Post by rivalcycle18 on Aug 13, 2009 17:50:52 GMT -5
Name: "Beck" Kasahara
Age: 103
Gender: Male
Race: Shinigami
Personality:
Sealed Zanpakuto:
Skill Level: Swordsmanship: Intermediate
Skill Level: Shunpo: Intermediate
Skill Level: Hand-to-hand: Advanced
History/Background:
Age: 103
Gender: Male
Race: Shinigami
Personality:
A punk with a big mouth; this would be the first thing that someone would notice about Beck. He shows little respect to those around him and has no problem picking a fight with someone, regardless of their rank, for no reason at all. Well… maybe he didn’t like the way their face looked. Tied into Beck’s rebellious attitude is of course arrogance, arrogance that knows no bounds. A guy has to have over the top confidence in himself if the majority of the fights he picks are ones where he is ridiculously outmatched (but hey, he can sure take a punch). Beck is arrogant and disrespectful from the offset, just introducing himself (if he introduces himself at all) as “Beck” when meeting someone, not even giving them enough respect to tell them his full name. Believe it or not, Beck’s combination of belligerence and arrogance makes people not like him that much, he honestly has no one that he is close to. Beck’s whole time in the Soul Society and most likely a good deal of his previous life has been/was spent alone, and he is perfectly fine with this.Appearance:
Underneath the standoffish personality, Beck only lashes out at others because of his own feelings of inadequacy. He feels as if anyone that lays eyes on him is instantly judging him, that he isn’t good enough because he grew up in the Rukongai. This is why he pushes people away, the fear of them realizing the uselessness he feels inside not allowing him to get close to another. This is why he is always in the other guy’s face, coming back for more punishment, for one more punch: he has to prove that he matters.
Regardless of Beck’s combination of undesirable traits, he is not a bad person. He will help those in need, he’ll defend those weaker, he won’t kill someone for the hell of it; he’ll make the right choice. Beck is basically a badass with a heart of gold. That heart is just buried under a lot of insecurity.
Although Beck is a little over a century old, he has the appearance of a young man in his very early twenties. He has a tall, slim figure, standing at about 6’0” tall and weighing in at around 150 lbs., and has lightly tanned skin. Despite his slender appearance, the combination of his rather tough life and Shinigami training has given him a good amount of visible muscle, fit tightly to his frame. Although some might consider it a cliché, he is stronger than he looks, not to mention an incredible amount of stamina. He has blonde hair that sticks up into spikes and sweeps to the left slightly at the top, while the rest of his hair either forms bangs that fall into his light brown eyes or frames his slim face (think something close to Roxas from Kingdom Hearts II, hair-wise). On the front part of his hair rests silver-framed rave goggles that he doesn’t seem to ever wear, they pretty much just look cool. Another odd feature of his face is the small white bandage placed on the bridge of his nose that always seems to be there, but he does seem to get hit in the face a lot (did I mention that?). Regarding clothing, Beck surprisingly wears the standard uniform, the two exceptions being that he does not wear the usual tabi (socks) with his sandals and that he wears a sleeveless kosode rather than the standard Shihakusho. He carries his zanpakuto at his waist on the left side.Zanpakuto Name:
Yakushin (Onslaught)Zanpakuto Spirit:
Beck’s zanpakuto spirit, Yakushin (Onslaught), is a young man who appears to be very close in age to Beck with a similar build, tall and slim but with a bit more muscle than his wielder. He even has the same small bandage across the bridge of his nose. This is about where the similarities in appearance end, one of the first noticeable differences being that his skin is rather pale. Yakushin has messy, mid-length black hair that form in spikes which fall down into his eyes at all times, not allowing them to have ever be seen by Beck. He wears a black leather jacket with fur along the top which he keeps unzipped to expose his bare chest. He also wears light blue jeans that are ripped in several places and simple black shoes. On both hands he wears black fingerless gloves.
Personality-wise, Yakushin and Beck are nearly the same person: hotheaded and arrogant, which of course leads them to not exactly getting along. Both are stubborn and butt heads over nearly everything and can never come to an agreement. Yakushin does not respect Beck as his master and feels above even lending him his help, while most times Beck is too proud to even think about accepting help from his arrogant zanpakuto. Although Yakushin does dislike Beck, he doesn't want to see him die, so often the times when Beck is able to use his Shikai is when he is mostly likely going to die without it. However, he is unable to use it frequently because of the problems they have with each other. Beck has learned not to rely on his Shikai for this reason, and tries to use it as a trump card.
Sealed Zanpakuto:
In it’s sealed state, Beck’s zanpakuto is similar to most standard zanpakuto. The hilt is a dark red color with black diamond shapes decorating it, as with most katana. The guard is a black rectangle shape and the slighty curved blade is a black color with the sharp edge being silver. A white piece of cloth is wrapped around the glossy black sheath, which ties to Beck’s sash.Shikai Description:
Beck has become proficient when using the sealed state of his zanpakuto, using an unorthodox mix of street fighting he learned in the Rukongai paired with Hakudo (hand-to-hand combat) and Zanjutsu (swordsmanship) knowledge he gained in the Spiritual Arts Academy. He wields his zanpakuto with one hand, and being skilled in using it in either hand, often changes hands to confuse his opponent. He keeps a very frantic pace, using a variety of sword strikes paired with different hand strikes from his open hand and kicks. The mixture of styles and erratic attack pattern makes him rather hard to read as an opponent.
Beck releases his Shikai with the following phrase: “Devastate, Yakushin!” In uttering these words, Beck’s zanpakuto glows a bright red/orange color before losing its original shape and beginning to envelope Beck’s right arm. Soon it begins to take shape and reveals itself to be protective alloy surrounding his right arm.Shikai Abilities:
This picture is a good guideline.
However, The lighter red/orange on his wrist and forearm is black, the fingers of the fist are colored dark red as well as the three fins, while the gold and silver colored parts remain the same.
The strength of Beck's right arm is noticably increased, allowing him to deal frighteningly powerful punches. The increased power in his arm also allows him to move quickly by slamming his fist into objects. The strength advantage is less effective against opponents who are stronger than him.Bankai Description:
Also, the armor surrounding his right arm is made of a very durable, yet unknown alloy that can provide protection against physical attacks and well as Kido spells, both within reason.
Sheru-tama (Shell Bullet): When using this ability, the larger part of Beck’s forearm armor will open up as the structure begins to gather spirit energy. Shortly after, one of the metal fins on Beck’s shoulder will disintegrate and a blast of orange/red-colored spirit energy will be released, propelling him forward at near Shunpou like speeds. Beck will then use the momentum to attack with a devastating punch. The Sheru-tama has the ability to be used three times (a fin representing each “bullet”), each shot stronger than the last. Beck calls out these commands for the three attacks:
- First: Shougeki no Ichiban Tama! (First Bullet of Shock!)
- Second: Senmetsu no Niban Tama! (Second Bullet of Annhilation!)
- Third: Jinsoku-satsugai no Saishuu Tama! (Final Bullet of Rapid-killing!)
As of now, Beck is only able to use the Sheru-tama these three times before Yakushin reverts back to its unreleased form, so he only uses a bullet when he has a practical opening to do so. While Sheru-tama is a powerful ability, it is rather inaccurate, and would prove to be ineffective if not used sparingly, especially against a faster opponent. Beck has only recently obtained his Shikai and using this ability tends to take its toll as he exerts a large amount of spirit energy (luckily he has a lot of it). It is common for him to feel exhausted after using his Shikai and the Sheru-tama and overuse can cause extreme pains in his right arm. As mentioned before, these negative effects combined with Beck’s conflict with Yakushin’s personality has almost forced Beck to become an efficient fighter with the use of his sealed zanpakuto, keeping the use of his Shikai to a minimum.
Despite the down sides of his Shikai, the recklessness of its nature is a perfect fit for Beck’s personality and fighting style.
N/ABankai Abilities:
N/ASkill Level: Kido: Beginner
Skill Level: Swordsmanship: Intermediate
Skill Level: Shunpo: Intermediate
Skill Level: Hand-to-hand: Advanced
History/Background:
The Rukongai:RP Sample:
"Beck" Kasahara would end up dying in his mid-teens for whatever reason, most likely his mouth getting him in trouble. We’ll probably never know. For some strange reason when he arrived in the Rukongai, he had forgotten his first name. “Beck” was one of the first names that came into his head; it was one syllable, to the point, almost unpleasant sounding. Perfect.
Beck ended up arriving in and growing up in a rather seedy part of the Rukongai, a place not fit for someone of his age. Beck would get by on his own; one can only assume he was in a similar scenario as a human given his natural “talent” for surviving. He gained absolutely no friends, foolishly refusing any help he was offered. However, enemies were aplenty for the young man, as he would make no attempts to simply survive, making an effort to be involved in street fights almost constantly. Beck was not known for being the strongest or the fastest in his district, but rather for his frightening resilience. It was around the time that Beck was discovering his amazing stamina that he began to feel a strange hunger…
Common street thugs were the least of the district’s worries. Low ranking Shinigami were often involved with the crime in the district. They used their power and pull in the Soul Society to exploit many of the inhabitants while out of reach of the Seireiti. Beck would grow to hate these Shinigami, and sooner or later (being that they were the only Shinigami he would come in contact with), every Shinigami. Although he hated them, Beck was smart enough to steer clear of them; he was bold, but not bold enough to fight a Shinigami. However, this soon changed on what would turn out to be a very important day.
Beck, in an uncharacteristic act of compassion, confronted three Shinigami badgering and pestering a sickly old man. The Shinigami only laughed at the snot-nosed street punk running his mouth, and one of them offered to deal with Beck, unarmed of course. The fight would be extremely one-sided, as the Shinigami did just that: dealt with the nuisance. Beck was badly beaten despite his best effort until at some point, the constant punishment caused a sudden surge of spirit energy to awaken from the young man. The Shinigami still underestimated Beck as he still had the apparent advantage even after Beck’s sudden change in spiritual power. However, this cost the Shinigami as Beck found an opening and landed a hard punch square on the Shinigami’s chin, knocking him to the ground and nearly unconscious. Gasps of surprise could be heard from nearly every one of the spectators. Even the other two Shinigami seemed shocked. Embarrassed and in pain, the Shinigami frantically clawed his way to his feet, screaming at those around him before turning his attention on the “nuisance” who had just struck him. Seeing Beck’s smug face nearly drove him into a fit of rage, his hand quickly snapping down to the hilt of his zanpakuto. The older looking of the two other Shinigami and apparently the highest-ranking of the three put his outstretched arm in front of his enraged comrade, shaking his head. The Shinigami begrudgingly released the white-knuckle grip he had on the hilt of his sword and turn his head away from Beck.
“That’s some impressive spiritual power for someone in the Rukongei.” Said the older Shinigami, actually taking the time to applaud Beck.
“What’s your point?” he snapped back, the arrogance dripping off of every word.
“Fair enough. My point is that I believe you could be a value to us at a Shinigami. I would even recommend you, if you decide to enter the academy.”
"Why would you do that? I just destroyed your friend over there, doesn’t seem like you should be doing me any favors.”
The older Shinigami restrained the aforementioned “friend” once more. After calming the other Shinigami down, he gathered himself and continued speaking.
“Look, I’m not going to say you’re some kind of prodigy or that you’ll even make it past the entrance exam. The truth is, I would much rather have someone with power like yours on our side… I don’t need some kid trashing my men; it not only makes them look weak, but this reflects on me, as well as my whole operation here as well. We need to be feared. Not only that, but I can’t guarantee you won’t be killed next time you pull a stunt like this. Is that clear enough for you?”
Beck only smiled, a laugh swelling up in his throat. Were the almighty Shinigami actually scared of him? Regardless of this, Beck actually agreed to the Shinigami’s offer. He would become a Shinigami, but not to defend the weak from evil or to pursue justice. No, his reasons were purely selfish: to prove to them that some punk from the street could be one of them, that he could be better than them.
The Shinigami Academy:
Shortly after this incident, Beck surprisingly managed to pass the entrance exam into the academy. He would do this with less than amazing scores and thus be placed in a lower class. An amazing student was hardly what Beck showed himself to be, excelling in the physical aspects but leaving much to be desired in the usage of Kido spells. However, he wouldn’t let this hinder his progress in the academy, his large amount of spiritual power and eagerness to become stronger allowing him to be placed in a more advanced class. By the fourth year, he was one of the top students in his class, impressing instructors with natural abilities that were not seen in some six-year students. As one of the top students in his class, he was sent with the other two top four-year students, Yowamushi and Tsumi, on a small mission to dispatch of weak hollows that had been sited in an area of the World of the Living. A promising six-year student, Yobi Seikaku, would be their guide for the mission.
The area that the four were traveling to had never had many Hollow sightings, so the threat of Hollows too strong for the four to dispatch of was not thought to be an issue. The four academy members arrived in the world of the living. Beck would be quick to run his mouth, taking the skills of his fellow Shinigami-in-training lightly. He felt that he would be better off on his own. Tensions quickly rose between the four but before they had the chance to come to a boiling point, a sudden fluctuation in spiritual pressure stopped any other words in their throat. A Hollow had appeared, a much stronger one than they had anticipated. Yobi was the first to be killed. Yowamushi attempted to flee, seeing that the strongest of them had fallen, but the Hollow would quickly cut him down. Beck and Tsumi attempted to fight the Hollow together, but Tsumi was killed as well and Beck badly injured, but not before he was able to contact the Soul Society through Yobi’s communicator. Beck fought the Hollow on his own, hoping he could last until reinforcements arrived. Although he faired better than his fallen comrades, Beck was overcame by the Hollow’s strength. Facing certain death, Beck would learn the name of his zanpakuto and release his Shikai. The new development tipped the odds in Beck’s favor, and after a few seconds of fighting, he destroyed the Hollow with his Sheru-tama technique. A squad of Shinigami arrived shortly after only to witness Beck collapse from his wounds. (See RP sample for this fight.)
Beck awoke in a Soul Society medical building, his wounds cleaned and bandaged. One of the Shinigami from the squad who “rescued” him stood over him. He needlessly informed Beck of the fate of his comrades and apologized on behalf of the Gotei 13 for the unfortunate incident. He then informed Beck that they had decided to allow him to graduate the academy early, being that the ability to release one’s Shikai as a fourth year student in the Spiritual Arts Academy is thought to be a rarity. He told Beck that once his wounds were healed, he would be placed in a squad.
Beck Kasahara, Shinigami:
The light enveloping the four trainees soon faded and they found themselves in a quiet field. A cool night breeze greeted them as they studied their surroundings. Beck was of course the first to talk.
“So, this is the world of the living, huh? Doesn’t look that great to me… what a drag.”
Their guide, six-year student Yobi Seikaku, simply sighed at the cocky student. He turned to address the three younger students, his voice low and to the point.
“There have been sightings of Hollows in this area. Although they are relatively weak, do not let your guard down, as this is live combat and you can be injured. I will not be aiding in combat in any way. The instructors are confident that any stronger Hollows will be attracted to this area, and three four-year students would hardly be enough to attract a Hollow too strong for me to handle.”
The last of this sentence was laced with a small amount of lordliness. While the other students had enough respect for Yobi to not confront him about it, this bugged Beck. He quickly spoke up.
“You think you’re so great? I’ve heard a lot of talk about you, Yobi, but I am not seeing much. I personally think I could wipe the floor with you.”
Yobi’s annoyance was apparent as a cocked eyebrow rose into a fixed position, his arms tightly crossed. The female student, Tsumi, put her hand on Beck’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “Just let it go, you really shouldn’t talk to Yobi-sempai like tha—” she was cut off by Beck.
“No, I’ll say whatever I please! It’s not just this clown that I’m not impressed with; it’s you and Yowamushi as well! I think the three of you are just slowing me down. Might as well let me do this on my own, without the babies…” He pointed behind him, indicating he meant Tsumi and Yowamushi, “and the babysitter,” he said, his eyes resting on Yobi at the conclusion of his statement.
Yobi finally lost his temper. “Who the hell do you think you are? I am one of the strongest students to come out of the academy in years. I have a seated position awaiting me when I graduate in a squad of my choosing. And you are, what, some thug who can’t even perform a Kido spell? I’ve been through too much to be bad-mouthed by some low-life, street urchin who only got into the academy because of a little spirit energy!”
“”Why you…” Beck rushed forward in anger, taking Yobi by the front of his white Shihakusho and pulling him forward. A struggle between the two men ensued, threats of this and that being screamed at each other while Tsumi and Yowamushi attempt to separate them.
“Get your damn hands off of you m—” The words are frozen in Yobi’s throat. A sudden spiritual pressure had silenced them all. Yobi’s hand came down to reach for his zanpakuto, but it was too late. A terrible gurgle arose from the throat of the man who would never graduate from the academy. A blade-like appendage protruded from his chest, the blood from the wound spreading, staining his white robe. Beck felt the blood that had splattered against his cheek. He gazed into the helpless eyes of Yobi, and in the next moment, the six-year student is suddenly ripped away from the suddenly ripped away by the murderer’s long tail. The three look on in horror as they watch their guide be devoured before their eyes, his screams piercing the cold silence of the night. It was a Hollow, but like nothing they ever thought to encounter. The silence is broken again, this time by the Hollow’s terrifying roar. The students are like statues, absolutely frozen in place. The only visible movement was the involuntary trembling in their hands and legs, the only sounds being the indistinguishable whimpers falling from the lips of Yowamushi. “Fresh meat…” said the Hollow in a deep, cruel voice through it’s jagged teeth.
Beck was the first to regain some sense of his composure. He quickly unsheathed his zanpakuto and spoke to the remaining two students. “If we are going to survive this we have to work together. Draw your swords and follow my lead, watch each other’s backs!”
Tsumi took a deep breath and unsheathed her own sword. Behind them Yowamushi has made a move, but it is not to attack. A frantic scream erupted from his throat, as he took off in a headlong dash in the opposite direction of the Hollow. “That thing killed Yobi-sempai, we don’t have a chance! We have to get the hell out of here!”
Beck turned his head to watch Yowamushi flee.“Dammit! Yowamushi stop!” he screamed, but quickly had to focus his attention back to the Hollow. The malicious creature took advantage of their disarray, dashing forward with speed the two four-year students were not ready for. Blood suddenly sprayed from four slash wounds on Beck’s chest as the Hollow raked downward with its claws. In nearly the same motion it whipped its tail toward Tsumi and slashed her across the chest with its bladed edge. Both students are forced backwards, Beck slamming onto the ground while Tsuki crashed into a nearby tree. The Hollow was able to quickly close the gap between it and the fleeing student. Yowamushi didn't make it far. The Hollow quickly cut him down, the student screaming as he met his end. Beck slowly sat up, grimacing at the pain of his injury. He reached for his zanpakuto, ready to attempt a futile attack against the Hollow. However, he stopped, as something caught his eye: Yobi’s communicator. “Tsumi, you have to cover me!” Beck shouted toward the injured young woman, who had just begun to rise. She nodded and picked up her weapon.
Beck scrambled toward the communicator, grasping at it with wild hands, knowing that this was perhaps their only key to survival. Holding it up to his mouth he began bumbling worth his request for help. “This is B-Beck Kasahara, I’m a student in the Spiritual… at the academy! … A-a student and I are in the World of the Living and have been attacked by a powerful Hollow… p-please send reinforce… help immediately! HURRY!” Beck then threw the communicator down, barely audible voices of Shinigami on the other end buzzing. He knew he had to help Tsumi.
“Hakudo Nu—” the spell was never completed by Tsumi’s lips, as yet another piercing cry filled the night air, the Hollow finally slaying the last of Beck’s companions. Loneliness was a familiar feeling to Beck but… not this kind of loneliness. This loneliness was actually frightening. The Hollow turned its large head toward Beck.
“Last one… I killed all the strongest ones… I guess a weakling like you might be a decent snack.”
“So I’m the weakest? I think you’re going to be surprised,” Beck said, but for the first time in his life the arrogance in his statement wasn’t sincere. He wasn’t sure of himself. He knew he was outmatched… he knew he could very well die here. But, he also knew he just had to last until the Soul Society sent reinforcements.
"Surviving…. That’s what I’m good at, right?"
Beck rushed forward, zanpakuto drawn and clutched firmly in his right hand. He swung several times at the Hollow with his blade, but the vile being evaded every strike with surprisingly mobility. The Hollow let out a small laugh before going on the offensive, striking down several times with its scorpion-like tail. Beck rolled to the side and continued dodging and weaving, avoiding a surprising amount of the strikes. Earth exploded around the student each time the blade made contact with the ground. Beck had not made it out of the flurry of strikes completely unscathed, as the blade had made a deep cut in his right arm and also cut into his right leg. He could only attempt to ignore the pain, switching his sword to his left hand and making a quick lunging stab at the Hollow’s head. Beck was once again unsuccessful, and upon realizing this made a quick spinning slash at the same spot. This unexpected attack narrowly missed the Hollow’s head, but Beck wasn't finished. The momentum of his previous attack was used, bringing his right fist around and connecting with a hard punch on the point of the Hollow’s face. Beck winced as the blood began to seep from the wound on his arm as it trembled from the force of the impact. But something was wrong… The punch had no effect on the Hollow, who could only burst out in laughter.
“Seriously?” asked the beast in a mocking tone. Beck was taken aback by the ineffectiveness of his punch, and was too distracted by this to dodge the Hollow’s next attack. The blue cloth that had covered the lower part of his left leg is shredded as the claws of the Hollow tore into the appendage. He suppressed a scream of agony as his blood spilled to the ground. His hand instinctively went down to grasp the wound, but he is stopped midway, as the Hollow opens its mouth, firing a burst of spirit energy its gaping maw.
The blast collided square with Beck chest. The sudden attack sent him careening backwards into the wide trunk of a tree, wood splintering around on impact. Beck stood slumped against the tree, the front of his white robe smoked and fell away. The attack left only the sleeves and sides of the robe in tact, revealing what was left of his smoldering blue undershirt. The goggles on his head slowly slipped off, falling to the ground and cracking.
Breathing heavily, Beck attempted to raise his head and look upon his enemy, but found it difficult. His vision was extremely blurred and he soon felt a stream of blood enter of the vision of his right eye.
"This is it…" Beck thought to himself, his limbs heavy and immobile.
Any other depressing musings were cut short as his mind was filled with an excruciating pain in his left shoulder. He used perhaps the last remaining energy in his body to let out a blood-curdling scream as the blade-end of the Hollow’s tail buried itself deep within his shoulder, successfully pinning him to the tree. His zanpakuto fell from his limp hand.
“You know, you sure have taken a long time to kill,” snarled the Hollow as he twisted the blade back and forth slowly, finding pleasure in Beck’s screams of agony. The Hollow started making it’s way forward, certainly with the idea of ending this minor inconvenience.
"Dammit… dammit! I’m really going to die like this… before I even make it out of the academy? What the hell is up with that? How did this even happen?! I need to do something… I need to move… but… I can’t…"
"Wow, you’ve really gotten yourself beat up." This voice was not Beck’s.
"What? Who the hell is that? How are you in my head?!"
Beck’s eyes snapped open. This was not his previous nighttime surroundings, the field that he thought would be his grave. There was darkness all around him, zero visibility. Had he died? Beck attempted to move forward, but he found his shoulder still pinned. In surprise he looked to his left shoulder, but it was not the Hollow’s tail that was piercing it, it was a sword… and not just any sword. This was a sword he recognized: his zanpakuto. Beck’s eyes quickly followed the blade to its source.
Before him, holding Beck’s Zanpakuto, was a young man, slim of frame, with rather pale skin. He stood with a grin on his face, his mouth and nose the only visible parts of his face, his messy black hair spilling over and concealing his eyes.
Instinctively, Beck’s right arm snapped forward, attempting to take this mysterious man by the throat. The man leaned back slightly, just out of the reach of Beck’s fingers. “Now, is that any way to greet me?” He slightly twisted the sword.
“Who are you?” Beck said through a grimace of pain.
“The fact that you have to ask kind of worries me… you know who I am.”
Beck withdrew his arm to his side and attempted to calm down. This man wasn’t a Shinigami by the look of his strange clothes, but how else could he have a Zanpakuto? Beck entered into deep thought, his eyes fixed on the strange man.
“I get it… you’re my… zanpakuto?”
“Ding ding ding, we have a winner!” The spirit’s grin grew.
“So why are we here and what is this place?”
“Well, this is my inner world for starts… I’ve chosen to shroud it in blackness, for the dramatic effect.” The spirit laughed, obviously pleased with himself. “And we’re here, or rather you’re here, because you’re going to die. Unless you do something.”
“Yeah? And what’s that? You’re obviously not helping me much and last I checked that Hollow was ready to finish me off.”
“What the hell did they teach you in the Academy? The only way for you to become stronger is to LEARN. MY. NAME.”
“What?! I’ve never even met you before, how should I know your name? Why don’t you just tell me?”
The spirit shook his head and sighed. “You don’t get it. The reason I’m here is because you’re obviously strong enough to figure it out at this point.”
“If I’m strong enough then why wouldn’t you have appeared to me before?!” Beck attempted to strike at the spirit once more, but was quickly stopped by a small twist of his zanpakuto. “Dramatic effect, like I said,” replied the spirit. Beck was silent.
The spirit broke the silence. “Look, do you want to survive?”
“Of course… it’s all I’ve ever done.”
“You can’t just SURVIVE. You have to become stronger, this is what you want, right?”
“Why do you even have to ask? Are you trying to piss m—” Beck screamed, the spirit pushing the sword in further to cut him off.
“If you want to get stronger…” the spirit removed the sword from Beck’s shoulder in one quick motion. “Then take your sword…” it then held the sword out horizontally in front of him. “And fight!”
Beck clutched his injured shoulder, gazing at his zanpakuto. After a few tense moments, he finally straightened up and took his hand from his bloodied shoulder. He stretched his right hand outward and placed his hand on the sword, nodding toward the spirit. A bright light began to emanate from the sword, growing further and further outward.
“Well, I think that’s enough talk,” said Beck.
“You think so?”
“Definitely. I’ve got to save our asses.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It was nice meeting you… Yakushin.” The spirit grinned the widest yet as the light now flashed brilliantly.
Beck opened his eyes once more to the familiar field. He quickly looks to his right hand. He was holding his zanpakuto. His eyes then snapped up to look to the Hollow. The dangerous opponent was beginning to close in; Beck knew the time was now to end this. He lifted his sword up and held it horizontally in front of him.
“Devastate… Yakushin!”
With those two words, his sword began to glow with a brilliant orange-red glow and a sudden surge of spiritual spirit stopped the Hollow in its tracks. The glow began to become larger and larger. The Hollow could feel the increase in Beck’s power and quickly withdrew his tail from Beck’s shoulder. The glow began to take form around Beck’s right arm, slowly molding itself into what would become the Shikai form of his zanpakuto. After one final brilliant flash, Beck brought his arm forward and swiped it to the side. He pointed it straight to the right, stretching it out fully to allow the Hollow to gaze upon his new power. The spiritual energy coursing through his body made him feel new again, ready to due battle once more.
The Hollow gazed upon Beck’s Shikai in disbelief as the glow surrounding it began to subside, revealing the impressive weapon that now surrounded Beck’s arm. Beck slowly brought it down to his side, the moonlight radiating off the glossy surface of the unknown alloy. “So… you got a little more power. This doesn’t change anything!” said the Hollow. He then let out a terrifying roar: “DIE!”
The Hollow quickly struck at Beck with its tail from a distance, fearing to come in close contact with Beck. The new Shikai-wielder answered the Hollow’s attack, striking directly at the blade-edge of his tail with his armored fist. The two attacks collided, and the Hollow’s blade immediately shattered. The force of the attack carried up the Hollow’s tail, splitting it down the middle shortly before nearly half of the tail exploded. The hollow screamed in pain as its dark blood stained the grasses of the field. Beck would not let up as he was quickly on the offensive once more, dashing with impressive speed toward the Hollow. “Let’s see if you laugh at my punch this time, bastard!” Beck screamed as he readied his attack.
The Hollow quickly recovered from the injury and braced itself, ready to counter whatever the student had to offer. Once Beck came in range, the Hollow quickly swiped at him with a set of its razor-sharp claws. However, Beck brought his arm up to block this attack and quickly pushed them to the side. With one swift motion, he brought his arm around and connected with a crushing blow to the side of the Hollow’s head. Mask fragments splintered in every direction as the Hollow was sent sprawling, earth exploding underneath it as it crashed into the ground. The Hollow slowly arose, fragments of its mask falling to the ground where the blow had impacted, a large hole full of black nothingness being the aftermath. The Hollow let out a scream of frustration and wasted no time in attempting to bring this battle in its favor once more. Opening what was left of its mouth, the Hollow fired the same blast from earlier directly at Beck, hoping it would have the same effect as it first had. However, Beck slams his fist into the ground, launching himself into the air and completely avoiding the blast.
“It’s over!” The larger part of the armor on Beck’s forearm split open, spiritual energy beginning to gather within his armored appendage as the attack was prepared. “Shougeki no... Ichiban... Tama!” With that command, the top fin disintegrated and a bright streak of spiritual energy exploded from Beck’s shoulder. Beck was propelled forward at an amazing speed; the Hollow had no time to react. A large explosion enveloped the two combatants as the attack suddenly impacted. When the debris cleared, the outcome was obvious, the effect completely devastating. Beck stood slightly slumped, breathing heavily. His arm was still raised in the position of his attack, fist tightly clenched, wisps of smoke streaming from it. What was left of the demolished Hollow began to dematerialize before Beck’s eyes. It was indeed over.
“Kasahara!”
Beck turned his head slightly to watch as two Shinigami bolted toward his direction. Beck let out a small chuckle, not bothering to greet them.
“Kasahara, are you injured?” questioned the same Shinigami.
He did not respond, simply turned his head away, beginning to sway. His Shikai began to glow the same orange-red color and break away from his arm, falling to the ground and crumbling into what appeared to be glowing dust that would find it’s way to the inside of his sheath. A stream of blood began to run down Beck’s chin as he coughed the red liquid onto the ground before finally collapsing. Beck watched the last of his Shikai shatter from his arm and soon, darkness ensued.
Beck awoke from a stray beam of sunlight resting on his face. He was apparently in a Soul Society hospital. The first thing that was brought into focus was one of the Shinigami from the squad that “rescued” him.
“Good, you’re awake. We were afraid you weren’t going to make it. That was one hell of a beating you took,” said the Shinigami, the last of his sentence trailing off as a nervous laugh escaped involuntarily from his lips. Beck looked at his body. He was bandaged nearly head to toe. He said nothing.
“…Right, I understand. Unfortunately, none of the other students survived. Their injuries were much too grave to treat.”
Beck finally spoke up. “I know. I was there… I watched them die.” He turned his head away to stare out the window he was placed next to. A few moments of awkward silence followed, the Shinigami unsure of what to say.
“I apologize on behalf of the Shinou Academy of Spiritual Arts, the Gotei 13, and all of the Soul Society for what happened to you. We were foolish in thinking a Hollow would not seize the opportunity to… prey… on inexperienced students...” said the Shinigami sincerely. Beck did not respond.
“I do have good news. I am proud to inform you that after careful consideration, the instructors have agreed to allow you to graduation early from the academy. Showing the kind of power you did in a real combat situation is impressive. They feel that mastering your Shikai in actual missions would be much more beneficial than completing another two years at the academy. As soon as your injuries heal you will placed into a squad and begin immediately.” Beck still said nothing.
“Right… well, I see you still need time to recover from what happened. I am glad you are okay,” said the Shinigami before he turned and began to walk away from his new fellow Shinigami. He then stopped for a moment and began to speak, his back turned to Beck.
“Look… I know what you went through was horrible but… you wanted to be a Shinigami. This is part of it. People die, family, comrades, lovers. We don’t always win so… just know what to expect and get used to it,” said the Shinigami in a solemn tone. He then exited the room.
Beck was silent, gazing out of the room, the images of the night before flashing through his mind like some horror movie scene on replay.
"I’ll become stronger to show them that I can… but also so no one else has to witness something like that ever again…"