Post by Kumiko on Mar 18, 2011 1:59:00 GMT -5
[align=center]Shinigami
Sorry...Who Are You?[/align]
Name:[/color] Kumiko Kirkland
Age: 200 years, give or take a few. Appears 14-15
Gender: Female
Squad/Position: Currently an Academy Student
[align=center]What Makes Us...Us?[/align]
Height & Weight Height: 5'1, Weight: 96 lbs
Hair & Eye Colour Long blond hair, green eyes.
Noticable Difference
Kumiko is a small, slender girl standing at a meager 5’1. Her short height sets her aside from the rest of Soul Society’s population and she is often overlooked by others as a result. She has pale skin, fair complexion and delicate facial features as well. Overall, Kumiko has a doll-like appearance and seems rather frail. Don’t let this fool you though – after spending decades in Rukongai Kumiko had learned to take care of herself adequately against most threats. Her muscles are toned and her lithe form hides surprising strength.
She has long, straight blond hair that is well taken care of, but it is usually twisted into a neat braid then pinned to the back of her head by a number of pins and ribbons. Although it is pretty and rather comfortable, it is usually very time-consuming to twist her hair up into braids so when Kumiko’s running short on time she will tie her hair up in a simple ponytail with a large black ribbon. Her neat bangs fall a bit above her eyes, with two extra-long strands of hair that falls to her shoulder and frames her face. Her eyes are a vivid green color with a tinge of blue so that it looks turquoise in the right lighting.
When in Soul Society, Kumiko likes to blend in with everybody else and chooses to wear the plain shinigami uniform without any customizations. Her zanpakutou is usually secured at her waist, like most others.
Positive Traits
Negative Traits
TMI?:
Personality:
Kumiko is a serious and polite girl that generally comes off as distant and perhaps even a little cold to most people at first. She usually speaks in full sentences and doesn’t like to use slangs, considering them rather unsightly. That said, she doesn’t stutter either and is rather prideful. Despite of her best efforts, Kumiko tends to wear her emotions on her sleeves and is quite horrible at lying. She also blushes easily when embarrassed or flustered and will usually resort to yelling insults, kicking and punching or just running away in an attempt to cover her embarrassment. However, it is usually easy to see her true emotions no matter how she tries to cover it up.
Although she does enjoy social events and has no problem making mere acquaintances, she tries to not get too close to anyone – after a rather bad experience Kumiko’s view on the world had turned rather bitter and cynical, and she does not make any effort to appear too friendly with strangers. Most people are turned away by this, but those who don’t will soon find her to be pleasant company and a great friend. Kumiko also claims to not believe love of any kind. “Like and being fond of something is as close as it gets,†she would often say. However, she is a romanticist deep inside and will occasionally find herself daydreaming about an ideal life, complete with her ‘one true love’. Of course, then she would scold herself for doing so and is quick to deny having extreme attachments to anyone. She is also generally a little uncomfortable with physical contacts that display any sort of affection, as she’s never even really hugged anyone before.
Kumiko is usually a calm individual that prefers to think all her actions over before doing anything, but will display menacing bouts of anger when the wrong button is pushed. At such times she can also be very impulsive, and tends to do rather extreme things she’ll regret afterwards. She is also rather emotionally fragile – Kumiko will always try to cover up any of her insecurities and make it appear as if she isn’t bothered by anything, but Kumiko's the kind of person that will feel very upset if she knows that people really dislike her her.
Goals and Fears:
-Kumiko doesn’t really have a concrete goal – she just wants to make her former caretaker proud, and live a good enough life. Deep inside she dreams living a life with family and loved ones, but she’s somewhat in denial over this and doesn’t take any action towards it.
- Kumiko fears death, complete pollution of the earth, and spending her whole life alone without a true friend (although she’ll never admit the last one).
[align=center]A Bond That Can't Be Denied[/align]
Zanpakuto Spirit:[/color] The spirit of Kumiko's zanpakutou is a young girl that calls herself Tsuta Tsuru (Ivy Vine). She has long green hair tied up in pigtails by huge, puffy white ribbons, but there's always many loose, untamed strands flying around her face. Her eyes are bright green just like her hair, and she's almost always found with a huge smile. Her choice of clothing is a cute white sundress with white cloth wrapped around her forearms and ankles that looks like some sort of home-made glove. Her feet are typically covered with old-fashioned leather shoes that are honestly more like toe-less socks than anything.
Tsuta Tsuru looks about ten years old, and is very childish. She's generally a cheerful, over-affectionate and is very fond of hugs - unfortunately her wielder doesn’t share the same feelings. She usually refers to Kumiko as simply "You", "Big Sister" – she hardly ever calls her by her actual name. Kumiko tends to get annoyed by this ("I'm have a name, and I'm not your damn sister!"). Tsuta Tsuru is very optimistic and tends to look at bright side of all things, and tends to think of life as something one must enjoy. She is quick to forget most unpleasant experiences, and will sometimes exaggerate to make things seem even better than they are. In short, she's almost the exact opposite of her pessimistic wielder and the two often have trouble relating to each other. Tsuta Tsuru tends to complain that her master is 'boring, depressed, too serious and not affectionate enough' and Kumiko will often be frustrated as to why her zanpakutou is so childish.
On the rare occassions that they can get through a meeting without erupting into childish arguments along the way, the two will train together (of course, Tsuta Tsuru refers to training as ‘playing’). The time they spend training is surprisingly productive – in Tsuta Tsuru’s rare moments of seriousness there is nobody better to get information or advice from. Tsuta Tsuru’s mind seem to wander a lot so her lectures do get terribly off-topic at time, but there’ll always be bits of information mixed into her speech – one just had to learn to pick it out. The small zanpakutou spirit is also surprisingly powerful – while training she seems to have no problems beating her master up in any sort of combat, and will constantly tell Kumiko “Once you pass this level I’ll show you something cooler!â€
Inner World: Kumiko's inner world is a seemingly endless forest with lakes, waterfalls, clearings and even small village-like areas spread around in a seemingly random manner. Everything seems to change places every time Kumiko visits her inner world - she's never yet seen the same village or lake twice. In her world it is always daytime, and although the weather seems to mirror Kumiko's mood somewhat it isn't always accurate. A common occurence would be that the sun would be cheerfully shining away while Kumiko is wallowing in self-pity and misery - Tsuta Tsuru's explanation is simply that her weather can't keep up with her wielder's ever-changing moods, and that she much prefers sunshine anyways. Kumiko suspects that Tsuta Tsuru's mood may be influencing her inner world as well - since her zanpakutou is so happy all the time it must be playing a part in causing the never-ending sunshine, right?
The forest is filled with all kinds of plants, but not even one single animal. The only occupants of Kumiko's inner world are her zanpakutou and herself - this is why Kumiko’s always knows that Tsuta Tsuru's calling her when she simply yells "You." Ever time Kumiko comes to visit she lands at a different place, but one thing that never changes is that Tsuta Tsuru's always out of sight, usually hiding in one of the nearby bushes. The minute Kumiko turns around the tiny zanpakutou spirit will hurl herself out of her hiding place and tackle-hug her wielder, usually with a huge smile and squealing something along the lines of: "Welcome back, you!"
Sealed Zanpakuto: In sealed form, Kumiko has a katana of average size, about 60 cm long. The design is generally quite simple; it has a slightly curved blade as all katanas do, and the hilt is wrapped in fine cloth in the shade of a very dark green, almost black. The guard is twisted into the shape of a simple four-petal flower. The sheath is white with gold edges at the top and bottom, but there are also little golden flowers in a design identical to the guard stamped onto it in a vertical role and either side – a rather childish but ‘cute’ design.
Shikai Appearance : To be announced. Kumiko is currently attending the academy and is not capable of shikai yet.
Shikai Abilities: Same as above – will be posted after graduation.
[align=center]FLASHBACK[/align]
Background:
• Overall history |
~Human Life~
Her story began in on a small farm in the rural areas of England, back in the time of the Industrial Revolution. Her name had been different back then – as a human she was called Arabella Kirkland.
Born into a small working-classed family of farmers in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, Arabella was not what her parents had hoped for in the eldest child. They needed a strong, healthy boy that could start working young and provide income for the family but Arabella was a frail, tiny girl that took forever to even learn to walk. And when she finally did learn, she often tripped over her own feet. Needless to say, her parents were less than pleased.
Arabella had a brother named Peter – he was two years younger than her, but was healthier and much stronger. As the Revolution progressed, the Kirklands soon found themselves unable to keep up with the wealthier farmers in the race to produce more crops. Eventually, they sold their farm and moved to London to look for work in the numerous factories. There, they met a textiles master who was looking for children to 'buy' – the Kirklands were quite desperate for money, and eventually ended up selling Arabella for a few handfuls of coins. Arabella was only six years old - she never really understood what had happened until many years later.
The Textiles Factory was where the young British girl would stay for the next six years, until her death as a human. Her job was simple enough – to clean the bits of loose cotton from under the spinning machines, day after day after day. It was a tedious but dangerous job. Accidents and deaths were common, almost to be expected. Punishments for tardiness and disobedience were terribly harsh, and Arabella experienced quite a few whippings before she learnt to keep her mouth shut.
The long hours in the humid, cotton-fluff-filled factory often made Arabella sick. Of course, you never got sick days at the factory and she had to work through it all. Eventually her health declined more and more until she had violent coughing fits all the time. Arabella was not treated, of course – the factory masters would not 'waste' money finding a doctor – and it didn't take very long for her lungs to give out completely. On a cold, snowy night in December she died of respiratory failure.
Arabella didn't really understand what had happened. She remembered the agony in her chest as she struggled to pull in a breath, then a swirl of dizziness and pain. When she woke up against everything was black…and she could breath.
She could breath.
A stupidly large smile found its way onto her face and Arabella - who was now a plus soul - scrambled up, throwing her arms in the air and cheering. Happily she shouted for her factory friends, taking deep breaths and smiling at the lack of pain in her lungs. When nobody responded to her yells, she ran out of the room, spotted one of her thread-spinning partners nearby, and tried to grab her hand.
It went right through.
The factory girl gave a shiver then shrugged Arabella's ghostly hand aside. For a moment Arabella just stared at her hand in a mix of horror and amazement then she shook her head and tried again. The same thing happened. Arabella gave a small cry of despair and began to scream the girls' name, trying to get her to notice her. The girl gave no reaction. The same thing happened with everybody else Arabella tried to interact with. Eventually she gave up and sat alone in a corner, feeling confused and miserable.
She stayed like that for three days. On the fourth day, she met a shinigami.
"Well, I knew there was a plus here somewhere. It's about time we get you to Soul Society – you look long overdue."
Arabella turned around, more out of boredom than anything – she didn't really expect anyone to be talking to her. Then she jumped as she saw a man with black robes standing less than a meter behind her. With a shrill scream she made a move to scramble away. The man grabbed her by her scruffy collar and held her back as she clumsily aimed a kick at his hands, more out of instinct than anything. Her grabbed the offending leg and dangled her in the air, but with a screech Arabella kicked him with her other leg. It hit his arm, and knocked him into a sharp edge of a spindle machine. With a pained grunt the man dropped her head-first onto the concrete floor.
Stars blocked her vision and she passed out again. The last thing she remembered with something being pressed to her forehead – she couldn’t help but think that it felt like she was being hit by a brick.
~Rukongai~
She landed in District 3, Hokutan, with her mind curiously void of any information – perhaps due to the fall she took just before konso, and the badly-done konso itself. Arabella could not remember her identity nor her name, and did not even know that she was dead. She didn't know where she was, or what she should be doing. She was only aware of the aching hunger.
"Excuse me?"
An elderly woman turned around, a kind smile on her wrinkled face as she regarded the small blond girl tugging on her sleeve, "Yes, dear?"
Arabella paused then pointed at the bread basket in the woman's hands. Her voice was soft, but steady and held no stutters. "I'm sorry to ask, but I'm hungry and I was wondering if you could perhaps spare some food…?"
The old woman didn't hesitate to reach into her basket and pull out a decently-sized slice of bread. Arabella grabbed it, muttered a 'thank you', and quickly bit into it. The old woman watched curiously - even in Hokutan it was common to find little orphans wandering around the place, and judging by the lost expression on her face this little child had just arrived. But by all means she shouldn't be hungry…unless she had the so-called reiatsu some other spoke of? "What's your name, little one?"
The young soul paused in a mid-bite, considering. Slowly she swallowed, and told the woman, "I don't know."
The old woman raised her eyebrows. Most souls didn't remember much of their previous life, but they should remember their name. How odd that this little girl didn't. "Well, are you new here?" she questioned.
"I don't know."
"…What happened in your past life?"
"I don't know."
The old woman sighed. "Well, it seems as if you do not remember anything."
Arabella cocked her head to the side, patiently waiting for the other soul to keep speaking. Should I be remembering something? If I am, what should I be remembering? What did she mean by past life? She thought curiously. She tried to remember something, anything – only one name came to mind.
"Kirkland," she spoke without thinking.
The old woman stared at her, "Pardon me?"
"Kirkland," she repeated, "Is my surname."
Slowly, the old woman smiled. "That's a start, remembering your last name. Why don't you come with me, dear? You're new, and I can take care of you until you get more familiar with Rukongai…I'm Honoka, by the way."
Arabella nodded after a brief moment of hesitation – it's not like she had any other options, really. She followed Honoka to her humble cottage a little off from the rest of Hokutan, and there she remained for the better part of a decade. The old woman treated her like she would treat her daughter – she fed her, provided her with shelter, and looked after her to the best of her abilities. And Arabella was an easy child to look after – she was quiet and never really got into trouble. Over time she became with the whole concept of Soul Society.
Honoka was a very affectionate woman, always trying to hug and hold Arabella's hand as if she was an infant. The latter always squirmed and refused, saying that she only wanted her real human mother – whom she did not remember - to do such things, if at all. If the old woman was hurt, she never said anything.
Years passed, and Arabella still did not have a name.
The young soul refused to just invent a name for herself, telling Honoka that if she did not remember her name she would just remain nameless. Honoka protested, saying that she had a thousand 'cute' names she wanted to try on her, but Arabella flat-out refused.
"But dear!" Honoka would protest, "A cute name like Aiko or Yuki would suit you so well!"
Arabella would pause, then say in a monotone, "I don't like that name, and besides judging from my appearance I'm no Japanese am I? I don't see why I should adopt a Japanese name. Call me Kirkland instead."
"It is such a rough-sounding, unsightly name! That is hardly suitable for a lovely young maiden like you!"
"I care not. It's my surname, so it'll do."
And that'll end the discussion. Arabella remained "nameless" for many years, up until the point when she finally made the decision to attend Shinigami Academy. She had known for many years that she was capable of reiatsu arts – from the rumours flying around you’d have to be hungry if you have reiatsu, and Arabella remembered the aching hunger she felt when she first landed in Rukongai too well. Honoka herself encouraged Arabella to go attend the Academy – "You'd have a good life," she would say. "Shinigamis are the rulers in this land. I'd also be so proud if my little girl was a powerful shinigami!"
"I'm not your little girl," would be Arabella's usual answer. She made no effort to even find out more about the shinigami academy since she was missing the most important thing: interest. She had absolutely no desire to attend shinigami academy. Why would she? Arabella was happy with her life here. She didn't show it a lot, but she was happy with Honoka and didn't want anything to change. But of course, things did change, dramatically in fact.
The thing that tore apart her world wasn't really anything special. Just ordinary bandits looking for money – nevertheless, to an old woman and young girl that was quite dangerous. Of course, in a situation such as this the first instinct is to run and save yourself from danger. To Arabella's eternal shame, that was exactly what she did.
She had been out grocery-shopping when it happened. As she rounded the path that led to the little cottage, a crash sounded from within and the house was practically on fire. With a small gasp and scream Arabella dropped her bags, took a few steps forwards, then turned tail and ran as alarm bells, supplied by common sense, began to ring in her head. She ran for the main part of the village and got help, but by the time it arrived the bandits were long gone, and Honoka…was long dead.
Arabella never really forgave herself after that. She thought back to the last thing that had happened that day.
~Flashback~
"But Kumiko is such a nice name!"
Arabella resisted the urge to bang her head against the table. "I don't want that name. I want my real name."
Honoka wasn't about to give up on the stubborn child, "But dear, it has such a nice meaning – "Eternally Beautiful Child" – don't you like that?"
With a sigh Arabella dropped her head into her hands. "It has a nice meaning, Honoka-san, but I want my real name. It just isn't the same, you know?"
"But it's my favourite name…so lovely, I've always wanted to have a daughter and name her that!"
"I'm not your daughter," Arabella said bluntly. There was an awkward pause as her words really sank in, and briefly Arabella considered rewording her previous sentence. But before she could do so Honoka gave an age-old sigh and waved her towards the door. "What a stubborn child. Fine, you win this round – go get the fruits now. Oh, and do grab the newspaper along the way – I think they have new information on the shinigami academy." Her tone was light, but you could tell that Arabella's blunt words had hurt.
Arabella gave her caretaker a fleeting grin, quickly forgetting her rather hurtful statement and satisfied to have won this round of name-arguing. She also completely disregarded the last part about the newspapers and shinigami academy. "Thanks, Honoka-san." Then she was gone, running out the door with her bare feet making pitter-patter noises on the ground.
~End Flashback~
Now, staring at the burnt remains of her once-cozy cottage, Arabella couldn't stop her tears from falling. She…she really was a horrible person. Honoka had been so nice, so kind to her and she…she always refused her hugs because she selfishly wanted her real human mother. Only now did she realize how stupid she was – she would be hard-pressed to find a better mother than Honoka, and who knew what her real mother was like anyways. Bitterly, she clenched her fists.
"I'll take the name if you still want me to...mother…" she whispered to the burnt remains of the cottage. She waited for a brief moment before continuing. "Forgive me if I want to keep my last name, but I will take the name Kumiko if you'd like. Kumiko Kirkland. Does that make a nice sound like you've always hoped, mother?" Again, she waited for a brief moment, half-hoping to hear a reply. "I…now, I'll go to Shinigami Academy I think. I've had the talents, didn't I? Maybe you would still want me to go?"
No reply was given, but Arabella – No, Kumiko Kirkland had made up her mind. She would go to shinigami. She would graduate, then do well and progress into her career. She would make Honoka proud.
Note: I would also like my character to be an Academy Student, and build it up from scratch. If you must know, I plan on putting her in the Second Division after her graduation.
Sorry...Who Are You?[/align]
Name:[/color] Kumiko Kirkland
Age: 200 years, give or take a few. Appears 14-15
Gender: Female
Squad/Position: Currently an Academy Student
[align=center]What Makes Us...Us?[/align]
Height & Weight Height: 5'1, Weight: 96 lbs
Hair & Eye Colour Long blond hair, green eyes.
Noticable Difference
Kumiko is a small, slender girl standing at a meager 5’1. Her short height sets her aside from the rest of Soul Society’s population and she is often overlooked by others as a result. She has pale skin, fair complexion and delicate facial features as well. Overall, Kumiko has a doll-like appearance and seems rather frail. Don’t let this fool you though – after spending decades in Rukongai Kumiko had learned to take care of herself adequately against most threats. Her muscles are toned and her lithe form hides surprising strength.
She has long, straight blond hair that is well taken care of, but it is usually twisted into a neat braid then pinned to the back of her head by a number of pins and ribbons. Although it is pretty and rather comfortable, it is usually very time-consuming to twist her hair up into braids so when Kumiko’s running short on time she will tie her hair up in a simple ponytail with a large black ribbon. Her neat bangs fall a bit above her eyes, with two extra-long strands of hair that falls to her shoulder and frames her face. Her eyes are a vivid green color with a tinge of blue so that it looks turquoise in the right lighting.
When in Soul Society, Kumiko likes to blend in with everybody else and chooses to wear the plain shinigami uniform without any customizations. Her zanpakutou is usually secured at her waist, like most others.
Positive Traits
[*:hqwndfvd]Brainy Intellectual: Kumiko loves to read, and as a result she knows quite a lot of stuff that can be surprisingly handy at times. She's also quite observant, and is a quick learner.
[*:hqwndfvd]Likes Nature: The very opposite of dreadful pollution – Kumiko thinks that the colour green is absolutely stunning, and a forest of trees can be one of the most lovely places to be in at any given time.
[*:hqwndfvd]Polite: As long as Kumiko has a good control of her temper, she is always polite and respectful. She’ll be hard-pressed to find her saying any rude things without a good reason. However, this changes rather dramatically when she gets flustered or upset – she’ll quickly resort to yelling insults in a vain effort to cover up her true feelings.
[*:hqwndfvd] Loyal: Kumiko may come off a bit distant at first, but if you take the time to know her you’ll find that she is rather kind and gentle. To people she truly cares about, she can be endlessly self-sacrificing.
Negative Traits
[*:hqwndfvd] Judgemental: Kumiko is judgemental. With her, first impressions really stick and if she didn’t know enough about someone she tended to just assume the rest of their personality based on what she already knows. She's currently trying to be more open-minded, but without much success.
[*:hqwndfvd] Close-Minded: This goes rather well with the one above. Kumiko is the kind of person who would stick to her views of right and wrong like superglue and snap at anyone arguing against it. Occasionally, she’ll hear something she disagrees with but realize that it makes sense – the problem is that she’ll go right into denial after that, before finally accepting the idea...two months later.
[*:hqwndfvd] Mildly "Tsundere": Perhaps it is too general a word, but nevertheless it fits Kumiko rather well. She can be quite blunt about her opinions and appears to be a rather distant person at first, but can warm up quickly...but only if you make the move to become friends, of course.
[*:hqwndfvd] Hates Pollution: Smoke, cotton fluff, soot – Kumiko hates all kinds of pollution. In her eyes the natural environment is much more important than the development of machinery and technology, and it’s really a shame that it’s been destroyed so quickly.
[*:hqwndfvd] Impulsive: Although Kumiko is a generally calm person, in certain situations she can be dangerously impulsive. She will do whatever her instincts tell her to do without thinking about anything else.
TMI?:
Personality:
Kumiko is a serious and polite girl that generally comes off as distant and perhaps even a little cold to most people at first. She usually speaks in full sentences and doesn’t like to use slangs, considering them rather unsightly. That said, she doesn’t stutter either and is rather prideful. Despite of her best efforts, Kumiko tends to wear her emotions on her sleeves and is quite horrible at lying. She also blushes easily when embarrassed or flustered and will usually resort to yelling insults, kicking and punching or just running away in an attempt to cover her embarrassment. However, it is usually easy to see her true emotions no matter how she tries to cover it up.
Although she does enjoy social events and has no problem making mere acquaintances, she tries to not get too close to anyone – after a rather bad experience Kumiko’s view on the world had turned rather bitter and cynical, and she does not make any effort to appear too friendly with strangers. Most people are turned away by this, but those who don’t will soon find her to be pleasant company and a great friend. Kumiko also claims to not believe love of any kind. “Like and being fond of something is as close as it gets,†she would often say. However, she is a romanticist deep inside and will occasionally find herself daydreaming about an ideal life, complete with her ‘one true love’. Of course, then she would scold herself for doing so and is quick to deny having extreme attachments to anyone. She is also generally a little uncomfortable with physical contacts that display any sort of affection, as she’s never even really hugged anyone before.
Kumiko is usually a calm individual that prefers to think all her actions over before doing anything, but will display menacing bouts of anger when the wrong button is pushed. At such times she can also be very impulsive, and tends to do rather extreme things she’ll regret afterwards. She is also rather emotionally fragile – Kumiko will always try to cover up any of her insecurities and make it appear as if she isn’t bothered by anything, but Kumiko's the kind of person that will feel very upset if she knows that people really dislike her her.
Goals and Fears:
-Kumiko doesn’t really have a concrete goal – she just wants to make her former caretaker proud, and live a good enough life. Deep inside she dreams living a life with family and loved ones, but she’s somewhat in denial over this and doesn’t take any action towards it.
- Kumiko fears death, complete pollution of the earth, and spending her whole life alone without a true friend (although she’ll never admit the last one).
[align=center]A Bond That Can't Be Denied[/align]
Zanpakuto Spirit:[/color] The spirit of Kumiko's zanpakutou is a young girl that calls herself Tsuta Tsuru (Ivy Vine). She has long green hair tied up in pigtails by huge, puffy white ribbons, but there's always many loose, untamed strands flying around her face. Her eyes are bright green just like her hair, and she's almost always found with a huge smile. Her choice of clothing is a cute white sundress with white cloth wrapped around her forearms and ankles that looks like some sort of home-made glove. Her feet are typically covered with old-fashioned leather shoes that are honestly more like toe-less socks than anything.
Tsuta Tsuru looks about ten years old, and is very childish. She's generally a cheerful, over-affectionate and is very fond of hugs - unfortunately her wielder doesn’t share the same feelings. She usually refers to Kumiko as simply "You", "Big Sister" – she hardly ever calls her by her actual name. Kumiko tends to get annoyed by this ("I'm have a name, and I'm not your damn sister!"). Tsuta Tsuru is very optimistic and tends to look at bright side of all things, and tends to think of life as something one must enjoy. She is quick to forget most unpleasant experiences, and will sometimes exaggerate to make things seem even better than they are. In short, she's almost the exact opposite of her pessimistic wielder and the two often have trouble relating to each other. Tsuta Tsuru tends to complain that her master is 'boring, depressed, too serious and not affectionate enough' and Kumiko will often be frustrated as to why her zanpakutou is so childish.
On the rare occassions that they can get through a meeting without erupting into childish arguments along the way, the two will train together (of course, Tsuta Tsuru refers to training as ‘playing’). The time they spend training is surprisingly productive – in Tsuta Tsuru’s rare moments of seriousness there is nobody better to get information or advice from. Tsuta Tsuru’s mind seem to wander a lot so her lectures do get terribly off-topic at time, but there’ll always be bits of information mixed into her speech – one just had to learn to pick it out. The small zanpakutou spirit is also surprisingly powerful – while training she seems to have no problems beating her master up in any sort of combat, and will constantly tell Kumiko “Once you pass this level I’ll show you something cooler!â€
Inner World: Kumiko's inner world is a seemingly endless forest with lakes, waterfalls, clearings and even small village-like areas spread around in a seemingly random manner. Everything seems to change places every time Kumiko visits her inner world - she's never yet seen the same village or lake twice. In her world it is always daytime, and although the weather seems to mirror Kumiko's mood somewhat it isn't always accurate. A common occurence would be that the sun would be cheerfully shining away while Kumiko is wallowing in self-pity and misery - Tsuta Tsuru's explanation is simply that her weather can't keep up with her wielder's ever-changing moods, and that she much prefers sunshine anyways. Kumiko suspects that Tsuta Tsuru's mood may be influencing her inner world as well - since her zanpakutou is so happy all the time it must be playing a part in causing the never-ending sunshine, right?
The forest is filled with all kinds of plants, but not even one single animal. The only occupants of Kumiko's inner world are her zanpakutou and herself - this is why Kumiko’s always knows that Tsuta Tsuru's calling her when she simply yells "You." Ever time Kumiko comes to visit she lands at a different place, but one thing that never changes is that Tsuta Tsuru's always out of sight, usually hiding in one of the nearby bushes. The minute Kumiko turns around the tiny zanpakutou spirit will hurl herself out of her hiding place and tackle-hug her wielder, usually with a huge smile and squealing something along the lines of: "Welcome back, you!"
Sealed Zanpakuto: In sealed form, Kumiko has a katana of average size, about 60 cm long. The design is generally quite simple; it has a slightly curved blade as all katanas do, and the hilt is wrapped in fine cloth in the shade of a very dark green, almost black. The guard is twisted into the shape of a simple four-petal flower. The sheath is white with gold edges at the top and bottom, but there are also little golden flowers in a design identical to the guard stamped onto it in a vertical role and either side – a rather childish but ‘cute’ design.
Shikai Appearance : To be announced. Kumiko is currently attending the academy and is not capable of shikai yet.
Shikai Abilities: Same as above – will be posted after graduation.
[align=center]FLASHBACK[/align]
Background:
• Overall history |
~Human Life~
Her story began in on a small farm in the rural areas of England, back in the time of the Industrial Revolution. Her name had been different back then – as a human she was called Arabella Kirkland.
Born into a small working-classed family of farmers in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, Arabella was not what her parents had hoped for in the eldest child. They needed a strong, healthy boy that could start working young and provide income for the family but Arabella was a frail, tiny girl that took forever to even learn to walk. And when she finally did learn, she often tripped over her own feet. Needless to say, her parents were less than pleased.
Arabella had a brother named Peter – he was two years younger than her, but was healthier and much stronger. As the Revolution progressed, the Kirklands soon found themselves unable to keep up with the wealthier farmers in the race to produce more crops. Eventually, they sold their farm and moved to London to look for work in the numerous factories. There, they met a textiles master who was looking for children to 'buy' – the Kirklands were quite desperate for money, and eventually ended up selling Arabella for a few handfuls of coins. Arabella was only six years old - she never really understood what had happened until many years later.
The Textiles Factory was where the young British girl would stay for the next six years, until her death as a human. Her job was simple enough – to clean the bits of loose cotton from under the spinning machines, day after day after day. It was a tedious but dangerous job. Accidents and deaths were common, almost to be expected. Punishments for tardiness and disobedience were terribly harsh, and Arabella experienced quite a few whippings before she learnt to keep her mouth shut.
The long hours in the humid, cotton-fluff-filled factory often made Arabella sick. Of course, you never got sick days at the factory and she had to work through it all. Eventually her health declined more and more until she had violent coughing fits all the time. Arabella was not treated, of course – the factory masters would not 'waste' money finding a doctor – and it didn't take very long for her lungs to give out completely. On a cold, snowy night in December she died of respiratory failure.
Arabella didn't really understand what had happened. She remembered the agony in her chest as she struggled to pull in a breath, then a swirl of dizziness and pain. When she woke up against everything was black…and she could breath.
She could breath.
A stupidly large smile found its way onto her face and Arabella - who was now a plus soul - scrambled up, throwing her arms in the air and cheering. Happily she shouted for her factory friends, taking deep breaths and smiling at the lack of pain in her lungs. When nobody responded to her yells, she ran out of the room, spotted one of her thread-spinning partners nearby, and tried to grab her hand.
It went right through.
The factory girl gave a shiver then shrugged Arabella's ghostly hand aside. For a moment Arabella just stared at her hand in a mix of horror and amazement then she shook her head and tried again. The same thing happened. Arabella gave a small cry of despair and began to scream the girls' name, trying to get her to notice her. The girl gave no reaction. The same thing happened with everybody else Arabella tried to interact with. Eventually she gave up and sat alone in a corner, feeling confused and miserable.
She stayed like that for three days. On the fourth day, she met a shinigami.
"Well, I knew there was a plus here somewhere. It's about time we get you to Soul Society – you look long overdue."
Arabella turned around, more out of boredom than anything – she didn't really expect anyone to be talking to her. Then she jumped as she saw a man with black robes standing less than a meter behind her. With a shrill scream she made a move to scramble away. The man grabbed her by her scruffy collar and held her back as she clumsily aimed a kick at his hands, more out of instinct than anything. Her grabbed the offending leg and dangled her in the air, but with a screech Arabella kicked him with her other leg. It hit his arm, and knocked him into a sharp edge of a spindle machine. With a pained grunt the man dropped her head-first onto the concrete floor.
Stars blocked her vision and she passed out again. The last thing she remembered with something being pressed to her forehead – she couldn’t help but think that it felt like she was being hit by a brick.
~Rukongai~
She landed in District 3, Hokutan, with her mind curiously void of any information – perhaps due to the fall she took just before konso, and the badly-done konso itself. Arabella could not remember her identity nor her name, and did not even know that she was dead. She didn't know where she was, or what she should be doing. She was only aware of the aching hunger.
"Excuse me?"
An elderly woman turned around, a kind smile on her wrinkled face as she regarded the small blond girl tugging on her sleeve, "Yes, dear?"
Arabella paused then pointed at the bread basket in the woman's hands. Her voice was soft, but steady and held no stutters. "I'm sorry to ask, but I'm hungry and I was wondering if you could perhaps spare some food…?"
The old woman didn't hesitate to reach into her basket and pull out a decently-sized slice of bread. Arabella grabbed it, muttered a 'thank you', and quickly bit into it. The old woman watched curiously - even in Hokutan it was common to find little orphans wandering around the place, and judging by the lost expression on her face this little child had just arrived. But by all means she shouldn't be hungry…unless she had the so-called reiatsu some other spoke of? "What's your name, little one?"
The young soul paused in a mid-bite, considering. Slowly she swallowed, and told the woman, "I don't know."
The old woman raised her eyebrows. Most souls didn't remember much of their previous life, but they should remember their name. How odd that this little girl didn't. "Well, are you new here?" she questioned.
"I don't know."
"…What happened in your past life?"
"I don't know."
The old woman sighed. "Well, it seems as if you do not remember anything."
Arabella cocked her head to the side, patiently waiting for the other soul to keep speaking. Should I be remembering something? If I am, what should I be remembering? What did she mean by past life? She thought curiously. She tried to remember something, anything – only one name came to mind.
"Kirkland," she spoke without thinking.
The old woman stared at her, "Pardon me?"
"Kirkland," she repeated, "Is my surname."
Slowly, the old woman smiled. "That's a start, remembering your last name. Why don't you come with me, dear? You're new, and I can take care of you until you get more familiar with Rukongai…I'm Honoka, by the way."
Arabella nodded after a brief moment of hesitation – it's not like she had any other options, really. She followed Honoka to her humble cottage a little off from the rest of Hokutan, and there she remained for the better part of a decade. The old woman treated her like she would treat her daughter – she fed her, provided her with shelter, and looked after her to the best of her abilities. And Arabella was an easy child to look after – she was quiet and never really got into trouble. Over time she became with the whole concept of Soul Society.
Honoka was a very affectionate woman, always trying to hug and hold Arabella's hand as if she was an infant. The latter always squirmed and refused, saying that she only wanted her real human mother – whom she did not remember - to do such things, if at all. If the old woman was hurt, she never said anything.
Years passed, and Arabella still did not have a name.
The young soul refused to just invent a name for herself, telling Honoka that if she did not remember her name she would just remain nameless. Honoka protested, saying that she had a thousand 'cute' names she wanted to try on her, but Arabella flat-out refused.
"But dear!" Honoka would protest, "A cute name like Aiko or Yuki would suit you so well!"
Arabella would pause, then say in a monotone, "I don't like that name, and besides judging from my appearance I'm no Japanese am I? I don't see why I should adopt a Japanese name. Call me Kirkland instead."
"It is such a rough-sounding, unsightly name! That is hardly suitable for a lovely young maiden like you!"
"I care not. It's my surname, so it'll do."
And that'll end the discussion. Arabella remained "nameless" for many years, up until the point when she finally made the decision to attend Shinigami Academy. She had known for many years that she was capable of reiatsu arts – from the rumours flying around you’d have to be hungry if you have reiatsu, and Arabella remembered the aching hunger she felt when she first landed in Rukongai too well. Honoka herself encouraged Arabella to go attend the Academy – "You'd have a good life," she would say. "Shinigamis are the rulers in this land. I'd also be so proud if my little girl was a powerful shinigami!"
"I'm not your little girl," would be Arabella's usual answer. She made no effort to even find out more about the shinigami academy since she was missing the most important thing: interest. She had absolutely no desire to attend shinigami academy. Why would she? Arabella was happy with her life here. She didn't show it a lot, but she was happy with Honoka and didn't want anything to change. But of course, things did change, dramatically in fact.
The thing that tore apart her world wasn't really anything special. Just ordinary bandits looking for money – nevertheless, to an old woman and young girl that was quite dangerous. Of course, in a situation such as this the first instinct is to run and save yourself from danger. To Arabella's eternal shame, that was exactly what she did.
She had been out grocery-shopping when it happened. As she rounded the path that led to the little cottage, a crash sounded from within and the house was practically on fire. With a small gasp and scream Arabella dropped her bags, took a few steps forwards, then turned tail and ran as alarm bells, supplied by common sense, began to ring in her head. She ran for the main part of the village and got help, but by the time it arrived the bandits were long gone, and Honoka…was long dead.
Arabella never really forgave herself after that. She thought back to the last thing that had happened that day.
~Flashback~
"But Kumiko is such a nice name!"
Arabella resisted the urge to bang her head against the table. "I don't want that name. I want my real name."
Honoka wasn't about to give up on the stubborn child, "But dear, it has such a nice meaning – "Eternally Beautiful Child" – don't you like that?"
With a sigh Arabella dropped her head into her hands. "It has a nice meaning, Honoka-san, but I want my real name. It just isn't the same, you know?"
"But it's my favourite name…so lovely, I've always wanted to have a daughter and name her that!"
"I'm not your daughter," Arabella said bluntly. There was an awkward pause as her words really sank in, and briefly Arabella considered rewording her previous sentence. But before she could do so Honoka gave an age-old sigh and waved her towards the door. "What a stubborn child. Fine, you win this round – go get the fruits now. Oh, and do grab the newspaper along the way – I think they have new information on the shinigami academy." Her tone was light, but you could tell that Arabella's blunt words had hurt.
Arabella gave her caretaker a fleeting grin, quickly forgetting her rather hurtful statement and satisfied to have won this round of name-arguing. She also completely disregarded the last part about the newspapers and shinigami academy. "Thanks, Honoka-san." Then she was gone, running out the door with her bare feet making pitter-patter noises on the ground.
~End Flashback~
Now, staring at the burnt remains of her once-cozy cottage, Arabella couldn't stop her tears from falling. She…she really was a horrible person. Honoka had been so nice, so kind to her and she…she always refused her hugs because she selfishly wanted her real human mother. Only now did she realize how stupid she was – she would be hard-pressed to find a better mother than Honoka, and who knew what her real mother was like anyways. Bitterly, she clenched her fists.
"I'll take the name if you still want me to...mother…" she whispered to the burnt remains of the cottage. She waited for a brief moment before continuing. "Forgive me if I want to keep my last name, but I will take the name Kumiko if you'd like. Kumiko Kirkland. Does that make a nice sound like you've always hoped, mother?" Again, she waited for a brief moment, half-hoping to hear a reply. "I…now, I'll go to Shinigami Academy I think. I've had the talents, didn't I? Maybe you would still want me to go?"
No reply was given, but Arabella – No, Kumiko Kirkland had made up her mind. She would go to shinigami. She would graduate, then do well and progress into her career. She would make Honoka proud.
Roleplaying Sample: Was on Pre-Vamped BG as Hanabi Suzume.
Note: I would also like my character to be an Academy Student, and build it up from scratch. If you must know, I plan on putting her in the Second Division after her graduation.
