Post by Takashi Sakuma on Jul 5, 2017 18:39:59 GMT -5
SAKUMA, TAKASHI
Unseated, Second Division
[ AT A GLANCE ]
True Age: ~150
Apparent Age: 25
Gender: Male
Height & Weight: 176 cm (5'9") & 73 kg (160 lbs)
Hair & Eye Color: Short, messy brown hair with a single long strand braided behind his right ear, amber eyes
Positive Traits: Observant, modest, humble, respectful, honorable
Negative Traits: Duty-obsessed, humorless, detached
Loyalties: Law of the Soul Society, Captain-Commander
Snapshots: Takashi is born to a lesser-noble family residing in the Rukongai (c.a.1850), Takashi's family is massacred by a rival clan (1875); Takashi trains under his late father's friend and mentor, Issei Endou (1875-1900); Takashi exacts revenge on the clan who murdered his family, wanders the Rukongai as a rounin (1900-present), Shinigami on mission in the Rukongai encounter Takashi and conscript him into the Gotei (2014); Takashi survives the Shinigami plague (2018)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description: Takashi has a tall, narrow build and appears to be in his mid to late twenties. Despite being rather lean, he has some definition to his muscles, although it seems as though he is still recovering from his years spent in malnutrition. This often leads opponents to underestimate him, perceiving him to be weak, but he possesses a surprising amount of raw strength that has been honed by the need for survival.
Others often describe Takashi as “having a long face,” but in reality his features are rather delicate. His skin tone is naturally light, but because of his near-constant exposure to the elements it has become tanned and weathered. He has a square chin and soft jaw-line, a small sharp nose, and long, thin eyebrows that slant down towards his eyes. His eyes have a slight curve to them and are amber in color. His pupils are notably small, and they appear to be in a constant constricted state. As a result, Takashi is not as sensitive to bright or sudden flashes of light, and his long-distance and lowlight vision is above average. His most striking feature is the thin, jagged scar that runs diagonally across the bridge of his nose and between his eyes, stretching from his forehead to his cheek.
Takashi has short, light brown hair that has a messy and somewhat “feathery” look to it. He has a slender, shoulder-length braid behind his left ear that he tightly wraps with cloth and weaves feathers into. Before becoming a Shinigami, his hair was longer and much more un-kept, and was often matted with dirt. Needless to say, his personal appearance is not one of his priorities, although he does try to keep himself presentable as a member of the Gotei. He wears the standard Shinigami Shihakushō along with a leather shoulder pad and gauntlet to accommodate his hawk.
Spiritual Description: Takashi's Reiatsu is deep crimson in color and feels "predatory" to his opponents when released, as though a hunter has fully focused upon a target.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality: Takashi is a calm and perceptive individual. He is unassuming, both in his view of others and in his bearing. This means that he is generally very respectful of others, whether they are his superiors or his subordinates, and is mild in manner and speech. However, this does not mean he respects them on a personal level, but that he is capable of demonstrating external decorum regardless of his true feelings. Nevertheless, he is essentially humble in disposition, taking pride in the honor of his position but not considering himself above those he has sworn to protect. Because of this, he finds it much easier to interact with the common souls of the Rukongai, as they more readily accept him as one of their own.
Takashi is solemn in expression and serious about his responsibility as a Soul Reaper. This no-nonsense and ambitious manner often aggravated those in his squad who were more laid-back about their assignments, but it allowed him to succeed in many of his assignments. His intelligence also helped him to stand out from fellow recruits. Although not skilled in philosophy or abstract concepts, he is perceptive of others and easily grasps the true nature of a situation. His intuition in battle is often disconcertingly accurate, enabling him to make critical decisions quickly and strategically. He is also capable of separating his emotions from duty, and is analytical and unemotional during a mission.
However, this ability to emotionally detach himself from a situation has both negative and positive consequences. It is his automatic response to crisis because of the trauma he experienced as a child. When taken to extremes he can lose himself as he becomes entirely consumed with achieving his objective. This psychological distance allows him to become incredibly violent, completely unaware or apathetic towards the consequences of his actions. In the past, this has also led to suicidal tendencies as he would throw himself into battle, heedless of danger.
Fortunately, Takashi has become much more mellow in recent years. This has been in part because he has learned to accept his past. He is generally thick-skinned and slow to anger, but he can be provoked, and when he loses his temper it is difficult for him to become calm again. He has a sharp eye for detail and is resourceful, mainly owing to the way he lived before becoming a Shinigami. He also has a gentle and caring side, as revealed by the manner in which he treats his hawk. Takashi has an immense capacity to empathize with others, and has most often been described by others as being “a man of great personal integrity.”
Goals & Achievements: At present, Takashi's underlying goal appears to be the reconciliation between Shinigami and the citizens of the Rukongai, as he possesses great compassion and empathy for the plight of common souls. This places him at odds within his division's mentality. At first, Takashi's devotion to duty out-weighed any personal "feelings" or honor when it came to the protection of the weak. However, as he has come to see the abuses carried out by the Gotei, he has begun to grow more and more uneasy with the methods utilized by the Second Division. Thus, he is struggling to reconcile the conflict between his loyalty to his superiors and his own sense of honor.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: The true name of Takashi's Zanpakutō is Aka no Tsume, (赤の爪, "Red Talon"). The most unusual aspect about the spirit of Takashi's Zanpakutō is that it has the ability to interact with the external world through inhabiting a vessel. In this case, the vessel is the body of a hawk. Before awakening his Zanpakutō, Takashi gave the name of Kohaku (琥珀, lit. "amber") to his hawk when she was a juvenile (and possessed lighter, yellowish chest feathers). He still calls her this even after the spirit of his Zanpakutō inhabited the bird. Most interesting about his relationship with his hawk is that he is able to form a telepathic mind link with her outside of Jinzen, which allows him to see and feel what she is seeing and feeling, and vice versa. This allows him to communicate rather fluidly with the spirit of his Zanpakutō that inhabits the hawk’s body.
When inside his inner world, the spirit of his Zanpakutō resembles a young girl with wings as opposed to arms, covered in a vestige of august feathers. She has a long, reddish brown mane of feathers as opposed to hair, dark skin, and piercing amber eyes. Personality-wise, she is far more vicious than Takashi, often relying on a savage, predatory instinct to swoop down on an opponent in combat, tearing her prey to shreds without qualm. That said, she truly cares for Takashi and is concerned that his own private fears and doubts have chained him. She desires, more than anything, to be able to soar freely without inhibition, but Takashi's weaknesses limit her abilities. Thus, when interacting in the inner world, she will often take out her frustration by attacking him or refusing to talk to him, although she would never endanger him by refusing to communicate should the need to strategize arise. While as perceptive as Takashi, she is also far more temperamental and moody, displaying "raptor-like" tendencies in the desire to hunt and kill, etc.
Tsubasa Shoji: (翼所持, “Wing Possession”) After first manifesting, the Spirit of Takashi’s Zanpakutō found a way to inhabit the body of his hawk, Kohaku. This allows it the ability to puppet the hawk, observe the external world, and interact with Takashi more directly, essentially a form of scrying. Following the same principle, Takashi developed a technique that allows for a “transfer of consciousness.” The Tsubasa Shoji is a technique is used for espionage and reconnaissance, and is not a fighting technique. Takashi first enters a state similar to that of Jinzen, and instead transfers his “consciousness” to the body of hawk while the spirit of his Zanpakutō acting as the connecting medium. Using the Aka no Tsume, he can direct the body of the hawk, and what he observes while "inhabiting" it is fed directly back into his awareness. Since he only scries via the hawk and does not fully inhabit it, this technique allows him to spy on others while completely masking his presence. However, this leaves his own body completely defenseless, and the time in which he can maintain the mental inhabitation is also limited.
Inner World: Takashi's inner world resembles the district in which he was born. A vast wilderness stretches out in all directions: the clear, deep blue sky of late autumn comes down to touch distant, hazy mountain ranges that form a wide basin filled with grass. In the center of this plane is a spreading maple tree, much larger than any seen in the physical world, whose ancient, twisted bark curls around itself, its branches full of red leaves. Aka no Tsume is typically found perching somewhere in the tree's branches, scouting out the field around her as though she is hunting for movement in the grass.
Power: By striking an opponent and drawing blood, Takashi is able to triple the effect of impact while in Shikai. Essentially, the original mark is mirrored, for a total of three total cuts.
Zanpakutō: The sealed form of Takashi's Zanpakutou resembles that of a normal katana, with a bronze tsuba and a red saya and hilt. He inherited the sword from his father, who used the same Asasuchi with another Spirit. Since the spirit of Takashi’s Zanpakutō has linked with that of his hawk it is also able to observe the outside world more directly than other Zanpakutō.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin: Takashi was born as a pure soul to the lesser-noble Sakuma clan about 150 years ago. The Sakuma family was somewhat unique in that Kenta, Takashi’s father, was partially allowed to reside in the Rukongai despite being a Shinigami. Following a shortage of food in the Seireitei several generations earlier, the Sakuma family had been appointed as wardens of a farming district outside the lawless districts, where they could oversee the production of wheat that was directly imported to the Seireitei. As the head of the family and a Shinigami, Kenta was required to report to the Gotei on a regular basis, and as such he was often away from his family. Takashi craved his father’s attention as a result, and tried to spend as much time as possible with him whenever he was at the Sakuma estate. His father educated him in traditional arts, such as Kenjutsu and calligraphy, and they often went hunting together in the thick forests of the family’s lands. It was here that Takashi developed his skills as a tracker and a hunter. His father wished him to become proficient in archery, but wishing to follow in his father’s footsteps, Takashi developed a preference for the sword.
When Takashi was a child there was worsening tension between the Sakuma household and the Miura clan, a powerful land-holding merchant-class family whose lands bordered the Sakuma’s. Kenta wanted to broker peace on both sides, but he was rejected by the Miura as a “hated” Shinigami. Furthermore, the Gotei pressured him to use force as opposed to negotiation in dealing with the Miura. Despite his best efforts Kenta began to make bitter enemies with both the Miura and his superior officers in the Gotei, who began to take his pacifistic ideals as a sign of treachery. Finally, after Kenta began to correspond with a member of the Miura without alerting the Seireitei, he was deemed a traitor.
When Takashi was around the age of twelve, he and his father returned home after hunting one day and found that the manor had been ransacked. Upon entering the courtyard they found all servants dead, and when they came to the house they discovered that all the members of the Sakuma family who were at home had been murdered. This included Takashi's mother and infant sister. The assassins had stayed to finish off the rest of the family, and closed in on Kenta unexpectedly. Takashi’s father attacked and fought back viciously, but after a desperate struggle he was cut down. Distraught, Takashi picked up his father’s sword and rushed at the attackers. He was taken out with one hit; the stroke that fell across his face gave him his signature scar, and the murderers left him for dead.
However, Kenta’s murderers had not in fact been from the Sakuma family, but were hired by the Seireitei to exploit the already deep-rooted suspicion against Kenta. In place of the Sakuma, they instated the Miura as the rightful wardens of the land, which had all been part of the conjoint plot between the Miura and the Seireitei.
After the attack on Takashi’s home, he was found and rescued by an elderly friend of Kenta’s, Issei Endō, who had come to the house to visit and had chanced upon a massacre instead. Issei took him back to his home in Akakusa District, where he managed a kenjutsu dōjō for the Rukon souls. Under his new guardian’s care, Takashi made a slow recovery. He was bitter after the tragedy, and was always at odds with his foster parents, often storming out on his own to return to the forests that were so familiar to him. It was on one of these occasions that he found his hawk, who had injured her wing and was struggling to free herself from a tangle of branches. Takashi saved her, brought her back with him, and nursed her back to health, although she did more to heal his wounded spirit than anything he did for her. Soon, the young bird became his lifelong companion. It was also during this time that he swore to himself that he would one day exact revenge on the Miura who had murdered his family.
Rise to Power: Takashi began to train under Issei at the dōjō. At first, Issei was hesitant to train him because he knew of Takashi’s angry and reckless nature and feared he would use his style for harm. His concerns proved correct, as Takashi later became involved with the Swallow Tails, a gang in one of the poorer wards of Akakusa. He joined in order to test his sword in real combat, and was never involved in much of the gang’s activities, serving as more of an aloof defender of the group than as an active member.
Decades passed, and eventually Takashi took it upon himself to carry out his revenge. He returned to what had formerly been his family’s lands, where he challenged the head of the Miura to a duel. The latter refused, and had hired swordsmen attack Takashi in his stead. When the fight came to an end with Takashi as the victor, he revealed his true name and the name of his father, but discovered that the Miura barely remembered the Sakuma, which disturbed him greatly. Drained of the desire to exact revenge, Takashi returned to his family’s house, now abandoned and desolate, overgrown by the wilderness. He wandered through the rooms, unsure of what he searched for. In the stillness of the house the weight of grief suddenly fell upon him, and for the first time since his family’s death he wept, mourning their loss. But as night descended the Miura, who had waited until dark to follow him, sprang on him in an ambush. In a frenzy, Takashi proceeded to kill every man at arms who attacked him, unknowingly aided by his awakening Zanpakutō. He then set fire to the house, erasing everything within that stood for his past.
Takashi had sustained heavy injuries during the battle. He wandered delirious into the forest, and his wounds eventually caused him to succumb to a fever. During this weakened state the spirit of Takashi's Zanpakutō first approached him, and helped to sustain him and heal his wounds. It was also this time that the spirit of his Zanpakutō came to inhabit the body of his hawk.
After recovering Takashi wandered as a rōnin swordsman throughout the rural lands of the Soul Society, traveling for many years. At first he was wary of being pursued by allies of the family he had defeated, but his enemies were few in number and he was soon forgotten. Eventually, Takashi stumbled across a detachment of Shinigami from the Second Division, who were battling a Hollow in the West Rukongai. After inadvertently discovering the Shinigami's target, which he attempted to hold at bay using his skills as a swordsman, he was discovered by the Shinigami who quickly dispatched the Hollow. Following this, Takashi was arrested on the grounds of illegally possessing a Zanpakutō and taken to the Gotei, although he was later cleared of these charges.
Upon reaching the Seireitei, Takashi was placed in the Shin'ō Academy, where he was given a cursory education in Kidō and the other forms of Zankensōki in which he lacked proficiency. Having already attained Shikai, he was able to graduate in a relatively short amount of time and was conscripted by the Second Division, following reports of his actions during the Rukongai mission and also seeing potential in his Tsubasa Shōji technique. However, Takashi’s ideals soon came to be at odds with that of the Onmitsukidō. After joining the Gotei, his conscience regarding the way in which Rukon souls were treated, often as expendable resources largely ignored by the Gotei, began to convict him. However, he found himself increasingly forced to set aside those personal convictions in the line of duty. Ever modest and respectful in voicing his own opinions, Takashi did not make his disagreements with the Onmitsukidō’s methods known to his superior officers. As such, he continues to wallow in a state of unhappiness, his values of unquestioning loyalty to his orders in contradiction with his morality in carrying out what he knows to be wrong.
Call to Action: Somehow, Takashi managed to miraculously weather the plague that had wracked the Seireitei five years ago. As the Shinigami around him continued to fall one by one, he began to ask himself why he was one of the few lucky ones. The decimation claimed many fellow members of the Second Division, and most were more skilled than he was. But Takashi was largely ambivalent to the unfolding tragedy, continuing to carry out his duties stoically while attempting to ignore the suffering around him. He knew that if he began to empathize with the plight of the victims, he would fall into a pit from which he would be unable to pull himself out of. But it suddenly became a different, more personal story when his former mentor, Issei Endō, was taken by the plague.
Beneath the new burden of grief and stress, Takashi sealed shut the cracks that had begun to show in his hardened exterior. His personality is now very similar to what it was years ago following the slaughter of the Miura. Detached, reserved, and chiefly concerned with his own survival, Takashi has unfortunately come to see his sense of honor as nothing but futile naivety and has become bitter, even sardonic, towards those around him. Perhaps exacerbated by this dangerous emotional state, the Aka no Tsume has begun to whisper his name again after five years of silence. It is an instinctual appeal, drawing him towards the desire to give into his Zanpakutō—to give into the bloodlust that he has always resisted, to ruthlessly cut-down and kill. Now, if he continues on his solitary path, it will only be a matter of time before he gives into that voice.
Unseated, Second Division
"I may be measured by my failures, but I am not defined by them. Every loss I’ve suffered has been painful to endure, but they have provided me with clarity, and a reason to act. In the end, the only thing that can be done after crippling defeat is to walk, and if that is not possible then to crawl forward on your hands and knees until, finally, you are able to stand."
[ AT A GLANCE ]
True Age: ~150
Apparent Age: 25
Gender: Male
Height & Weight: 176 cm (5'9") & 73 kg (160 lbs)
Hair & Eye Color: Short, messy brown hair with a single long strand braided behind his right ear, amber eyes
Positive Traits: Observant, modest, humble, respectful, honorable
Negative Traits: Duty-obsessed, humorless, detached
Loyalties: Law of the Soul Society, Captain-Commander
Snapshots: Takashi is born to a lesser-noble family residing in the Rukongai (c.a.1850), Takashi's family is massacred by a rival clan (1875); Takashi trains under his late father's friend and mentor, Issei Endou (1875-1900); Takashi exacts revenge on the clan who murdered his family, wanders the Rukongai as a rounin (1900-present), Shinigami on mission in the Rukongai encounter Takashi and conscript him into the Gotei (2014); Takashi survives the Shinigami plague (2018)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description: Takashi has a tall, narrow build and appears to be in his mid to late twenties. Despite being rather lean, he has some definition to his muscles, although it seems as though he is still recovering from his years spent in malnutrition. This often leads opponents to underestimate him, perceiving him to be weak, but he possesses a surprising amount of raw strength that has been honed by the need for survival.
Others often describe Takashi as “having a long face,” but in reality his features are rather delicate. His skin tone is naturally light, but because of his near-constant exposure to the elements it has become tanned and weathered. He has a square chin and soft jaw-line, a small sharp nose, and long, thin eyebrows that slant down towards his eyes. His eyes have a slight curve to them and are amber in color. His pupils are notably small, and they appear to be in a constant constricted state. As a result, Takashi is not as sensitive to bright or sudden flashes of light, and his long-distance and lowlight vision is above average. His most striking feature is the thin, jagged scar that runs diagonally across the bridge of his nose and between his eyes, stretching from his forehead to his cheek.
Takashi has short, light brown hair that has a messy and somewhat “feathery” look to it. He has a slender, shoulder-length braid behind his left ear that he tightly wraps with cloth and weaves feathers into. Before becoming a Shinigami, his hair was longer and much more un-kept, and was often matted with dirt. Needless to say, his personal appearance is not one of his priorities, although he does try to keep himself presentable as a member of the Gotei. He wears the standard Shinigami Shihakushō along with a leather shoulder pad and gauntlet to accommodate his hawk.
Spiritual Description: Takashi's Reiatsu is deep crimson in color and feels "predatory" to his opponents when released, as though a hunter has fully focused upon a target.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality: Takashi is a calm and perceptive individual. He is unassuming, both in his view of others and in his bearing. This means that he is generally very respectful of others, whether they are his superiors or his subordinates, and is mild in manner and speech. However, this does not mean he respects them on a personal level, but that he is capable of demonstrating external decorum regardless of his true feelings. Nevertheless, he is essentially humble in disposition, taking pride in the honor of his position but not considering himself above those he has sworn to protect. Because of this, he finds it much easier to interact with the common souls of the Rukongai, as they more readily accept him as one of their own.
Takashi is solemn in expression and serious about his responsibility as a Soul Reaper. This no-nonsense and ambitious manner often aggravated those in his squad who were more laid-back about their assignments, but it allowed him to succeed in many of his assignments. His intelligence also helped him to stand out from fellow recruits. Although not skilled in philosophy or abstract concepts, he is perceptive of others and easily grasps the true nature of a situation. His intuition in battle is often disconcertingly accurate, enabling him to make critical decisions quickly and strategically. He is also capable of separating his emotions from duty, and is analytical and unemotional during a mission.
However, this ability to emotionally detach himself from a situation has both negative and positive consequences. It is his automatic response to crisis because of the trauma he experienced as a child. When taken to extremes he can lose himself as he becomes entirely consumed with achieving his objective. This psychological distance allows him to become incredibly violent, completely unaware or apathetic towards the consequences of his actions. In the past, this has also led to suicidal tendencies as he would throw himself into battle, heedless of danger.
Fortunately, Takashi has become much more mellow in recent years. This has been in part because he has learned to accept his past. He is generally thick-skinned and slow to anger, but he can be provoked, and when he loses his temper it is difficult for him to become calm again. He has a sharp eye for detail and is resourceful, mainly owing to the way he lived before becoming a Shinigami. He also has a gentle and caring side, as revealed by the manner in which he treats his hawk. Takashi has an immense capacity to empathize with others, and has most often been described by others as being “a man of great personal integrity.”
Goals & Achievements: At present, Takashi's underlying goal appears to be the reconciliation between Shinigami and the citizens of the Rukongai, as he possesses great compassion and empathy for the plight of common souls. This places him at odds within his division's mentality. At first, Takashi's devotion to duty out-weighed any personal "feelings" or honor when it came to the protection of the weak. However, as he has come to see the abuses carried out by the Gotei, he has begun to grow more and more uneasy with the methods utilized by the Second Division. Thus, he is struggling to reconcile the conflict between his loyalty to his superiors and his own sense of honor.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: The true name of Takashi's Zanpakutō is Aka no Tsume, (赤の爪, "Red Talon"). The most unusual aspect about the spirit of Takashi's Zanpakutō is that it has the ability to interact with the external world through inhabiting a vessel. In this case, the vessel is the body of a hawk. Before awakening his Zanpakutō, Takashi gave the name of Kohaku (琥珀, lit. "amber") to his hawk when she was a juvenile (and possessed lighter, yellowish chest feathers). He still calls her this even after the spirit of his Zanpakutō inhabited the bird. Most interesting about his relationship with his hawk is that he is able to form a telepathic mind link with her outside of Jinzen, which allows him to see and feel what she is seeing and feeling, and vice versa. This allows him to communicate rather fluidly with the spirit of his Zanpakutō that inhabits the hawk’s body.
When inside his inner world, the spirit of his Zanpakutō resembles a young girl with wings as opposed to arms, covered in a vestige of august feathers. She has a long, reddish brown mane of feathers as opposed to hair, dark skin, and piercing amber eyes. Personality-wise, she is far more vicious than Takashi, often relying on a savage, predatory instinct to swoop down on an opponent in combat, tearing her prey to shreds without qualm. That said, she truly cares for Takashi and is concerned that his own private fears and doubts have chained him. She desires, more than anything, to be able to soar freely without inhibition, but Takashi's weaknesses limit her abilities. Thus, when interacting in the inner world, she will often take out her frustration by attacking him or refusing to talk to him, although she would never endanger him by refusing to communicate should the need to strategize arise. While as perceptive as Takashi, she is also far more temperamental and moody, displaying "raptor-like" tendencies in the desire to hunt and kill, etc.
Tsubasa Shoji: (翼所持, “Wing Possession”) After first manifesting, the Spirit of Takashi’s Zanpakutō found a way to inhabit the body of his hawk, Kohaku. This allows it the ability to puppet the hawk, observe the external world, and interact with Takashi more directly, essentially a form of scrying. Following the same principle, Takashi developed a technique that allows for a “transfer of consciousness.” The Tsubasa Shoji is a technique is used for espionage and reconnaissance, and is not a fighting technique. Takashi first enters a state similar to that of Jinzen, and instead transfers his “consciousness” to the body of hawk while the spirit of his Zanpakutō acting as the connecting medium. Using the Aka no Tsume, he can direct the body of the hawk, and what he observes while "inhabiting" it is fed directly back into his awareness. Since he only scries via the hawk and does not fully inhabit it, this technique allows him to spy on others while completely masking his presence. However, this leaves his own body completely defenseless, and the time in which he can maintain the mental inhabitation is also limited.
Inner World: Takashi's inner world resembles the district in which he was born. A vast wilderness stretches out in all directions: the clear, deep blue sky of late autumn comes down to touch distant, hazy mountain ranges that form a wide basin filled with grass. In the center of this plane is a spreading maple tree, much larger than any seen in the physical world, whose ancient, twisted bark curls around itself, its branches full of red leaves. Aka no Tsume is typically found perching somewhere in the tree's branches, scouting out the field around her as though she is hunting for movement in the grass.
Power: By striking an opponent and drawing blood, Takashi is able to triple the effect of impact while in Shikai. Essentially, the original mark is mirrored, for a total of three total cuts.
Zanpakutō: The sealed form of Takashi's Zanpakutou resembles that of a normal katana, with a bronze tsuba and a red saya and hilt. He inherited the sword from his father, who used the same Asasuchi with another Spirit. Since the spirit of Takashi’s Zanpakutō has linked with that of his hawk it is also able to observe the outside world more directly than other Zanpakutō.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin: Takashi was born as a pure soul to the lesser-noble Sakuma clan about 150 years ago. The Sakuma family was somewhat unique in that Kenta, Takashi’s father, was partially allowed to reside in the Rukongai despite being a Shinigami. Following a shortage of food in the Seireitei several generations earlier, the Sakuma family had been appointed as wardens of a farming district outside the lawless districts, where they could oversee the production of wheat that was directly imported to the Seireitei. As the head of the family and a Shinigami, Kenta was required to report to the Gotei on a regular basis, and as such he was often away from his family. Takashi craved his father’s attention as a result, and tried to spend as much time as possible with him whenever he was at the Sakuma estate. His father educated him in traditional arts, such as Kenjutsu and calligraphy, and they often went hunting together in the thick forests of the family’s lands. It was here that Takashi developed his skills as a tracker and a hunter. His father wished him to become proficient in archery, but wishing to follow in his father’s footsteps, Takashi developed a preference for the sword.
When Takashi was a child there was worsening tension between the Sakuma household and the Miura clan, a powerful land-holding merchant-class family whose lands bordered the Sakuma’s. Kenta wanted to broker peace on both sides, but he was rejected by the Miura as a “hated” Shinigami. Furthermore, the Gotei pressured him to use force as opposed to negotiation in dealing with the Miura. Despite his best efforts Kenta began to make bitter enemies with both the Miura and his superior officers in the Gotei, who began to take his pacifistic ideals as a sign of treachery. Finally, after Kenta began to correspond with a member of the Miura without alerting the Seireitei, he was deemed a traitor.
When Takashi was around the age of twelve, he and his father returned home after hunting one day and found that the manor had been ransacked. Upon entering the courtyard they found all servants dead, and when they came to the house they discovered that all the members of the Sakuma family who were at home had been murdered. This included Takashi's mother and infant sister. The assassins had stayed to finish off the rest of the family, and closed in on Kenta unexpectedly. Takashi’s father attacked and fought back viciously, but after a desperate struggle he was cut down. Distraught, Takashi picked up his father’s sword and rushed at the attackers. He was taken out with one hit; the stroke that fell across his face gave him his signature scar, and the murderers left him for dead.
However, Kenta’s murderers had not in fact been from the Sakuma family, but were hired by the Seireitei to exploit the already deep-rooted suspicion against Kenta. In place of the Sakuma, they instated the Miura as the rightful wardens of the land, which had all been part of the conjoint plot between the Miura and the Seireitei.
After the attack on Takashi’s home, he was found and rescued by an elderly friend of Kenta’s, Issei Endō, who had come to the house to visit and had chanced upon a massacre instead. Issei took him back to his home in Akakusa District, where he managed a kenjutsu dōjō for the Rukon souls. Under his new guardian’s care, Takashi made a slow recovery. He was bitter after the tragedy, and was always at odds with his foster parents, often storming out on his own to return to the forests that were so familiar to him. It was on one of these occasions that he found his hawk, who had injured her wing and was struggling to free herself from a tangle of branches. Takashi saved her, brought her back with him, and nursed her back to health, although she did more to heal his wounded spirit than anything he did for her. Soon, the young bird became his lifelong companion. It was also during this time that he swore to himself that he would one day exact revenge on the Miura who had murdered his family.
Rise to Power: Takashi began to train under Issei at the dōjō. At first, Issei was hesitant to train him because he knew of Takashi’s angry and reckless nature and feared he would use his style for harm. His concerns proved correct, as Takashi later became involved with the Swallow Tails, a gang in one of the poorer wards of Akakusa. He joined in order to test his sword in real combat, and was never involved in much of the gang’s activities, serving as more of an aloof defender of the group than as an active member.
Decades passed, and eventually Takashi took it upon himself to carry out his revenge. He returned to what had formerly been his family’s lands, where he challenged the head of the Miura to a duel. The latter refused, and had hired swordsmen attack Takashi in his stead. When the fight came to an end with Takashi as the victor, he revealed his true name and the name of his father, but discovered that the Miura barely remembered the Sakuma, which disturbed him greatly. Drained of the desire to exact revenge, Takashi returned to his family’s house, now abandoned and desolate, overgrown by the wilderness. He wandered through the rooms, unsure of what he searched for. In the stillness of the house the weight of grief suddenly fell upon him, and for the first time since his family’s death he wept, mourning their loss. But as night descended the Miura, who had waited until dark to follow him, sprang on him in an ambush. In a frenzy, Takashi proceeded to kill every man at arms who attacked him, unknowingly aided by his awakening Zanpakutō. He then set fire to the house, erasing everything within that stood for his past.
Takashi had sustained heavy injuries during the battle. He wandered delirious into the forest, and his wounds eventually caused him to succumb to a fever. During this weakened state the spirit of Takashi's Zanpakutō first approached him, and helped to sustain him and heal his wounds. It was also this time that the spirit of his Zanpakutō came to inhabit the body of his hawk.
After recovering Takashi wandered as a rōnin swordsman throughout the rural lands of the Soul Society, traveling for many years. At first he was wary of being pursued by allies of the family he had defeated, but his enemies were few in number and he was soon forgotten. Eventually, Takashi stumbled across a detachment of Shinigami from the Second Division, who were battling a Hollow in the West Rukongai. After inadvertently discovering the Shinigami's target, which he attempted to hold at bay using his skills as a swordsman, he was discovered by the Shinigami who quickly dispatched the Hollow. Following this, Takashi was arrested on the grounds of illegally possessing a Zanpakutō and taken to the Gotei, although he was later cleared of these charges.
Upon reaching the Seireitei, Takashi was placed in the Shin'ō Academy, where he was given a cursory education in Kidō and the other forms of Zankensōki in which he lacked proficiency. Having already attained Shikai, he was able to graduate in a relatively short amount of time and was conscripted by the Second Division, following reports of his actions during the Rukongai mission and also seeing potential in his Tsubasa Shōji technique. However, Takashi’s ideals soon came to be at odds with that of the Onmitsukidō. After joining the Gotei, his conscience regarding the way in which Rukon souls were treated, often as expendable resources largely ignored by the Gotei, began to convict him. However, he found himself increasingly forced to set aside those personal convictions in the line of duty. Ever modest and respectful in voicing his own opinions, Takashi did not make his disagreements with the Onmitsukidō’s methods known to his superior officers. As such, he continues to wallow in a state of unhappiness, his values of unquestioning loyalty to his orders in contradiction with his morality in carrying out what he knows to be wrong.
Call to Action: Somehow, Takashi managed to miraculously weather the plague that had wracked the Seireitei five years ago. As the Shinigami around him continued to fall one by one, he began to ask himself why he was one of the few lucky ones. The decimation claimed many fellow members of the Second Division, and most were more skilled than he was. But Takashi was largely ambivalent to the unfolding tragedy, continuing to carry out his duties stoically while attempting to ignore the suffering around him. He knew that if he began to empathize with the plight of the victims, he would fall into a pit from which he would be unable to pull himself out of. But it suddenly became a different, more personal story when his former mentor, Issei Endō, was taken by the plague.
Beneath the new burden of grief and stress, Takashi sealed shut the cracks that had begun to show in his hardened exterior. His personality is now very similar to what it was years ago following the slaughter of the Miura. Detached, reserved, and chiefly concerned with his own survival, Takashi has unfortunately come to see his sense of honor as nothing but futile naivety and has become bitter, even sardonic, towards those around him. Perhaps exacerbated by this dangerous emotional state, the Aka no Tsume has begun to whisper his name again after five years of silence. It is an instinctual appeal, drawing him towards the desire to give into his Zanpakutō—to give into the bloodlust that he has always resisted, to ruthlessly cut-down and kill. Now, if he continues on his solitary path, it will only be a matter of time before he gives into that voice.
