Post by Kuroku Namaiida on Mar 9, 2017 17:19:07 GMT -5
NAMAIIDA, KUROKU
SHINIGAMI
[ AT A GLANCE ]
Age / Apparent Age: 38 / 19
Gender: Male
Height & Weight: 5'7" & 175 lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Spiked, black hair and brown eyes.
Positive Traits:
Brotherly - As the oldest of seven children, being a big brother became ingrained in who Kuroku is.
Protective - Kuroku's first thought in dangerous situation is protecting those he cares about.
Genuine - Kuroku doesn't adjust his personality to fit in with groups. He doesn't feel the need to.
Accepting - More than tolerant, Kuroku welcomes and celebrates the differences between peers, to a point.
Gentle - He can barely harm a fly. It's a wonder he's even a shinigami.
Negative Traits:
Self-Sacrificing - Kuroku is too willing to protect others at his own expense, to martyr himself for someone else's beliefs.
Explosive Temper - While his fuse is a mile long, when it runs out, he'll make sure you feel it.
Soft - Even while angered and in a fight to the death, he lacks a killer edge. He's all too willing to let enemies get away.
Loyalties: Kuroku is, like many shinigami, unbreakably loyal to the Gotei, but more specifically to 5th Division. It should also be noted that he has an unusually strong bond with his Zanpakuto for someone of so little experience.
Snapshots:
- Born (1979)
- Dies trying to protect his siblings from a Hollow (1998)
- Spirit found curled up in his childhood home by shinigami and is taken to Soul Society (1998)
- Begins living with a group of children in Rukongai District 77, watches over them (1999)
- Issues with vagrants rise, Kuroku takes up swordplay with a wooden sword (1999)
- After years of running off undesirables, home gets burned down while getting food (2007)
- Found wandering alone by Shinigami, joins the academy (2010)
- Asauchi becomes a true Zanpakuto (2011)
- Graduates and is assigned to Squad 5 for combat prowess (2016)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description: Kuroku is a dark-haired man of average height and build. His face is friendly, but has a certain quality about it. Despite his friendly and gentle disposition, his face looks like a scowl of rage would suit him. His eyes are deep pools of brown, gold, and minute amounts of crimson. His hair is spiky and thick, but not distinctively long, and for the most part stays out of his eyes. His lips are thin and a bit pink, and his nose pointed in a downward slope with a slight curve. When he speaks, his voice isn't surprising. It has a bit of depth to it, enough to not make it shrill or high-pitched.
Spiritual Description: Kuroku’s reiatsu comes from him like gusts of wind, and can range from a simple breeze to strong gusts. The speed and force of the “wind” grows with him. One day he may be able to produce gale force winds with only is reiatsu.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality: Kuroku is kind, hard-working, and has far too big a heart. He is the kind of person who could care for almost anyone, both while alive and in the afterlife. He is calm, understanding, friendly, and while he can be too forgiving at times, he tries his best. However, don’t let that fool you. It takes a lot to earn his hatred, but when you do, his anger is a force. He is already a dedicated person, able to give up on his own future for someone else. That dedication only serves to add gasoline to the fire when he’s viscerally angry. As far as personal tastes go, he is a bit ashamed to admit his tastes are unrefined. While he prefers his rice plain with no soy sauce or seasoning, he will pile all manner of spicy and salty food on top of the rice. Honestly, the spicier the better. However, he is not a fan of most sweets, save for white chocolate, which is one of his favorite things to eat.
Goals & Achievements: Kuroku’s life did not have many achievements. It was brief, and most of it was spent providing. His biggest moment of heroism in life was dying for his sister. In the afterlife, he was once again a big brother figure, protecting and providing for a group of children. In life and in death he didn’t have anything so lofty as long-term goals. Everything for him was in the here and now. What will they eat, will they have to deal with bandits, and are their clothes clean? It wasn’t until he was a Shinigami did this change. He now had notable moments behind him, such as quickly awakening his sword, and he had goals in front of him. He wanted to be like the first Shinigami he’d ever met. He wanted to be someone who fought Hollows and protected people from them.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: The spirits of Soseijihime are twin women. At a glance the only difference between them is that one wears a white outfit and the other wears blue. They both have long, golden hair that they keep in a single long braid down their back. However, once spending a little time with them one begins to notice that the woman in blue has a younger-rounder face, while the woman in white has sharper features. They go by Seiji and Sosei respectively. Seiji is much bubblier, full of life and absolutely loves cute things. Sosei is a bit more mature and reserved, and is infatuated with nature. The two of them refer to Kuroku as either boy or Roku-kun, and are very protective of him. Kuroku has a tendency to refer to them as Sosei- and Seiji-nee, which melts their hearts with one-hundred percent consistency. Seiji tends to react to this with embraces and high-pitched exclamations, often scooping him up in tight hugs. Sosei, being a bit more held back, will blush and scold him for it, insisting that it's inappropriate to form a familial bond with a Zanpakuto. However, she'll always have a smile on her face afterward. They also have different preferred methods of training Kuroku. Seiji prefers hands-on, practical training, which is really just an excuse for her to rough house with him. Meanwhile, Sosei prefers to speak in enlightening riddles and lessons, teaching him on a mental level. This reflects their respective duties. While they are both the spirits of his Zanpakuto, Seiji has taken on the responsibility of getting his combat up to par wile Sosei teaches him essential knowledge, such as reiatsu management, tactics, et cetera.
The relationship between the two is very sisterly, with Sosei taking the role of the older sister, responsible for Seiji. She will scold Seiji if the "younger sister" gets too rough with Kuroku, or if she's being overly hyper. Seiji in turn keeps Sosei from becoming too stuffy or unapproachable. Soseijihime, thus, is the culmination of not just their spirit, but also their deep care for Kuroku. If he spends too long away, they react poorly. Seiji becomes childish and "pouty" and Sosei will treat him coldly and scold him much more harshly until he makes it up to them. However, they strive to keep their personalities from affecting their relationship, and will always be ready when Kuroku needs them. Despite Seiji's friendliness or Sosei's guiding nature, they are hard and ready to show an enemy no quarter or mercy.
Sosei
Seiji
Inner World: The inner world is a beautiful meadow. There is an outer ring of bushes and shrubbery full of flowers and berries, and a tree in the very center, with a sun in the sky to the left of the tree and a moon to the right. Much like the skies of the world, the landscape is split in half. The grass and flora on the sunny side are all green with a pinkish tint, and the bushes themselves are almost perfectly round. The flowers found on this side are sunflowers, lilies, and yellow roses. On the right, where the moon hangs, there can be found lavender, as well as blue and black roses. On the far side, behind the tree, there is a large pond of unknown depth. The colors of the sky range from blues and purples to pink and orange, as if it were simultaneously in both sunrise and sunset. The inner world is divided, similarly to a room shared between siblings. The sunny side with the bright coloring is Seiji's side, and can be summed sufficiently as "cute." The side with the moon and darker colors belongs to Sosei and leans more toward "beauty," or "elegance." However, they are not at odds with one another, and either spirit can occupy either side of the world.
As with many inner worlds, this place can alter depending on Kuroku's mind state. When extremely angry, it becomes a stiflingly hot summer day and the sky is an angry crimson. When in a deep sadness, it becomes as a winter's night, with a starless, cloudy night sky and a blanket of white over the entirety. In the distance, beyond the ring of bushes, dark thunderclouds hang over a barren wasteland. When Kuroku loses himself to despair or hopelessness, the clouds will cover the sky, and the plant life will die, leaving the branches of even the mighty tree in the center barren.
Power: Kuroku excels at fighting with two different weapons, using the spear at medium range to open up an opponent's guard and the sword when an enemy gets close. He can focus his reiatsu into his weapons to increase the power of his attacks.
Zanpakutō: Soseijihime is a daisho, or sword pair, consisting of twin katanas of standard length and design. However, the coloring is not that of a standard katana. The handle wood is white, as if it was carved from a birch tree. The wrappings around the handle are a deep navy blue, and both the cap and the tsuba are both a reflective white. The blades themselves are gold. The scabbards are tied to either side of his hips, one white and one navy blue.
To release the Shikai, Kuroku calls out the phrase "Ryokin o harau (Lead the charge), Soseijihime!" The handle of the katana in his right hand lengthens to four feet long, while the blade becomes straight, double-edged, and reduces to about a foot. The sword in his left hand doesn't change size, but the blade also becomes straight and double-edged and the tsuba turns into a European cross guard, essentially becoming a spear and long sword set.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin: Namaiida Kuroku was not born into wealth or fame. He was born to a pair of hard-working, loving parents from Shibuya who cherished the life they brought into the world. As a child he was far from rich, but happy and loved. Over the course of thirteen years, his parents would proceed to bring six more Namaiida children into the world, his brothers and sisters. It was also during this period of time that he began to notice spirits. He had no idea how long he’d been able to see them, but he kept it to himself. He was precocious as a child, and decided that helping the family was more important than worrying them with this ability of his. He knew what the weight on his shoulders was, and had his first job at fourteen. By sixteen he was juggling two while going to school, before eventually dropping out midway through his third year of high school in order to take on work and support the family. His parents disapproved and fought with him night and day over the decision, but soon enough they realized that his contributions kept their large family afloat.
By the time he was seventeen, he and his parents were all working two full-time jobs to make sure the children were happy, and they were. For a time. Eventually, though, everything they knew fell apart. While coming home from work, their parents we killed in a bad accident, leaving the family without their head, and a large majority of their income. Social services wanted to split them all up, but Kuroku was not about to let that happen. His siblings needed him, they wouldn't be able to adjust to living with strangers. He took on a third job, part time for a bit more additional money. This left him with four hours to sleep, eat, and bathe. At eighteen, he had worn himself ragged. Despite all his hard work, his siblings were split up and taken from him. It wasn’t malicious, and the authorities had nothing but admiration for this 18 year old boy who looked after a family of this size for so long. It did little to cheer Kuroku up, though. It was definitely easier to look after only himself, and he made enough to send his siblings money and gifts where he could. He eventually dropped the part-time job and one of the full-time jobs when he was given a promotion and substantial pay raise. Life had begun to turn around, and he was planning on using his increased pay to begin taking back his siblings, as the older ones were already starting their first part-time positions. Working together they could be a family again. However, this was also the time he would start to see spirits more and more frequently. Some were a bit worrying, staring off into space or weeping endlessly, but others he would have conversations with. He met some nice people that were just unlucky, and all of them had a story, but the most memorable was the little boy.
He couldn’t have been much more than five or six, and the sight of a spirit so young really affected Kuroku. He began looking for the spirit, spending time with it every day. He did so for about half a year when one night while walking home, he met him on his way, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. The little boy had seen something and wanted to show Kuroku. He followed the spirit to an alleyway in an industrial area, where they hid behind a wall and peered around. What Kuroku saw was terrifying. A huge, hulking monster that was almost gorilla-like stood in the middle of the parking lot, facing something off to the left. The beast was physically imposing, but what truly got to Kuroku was the mask it wore on its face. That’s when he noticed what the thing was looking at. It was a woman with blonde hair and wearing a black kosode and a hakama to match. He had no idea what the Hell she was doing until she pulled the katana from the sheath on her hip. He would not be around to find out who won this and ran back to his home with the little spirit boy.
Another half a year later and Kuroku found himself at 19 with a decently paying job. He had saved up some money and was taking his siblings out for a big dinner at a barbeque place. It was the happiest he’d been in a while. They ate, laughed, hugged, and had a good time. They were walking to an ice cream parlor afterward, when Kuroku stopped dead in his tracks. The monster was standing in the road, eyes fixed on the family. A large crack ran down the right side of the mask. When Kuroku looked around, he noticed that his youngest sibling, Hitomi was looking at the monster, too. She could see it, and it was interested in her. Kuroku gathered up the kids and began pushing them and rushing them away, trying his damndest to get them to safety. The monster lunged and he was certain that it was going to kill them, until the woman from the previous night returned. She began to battle the creature, all manner of strange, colored lights flying from her finger tips. The beast landed a good hit and sent her flying, before giving one last lunge toward Hitomi before the family got away. Without any hesitation, Kuroku pushed his sister out of the way and felt the monster’s long, sharp nails run him through.
Rise to Power: When he awoke, he couldn’t find his siblings. He was back in his home. The house where he was born. The house where he’d been a part of a family. He couldn’t leave here, and not because of the chain dangling from his chest. He sunk into a fetal position and just gave up. It wasn’t long that he was like this, because very soon afterward, the woman returned. Blonde, in her all black and the katana at her hip. She could see him, and she could see the monster, Hell even fight with it. Who was she? She told him that she was a god of death, and that it was her job to escort his soul to the afterlife. All he could ask was if his family had survived. With a smile she nodded. That was all he needed. He went with her to where ever it was she was taking him.
The next thing he really took stock of was that he was in a place called Rukongai. Is initial thought was that the afterlife looked… old. Everyone was wearing dingy kimonos and yukatas, houses looked like they came from the old parts of Kyoto, and not to mention it didn’t look the cleanest. No one around him even had sandals on. He came to learn that he was in Rukongai District 77. He quickly got acclimated to his surroundings and found a house of children with no adult. His nature wouldn’t let him just leave them on their own. He fell easily and comfortably into the role of looking after the kids, and they lived a decently happy life together amidst the hardships of the Rukongai slums. However, a constant problem was the amount of vagrants, thieves, and bandits they had to deal with. Kuroku began using a wooden sword he found deeper in the district to ward them off, and slowly his skills at swordsmanship grew. Over the years he became quite the capable swordsman, having some measure of natural talent. He dispatched foes with increasing ease, and with that came increasing arrogance and complacency. One day, while out getting food, he paid for that complacency. When he returned, his home was burned to the ground, and the children gone. He spiraled into a depression and began wandering the countryside alone, aimless. It was then where he met the woman once more, the Shinigami with the blonde hair. She noticed his mood and the wooden sword he still carried and challenged him to a match, wielding her sword while it was still in the scabbard. After a slow start, he began to show great promise, and while he was inevitably soundly beaten, she extended him an olive branch, telling him of the Shinigami Academy. With nothing tying him to Rukongai, he accepted, thinking it would allow him to be like her, a protector.
Call to Action: Kuroku’s performance in the Academy was a bit of a mixed bag. He excelled in combat classes possessing a sleeping talent for zanjutsu that surprised even him. His ability in Hoho and Hakuda was also impressive for his level of experience. However, his Kido was subpar, he was poor at nailing down the correct amount of reiatsu for a given spell, and he had issues with memorizing the details for conducting Soul Burials. However, where he truly shined, was an incredibly fast bond with his sword. After only having been a student for one year, his Asauchi resonated with him and became a Zanpakuto, a pair of katana with golden blades. His skill in combat only grew, and when it came time to graduate, it was no surprise to anyone that he was assigned to 5th Division, the Seireitei Infantry Fighting Force. During his third excursion to the Realm of the Living, he found himself engaged by a Hollow of surprising strength. It was in this battle that he heard the name of his Zanpakuto spoken by two voices, and called it out, Soseijihime.
SHINIGAMI
[ AT A GLANCE ]
Age / Apparent Age: 38 / 19
Gender: Male
Height & Weight: 5'7" & 175 lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Spiked, black hair and brown eyes.
Positive Traits:
Brotherly - As the oldest of seven children, being a big brother became ingrained in who Kuroku is.
Protective - Kuroku's first thought in dangerous situation is protecting those he cares about.
Genuine - Kuroku doesn't adjust his personality to fit in with groups. He doesn't feel the need to.
Accepting - More than tolerant, Kuroku welcomes and celebrates the differences between peers, to a point.
Gentle - He can barely harm a fly. It's a wonder he's even a shinigami.
Negative Traits:
Self-Sacrificing - Kuroku is too willing to protect others at his own expense, to martyr himself for someone else's beliefs.
Explosive Temper - While his fuse is a mile long, when it runs out, he'll make sure you feel it.
Soft - Even while angered and in a fight to the death, he lacks a killer edge. He's all too willing to let enemies get away.
Loyalties: Kuroku is, like many shinigami, unbreakably loyal to the Gotei, but more specifically to 5th Division. It should also be noted that he has an unusually strong bond with his Zanpakuto for someone of so little experience.
Snapshots:
- Born (1979)
- Dies trying to protect his siblings from a Hollow (1998)
- Spirit found curled up in his childhood home by shinigami and is taken to Soul Society (1998)
- Begins living with a group of children in Rukongai District 77, watches over them (1999)
- Issues with vagrants rise, Kuroku takes up swordplay with a wooden sword (1999)
- After years of running off undesirables, home gets burned down while getting food (2007)
- Found wandering alone by Shinigami, joins the academy (2010)
- Asauchi becomes a true Zanpakuto (2011)
- Graduates and is assigned to Squad 5 for combat prowess (2016)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description: Kuroku is a dark-haired man of average height and build. His face is friendly, but has a certain quality about it. Despite his friendly and gentle disposition, his face looks like a scowl of rage would suit him. His eyes are deep pools of brown, gold, and minute amounts of crimson. His hair is spiky and thick, but not distinctively long, and for the most part stays out of his eyes. His lips are thin and a bit pink, and his nose pointed in a downward slope with a slight curve. When he speaks, his voice isn't surprising. It has a bit of depth to it, enough to not make it shrill or high-pitched.
Spiritual Description: Kuroku’s reiatsu comes from him like gusts of wind, and can range from a simple breeze to strong gusts. The speed and force of the “wind” grows with him. One day he may be able to produce gale force winds with only is reiatsu.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality: Kuroku is kind, hard-working, and has far too big a heart. He is the kind of person who could care for almost anyone, both while alive and in the afterlife. He is calm, understanding, friendly, and while he can be too forgiving at times, he tries his best. However, don’t let that fool you. It takes a lot to earn his hatred, but when you do, his anger is a force. He is already a dedicated person, able to give up on his own future for someone else. That dedication only serves to add gasoline to the fire when he’s viscerally angry. As far as personal tastes go, he is a bit ashamed to admit his tastes are unrefined. While he prefers his rice plain with no soy sauce or seasoning, he will pile all manner of spicy and salty food on top of the rice. Honestly, the spicier the better. However, he is not a fan of most sweets, save for white chocolate, which is one of his favorite things to eat.
Goals & Achievements: Kuroku’s life did not have many achievements. It was brief, and most of it was spent providing. His biggest moment of heroism in life was dying for his sister. In the afterlife, he was once again a big brother figure, protecting and providing for a group of children. In life and in death he didn’t have anything so lofty as long-term goals. Everything for him was in the here and now. What will they eat, will they have to deal with bandits, and are their clothes clean? It wasn’t until he was a Shinigami did this change. He now had notable moments behind him, such as quickly awakening his sword, and he had goals in front of him. He wanted to be like the first Shinigami he’d ever met. He wanted to be someone who fought Hollows and protected people from them.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: The spirits of Soseijihime are twin women. At a glance the only difference between them is that one wears a white outfit and the other wears blue. They both have long, golden hair that they keep in a single long braid down their back. However, once spending a little time with them one begins to notice that the woman in blue has a younger-rounder face, while the woman in white has sharper features. They go by Seiji and Sosei respectively. Seiji is much bubblier, full of life and absolutely loves cute things. Sosei is a bit more mature and reserved, and is infatuated with nature. The two of them refer to Kuroku as either boy or Roku-kun, and are very protective of him. Kuroku has a tendency to refer to them as Sosei- and Seiji-nee, which melts their hearts with one-hundred percent consistency. Seiji tends to react to this with embraces and high-pitched exclamations, often scooping him up in tight hugs. Sosei, being a bit more held back, will blush and scold him for it, insisting that it's inappropriate to form a familial bond with a Zanpakuto. However, she'll always have a smile on her face afterward. They also have different preferred methods of training Kuroku. Seiji prefers hands-on, practical training, which is really just an excuse for her to rough house with him. Meanwhile, Sosei prefers to speak in enlightening riddles and lessons, teaching him on a mental level. This reflects their respective duties. While they are both the spirits of his Zanpakuto, Seiji has taken on the responsibility of getting his combat up to par wile Sosei teaches him essential knowledge, such as reiatsu management, tactics, et cetera.
The relationship between the two is very sisterly, with Sosei taking the role of the older sister, responsible for Seiji. She will scold Seiji if the "younger sister" gets too rough with Kuroku, or if she's being overly hyper. Seiji in turn keeps Sosei from becoming too stuffy or unapproachable. Soseijihime, thus, is the culmination of not just their spirit, but also their deep care for Kuroku. If he spends too long away, they react poorly. Seiji becomes childish and "pouty" and Sosei will treat him coldly and scold him much more harshly until he makes it up to them. However, they strive to keep their personalities from affecting their relationship, and will always be ready when Kuroku needs them. Despite Seiji's friendliness or Sosei's guiding nature, they are hard and ready to show an enemy no quarter or mercy.
Sosei
Seiji
Inner World: The inner world is a beautiful meadow. There is an outer ring of bushes and shrubbery full of flowers and berries, and a tree in the very center, with a sun in the sky to the left of the tree and a moon to the right. Much like the skies of the world, the landscape is split in half. The grass and flora on the sunny side are all green with a pinkish tint, and the bushes themselves are almost perfectly round. The flowers found on this side are sunflowers, lilies, and yellow roses. On the right, where the moon hangs, there can be found lavender, as well as blue and black roses. On the far side, behind the tree, there is a large pond of unknown depth. The colors of the sky range from blues and purples to pink and orange, as if it were simultaneously in both sunrise and sunset. The inner world is divided, similarly to a room shared between siblings. The sunny side with the bright coloring is Seiji's side, and can be summed sufficiently as "cute." The side with the moon and darker colors belongs to Sosei and leans more toward "beauty," or "elegance." However, they are not at odds with one another, and either spirit can occupy either side of the world.
As with many inner worlds, this place can alter depending on Kuroku's mind state. When extremely angry, it becomes a stiflingly hot summer day and the sky is an angry crimson. When in a deep sadness, it becomes as a winter's night, with a starless, cloudy night sky and a blanket of white over the entirety. In the distance, beyond the ring of bushes, dark thunderclouds hang over a barren wasteland. When Kuroku loses himself to despair or hopelessness, the clouds will cover the sky, and the plant life will die, leaving the branches of even the mighty tree in the center barren.
Power: Kuroku excels at fighting with two different weapons, using the spear at medium range to open up an opponent's guard and the sword when an enemy gets close. He can focus his reiatsu into his weapons to increase the power of his attacks.
Zanpakutō: Soseijihime is a daisho, or sword pair, consisting of twin katanas of standard length and design. However, the coloring is not that of a standard katana. The handle wood is white, as if it was carved from a birch tree. The wrappings around the handle are a deep navy blue, and both the cap and the tsuba are both a reflective white. The blades themselves are gold. The scabbards are tied to either side of his hips, one white and one navy blue.
To release the Shikai, Kuroku calls out the phrase "Ryokin o harau (Lead the charge), Soseijihime!" The handle of the katana in his right hand lengthens to four feet long, while the blade becomes straight, double-edged, and reduces to about a foot. The sword in his left hand doesn't change size, but the blade also becomes straight and double-edged and the tsuba turns into a European cross guard, essentially becoming a spear and long sword set.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin: Namaiida Kuroku was not born into wealth or fame. He was born to a pair of hard-working, loving parents from Shibuya who cherished the life they brought into the world. As a child he was far from rich, but happy and loved. Over the course of thirteen years, his parents would proceed to bring six more Namaiida children into the world, his brothers and sisters. It was also during this period of time that he began to notice spirits. He had no idea how long he’d been able to see them, but he kept it to himself. He was precocious as a child, and decided that helping the family was more important than worrying them with this ability of his. He knew what the weight on his shoulders was, and had his first job at fourteen. By sixteen he was juggling two while going to school, before eventually dropping out midway through his third year of high school in order to take on work and support the family. His parents disapproved and fought with him night and day over the decision, but soon enough they realized that his contributions kept their large family afloat.
By the time he was seventeen, he and his parents were all working two full-time jobs to make sure the children were happy, and they were. For a time. Eventually, though, everything they knew fell apart. While coming home from work, their parents we killed in a bad accident, leaving the family without their head, and a large majority of their income. Social services wanted to split them all up, but Kuroku was not about to let that happen. His siblings needed him, they wouldn't be able to adjust to living with strangers. He took on a third job, part time for a bit more additional money. This left him with four hours to sleep, eat, and bathe. At eighteen, he had worn himself ragged. Despite all his hard work, his siblings were split up and taken from him. It wasn’t malicious, and the authorities had nothing but admiration for this 18 year old boy who looked after a family of this size for so long. It did little to cheer Kuroku up, though. It was definitely easier to look after only himself, and he made enough to send his siblings money and gifts where he could. He eventually dropped the part-time job and one of the full-time jobs when he was given a promotion and substantial pay raise. Life had begun to turn around, and he was planning on using his increased pay to begin taking back his siblings, as the older ones were already starting their first part-time positions. Working together they could be a family again. However, this was also the time he would start to see spirits more and more frequently. Some were a bit worrying, staring off into space or weeping endlessly, but others he would have conversations with. He met some nice people that were just unlucky, and all of them had a story, but the most memorable was the little boy.
He couldn’t have been much more than five or six, and the sight of a spirit so young really affected Kuroku. He began looking for the spirit, spending time with it every day. He did so for about half a year when one night while walking home, he met him on his way, standing in the middle of the sidewalk. The little boy had seen something and wanted to show Kuroku. He followed the spirit to an alleyway in an industrial area, where they hid behind a wall and peered around. What Kuroku saw was terrifying. A huge, hulking monster that was almost gorilla-like stood in the middle of the parking lot, facing something off to the left. The beast was physically imposing, but what truly got to Kuroku was the mask it wore on its face. That’s when he noticed what the thing was looking at. It was a woman with blonde hair and wearing a black kosode and a hakama to match. He had no idea what the Hell she was doing until she pulled the katana from the sheath on her hip. He would not be around to find out who won this and ran back to his home with the little spirit boy.
Another half a year later and Kuroku found himself at 19 with a decently paying job. He had saved up some money and was taking his siblings out for a big dinner at a barbeque place. It was the happiest he’d been in a while. They ate, laughed, hugged, and had a good time. They were walking to an ice cream parlor afterward, when Kuroku stopped dead in his tracks. The monster was standing in the road, eyes fixed on the family. A large crack ran down the right side of the mask. When Kuroku looked around, he noticed that his youngest sibling, Hitomi was looking at the monster, too. She could see it, and it was interested in her. Kuroku gathered up the kids and began pushing them and rushing them away, trying his damndest to get them to safety. The monster lunged and he was certain that it was going to kill them, until the woman from the previous night returned. She began to battle the creature, all manner of strange, colored lights flying from her finger tips. The beast landed a good hit and sent her flying, before giving one last lunge toward Hitomi before the family got away. Without any hesitation, Kuroku pushed his sister out of the way and felt the monster’s long, sharp nails run him through.
Rise to Power: When he awoke, he couldn’t find his siblings. He was back in his home. The house where he was born. The house where he’d been a part of a family. He couldn’t leave here, and not because of the chain dangling from his chest. He sunk into a fetal position and just gave up. It wasn’t long that he was like this, because very soon afterward, the woman returned. Blonde, in her all black and the katana at her hip. She could see him, and she could see the monster, Hell even fight with it. Who was she? She told him that she was a god of death, and that it was her job to escort his soul to the afterlife. All he could ask was if his family had survived. With a smile she nodded. That was all he needed. He went with her to where ever it was she was taking him.
The next thing he really took stock of was that he was in a place called Rukongai. Is initial thought was that the afterlife looked… old. Everyone was wearing dingy kimonos and yukatas, houses looked like they came from the old parts of Kyoto, and not to mention it didn’t look the cleanest. No one around him even had sandals on. He came to learn that he was in Rukongai District 77. He quickly got acclimated to his surroundings and found a house of children with no adult. His nature wouldn’t let him just leave them on their own. He fell easily and comfortably into the role of looking after the kids, and they lived a decently happy life together amidst the hardships of the Rukongai slums. However, a constant problem was the amount of vagrants, thieves, and bandits they had to deal with. Kuroku began using a wooden sword he found deeper in the district to ward them off, and slowly his skills at swordsmanship grew. Over the years he became quite the capable swordsman, having some measure of natural talent. He dispatched foes with increasing ease, and with that came increasing arrogance and complacency. One day, while out getting food, he paid for that complacency. When he returned, his home was burned to the ground, and the children gone. He spiraled into a depression and began wandering the countryside alone, aimless. It was then where he met the woman once more, the Shinigami with the blonde hair. She noticed his mood and the wooden sword he still carried and challenged him to a match, wielding her sword while it was still in the scabbard. After a slow start, he began to show great promise, and while he was inevitably soundly beaten, she extended him an olive branch, telling him of the Shinigami Academy. With nothing tying him to Rukongai, he accepted, thinking it would allow him to be like her, a protector.
Call to Action: Kuroku’s performance in the Academy was a bit of a mixed bag. He excelled in combat classes possessing a sleeping talent for zanjutsu that surprised even him. His ability in Hoho and Hakuda was also impressive for his level of experience. However, his Kido was subpar, he was poor at nailing down the correct amount of reiatsu for a given spell, and he had issues with memorizing the details for conducting Soul Burials. However, where he truly shined, was an incredibly fast bond with his sword. After only having been a student for one year, his Asauchi resonated with him and became a Zanpakuto, a pair of katana with golden blades. His skill in combat only grew, and when it came time to graduate, it was no surprise to anyone that he was assigned to 5th Division, the Seireitei Infantry Fighting Force. During his third excursion to the Realm of the Living, he found himself engaged by a Hollow of surprising strength. It was in this battle that he heard the name of his Zanpakuto spoken by two voices, and called it out, Soseijihime.
