Post by Long on Dec 3, 2007 12:51:56 GMT -4
Shinigami
Name: Tarukane Sokou
Gender: male
Age: 371
Division: 11th Division
Rank: Vice-Captain
Physical Description:
Standing at 5"11 tall, Sokou is an impressive example of physical fitness. A body sculpted over a two centuries of training, he is a man built for war. His shoulders and upper back are tattooed, with numerous flowers of varying kinds on display. The shinigami's long, black hair is tied back messily, usually with strands coming loose. It is typical of of him to go unshaven, the the start of a scruffy goatee on his chin.
Back to his sash and black hakama, they are the only part of the official shinigami uniform the man bothers to wear. All he wears on his upper body are the bandages wrapped around his stomach and the red prayer beads on his right wrist. He almost always goes barefooted.
Personality: What's the usual first impression people get when they meet Sokou is that he is crude: impatient, and violent, an impression that is all too right. The man says what he wants, does what he wants; and if your going to keep him waiting, you better have a damn good reason, or be able to kick his ass. This is the officer's strength on display, something he's come to believe is necessary to do if one want to be part of the 11th.
He's blunt to the point of being rude, refusing to sugar coat anything or put up with bullshit. Taunts and crude statements are his terms of endearments, solid punches in the shoulder and rough shoves are his pats on the back. Actually the shinigami's probably one of the worst friends a person can have, more then likely to kick the shit out of you then help you out. Basically, you either considers this man a friend and just accept who he is; or you want to kick the shit out of him despite the fact your probably living in fear of him.
This is only the surface however, there is a kinder(not gentler) side to the shinigami, one that can only be seen through his everyday actions; left over from his younger days. How he always returns a greeting, even if all he does is simple nod; how he always means to help his fellow shinigami, even if he's crushing an undeserved ego. He's like the brother who treats you like shit but kicks the shit out of anyone who does the same, the one that usually drags rookies to the 4th Division after training, even on those rare occasions that he wasn't the one who injured them. Basically he shows respect and caring through actions, not through words "Like a little girl would."
The thing that is most important however is honour, or at least the old school 11th division version of it. Fights are meant to be fought one on one, and if they aren't; you better be the one out numbered. It is an old rule he expects no one else but himself to follow, mainly because fights would eventually become boring if his enemies always came at him one at a time like some old movie; it's also far easier to interfere in a doomed rookies fight then waist his time later with the inevitable paper work that follows the death of a subordinate.
When it comes to combat, Sokou doesn't know the meaning of the word self preservation. He's ruthless, fearless, and pretty much crazy, he will go up against the most insane odds; charging towards his own doom with nothing a smile and his zanpaku-tou. The only thing that worries him during combat are his comrades, partly out of a sense of family and loyality; but mainly because they might get in the was and ruin his fun.
History: The newest members of the 11th division stood at attention as the lieutenant inspected them before the captain arrived. The petite woman suddenly stopped in her tracks as she walked past something unusual, the recruit was dressed in the same as the others; brand new shinigami garb. Except that he was the only one that had made an addition that day, red prayer beads wrapped around his right wrist. This had been exactly what she had been looking for as she had looked the other young spirit up and down, someone who stood out. Lazily gesturing towards the young Tarukane, the officer casually asked the easiest question that anyone can ask, "What's your name?"
Unnerved by the attention he had suddenly been given, Sokou tried to explain a quickly as possible, "It's..."
The woman's mood instantly switched from being seemingly bored to angered, "What did you say?"
"I wa..."
As the young shinigami began to talk, his superior kneed him hard in the groin, causing him to drop to the ground and clutch himself in pain. The woman gave him a smug smile before laugh out loud and began to explain what the now crumpled boy had done wrong, "Every sentence you say to me will begin with Mousho-sama, every sentence you say to me will end with Mousho-sama; and anytime you so much as mention me, you will call me Mousho-sama and mention how fucking wonderful I am. If you don't, you'll all end up like bead boy here; do you understand?"
A resounding "Yes Mousho-sama" could be heard from the courtyard as all of the recruits answered. Smiling to her self in the perverse satisfaction one get when their allowed to be a complete ass for no real reason, the fukutaichou bent down and hoisted Sokou to his feet with one hand; high enough that his feet left the ground and she had to crane her neck to look him in the eye.
Sokou for his part could only look down in terror at the realization that not only was the woman bat-shit-crazy and far stronger then anyone as tiny as her should be, but he was now staring directly down her top. A nice veiw to be sure, but not quite nice enough to be worth the risk of imminent death.
"Eyes up or I'll make it so you have'ta sit to take a piss," releasing the boy and letting him fall to the ground, Mousho continued her down the line of assembled shinigami to finish her inspection. "Now get your ass up kid, you don't want the captain to think your weak."
Sokou was both confused and terrified by his new superior.
~~~
Over the next year, as long as he wasn't on patrol in the living world, Sokou would awake hours before anyone else; practicing his Hakuda and the use of his zanpakutou. After about two hours, he would always leave the courtyard, knowing full well that the fukutaichou would soon arrive and begin her own morning training. The boy was still absolutely afraid of his superior and didn't want any of the risk involved in a second encounter, especially if there were no witnesses around to she her kill him.
One day his luck ran out and Mousho arrived early, or maybe he had practiced later then usual. Completely unaware that he now had company, Sokou continued to practice. When he had finally stopped his training and was about to return to his room, the young shinigami heard a voice that chilled him to the bone, "So your the one whose been waking me up every morning."
If it was physically possible to shit a brick, Sokou probably would have; instead he fell on his ass and screamed like a little girl. After a few seconds had passed, the male death god got a grip on himself and immediately proceeded to beg for forgiveness, "Mousho-sama, I'm sorry for waking you, it won't happen again, Mousho-sama." Now all he could do was wait for death, and hope it would be quick.
The woman just stood there looking stunned, before she started to laugh so hard she fell to the ground. After a full minute had passed, the woman finally pulled herself together enough to speak, "Calm down kid, I'm only teasing you; and that sama stuff is just something I say to mess with the rookies. I can't believe your still doing that, it's so pathetic it's actually cute. It would probably be for the best if you call me fukutaichou from now on though."
Tarukane was now more confused then scared, she should have been kicking his ass at that moment; not commenting on how pathetically cute he was. He desperately tried to think of a way for him to escape to safety, except he hadn't a clue where safety would be. Not to mention he was slightly curious about this nice Mousho.
"Your scheduled to do a patrol with me next week, how bout a quick spar so I can see what you got," as she said this, Mousho drew her nodaichi, the action telling Sokou that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. Drawing his own blade, he decided he might as well spar, if he got lucky Mousho would injure him; then he wouldn't have to go on patrol with her.
Readying himself, the teen signaled to his senior to start the fight; which sent her charging at him with reckless abandonment. It took all Sokou had to defend himself against Mousho, whose own effort could hardly be called half-hearted. Through out the entire spar, the vice-captain gave Sokou advice or corrections on his technique, evening leaving obvious openings hoping for the boy to take advantage of them. She finally ended it by stealing the boy's zanpakutou from him and then sweeping him off his feet.
Standing over the boy triumphantly, Mousho smiled as she asked one simple question, "Do you know why you lost?"
"Cause your better then me," came the deadpanned answer as Sokou painfully stood up."
"Yes... but I was actually looking for because I'm afraid to get cut, though it's nice of you to notice. Now since your going to be my new sparring partner, we're going to work on that; I ain't going to waist my time on some pussy."
The fear he had felt towards the woman prior to the fight was now completely gone, having been replaced by utter confusion, "Why?"
"Maybe it's because your the only other person up this early and I don't like training by myself; or maybe I see potential in you," a hungry smile suddenly appeared on Mousho's face as she was suddenly well with Sokou's personal space, "Or it could be that I like'em young."
Suddenly he was scared again.
~~~
Over the following decades, Mousho acted as a mentor of sorts to the young Sokou; giving him personal training in the shinigami arts and making sure he grew into what she considered a true 11th Divisioner. Of course, the woman was a battle happy berserker, meaning the mold was ruthless, fearless and almost utterly insane on the battle field, having no reaction to the most hopeless situations other then excitement.
Slowly over the years, as Sokou matured into a man; his attitude gradually changed, from the polite kid who had been terrified of his superior to a tough as nails man S.O.B. who waited for nothing and didn't take crap from anybody, but sure as hell loved to give it.
It was during these years that the shinigami began to encounter his zanpakutou's spirit. It start out small at first, he'd hear a little girl's laughter as he dozed in the sun, annoyingly random shouts of "go Oni-tan" while he fought. Eventually Sokou came face to face with his sword's avatar randomly one evening while he slept.
~~~
Standing in a wide open field, grass stretching farther then the eye could possible see; stood two souls, perhaps the exact opposite of each other. One was Sokou, muscles, tattoos and wild hair, the other was a tiny child, a little girl whose cuteness could make the most violent creature say "aw."
"You slow Oni-tan."
The shinigami was understandably confused, to his knowledge, he had never had a little sister in either life or death. Yet her was this child, smiling at him like he was her favourite person; plus she kind of looked like him, "Who are you?"
"Your sword silly."
"My zanpakutou's a little girl, why?"
"How should I know, I'm just a kid."
"Good point... I guess, so why am I here?"
"To say my name."
"How 'em I suppose to know that?"
"You know it cause I want you to know it."
"Ibara," the word had left his mouth before he had even thought it, a ridiculous name for a little girl, but he couldn't bring himself to call the child anything else, "Your name is Ibara."
Sokou awoke with a start, his room bathed in a green glow that was emanating from his zanpakutou, which had transformed into a curved black battle axe momentarily before resealing itself back into the form of a katana, "Too easy," the shinigami then rolled over and went to sleep.
~~~
Even though he now capable of using Ibara's shikai form, little changed for Sokou; things simply went about as they always did. He aged at the slow rate that spirits do, rose through the ranks of the 11th, while Mousho continued to shape him into the ideal warrior. Sadly, even in Soul Society, nothing lasts.
Mousho had been ordered take a squad of 11th division shinigami had been sent to cleanse a hollow which had located near a isolated mountain village, growing stronger over the years as it picked off the town people under the guise of a local legend. It had come as no surprise when 5th seated officer Tarukane Sokou was selected as member of the lieutennant's team.
The battle with the hollow turned out to be nearly hopeless, but as previously mentioned; that's how the assembled shinigami liked it. With Shikai blazing, they savagely attacked the large beast, only to be cut down one by one. Eventually the creature landed a blow on the field fukutaichou, nearly cutting her in half and sending her flying through the air.
Sokou stopped his assault on the monster the moment this occurred, rushing to his superior's side. Suddenly the solider Mousho had created was gone, replaced by the boy he had once been. Seeing this, the woman decided give her lasts words meaning; so she shouted with everything she had left.
"Get the fuck back in there before a feed you to the bloody thing!"
Perhaps not what most people would expect to hear from the dieing lips of someone close them, but it was exactly what Sokou needed to her to pull himself back together again. He was once again the fearless solider, throwing himself at the empty soul; a berseker battle cry leaving his lips as he brought Ibara down to meet the creatures skull.
~~~
A month after the surviving members of the squad had returned home, another officer was promoted to fill Mousho's rank and position. The man was fully qualified for the job and a good guy all around, but Sokou hated him none the less; simply because he was his friend's replacement. So he did exactly what he had been taught to do, he challenged the man for his rank simply to spite him.
Deciding he wanted as many people as possible to see him humiliate the other man, Sokou challenged him for his rank and position. Over half of the 11th division, and several members of other division showed up to watch the duel. Now this is usually the part of the story where fate would punish the hero for his arrogance, having him be the one who was humiliated instead of the person he had no good reason to hate, but it isn't. Despite the fact Sokou challenged the man for a less then noble reason, he had still been well trained, pounding the man into submission before he had a chance to call on his shikai.
~~~
Fifty years later, the Lieutenent of the 11th, Tarukane Sokou walked past the newest members of the division, looking for the same thing Mousho had all those years before; someone to make an example. He found it in a hulking young death god who dwarfed everyone present, seemingly unimpressed by his new superior, "What's your name kid?"
"My name's..."
The sentence was never finished, Sokou smashing the recruits solar plexes with the butt end of his sword; causing the large boy to collaspe to the ground. Smiling in satisifaction at how big of an ass he was, the vice-captain adressed those assembled, "Every sentence you say to me will begin with Tarukane-sama, every sentence you say to me will end with Tarukane-sama; and anytime you so much as mention me, it will be about how fuckin' greatful you are to be in Tarukane-sama's Gotei. If you don't, you'll end up like the gorilla here; do you understand?"
A resounding "Yes Tarukane-sama" could be heard from the courtyard as all of the recruits answered. With a shit eating grin on his face, the officer bent down and hoisted the large shinigami to his feet with one hand.
"Suck it up, captain will think your weak if a tap like that hurt you
Additional Info: He achieved bankai during the untold fifty years, and it's his little secret.
General
Name: Ibara (Thorn)
Spirit Description: Sokou's zanpakutou's takes the form of a tiny 6 year old girl dressed in a faded black kimono and wrapped in vines and wearing a head piece made of the same black metal as her shikai form. The girl acts very much like the child she appears to be (despte the fact that most of her favourite games involve her hacking her enemies to pieces) and even addresses Sokou as Oni-tan and thinks of him as her older brother.
Sealed: Taking the shape of a regular katana, Ibara's sealed form is nothing special; just never tell her that. The sword's handle is covered in forest green wrapping, with a bronze cap and guard. The blade is made of the usual steel, well maintained and sharpened. The sheath is the same shade of green as the handle wrapping, with a bronze coloured metal tip at the end.
Shikai
Activation Phrase: Semehorobosu (Utterly Destroy)
Appearance: Upon initial release, Sokou's zanpaku-tou is engulfed in green reiatsu. Moments later, the reiatsu will disperse to reveal Ibara's shikai form; a battle axe with a long chain connecting it to a dagger. The axe is a foot long handle attached to a crescent blade that curves half-way down, resembling something similar to an anchor. The dagger consists of a handle just big enough for one of Sokou's hands and a leaf shaped blade, a weapon called a kunai. The entire shikai is black, except for the shining silver of it's sharpened edges
Abilities: none
Bankai
Sokou Ibara (Crude Metal Thorn)
Activation Phrase: Bankai!
Appearance: After the usual over dramatic transformation that occur with most bankai, stands a fusion of shinigami and zanpakutou. His once tan flesh is now made of black steel, as strong as any soul cutter. Sokou's hair is now the shining silver of freshly sharpened metal, hanging free after slicing free of the thong that had tied it back. The flowers tattoo on the warrior's shoulders are now gold, sitting on a silver background.
Abilities:
During bankai, Sokou's body is made entirly out of a malible metal. This form grants him a considerable increase in strength and durability, making him capable of shrugging off everything but the most powerful blows. He is also able to reshape his arms into melee weapons and reform his arms, torso and lower body if injured.
Sokou is limited however in his shapeshifting, mainly by his original mass. If one or more of the shinigami's limbs are cut off, he must assorb the limb back into himself or else he won't have enough mass to reform it. He is also unable to change the shape of his his chest(the location of his heart and sleeping soul) and his head(where his brain is), if either his brain or heart/sleeping soul are injured or removed from the majority of his mass; the results would be fatal. Also, if he were to return to his normal form/reseal his zanpakutou while one of his limbs is severed from his body; it will remained severed.
Despite being made of an inorganic substance, the reiatsu flowing through every once of the black metal allows him to receive sensory information from his body to his brain. While this serves a large purpose in actually being able to control his new form, it also acts as a double edged sword. Since Sokou is unable to constantly remain in his metal form, his mind has not had the time to adapt to his new abilities; shapeshifting hurts him. When changes his hands into blades they feels like their being broken and crushed; if his arm is cut off and he regrows it, it feels as if his arms was cut off followed by the painful experience of growing a new limb. For this reason, Sokou's bankai is a terrible exhausting experience; even though the pain is only in his head.
When hit with a reiatsu based attack, the foreign energy briefly disrupts Sokou's own spiritual energy; causing the struck area to lose it's form. This effect brings with it the previous pain of shapeshifting not only as the wounded area loses it's shape, but also the pain of of having to reshape it.
Shunpo / Flash Step - A movement ability that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow.
[9] Strike- Engulfs a target in red light, paralyzing them completely
*Incantation: Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!*
[58] Summoning of the Tracking Sparrows[/u] - Tracks and locates any spiritual force the user focuses on. To activate it, the user must draw a circle on the ground, cut into four parts with a specific character in each. The incantation animates the circle, causing various numbers to appear within until the specific set is found. The number set seems to be a variation on longitude and latitude.
*Incantation: Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain.*
[1] Thrust - Pushes target away from the caster
63] Thunder Roar Cannon - Fires a massive wave of yellow energy at a target.
*Incantation: Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! *
Other Characters: none
Roleplay Sample: From a thread on a Naruto site
Almost immediately after enter the crowd, the scruffy boy began to regret his decision. Usually a ninja kid would fair better then a normal kid in what was slowly becoming a mob, what with all that taijutsu training. Unfortunately when the soon to be mob is made up of shinobi, Ken was nothing more then a child. When one burly chuunin would shuffle backwards, the red shirted teen would be knocked into an even larger man; whom he simply bounced off of. While the rough treatment was unintentional and the men had barely even noticed he was there, the genin was afraid of them; but the two, as well as the rest of the crowd were in a bad mood and he really didn't want to be by himself when everyone's' tempers boiled over.
“Heh, it’s little boy Ken.”
Looking in the direction of the familiar voice, the Ryujin boy's face was met with whatever the voice's owner had thrown at him. After the initial flinch that most people have when rubbish is thrown at them, Ken noticed it had been the smelly old man had who had shouted his name, no not the drunk causing all the commotion but his team leader Genma. Now the scarred man was hardly the boy's favourite person, his dislike based heavily on the fact the man had smashed his pebbles with a pipe during their first meeting. Putting that aside however, Ken knew he would be a lot safer standing with his teacher then by himself; mainly because watching out for the boy was part of the jounin's job. He probably could of avoided the aches and pains he'd received from being in the crowd if he had just approached the fire loving man when he had first seen him, but the young fighter wasn't always the greatest thinker.
Pushing his way past the few people that separated him from the former Falcon, Ken instantly became aware of the almost comforting smell of tobacco coming off of Genma. There was also the smell of booze lingering on the torn flak jacket in the jounin's hands, meaning it belonged to the drunk guy. There was also some short, skinny guy he'd never met, but there was a whole bunch of people he had never met right behind him; he was more interested in his front row view of Mister Center of Attention.
"Eh old ma... I mean Sensei, why's the drunk guy all 'motional. I know yah did that whole blade pointed at Mie-san thing to show us guys have them, but ain't this a bit much?"
General Info
Name: Tarukane Sokou
Gender: male
Age: 371
Division: 11th Division
Rank: Vice-Captain
Physical Description:
Standing at 5"11 tall, Sokou is an impressive example of physical fitness. A body sculpted over a two centuries of training, he is a man built for war. His shoulders and upper back are tattooed, with numerous flowers of varying kinds on display. The shinigami's long, black hair is tied back messily, usually with strands coming loose. It is typical of of him to go unshaven, the the start of a scruffy goatee on his chin.
Back to his sash and black hakama, they are the only part of the official shinigami uniform the man bothers to wear. All he wears on his upper body are the bandages wrapped around his stomach and the red prayer beads on his right wrist. He almost always goes barefooted.
Personality: What's the usual first impression people get when they meet Sokou is that he is crude: impatient, and violent, an impression that is all too right. The man says what he wants, does what he wants; and if your going to keep him waiting, you better have a damn good reason, or be able to kick his ass. This is the officer's strength on display, something he's come to believe is necessary to do if one want to be part of the 11th.
He's blunt to the point of being rude, refusing to sugar coat anything or put up with bullshit. Taunts and crude statements are his terms of endearments, solid punches in the shoulder and rough shoves are his pats on the back. Actually the shinigami's probably one of the worst friends a person can have, more then likely to kick the shit out of you then help you out. Basically, you either considers this man a friend and just accept who he is; or you want to kick the shit out of him despite the fact your probably living in fear of him.
This is only the surface however, there is a kinder(not gentler) side to the shinigami, one that can only be seen through his everyday actions; left over from his younger days. How he always returns a greeting, even if all he does is simple nod; how he always means to help his fellow shinigami, even if he's crushing an undeserved ego. He's like the brother who treats you like shit but kicks the shit out of anyone who does the same, the one that usually drags rookies to the 4th Division after training, even on those rare occasions that he wasn't the one who injured them. Basically he shows respect and caring through actions, not through words "Like a little girl would."
The thing that is most important however is honour, or at least the old school 11th division version of it. Fights are meant to be fought one on one, and if they aren't; you better be the one out numbered. It is an old rule he expects no one else but himself to follow, mainly because fights would eventually become boring if his enemies always came at him one at a time like some old movie; it's also far easier to interfere in a doomed rookies fight then waist his time later with the inevitable paper work that follows the death of a subordinate.
When it comes to combat, Sokou doesn't know the meaning of the word self preservation. He's ruthless, fearless, and pretty much crazy, he will go up against the most insane odds; charging towards his own doom with nothing a smile and his zanpaku-tou. The only thing that worries him during combat are his comrades, partly out of a sense of family and loyality; but mainly because they might get in the was and ruin his fun.
History: The newest members of the 11th division stood at attention as the lieutenant inspected them before the captain arrived. The petite woman suddenly stopped in her tracks as she walked past something unusual, the recruit was dressed in the same as the others; brand new shinigami garb. Except that he was the only one that had made an addition that day, red prayer beads wrapped around his right wrist. This had been exactly what she had been looking for as she had looked the other young spirit up and down, someone who stood out. Lazily gesturing towards the young Tarukane, the officer casually asked the easiest question that anyone can ask, "What's your name?"
Unnerved by the attention he had suddenly been given, Sokou tried to explain a quickly as possible, "It's..."
The woman's mood instantly switched from being seemingly bored to angered, "What did you say?"
"I wa..."
As the young shinigami began to talk, his superior kneed him hard in the groin, causing him to drop to the ground and clutch himself in pain. The woman gave him a smug smile before laugh out loud and began to explain what the now crumpled boy had done wrong, "Every sentence you say to me will begin with Mousho-sama, every sentence you say to me will end with Mousho-sama; and anytime you so much as mention me, you will call me Mousho-sama and mention how fucking wonderful I am. If you don't, you'll all end up like bead boy here; do you understand?"
A resounding "Yes Mousho-sama" could be heard from the courtyard as all of the recruits answered. Smiling to her self in the perverse satisfaction one get when their allowed to be a complete ass for no real reason, the fukutaichou bent down and hoisted Sokou to his feet with one hand; high enough that his feet left the ground and she had to crane her neck to look him in the eye.
Sokou for his part could only look down in terror at the realization that not only was the woman bat-shit-crazy and far stronger then anyone as tiny as her should be, but he was now staring directly down her top. A nice veiw to be sure, but not quite nice enough to be worth the risk of imminent death.
"Eyes up or I'll make it so you have'ta sit to take a piss," releasing the boy and letting him fall to the ground, Mousho continued her down the line of assembled shinigami to finish her inspection. "Now get your ass up kid, you don't want the captain to think your weak."
Sokou was both confused and terrified by his new superior.
~~~
Over the next year, as long as he wasn't on patrol in the living world, Sokou would awake hours before anyone else; practicing his Hakuda and the use of his zanpakutou. After about two hours, he would always leave the courtyard, knowing full well that the fukutaichou would soon arrive and begin her own morning training. The boy was still absolutely afraid of his superior and didn't want any of the risk involved in a second encounter, especially if there were no witnesses around to she her kill him.
One day his luck ran out and Mousho arrived early, or maybe he had practiced later then usual. Completely unaware that he now had company, Sokou continued to practice. When he had finally stopped his training and was about to return to his room, the young shinigami heard a voice that chilled him to the bone, "So your the one whose been waking me up every morning."
If it was physically possible to shit a brick, Sokou probably would have; instead he fell on his ass and screamed like a little girl. After a few seconds had passed, the male death god got a grip on himself and immediately proceeded to beg for forgiveness, "Mousho-sama, I'm sorry for waking you, it won't happen again, Mousho-sama." Now all he could do was wait for death, and hope it would be quick.
The woman just stood there looking stunned, before she started to laugh so hard she fell to the ground. After a full minute had passed, the woman finally pulled herself together enough to speak, "Calm down kid, I'm only teasing you; and that sama stuff is just something I say to mess with the rookies. I can't believe your still doing that, it's so pathetic it's actually cute. It would probably be for the best if you call me fukutaichou from now on though."
Tarukane was now more confused then scared, she should have been kicking his ass at that moment; not commenting on how pathetically cute he was. He desperately tried to think of a way for him to escape to safety, except he hadn't a clue where safety would be. Not to mention he was slightly curious about this nice Mousho.
"Your scheduled to do a patrol with me next week, how bout a quick spar so I can see what you got," as she said this, Mousho drew her nodaichi, the action telling Sokou that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. Drawing his own blade, he decided he might as well spar, if he got lucky Mousho would injure him; then he wouldn't have to go on patrol with her.
Readying himself, the teen signaled to his senior to start the fight; which sent her charging at him with reckless abandonment. It took all Sokou had to defend himself against Mousho, whose own effort could hardly be called half-hearted. Through out the entire spar, the vice-captain gave Sokou advice or corrections on his technique, evening leaving obvious openings hoping for the boy to take advantage of them. She finally ended it by stealing the boy's zanpakutou from him and then sweeping him off his feet.
Standing over the boy triumphantly, Mousho smiled as she asked one simple question, "Do you know why you lost?"
"Cause your better then me," came the deadpanned answer as Sokou painfully stood up."
"Yes... but I was actually looking for because I'm afraid to get cut, though it's nice of you to notice. Now since your going to be my new sparring partner, we're going to work on that; I ain't going to waist my time on some pussy."
The fear he had felt towards the woman prior to the fight was now completely gone, having been replaced by utter confusion, "Why?"
"Maybe it's because your the only other person up this early and I don't like training by myself; or maybe I see potential in you," a hungry smile suddenly appeared on Mousho's face as she was suddenly well with Sokou's personal space, "Or it could be that I like'em young."
Suddenly he was scared again.
~~~
Over the following decades, Mousho acted as a mentor of sorts to the young Sokou; giving him personal training in the shinigami arts and making sure he grew into what she considered a true 11th Divisioner. Of course, the woman was a battle happy berserker, meaning the mold was ruthless, fearless and almost utterly insane on the battle field, having no reaction to the most hopeless situations other then excitement.
Slowly over the years, as Sokou matured into a man; his attitude gradually changed, from the polite kid who had been terrified of his superior to a tough as nails man S.O.B. who waited for nothing and didn't take crap from anybody, but sure as hell loved to give it.
It was during these years that the shinigami began to encounter his zanpakutou's spirit. It start out small at first, he'd hear a little girl's laughter as he dozed in the sun, annoyingly random shouts of "go Oni-tan" while he fought. Eventually Sokou came face to face with his sword's avatar randomly one evening while he slept.
~~~
Standing in a wide open field, grass stretching farther then the eye could possible see; stood two souls, perhaps the exact opposite of each other. One was Sokou, muscles, tattoos and wild hair, the other was a tiny child, a little girl whose cuteness could make the most violent creature say "aw."
"You slow Oni-tan."
The shinigami was understandably confused, to his knowledge, he had never had a little sister in either life or death. Yet her was this child, smiling at him like he was her favourite person; plus she kind of looked like him, "Who are you?"
"Your sword silly."
"My zanpakutou's a little girl, why?"
"How should I know, I'm just a kid."
"Good point... I guess, so why am I here?"
"To say my name."
"How 'em I suppose to know that?"
"You know it cause I want you to know it."
"Ibara," the word had left his mouth before he had even thought it, a ridiculous name for a little girl, but he couldn't bring himself to call the child anything else, "Your name is Ibara."
Sokou awoke with a start, his room bathed in a green glow that was emanating from his zanpakutou, which had transformed into a curved black battle axe momentarily before resealing itself back into the form of a katana, "Too easy," the shinigami then rolled over and went to sleep.
~~~
Even though he now capable of using Ibara's shikai form, little changed for Sokou; things simply went about as they always did. He aged at the slow rate that spirits do, rose through the ranks of the 11th, while Mousho continued to shape him into the ideal warrior. Sadly, even in Soul Society, nothing lasts.
Mousho had been ordered take a squad of 11th division shinigami had been sent to cleanse a hollow which had located near a isolated mountain village, growing stronger over the years as it picked off the town people under the guise of a local legend. It had come as no surprise when 5th seated officer Tarukane Sokou was selected as member of the lieutennant's team.
The battle with the hollow turned out to be nearly hopeless, but as previously mentioned; that's how the assembled shinigami liked it. With Shikai blazing, they savagely attacked the large beast, only to be cut down one by one. Eventually the creature landed a blow on the field fukutaichou, nearly cutting her in half and sending her flying through the air.
Sokou stopped his assault on the monster the moment this occurred, rushing to his superior's side. Suddenly the solider Mousho had created was gone, replaced by the boy he had once been. Seeing this, the woman decided give her lasts words meaning; so she shouted with everything she had left.
"Get the fuck back in there before a feed you to the bloody thing!"
Perhaps not what most people would expect to hear from the dieing lips of someone close them, but it was exactly what Sokou needed to her to pull himself back together again. He was once again the fearless solider, throwing himself at the empty soul; a berseker battle cry leaving his lips as he brought Ibara down to meet the creatures skull.
~~~
A month after the surviving members of the squad had returned home, another officer was promoted to fill Mousho's rank and position. The man was fully qualified for the job and a good guy all around, but Sokou hated him none the less; simply because he was his friend's replacement. So he did exactly what he had been taught to do, he challenged the man for his rank simply to spite him.
Deciding he wanted as many people as possible to see him humiliate the other man, Sokou challenged him for his rank and position. Over half of the 11th division, and several members of other division showed up to watch the duel. Now this is usually the part of the story where fate would punish the hero for his arrogance, having him be the one who was humiliated instead of the person he had no good reason to hate, but it isn't. Despite the fact Sokou challenged the man for a less then noble reason, he had still been well trained, pounding the man into submission before he had a chance to call on his shikai.
~~~
Fifty years later, the Lieutenent of the 11th, Tarukane Sokou walked past the newest members of the division, looking for the same thing Mousho had all those years before; someone to make an example. He found it in a hulking young death god who dwarfed everyone present, seemingly unimpressed by his new superior, "What's your name kid?"
"My name's..."
The sentence was never finished, Sokou smashing the recruits solar plexes with the butt end of his sword; causing the large boy to collaspe to the ground. Smiling in satisifaction at how big of an ass he was, the vice-captain adressed those assembled, "Every sentence you say to me will begin with Tarukane-sama, every sentence you say to me will end with Tarukane-sama; and anytime you so much as mention me, it will be about how fuckin' greatful you are to be in Tarukane-sama's Gotei. If you don't, you'll end up like the gorilla here; do you understand?"
A resounding "Yes Tarukane-sama" could be heard from the courtyard as all of the recruits answered. With a shit eating grin on his face, the officer bent down and hoisted the large shinigami to his feet with one hand.
"Suck it up, captain will think your weak if a tap like that hurt you
Additional Info: He achieved bankai during the untold fifty years, and it's his little secret.
Zanpakuto
General
Name: Ibara (Thorn)
Spirit Description: Sokou's zanpakutou's takes the form of a tiny 6 year old girl dressed in a faded black kimono and wrapped in vines and wearing a head piece made of the same black metal as her shikai form. The girl acts very much like the child she appears to be (despte the fact that most of her favourite games involve her hacking her enemies to pieces) and even addresses Sokou as Oni-tan and thinks of him as her older brother.
Sealed: Taking the shape of a regular katana, Ibara's sealed form is nothing special; just never tell her that. The sword's handle is covered in forest green wrapping, with a bronze cap and guard. The blade is made of the usual steel, well maintained and sharpened. The sheath is the same shade of green as the handle wrapping, with a bronze coloured metal tip at the end.
Shikai
Activation Phrase: Semehorobosu (Utterly Destroy)
Appearance: Upon initial release, Sokou's zanpaku-tou is engulfed in green reiatsu. Moments later, the reiatsu will disperse to reveal Ibara's shikai form; a battle axe with a long chain connecting it to a dagger. The axe is a foot long handle attached to a crescent blade that curves half-way down, resembling something similar to an anchor. The dagger consists of a handle just big enough for one of Sokou's hands and a leaf shaped blade, a weapon called a kunai. The entire shikai is black, except for the shining silver of it's sharpened edges
Abilities: none
Bankai
Sokou Ibara (Crude Metal Thorn)
Activation Phrase: Bankai!
Appearance: After the usual over dramatic transformation that occur with most bankai, stands a fusion of shinigami and zanpakutou. His once tan flesh is now made of black steel, as strong as any soul cutter. Sokou's hair is now the shining silver of freshly sharpened metal, hanging free after slicing free of the thong that had tied it back. The flowers tattoo on the warrior's shoulders are now gold, sitting on a silver background.
Abilities:
During bankai, Sokou's body is made entirly out of a malible metal. This form grants him a considerable increase in strength and durability, making him capable of shrugging off everything but the most powerful blows. He is also able to reshape his arms into melee weapons and reform his arms, torso and lower body if injured.
Sokou is limited however in his shapeshifting, mainly by his original mass. If one or more of the shinigami's limbs are cut off, he must assorb the limb back into himself or else he won't have enough mass to reform it. He is also unable to change the shape of his his chest(the location of his heart and sleeping soul) and his head(where his brain is), if either his brain or heart/sleeping soul are injured or removed from the majority of his mass; the results would be fatal. Also, if he were to return to his normal form/reseal his zanpakutou while one of his limbs is severed from his body; it will remained severed.
Despite being made of an inorganic substance, the reiatsu flowing through every once of the black metal allows him to receive sensory information from his body to his brain. While this serves a large purpose in actually being able to control his new form, it also acts as a double edged sword. Since Sokou is unable to constantly remain in his metal form, his mind has not had the time to adapt to his new abilities; shapeshifting hurts him. When changes his hands into blades they feels like their being broken and crushed; if his arm is cut off and he regrows it, it feels as if his arms was cut off followed by the painful experience of growing a new limb. For this reason, Sokou's bankai is a terrible exhausting experience; even though the pain is only in his head.
When hit with a reiatsu based attack, the foreign energy briefly disrupts Sokou's own spiritual energy; causing the struck area to lose it's form. This effect brings with it the previous pain of shapeshifting not only as the wounded area loses it's shape, but also the pain of of having to reshape it.
Shinigami Techniques
Shunpo / Flash Step - A movement ability that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow.
[9] Strike- Engulfs a target in red light, paralyzing them completely
*Incantation: Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!*
[58] Summoning of the Tracking Sparrows[/u] - Tracks and locates any spiritual force the user focuses on. To activate it, the user must draw a circle on the ground, cut into four parts with a specific character in each. The incantation animates the circle, causing various numbers to appear within until the specific set is found. The number set seems to be a variation on longitude and latitude.
*Incantation: Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the rain.*
[1] Thrust - Pushes target away from the caster
63] Thunder Roar Cannon - Fires a massive wave of yellow energy at a target.
*Incantation: Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! *
Additional
Other Characters: none
Roleplay Sample: From a thread on a Naruto site
Almost immediately after enter the crowd, the scruffy boy began to regret his decision. Usually a ninja kid would fair better then a normal kid in what was slowly becoming a mob, what with all that taijutsu training. Unfortunately when the soon to be mob is made up of shinobi, Ken was nothing more then a child. When one burly chuunin would shuffle backwards, the red shirted teen would be knocked into an even larger man; whom he simply bounced off of. While the rough treatment was unintentional and the men had barely even noticed he was there, the genin was afraid of them; but the two, as well as the rest of the crowd were in a bad mood and he really didn't want to be by himself when everyone's' tempers boiled over.
“Heh, it’s little boy Ken.”
Looking in the direction of the familiar voice, the Ryujin boy's face was met with whatever the voice's owner had thrown at him. After the initial flinch that most people have when rubbish is thrown at them, Ken noticed it had been the smelly old man had who had shouted his name, no not the drunk causing all the commotion but his team leader Genma. Now the scarred man was hardly the boy's favourite person, his dislike based heavily on the fact the man had smashed his pebbles with a pipe during their first meeting. Putting that aside however, Ken knew he would be a lot safer standing with his teacher then by himself; mainly because watching out for the boy was part of the jounin's job. He probably could of avoided the aches and pains he'd received from being in the crowd if he had just approached the fire loving man when he had first seen him, but the young fighter wasn't always the greatest thinker.
Pushing his way past the few people that separated him from the former Falcon, Ken instantly became aware of the almost comforting smell of tobacco coming off of Genma. There was also the smell of booze lingering on the torn flak jacket in the jounin's hands, meaning it belonged to the drunk guy. There was also some short, skinny guy he'd never met, but there was a whole bunch of people he had never met right behind him; he was more interested in his front row view of Mister Center of Attention.
"Eh old ma... I mean Sensei, why's the drunk guy all 'motional. I know yah did that whole blade pointed at Mie-san thing to show us guys have them, but ain't this a bit much?"
