Post by Kenshou Ine on Apr 19, 2015 2:01:49 GMT -5
Shinigami
Life — all life — is in the service of life
Name: Kenshou IneAge: 638
Gender: Male
Loyalties: The Soul King
Division: 0 Division Captain
Only I Will Remain
Height & Weight: 5’11” & 156 lbs.Hair & Eye Color: Kenshou has brown hair that is usually unkempt and looks ruffled it goes down to the top of his neck and can sometimes get in the way of his eyes. Kenshou rarely styles his hair or even runs a comb through it, often preferring the look of having only just woken up. The disheveled appearance can throw people often when they interact with Kenshou, giving them the idea that he is slow or not on his game.
His left eye is a blue that would remind one of the ocean and the sky at the same time, a swirling mixture of the dark blue hues of the deep ocean and the light and bright hues of the sky on a summer day. His right eye is a bright red that is reminiscent of dancing fire mixed with the deep red hues of molten stone that has slightly cooled.
Noticeable Difference: Kenshou differs in that he now keeps his left arm completely bandaged from the wrist and around the palms of his hand up to and around his upper chest. The bandages have thin small wires that are capable of transferring reiryoku. Kenshou can use these wired bandages to attach two small two pronged blades. These were given to him from an academy friend who now resides in the fourth division. Kenshou can use these to keep the Dangai stable if he needs to. He keeps the blades in a small pocket in his uniform, when needed he can attach them to the bandaged strips. His right arm is no longer there and his body simply ends at his shoulder. Kenshou also now sports a variety of scars over his palm, arm, torso, legs, and the right side of his neck. Kenshou keeps his zanpakuto on his sides, Tenko on his left and Kirishi on his right. Finally Kenshou has two limiters that he keeps on his body at all times. The first is a symbol of the Central-46 and within that is a symbol of two crossing crane feathers.
Positive Traits
- Loyal – “It gives me strength to have somebody to fight for; I can never fight for myself, but, for others, I can kill.”
Loyalty to Kenshou’s family is the most important thing about him, it’s the defining characteristic for him. Kenshou defines his family in two ways, those in his extended family and those who he considers his brothers and sisters. The loyalty he shows to both groups is something that he will hold above any laws or rules that may harm those he cares for. When someone goes after those he calls family, nothing will stop him from standing between them and his family. His loyalty will cause him to protect those he cares for even if it means protecting them from themselves.
- Watchful – “More firm and sure the hand of courage strikes, when it obeys the watchful eye of caution.”
Nothing gets by the ever watchful eyes of Kenshou. Kenshou realized that it was incredibly important to constantly know what was going on around you without looking like you were paying attention. Finally after several years he managed to master this subtle skill. More than once it has allowed him to notice those plotting against the Gotei or to evade those who he plotted against.
- Honest – “You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.”
Kenshou’s is honest in the idea that he will stand by his own moral code, which may not align with others ideas of honesty, to Kenshou being honest means doing good and not just telling the truth. It is more important to be honest with himself than have a false face to put on with others, which often makes others dislike Kenshou, but the always know they can take him for his word.
- Adaptable – “I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable.”
Being adaptable might be Kenshou’s best quality, no matter what the situation he is always revising and changing his plan to adjust to the external factors. It seems that he never really allows a plan to come to full fruition until he knows as much as he possibly can about a situation. This forces him to keep his own style of life very flexible as he knows it can change in a heartbeat.
- Competitive – “I wasn't born to follow and I'm not sure if I was born to lead, but what I'm certain is that I was born to fight my way through life and win.”
In his enjoyment and passion to win Kenshou often pushes himself to do his very best and grow in strength in order to protect those he cares for. It seems that in terms of strength Kenshou had reached a road block and was unable to grow stronger for a time being until he managed to finally defeat a former captain and get past the idea that he would never be able to fight her for what should have been his.
Negative Traits
- Lazy – "Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence."
While Kenshou may be competitive he has no real goal other than the immediate victory. While he did attain the Captain seat of the Fifth Division he tends to ignore most of his duties that he does not enjoy. One is more likely to find him napping somewhere than doing paperwork.
- Stubborn – "Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal."
Kenshou never likes being told he is wrong and even has trouble taking orders, often grumbling about them long after their completed, even as a Captain he still has trouble taking them, regardless if they are coming from the Captain Commander or the Central 46. It seems that more often than not Kenshou wishes that his division were separate from those around him and he was above taking those orders.
- Realistic – "We all have dark sides to ourselves, and I want to portray that in a realistic way."
When it comes to his own goals Kenshou knows that realistically the chances of succeeding are usually improbable. He still cannot let this stand in the way and he cannot think that it is only going to fail as that is not his way of doing things. This does not mean he does not realize the truth and probability of the situation he is in. There is a difference between not believing you can fail and knowing a situation is impossible.
- Blunt – "Tis not enough your counsel still be true; Blunt truths more mischief than nice falsehoods do."
Kenshou is terrible when it comes to people and will often go places others would avoid. Not seeing the wrong in what he is doing, he often criticizes or points out the flaws in others in the most insulting manner. He does not sugar coat things and does not understand why anyone would do such a thing.
- Competitive – "The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think or do is important."
Kenshou will compete with anyone when it comes down to it, making it a double edged sword that often causes Kenshou to push to win causes those around him to be upset when we does win. It seems that he would risk anything to win in what seem to be friendly competitions to most, but for Kenshou he does not see them this way and so he often creates misunderstandings with others.
We...The Fallen Comrades
Inner World: Kenshou’s inner world is a small island that contains an old growth forest. The forest itself covers most of the island and hides the sky away creating an almost light depraved place for Kenshou to talk to Tenko and Kirishi. Kenshou can always find Tenko and Kirishi in the middle of the forest where a small clearing exists. The trees seem to have made a dome above the clearing to block out the sun like the rest of the forest even though no trees grow in the clearing. It always is cloudy and the sun never shines through the clouds, creating a calm yet cold atmosphere.Traveling to the edge of the island, the few half glimpses of the sun show it slowly disappearing in relation to the distance from the center of the island. Reaching the edge of the island and stepping out from the forest one finds themselves on a beach, dotting around the island are paths that lead to small outcropping in the ocean. There are nine of these outcroppings and each one has its own small alter. Behind the alter one can see a moon, nine moons that seem stationary, each a different color. red, blue, green, orange, cyan, yellow, violet, brown, and black.
Each of the alters was a trial Kenshou had to accomplish in order to achieve his bankai, the final black alter is a path to a deeper part of his inner world. A field surrounded by a stone wall. The only exit a wooden gate that sounds as if it has seen better days. A dirt path that leads to a forest where a house sits nestled in.
Zanpakuto Spirit: Tenko is a teenage girl with white hair and pale blue eyes. Tenko often is wearing cyan or teal kimono with a yellow obi. She keeps her hair short and often is barefoot. Occasionally she will wear a simple pair of straw zōri. While looking no older than a young child Tenko claims to be over ten thousand and even with that claim she often acts and has ideologies similar to a child. She often tells Kenshou that violence is not an answer and that there are more paths to victory than slashing through an enemy, even telling him at times she refuses to help him kill. Like Kenshou she is stubborn and often ignores him when he tries to talk her into a different point of view. Tenko often looks up to Kenshou like an older brother and loves to play when he comes into the inner world.
Kirishi is the second spirit of Kenshou, she the identical twin sister of Tenko. Kirishi often is wearing yellow kimono with a red obi. She keeps her hair long and often is barefoot. Occasionally she will wear a simple pair of straw zōri. She is the more fierce and angry of the two. It seems that what Tenko lacks in fierceness is more than made up for in Kirishi’s bloodlust. She often times tries to convince Kenshou to throw away all care and to abandon all those around him in hopes to bring out a blood frenzy in him. This anger is often seen as the balance to the passiveness that is brought to Kenshou by Tenko. While Kirishi is more like Kenshou in her fierceness she lacks the compassion for others that is a large part of Kenshou.
Sealed Zanpakuto: The twin zanpakuto in their sealed form are identical Katanas that have a circular ring guards connected by three swirled posts to the swords. They are made of steel and seem to be very old. The hilts are wrapped in a black cord that reveals white diamonds of cloth underneath to help create a grip on the sword.
Shikai Appearance: The two blades Tenko and Kirishi are identical when released save for the tassels on the end of each. Tenko has a light blue tassel and Kirishi has a red tassel. The blade is a straight edge blade that is able to cut on both sides, representing the reverse edge of Tenko and the normal edge on Kirishi. The swords are more unified in Shikai. The pommel and hilt are a silver plated bronze. The leather that provides a grip is black and tightly wrapped and glued down.
Shikai Release Phrase: Atrocity has no excuses, no mitigating argument. Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past....
The true form of Kenshou's shikai is rarely seen and requires the release phrase to be completed.
Full Shikai Release Phrase: Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity. It is self-perpetuating upon itself.
Upon the full release the blades change once again taking their final form for shikai. The hilt elongates to become a brass coated rod that has several rings of various weight along the length to balance it. The end is capped off with a large ring that tassels hang from. The bottom third is wrapped in leather to give a good grip. The top is capped with a ring that the blades protrude from and are also tied to with leather cords. The blades are like a kamas blades except there is one on each side and they are pointed up not outward from the rod.
Shikai Abilities: Tenko’s power lies in the strikes ability on siphoning bits of excess Reiryoku (Spirit power, this is for flavor and does not affect their actual Spirit stat, so I'm using the term Reiryoku here.) This forces Kenshou to fight with rapid attacks, which favor speed over power in order to gather this energy for use in techniques. The actual amount of reiryoku taken by each attack is minimal, it is rather the number of attacks that eventually wear down an opponent. Tenko can only be used for techniques requiring reiatsu units. Additionally Tenko debuffs the opponents spirit stat for each strike she lands on them.
Kirishi’s power lies in the strikes made as well. When someone is cut by Kirishi she drains some of the blood from them. When in contact with blood it will drain the body. The amount of blood drained is equal to approximately one twentieth of a pint. The drained blood is absorbed into the blade similar to the reiatsu. Kirishi can only be used for techniques requiring blood units. Additionally Kirishi debuffs the opponents defense stat for each strike she lands on them.
Bankai Appearance: Unknown
Bankai Release Phrase: Unknown
Bankai Abilities: Unknown
The gravest error a thinking person can make is to believe that one particular version of history is absolute fact.
Background:Human Life
Kenshou lived what most would consider an uneventful life, his family was kind but poor. They never starved, but there was never anything extra. By the age of sixteen with his three younger sisters and 2 younger brother his parents both died to an illness. Kenshou raised his siblings until they moved out on their own. He met and married a woman from a neighboring town. They had several children and by the age of 34 Kenshou contracted an bad cough on a particularly rainy day. Within the week he had passed.
Rukongai
Kenshou's first memory in soul society was waking up in the Rukongai during the night. He was so confused and not sure what to do. He waited huddled against a building just thinking about where he was, why did he know his name, how to do things, but nothing of his past. Finally as an old man walked past Kenshou asked him where he was and what happened to him. The old man revealed the Kenshou was dead and was in a peaceful place now.
The old man then asked Kenshou if he'd like to come live with him and his wife, because they were quite lonely and could use someone to integrate into their family. Kenshou gratefully accepted the old man's offer and lived with them the next ninety years. Kenshou finally started becoming hungry and needing to eat food after eighty-five of those years and thought nothing of it.
After five years of this he was working in the fields and a Shinigami walked by, Kenshou noticed her as she was being quite graceful and lady like which wasn't all too common for most Shinigami women. He then realized something, he could sense her power. It was much greater than what he sensed in himself, in fact she was more powerful then he imagined that he could ever become.
Academy
Kenshou spent most of his time at the bottom of his class while in the Soul Academy. For him most of the subjects were boring and a waste of his time. It seemed like he would nap in the back of the class and usually fail most test and trials they were put through. While most other students could recite weaknesses of certain hollows and even name some of the more famous ones, like Yaksha the Liar. Kenshou could barely tell the difference between an Adjuchas and a Hollow. It seemed such an unimportant skill, since if he needed to kill one it would happen simply enough.
Kenshou did seem to excel though in two areas, his ability with his zanjutsu and his shunpo were very strong. His zanjutsu was well noted and near the top of his class, often times causing quick practice sessions with his classmates, since he could defeat them easily enough. The other place Kenshou excelled was his shunpo, here he was the top of his class, none of his classmates even came close to the kind of speed the Kenshou. These two areas of skill were the source of his pride during the academy. His source of embarrassment was easy to see during his time, Kidō. Kenshou’s ability with the demon magic was limited to mostly exploding stuff in his own face. In his entire time at the academy Kenshou only managed to become skilled with only one spell.
Third Seat of the Fifth Division
Kenshou was moved straight from an unseated position in the division to the third seat itself. Hikari had thought it wise to make him so after only a few years, but Kenshou later realized that she only was doing this to push him even further. Hikari began to let Kenshou get away with being lazy less and less, forcing him to train with other fifth division members on his level and stronger. This was the beginning of Kenshou’s time as a third seat and it would continue this way, training during the day and drinking with his division mates at night. Kenshou was nothing more than the typical Fifth division member.
The next biggest thing to happen in Kenshou’s life was the disappearance of his captain, after a few weeks of Hikari acting strangely, she just disappeared one day. Most of the officers assumed it was nothing more than a secret mission for her, but as the days turned into weeks there was an official release that Hikari had become a traitor and was working against the Seireitei. Kenshou almost laughed when he heard the official release as anyone who had been close to the Captain knew that she would never betray the Gotei, much less her division. Almost immediately after this Kenshou watched both of his lieutenants die in combat. Suddenly less than a month after her disappearance, Kenshou was the highest ranking officer in the whole division. Overnight his responsibilities increased exponentially and became more than just a minor burden on him, he was not ready to lead a division and yet that responsibility had landed on him. For the first few months Kenshou ran from this responsibility and avoided it as much as possible. Eventually a lieutenant was added to the division and he took on that responsibility, Eon Shikimori. In turn though he left and became Captain of the second division and almost as quickly disappeared himself, assumed killed in action. Kenshou once again became the one in charge of the fifth division.
Finally one day a small message came across his desk, one noting the Hikari was active and plotting against the Gotei. Kenshou took some personal time and headed to Karakura town where she was rumored to be. Accidently stumbling into her and finding Hikari brought something back to Kenshou, they quickly caught up. Kenshou finally learned more about the Central 46 and his former Captain than he would normally have known, vaizards, ascension, and much more. It was then Hikari suggested Kenshou train with her for old times sake, just to see where he stood. It was during the most intense training that Kenshou had ever been though, one that he almost died in, that he achieved the fable power of “Bankai”. This training was done in the ice cream store “Cool Sundae Bro”, it drained Kenshou of nearly everything.
Kenshou left the ice cream shop heading for soul society; he had just completed his training with his former captain Hikari. She had been taken to a whole new level; it was something beyond any combination of Shinigami and Arrancar. Whatever it would be come to be called did not matter to Kenshou. What did matter was that Kenshou had just managed to survive what had turned into more of a fight for survival against this superior being, than the originally intended training. Then again Kenshou had never known Hikari to push anyone in the division more than they could handle. She had surprised even him on his own skills and everything he had learned in the time since she had left. He had come so far from that lazy bastard he had once been.
Thinking to himself Kenshou realized how true it was that you did not realize what you were missing in your life until it was gone. He had never worried about his fellow division members until Hikari had disappeared on them and there was that sudden gap of safety. He had realized why she pushed them so hard in the past; she wanted them to be ready for such a day when she was not there to save their asses. Thinking back to that time, no back to that day Kenshou remembered his own weakness. He had failed to save a brother from his division; he had been too slow and too weak. His lack of training had gotten a member killed by the hands of a hollow. That day Kenshou had changed, he had started spending hours upon hours in the dojo of the fifth division. He would sometimes spend days in their training, pushing himself to his breaking limit over and over again. Kenshou would never be that weak again, it was that day Kenshou had vowed to keep training until he could keep all other members of his division safe.
Looking down at himself as he exited the ice cream shop he looked a mess, his uniform shredded by Hikari’s incredibly strong hakuda. He had bruises all over his body and Kenshou was pretty sure his sword arm was fractured, but then it had lead to a completely new discovery about himself. He was going to have to learn how to deal with the knowledge that he had two inner spirits, one passive and one blood thirsty so much so that Tenko had kept Kirishi hidden from Kenshou. It looked like he was going to be doing some more training to learn how to properly wield both the katanas that were now tied at his side; identical in appearance, but so different in personality and desire. It seemed there would constantly be a battle in his heart and soul until he found a way to get these two spirits to agree on something. He at least knew there was something he had to do, he was going to be going to the captain commander and demand that he be made the captain of the fifth division. He was after all their strongest member by far, in addition Kenshou also had what was best for them at heart.
Heading out to the nearest sekaimon he headed back to seireitei, upon arriving he left immediately for the captain commander’s office. It was high time he finally realize that he needed to step up and finally achieve what he preached to the recruits. Hikari had forced him to see the truth, he was still holding himself back and not taking that final step towards completely protecting his division. He finally realized it was his duty to them to do this, it was not for himself oddly enough it was for those he called his family.
Coming up to the captain commander’s office he looked over to the lieutenant and causally said, “Kenshou Ine, third seat of division five. I am here to talk to the captain commander about an important matter.”Watching the man react in an urgent matter Kenshou waited for him to return from inside the office. Kenshou imagined a highly seated officer coming to the captain commander looking as he did would make it seem as if some kind of fight had just happened. It just helped Kenshou get his audience with the captain commander a little quicker. The lieutenant came back out and ushered Kenshou through the oversized wooden doors.
Captain of the Fifth Division
Vaizardification
Exiled
The Golden King
The Aftermath
Captain Commander
Roleplaying Sample:
Kenshou passed out upon arriving at the third division barracks where he dropped off Junko Aizawa. It seemed that his body had finally given up on him, Kenshou felt himself slipping inwards as his eyes had the black curtain drawn over them. Kenshou opened his eyes and knew that he was no longer in the third division, he was in his inner world. It was dark and he was laying face down in the cool dirt. Rolling over Kenshou looked up and saw that the clearing had not really changed much at all, it was dark and moderately cool. Kenshou could still feel the pain everywhere inside his body, but it seemed that the burn on his back and the small cuts everywhere including his throat had been healed somehow. It seemed that someone had decided to save him from the death. Looking up he just stared at the canopy from the trees wondering what he was going to do, it seemed that everything had gone so right and yet at the same time it all had gone to shit. At least Kenshou would have time to once again go to being his lazy self, whoever had saved him he would be grateful too, but now was a time to relax and forget all that happened. Kenshou did not want to deal with the pain of losing Rose and those who were most likely dead from the Espada’s attack.
After what seemed to be about ten minutes or so Kenshou finally heard the soft fall of feet coming towards him. Without even looking over he simply called out, “Hey there little ones, it seems I might have been wrong about Mitsutaka. I thought he was one we could trust even if he was a damned Vaizard at this point.”
“Vaizard, huh!? Is that what they call us. I think that you were right in calling him brother, after all I think it’s time for me to come out and play since you are getting us almost killed time and time again.”
Kenshou looked over at the new voice, a feminine one, but very familiar in the back of his mind. His eyes finally caught the woman, dressed in shinigami grab with a captain’s haori. Then Kenshou noticed something odd about the haori, it had a hood that was drawn and covered the woman’s face. She had vibrant red hair falling out from under the hood, but that only contrasted her skin color even more than had it all been hidden away. Her skin was bone white, her hands, arms, and the bits of her face Kenshou could see. She held two replicas of his very own zanpakuto on her side, something was wrong about this damnable woman. Who was she and why was she here and not Tenko and Kirishi? “Oh really and who might you be, Girlie?”
“Girlie? Well you certainly don’t know a whole lot about yourself do you, I’ve been watching you Kenshou Ine for quite awhile. Let me tell you a story, once upon a time there was a Captain, Artix Von Creg. He was experimented on and became something not quite hollow and not quite shinigami. He disappeared and then his replacement, Hikari Miyazaki. She was sent to catch him and was experimented on equally. This you know so let’s fast forward to just recently, a new young third seat of division five, Kenshou Ine. He happened to run into Hikari Miyazaki, where he had a fight with her and became strong enough to captain the fifth himself. Yet during that fight many things changed inside of him, he discovered that one of his little spirit girls was keeping the other at bay. Trying to protect him from the blood thirst of the other, but something else happened, something he was not aware of. He was infected that day, infected with something more than a disease, infected with me. We became one that day and I gained all your memories, I could watch what was going on and decided to sit and wait. I thought you might be able to handle yourself, stay alive until you were ready, but I was wrong. You are pathetic and look, now Rose is dead because of your weakness. You couldn’t even save her. So now that our little tale ends here in the present I will tell you what happens next, you get to die.”
Kenshou had been lying there looking over at this woman during her little speech and he had finally heard enough of it. Kenshou rolled over and pushed himself up and brought himself to eye level with the woman. Kenshou slowly dropped his left hand down to Kirishi, he wanted to be prepared for what was about to happen next. “So I only have one question for you before we get this started, what’s your name girlie? After all I like to know the name of those I kill, because I do not plan on dying today. I’ve come too far to let it all end here with being killed by a damned inner hollow.” Kenshou looked at the woman who was about the same height as him and it seemed she had her zanpakutos on the same side he kept his own.
Kenshou looked directly at the woman in front of him and grabbed both his zanpakuto, Tenko in his left hand and Kirishi in his right. It seemed that he was about to have a fight for the right to keep control of his soul. Whatever was happening in the world around him was going to have to wait, this was going to take priority over all else. Almost mimicking him the woman before him drew her identical blades and looked squarely at Kenshou or so he assumed, since he could not see her eyes in the shadow from the hood. She smiled and seemed to whisper just loud enough for Kenshou to hear, “Keiko” With that she jumped straight at Kenshou swinging the blade in her right hand at him and throwing her left hand back to stabilize herself. Reacting more from instinct than from the sight of her attack Kenshou brought his right hand up with the blade in it and blocked the attack, deflecting it to the side. With the forward motion Kenshou swung his left hand attacking her midsection. Immediately she swung her blade out perpendicular to his blade, catching it and stopping it in its tracks.
Jumping back some Kenshou gave himself some space to work with, it seemed that she might even be stronger than himself and her reactions were as quick as his own. The battle before him was not going to be an easy one at all. “You’re pathetic, you let yourself be bloody up so much with all that power, potential, and the skills you have. You should have been able to kill all of them, but instead you were pathetic and let them walk all over you. Now it’s time for you to die, it’s enough already let’s just finish this thing. Reverse Tenko and Sharpen Kirishi!” With that the girl had released the two zanpakutos into their shikai state.
Kenshou looked on as it seemed that this inner demon of his had access to the same powers and abilities he did, then again as he thought about it that only made sense. Looking down he knew he would have to match her at this point and every other when it escalated. “Reverse Tenko and Sharpen Kirishi!” Kenshou called out, looking down as the two blades had not even changed at all. Kenshou looked up only to see her sword swing at him and slice his chest from the right side to the lower left side. With that she had already flash stepped to the other side of him and tapped Tenko on Kirishi and swung her blade in his direction. He was so stunned Kenshou did not even realize what had just happened until it was too late. The blood droplets surrounded him and then thrust out the needles. Kenshou felt the agony as twenty needles pierced all the way through him, causing even more pain on top of his internal injuries.
Kenshou looked over at his opponent and knew that he was not going to beat her on his own. Yet here he was alone, even his own inner spirits had forsaken him. Maybe he was pathetic and did not deserve to live, maybe this woman should be in charge. Kenshou could not understand why of all times Tenko and Kirishi had forsaken him for this woman. It seemed almost impossible that this was all happening, like it was some kind of dream. Almost the same instant with that thought a rain began to fall through even the dense canopy of the grove. The rain felt good on Kenshou’s face, it felt like it was washing away all his troubles. The only problem was Kenshou still felt as if his inner spirits had twisted a knife in his back by helping this inner demon.
It was insane that it was going this badly, had Kenshou missed something that one fateful trip into his inner mind. Had something been missing during the trials, what was it. He thought back to it and could not see anything that would explain this. All he could remember was that hallway with the pictures on both sides. It seemed that maybe choosing his own path back then had led to this. Whatever was going on it was ripping him apart, he could feel it inside his head, heart, and soul. The pain was unbearable and yet he still had to fight so that he would not lose control of his body, he was not only aware of his inner struggle but he was also aware of Junko Aizawa in front of him. She was desperately trying to save him and yet she did not know how, for that matter Kenshou had no idea what she could do to help him either.
Looking over at this woman, this damned woman Kenshou could only find a bad taste in his mouth. It was as if she was just too vile for him to deal with, as if there was something he was missing when it came to her. Kenshou looked down at his blades and decided to give up fighting defensively, it had never been his strong suit anyways. Kenshou always preferred to be on the offensive, it seemed to him there was no better defense than keeping your opponent from never being able to take a swing at you. Kenshou gripped his blades and felt blood drip down his arms onto them, her attack had pierced his body all over and it would slow him down quite a bit. Kenshou pushed off and went directly at Keiko, he waited until he was right in front of her before pushing off again and slamming his whole body into hers. The step was enough to throw them both into the forest and then out onto the beach. Kenshou looked over and noticed the mist was still surrounding the island, this would work perfectly as she was limited to only really attacking Kenshou from his front but Kenshou did not give her the opportunity and stepped off towards her at a blinding speed. Kenshou attacked with both blades going parallel in opposite directions at her midsection, but she had managed to get a block off and stopped both blades with only a single of her own. She then moved to stab Kenshou with her second blade, Kenshou had only enough time to dodge with his perfected Utsusemi. She stood there smiling until the image of Kenshou bleeding from her blade dissipated.
She looked over at Kenshou and smiled, she flicked both blades down letting the blood fling off. “You are so pathetic, you can barely even stand up to me. You think I’m any stronger than you, I just am not as pathetic and actually know how to use these weapons you were given. They want to be wielded by someone strong enough not to die and that is not you.” Kenshou looked back and the despair sank into him, it seemed that for once this was a battle he was not going to win it was going to be his last.
That was when a stray thought went across Kenshou’s mind, a thought of when he had fought Hikari to gain strength and how hopeless it had seemed then. Yet in the end when he had needed Tenko and Kirishi they were there and even had lent him a greater power. While he hoped he would not need that power today Kenshou knew he needed Tenko and Kirishi. So he thought to himself like he had when fighting Hikari, Tenko, Kirishi whatever is going on right now, I don’t care. All I know is I need you if I don’t want to die. Tenko a long time ago you asked me why I choose my own path and not either the Warrior or the Demon, the answer I give you now explains why I need to win. I choose my own path for those I protect, so that they don’t have to choose one of those paths and find the death that both bring. I choose this path so that we can one day die knowing that we protected all that we could. So I ask you two to please help me now, so I can do this. I can’t die just yet!
Almost in the same moment Kenshou noticed the woman charging him and swinging Tenko for another strike, instinctively Kenshou blocked with his own right hand and the sealed Tenko in it. As the swords collided Kenshou noticed that instead of the woman holding the shikais it was him instead. It had seemed that he had been given a chance. It seemed that he was going to be able to fight back finally, Kenshou smiled and felt a surge of strength as it seemed the smile on her face was wiped off in that moment and she was no longer nearly as smug as she had been. Kenshou suddenly realized that Tenko and Kirishi had not abandoned him, rather he had abandoned them. He had let the despair get to him and let this demon take over. It was his fault and not theirs. Kenshou knew now that he would win as long as he remembered what he was fighting for.
