Post by Icarius on Nov 4, 2009 13:51:42 GMT -5
Name: Kurosawa Kihaku
Age: 110, visibly 19
Gender: Male
Personality:
Skill Level: Swordsmanship: Advanced
Skill Level: Shunpou: Intermediate
Skill Level: Hand-to-hand: Advanced
History/Background:
Age: 110, visibly 19
Gender: Male
Personality:
Unlike the rest of his "family," Kihaku tends to see the brighter side of life and believe in a person's natural good nature. As such, he is actually quite gullible and is surprised everytime he is tricked; moreover, he is quite useless at keeping secrets and making plans of his own.Appearance:
As mentioned before, he is a cheery sort of person. During sunny days he is always smiling, even rainy or snowy days are unable to extinguish his good mood. He likes to try and make a person's day better whenever he interacts with them, and if an individual departs happier than when the met him, then he considers his day a success.
During battle, he often starts off by trying to avoid direct conflict. He hates to fight seriously with anyone, and injuring someone is almost as painful as injuring himself. Though his Shinigami training has taught him to win at any cost, it is something that he struggles with constantly.
His own weaknesses are a sore spot, along with his past before becoming a shinigami. He has dark, gloomy thoughts while alone, and becomes moody if he keeps to himself for too long.
Kihaku also loves to eat, which may sometimes ad a few extra pounds to his average weight, but he always jokes that he makes up for what he eats by beating up trees.
Kihaku is an average height for his apparent age, standing 5'11" tall when he raises his head proudly. He has an athletic build, his smooth, pale skin isn't chiseled with muscle definition, but he doesn't seem to have any unecessary fat either. Though he tends to fluctuate within a few pounds, his average weight is 185 lbs. His hair is black as raven's feathers, styled to be short around his head, but keeping long bangs to frame his face. His eyes are very dark brown, and could be mistaken for black in the correct light.Zanpakuto Spirit:
His face is thin, the softer curves of childhood left him long ago. He has a clearly cut jaw, a firm chin, and thin pink lips. His nose is a little smaller than average, which most girls tend to find cute. He keeps himself clean-shaven, and his sideburns short. He also prefers a shinigami uniform with a collar, something more formal than most other cadets would wear.
His face is thin, the softer curves of childhood left him long ago. He has a clearly cut jaw, a firm chin, and thin pink lips. His nose is a little smaller than average, which most girls tend to find cute. He keeps himself clean-shaven, and his sideburns short. He also prefers a shinigami uniform with a collar, something more formal than most other cadets would wear.
Kihaku: i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/Blankout/characters/preston2.png
((Kihaku has only been here a few times, and has not been able to converse with his Zanpakuto at length.))Sealed Zanpakuto:
The world of Kihaku's zanpakuto is unique in that he cannot reach it through meditation like most other shinigami. Instead, he has only been able to reach it while asleep.
The inner world of the zanpakuto is vast, appearing to be several miles in diameter. It is enclosed by sheer mountain cliff faces that seem to never end. The sky is a clear, starry night, the crescent moon giving off the barest glint of cold, pale light to illuminate the valley below.
The area is thick with massive, ancient pine trees, the bark a dark grey, and the needles pitch black in color. The otherwise impenetrable canopy is broken by dark swamps that reflect the sky with their mirror perfect surface. Beneath their placid surface, however, the water is black and stagnant.
The spirit itself is more of a shadow that seems to glide across the ground like a wraith, slightly transparent as it moves. Standing perfectly still, it appears to be a tall male wrapped in a black cloak. Nothing can be seen within the hood except for a gleaming white cheshire smile. Hidden beneath the black cloak are thin, bony hands, the tips of which are sharp talons.
When it throws the cloak open, his body is an opaque black mass in the vague shape of a human form.
The sealed blade his 45" long. The tsuba is a square with lines running from the corners diagonally, intersecting at the base of the blade. The hilt is black.Shikai Description:
Kihaku's shikai takes the form of a pair of gauntlets with razor sharp talon-like blades at the end of each fingertip. They are both night black, and at the sleeve of each glove is a single chain that wraps a dozen times around one forearm, then several times around his waist, then around the other forearm to the other gauntlet.Shikai Abilities:
As a secondary form, the chain is unrapped from his arms, the blades slip from his fingers to become an inflexible claw. In this form, it becomes a mid-range weapon that is effective up to one hundred feet.
The Release is triggered by the phrase, "Scar the night, Kiseiseibutsu!"
1. Kiseiseibutsu’s only effect is an extension of Kihaku’s preferred fighting style. When any bladed weapon or body part impacts the palm or back of his gauntlet, the force of it courses through the chain and into the blades of the opposite gauntlet. However, there are several conditions for this to work.Bankai Description:
- If the opponent moves out of reach of Kihaku’s blades during his counter-strike, the energy dissipates and becomes useless.
- If Kiseiseibutsu is in it’s mid-range form, the ability cannot be used.
- The strength being transferred to the other gauntlet is applied to Kihaku’s own base strength, and is not multiplied or affected in any additional way.
- This ability does not alter the strength or effect(s) of the original strike, meaning that if it would be enough to knock him in any direction, or if there is a special effect of the original attack, it is not altered in any way. This condition often leads to the application of the first condition, meaning that if he is knocked back far enough, the energy dissipates.
- If both gauntlets are impacted at the same time and with equal strength, then both gauntlets get the strength application. If the strength is not equal, then the gauntlet that received the weaker strike will be augmented with an amount equal to the difference between the two.
- A strike to one gauntlet strengthens the other gauntlet, however a strike to an already powered gauntlet does not strengthen the other. Instead the current level of power is used to absorb the strike. This is the only instance in which the fourth condition can be bypassed.
- None of these conditions apply to Kido or Elemental attacks, only blades and limbs. Kiseiseibutsu cannot use its ability on Kido or Elemental attacks.
Kihaku has not yet acheived Bankai.Bankai Abilities:
N/ASkill Level: Kidou: Beginner
Skill Level: Swordsmanship: Advanced
Skill Level: Shunpou: Intermediate
Skill Level: Hand-to-hand: Advanced
History/Background:
Kihaku doesn't remember much of his early life, and what he does remember he tends to avoid in conversation. Instead, he'll change the subject to something more interesting, but his mind will continue to stew over what he would have talked about.RP Sample:
The few clear memories he has are of an abusive adult who held the authority over he and two other young children. If they did not do as they were told, if he was displeased in any way, or if he was just in a foul mood, he would beat them. As the eldest, it fell to Kihaku to shield his brother and sister as best he could, all the while resenting his responsibility, his duty to be the object of the man's ire.
When his potential came to light, he was ecstatic that he would finally be rescued from the slums. Before he left for his training, he threatened the man to never lay a finger on his siblings ever again, for if he did, Kihaku would kill him without hesitation.
His training was routine, his career uninspiring, and his kido ability lacking. Though he was finally free of his responsibilities as protector, he found a new source of resentment: his own lack of talent. He would spend hours laying alone, brooding that his zanpakuto had not made him the great warrior he had hoped to be. His dark thoughts became his form of meditation, and through his gloomy mood he came to know the name of his Zanpakuto, and eventually visit its realm during his dreams, or more precisely, his nightmares.
He fears releasing his Bankai, but as Kiseiseibutsu once told him, if anyone draws the wrath of Kihaku's zanpakuto, it is their own death that pull upon them, and therefore never Kihaku's fault. This doesn't comfort him in the slightest, but he allows himself to be deluded. The truth is too painful to bear.
"UNGH!"
Flesh collided with wood, and the fist it belonged to was again brought to a painful stop. The sound of the two coming together wasn't enough to satisfy the arm that threw it, so its twin drew back and launched its own assault in retaliation. Again, the result was the same, but the body the arms belonged to simply would not relent.
Each strike represented a different aspect of the young man's anger and resentment. The red stain that slowly grew on the surface of the tree was akin to a painting, an artistic representation of the emotions that had rushed to the surface in an explosive outburst of violence against an innocent bystander. Whether the negative emotions were warranted or not, the victim took the assault without protest, the only witness to the feelings that had been secreted away for so long.
Damaged skin once more struck rough bark.
"Damn him..."
Kihaku held still a moment, and in doing so caused his slowly emptied mind and memories to once more come flowing back, a flood of emotions swirling around into an amalgamation that poisoned his soul, turning his normally cheery disposition into something far less welcoming. His heart was pounding; blood rushing through his system resulted in a pounding in his ears, his chest to beat to an internal tattoo, and the fresh bruise on his face to pulse in a most uncomfortable manner.
"God... DAMN IT," he shouted, reaching back with his right arm and launching it at the tree. When it struck, he felt a sharp jolt of pain lance up his arm, but he didn't immediately pull it away. Instead, he slowly lowered his arm, turned and slumped against the tree he had assailed moments before, and slid down until he was propped against it in a seated position. The large bruise on his left cheek throbbed painfully.
“… Why?”
Why… the word that held so much more meaning behind it than its three little letters could possibly convey. Children will use it to inquire about the world around them, the tiny question becoming synonymous with their insatiable curiosity. When they grow up, they will use it as a request for an explanation, for a reason as to the purpose of their actions or those of others. As adults, it becomes something else entirely. “Why,” becomes an expression of an emotion, an utterance of a feeling of total helplessness, and as such becomes the interrogation of ever-silent Fate. “Why,” to Kihaku, held the latter meaning.
Was it simple chance that had put him in the clutches of a man that would use he and his siblings as a means of unloading his frustration? Perhaps it had been Fate, the fate of his brother and sister to draw the adult’s constant ire, and Kihaku’s fate to be their shield? Perchance there was some great plan that some speechless god had carefully laid as the foundation of the course of all life? Whatever the reason, Kihaku had too many bumps and abrasions to really care about the justification anymore. As much as he wanted it to stop, he knew that unless some miracle came his way, he would be stuck in that Roukon slum for the rest of his foreseeable future.
“Aww, what’s got you so down, Kid?”
The question startled the young spirit, and for good reasons too. Aside from having emanated from a point not too far from him, it had been completely unexpected, and far too deep to come from any sort of human. The only thing that could have come so close, so quietly, and be large enough to have that sort of voice, there was only one conceivable conclusion.
“A Hollow,” Kihaku whispered, terrified.
“Bingo, Kid,” the creature confirmed, a light chuckle sneaked in at the very end.
It emerged from the dense foliage fifty feet from the adolescent Kurosawa, a muscle-bound monster with thick gray fur, a barrel chest, and a sinister wolf mask. Perfectly circle yellow eyes glowed in the depths of that mask, and they were focused entirely on the spirit. Almost in contradiction to the predatory gaze and tense muscles, prepped for an attack, the mask fangs bore a smile, mocking the spirit it was about to consume.
“Tell me, Kid, what’s got you so down?” The Hollow sounded genuinely concerned, but the spirit knew better than to trust this monster. If it had the intelligence for speech, then it had certainly consumed its fair share of spirits.
“I’m not a Kid, so don’t call me one. I’m Kurosawa Kihaku, and I’m just upset that I was caught off-guard by a big mutt like you,” he state, his tone defiant and unafraid.
The wolf-like Hollow chuckled a deep, throaty growl.
“You don’t fool me, Kid. Just seeing me has got you trembling.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“I can smell your fear just as I could smell your tasty spirit from so far away.”
Kihaku scoffed, even as his heart sank.
“So you plan to eat me, then?” That damn smile answered his question even as he asked it.
“Hehehehh… Bingo, Kid.”
The large Hollow took several steps forward, and Kihaku backed right up against the tree. He was trapped between rough bark and a set of sharp fangs, almost as if the tree was getting its revenge. Kihaku lowered his gaze and closed his eyes, his fists clenched as he felt himself start to lose control. Fear and regret were coursing through his innards like a paralytic toxin, and the Hollow could sense it.
“Bingo! Hahahaha, finally get it? There’s no chance you can escape, so just stand still,” the wolf lowered its massive body, tail swishing, and jaws parting slightly, “AS I EAT YOU WHOLE!”
Dirt flew as claws as long as a human hand dug into the soil, launching the Hollow straight at Kihaku. It seemed that it was time for Kihaku to take his final hit.
His bruise throbbed.
Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he gave a stiff jump, kicking his bare foot forward. The wolf opened its mouth as wide as it could, but it wasn’t enough. Kihaku’s heel caught the snout of the Hollow mask, which sent him into a front-flip. Jaws closed around the thick trunk that still bore Kihaku’s blood, and as the spirit completed the flip he brought both heels crashing down onto the top of the Hollow’s head. With strength uncommon for one of his size, he sent the Hollow to the ground, the thick legs crumpling under the weight of the Spirit’s might.
“HURK! Ugh, damn it! How? Why?”
The Hollow could barely raise his head, just enough to peer at Kihaku with a single yellow eye. He moved around to the Hollow’s middle and raised his head to stare dead at the mask with a hateful glimmer in his eyes.
“I have people to protect.”
Without warning, he pulled his right leg back and shoved an incredibly hard kick right into the Hollow’s stomach, sending him flying ten feet, then rolling for another twenty. Kihaku was about to run at him and pound him some more when something a little taller than himself landed in front of him. He looked up and saw a man standing before him, his back to the boy.
“Not bad, Kid. Let me finish him off.”
In less that five seconds a slash was made to the howling wolf’s mask, and it disappeared as it finally died. Kihaku watched with fascination, finally realizing that the man wore the black robes of a Shinigami uniform. He dropped his fists, almost awed by the amount of power he imagined the man held within him. The Shinigami turned to Kihaku, just as he was sheathing his night-black zanpakuto.
“Hey Kid… how would you like to be a Death God?”
