themes or ideas you're willing to pursue and I can help you put a unique spin on it, balance it out, or explain its mechanics. It's what I do.

After all, my user title ain't "Loremaster," for nothin' :P

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

Uōrokku, Majime – Mahōtsukai

Theme I/|\Theme II/|\Theme III

Basic Info

Name: Uōrokku(Warlock), Majime(Earnest. Written with the kanji for 'Fierce eyes') .
Alias: Mahōtsukai(The Mage).
Nicknames: Maji and Ime.
Gender: Male.
Birthday: September 28th.
Age: 81.
Age Appearance: 22.
Race: Plus-->Shinigami.
Rank & Division: Vice Chief of the Kido Corps.

Additional Appearance Information: Majime stands at 5'10 and weighs average for his size. Muscularly he is average, but one can tell from his frame that aside from the absolutely necessary he doesn't see much physical activity. He wears a shihakusho and his zanpakuto is fastened to a strap which goes over his right shoulder, allowing the blade, in its sealed form, to show its grip over his right shoulder as it rests on his back comfortably.

Personality: Something of a smartass, though in a loveable kind of way, Majime can be described as diligent, studious, and typically pleasant to be around. He likes cracking jokes, evenly at someone else's expense as not, and has a good sense of humor. He has an intense love of knowledge and so besides his responsibilities, which he completes with little complaint, besides the seldom joke at it being a pain, and as such can be considered a very reliable individual. Also a rather intelligent man, Majime has an incredible appreciation for both philosophy and the art of rei(spiritual), which involves the study and understanding of how their spiritual world is composed, and how it functions as a whole. Still, while he could be considered book smart in some areas, he much prefers to interact with others in the pursuit of sharing his knowledge and adding new experiences to his decent array that he's already accumulated over his life thus far. As such he does have the tendency to attend events, and even parties, even if they are not all that focused around interaction or things that he is specifically interested in.

However, sometimes he will entirely opt out for the sake of training, and thus honing his already well developed skills in the art of combat. This is something that he enjoys greatly, as self improvement is one thing that he thinks very highly of. As such, Majime considers every battle, whether it be to decide who lives or who dies, or simply a training bout, a blessing of sorts...as long as he survives of course. Regardless, one could say that despite his utter lack of skill in the physical arts such as zanjutsu and hakuda, that his lust for battle is as potent as any member of the 11th division, but perhaps more refined.

Furthermore, while it is not a normal occurrence, Majime is very capable of being angered and when he is boy it is not a pretty sight. His usually bright cheerful eyes go dark and cold, and his demeanor becomes brooding and dangerous. In combat, were he to see a comrade fall by the hands of their adversary, or were he to witness them being merely toyed with he would be likely to step in even at cost of his own safety. As such his diligence, dedication, and loyalty are deeply rooted for in his human life...he had but one friend and so he has every intention to keep the ones he has gained now.

History:
"The past may seem beautiful and kind, but the future holds the potential for times even more so. Do not be held in the past, be yours marred by darkness, or blessed with light, it all passes us by and we most move on. For me, this is the reality of life, as harsh, or kind, as it may be. For me it is a fact which brings Solace, for I have left behind a world wherein my light resides," – Uōrokku, Majime

Born human before anything else, Majime was never a very healthy boy. He would've loved to play outside with friends, but he didn't have many and his body was too frail to allow it. So instead he kept himself occupied with games and books, but in particular he loved books. Games were great and he loved the interaction with both other people online, and at home, but books...something about them had made him fall in love with them. Part of it was certainly that his mother, having died giving birth to him, had been an esteemed author.

His father, while hardworking for the sake of his son, did his best to support the boy's passions, buying him new books whenever he could, and telling him stories when he had days off. So the boy grew up reading and filling his mind with both knowledge and fantasy. Still, he had always loved the fantasy more, so much so that he tried to think of ways that things like magic might come into being. How one might, say, control fire, or ice perhaps. He sometimes thought about it for hours, pouring over science books to find any way that it could be possible, for his father was an avid lover of science.

However, eventually his health began to decline even further, specifically when he was fourteen. Sometimes he'd go out for walks, or rather rides, in his wheelchair as his body was too weak to walk at this point. The nature lifted his spirits and his knowledge of how it all functioned made it all the more beautiful to him. A day in autumn on one of his outings he met a girl, she had seen him watching the leaves fall in the wind as he sat in his wheelchair. Approaching him, the young lady, around his age, asked him what he was doing.

He, despite her being a stranger, launched into an explanation of what exactly he was watching and why he thought it was amazing. His eloquent language and way of speaking and his expansive knowledge at first startled her, but after she kept seeing him at the park more often she grew to like him, and he in turn appreciated the attention. He was very lucky, one could say, for a sort of romance began to blossom between the two. Even when his health declined so much that he was bedridden, she would visit him in his room and sometimes sit with him for hours, just gazing out the window with him and talking about how beautiful the trees were this year, or the sky.

Her presence brought him comfort over the years and so, with luck seemingly on his side, he survived till his twentieth birthday, even managing to have his first time despite his weak frame. Still, sadly her love simply wasn't enough, and so he passed away, with her at his side, and a book in his hand.
- - - - -

For sometime after his death he could not move on, feeling obligated to watch over Seiyuri, the girl he loved, for several years, till he was finally located by a shinigami and told he must go lest his soul become corrupted. At first he would not listen, but after several moments of thought he agreed and allowed the shinigami to send him off, even as he said his goodbyes to the woman who had sat at his side for six years of his short life.

He was lucky to arrive in the upper distracts of rukongai, and he stayed there, enjoying the communal life style, and his renewed healthy spiritual body. He did things he had never done, but in his mind all the while was Seiyuri's face. However, with the passing of time, people move on...and sometimes forget.

Two years passed and he joined the academy, his reiatsu significant enough that enrolling was perhaps the only way to keep himself fed. However, due to the lingering energies of a human illness from a life that he remembered only fragments of, he found his body had difficulty building muscle and stamina. Swiftly he gave up on passing his classes in hakuda and zanjutsu, yet he did find a new passion: Kido. This discovered, the young shinigami trainee poured into any and all texts he could find on it and the complexities of the Rei.

As such, through diligent study and constant practice he honed his spellwork, excelling above his peers. Though his physical limitations held him back several years, eventually, with the endorsement of an anonymous member of the gotei 13, he was allowed to pass after a long 10 years of work.

Upon his graduation from the academy he was at first assigned to the 5th division, where he rose gradually through the ranks, seeking out the seireitei's leading practitioners of kido and learning all he could from them, even if it involved them repeatedly striking him with the spells, rather than teaching him anything in theory or through guided practice. Furthermore, he gained access to even more texts and, like in his academy days, and even some prior that he had since forgotten, he let himself be pulled into them.

So it was that his first few years he rose only to the lowest seated rank in his division and became known as an unreliable, antisocial bookworm. However, this would hardly last, as overtime he began to juggle time with his squadmates with his time buried in books and mired in numerous practice sessions.

As time went on and his core understanding of kido as an art and a discipline he required less time in practice, eventually allowing his social life to flourish. He began to branch out, trying to foster connections with others, a series of actions spurred on by a strange gut feeling that he did not entirely understand.

With time his nicknames changed, becoming more favorable, and as with his reputation, his skills in kido too improved. As the years passed he changed, going from an unknown face in the crowd, to a familiar, if not rather weak face to many. However, his growth only continued, his skills steadily improving as he even managed to push his body hard enough to learn shunpo, though it remained comparably pathetic and unrefined in relation to his peers.

[STOPPING HERE TO ALLOW FOR THE ADDITION OF PEOPLE HE MET BETWEEN THE ABOVE TIME AS WELL AS HOW HE BECAME THE VICE CHIEF OF THE KIDO CORPS]

End Result: Becomes Vice chief of Kido corps. Is fairly well liked, with some rivals, some friends, and some who simply do not get along with him, perhaps even several people he doesn't like as well.

Relationships:
Manami, Mayu – Casual Friend/???
Endorsed him during his time in the Academy when it was thought that he might never be able to graduate due to his lacking ability in three out of four areas. Without Mayu, though he doesn't know it, Majime would have never become a member of the Gotei 13. The two have become good friends, but Majime suspects that Mayu is hiding something from him, though he is not entirely sure as to what it is. She has also served as one of his teachers, and now rivals, helping him test new kido, and to learn the principles of the art.

Yuka Mogami – Mentor/Former Captain/Friend
Majime and Yuka have a very easy friendship, though he also looks up to her, giving her his respect and admiration. Her idealogy is one that he agrees with wholeheartedly, and though he left her division, his departure was not lacking in its sad goodbyes. The two still meet up semi-regularly and his reason for leaving had little to do with her or the squad, but rather that his skills pulled him to the Kido corps, where he felt, that in regards to his abilities, he would fit in and be even more capable of bettering himself with others who could compete with his swiftly rising caliber. Even to this day he holds a fondness for Yuka and many of the members of the 5th division.

Yuka was perhaps the first to give him demonstrations in zanjutsu, hoho, and hakuda aside from the sensei of Shin'o Academy. Furthermore, she was his first true teacher in the realms of kido, thus giving her a special place in his eyes. While she was ultimately not the one to give him what he needed to allow him to properly utilize shunpo, she certainly played a big part in his development into the shinigami he is today.

Nero Kimashi –
Information pending

Airi Mao – Friendly Acquaintance/Rival(of a sort)
Even if Majime sometimes finds Airi to be somewhat overwhelming to be around, her leadership qualities coming off too strong perhaps, he thinks she is an incredible person and most of all an interesting one. He respects her skills and her character and while he has only seen it several times, he has incredible interest in her zanpakuto's abilities. He has asked her to use it from time to time, even challenging her, though he has never gotten her to release into bankai, which is something he sorely wishes he could see her do.

Kawagana, Arina – Friends
While he initially sought her out for training in kido, due to her superior skill at the time, he, with time he surpassed her level and came to find her an intriguing woman who was far more than what one might think her at a fleeting glance. The two, despite Arina's laziness and sometimes questionable morals, became friends of a sort, with Majime understanding the woman in a way that few likely do.

Shota Hayashi – Acquaintance
Something of an oddity to Majime, Shota is someone who zoomed past him during his time in the Academy, excelling in essentially every field. He gives the young shinigami space, though deep down, he has a sort of jealousy for the boy, something that he dislikes admitting to himself. While part of him wishes to fight the lieutenant, the rest knows better, as to challenge a Hakuda Master such as Shota, with skills such as his own could, and likely would, prove a very dangerous decision—especially considering the boy's temperament.

Mitsunari Osaka – Rival/Periodic Training Partner/Hesitant Friend
While he initially sought Mitsunari out to learn kido from him, he quickly found that the shinigami's mood swings were a bit too much for him to deal with on a regular basis. He keeps the man at arms legnth, though on his good days, Majime will sometimes show up to have a long chat.

Mirja – Acquaintance/Disliked
Considering her an overly biased and somewhat mean spirited woman, Majime gives the Captain her space. In other words he avoids her.

More TBA as time goes on.

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Specialized Spells and Rei Techniques

Jumon gyōretsu(呪文行列 'Spell Matrix'): This technique appears deceptively simple as it only seems to aid a kido practitioner in the creation, and modification, of kido spells or the aspects of Rei. Functionally, the Jumon gyōretsu works by creating a space in the hand, or area, that the user wishes to cast their spell from. This small area is typically spherical, though its shape can vary, and is composed entirely of reiatsu and incredibly sparse amounts of reiryoku. The amount of reiryoku is so minimal that it is invisible, though not undetectable. By creating this small isolated area, the user has formed a medium, and catalyst, for spell combination and creation within the palm of their hand. Within this area the user can modify the base properties and frequency of the reiryoku and reiatsu until they meet the requirements they want them to. In this way Majime is capable of not only combining more than two kido into one, but he can also choose in what way the individual properties of said kido manifest and how they are arranged. Lastly he is capable of creating new spells within this area by organizing the reiryoku and reiatsu in new ways so as to create new effects, and thus spells. It should be noted that modification of kido within the Jumon gyōretsu will take different amounts of time, effort, and focus depending on the user's skill and the power/complexity of the kido. Generally, newly made spells will not be as stable as previously established ones until they have been streamlined and perfected out of combat.

Due to the complexities of the Rei, the creation of new kido mid battle is nearly impossible, though Majime--due to his incredible level of skill with the art--is capable of applying ideas and kido theories he has pondered on previous to combat, to create kido. It should be noted that these kido may very well fail, or outright blow up in his face, depending on their complexity. As such, Jumon gyōretsu is primarily utilized to modify or combine the traits of other kido. Over time, Majime has discovered that should reishi projectiles or foreign reiryoku enter the space of the matrix, provided they are at least half the width of it, they will cause a Full Disruption, thus dismantling any kido being altered therein and forcing Majime to reestablish the matrix. Anything smaller than half the width of the matrix will only cause a partial disruption, which will merely interrupt the structure of the matrix, meaning that Majime must briefly pause the creation of kido before his construct stabilizes once more. The maximum amount of time Majime has ever taken to repair the matrix is a minute.

>To Determine when a theorized kido will fail, I will roll a dice. Depending on how much he has figured the kido out beforehand, I will make it more, or less, likely that the kido will succeed.

Custom Kido

Hado #64 Taiyō no yōyū ikari(太陽の溶融怒り 'Sun's molten fury'):

"Bind the bones of the earth, draw from its depths, infuse the sun's light and fury. Cast away the bonds, eviscerate their form, and turn dust and stone to fire,"

First the user must utilize their reiryoku to gather a decent amount of reishi into the palm of their hand where it will form a cube. At this point their reiryoku is almost forcibly infused into the reishi particles after which the attack is aimed at the ground. Once the beams hits there is a small shudder in the earth and two seconds later a massive flurry of essentially identical beams, but now with seemingly molten flames in them, burst forth from the surface and alter their trajectory to match that of the intended target. Upon contact with the location the target was, or the target itself, they culminate, each blast adding more reiryoku, till they have formed a sphere around the target's body. At this point the sphere becomes a closed system, hardening on the outside like a shell, and burning the target before exploding violently outwards into many fiery shards.

I will add more kido to this section, but not just yet. I'll make sure to run them by the Gms.

=========================================

Capabilities

Reiryoku & Reiatsu: Having a fair amount of reiryoku, which he has developed over the years of cultivating his skills in kido. While not possessing reiryoku or reiatsu comparable to a captain, he does possess enough reiryoku, and exerted reiatsu, to keep him going for a relatively intense fight whilst using only kido and his zanpakuto. Additionally, his control of said reiatsu is incredibly skillful due to his abilities of choice. This exceptional level of control allows him to essentially hide his presence from the perception of all but the most skilled in the arts of detection. Majime's reiryoku, when manifested in its raw form, has three colors, all of which appear to mirror the color of autumn leaves –red, orange, and yellow respectively. His reiryoku has the tendency to move as if it were some ethereal fire, though it actually has a very soothing effect when one touches it. This is of course his reiryoku in its simplest form and thus this soothing does not necessarily apply to any of his kido or zanpakuto abilities.

His aforementioned control allows him to exert, manifest and manipulate his reiryoku and reiatsu with exceptional precision. As such he can easily broadcast his location, or suppress his presence to a great extent if he so chooses. When entirely unrestrained, or raging, Majime's reiatsu can take several forms. Sometimes it will almost look as if there is a storm of energy and autumn colored leaves whirling about his form, this state is only seen when he is enraged or in an incredibly intense emotional state, or perhaps in bankai. The second state is the appearance of calmly blowing leaves of autumn colors moving around him or in a particular direction, this is what is normally displayed.

Poor Zanjutsu: While he has not trained in the art, he does understand the most rudimentary of techniques that any average shinigami might, meaning he can slash and stab his blade or block an attack by holding it up at the right time. Still, this hardly protects him against those of greater skill, which, typically, is practically everyone around him. As such he has taken to observing those with considerable skill in the art and remembering how they move so that he might have a chance to counter, not with zanjutsu, but with his preferred weapon: Kido. Still, should someone close the distance, this understanding will only help him for so long.

Pathetic Hakuda: As with zanjutsu, Majime has made a conscious effort of observing practitioners of varied skill in regards to this art. However, unlike swordplay, he found that their movements made little sense to him, or after a certain point, were so swift and well executed that he could not follow them. As a result, hakuda is perhaps his biggest weakness as while he might be able to block simple uses of it that remain straightforwards, anything more complex will throw him off, or end up as a solid strike. This makes Hakuda his single biggest weakness as his understanding only really allows him to perhaps keep a Hakuda practitioner at a distance, but does not allow for him to defend against them with anything, but a full body shield.

Kidō Master: Despite his relatively few years in the gotei thirteen, Majime has managed to accumulate what amounts to complete mastery of the arts of kido. He is capable of casting every known kido without its incantation, and when he does use their chant you better watch out because what follows is likely an attack of twice its normal magnitude. His mastery and understanding of kido is so great that he can mould new spells on the spot, though at current time they are not as stable as a kido that has been tested and refined sufficiently. Fitting to the amount of reiryoku, and control of his reiatsu, that Majime has, his kido power is especially potent. He is capable of immense shows of power all the way up the ranks of hado and bakudo, as well as some unnamed spells. Additionally, his control of his power and the kido itself is especially notable as he can bend such almost entirely to his will or whim as he so chooses.

Hohō: While barely capable of shunpo due to small traces of illness that remain in his spiritual body from his time as a human, Majime has spent due time improving his agility and other physical skills in relation to movement. Otherwise he would have long died in combat due to an inability to dodge and evade whilst furiously casting his weapon of choice: kido. Due to his exceptional footwork he is perfectly capable of reacting to those of equal level to himself and can also still follow the movements, with his senses and reaction time, of those faster than he. Nonetheless, those who have mastered the various techniques of hoho are difficult for him to fight as while he can follow them with his eyes, his movements simply are not as fast as theirs due to his lack of all, but the most rudimentary shunpo. His bizarre skillset in this field has landed his ranking somewhere between Proficient and Expert, as his overall footwork is equivalent to an Expert user, but his shunpo is more like that of one who has only been utilizing it for a month's time.

Zanpakuto Spirit Personality: An enigmatic being, Shujin's personality shifts somewhat overtime, though there is a certain amount of familiarity that always remains. This is the spirit's intelligent and wise manner and its tendency to speak slowly, or at least as if time was at its leisure and it were simply relaxed. It will generally speak in this manner regardless of the urgency of the topic or task in discussion. The spirit does so enjoy matters of psychology and philosophy and has an innate love for knowledge, just as its master does. There are some other traits, but those can wait, you'll see.

Zanpakuto Spirit & Inner World: Majime's inner world is a tumultuous and etheric place, as it is composed almost entirely of energy, with the only places to stand being on small spheres of varied size and coloration, which float throughout the world. There is a sense of urgency within the place, but this is at the very edge of things, as those within seem to float in a strange peaceful location. In truth, Majime's inner world, or the portion of it that is experienced whilst sealed or in shikai, is within the eye of a massive storm of energy. It should be noted that while the orbs have many colors, they all appear to hold within them a fiery light, which flickers and sparks, releasing small pulsating waves off of the spheres. It is a rather mesmerizing phenomena to observe.

Sealed State

Shikai: Placing his hand on the handle of his sheathed zanpakuto, Majime channels his reiryoku and synchronizes the process with his sword spirit. However, unlike with most shinigami, Majime cannot release into shikai until the frequencies of his and his zanpakuto's reiryoku are in perfect harmony. This takes roughly a full minute, thus requiring the shinigami to keep his hand upon its hilt for the entirety of the time. Once their reiryoku has become perfectlly intermingled within the blade, Majime will speak. “That which was once brought forth, come to me again,” upon the utterance of these words both spirit and shinigami alike totally reverse the flow of their reiryoku signatures, causing a violent reaction in the blade. The result is a powerful flash of reiryoku and spiritual pressure, which is emitted from Majime's still sheathed blade, but is nonetheless blinding.

For a moment the area around Majime will twist out of focus, as if the space were warping, and then his zanpakuto, sheath and blade together, will shatter into hundreds of thousands of pieces. These pieces will swirl about his form, cutting and burning anyone and anything they come into contact with as they gradually collide with each other and Majime's body. The movement of these fragments is so frantic, their heat so great, and their cutting power so incredible that they can eviscerate nigh any attack with less reiryoku than Majime possesses. However, they only remain for a brief 10 seconds before the colliding fragments compile to create two gauntlets, though entirely without any armor on his fingers, a cloak which shimmers with an unrecognizable color, and six spheres of the same pigment. As the fragments finish merging into these forms, the spirit and shinigami speak in unison, “...Tenkū shujin(天空主人 'Etheric master)”.

Abilities: Fitting to its complex release requirements, Tenkū shujin's abilities are fairly broad in their scope. Still, the apparatus which holds them lies primarily in the six orbs, each which represents the etheric and core properties of the elements...except for one. The elements represented by the five orbs are the following: Water, Earth, Air, Fire, and Lightning. While at first appearing straightforwards, the five orbs do not have normal elemental effects, in fact rather than that each of them has both the physical manifestation of the elements traits, and their more conceptual counterparts. These go as follow: Water is fluidity and connection; Earth is solidity, density, and gravity; Air is freedom and Pressure as well as loose cohesion; Fire is destruction or more specifically disruption; last is lightning, which is linked to the concept of connection. These are, in essence, the abilities of Majime's shikai. However, there are several other key points to note. First among these is that Majime is only capable of using two orbs at once at any given time. The two last notable traits besides the six orbs of Majime's shikai are its cloak, which makes him impervious to damage caused by his zanpakuto's abilities, and his gauntlets, which project a field of mixed reiryoku and reishi over the surface of his hands and arms. This allows the aforementioned portions of his body to be highly resistant to energetic assault, though not any more resistant to physical ones.

The final trait of Tenkū shujin's first release is the sixth sphere, which unlike its kin, does not have what one would consider an elemental essence. Instead, this sixth sphere has the aspect of sound, or more specifically, vibration and frequency. However, its true ability is the manipulation of frequencies, resonance, and disonance in relation to reishi and reiryoku. As its ability is considerably more powerful than the other five spheres, Majime cannot utilize it unless he first activates each sphere at least once, and then employs Kyōshin jisō.

Techniques
Nijū no keisei(二重の形成 'Dual formation'): While not always stated upon its use, this technique describes what happens when any two orbs combine their manifested effects to create a third, typically more powerful, effect or ability.

Yōso no gyōshū(要素の凝集 'Cohesion of the elements'): Through the weakest use of the sixth sphere Majime harmonizes the frequencies of each of his six orbs with each other, causing an incredible interaction. Once harmonized the six spheres rotate at incredibly high speeds around his body, becoming a blur even as the shape of the spheres is elongated and flattaned each into a wide ovular blade. Briefly the spheres seem to regain the properties of the shards which made them up, and as this occurs they lift from around Majime's body, typically floating over his head or beneath his feet if he is airborne, and then fly off towards their target at similarly high speed. However, their course is not automated and can infact be modified by Majime's will or physical direction via guiding motions and the like. When/if the whirling perforated disk actually makes contact with something its rei will react violently, causing intense pressure, heat, and electrical energy to be applied to all of its surfaces and whatever is in contact with them. Thus not only does the 'disk' have momentum from its linear movement, and cutting power from its rapid rotation, but the orbs (now turned ovular and flat), which make it up still apply their abilities to further the force and power behind its blows. The orbs can only remain in this state for a maximum of one minute. However, if utilized for the whole minute and not returned to their normal status prior to that mark, the elemental properties of the orbs will be temporarily disabled for roughly twenty seconds after deactivation.

Kyōshin jisō(共振事相 'Resonation aspect'): To fully utilize the properties of the sixth sphere, Majime is required to use this technique after the process of activating each sphere's abilities at least once. To execute this technique all five primary spheres are activated simultaneously even as he reaches up above him, where the sixth sphere typically resides, an grasps the orb in hand. Once this is done the swirling reiryoku within the other spheres is expelled rapidly after which it flow in streams between the respective spheres and the sixth orb. Once the orb has absorbed all of the reiryoku it can be activated fully and utilized. Meanwhile the other five spheres are disabled in terms of their abilities though they can be utilized as mediums to further amplify the properties of the sixth orb, making it the most powerful of the group.

Bankai: Not yet achieved.

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Yōki, Kōunora

Theme I /|\Theme II /|\ Theme III

Biographical Info

Name: Yōki(Keeper), Kōunora(Rainfall on fields).
Alias: Swan-song.
Nicknames: Nora.
Gender: Female.
Age: 615.
Age Appearance: 23.
Race: Plus-->Shinigami.
Rank & Division: Veteran Captain of the 7th Division.

Additional Appearance Information: An elegance about her every movement, Kōunora wears her shihakusho and haori with pride, having modified the latter not at all. However, her Shihakusho possesses less folds, and instead hugs her figure more closely, resembling the garb of the second division captain in its way. More often than not, Kōunora wears her striking silver hair tied into a long pony tail largely keeping it out of the way during her daily duties and should she need to engage in combat. The woman's elegant form stands at 5'3 and weighs roughly 138 lbs. Her hair is silver and her eyes are a stirring red.

Footnote: There is no flower in her eye.

Personality: Kōunora is a compassionate woman with an effortless elegance to her actions and an air of wisdom. Caring deeply for those taken under her wing, the women protects them just as fiercely as she teaches and cultivates them. A worldly woman, Kōunora is not one to shy away from any task, no matter how mundane it may seem or how others might look at her as a result. She cares little of the opinions of others, thus revealing her own assurance of self. While she does her utmost to temper this confidence, it can sometimes get away from her where it can become arrogance for a time. Yet, while Kōunora may appear totally sure of herself to others, internally she is somewhat more plagued by the troubles of the common folk; namely indecision and a sense of being empty or lost.

In essence, Kōunora is a woman in transition, attempting to fully embrace the creative spark within her so that it may become a roaring flame. However, for now that flame is but embers and her hidden passion and creativity remain largely untapped. As a result of this she appears pragmatic and strict to many, perhaps even overbearing at times, though most who know her have come to understand that oftentimes she is this way only because she cares.

However, it is perhaps her loyal and caring nature that makes her so feared by her enemies as any harm done to those she cares for is seen as a terrible harm done to her. As such, when those around her are hurt, she will, in whatever way she can, seek retribution. So overzealous are the punishments she has doled out in the past, that few dare to cross her or hers—most doing their best to show due respect for the captain, her friends, and her entire division for she is not a woman whose pride one mars without consequence.

History: WIP.

Relationships:

WIP

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Capabilities

Reiryoku – Possessing less reiryoku than some captains, Kōunora has comparatively less endurance than most captains. However, her internal well of power is more refined, allowing her to use less power for greater result more often than not. As such she has managed to largely circumvent this weakness of hers, though it becomes quite evident when fighting foes with far greater stamina than her own. Her energy takes on a faint bluish-silver hue.

Reiatsu – Generally possessing less of a presence than most captains in the strictest sense, Kōunora prefers to keep her reiatsu contained, so as not to waste undue energy. Her reiatsu, when it does manifest, feels like a soft breeze, or a soft fabric lightly grazing skin, appearing visually as ghostly thin ribbons draped around the captain's form and drifting off behind her.

Zanjutsu Master – Will update.

Hakuda Master – Will update.

Kido Master – Having mastered all manner of the art, Kōunora is known, though not as prominently as some, for the kido she has created and popularized, particularly within her own division. Skilled enough to be a teacher to many others, the woman has even managed to create an art known as Kido-giri, thus allowing her, and any who learn it, to channel kido their their zanpakuto, using it as a catalyst for their spells.

Hoho Expert – On par with her fellow captains, Kōunora's shunpo is of average make, though do not be fooled for her ability to avoid, evade, and position herself is stellar in its way. She is agile and her movements are endowed with a refined grace making her fights, when she is truly engaged, more a dance than a battle.

Reiryoku Perception: A latent talent further honed after its discovery by her mentor, Zume Tatasuko, Reiryoku perception is an ability allowing the user to detect and visualize reiryoku, the internal power and lifeforce of any living being. Unlike reiatsu, which can be concealed and hidden away, reiryoku is seldom hidden through any efforts, as such is a difficult task, thus allowing the captain to detect any given individual with greater accuracy than most. However, while this detection allows for greater accuracy, it can be hampered if too many reiryoku signatures are present in a given area, thus overwhelming the user. In the interest of preventing this, Kōunora, like her mentor before her, uses this ability almost solely when her eyes are closed. It should be noted that Kōunora, due to this ability, could still fight almost as well as any captain, with her eyes completely closed, as a person's reiryoku is shaped like their body, not to mention any energetic assault contains the energy. Lastly, zanpakuto, as technically living beings, also possess reiryoku, which is intertwined with that of their wielder, thus allowing Kōunora to see the strength of the bond between shinigami and zanpakuto, as well as to visualize the weapon even with her eyes closed. Kōunora cannot detect inanimate objects bereft of reiryoku with this ability.

Kido-giri: The art of using kido through one's zanpakuto, thus refining their spells and allowing for another avenue of attack.

Custom Kido

Will add more as they come to me (though only after they've been accepted).

Kido-giri, Sho.
Level: Proficient.
Chant: N/A.

Effect: By channeling sho through one's zanpakuto, they imbue force unto it, allowing a slash to release said power. Conversely, the force may be aimed in to induce movement in the user via a shockwave of force in a given direction. This spell is often used in tangent with the user's shunpo, allowing a movement with increased speed, but decreased finesse—though such does depend on skill.

Bakudo #12, Gyaku shibari(_逆縛り 'Reverse bind').
Level: Proficient.
Chant: Etching words into the world, a river flows, a dam blocks its return....

Effect: A relatively simple kido, Gyaku shibari must be utilized on a surface, be it living or otherwise. When placed onto something it creates a sort of dam or filter through which reiryoku, reishi and reiatsu may only pass in one direction. While the kido can be broken by a significantly powerful influx of any of the aforementioned things, it can also be bolstered by supplying it with more reiryoku, making it particularly useful.

Bakudo #82 Chōten seigen(_頂点制限 'Vertex Restriction').
Level: Forbidden.
Chant: The sun is eclipsed, the moon made absent, a presence vanishes and the world stops. Time is made still, movement surrenders, and bound are the energies of life. Cease time and stagnate space....

Effect: Creating a white cube in the user's hand, this spell is activated by crushing the white cube of reishi. Upon being crushed, an opaque black sphere will engulf a 4 meter radius, with the user being the central point. This opaque sphere does not allow reiatsu, some reiryoku, sound, smells, and even light to pass through it, making it a sensory dead zone. However, its true purpose goes beyond this, as should someone be caught within it, they will be rendered unable to move—the sole exclusion being the user. Should the user move, the sphere will remain in the same location it was activated in. As only certain forms of reiryoku may escape it, the sphere will persist for a potentially indefinite amount of time, as it is a closed system, never losing or leaking the energy that maintains it.

Should someone simply be touched by the black sphere, rather than being wholly trapped within, they will find that whatever part of their body was touched, becomes incapable of channeling or manipulating reiryoku as if the pathways which it travels along in the body have been sealed. Until the material is removed from their body or the kido deactivated by its user, this effect will persist.

Sealing Art #75, Shibari - Han kyoten kinshi(_{縛り - 半拠点禁止} 'Binding: Half point restriction').
Level: Master.
Chant: Influence and refine, predict and divine; condense, make cease for brief time. Through connection intrude, passing beyond the wall, from within break the castle, make fall. Entrap and embrace....

Effect: A kido initiated by first manifesting a fair amount of the user's reiryoku and spreading one's reiatsu out to coincide with the dimensions of what one is sealing, this spell is activated by the utterance of its name. Upon activation the caster's reiryoku will rapidly spread through the substance, reaching its edge in a moment's time. Once it has done so, the reiryoku creates a film over the surface of the object or substance and then promptly condenses inwards into a single point designated by the caster. The sealed substance or object will take the shape of a small marble, which can be carried around nigh indefinitely so long as the caster retains trace amounts of reiatsu to spare. Reason being, this kido takes a tiny amount of reiatsu to maintain itself, suffusing the trapped substance with the caster's reiryoku as the reiatsu becomes dense enough to surpass a pressure and become energy within the marble. At the user's choice, the kido can be released, unleashing the substance or item(s) sealed within.

Key: Name of Skill - Rank needed to learn
Seated level - Proficient
Lieutenant level - Expert
Captain level - Master
Forbidden level - A Skill only a select few Captains know.

=========================================

Zanpakuto

Zanpakuto Spirit Personality: A proud and regal being, Tsubame Ken-kyō could be described as a wise and impassioned spirit, always looking to improve its wielder and foster a greater bond between them. Unlike many zanpakuto, who most be utterly conquered for their wielder to gain the full extent of their abilities, Tsubame is far more kind and understanding, having allowed Kōunora her bankai by simply bowing to her will. Perhaps because of this, their relationship is one of great respect and endearment, with the captain seeing her spirit as everything that is good about her, a being without flaw. While she is in part correct, Tsubame would disagree, and views her in a light that perhaps she is blind to in her current state. He hopes that, with time, he can bring out the same light that makes him, out from where it hides in the deeper recesses of the woman's heart. Perhaps he will even succeed.

Zanpakuto Spirit & Inner World Whilst typically a man, as depicted, Kōunora's zanpakuto spirit, at some times, appears to her as a golden and silver phoenix, its eyes red, and its form composed of many shining ribbons of light. The world around it paling in comparison to its brilliance.

Sealed State

Shikai: Body sideways, her sword arm held out behind her, blade horizontal, and eyes closed, Kōunora prepares to release her shikai. As she assumes the stance, her lips move, and the blade's command is uttered, "Focus, refract; connections reflect, through action collapse and enact. Fly forth...". As the inaudible words are spoken, a flash of gold and silver light engulfs her blade. For a moment it is blinding, but soon after the light disperses, the gold becoming trapped within the blade even as the silver surrounds her. With her blade revealed and hands adorned with silver, Kōunora's voice pierces the near silence, proclaiming the name of her blade's elegant form, "...Tsubame Ken-kyō(_燕検鏡 'Swallow's Speculum')."

Abilities: Manifesting physically as a layer of silver reiryoku about her hands and in the form of an elegant silver and blue katana, the capabilities of Kōunora's shikai lie almost entirely within the brilliant silver light that surrounds her. This “silver light,” is in actuality hundreds of tiny particles of reishi that have been imparted with great quantities of the captain's unique reiryoku. This reiryoku possesses the traits of an energetic lens, allowing it to reflect, focus, refract, or scatter various energies—though the most notable of these are kinetic energy, light, and reiryoku. At rest, the silver light acts much like a harmless gas, the reiryoku passing like potential energy between particles of reishi, impossible to inhale or absorb by most passive means. In this state the light is merely aesthetic, pure potential without much purpose aside from illumination. However, when manipulated by Kōunora's will via her reiryoku covered hands or her blade, the light may take form. When influenced by the aforementioned implements, her shikai's channeled reiryoku either contracts into the reishi it inhabits, or expands outwards. While the former is the natural state of her shikai, the latter causes, as the reiryoku becomes more intertwined, to shift the light from a more gaseous etheric state to a more physical one, first becoming something akin to a mist, then an outright fluid before it reaches its final state as a solid.

While her shikai's ability to alter the state of this silver light is notable the more important of its abilities is the redistribution of the reishi which her reiryoku inhabits, as gathering such particles into closer proximity effectively increases the focus of the “lens,” making it possible to reflect foreign elements, or even its own light. As a result, Kōunora's shikai is considered not only one the seireitei's most beautiful, but also its most mysterious as the captain has yet to reveal just exactly how it functions to others, leaving them to marvel at its capacity to surprise and astonish those who witness it in use be it turned against them in training, or drawn to slay their enemies.

Note: While Kōunora may chose to proclaim Tsubame ken-kyō's entire release command, more often than not, she simply whispers “Fly forth,” which appears to serve her just as well, not that any would know it.

Techniques
Haemasu(_栄えます 'Flourish'): A technique utilizing the reflective properties held within the reishi of her shikai, Haemasu alters the angle of each particle and focuses the light which surrounds her into a blinding aura of reiryoku. This aura can be further aimed to reflect and refract through other materials and off of other surfaces. Additionally, due to the light actually being composed of potent reiryoku, its light will not simply blind, but also disorient those who look upon it, becoming particularly effective if they are surrounded by it. While this technique has no true limitations in regard to its duration, it tends to only last 30 or so seconds unless Kōunora chooses otherwise. Additionally, while the disorientation caused by Haemasu can be overcome when not surrounded by the light, taking a maximum of 5 seconds for most to recover, being engulfed in the 3 meter aura of reiryoku crafted light will continue to refresh the aforementioned effect, disrupting the balance and physical equilibrium of those within it, excluding Kōunora herself.

Hishō gin uyoku(_{飛翔銀羽翼} 'Flight of silver wings'): Gathering her shikai's light onto her blade, Kōunora initiates this technique, creating thin ribbons of silver reishi that trail behind and along her blade. These ribbons, though they appear fragile, are in fact capable of cutting just as any blade might, as their movements follow those of the captain's blade, allowing them to attack from alternate angles, while moving in similar patterns. While Kōunora cannot guide the movement of these ribbons while they remain connected to her blade, she can use skillful swordplay to attack in a variety of manners using the ribbons of reiryoku infused reishi to strike from unexpected angles. However, perhaps the more dangerous aspect of this technique, is its second stage, which is simply activated by Kōunora willing one or more of the numerous ribbons to detach from their source. Once detached, these ribbons mirror the movements of her weapon and allow Kōunora to transfer kinetic energy between the ribbons and her zanpakuto, increasing the force or speed of either essentially at will. Most deadly though is the result of a ribbon striking true, as when such occurs all of its kinetic energy is released as tiny feather shaped blades, that shear and eviscerate flesh. Last among this technique's traits is its increased ability to hold or channel kido, as Kōunora may store a kido in each feather of each wing once they have been released. It should be noted that while she may continue to generate additional ribbons, prolonging this technique, it may only have up to 20 ribbons at any given time, whether they are detached or not. The creation of additional ribbons past this point will cause a single ribbon to automatically detach and then release its kinetic energy in a small localized shockwave.

Taremaku(_垂れ幕 'Hanging screen'): Drawing a horizontal line of silver reiryoku with her right hand before parting it with fingers and thumb, thus expanding the line into a plane of translucent reiryoku, Kōunora initiates this technique. Once the aforementioned is done, Kōunora may proceed to touch the expanse of clear reiryoku with her blade, at which point the energy will respond as if it were made of fabric, though far more durable. The expanse of reiryoku is essentially a flat curtain of reflective energy, capable of weathering a fair amount of force, and simply being pushed rather than outright cut by a blade. While it possesses no single purpose, the sheet of reiryoku can be turned to both defensive and offensive purposes via skillful manipulation of her blade or her hand. This fabric-like film of reiryoku, it should be noted, is attracted to the point of Kōunora's blade, though the shinigami can alter how strong this attraction is.

Kussetsu keiro(_屈折径路 'Refraction path'): One of her more powerful techniques Kussetsu keiro is a rather taxing ability, taking such a toll even on the captain that she can only use it four times and maintain it for two minutes. Upon activation, a hollow column of silver reiryoku manifests in alignment with the edge of her blade, its form positioned a foot or so in front of it. This column fades at its edges, as if it continues invisibly into the air even where it is not seen. The purpose of this column is to channel and reflect reiryoku through its hollow when it makes contact, allowing the captain to redirect more powerful techniques by moving the column's opening to face in the general direction of an attack as it approaches, or as she approaches it. Upon being captured, the reiryoku is condensed and amplified, before being released out the other end of the column, typically erupting into a massive blast.

Kyōzō - Hansei tsubame(_{鏡像 - 反省燕} 'Mirror image – Reflection swallow'): A technique that the captain may only use once in a 12 hour period without forcing her shikai to permanently seal for a day after the cessation of the technique. Activating the technique by holding her blade vertically, in both hands, before her and proclaiming its name, the ribbons that trail behind her blade will glow a bright golden light before shattering. These shards expand and mould themselves into eight silver swallow's, with golden eyes and trails of light that follow their movements. Each Swallow contains 1/8th of her total reiryoku and has several abilities. First and foremost these silver swallows possess the reflective effects of her shikai in distilled form, allowing them to fly through or be struck by attacks without harm, reflecting or scattering them as if they were refracted light upon contact. The trails of light they leave behind can cut those who run into them, though unless layered over one another, they cannot outright dismember or decapitate. Additionally, the each bird may be expended to release a burst of reiryoku covering 18 meters. This reiryoku burns with a purifying golden light, which lasts for 8 seconds after initial formation. This golden light, via manipulations with her gauntlet or zanpakuto, can be utilized as attacks for the duration of its brief existence.

Last among the effects of this technique is those that may only manifest upon the captain's release into bankai. If utilized in bankai, this technique may only be utilized once and, unlike the shikai form which may last for 8 minutes, the bankai format can only last for 4 making it considerably less lengthy. However, the technique makes up for its lack of length with an incredible amount of power. Once activated, the golden songbird which surrounds Kōunora will expel silver reiryoku. This reiryoku is far more reflective than her shikai's silver energy. So reflective is its surface that one's visage can be seen in it as if it were a solid mirror. Following its manifestation, the energy will reflect its maker, Kōunora, thus creating three silver winged beings, made from silver energy, which mirror her appearance. These ethereal figures, for the duration of the technique, may fight at Kōunora's side and while they cannot utilize kido, they can use shunpo, are lighter and more flexible than a normal shinigami, and can utilize all of her shikai techniques. These silver effigies can however be destroyed by being torn apart or evaporated by a sufficient amount of damage.

Bankai: Prefaced by a gradual increase in her reiatsu, which flows back from her form, a silver hue present in the air as it meets its zenith, the captain will sheath her blade, body relaxing, eyes taking on a golden hue. Then, as her reiatsu peaks, her voice rings forth and so is sung the sacred word, "Bankai." With her proclamation made, ribbons of silver light emerge from her reiatsu, even as golden light spills from her form, zanpakuto dissolving to create it. Yet, while the reiryoku obscures her like fog, her shining red and gold eyes remain visible throughout, as if no power in all the realms can stifle the light that dwells within her.

Golden light unfolding from her, the motion reminiscent of wings as feathers spread forth and the solemn call of an unknown songbird echoes through the air. Like an ocean wave, the sound of the call rushes forth, drowning the senses of all who hear it and, for a moment, suppressing their reiatsu regardless of its strength. As the song continues, the light gains definition and Kōunora strides forth now wreathed in silver and golden light, her garb altered. As before her release, the woman's eyes now glow however, now the red hue that is their typical color has receded, overtaken entirely by golden and silver hues, which dance and swirle around her pupils, undulating with a steady rhythm.

The visage of the golden bird remains, its form now surrounding her own, wings spread wide at her sides, its golden body engulfing her, its size dwarfing the captain's. The bird's tail trails out behind her for several meters, the golden ribbons that compose it drifting weightlessly in the air.

In her left hand is grasped a blade of pure light, its outline silver, and its core composed of the same golden light that surrounds her. Eight ribbons trail behind its form, and aside from the silver edges of the weapon, it is difficult to distinguish the blade from the light that surrounds it.

As her bankai's manifestation completes, Kōunora's voice—more song than simple spoken word—rings out. However, this time it is accompanied by a strange ethereal voice, which unlike the her own, sings every word. "Tasogare ken-kyō – Hanayaka tsubame(_{黄昏検鏡 – 華やか燕} 'Twilight Speculum – Resplendent Swallow')."

Abilities: Amplifying her speed, physical strength, durability and stamina, the captain's bankai is just as impressive as it appears. With the golden reiryoku of her song bird possessing healing properties and the silver light maintaining reflective ones, the scope of Kōunora's abilities increases drastically. In particular is the purifying and restorative effects, the captain is capable of healing herself and allies, just as she might burn away the imperfections of her adversaries, only to reflect their strengths. While those few living souls who have witnessed her bankai believe her physical attributes to be outright enhanced by its release, the truth is that all of these traits are amplified not by an increase in physical stamina or strength, but by the silver light hidden throughout the songbird that wreaths her form. As with her shikai, this silver light can redirect and amplify kinetic energy however, unlike it the silver light of her bankai can also convert reiryoku into kinetic energy and vice versa. This allows Kōunora to seemingly take more damage, as the force of most attacks is diminished by this conversion and also reflected, not to mention healed by the golden light.

Another startling ability which is brought to light by her bankai is Kōunora's ability to visualize reiryoku, which in this state is amplified greatly, thus allowing her to better predict her opponents due to increased ability to ascertain their location at any given point in time. While unlike the bankai of other captains who possess techniques, Kōunora's bankai more than makes up for it in sheer power, burning away or reflecting reiryoku and reishi around her, allowing her to fly, and making her already fairly impressive skills even more difficult to handle. While Kōunora's bankai is incomplete, as her sword spirit has told her it possesses two techniques, it in no way is a thing to be underestimated or looked down upon. After all, it is a rare thing to see, and should one think it insufficient to strike them down, they are likely to soon find themselves burnt, battered, and laid low before the magnificence of this woman's power.

Techniques: Currently barred from her.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

Alright, so the way I understand it is you're taking a relatively average shinigami and wanting to use pure swordsmanship as his primary skillset, if not his only skill.

He's got average reiatsu/reiryoku, so he doesn't have lots of stamina, which means every action ought to be very cost effective.

He isn't more tough than the average shinigami, so taking damage is going to suck, but he'll be able to keep on going either through sheer force of will or through some ability--is what you seem to want.

He has no range, so no sword slashes coming off of his blade. Got it.

No keeping up with people's superior speed via shunpo either.,

So the "build," you're going for is Sharp intellect, Master swordsmanship, Base shinigami physicality, and Expert Hoho(I imagine good footwork, more than the use of shunpo from what you've been saying).

Gotcha.

---

If I wanted that, I'd describe his reiatsu as average, but state it was spread out over a larger distance. Not only would this actually make his presence more faint, but it would also allow him to better detect the movement of other people through the reiatsu allowing him to better track people's actions even without being able to see them. It gives you your 360 degree field of perception (not vision), and something akin to "danger sense," without making it a zanpakuto ability, or sounding more powerful than it is.

(Trust me, I understand your situation well. I posted up Majime and while people seemed to think he was "Captain level," or OP, including yourself, I assure you that if you can close the distance, which is very possible, he's more or less screwed or has to risk hurting himself to properly defend. Putting all of your skill in one area is a risky choice, but still a viable one if done right)

Furthermore, I'd maybe write out a sample or two, exclusively for yourself, of Toshiro in combat, perhaps one fighting a ranged combatant, and one fighting someone up close. You'll get a "feel," for his Fighting Style, which will probably inform you a lot as to how this will work out for you.

Moving on. So you want to not get one shot/totally wrecked by people's various abilities? This is a slightly more difficult issue, as you've brought up, but making yourself basically immune to those abilities, while it does make people have to fight Toshiro with less ranged/elemental/energy-based means, also happens to take away a lot of agency in regards to everyone else's characters--which is why (If I understand Axel properly) you got called out for it by a GM.

What I would do is make his zanpakuto a melee/physical type, with a focus on defense. Maybe it doesn't ramp up the amount of damage he can take, or even create a shield around him, but perhaps it amplifies his sensory abilities, allowing him to better evade such attacks--though doing so will still require exceptional skill and positioning--which is his focus anyways. Conversely, you could say that it makes his body an extension of his blade, rather than his blade an extension of his body. By this I mean he might be able to deflect, parry, and block attacks as if he were a sword. It could also reduce his body's weight and/or allow him to redistribute his center of gravity.

Someone fires Byakurai at him, for example, and he could choose either to slap the flat of his blade against it, deflecting it to the side, or he might use his hand and forearm to strike it and it would cause the same effect that his blade would. Plus, a zanpakuto is typically pretty goddamn durable, so it might not make his own body as durable as someone like Mirja, or Kenpachi Zaraki, for example, but it would very well give him a better chance of defending himself against, not to mention countering, various forms of attack. You could also give him exceptional control over what "little," reiatsu/reiryoku he has, allowing him to perhaps exhale small amounts of spirtual energy or refresh his body with his internal reiryoku, to purge poisons over a set amount of time depending on the effect of the poison and its strength (how fast acting it is).

All of these, while they could be considered exceptional skills, do fall into the realm of the "average shinigami," who happens to be able to use what they have cleverly.

Hopefully some of this helps.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

I'm specifically trying to avoid pulling a Kenpachi because he's cool and already established, I'd rather try my own take on a similar character. Kenpachi is naturally ridiculously powerful, he can hand captain level fighters their ass without release and by holding back to boot. Meanwhile the idea behind my guy is that if he underperforms he's probably dead because he just isn't that gifted with reiryoku and reiatsu, rather than faceroll on power alone he has to survive on skill.

He'd always walking a razor's edge, since reiatsu also essentially translates to stamina and defensive power. Rather than simply overpower abilities as Kenpachi would do, he has trained and developed for hundreds of years to avoid the type of situation where he'd be rendered completely useless and he still carries plenty of weaknesses and limitations inherent to him. The entire point is to avoid Bleach's obsession with powerlevels and aura size more or less defining who wins and who doesn't by having a character who has, through literal centuries, worked his one specialized skill to a level where it can at least partially compensate and pull him forward in life and put him into a station he would not have attained by birth alone.

@Zero Hex

@Axel

Interesting that naruto came up, and since it did I have something else to add. While I fall into the same category as Ganryu--meaning I could very likely severely limit my character, focusing on a very small skillset with little variety/range, and still get by--I'd like to note that I've done something very similar to what Axel just mentioned in Naruto.

Except, I did it with someone who was basically, like your character just a swordsman. The only caveat I added was somewhat similar to what you're doing, but with limitations. He had a sword style that trained the user, through meditation, breathing techniques, and very very precise control of the body and the blade, to be capable of outright cutting through most chakra-based things as if they were butter. The extent of his and his clan's skill in the art (Known as Shizukana-ryuu-ji no[Style of the Tranquil Path]) allowed them to fight on par with essentially any other naruto character, despite having no ranged skills, only naruto-levels of enhanced physicality, and a sword. It was all about the things you mentioned, stance, footwork, as well as being able to strike well and accurately position himself in relation to his opponent.

The only "jutsu," I ended up giving him were basically as follows:

A technique that created a sheath from chakra, allowing him to use iaido strikes after having already technically sheathed his blade.

A technique that surrounded his blade with chakra, making it an omnidirectional cutting tool.

You know what though, I added those after having already used him against people who were stronger and faster than him. Against people whose characters possessed elemental jutsu and even a bit of range. One or two who even had genjutsu, and guess what, he still not only held his own, but challenged and beat at least the latter two. The one with genjutsu I never got to finish the fight with, but I imagine he'd have done very well despite his disadvantages.

I didn't have to give him immunity to poison, to any element, or to environmental effects. All I had to do was give him swordsmanship and a sharp mind, and it succeeded.

So I agree with @Ciphra, @Ganryu, and @Axel in that you could run what Axel is calling an "underpowered," character and still be very successful, even at lieutenant level. You could do it with essentially the same skillset you gave him. You can even do it with a zanpakuto with no abilities if you've got enough know-how and RP combat skill.

If you did want his zanpakuto to have abilities though, I, as well as Axel, would love to help. I've done it for many of my friends and helped some people in previous Bleach and Naruto RPs I've been in and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. So yeah, just my two cents.

Take it as you will.

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

Well I'd not mind having something to do with either of my characters. Not sure which character is better suited to a given mission though. I've also gone and forgotten what the missions are, @Phobos >_>

Bleach: Endless Abyss (Open)

Yōki, Kōunora

Theme I /|\Theme II /|\ Theme III

Biographical Info

Name: Yōki(Keeper), Kōunora(Rainfall on fields).
Alias: Swan-song.
Nicknames: Nora.
Gender: Female.
Age Appearance: 23.
Race: Plus-->Shinigami.
Rank & Division: Veteran Captain of the 7th Division.

Additional Appearance Information: An elegance about her every movement, Kōunora wears her shihakusho and haori with pride, having modified the latter not at all. However, her Shihakusho possesses less folds, and instead hugs her figure more closely, resembling the garb of the second division captain in its way. More often than not, Kōunora wears her striking silver hair tied into a long pony tail largely keeping it out of the way during her daily duties and should she need to engage in combat. The woman's elegant form stands at 5'3 and weighs roughly 128 lbs. Her hair is silver and her eyes are a stirring red.

Footnote: There is no flower in her eye.

Personality: Kōunora is a compassionate woman with an effortless elegance to her actions and an air of wisdom. Caring deeply for those taken under her wing, the women protects them just as fiercely as she teaches and cultivates them. A worldly woman, Kōunora is not one to shy away from any task, no matter how mundane it may seem or how others might look at her as a result. She cares little of the opinions of others, thus revealing her own assurance of self. While she does her utmost to temper this confidence, it can sometimes get away from her where it can become arrogance for a time. Yet, while Kōunora may appear totally sure of herself to others, internally she is somewhat more plagued by the troubles of the common folk; namely indecision and a sense of being empty or lost.

In essence, Kōunora is a woman in transition, attempting to fully embrace the creative spark within her so that it may become a roaring flame. However, for now that flame is but embers and her hidden passion and creativity remain largely untapped. As a result of this she appears pragmatic and strict to many, perhaps even overbearing at times, though most who know her have come to understand that oftentimes she is this way only because she cares.

However, it is perhaps her loyal and caring nature that makes her so feared by her enemies as any harm done to those she cares for is seen as a terrible harm done to her. As such, when those around her are hurt, she will, in whatever way she can, seek retribution. So overzealous are the punishments she has doled out in the past, that few dare to cross her or hers—most doing their best to show due respect for the captain, her friends, and her entire division for she is not a woman whose pride one mars without consequence.

History: WIP.

Relationships:

WIP

=========================================

Capabilities

Reiryoku – Possessing less reiryoku than some captains, Kōunora has comparatively less endurance than most captains. However, her internal well of power is more refined, allowing her to use less power for greater result more often than not. As such she has managed to largely circumvent this weakness of hers, though it becomes quite evident when fighting foes with far greater stamina than her own. Her energy takes on a faint bluish-silver hue.

Reiatsu – Generally possessing less of a presence than most captains in the strictest sense, Kōunora prefers to keep her reiatsu contained, so as not to waste undue energy. Her reiatsu, when it does manifest, feels like a soft breeze, or a soft fabric lightly grazing skin, appearing visually as ghostly thin ribbons draped around the captain's form and drifting off behind her.

Zanjutsu Master – Will update.

Hakuda Master – Will update.

Kido Master – Having mastered all manner of the art, Kōunora is known, though not as prominently as some, for the kido she has created and popularized, particularly within her own division. Skilled enough to be a teacher to many others, the woman has even managed to create an art known as Kido-giri, thus allowing her, and any who learn it, to channel kido their their zanpakuto, using it as a catalyst for their spells.

Hoho Expert – On par with her fellow captains, Kōunora's shunpo is of average make, though do not be fooled for her ability to avoid, evade, and position herself is stellar in its way. She is agile and her movements are endowed with a refined grace making her fights, when she is truly engaged, more a dance than a battle.

Reiryoku Perception: A latent talent further honed after its discovery by her mentor, Zume Tatasuko, Reiryoku perception is an ability allowing the user to detect and visualize reiryoku, the internal power and lifeforce of any living being. Unlike reiatsu, which can be concealed and hidden away, reiryoku is seldom hidden through any efforts, as such is a difficult task, thus allowing the captain to detect any given individual with greater accuracy than most. However, while this detection allows for greater accuracy, it can be hampered if too many reiryoku signatures are present in a given area, thus overwhelming the user. In the interest of preventing this, Kōunora, like her mentor before her, uses this ability almost solely when her eyes are closed. It should be noted that Kōunora, due to this ability, could still fight almost as well as any captain, with her eyes completely closed, as a person's reiryoku is shaped like their body, not to mention any energetic assault contains the energy. Lastly, zanpakuto, as technically living beings, also possess reiryoku, which is intertwined with that of their wielder, thus allowing Kōunora to see the strength of the bond between shinigami and zanpakuto, as well as to visualize the weapon even with her eyes closed. Kōunora cannot detect inanimate objects bereft of reiryoku with this ability.

Kido-giri: The art of using kido through one's zanpakuto, thus refining their spells and allowing for another avenue of attack.

Custom Kido

Will add more as they come to me (though only after they've been accepted).

Kido-giri, Sho.
Level: Proficient.
Chant: N/A.

Effect: By channeling sho through one's zanpakuto, they imbue force unto it, allowing a slash to release said power. Conversely, the force may be aimed in to induce movement in the user via a shockwave of force in a given direction. This spell is often used in tangent with the user's shunpo, allowing a movement with increased speed, but decreased finesse—though such does depend on skill.

Bakudo #12, Gyaku shibari(_逆縛り 'Reverse bind').
Level: Proficient.
Chant: Etching words into the world, a river flows, a dam blocks its return....

Effect: A relatively simple kido, Gyaku shibari must be utilized on a surface, be it living or otherwise. When placed onto something it creates a sort of dam or filter through which reiryoku, reishi and reiatsu may only pass in one direction. While the kido can be broken by a significantly powerful influx of any of the aforementioned things, it can also be bolstered by supplying it with more reiryoku, making it particularly useful.

Bakudo #82 Chōten seigen(_頂点制限 'Vertex Restriction').
Level: Forbidden.
Chant: The sun is eclipsed, the moon made absent, a presence vanishes and the world stops. Time is made still, movement surrenders, and bound are the energies of life. Cease time and stagnate space....

Effect: Creating a white cube in the user's hand, this spell is activated by crushing the white cube of reishi. Upon being crushed, an opaque black sphere will engulf a 4 meter radius, with the user being the central point. This opaque sphere does not allow reiatsu, some reiryoku, sound, smells, and even light to pass through it, making it a sensory dead zone. However, its true purpose goes beyond this, as should someone be caught within it, they will be rendered unable to move—the sole exclusion being the user. Should the user move, the sphere will remain in the same location it was activated in. As only certain forms of reiryoku may escape it, the sphere will persist for a potentially indefinite amount of time, as it is a closed system, never losing or leaking the energy that maintains it.

Should someone simply be touched by the black sphere, rather than being wholly trapped within, they will find that whatever part of their body was touched, becomes incapable of channeling or manipulating reiryoku as if the pathways which it travels along in the body have been sealed. Until the material is removed from their body or the kido deactivated by its user, this effect will persist.

Sealing Art #75, Shibari - Han kyoten kinshi(_{縛り - 半拠点禁止} 'Binding: Half point restriction').
Level: Master.
Chant: Influence and refine, predict and divine; condense, make cease for brief time. Through connection intrude, passing beyond the wall, from within break the castle, make fall. Entrap and embrace....

Effect: A kido initiated by first manifesting a fair amount of the user's reiryoku and spreading one's reiatsu out to coincide with the dimensions of what one is sealing, this spell is activated by the utterance of its name. Upon activation the caster's reiryoku will rapidly spread through the substance, reaching its edge in a moment's time. Once it has done so, the reiryoku creates a film over the surface of the object or substance and then promptly condenses inwards into a single point designated by the caster. The sealed substance or object will take the shape of a small marble, which can be carried around nigh indefinitely so long as the caster retains trace amounts of reiatsu to spare. Reason being, this kido takes a tiny amount of reiatsu to maintain itself, suffusing the trapped substance with the caster's reiryoku as the reiatsu becomes dense enough to surpass a pressure and become energy within the marble. At the user's choice, the kido can be released, unleashing the substance or item(s) sealed within.

Key: Name of Skill - Rank needed to learn
Seated level - Proficient
Lieutenant level - Expert
Captain level - Master
Forbidden level - A Skill only a select few Captains know.

=========================================

Zanpakuto

Zanpakuto Spirit Personality: A proud and regal being, Tsubame Ken-kyō could be described as a wise and impassioned spirit, always looking to improve its wielder and foster a greater bond between them. Unlike many zanpakuto, who most be utterly conquered for their wielder to gain the full extent of their abilities, Tsubame is far more kind and understanding, having allowed Kōunora her bankai by simply bowing to her will. Perhaps because of this, their relationship is one of great respect and endearment, with the captain seeing her spirit as everything that is good about her, a being without flaw. While she is in part correct, Tsubame would disagree, and views her in a light that perhaps she is blind to in her current state. He hopes that, with time, he can bring out the same light that makes him, out from where it hides in the deeper recesses of the woman's heart. Perhaps he will even succeed.

Zanpakuto Spirit & Inner World Whilst typically a man, as depicted, Kōunora's zanpakuto spirit, at some times, appears to her as a golden and silver phoenix, its eyes red, and its form composed of many shining ribbons of light. The world around it paling in comparison to its brilliance.

Sealed State

Shikai: Body sideways, her sword arm held out behind her, blade horizontal, and eyes closed, Kōunora prepares to release her shikai. As she assumes the stance, her lips move, and the blade's command is uttered, "Focus, refract; connections reflect, through action collapse and enact. Fly forth...". As the inaudible words are spoken, a flash of gold and silver light engulfs her blade. For a moment it is blinding, but soon after the light disperses, the gold becoming trapped within the blade even as the silver surrounds her. With her blade revealed and hands adorned with silver, Kōunora's voice pierces the near silence, proclaiming the name of her blade's elegant form, "...Tsubame Ken-kyō(_燕検鏡 'Swallow's Speculum')."

Abilities: Manifesting physically as a layer of silver reiryoku about her hands and in the form of an elegant silver and blue katana, the capabilities of Kōunora's shikai lie almost entirely within the brilliant silver light that surrounds her. This “silver light,” is in actuality hundreds of tiny particles of reishi that have been imparted with great quantities of the captain's unique reiryoku. This reiryoku possesses the traits of an energetic lens, allowing it to reflect, focus, refract, or scatter various energies—though the most notable of these are kinetic energy, light, and reiryoku. At rest, the silver light acts much like a harmless gas, the reiryoku passing like potential energy between particles of reishi, impossible to inhale or absorb by most passive means. In this state the light is merely aesthetic, pure potential without much purpose aside from illumination. However, when manipulated by Kōunora's will via her reiryoku covered hands or her blade, the light may take form. When influenced by the aforementioned implements, her shikai's channeled reiryoku either contracts into the reishi it inhabits, or expands outwards. While the former is the natural state of her shikai, the latter causes, as the reiryoku becomes more intertwined, to shift the light from a more gaseous etheric state to a more physical one, first becoming something akin to a mist, then an outright fluid before it reaches its final state as a solid.

While her shikai's ability to alter the state of this silver light is notable the more important of its abilities is the redistribution of the reishi which her reiryoku inhabits, as gathering such particles into closer proximity effectively increases the focus of the “lens,” making it possible to reflect foreign elements, or even its own light. As a result, Kōunora's shikai is considered not only one the seireitei's most beautiful, but also its most mysterious as the captain has yet to reveal just exactly how it functions to others, leaving them to marvel at its capacity to surprise and astonish those who witness it in use be it turned against them in training, or drawn to slay their enemies.

Note: While Kōunora may chose to proclaim Tsubame ken-kyō's entire release command, more often than not, she simply whispers “Fly forth,” which appears to serve her just as well, not that any would know it.

Techniques
Haemasu(_栄えます 'Flourish'): A technique utilizing the reflective properties held within the reishi of her shikai, Haemasu alters the angle of each particle and focuses the light which surrounds her into a blinding aura of reiryoku. This aura can be further aimed to reflect and refract through other materials and off of other surfaces. Additionally, due to the light actually being composed of potent reiryoku, its light will not simply blind, but also disorient those who look upon it, becoming particularly effective if they are surrounded by it. While this technique has no true limitations in regard to its duration, it tends to only last 30 or so seconds unless Kōunora chooses otherwise. Additionally, while the disorientation caused by Haemasu can be overcome when not surrounded by the light, taking a maximum of 5 seconds for most to recover, being engulfed in the 3 meter aura of reiryoku crafted light will continue to refresh the aforementioned effect, disrupting the balance and physical equilibrium of those within it, excluding Kōunora herself.

Hishō gin uyoku(_{飛翔銀羽翼} 'Flight of silver wings'): Gathering her shikai's light onto her blade, Kōunora initiates this technique, creating thin ribbons of silver reishi that trail behind and along her blade. These ribbons, though they appear fragile, are in fact capable of cutting just as any blade might, as their movements follow those of the captain's blade, allowing them to attack from alternate angles, while moving in similar patterns. While Kōunora cannot guide the movement of these ribbons while they remain connected to her blade, she can use skillful swordplay to attack in a variety of manners using the ribbons of reiryoku infused reishi to strike from unexpected angles. However, perhaps the more dangerous aspect of this technique, is its second stage, which is simply activated by Kōunora willing one or more of the numerous ribbons to detach from their source. Once detached, these ribbons mirror the movements of her weapon and allow Kōunora to transfer kinetic energy between the ribbons and her zanpakuto, increasing the force or speed of either essentially at will. Most deadly though is the result of a ribbon striking true, as when such occurs all of its kinetic energy is released as tiny feather shaped blades, that shear and eviscerate flesh. Last among this technique's traits is its increased ability to hold or channel kido, as Kōunora may store a kido in each feather of each wing once they have been released. It should be noted that while she may continue to generate additional ribbons, prolonging this technique, it may only have up to 20 ribbons at any given time, whether they are detached or not. The creation of additional ribbons past this point will cause a single ribbon to automatically detach and then release its kinetic energy in a small localized shockwave.

Taremaku(_垂れ幕 'Hanging screen'): Drawing a horizontal line of silver reiryoku with her right hand before parting it with fingers and thumb, thus expanding the line into a plane of translucent reiryoku, Kōunora initiates this technique. Once the aforementioned is done, Kōunora may proceed to touch the expanse of clear reiryoku with her blade, at which point the energy will respond as if it were made of fabric, though far more durable. The expanse of reiryoku is essentially a flat curtain of reflective energy, capable of weathering a fair amount of force, and simply being pushed rather than outright cut by a blade. While it possesses no single purpose, the sheet of reiryoku can be turned to both defensive and offensive purposes via skillful manipulation of her blade or her hand. This fabric-like film of reiryoku, it should be noted, is attracted to the point of Kōunora's blade, though the shinigami can alter how strong this attraction is.

Kussetsu keiro(_屈折径路 'Refraction path'): One of her more powerful techniques Kussetsu keiro is a rather taxing ability, taking such a toll even on the captain that she can only use it four times and maintain it for two minutes. Upon activation, a hollow column of silver reiryoku manifests in alignment with the edge of her blade, its form positioned a foot or so in front of it. This column fades at its edges, as if it continues invisibly into the air even where it is not seen. The purpose of this column is to channel and reflect reiryoku through its hollow when it makes contact, allowing the captain to redirect more powerful techniques by moving the column's opening to face in the general direction of an attack as it approaches, or as she approaches it. Upon being captured, the reiryoku is condensed and amplified, before being released out the other end of the column, typically erupting into a massive blast.

Kyōzō - Hansei tsubame(_{鏡像 - 反省燕} 'Mirror image – Reflection swallow'): A technique that the captain may only use once in a 12 hour period without forcing her shikai to permanently seal for a day after the cessation of the technique. Activating the technique by holding her blade vertically, in both hands, before her and proclaiming its name, the ribbons that trail behind her blade will glow a bright golden light before shattering. These shards expand and mould themselves into eight silver swallow's, with golden eyes and trails of light that follow their movements. Each Swallow contains 1/8th of her total reiryoku and has several abilities. First and foremost these silver swallows possess the reflective effects of her shikai in distilled form, allowing them to fly through or be struck by attacks without harm, reflecting or scattering them as if they were refracted light upon contact. The trails of light they leave behind can cut those who run into them, though unless layered over one another, they cannot outright dismember or decapitate. Additionally, the each bird may be expended to release a burst of reiryoku covering 18 meters. This reiryoku burns with a purifying golden light, which lasts for 8 seconds after initial formation. This golden light, via manipulations with her gauntlet or zanpakuto, can be utilized as attacks for the duration of its brief existence.

Last among the effects of this technique is those that may only manifest upon the captain's release into bankai. If utilized in bankai, this technique may only be utilized once and, unlike the shikai form which may last for 8 minutes, the bankai format can only last for 4 making it considerably less lengthy. However, the technique makes up for its lack of length with an incredible amount of power. Once activated, the golden songbird which surrounds Kōunora will expel silver reiryoku. This reiryoku is far more reflective than her shikai's silver energy. So reflective is its surface that one's visage can be seen in it as if it were a solid mirror. Following its manifestation, the energy will reflect its maker, Kōunora, thus creating three silver winged beings, made from silver energy, which mirror her appearance. These ethereal figures, for the duration of the technique, may fight at Kōunora's side and while they cannot utilize kido, they can use shunpo, are lighter and more flexible than a normal shinigami, and can utilize all of her shikai techniques. These silver effigies can however be destroyed by being torn apart or evaporated by a sufficient amount of damage.

Bankai: Prefaced by a gradual increase in her reiatsu, which flows back from her form, a silver hue present in the air as it meets its zenith, the captain will sheath her blade, body relaxing, eyes taking on a golden hue. Then, as her reiatsu peaks, her voice rings forth and so is sung the sacred word, "Bankai." With her proclamation made, ribbons of silver light emerge from her reiatsu, even as golden light spills from her form, zanpakuto dissolving to create it. Yet, while the reiryoku obscures her like fog, her shining red and gold eyes remain visible throughout, as if no power in all the realms can stifle the light that dwells within her.

Golden light unfolding from her, the motion reminiscent of wings as feathers spread forth and the solemn call of an unknown songbird echoes through the air. Like an ocean wave, the sound of the call rushes forth, drowning the senses of all who hear it and, for a moment, suppressing their reiatsu regardless of its strength. As the song continues, the light gains definition and Kōunora strides forth now wreathed in silver and golden light, her garb altered. As before her release, the woman's eyes now glow however, now the red hue that is their typical color has receded, overtaken entirely by golden and silver hues, which dance and swirle around her pupils, undulating with a steady rhythm.

The visage of the golden bird remains, its form now surrounding her own, wings spread wide at her sides, its golden body engulfing her, its size dwarfing the captain's. The bird's tail trails out behind her for several meters, the golden ribbons that compose it drifting weightlessly in the air.

In her left hand is grasped a blade of pure light, its outline silver, and its core composed of the same golden light that surrounds her. Eight ribbons trail behind its form, and aside from the silver edges of the weapon, it is difficult to distinguish the blade from the light that surrounds it.

As her bankai's manifestation completes, Kōunora's voice—more song than simple spoken word—rings out. However, this time it is accompanied by a strange ethereal voice, which unlike the her own, sings every word. "Tasogare ken-kyō – Hanayaka tsubame(_{黄昏検鏡 – 華やか燕} 'Twilight Speculum – Resplendent Swallow')."

Abilities: Amplifying her speed, physical strength, durability and stamina, the captain's bankai is just as impressive as it appears. With the golden reiryoku of her song bird possessing healing properties and the silver light maintaining reflective ones, the scope of Kōunora's abilities increases drastically. In particular is the purifying and restorative effects, the captain is capable of healing herself and allies, just as she might burn away the imperfections of her adversaries, only to reflect their strengths. While those few living souls who have witnessed her bankai believe her physical attributes to be outright enhanced by its release, the truth is that all of these traits are amplified not by an increase in physical stamina or strength, but by the silver light hidden throughout the songbird that wreaths her form. As with her shikai, this silver light can redirect and amplify kinetic energy however, unlike it the silver light of her bankai can also convert reiryoku into kinetic energy and vice versa. This allows Kōunora to seemingly take more damage, as the force of most attacks is diminished by this conversion and also reflected, not to mention healed by the golden light.

Another startling ability which is brought to light by her bankai is Kōunora's ability to visualize reiryoku, which in this state is amplified greatly, thus allowing her to better predict her opponents due to increased ability to ascertain their location at any given point in time. While unlike the bankai of other captains who possess techniques, Kōunora's bankai more than makes up for it in sheer power, burning away or reflecting reiryoku and reishi around her, allowing her to fly, and making her already fairly impressive skills even more difficult to handle. While Kōunora's bankai is incomplete, as her sword spirit has told her it possesses two techniques, it in no way is a thing to be underestimated or looked down upon. After all, it is a rare thing to see, and should one think it insufficient to strike them down, they are likely to soon find themselves burnt, battered, and laid low before the magnificence of this woman's power.

Techniques: Currently barred from her.

Yoshua's Character Storage Mark VII

Yōki, Kōunora

Theme I /|\Theme II /|\ Theme III

Biographical Info

Name: Yōki(Keeper), Kōunora(Rainfall on fields).
Alias: Swan-song.
Nicknames: Nora.
Gender: Female.
Age Appearance: 23.
Race: Plus-->Shinigami.
Rank & Division: Veteran Captain of the 7th Division.

Additional Appearance Information: An elegance about her every movement, Kōunora wears her shihakusho and haori with pride, having modified the latter not at all. However, her Shihakusho possesses less folds, and instead hugs her figure more closely, resembling the garb of the second division captain in its way. More often than not, Kōunora wears her striking silver hair tied into a long pony tail largely keeping it out of the way during her daily duties and should she need to engage in combat. The woman's elegant form stands at 5'3 and weighs roughly 138 lbs. Her hair is silver and her eyes are a stirring red.

Footnote: There is no flower in her eye.

Personality: Kōunora is a compassionate woman with an effortless elegance to her actions and an air of wisdom. Caring deeply for those taken under her wing, the women protects them just as fiercely as she teaches and cultivates them. A worldly woman, Kōunora is not one to shy away from any task, no matter how mundane it may seem or how others might look at her as a result. She cares little of the opinions of others, thus revealing her own assurance of self. While she does her utmost to temper this confidence, it can sometimes get away from her where it can become arrogance for a time. Yet, while Kōunora may appear totally sure of herself to others, internally she is somewhat more plagued by the troubles of the common folk; namely indecision and a sense of being empty or lost.

In essence, Kōunora is a woman in transition, attempting to fully embrace the creative spark within her so that it may become a roaring flame. However, for now that flame is but embers and her hidden passion and creativity remain largely untapped. As a result of this she appears pragmatic and strict to many, perhaps even overbearing at times, though most who know her have come to understand that oftentimes she is this way only because she cares.

However, it is perhaps her loyal and caring nature that makes her so feared by her enemies as any harm done to those she cares for is seen as a terrible harm done to her. As such, when those around her are hurt, she will, in whatever way she can, seek retribution. So overzealous are the punishments she has doled out in the past, that few dare to cross her or hers—most doing their best to show due respect for the captain, her friends, and her entire division for she is not a woman whose pride one mars without consequence.

History: WIP.

Relationships:

WIP

=========================================

Capabilities

Reiryoku – Possessing less reiryoku than some captains, Kōunora has comparatively less endurance than most captains. However, her internal well of power is more refined, allowing her to use less power for greater result more often than not. As such she has managed to largely circumvent this weakness of hers, though it becomes quite evident when fighting foes with far greater stamina than her own. Her energy takes on a faint bluish-silver hue.

Reiatsu – Generally possessing less of a presence than most captains in the strictest sense, Kōunora prefers to keep her reiatsu contained, so as not to waste undue energy. Her reiatsu, when it does manifest, feels like a soft breeze, or a soft fabric lightly grazing skin, appearing visually as ghostly thin ribbons draped around the captain's form and drifting off behind her.

Zanjutsu Master – Will update.

Hakuda Master – Will update.

Kido Master – Having mastered all manner of the art, Kōunora is known, though not as prominently as some, for the kido she has created and popularized, particularly within her own division. Skilled enough to be a teacher to many others, the woman has even managed to create an art known as Kido-giri, thus allowing her, and any who learn it, to channel kido their their zanpakuto, using it as a catalyst for their spells.

Hoho Expert – On par with her fellow captains, Kōunora's shunpo is of average make, though do not be fooled for her ability to avoid, evade, and position herself is stellar in its way. She is agile and her movements are endowed with a refined grace making her fights, when she is truly engaged, more a dance than a battle.

Reiryoku Perception: A latent talent further honed after its discovery by her mentor, Zume Tatasuko, Reiryoku perception is an ability allowing the user to detect and visualize reiryoku, the internal power and lifeforce of any living being. Unlike reiatsu, which can be concealed and hidden away, reiryoku is seldom hidden through any efforts, as such is a difficult task, thus allowing the captain to detect any given individual with greater accuracy than most. However, while this detection allows for greater accuracy, it can be hampered if too many reiryoku signatures are present in a given area, thus overwhelming the user. In the interest of preventing this, Kōunora, like her mentor before her, uses this ability almost solely when her eyes are closed. It should be noted that Kōunora, due to this ability, could still fight almost as well as any captain, with her eyes completely closed, as a person's reiryoku is shaped like their body, not to mention any energetic assault contains the energy. Lastly, zanpakuto, as technically living beings, also possess reiryoku, which is intertwined with that of their wielder, thus allowing Kōunora to see the strength of the bond between shinigami and zanpakuto, as well as to visualize the weapon even with her eyes closed. Kōunora cannot detect inanimate objects bereft of reiryoku with this ability.

Kido-giri: The art of using kido through one's zanpakuto, thus refining their spells and allowing for another avenue of attack.

Custom Kido

Will add more as they come to me (though only after they've been accepted).

Kido-giri, Sho.
Level: Proficient.
Chant: N/A.

Effect: By channeling sho through one's zanpakuto, they imbue force unto it, allowing a slash to release said power. Conversely, the force may be aimed in to induce movement in the user via a shockwave of force in a given direction. This spell is often used in tangent with the user's shunpo, allowing a movement with increased speed, but decreased finesse—though such does depend on skill.

Bakudo #29, Gyaku shibari(_逆縛り 'Reverse bind').
Level: Proficient.
Chant: Etching words into the world, a river flows, a dam blocks its return....

Effect: A relatively simple kido, Gyaku shibari must be utilized on a surface, be it living or otherwise. When placed onto something it creates a sort of dam or filter through which reiryoku, reishi and reiatsu may only pass in one direction. While the kido can be broken by a significantly powerful influx of any of the aforementioned things, it can also be bolstered by supplying it with more reiryoku, making it particularly useful.

Bakudo #82 Chōten seigen(_頂点制限 'Vertex Restriction').
Level: Forbidden.
Chant: The sun is eclipsed, the moon made absent, a presence vanishes and the world stops. Time is made still, movement surrenders, and bound are the energies of life. Cease time and stagnate space....

Effect: Creating a white cube in the user's hand, this spell is activated by crushing the white cube of reishi. Upon being crushed, an opaque black sphere will engulf a 4 meter radius, with the user being the central point. This opaque sphere does not allow reiatsu, some reiryoku, sound, smells, and even light to pass through it, making it a sensory dead zone. However, its true purpose goes beyond this, as should someone be caught within it, they will be rendered unable to move—the sole exclusion being the user. Should the user move, the sphere will remain in the same location it was activated in. As only certain forms of reiryoku may escape it, the sphere will persist for a potentially indefinite amount of time, as it is a closed system, never losing or leaking the energy that maintains it.

Should someone simply be touched by the black sphere, rather than being wholly trapped within, they will find that whatever part of their body was touched, becomes incapable of channeling or manipulating reiryoku as if the pathways which it travels along in the body have been sealed. Until the material is removed from their body or the kido deactivated by its user, this effect will persist.

Sealing Art #75, Shibari - Han kyoten kinshi(_{縛り - 半拠点禁止} 'Binding: Half point restriction').
Level: Master.
Chant: Influence and refine, predict and divine; condense, make cease for brief time. Through connection intrude, passing beyond the wall, from within break the castle, make fall. Entrap and embrace....

Effect: A kido initiated by first manifesting a fair amount of the user's reiryoku and spreading one's reiatsu out to coincide with the dimensions of what one is sealing, this spell is activated by the utterance of its name. Upon activation the caster's reiryoku will rapidly spread through the substance, reaching its edge in a moment's time. Once it has done so, the reiryoku creates a film over the surface of the object or substance and then promptly condenses inwards into a single point designated by the caster. The sealed substance or object will take the shape of a small marble, which can be carried around nigh indefinitely so long as the caster retains trace amounts of reiatsu to spare. Reason being, this kido takes a tiny amount of reiatsu to maintain itself, suffusing the trapped substance with the caster's reiryoku as the reiatsu becomes dense enough to surpass a pressure and become energy within the marble. At the user's choice, the kido can be released, unleashing the substance or item(s) sealed within.

Key: Name of Skill - Rank needed to learn
Seated level - Proficient
Lieutenant level - Expert
Captain level - Master
Forbidden level - A Skill only a select few Captains know.

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Zanpakuto

Zanpakuto Spirit Personality: A proud and regal being, Tsubame Ken-kyō could be described as a wise and impassioned spirit, always looking to improve its wielder and foster a greater bond between them. Unlike many zanpakuto, who most be utterly conquered for their wielder to gain the full extent of their abilities, Tsubame is far more kind and understanding, having allowed Kōunora her bankai by simply bowing to her will. Perhaps because of this, their relationship is one of great respect and endearment, with the captain seeing her spirit as everything that is good about her, a being without flaw. While she is in part correct, Tsubame would disagree, and views her in a light that perhaps she is blind to in her current state. He hopes that, with time, he can bring out the same light that makes him, out from where it hides in the deeper recesses of the woman's heart. Perhaps he will even succeed.

Zanpakuto Spirit & Inner World Whilst typically a man, as depicted, Kōunora's zanpakuto spirit, at some times, appears to her as a golden and silver phoenix, its eyes red, and its form composed of many shining ribbons of light. The world around it paling in comparison to its brilliance.

Sealed State

Shikai: Body sideways, her sword arm held out behind her, blade horizontal, and eyes closed, Kōunora prepares to release her shikai. As she assumes the stance, her lips move, and the blade's command is uttered, "Focus, refract; connections reflect, through action collapse and enact. Fly forth...". As the inaudible words are spoken, a flash of gold and silver light engulfs her blade. For a moment it is blinding, but soon after the light disperses, the gold becoming trapped within the blade even as the silver surrounds her. With her blade revealed and hands adorned with silver, Kōunora's voice pierces the near silence, proclaiming the name of her blade's elegant form, "...Tsubame Ken-kyō(_燕検鏡 'Swallow's Speculum')."

Abilities: Manifesting physically as a layer of silver reiryoku about her hands and in the form of an elegant silver and blue katana, the capabilities of Kōunora's shikai lie almost entirely within the brilliant silver light that surrounds her. This “silver light,” is in actuality hundreds of tiny particles of reishi that have been imparted with great quantities of the captain's unique reiryoku. This reiryoku possesses the traits of an energetic lens, allowing it to reflect, focus, refract, or scatter various energies—though the most notable of these are kinetic energy, light, and reiryoku. At rest, the silver light acts much like a harmless gas, the reiryoku passing like potential energy between particles of reishi, impossible to inhale or absorb by most passive means. In this state the light is merely aesthetic, pure potential without much purpose aside from illumination. However, when manipulated by Kōunora's will via her reiryoku covered hands or her blade, the light may take form. When influenced by the aforementioned implements, her shikai's channeled reiryoku either contracts into the reishi it inhabits, or expands outwards. While the former is the natural state of her shikai, the latter causes, as the reiryoku becomes more intertwined, to shift the light from a more gaseous etheric state to a more physical one, first becoming something akin to a mist, then an outright fluid before it reaches its final state as a solid.

While her shikai's ability to alter the state of this silver light is notable the more important of its abilities is the redistribution of the reishi which her reiryoku inhabits, as gathering such particles into closer proximity effectively increases the focus of the “lens,” making it possible to reflect foreign elements, or even its own light. As a result, Kōunora's shikai is considered not only one the seireitei's most beautiful, but also its most mysterious as the captain has yet to reveal just exactly how it functions to others, leaving them to marvel at its capacity to surprise and astonish those who witness it in use be it turned against them in training, or drawn to slay their enemies.

Note: While Kōunora may chose to proclaim Tsubame ken-kyō's entire release command, more often than not, she simply whispers “Fly forth,” which appears to serve her just as well, not that any would know it.

Techniques
Haemasu(_栄えます 'Flourish'): A technique utilizing the reflective properties held within the reishi of her shikai, Haemasu alters the angle of each particle and focuses the light which surrounds her into a blinding aura of reiryoku. This aura can be further aimed to reflect and refract through other materials and off of other surfaces. Additionally, due to the light actually being composed of potent reiryoku, its light will not simply blind, but also disorient those who look upon it, becoming particularly effective if they are surrounded by it. While this technique has no true limitations in regard to its duration, it tends to only last 30 or so seconds unless Kōunora chooses otherwise. Additionally, while the disorientation caused by Haemasu can be overcome when not surrounded by the light, taking a maximum of 5 seconds for most to recover, being engulfed in the 3 meter aura of reiryoku crafted light will continue to refresh the aforementioned effect, disrupting the balance and physical equilibrium of those within it, excluding Kōunora herself.

Hishō gin uyoku(_{飛翔銀羽翼} 'Flight of silver wings'): Gathering her shikai's light onto her blade, Kōunora initiates this technique, creating thin ribbons of silver reishi that trail behind and along her blade. These ribbons, though they appear fragile, are in fact capable of cutting just as any blade might, as their movements follow those of the captain's blade, allowing them to attack from alternate angles, while moving in similar patterns. While Kōunora cannot guide the movement of these ribbons while they remain connected to her blade, she can use skillful swordplay to attack in a variety of manners using the ribbons of reiryoku infused reishi to strike from unexpected angles. However, perhaps the more dangerous aspect of this technique, is its second stage, which is simply activated by Kōunora willing one or more of the numerous ribbons to detach from their source. Once detached, these ribbons mirror the movements of her weapon and allow Kōunora to transfer kinetic energy between the ribbons and her zanpakuto, increasing the force or speed of either essentially at will. Most deadly though is the result of a ribbon striking true, as when such occurs all of its kinetic energy is released as tiny feather shaped blades, that shear and eviscerate flesh. Last among this technique's traits is its increased ability to hold or channel kido, as Kōunora may store a kido in each feather of each wing once they have been released. It should be noted that while she may continue to generate additional ribbons, prolonging this technique, it may only have up to 20 ribbons at any given time, whether they are detached or not. The creation of additional ribbons past this point will cause a single ribbon to automatically detach and then release its kinetic energy in a small localized shockwave.

Taremaku(_垂れ幕 'Hanging screen'): Drawing a horizontal line of silver reiryoku with her right hand before parting it with fingers and thumb, thus expanding the line into a plane of translucent reiryoku, Kōunora initiates this technique. Once the aforementioned is done, Kōunora may proceed to touch the expanse of clear reiryoku with her blade, at which point the energy will respond as if it were made of fabric, though far more durable. The expanse of reiryoku is essentially a flat curtain of reflective energy, capable of weathering a fair amount of force, and simply being pushed rather than outright cut by a blade. While it possesses no single purpose, the sheet of reiryoku can be turned to both defensive and offensive purposes via skillful manipulation of her blade or her hand. This fabric-like film of reiryoku, it should be noted, is attracted to the point of Kōunora's blade, though the shinigami can alter how strong this attraction is.

Kussetsu keiro(_屈折径路 'Refraction path'): One of her more powerful techniques Kussetsu keiro is a rather taxing ability, taking such a toll even on the captain that she can only use it four times and maintain it for two minutes. Upon activation, a hollow column of silver reiryoku manifests in alignment with the edge of her blade, its form positioned a foot or so in front of it. This column fades at its edges, as if it continues invisibly into the air even where it is not seen. The purpose of this column is to channel and reflect reiryoku through its hollow when it makes contact, allowing the captain to redirect more powerful techniques by moving the column's opening to face in the general direction of an attack as it approaches, or as she approaches it. Upon being captured, the reiryoku is condensed and amplified, before being released out the other end of the column, typically erupting into a massive blast.

Kyōzō - Hansei tsubame(_{鏡像 - 反省燕} 'Mirror image – Reflection swallow'): A technique that the captain may only use once in a 12 hour period without forcing her shikai to permanently seal for a day after the cessation of the technique. Activating the technique by holding her blade vertically, in both hands, before her and proclaiming its name, the ribbons that trail behind her blade will glow a bright golden light before shattering. These shards expand and mould themselves into eight silver swallow's, with golden eyes and trails of light that follow their movements. Each Swallow contains 1/8th of her total reiryoku and has several abilities. First and foremost these silver swallows possess the reflective effects of her shikai in distilled form, allowing them to fly through or be struck by attacks without harm, reflecting or scattering them as if they were refracted light upon contact. The trails of light they leave behind can cut those who run into them, though unless layered over one another, they cannot outright dismember or decapitate. Additionally, the each bird may be expended to release a burst of reiryoku covering 18 meters. This reiryoku burns with a purifying golden light, which lasts for 8 seconds after initial formation. This golden light, via manipulations with her gauntlet or zanpakuto, can be utilized as attacks for the duration of its brief existence.

Last among the effects of this technique is those that may only manifest upon the captain's release into bankai. If utilized in bankai, this technique may only be utilized once and, unlike the shikai form which may last for 8 minutes, the bankai format can only last for 4 making it considerably less lengthy. However, the technique makes up for its lack of length with an incredible amount of power. Once activated, the golden songbird which surrounds Kōunora will expel silver reiryoku. This reiryoku is far more reflective than her shikai's silver energy. So reflective is its surface that one's visage can be seen in it as if it were a solid mirror. Following its manifestation, the energy will reflect its maker, Kōunora, thus creating three silver winged beings, made from silver energy, which mirror her appearance. These ethereal figures, for the duration of the technique, may fight at Kōunora's side and while they cannot utilize kido, they can use shunpo, are lighter and more flexible than a normal shinigami, and can utilize all of her shikai techniques. These silver effigies can however be destroyed by being torn apart or evaporated by a sufficient amount of damage.

Bankai: Prefaced by a gradual increase in her reiatsu, which flows back from her form, a silver hue present in the air as it meets its zenith, the captain will sheath her blade, body relaxing, eyes taking on a golden hue. Then, as her reiatsu peaks, her voice rings forth and so is sung the sacred word, "Bankai." With her proclamation made, ribbons of silver light emerge from her reiatsu, even as golden light spills from her form, zanpakuto dissolving to create it. Yet, while the reiryoku obscures her like fog, her shining red and gold eyes remain visible throughout, as if no power in all the realms can stifle the light that dwells within her.

Golden light unfolding from her, the motion reminiscent of wings as feathers spread forth and the solemn call of an unknown songbird echoes through the air. Like an ocean wave, the sound of the call rushes forth, drowning the senses of all who hear it and, for a moment, suppressing their reiatsu regardless of its strength. As the song continues, the light gains definition and Kōunora strides forth now wreathed in silver and golden light, her garb altered. As before her release, the woman's eyes now glow however, now the red hue that is their typical color has receded, overtaken entirely by golden and silver hues, which dance and swirle around her pupils, undulating with a steady rhythm.

The visage of the golden bird remains, its form now surrounding her own, wings spread wide at her sides, its golden body engulfing her, its size dwarfing the captain's. The bird's tail trails out behind her for several meters, the golden ribbons that compose it drifting weightlessly in the air.

In her left hand is grasped a blade of pure light, its outline silver, and its core composed of the same golden light that surrounds her. Eight ribbons trail behind its form, and aside from the silver edges of the weapon, it is difficult to distinguish the blade from the light that surrounds it.

As her bankai's manifestation completes, Kōunora's voice—more song than simple spoken word—rings out. However, this time it is accompanied by a strange ethereal voice, which unlike the her own, sings every word. "Tasogare ken-kyō – Hanayaka tsubame(_{黄昏検鏡 – 華やか燕} 'Twilight Speculum – Resplendent Swallow')."

Abilities: Amplifying her speed, physical strength, durability and stamina, the captain's bankai is just as impressive as it appears. With the golden reiryoku of her song bird possessing healing properties and the silver light maintaining reflective ones, the scope of Kōunora's abilities increases drastically. In particular is the purifying and restorative effects, the captain is capable of healing herself and allies, just as she might burn away the imperfections of her adversaries, only to reflect their strengths. While those few living souls who have witnessed her bankai believe her physical attributes to be outright enhanced by its release, the truth is that all of these traits are amplified not by an increase in physical stamina or strength, but by the silver light hidden throughout the songbird that wreaths her form. As with her shikai, this silver light can redirect and amplify kinetic energy however, unlike it the silver light of her bankai can also convert reiryoku into kinetic energy and vice versa. This allows Kōunora to seemingly take more damage, as the force of most attacks is diminished by this conversion and also reflected, not to mention healed by the golden light.

Another startling ability which is brought to light by her bankai is Kōunora's ability to visualize reiryoku, which in this state is amplified greatly, thus allowing her to better predict her opponents due to increased ability to ascertain their location at any given point in time. While unlike the bankai of other captains who possess techniques, Kōunora's bankai more than makes up for it in sheer power, burning away or reflecting reiryoku and reishi around her, allowing her to fly, and making her already fairly impressive skills even more difficult to handle. While Kōunora's bankai is incomplete, as her sword spirit has told her it possesses two techniques, it in no way is a thing to be underestimated or looked down upon. After all, it is a rare thing to see, and should one think it insufficient to strike them down, they are likely to soon find themselves burnt, battered, and laid low before the magnificence of this woman's power.

Techniques: Currently barred from her.