Post by Hana Mushoku on Aug 18, 2017 7:49:04 GMT -5
MUSHOKU, HANA
Unseated Recruit, Hana of the 2nd Division
[ AT A GLANCE ]
Age / Apparent Age: 215 / 18
Genderr: Female
Height & Weight: 5'4" & 120lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Black Hair, Blue Eyes
Positive Traits:
-Determined
-Honest
-Lawful
-Equitable
-Studious
Negative Traits:
-Socially Timid
-Self-doubting
-Paranoid
Loyalties:
In order of significance, her division by rank, the Gotei, herself, allies, other
Snapshots:
1802 (Birth)
1814 (Death by poison)
1815-2010 (Studying in Rukongai, West 47)
2010 (Joined Academy)
2013 (Achieved Shikai)
2016 (Joined 2nd Division)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description:
At a glance Hana is a short young woman with a slender frame and a calm demeanor. She has pale skin that doesn't quite match her jet-black hair, but her short shaggy cut accentuates her dark blue eyes well. Her nose is small on her face, and her lips are thin, most often kept in a straight line. This conveys a cold, emotionless expression most of the time, matched by her tone of voice and actions. She wears the most basic version of the shihakusho uniform, with no adornments save for the zanpakuto worn on her back. When this large garment isn't covering her body, it's clear that she spends a lot of her time doing physical training, as her muscles are well toned and defined from years of practice.
Spiritual Description:
Hana's reiatsu, when visible, has a dark blue hue to it. The more prevalent it is, such as during Shikai release, the more it looks like a swirling mass of teeth could be seen within waves of blue, like a gateway into some monstrous maw. Those who feel the full weight of her spiritual pressure often feel like they're being devoured by a great beast, surrounded by teeth. In extreme cases these teeth feel like they're piercing a target through from every direction, along with an immense crushing weight like being squeezed by powerful jaws.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality:
Hana is generally seen as cold and unfeeling. This isn't directly intentional, but instead the result of her calm and calculating mannerisms. Depending on her situation, this often means different things, though it remains consistent. In combat she falls back on her training more than instinct, in social interactions she usually just wants them to end quickly. All of this combined creates a chilly facade that keeps her distant from others. She isn't foolish, however. She uses this distance from others to think more objectively about her current situation. By being clam and collected, she can make more tactical decisions during a mission, and pass judgement on enemy and ally alike.
Hana holds order and law above all else, and will convict allies and enemies in equal measure. If someone stands outside the laws and rules passed by the Gotei, Hana will often take it upon herself to see their sentence carried out. How this is done varies by who and what has been done, for example she's more likely to attack a hollow on sight than someone from her division. However she's not likely to turn a blind eye on their actions, and will actively seek to bring them to justice by methods such as bringing them to the attention of superiors or subduing them if they are a significant threat. If ordered to kill someone by one of her superiors, the lieutenant or captain, the only thing liable to stop her is a direct order from someone of higher rank in the Gotei. (This does include the input of multiple captains, however, should the need ever arise)
Goals & Achievements:
Hana's goals are simple but ever-evolving. She seeks to better herself, in that she believes she isn't good enough. This isn't out of desire to compete with others, but instead to compete with her own abilities. She aims to learn and achieve new techniques and powers. As such, her current goals are to improve her ability to control her Reiatsu, and to achieve the Bankai. She also seeks to better control her wild zanpakuto spirit, and use them in a more efficient and effective manner.
This goal to constantly attain greater power and self control will likely but indirectly steer Hana towards other goals, such as to become a ranking member of her division, and to explore places that other Shinigami don't often go for her pursuit of knowledge.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: Warudosame, the World Shark.
Warudosame, or Same (sah-may) for short, is the spirit of Hana's Zanpakuto. Same takes the form of a shadowy shark within Hana's Inner World, gargatuan in size there. Because of this, Same is often only visible as a vague outline, and a lot of large silvery teeth. These teeth, each likely much large than the average person, are shaped like guillotines that mesh together perfectly to form a looming smirk in the far distance. Warudosame embodies Hana's determination, but in a much more violent and unpredictable manner than Hana practices. It is vicious and violent and takes a more active approach to both combat and justice. Where Hana might seek orders or advice from a superior, Warudosame would prefer that she take matters into her own hands.
Warudosame's current goals are most prominently to force Hana outside of her comfort zone. To break her artificial limitations that she's set on herself, and in doing so to further her development by allowing her more routes to grow.
Inner World:
Hana's inner world is representative of how she sees herself. She feels restrained, limited, and weak. This manifests as a black void, through which numerous chains hang that fade out of view into the distance. Each chain is a tangible depiction of things that she feels unwilling or unable to do. Her self-doubt and paranoia have caused the Inner World to be densely populated by these chains. There isn't much else currently within her Inner World, Warudosame excluded, however this is subject to change as she develops. A notable form of this is when she breaks through a perceived limitation (intentional or not) and causes one or more of the chains to break.
Power: Hana manifests her power as chainsaw-like teeth of spiritual energy along the edges of her weapon. These teeth are capable of tearing at and absorbing the spiritual energy of others (or herself).
Zanpakutō: Hana carries the standard shinigami Zanpakuto with no variation or adornments.
Shikai- Upon release Hana's zanpakuto becomes a set of four limb-mounted blades akin to guillotine blades. The two for her feet are strapped to her lower legs, with flat blades to allow her to walk and maneuver as if they were extensions of her own shoes, and the two for her arms have angled blades in the more traditional style. Unlike traditional guillotine blades, however, each of the four weapons have a longer edge that Hana can utilize more effectively in combat, along the outside of her arms and in front of her legs to be specific. When her power is active the edges of the blade glow with varying intensity, depending on how much spiritual energy they have absorbed. The more energy consumed, the more visible they become.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin:
Mortality
Hana's mortal life was fairly uneventful for many years. She was the daughter of an executioner, and though the job paid well enough it created a stigma on her and her father, which she lived with. Because of this Hana had no real friends, and didn't take to leaving her house more often than was necessary. She didn't think anything of it, though, as it seemed to be fairly normal to her. It was all she had known, after all. As she got older, however, there were complications with Hana's health. Around the time she should have been leaving her home to make her own life, she instead fell sick. Not quite life-threatening, but persistent and weakening so that Hana was unable to leave her bed most days. At the peak of her illness Hana's desparate father began reaching out to anyone who might help, including a travelling healer by the name of Kousa. When hearing of the daughter's condition, Kousa gathered her things and rushed over as soon as she could.
Kousa spent several weeks with Hana. She studied Hana's condition, left for a time to create and compare medicines, and returned every day with a new concoction or treatment to try. Over time the combined effects and efforts of Kousa began to alleviate Hana's illness, and after the third week Hana felt better than she had in a very long time. Hana's father was overjoyed, and attempted to generously compensate Kousa for her time and aid, but Kousa turned down the offer. She took only what she said was necessary for the cost of materials and travel, thanking Hana's father and then leaving.
Each passing day saw Hana healthier and more active, and the house had gone from bleak to almost cheerful. Then, almost a week after Kousa had left their house, Hana's father returned home with a troubled look on his face. This was quite unusual for him, given his generally placid demeanor. After some pushing Hana discovered that the woman who had nursed her back to health has been sentenced to death. She had been accused of witchcraft, and the revalation shocked Hana to the core. More than a handful of people could have attested to her kindness, but they did not. Hana couldn't understand, but when she questioned her father she was silenced by him. The execution was set for the next day, and he had chosen to sleep early in preparation.
Hana was instructed to remain home. She knew that disobeying her father would get her into a lot of trouble, but deep down she felt that this was wrong. She had become friends with this woman, had her life saved by them. She was still young, and by her flawed logic she felt she had to do something to stop this. She went to the execution square, where she saw the huddled masses. It was just in time for the reading of her crimes. She could hear a man yelling several things that barely made sense to her. His purpose here wasn't to condemn her, but to ensure that the crowd condemned her as well. With each short sentence he spoke the crowd gasped and shuddered, swayed into believing she was some terrible heathen bent on stealing children and cursing men.
Hana wanted to hear none of it. She wouldn't believe his lies, not after having seen this woman's truly caring side. She forced her way through the enthralled crowd, her small frame slipping through the cracks she could find until she was nearing the front. She could see her father now. He wore thick robes and a mask, both for his anonymity and to protect him from the bloodshed of the acts he carried out. She wanted to cry out to him right then and there, yell for him to stop. But he wasn't alone with the deed caller on that stage. This was the first time she'd been to the execution square when it was in use, and the guillotine had never looked so menacing before. The healer was strapped into the device, a prison that shackled her neck in place. She looked resigned. Not sad or afraid, but calm. It was heartbreaking, and it caused the words to catch in Hana's mouth.
Hana could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She felt her hand reaching out to the lady, and before her mind consciously registered what she was doing she began to run towards the stand. She had almost made it when a hand clasped down on her shoulder so hard that she nearly fell to her knees. The hand remained, clasped to her shoulder so tightly that the fingers dug into her flesh and made her wince. She turned to see a gruff looking man with a deeply disapproving frown on his face, looking not at her but at the stand. He said nothing, only acknowledging her with the painfully tight grasp that kept her in place. It was at this point she realised that everyone had gone silent. Even the deed caller, with his list of accusations, said no more. She turned her head back to the stage just in time to hear the sound of the guillotine's blade dropping. With a clean slice the healer's head was removed before Hana's eyes. She felt weak, sickened to her core by the sight. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the head fell to the basket.
She could hear thunderous noises behind her. Applause, excitement, joy. Cheering across the entire crowd at the witch's end. The man's grip on her shoulder finally loosened. She looked back to him, and saw him fighting back tears of his own. He was doing a fairly good job of it, and nobody in the crowd seemed to notice as the people started to disperse. Kneeling down next to her, the man spoke softly, "There was nothing you or I could have done. If you had gone up there, they would have put you on trial for aiding a witch. Go home now. I need to gather my things and leave this place." his hand fell from Hana's shoulder, and he stood calmly to walk away.
Returning home, Hana waited in silence for her father. She felt heavy, burdened with guilt and the pain of loss. Her mind was a torrent of scattered thoughts. About how unfair the world was, and how she could have just as easily been put on that stand. Her father returned home soon, but neither of them spoke for quite some time, even after he'd changed. Hana's father was the first to speak, "I saw... I saw you there. You disobeyed me. Don't you know that they could have had you killed as well? I... they would have made me execute my own daughter." his voice trailed, and the end of the sentence wasn't directed at Hana anymore.
"She was a good person. She saved my life." Hana protested weakly, still trying to make sense of the situation.
"She was a witch, and if you tell anybody that she helped you then they might accuse you of conspiring with one." he warned, snapping his head up suddenly to stare into her eyes.
"No she wasn't!" Hana yelled, this time, as if it would get her point across better, "She wasn't a witch! She just wanted to help people!" her hands balled into fists as sorrow gave way to anger.
Her father broke eye contact again to look at the floor, "I was there, at the trial. I didn't want to believe it myself, but she killed a man. When accused, she didn't fight or deny it at all. I saw her face, when they read his name... she was smiling, Hana. I know you want to think she was a good person. I..." he took a deep breath, "I wanted to believe she was a good person."
Hana was stunned at this revelation. She couldn't imagine it, but she didn't think her father was lying to her. Not when he looked so visibly shaken himself. Her anger began to dissipate and her hands unclenched. Tears came back to her eyes but this time she fought to contain them. "She was so nice to me... why would she do something like that?" she asked, expecting her father to know.
He only shook his head in response. "I'm not sure why anyone would kill someone else in such a terrifying way. They say he was in agony for hours, Hana. When I kill, Hana, it is for peace and justice. It is mercifully quick. What she did... I don't think anyone deserves that." The conversation ended. Her father had no more to say, and when Hana seemed to want to ask more, he only looked away.
Two days later what Hana's father had feared came to pass. He had invited Kousa into his house, and she had brought hope into his life. So to see his daughter, laying in bed surrounded by a pool of his own blood, somehow made this feel as if it was his fault. He knew that Hana was in great pain, but this was nothing like the illness from before. There was no fever or rash. In his mind, this was the work of a witch, a last curse to spite the man who would take her life. But the truth was far more sinister than that, as Kousa's masterfully crafted poison ravaged Hana's internal organs and brought the girl slowly to death.
Plus & Rukongai
As a plus Hana was deeply troubled. Her death had been fairly traumatic, and she spent much of her time thinking on the events that had transpired just before. She was so distressed that she neared the state of becoming a hollow, and it was just before this that a mysterious Shinigami arrived before her. She was trembling and on her knees, frightened and confused, but the Shinigami was quiet and patient with her. They explained briefly to her that she was going to leave this place and its pain behind her. She would join the soul society, where she would be able to find peace. She didn't need much more convincing than that, and agreed to go with them peacefully. The Konso was performed, and Hana arrived in the west 47th district.
She appeared there as she was in life, very young still, and very confused by the things around her. It was far from the paradise described to her before. The memories of her human life were still very fresh in her mind. The pain of her death, the fear she felt in her mind. She spent her days wandering this strange new place, but she wasn't a part of it. She remained disconnected, unwilling to socialize with the many souls wandering through and uninterested by any of the luxuries or comforts that could have been offered to her. Candies and friendship seemed meaningless when she didn't need them to begin with.
Instead she turned her now vast amount of free time to learning. She studied the Soul Society and its purpose, stealing glimpses of information when she could by listening in on conversations and reading what books she could find. Eventually she amassed a small library in the place she called home, a little shack among many others. She had a few sparse visitors, those who were lost and wandering mainly. Anyone who had already met her at least once simply knew her as the timid little girl hiding behind a wall of books. But as her knowledge grew, so did her power. She learned of Shinigami, of the fight against hollows and the need to bring justice and order to the world.
It awakened something inside her. A deep desire, tying her back to that moment of her death. To the image of her father standing over her, weeping. She could feel it deep inside her soul, that she couldn't let others suffer like he did. The world didn't need heroes, she felt, it needed swift justice. As a soul she knew that she was weak and limited, she felt doubt inside that she could ever become strong enough to be a tool or weapon of justice. Despite, or perhaps in spite of these feelings, she continued to study, and when she ran out of things to study, she trained. She used her amassed knowledge to train her body, and her mind, techniques used by shinigami and even began to step outside her boundaries to seek help from others.
Though she never was able to shake her timid nature, she began to make a few sparse allies in the Rukongai who eventually shared their own knowledge. She began to see the value of making friends, if only to better herself in the process, but at the same time she never really came to see these people as true friends. Instead they were like tools, living books containing the information she needed, and when someone could teach her no more she left them behind to seek others. This shaped her life in the Rukongai for many years, all the way until she had gained enough strength and attention of a Shinigami who took interest in her development. Though they only really met in passing, the Shinigami had been watching her for several days, and suggested that Hana take the entrance exam for the Academy. When Hana tried to explain that she wasn't sure that she was ready, the Shinigami gave her encouragement, saying that even if she failed she would have had the chance to learn more and try again. The prospect of furthering her own knowledge and abilities enticed Hana, and she soon arrived at the academy with the Shinigami's aid in navigating the Rukongai to the academy's location.
Rise to Power:
Hana's arrival at the academy left her flustered and nervous. She could see souls all around gathering for the entrance exam, many ready to be the first in the gates. Hana followed behind the crowd, at enough distance to not run into any other people so long as she could help it. Many seemed to be forming groups of two or more to converse and share their stories, but whenever anyone approached Hana she turned them away with a dismissive shake of her head, staring at the ground and shuffling her feet away from them. After what seemed like far too long, the academy doors opened, and she found herself a seat. She was still extremely unsure of herself, but with each question she was becoming a little more confident. She had been preparing for this for a long time, and she knew the answers to almost every question. She wasn't the first to finish, and she didn't get the best results of her group, but she was accepted into the academy on her first attempt.
This was the start of a new chapter in her life, as she gained access to all new sources of information, including but not limited to teachers willing to aid her studies. A new world opened up before her, and she soaked it all in. She discovered that, though she was not physically strong, she had an aptitude for swordplay and combat techniques. She could move with the grace and finesse required of a sword, and she could get in and out of combat range with ease. In addition, though she didn't strike as viciously as others, she developed her techniques to focus on precision. She learned to find and target the weakest part of her enemies, and use every advantage available to her.
Precision didn't extend to her ability to control her spiritual energy, though. It was like a chaotic swirling mass to her, ethereal and unapproachable despite her best attempts to emulate what others did. She learned at a slower rate than most of the class when it came to using Hado and Bakudo, and as a result she applied herself even more to these subjects. Every time she failed, she took it as an opportunity to learn and push forward. Even despite her shortcomings, she was praised by her teachers for the amount of effort she put into it. This wasn't enough for her, though. She always felt as though she needed to be more, to do more. She rarely took a break, always moving from one subject to another and then reading when classes weren't in session.
She was never satisfied with her achievements. Every time she accomplished something new she set her sights on the next step up. When she felt she had gained sufficient proficiency with her Zanpakuto in its sealed form, three years into her life at the academy, she began actively seeking advice on the Inner World and the souls that dwelt within. Of course, in the academy it wasn't difficult to find such information. The teachers shared openly their own techniques and advised that each person has their own Inner World and method of accessing it. Shiro took each person's advice and developed her own strategy. She set aside a time each day for meditation, with her Zanpakuto in hand. She did her best to wash away all conscious thought and find the deeper meaning of self.
It didn't work, at least not at first or as she had expected. To begin with, she found it excessively difficult to empty her mind. Each time she felt close to success it reminded her of what she was doing and why. Over time it became an exercise in futility, and her inability to approach the next stage of her development was plaguing her with doubts. This approached a state of depression, and might have crippled her had it not first brought her to the point of anger. During one of her meditations she was having an especially difficult time focusing, her mind a storm of activity that would not quiet. It made her heart race, and her grip on the sword's hilt tightened until her knuckles were white. With a sudden outburst of frustration she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. It was like there was no air in her lungs. But having been a soul for so long she knew that this wasn't right. She didn't need air, she didn't need to breathe. She had long since shed her mortal body. So, slowly opening her eyes, she tried to figure out what was wrong.
The sight she was greeted with both stunned and awed her. She was no longer gripping the hilt of a sword, but instead a giant piece of metal chain. Each link was almost as large as her body, and it formed an equally gigantic chain that hung suspended in a dark chasm. A void reached out to all sides around her, densely populated with other chains that hung in the nothingness of this strange place. Realizing now that her tense grip was the only thing keeping her from falling into nothing, she swung her legs up and wrapped them so as to keep herself stable on this otherwise unsuitable platform. This caused her facing to reverse, now looking at the other side of the chasm. It was here that she saw it. Far in the distance, but still so massive that she could count the individual teeth of the creature. She didn't bother to, though, numerous as they were. Instead she focused her attention on the two giant white eyes. Everything else about it blended seamlessly into the darkness, but those two features were enough to tell her of its enormity.
A rumbling laugh filled the chasm. Deep and gravelly and vibrating so intensely throughout that it rattled the chains around her. Just when Hana felt she might be shaken from her own chain, it slowed to a stop and the beast in the distance seemed to smile. It spoke, and as it spoke everything around Hana shook again, "So you've finally made time for a visit. Good, good. But what do you do now, little one? Look around you. This isn't a place of power and strength. What did you think you were doing, coming here? Did you mean to taunt me in my own home world? No, you came seeking power. I know you, perhaps better than you do. I know what you're after. Your wants and your goals. Did you think that by coming here you'd be able to ask my name, to unlock my power? Go on then, ask." it seemed to taunt her with that last sentence.
Hana, for her part, made her best attempt. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Shocked, she tried again. When she failed a second and a third time she stopped, looking confused and terrified. The beast spoke again, "No, I didn't think you could. Don't you know that this place is more than a part of you? It's a representation of your soul. Weak, pitiful, and bound by your own inability. You want my power, but you don't have any power yourself. How will you do my will and exact justice on the ill-fated demons of the world when you can't even form a proper sentence in my presence?" Hana could feel its pupil-less eyes focused on her relatively tiny form. It was like a weight placed on her body and she could feel her grip on the chain slipping more with every second and every word, "Remember this, Hana. You are a coward, and your strength is borrowed. All of these chains? They are the representation of the limits you've put on yourself. Most of them you aren't even aware of, yet. Like the one you're holding onto now, it is your unwillingness to kill. Did you really think you were prepared for this? To meet me? In comparison to you I am a god, and if you were to attempt to wield me now you would just kill yourself. Your presence here now is a waste of my time." the weight on her lifted, and Hana adjusted her grip, eyes focusing on the array of chains surrounding her. More than she could easily count, and the way they faded out into the distance she couldn't be sure there weren't more she didn't see now.
She felt hopeless for a moment as revelations dawned onto herself. She knew that what the beast said was truth. That she was not strong enough, and that perhaps she wasn't ready for this. But she took these doubts and pushed them not aside, but to the front of her mind. She picked the doubts apart. She focused on them and used them as motivation. If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't have come this far. She didn't want to waste this chance. Shifting her weight, Hana pushed herself upwards until she was on top of the chain, sitting on it with her legs still entwined. This was her world, she thought. Her soul, and her weaknesses. She stared at the beast in the distance, and slowly reached down to her hip where her zanpakuto usually rested. Much to her surprise, it was there, but the moment her fingers touched the hilt she felt that immense weight pushing her down again. She had drawn the beast's attention back to her, and it spoke almost jovially as it threatened to knock her from her perch with the force of its speech, "Oh? Are you still here then? What are you going to do with that? I'm sure you already know... that such a tiny and pathetic weapon is never going to reach me from there. If you intend to come after me, you'll spend the next year just running in my direction. Don't do anything foolish, child. Just leave this place, the same way you came in is fine."
Hana would hear none of it. They were just words to her now, the berating tone of this giant did little to stop what she had set in action. Drawing her sword, a traditional Shinigami katana, she raised it high over her head. Grasping the hilt with both hands she turned the tip downwards. Before the beast could utter another word, she brought the sword down to collide with the chain. It caused a shower of sparks and a hideous screeching noise that rang out into the darkness. She half expected the blade to bounce off or snap at this action, but instead it pierced through. Only about an inch, not far enough to do any serious damage, but at least it seemed to have the desired effect. She yanked the sword from the metal and raised her hands to try again. Now the beast fell silent, though the pressure on Hana was growing so intense she felt it might well and truly crush her. This time as she brought the blade down she felt a primal yell boil through her lungs. With the downward swing she let out a shout of mixed fury and force, the first real noise she had made since arriving in this place. This time there were no sparks, no screeching noises. This time the blade didn't cut the chain, and the previous etch she'd made in it seemed to have vanished when she inspected the damage with her eyes. But now something had changed.
"So this is your will?" the beast spoke finally, not giving Hana a third swing, "You wish to use me to break your chains? I am that sword. Yet, rather than turn me on others you decide to turn me on yourself?" Hana looked up, just in time to see a cut length of chain falling in the distance. The slice looked clean and deliberate, though she had been nowhere near that length when it broke. "You're the only one that can break these chains, and the others won't be so easy. The one you're sitting on in particular is among the strongest. But if you can break a chain through your own strength of will, no matter which it might have been, then there's hope for you yet. Now, with that chain broken, perhaps we'll try this again. Ask me my name." Each word of the last sentence was purposely emphasized, slow and deliberate.
Hana made the motion of taking a deep breath, though this place still offered no air and she still didn't need it. Then, with a thunderous yell that would reach the beast she called, "I am the tool of justice, the blade that will cut down the sinful and protect the righteous! I am Mushoku Hana, and I demand your name!"
"Better. Temporary courage, perhaps, but it is at least more than nothing. That will do fine." suddenly there was a rush of movement, and chains rattled and scraped in all directions. The teeth and eyes in the distance approached at alarming speed, and as they did they dragged lengths of chain with them like a spider's web. By the time it stopped it was so close she could see only one eye, and it was so densely covered in metal that she could gain some scope of its full size, which was larger than she could see in each direction. That single eye stared at her while the beast spoke again, "I am the World Shark. Devourer of man, beast, and soul alike. I am the teeth that rip and the hunger that feasts. I am Warudosame. In my name, make your enemies fear your presence, and be to them the crushing giant of demise and fury that you alone are not." the chains holding the beast strained audibly, but none broke as it continued to watch her.
"Warudosame." she repeated slowly, letting each syllable roll off of her tongue. Gaining her courage again, she took the zanpakuto in her hand and held it more properly. "Devour, Warudosame!" she shouted, feeling the metal itself shift in her hand. First it formed one blade, shaped like a guillotine's with the center cut out for a handle to rest near the bladed head. Then a chain reached around behind her to form a second blade on her other arm. Finally, from this link formed two more chains that reached to her legs, forming similar devices on her feet. Each blade was large enough to cover a fair portion of her outer arms, and the ones on her feet had flat heads that allowed them to function like ice-skates. She could feel them, resonating power into her, and she knew that she had come to succeed in taking the next step in her never-ending training.
But the awakening of Hana's Shikai was not in itself remarkable. While she had achieved it fairly early compared to her peers, it did not make her stronger or better than them. She knew this the first time she attempted to use it outside of her Inner World. Manifesting her Shikai in the physical world, Hana planned to begin training with it the very next day. Immediately on release, Warudosame revealed its nature to her. Though the blades were inert in her Inner World, in the physical world they reacted to the existence of Reiatsu. Specifically, her own chaotic and uncontrolled spiritual energy. The moment it made contact with her Reiatsu the edges of the blades began to vibrate and she could feel something cutting into her, though it left no physical wounds. It was immediately intensely painful, and she dropped the release of her zanpakuto after only a few short moments. This didn't stop her from continuing to try using it, but for the next three years of her academy training she was neither able to hold the Shikai for more than a minute, nor re-enter her Inner World to ask Warudosame about it.
Call to Action:
Then came the time for graduation. Hana was presented with two options. If she could successfully release and maintain her Shikai for a full five minutes, she would be accepted into the second division as a potential recruit. She was given one day and one night to prepare, on the suggestion of a teacher who had been monitoring her progress closely. She was advised to seek the council of her zanpakuto for this, and left on her own until the day of her final test. Hana sat down as she had every day and meditated with the sword in her grasp. She envisioned the chains, and the giant beast lurking within them. She cleared her mind of all other thoughts and tried to let herself drift there. Not by miracle or luck, but by pure frustration, she succeeded. When she thought that it was basically hopeless and was ready to throw the zanpakuto across the room she heard a great voice shake her thoughts loose and brought her to open her eyes.
This time she was not holding the chain, but instead the zanpakuto as she had been in her own room. She sat cross-legged atop one of the chain links turned sideways, and didn't feel in danger of falling off now as Warudosame spoke, "Didn't I tell you that you were weak? What are you doing here, little one? Are you so desperate that you can't even find a solution for yourself, even after all this time? Or is it that you don't even know what the problem is?" Warudosame laughed.
"Warudosame! Why are you trying to kill me? I thought you were going to lend me your power, not destroy me with it!" She called out, still not seeing where the voice came from this time.
"The latter, then. I already told you what my power is. I am the devourer. I consume all that there is to consume. If you don't temper your soul against me, then how can you hope to wield me so close to it? Don't ask me why I cut you, when it's you who's cutting yourself, foolish child."
Hana looked up now, and then down beneath the loop she was sat atop. Far below the teeth shone brightly, smiling upwards at her, ready to catch her should she fall from the chain. "Then how am I supposed to hold you?" Hana yelled out, feeling afflicted by a brief shudder of terror followed by more anger at her own inability to perform what should have been a simple task.
"That's simple, and difficult. I suppose that in this place would be the best, if only, place to practice. You don't have much time out there, after all. In here, I can torture you for as long as I want with the knowledge you seek." the teeth faded from view, something Hana would have expected to be difficult for the beast when the chains seemed to be everywhere. She began to scan her surroundings for the spirit, and without success she stood up to look around more closely. Before she could find Warudosame, though, it found her. With a sudden rush of what would have been air, something oily black sped by in front of her so close as to graze the edge of her apparel. It was nowhere near as massive as it was in its original form, but she had no doubt that this was Warudosame still. From somewhere so close that it sent chills down her spine, it spoke again in a whisper, "Your soul is still weak. You must temper it to withstand my bite, and the only way to do that... is if I bite you." with that a multitude of stabbing sensations covered Hana's flesh. She felt like she was being crushed by a pressure from all sides, and the dagger-like impalement all over made her think that this was surely the end of her. Inside her own skull she thought she could hear the creak of her bones ready to break, and it was difficult to think much less act when she was bound by the mouth of some giant unseen beast. She tried to speak, to protest against whatever was happening, but even that was silenced.
Then, there was nothingness. No chains. No Warudosame. No pain or pressure. Just the infinite void in all directions. She wasn't falling, there was no up or down and nowhere to fall to in this place. She wondered briefly if this was death, but that became a silly thought as she considered that death would simply mean rebirth, and she'd likely have no memory of her time as a soul, then. She reached out her hand to look at it, but in this place the darkness was all-encompassing and even with it right in front of her face she couldn't see it anymore. But despite all these things, she felt an eerie sense of calm washing over her. Then it spoke again, in that same soft tone, "Welcome to the belly of the beast, so to speak. I am Warudosame, the Devourer. I have so many jagged teeth, meant for gripping and ripping until all is ruin. The more you resist my existence, the more you struggle on my sharp teeth, the easier you will become prey to them. If you fight against me, you will only find yourself destroying yourself. You are intelligent, perhaps, but you are rigid and stiff. If you want to work with me, then you'll have to flow like water, and move in tandem with me. And most importantly... remember that I am hungry. And if you don't feed me... then I'll consume you instead."
Hana awoke in bed, in a cold sweat. It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Slowly, carefully, she sat up and checked the time. It was early in the night, and she decided that she needed to take the rest of the time she had available to her to train with what Warudosame had said in mind. She summoned her Shikai, and she felt the invisible teeth along the edge of the blade biting into her. She could feel the incredible pressure Warudosame was putting out, as if trying to consume her. But this time, rather than fighting it, she let those teeth bite deep. It hurt, at first, much like it always did. But the longer she maintained it the more she found that she could willingly channel her spirit energy into the blade, to let flow the sustenance Warudosame sought from her own body, given that there was no other suitable source for it around.
The next day she felt she was ready. More than that, she knew she could succeed. She approached the grounds where her final examination were to be held, and before the recruiter she demonstrated her newfound mastery over her shikai. After the long hours of the night practicing, she had achieved more than just summoning her shikai, but also controlling it to a minor extent. In the span of five minutes, she demonstrated to the recruiter exactly what she was doing, and what she could do with it. Along the bladed edge of the two weapons on her arms she concentrated enough Reiatsu to cause them to glow. Inside this glow were visible the teeth of her blades, hidden to the eye, moving quickly from one end of the blade to the other like a chainsaw. It was clearly visible what it was doing as it fed on her reiatsu, tearing it apart and then re-using that stolen energy to rotate even faster. At the end of five minutes she was almost completely drained of energy, but she had proven herself. She was accepted into the 2nd division of the Gotei.
In the two years since becoming a member she has yet to do anything truly remarkable to prove herself among her peers, though she is still constantly training. The nature of her Shikai has made it difficult to find specific missions that fit her talents, but she's taken to doing other tasks for the division as well as the normal work that Shinigami often do.
Unseated Recruit, Hana of the 2nd Division
[ AT A GLANCE ]
Age / Apparent Age: 215 / 18
Genderr: Female
Height & Weight: 5'4" & 120lbs
Hair & Eye Color: Black Hair, Blue Eyes
Positive Traits:
-Determined
-Honest
-Lawful
-Equitable
-Studious
Negative Traits:
-Socially Timid
-Self-doubting
-Paranoid
Loyalties:
In order of significance, her division by rank, the Gotei, herself, allies, other
Snapshots:
1802 (Birth)
1814 (Death by poison)
1815-2010 (Studying in Rukongai, West 47)
2010 (Joined Academy)
2013 (Achieved Shikai)
2016 (Joined 2nd Division)
[ ON THE SURFACE ]
Physical Description:
At a glance Hana is a short young woman with a slender frame and a calm demeanor. She has pale skin that doesn't quite match her jet-black hair, but her short shaggy cut accentuates her dark blue eyes well. Her nose is small on her face, and her lips are thin, most often kept in a straight line. This conveys a cold, emotionless expression most of the time, matched by her tone of voice and actions. She wears the most basic version of the shihakusho uniform, with no adornments save for the zanpakuto worn on her back. When this large garment isn't covering her body, it's clear that she spends a lot of her time doing physical training, as her muscles are well toned and defined from years of practice.
Spiritual Description:
Hana's reiatsu, when visible, has a dark blue hue to it. The more prevalent it is, such as during Shikai release, the more it looks like a swirling mass of teeth could be seen within waves of blue, like a gateway into some monstrous maw. Those who feel the full weight of her spiritual pressure often feel like they're being devoured by a great beast, surrounded by teeth. In extreme cases these teeth feel like they're piercing a target through from every direction, along with an immense crushing weight like being squeezed by powerful jaws.
[ BEHIND THE EYES ]
Personality:
Hana is generally seen as cold and unfeeling. This isn't directly intentional, but instead the result of her calm and calculating mannerisms. Depending on her situation, this often means different things, though it remains consistent. In combat she falls back on her training more than instinct, in social interactions she usually just wants them to end quickly. All of this combined creates a chilly facade that keeps her distant from others. She isn't foolish, however. She uses this distance from others to think more objectively about her current situation. By being clam and collected, she can make more tactical decisions during a mission, and pass judgement on enemy and ally alike.
Hana holds order and law above all else, and will convict allies and enemies in equal measure. If someone stands outside the laws and rules passed by the Gotei, Hana will often take it upon herself to see their sentence carried out. How this is done varies by who and what has been done, for example she's more likely to attack a hollow on sight than someone from her division. However she's not likely to turn a blind eye on their actions, and will actively seek to bring them to justice by methods such as bringing them to the attention of superiors or subduing them if they are a significant threat. If ordered to kill someone by one of her superiors, the lieutenant or captain, the only thing liable to stop her is a direct order from someone of higher rank in the Gotei. (This does include the input of multiple captains, however, should the need ever arise)
Goals & Achievements:
Hana's goals are simple but ever-evolving. She seeks to better herself, in that she believes she isn't good enough. This isn't out of desire to compete with others, but instead to compete with her own abilities. She aims to learn and achieve new techniques and powers. As such, her current goals are to improve her ability to control her Reiatsu, and to achieve the Bankai. She also seeks to better control her wild zanpakuto spirit, and use them in a more efficient and effective manner.
This goal to constantly attain greater power and self control will likely but indirectly steer Hana towards other goals, such as to become a ranking member of her division, and to explore places that other Shinigami don't often go for her pursuit of knowledge.
[ GUARDIAN ANGEL ]
Zanpakutō Spirit: Warudosame, the World Shark.
Warudosame, or Same (sah-may) for short, is the spirit of Hana's Zanpakuto. Same takes the form of a shadowy shark within Hana's Inner World, gargatuan in size there. Because of this, Same is often only visible as a vague outline, and a lot of large silvery teeth. These teeth, each likely much large than the average person, are shaped like guillotines that mesh together perfectly to form a looming smirk in the far distance. Warudosame embodies Hana's determination, but in a much more violent and unpredictable manner than Hana practices. It is vicious and violent and takes a more active approach to both combat and justice. Where Hana might seek orders or advice from a superior, Warudosame would prefer that she take matters into her own hands.
Warudosame's current goals are most prominently to force Hana outside of her comfort zone. To break her artificial limitations that she's set on herself, and in doing so to further her development by allowing her more routes to grow.
Inner World:
Hana's inner world is representative of how she sees herself. She feels restrained, limited, and weak. This manifests as a black void, through which numerous chains hang that fade out of view into the distance. Each chain is a tangible depiction of things that she feels unwilling or unable to do. Her self-doubt and paranoia have caused the Inner World to be densely populated by these chains. There isn't much else currently within her Inner World, Warudosame excluded, however this is subject to change as she develops. A notable form of this is when she breaks through a perceived limitation (intentional or not) and causes one or more of the chains to break.
Power: Hana manifests her power as chainsaw-like teeth of spiritual energy along the edges of her weapon. These teeth are capable of tearing at and absorbing the spiritual energy of others (or herself).
Zanpakutō: Hana carries the standard shinigami Zanpakuto with no variation or adornments.
Shikai- Upon release Hana's zanpakuto becomes a set of four limb-mounted blades akin to guillotine blades. The two for her feet are strapped to her lower legs, with flat blades to allow her to walk and maneuver as if they were extensions of her own shoes, and the two for her arms have angled blades in the more traditional style. Unlike traditional guillotine blades, however, each of the four weapons have a longer edge that Hana can utilize more effectively in combat, along the outside of her arms and in front of her legs to be specific. When her power is active the edges of the blade glow with varying intensity, depending on how much spiritual energy they have absorbed. The more energy consumed, the more visible they become.
[ LEGACY CREATED ]
Origin:
Mortality
Hana's mortal life was fairly uneventful for many years. She was the daughter of an executioner, and though the job paid well enough it created a stigma on her and her father, which she lived with. Because of this Hana had no real friends, and didn't take to leaving her house more often than was necessary. She didn't think anything of it, though, as it seemed to be fairly normal to her. It was all she had known, after all. As she got older, however, there were complications with Hana's health. Around the time she should have been leaving her home to make her own life, she instead fell sick. Not quite life-threatening, but persistent and weakening so that Hana was unable to leave her bed most days. At the peak of her illness Hana's desparate father began reaching out to anyone who might help, including a travelling healer by the name of Kousa. When hearing of the daughter's condition, Kousa gathered her things and rushed over as soon as she could.
Kousa spent several weeks with Hana. She studied Hana's condition, left for a time to create and compare medicines, and returned every day with a new concoction or treatment to try. Over time the combined effects and efforts of Kousa began to alleviate Hana's illness, and after the third week Hana felt better than she had in a very long time. Hana's father was overjoyed, and attempted to generously compensate Kousa for her time and aid, but Kousa turned down the offer. She took only what she said was necessary for the cost of materials and travel, thanking Hana's father and then leaving.
Each passing day saw Hana healthier and more active, and the house had gone from bleak to almost cheerful. Then, almost a week after Kousa had left their house, Hana's father returned home with a troubled look on his face. This was quite unusual for him, given his generally placid demeanor. After some pushing Hana discovered that the woman who had nursed her back to health has been sentenced to death. She had been accused of witchcraft, and the revalation shocked Hana to the core. More than a handful of people could have attested to her kindness, but they did not. Hana couldn't understand, but when she questioned her father she was silenced by him. The execution was set for the next day, and he had chosen to sleep early in preparation.
Hana was instructed to remain home. She knew that disobeying her father would get her into a lot of trouble, but deep down she felt that this was wrong. She had become friends with this woman, had her life saved by them. She was still young, and by her flawed logic she felt she had to do something to stop this. She went to the execution square, where she saw the huddled masses. It was just in time for the reading of her crimes. She could hear a man yelling several things that barely made sense to her. His purpose here wasn't to condemn her, but to ensure that the crowd condemned her as well. With each short sentence he spoke the crowd gasped and shuddered, swayed into believing she was some terrible heathen bent on stealing children and cursing men.
Hana wanted to hear none of it. She wouldn't believe his lies, not after having seen this woman's truly caring side. She forced her way through the enthralled crowd, her small frame slipping through the cracks she could find until she was nearing the front. She could see her father now. He wore thick robes and a mask, both for his anonymity and to protect him from the bloodshed of the acts he carried out. She wanted to cry out to him right then and there, yell for him to stop. But he wasn't alone with the deed caller on that stage. This was the first time she'd been to the execution square when it was in use, and the guillotine had never looked so menacing before. The healer was strapped into the device, a prison that shackled her neck in place. She looked resigned. Not sad or afraid, but calm. It was heartbreaking, and it caused the words to catch in Hana's mouth.
Hana could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She felt her hand reaching out to the lady, and before her mind consciously registered what she was doing she began to run towards the stand. She had almost made it when a hand clasped down on her shoulder so hard that she nearly fell to her knees. The hand remained, clasped to her shoulder so tightly that the fingers dug into her flesh and made her wince. She turned to see a gruff looking man with a deeply disapproving frown on his face, looking not at her but at the stand. He said nothing, only acknowledging her with the painfully tight grasp that kept her in place. It was at this point she realised that everyone had gone silent. Even the deed caller, with his list of accusations, said no more. She turned her head back to the stage just in time to hear the sound of the guillotine's blade dropping. With a clean slice the healer's head was removed before Hana's eyes. She felt weak, sickened to her core by the sight. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the head fell to the basket.
She could hear thunderous noises behind her. Applause, excitement, joy. Cheering across the entire crowd at the witch's end. The man's grip on her shoulder finally loosened. She looked back to him, and saw him fighting back tears of his own. He was doing a fairly good job of it, and nobody in the crowd seemed to notice as the people started to disperse. Kneeling down next to her, the man spoke softly, "There was nothing you or I could have done. If you had gone up there, they would have put you on trial for aiding a witch. Go home now. I need to gather my things and leave this place." his hand fell from Hana's shoulder, and he stood calmly to walk away.
Returning home, Hana waited in silence for her father. She felt heavy, burdened with guilt and the pain of loss. Her mind was a torrent of scattered thoughts. About how unfair the world was, and how she could have just as easily been put on that stand. Her father returned home soon, but neither of them spoke for quite some time, even after he'd changed. Hana's father was the first to speak, "I saw... I saw you there. You disobeyed me. Don't you know that they could have had you killed as well? I... they would have made me execute my own daughter." his voice trailed, and the end of the sentence wasn't directed at Hana anymore.
"She was a good person. She saved my life." Hana protested weakly, still trying to make sense of the situation.
"She was a witch, and if you tell anybody that she helped you then they might accuse you of conspiring with one." he warned, snapping his head up suddenly to stare into her eyes.
"No she wasn't!" Hana yelled, this time, as if it would get her point across better, "She wasn't a witch! She just wanted to help people!" her hands balled into fists as sorrow gave way to anger.
Her father broke eye contact again to look at the floor, "I was there, at the trial. I didn't want to believe it myself, but she killed a man. When accused, she didn't fight or deny it at all. I saw her face, when they read his name... she was smiling, Hana. I know you want to think she was a good person. I..." he took a deep breath, "I wanted to believe she was a good person."
Hana was stunned at this revelation. She couldn't imagine it, but she didn't think her father was lying to her. Not when he looked so visibly shaken himself. Her anger began to dissipate and her hands unclenched. Tears came back to her eyes but this time she fought to contain them. "She was so nice to me... why would she do something like that?" she asked, expecting her father to know.
He only shook his head in response. "I'm not sure why anyone would kill someone else in such a terrifying way. They say he was in agony for hours, Hana. When I kill, Hana, it is for peace and justice. It is mercifully quick. What she did... I don't think anyone deserves that." The conversation ended. Her father had no more to say, and when Hana seemed to want to ask more, he only looked away.
Two days later what Hana's father had feared came to pass. He had invited Kousa into his house, and she had brought hope into his life. So to see his daughter, laying in bed surrounded by a pool of his own blood, somehow made this feel as if it was his fault. He knew that Hana was in great pain, but this was nothing like the illness from before. There was no fever or rash. In his mind, this was the work of a witch, a last curse to spite the man who would take her life. But the truth was far more sinister than that, as Kousa's masterfully crafted poison ravaged Hana's internal organs and brought the girl slowly to death.
Plus & Rukongai
As a plus Hana was deeply troubled. Her death had been fairly traumatic, and she spent much of her time thinking on the events that had transpired just before. She was so distressed that she neared the state of becoming a hollow, and it was just before this that a mysterious Shinigami arrived before her. She was trembling and on her knees, frightened and confused, but the Shinigami was quiet and patient with her. They explained briefly to her that she was going to leave this place and its pain behind her. She would join the soul society, where she would be able to find peace. She didn't need much more convincing than that, and agreed to go with them peacefully. The Konso was performed, and Hana arrived in the west 47th district.
She appeared there as she was in life, very young still, and very confused by the things around her. It was far from the paradise described to her before. The memories of her human life were still very fresh in her mind. The pain of her death, the fear she felt in her mind. She spent her days wandering this strange new place, but she wasn't a part of it. She remained disconnected, unwilling to socialize with the many souls wandering through and uninterested by any of the luxuries or comforts that could have been offered to her. Candies and friendship seemed meaningless when she didn't need them to begin with.
Instead she turned her now vast amount of free time to learning. She studied the Soul Society and its purpose, stealing glimpses of information when she could by listening in on conversations and reading what books she could find. Eventually she amassed a small library in the place she called home, a little shack among many others. She had a few sparse visitors, those who were lost and wandering mainly. Anyone who had already met her at least once simply knew her as the timid little girl hiding behind a wall of books. But as her knowledge grew, so did her power. She learned of Shinigami, of the fight against hollows and the need to bring justice and order to the world.
It awakened something inside her. A deep desire, tying her back to that moment of her death. To the image of her father standing over her, weeping. She could feel it deep inside her soul, that she couldn't let others suffer like he did. The world didn't need heroes, she felt, it needed swift justice. As a soul she knew that she was weak and limited, she felt doubt inside that she could ever become strong enough to be a tool or weapon of justice. Despite, or perhaps in spite of these feelings, she continued to study, and when she ran out of things to study, she trained. She used her amassed knowledge to train her body, and her mind, techniques used by shinigami and even began to step outside her boundaries to seek help from others.
Though she never was able to shake her timid nature, she began to make a few sparse allies in the Rukongai who eventually shared their own knowledge. She began to see the value of making friends, if only to better herself in the process, but at the same time she never really came to see these people as true friends. Instead they were like tools, living books containing the information she needed, and when someone could teach her no more she left them behind to seek others. This shaped her life in the Rukongai for many years, all the way until she had gained enough strength and attention of a Shinigami who took interest in her development. Though they only really met in passing, the Shinigami had been watching her for several days, and suggested that Hana take the entrance exam for the Academy. When Hana tried to explain that she wasn't sure that she was ready, the Shinigami gave her encouragement, saying that even if she failed she would have had the chance to learn more and try again. The prospect of furthering her own knowledge and abilities enticed Hana, and she soon arrived at the academy with the Shinigami's aid in navigating the Rukongai to the academy's location.
Rise to Power:
Hana's arrival at the academy left her flustered and nervous. She could see souls all around gathering for the entrance exam, many ready to be the first in the gates. Hana followed behind the crowd, at enough distance to not run into any other people so long as she could help it. Many seemed to be forming groups of two or more to converse and share their stories, but whenever anyone approached Hana she turned them away with a dismissive shake of her head, staring at the ground and shuffling her feet away from them. After what seemed like far too long, the academy doors opened, and she found herself a seat. She was still extremely unsure of herself, but with each question she was becoming a little more confident. She had been preparing for this for a long time, and she knew the answers to almost every question. She wasn't the first to finish, and she didn't get the best results of her group, but she was accepted into the academy on her first attempt.
This was the start of a new chapter in her life, as she gained access to all new sources of information, including but not limited to teachers willing to aid her studies. A new world opened up before her, and she soaked it all in. She discovered that, though she was not physically strong, she had an aptitude for swordplay and combat techniques. She could move with the grace and finesse required of a sword, and she could get in and out of combat range with ease. In addition, though she didn't strike as viciously as others, she developed her techniques to focus on precision. She learned to find and target the weakest part of her enemies, and use every advantage available to her.
Precision didn't extend to her ability to control her spiritual energy, though. It was like a chaotic swirling mass to her, ethereal and unapproachable despite her best attempts to emulate what others did. She learned at a slower rate than most of the class when it came to using Hado and Bakudo, and as a result she applied herself even more to these subjects. Every time she failed, she took it as an opportunity to learn and push forward. Even despite her shortcomings, she was praised by her teachers for the amount of effort she put into it. This wasn't enough for her, though. She always felt as though she needed to be more, to do more. She rarely took a break, always moving from one subject to another and then reading when classes weren't in session.
She was never satisfied with her achievements. Every time she accomplished something new she set her sights on the next step up. When she felt she had gained sufficient proficiency with her Zanpakuto in its sealed form, three years into her life at the academy, she began actively seeking advice on the Inner World and the souls that dwelt within. Of course, in the academy it wasn't difficult to find such information. The teachers shared openly their own techniques and advised that each person has their own Inner World and method of accessing it. Shiro took each person's advice and developed her own strategy. She set aside a time each day for meditation, with her Zanpakuto in hand. She did her best to wash away all conscious thought and find the deeper meaning of self.
It didn't work, at least not at first or as she had expected. To begin with, she found it excessively difficult to empty her mind. Each time she felt close to success it reminded her of what she was doing and why. Over time it became an exercise in futility, and her inability to approach the next stage of her development was plaguing her with doubts. This approached a state of depression, and might have crippled her had it not first brought her to the point of anger. During one of her meditations she was having an especially difficult time focusing, her mind a storm of activity that would not quiet. It made her heart race, and her grip on the sword's hilt tightened until her knuckles were white. With a sudden outburst of frustration she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. It was like there was no air in her lungs. But having been a soul for so long she knew that this wasn't right. She didn't need air, she didn't need to breathe. She had long since shed her mortal body. So, slowly opening her eyes, she tried to figure out what was wrong.
The sight she was greeted with both stunned and awed her. She was no longer gripping the hilt of a sword, but instead a giant piece of metal chain. Each link was almost as large as her body, and it formed an equally gigantic chain that hung suspended in a dark chasm. A void reached out to all sides around her, densely populated with other chains that hung in the nothingness of this strange place. Realizing now that her tense grip was the only thing keeping her from falling into nothing, she swung her legs up and wrapped them so as to keep herself stable on this otherwise unsuitable platform. This caused her facing to reverse, now looking at the other side of the chasm. It was here that she saw it. Far in the distance, but still so massive that she could count the individual teeth of the creature. She didn't bother to, though, numerous as they were. Instead she focused her attention on the two giant white eyes. Everything else about it blended seamlessly into the darkness, but those two features were enough to tell her of its enormity.
A rumbling laugh filled the chasm. Deep and gravelly and vibrating so intensely throughout that it rattled the chains around her. Just when Hana felt she might be shaken from her own chain, it slowed to a stop and the beast in the distance seemed to smile. It spoke, and as it spoke everything around Hana shook again, "So you've finally made time for a visit. Good, good. But what do you do now, little one? Look around you. This isn't a place of power and strength. What did you think you were doing, coming here? Did you mean to taunt me in my own home world? No, you came seeking power. I know you, perhaps better than you do. I know what you're after. Your wants and your goals. Did you think that by coming here you'd be able to ask my name, to unlock my power? Go on then, ask." it seemed to taunt her with that last sentence.
Hana, for her part, made her best attempt. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Shocked, she tried again. When she failed a second and a third time she stopped, looking confused and terrified. The beast spoke again, "No, I didn't think you could. Don't you know that this place is more than a part of you? It's a representation of your soul. Weak, pitiful, and bound by your own inability. You want my power, but you don't have any power yourself. How will you do my will and exact justice on the ill-fated demons of the world when you can't even form a proper sentence in my presence?" Hana could feel its pupil-less eyes focused on her relatively tiny form. It was like a weight placed on her body and she could feel her grip on the chain slipping more with every second and every word, "Remember this, Hana. You are a coward, and your strength is borrowed. All of these chains? They are the representation of the limits you've put on yourself. Most of them you aren't even aware of, yet. Like the one you're holding onto now, it is your unwillingness to kill. Did you really think you were prepared for this? To meet me? In comparison to you I am a god, and if you were to attempt to wield me now you would just kill yourself. Your presence here now is a waste of my time." the weight on her lifted, and Hana adjusted her grip, eyes focusing on the array of chains surrounding her. More than she could easily count, and the way they faded out into the distance she couldn't be sure there weren't more she didn't see now.
She felt hopeless for a moment as revelations dawned onto herself. She knew that what the beast said was truth. That she was not strong enough, and that perhaps she wasn't ready for this. But she took these doubts and pushed them not aside, but to the front of her mind. She picked the doubts apart. She focused on them and used them as motivation. If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't have come this far. She didn't want to waste this chance. Shifting her weight, Hana pushed herself upwards until she was on top of the chain, sitting on it with her legs still entwined. This was her world, she thought. Her soul, and her weaknesses. She stared at the beast in the distance, and slowly reached down to her hip where her zanpakuto usually rested. Much to her surprise, it was there, but the moment her fingers touched the hilt she felt that immense weight pushing her down again. She had drawn the beast's attention back to her, and it spoke almost jovially as it threatened to knock her from her perch with the force of its speech, "Oh? Are you still here then? What are you going to do with that? I'm sure you already know... that such a tiny and pathetic weapon is never going to reach me from there. If you intend to come after me, you'll spend the next year just running in my direction. Don't do anything foolish, child. Just leave this place, the same way you came in is fine."
Hana would hear none of it. They were just words to her now, the berating tone of this giant did little to stop what she had set in action. Drawing her sword, a traditional Shinigami katana, she raised it high over her head. Grasping the hilt with both hands she turned the tip downwards. Before the beast could utter another word, she brought the sword down to collide with the chain. It caused a shower of sparks and a hideous screeching noise that rang out into the darkness. She half expected the blade to bounce off or snap at this action, but instead it pierced through. Only about an inch, not far enough to do any serious damage, but at least it seemed to have the desired effect. She yanked the sword from the metal and raised her hands to try again. Now the beast fell silent, though the pressure on Hana was growing so intense she felt it might well and truly crush her. This time as she brought the blade down she felt a primal yell boil through her lungs. With the downward swing she let out a shout of mixed fury and force, the first real noise she had made since arriving in this place. This time there were no sparks, no screeching noises. This time the blade didn't cut the chain, and the previous etch she'd made in it seemed to have vanished when she inspected the damage with her eyes. But now something had changed.
"So this is your will?" the beast spoke finally, not giving Hana a third swing, "You wish to use me to break your chains? I am that sword. Yet, rather than turn me on others you decide to turn me on yourself?" Hana looked up, just in time to see a cut length of chain falling in the distance. The slice looked clean and deliberate, though she had been nowhere near that length when it broke. "You're the only one that can break these chains, and the others won't be so easy. The one you're sitting on in particular is among the strongest. But if you can break a chain through your own strength of will, no matter which it might have been, then there's hope for you yet. Now, with that chain broken, perhaps we'll try this again. Ask me my name." Each word of the last sentence was purposely emphasized, slow and deliberate.
Hana made the motion of taking a deep breath, though this place still offered no air and she still didn't need it. Then, with a thunderous yell that would reach the beast she called, "I am the tool of justice, the blade that will cut down the sinful and protect the righteous! I am Mushoku Hana, and I demand your name!"
"Better. Temporary courage, perhaps, but it is at least more than nothing. That will do fine." suddenly there was a rush of movement, and chains rattled and scraped in all directions. The teeth and eyes in the distance approached at alarming speed, and as they did they dragged lengths of chain with them like a spider's web. By the time it stopped it was so close she could see only one eye, and it was so densely covered in metal that she could gain some scope of its full size, which was larger than she could see in each direction. That single eye stared at her while the beast spoke again, "I am the World Shark. Devourer of man, beast, and soul alike. I am the teeth that rip and the hunger that feasts. I am Warudosame. In my name, make your enemies fear your presence, and be to them the crushing giant of demise and fury that you alone are not." the chains holding the beast strained audibly, but none broke as it continued to watch her.
"Warudosame." she repeated slowly, letting each syllable roll off of her tongue. Gaining her courage again, she took the zanpakuto in her hand and held it more properly. "Devour, Warudosame!" she shouted, feeling the metal itself shift in her hand. First it formed one blade, shaped like a guillotine's with the center cut out for a handle to rest near the bladed head. Then a chain reached around behind her to form a second blade on her other arm. Finally, from this link formed two more chains that reached to her legs, forming similar devices on her feet. Each blade was large enough to cover a fair portion of her outer arms, and the ones on her feet had flat heads that allowed them to function like ice-skates. She could feel them, resonating power into her, and she knew that she had come to succeed in taking the next step in her never-ending training.
But the awakening of Hana's Shikai was not in itself remarkable. While she had achieved it fairly early compared to her peers, it did not make her stronger or better than them. She knew this the first time she attempted to use it outside of her Inner World. Manifesting her Shikai in the physical world, Hana planned to begin training with it the very next day. Immediately on release, Warudosame revealed its nature to her. Though the blades were inert in her Inner World, in the physical world they reacted to the existence of Reiatsu. Specifically, her own chaotic and uncontrolled spiritual energy. The moment it made contact with her Reiatsu the edges of the blades began to vibrate and she could feel something cutting into her, though it left no physical wounds. It was immediately intensely painful, and she dropped the release of her zanpakuto after only a few short moments. This didn't stop her from continuing to try using it, but for the next three years of her academy training she was neither able to hold the Shikai for more than a minute, nor re-enter her Inner World to ask Warudosame about it.
Call to Action:
Then came the time for graduation. Hana was presented with two options. If she could successfully release and maintain her Shikai for a full five minutes, she would be accepted into the second division as a potential recruit. She was given one day and one night to prepare, on the suggestion of a teacher who had been monitoring her progress closely. She was advised to seek the council of her zanpakuto for this, and left on her own until the day of her final test. Hana sat down as she had every day and meditated with the sword in her grasp. She envisioned the chains, and the giant beast lurking within them. She cleared her mind of all other thoughts and tried to let herself drift there. Not by miracle or luck, but by pure frustration, she succeeded. When she thought that it was basically hopeless and was ready to throw the zanpakuto across the room she heard a great voice shake her thoughts loose and brought her to open her eyes.
This time she was not holding the chain, but instead the zanpakuto as she had been in her own room. She sat cross-legged atop one of the chain links turned sideways, and didn't feel in danger of falling off now as Warudosame spoke, "Didn't I tell you that you were weak? What are you doing here, little one? Are you so desperate that you can't even find a solution for yourself, even after all this time? Or is it that you don't even know what the problem is?" Warudosame laughed.
"Warudosame! Why are you trying to kill me? I thought you were going to lend me your power, not destroy me with it!" She called out, still not seeing where the voice came from this time.
"The latter, then. I already told you what my power is. I am the devourer. I consume all that there is to consume. If you don't temper your soul against me, then how can you hope to wield me so close to it? Don't ask me why I cut you, when it's you who's cutting yourself, foolish child."
Hana looked up now, and then down beneath the loop she was sat atop. Far below the teeth shone brightly, smiling upwards at her, ready to catch her should she fall from the chain. "Then how am I supposed to hold you?" Hana yelled out, feeling afflicted by a brief shudder of terror followed by more anger at her own inability to perform what should have been a simple task.
"That's simple, and difficult. I suppose that in this place would be the best, if only, place to practice. You don't have much time out there, after all. In here, I can torture you for as long as I want with the knowledge you seek." the teeth faded from view, something Hana would have expected to be difficult for the beast when the chains seemed to be everywhere. She began to scan her surroundings for the spirit, and without success she stood up to look around more closely. Before she could find Warudosame, though, it found her. With a sudden rush of what would have been air, something oily black sped by in front of her so close as to graze the edge of her apparel. It was nowhere near as massive as it was in its original form, but she had no doubt that this was Warudosame still. From somewhere so close that it sent chills down her spine, it spoke again in a whisper, "Your soul is still weak. You must temper it to withstand my bite, and the only way to do that... is if I bite you." with that a multitude of stabbing sensations covered Hana's flesh. She felt like she was being crushed by a pressure from all sides, and the dagger-like impalement all over made her think that this was surely the end of her. Inside her own skull she thought she could hear the creak of her bones ready to break, and it was difficult to think much less act when she was bound by the mouth of some giant unseen beast. She tried to speak, to protest against whatever was happening, but even that was silenced.
Then, there was nothingness. No chains. No Warudosame. No pain or pressure. Just the infinite void in all directions. She wasn't falling, there was no up or down and nowhere to fall to in this place. She wondered briefly if this was death, but that became a silly thought as she considered that death would simply mean rebirth, and she'd likely have no memory of her time as a soul, then. She reached out her hand to look at it, but in this place the darkness was all-encompassing and even with it right in front of her face she couldn't see it anymore. But despite all these things, she felt an eerie sense of calm washing over her. Then it spoke again, in that same soft tone, "Welcome to the belly of the beast, so to speak. I am Warudosame, the Devourer. I have so many jagged teeth, meant for gripping and ripping until all is ruin. The more you resist my existence, the more you struggle on my sharp teeth, the easier you will become prey to them. If you fight against me, you will only find yourself destroying yourself. You are intelligent, perhaps, but you are rigid and stiff. If you want to work with me, then you'll have to flow like water, and move in tandem with me. And most importantly... remember that I am hungry. And if you don't feed me... then I'll consume you instead."
Hana awoke in bed, in a cold sweat. It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Slowly, carefully, she sat up and checked the time. It was early in the night, and she decided that she needed to take the rest of the time she had available to her to train with what Warudosame had said in mind. She summoned her Shikai, and she felt the invisible teeth along the edge of the blade biting into her. She could feel the incredible pressure Warudosame was putting out, as if trying to consume her. But this time, rather than fighting it, she let those teeth bite deep. It hurt, at first, much like it always did. But the longer she maintained it the more she found that she could willingly channel her spirit energy into the blade, to let flow the sustenance Warudosame sought from her own body, given that there was no other suitable source for it around.
The next day she felt she was ready. More than that, she knew she could succeed. She approached the grounds where her final examination were to be held, and before the recruiter she demonstrated her newfound mastery over her shikai. After the long hours of the night practicing, she had achieved more than just summoning her shikai, but also controlling it to a minor extent. In the span of five minutes, she demonstrated to the recruiter exactly what she was doing, and what she could do with it. Along the bladed edge of the two weapons on her arms she concentrated enough Reiatsu to cause them to glow. Inside this glow were visible the teeth of her blades, hidden to the eye, moving quickly from one end of the blade to the other like a chainsaw. It was clearly visible what it was doing as it fed on her reiatsu, tearing it apart and then re-using that stolen energy to rotate even faster. At the end of five minutes she was almost completely drained of energy, but she had proven herself. She was accepted into the 2nd division of the Gotei.
In the two years since becoming a member she has yet to do anything truly remarkable to prove herself among her peers, though she is still constantly training. The nature of her Shikai has made it difficult to find specific missions that fit her talents, but she's taken to doing other tasks for the division as well as the normal work that Shinigami often do.
