Post by Galihan on Jan 5, 2008 1:42:50 GMT -4
Greatly revised for great justice
Shinigami
Name:
Tsuno Azuka
Gender:
Male
Age:
324
Division:
Squad Two, Onmitsukido (Secret Mobile Corps)
Rank:
Captain, Rank 1
Physical Description:
Tsunō is a rather slender, athletic looking person fitting the trend of the 2nd Division which specializes in agility, unarmed combat and stealth. Despite his power and authority, he does not possess outstanding stature, standing shorter than some other high-ranking shinigami at only 5'7” and weighing only around 120 lbs, shorter than even his own subordinates, but this doesn't necessarily bother him since his devotion to training his body has made him not much different in physique than the legendary Bruce Lee himself. While he is sometimes mocked by those he deems idiots for his stature, he is undoubtedly well developed muscularly and is more than capable of defeating, most opponents with his bare hands alone. He has short and jet black hair that is usually styled into short spikes which used to possess a thin braid going down the back of his neck, which he had cut after his promotion to Captain, as a symbol of graduation similar to the traditions of ancient Roman Gladiator's, or putting it into a more modern concept for you regular folk, the promotion of a Padawan to a full Jedi Knight. His skin is of a naturally darker-tone but his inclination to stick to concealing clothing and operating in the darkness of night has led him to only appear slightly tanned, and even then it can be hard to tell at times. His eyes are dark, reddish-brown orbs that distinctively appear like dark, moonless midnights concealed behind a dark veil of clouds, or in his case, sunglasses. He appears to be in his early- to-mid twenties, a bit on the young side for a captain, but there have been much younger before and the dangerous nature of Squad Two's work tends to result in a lack of older persons, forcing its members to become stronger at a younger age, assassins don't tend to age well like most warriors are able to do. On his mid-abdomen he has a tattoo of a crescent moon, and also a large, yakuza-style tattoo depicting intricate flames and flowers covering his entire back from his shoulders to his waist, and on his right bicep he has one more tattoo, this one of an eye surrounded in flames, the symbol of his own clan while alive and when in Rukongai.
He wears the robes of a normal shinigami but he wears tabijika boots instead of sandals, and also wears an additional undershirt, typical of the leader of the Onmitsukido, with no material covering the backside so as not to impede the use of Shunko when he eventually learns how to do so. He does not wear any hood or mask to conceal his face like used to while a Vice-captain, however, he still always wears a pair of black shades concealing his eyes, which he takes off very rarely unless he has personally vowed to kill his target or has to because it is so dark out that normal people cant even see without sunglasses. No Horatio Caine “sunglasses off, witty one-liner, yeeaaaahhh!!” for this ninja, seeing his eyes are a surefire ticket to the grave. He only lets his wife see his eyes. The white haori signifying him as the captain of Squad Two is sleeveless and is dark red on the underside. His zanpakutō is worn horizontally on his lower back from a black sash he wears above his haori, in the style often associated with being a ninja.
When in the world of the living for extended periods of time in a gigai, he always wears black cargo pants, sandals, and of course his signature black shades. The rest of his wardrobe, meaning his shirt, differs from time-to-time. He often wears a either a plain black or red t-shirt that sometimes have patterns on them not always. He also sometimes wears either a black hoodie sweater overtop of his shirt or a black vest overtop of either a red shirt or just his bare chest. He doesn't plan on staying in the Living World for any extended periods, however, and the aforementioned gigai wardrobe was entirely hypothetical just in case he had to, not that he would choose to with his duties to attend to in Soul Society.
Personality:
Tsunō is a very active person for most of the time and always finds something to do, he is often found training his subordinate squad members to improve their unarmed combat in the training grounds or even just running and practicing shunpō for hours until they collapse from exhaustion or are needed to carry out other orders. He'll even from time-to-time train members of other squads in his free time which often is more for fun than for serious training when involving lower ranking officers but with high-ranking officers, such as Vice-captains and other full captains, he will usually train seriously and with no nonsense, however that might be hard to recognize when he intentionally acts reckless and careless during training, taking unnecessary risks and dangerous stunts that could put himself in serious danger if he messes up, much to the annoyance of his wife, Korin, who wishes he'd settle down more because of their child being on the way.
He has a very strong pet peeve against people who are lazy, people who simply chose not to be productive or procrastinate often get looked down by him, especially if they are seated officers from other squads. Anyone within his own squad be caught slacking off while on duty will be scorned heavily, should a person be caught drinking or gambling on the job, ignoring their jobs or otherwise abandoning thier post he will personally make it his duty to punish them with brutal training regimens during their actual break times. This should not be mistaken for people who enjoy relaxing on their spare time, he himself is quite fond of enjoying just the simple beauty of the night sky, as well as cooking and even being incredibly talented at playing cards (particularly Oicho-Kabu, the Japanese version of Blackjack often associated with the origins of the yakuza gangs.)
Tsuno is a highly talented and esteemed chef, able to cater to large groups such as the graduation party for students from the Spirit Academy into the Gotei 13 held annually by Squad 5, to preparing meals for the seated officers of Squad 2, to just private meals for himself and his wife. While one may suspect him, being an assassin, to occasionally poison the meal to eliminate targets, Tsuno has too much respect for his edible creations to taint food with intoxicants. Tsuno is also a strong advocate for healthy diets, well balanced meals and proper nutritional intake, so much that he despises 5th-seat Darkoda's dislike of vegetables and obsession with chocolates, and utterly despises 3rd-seat Naiyashi's outright refusal to eat what wasn't once a living creature. Regarding Shin, its easy to mask vegetable flavor with a good tempura deep-frying, but Tayte, Tsuno will at times outright refuse to serve her any meals if she doesn't at least try something that grew from the ground or off a branch. The extent of Tsuno's devotion to healthy eating could explain his amazing physique despite being shorter than his subordinates, but will also make him physically sick to his stomach if he eats greasy, unhealthy fast-food from the Living World.
Before becoming a captain when he didn't have anything to do involving his own squad he sometimes helped out other squads in need, making him very well known and respected by Squads 4 and 12, where he has a history of helping out since they tend to lack manpower when they need it. Already being on rather good terms with most of his fellow former vice-captains, he is starting to try getting along well with their full captains, having already a bit of a history with Minoru from Squad Twelve, as well as already being trusted allies with Mouretsu Arashi from Squad Seven. Now he has been promoted into their elite ranks he intends to get to know other captains better as well. As a newly appointed captain, he takes it upon himself to be a competent leader, and makes it his responsibility to personally train all of the new recruits as well as his higher-seated officers on occasion, but is often too critical of his failures, being haunted in his dreams by his inability to save his clan on the anniversary of its demise every year, as well as holding deep grudges against any target he fails to kill or any subordinates that die under his command. He used to see his former captain as a role model who can be relied upon (even if Tsunō was older than him by at least 40 years,) and used to be content with simply obeying orders but upon his death he realized he had to become a powerful leader to make sure Squad Two would never suffer a similar tragedy ever again.
He is very observant of his enemies, preferring to study their strategies before fighting them at full force so he can exploit as many weaknesses as possible in order to fell his foes quickly before they can get the upper hand. He enjoys ambushes and using stealth in oder to win fights with minimal resistance, and often opts to issue a tactical retreat from battle in the event of enemy reinforcements showing up if there is too great of a chance this subordinates will be unable to survive. He thinks ill of multiple powerful beings teaming up against a single weaker individual, or powerful beings that attack and harm the weak, thinking highly of people who come to the aid of those in need and those who chose to risk facing powerful foes despite unfair odds.
He, while in charge of the Onmitsukido/Special Forces, does feel the need to integrate both it into Squad Two, he doesn't necessarily believe that Squad Two should become the Onmitsukido. One of the teachings of the special forces is:
"If you see your allies losing, that's your chance. Don't step between them. Take the enemy down from behind. And if the enemy is so strong you can't even do that, then just watch your ally be killed. That's what it means to be Onmitsukidō."
That slightly goes against Tsuno's own personal code of battle which he follows:
1. Never engage a target that is far too powerful for you to kill alone, if fighting as a member of Squad Two, then have your squad fight with you.
2. In order to prevent the fight from dragging out and causing harm to the people nearby, both innocent bystanders or yourself, never hold back and never play fair.
3. If fighting with honor prolongs the fight and entices violence and harm, then disregard universal honor and find your own personal honor as an assassin in your dishonorable deeds.
4. If the enemy is attacking the innocent then fight to protect those in danger no matter what, even if you die in the process. Only by fighting selflessly to protect others, does dying in battle constitute honor.
5. If fighting alone for personal reasons, for personal honor, revenge, and so forth, only then should you dye alone in battle. Bringing others to harm for your own personal quarrels is inexcusable.
Tsuno believes that while it is important to be powerful on your own, working together as a team of powerful individuals is even better, and hopes that in the future large coordinated efforts by the Gotei 13 will be better organized and will stand as a single unified armed force instead of thirteen separate divisions, because a divided force is only a fraction of its entire combined might. Not that he has anything against the individual squads, but he feels they need to set aside their differences and work on each other's strengths instead of have petty rivalries and disagreements in the face of a greater task, such as how the attack on Hueco Mundo was such a disaster and waste of resources, if only the entire attacking army was better coordinated then they wouldn't have suffered such cataclysmic loses. Tsuno dreams for a day that an organized Gotei 13 can preserve peace in the world. That's why he is often frustrated at his own subordinates who seem to be plotting against one another more often than working together, and giving Squad Two the reputation of being untrustworthy, so Tsuno takes it upon himself to personally get to know his seated officers as well as attempt at getting to know the high-ranking officers of the other squads.
History:
Edo-Period
In the year 1685, Iga Province, Japan, a baby boy was born into the Hattori clan. Raised from early age in the art of Ninjitsu to serve the ruling family of the now unified nation, the Tokugawa shoguns, the young child named Hattori Tsuno would become a highly-skilled thief, spy and assassin. By his mid teens he was sent to spy on the lords of various precincts and assassinate corrupt officials that plotted against the Tokugawa. On his last assignment working for the Shogunate, he had intercepted plans by a rebellious general to attack the capital of Edo and overthrow the Shogun, so Tsuno managed to send a warning in time to have troops sent to investigate. Eventually, Tsuno was discovered by a pair of enemy samurai who walked in on him stealing documents pertaining to the attack on the capital, and trouble broke loose. Tsuno managed to kill one of the samurai with a shuriken to the neck but could only trip the second before he called for backup and Tsuno had to get away. Luckily at the same time, Tokugawa soldiers were attacking the castle of this traitor so most of the guards were busy giving Tsuno a chance he needed temporarily, but in the end he was caught and defeated by a samurai, left for dead after falling into a river.
He washed ashore and several days later he came to, blind and with only vague recollections as to who he was. He was in the care of a girl named Azuka Korin, daughter of the ruling clan in a small hidden village. She had a very calm, caring voice that sounded like it had to belong to someone beautiful, and he grew fond of his caregiver. When he was able to walk again, she guided him around the village and Tsuno familiarized himself with the layout and the voice of all its inhabitants. Everyone seemed so nice and friendly, a very close-knit community. Eventually Tsuno was accepted into the village as one of their own, and he learned to live on his own in a small house near the river. He spent time with Korin every day and became friends with her father, the village's leader, and after a year since washing ashore his vision began to return to him. Also a few of his memories and instincts, he began remembering how to be a ninja. He has discovered that the village was mainly made up of small ninja clans, and was surprised to discover just how beautiful Korin really was. Tsuno had become a very powerful, respected member of the community for his generosity and kindness, and her father had a series of friendly duels until he started to fall ill and requested that Tsuno marry his daughter to become the new village leader, and passed away one week after their wedding night. Tsuno would train the young ninja in the village to become expert thieves and became a band of noble bandits, raiding and plundering the countryside, stealing from the various nobles that abused their power and ruled unjustly. Time went on and their actions increased with experience, until the day they were forced to abandon the village when the Tokugawa had ordered they be found and killed. The remaining survivors of the clan attempted to take over a hidden Shinto temple to establish their new home, but were killed by a group corrupt monks who using dark spiritual powers was able to summon hollows to do their bidding.
Rukongai
They all died. Tsuno, Korin, and all of their fellow clan members were all eventually killed by the resident monks and the hollows they were able to summon, but the sudden gathering of hollows has alerted Soul Society to send out a band of Shinigami to clear the temple out. Tsuno was the last of the ninja to be killed, and just as the hollow were going to focus on devouring the souls of the slain, the Shinigami arrived and the hollows and their summoners were all wiped out, and the fallen Tsuno and his clansmen were sent to Soul Society. Over the next decade, Tsuno spent his every moment in search of Korin until they reunited in South Rukongai District 79, Yokogiru, and along with other members of their clan, established a stronghold and became the local warlords of the lawless district. Yokogiru was the territory of the Azuka Clan, which had became powerful by training bands of soldiers that policed the outer Rukongai district and protected the weak inhabitants from the lawless scum that resided in the the area.
The soldiers trained to serve the Azuka were all somewhat powerful compared to the usual lot of wandering thugs, most the strength of the average weak shinigami (the unseated kinds that only seem to be good for running really, really fast and dogpiling Ryoka) with a few commanders with the potential to become seated officers in the Gotei 13 had they been properly trained, and their leader Tsuno was actually recognized in Soul Society by the Onmitsukido as a potential asset or threat with his authority and power comparable to a mid-ranking seated officer. Tsuno was a competent military strategist and gifted rouge, able to smuggle goods through the outlaw-filled countryside to distribute wealth from all over Rukongai into Yokogiru making it a sort of diamond in the rough, ideal community with a strong economy and police presence despite being by regions sprawling with the most violent, dangerous men of Rukongai. He and Korin had a dream that they could transform Yokogiru into the perfect domain that would rival Seireitei as a peaceful place and surpass it as a place open to the common inhabitants of Rukongai instead of the high-bred nobility.
After about a century, the Azuka's dream was close to reality. Tsuno's soldiers maintained peace and order and ensured safety to many merchants and vendors who made large profits selling assorted valuables and novelties fit for any lesser noble. Of course there were the occasional crime gangs that needed quelling and outlaws to squish but in reality all was well. Tsuno had no interest in actually ruling Yokogiru, but serving as the commander of its police force made him a wealthy and influential individual for an inhabitant of Rukongai. Unfortunately, the idyllic domain within Rukongai was also a frequent target for bandits from outside and in time the attacks would grow larger and larger despite his best efforts to quell chaos in the region. Tsuno would lead an army into the neighboring district, South Rukongai 80, from which most of the hostile attacks came from. While upon returning home, the attacks ceased on Yokogiru for now, but rumors would spread and grow until word got to North Rukongai 80, the Zaraki district, that there was war and fighting to be had to the far south. Unlike the rouges in South 80, the outlaws of Zaraki were hardened, bloodthirsty warriors in search of a fight and made their migration to find this Azuka army.
These were simply trained men not even comparable to average unseated shinigami, the Azuka clan's militia of soldiers were unable to comapare to the ruthless killers of the north. Constant attacks weakened Yokogiru and reorganized bandit raids crippled the district into a worse state than it was ever in. Tsuno attempted to ask for aid but nobody, not even the Gotei 13 or Onmitsukido would hear his plight from so far out into Rukongai. The Azuka clan attempted to hold them off until Seireitei would send reinforcements but they never came until almost everyone fighting under Tsuno's command died valiantly and the inhabitants fled north towards safer districts. The Azuka clan was completely demolished, save for its lord and lady, Tsuno and Korin. They had nothing left in Rukongai, their home destroyed and their small fortune plundered away. They too had to go north to start anew and leave Yokogiru behind. The ruins of the once prosperous district still lie in ashes, deserted and barren. The Azuka name is barely remembered outside of Yokogiru as being of any significance.
Seireitei
They moved to South Rukongai District 1, Nanashi, Tsuno and Korin both enrolled in the Spirit Academy, which very quickly caught the attention of the Onmitsukido, the Special Forces. This natural talent at the arts of stealth, unarmed combat and assassination shone above all else while Tsuno was leader of the Azuka clan, and his wife Korin's own skill was also impressive to say the least. During their years training how to be shinigami, Korin ultimately only proved to be above average, but the gap between Tsuno and his peers grew by leaps and bounds. While his use of hado and bakudo for fighting was meager, he was fairly skilled in other uses of kido, proving able to hide his presence as well as develop his own spells with devastating results for when his stealth would be insufficient. While offered to join the Onmitsukido very early on, he turned down the offer to further his own training to the best of his abilities for the full 6 years before accepting their request.
Korin had became a member of the 5th Division of the Onmitsukido, the Correctional Force, sending information all over Seireitei and Tsuno had become a member of the 2nd Division of the Onmitsukido, the Patrol Corps as well as the 10th-seat of Squad Two. Over the years when not deployed in the Living World to exterminate hollows for the Patrol Corps, Tsuno would spend much of his time with Korin aiding the Gotei 13's squads that were lacking in manpower such as Squad Four where he learned how to cook and Twelve where he learned the importance of nutritional intake, but overall he was still an assassin and a warrior, so when he had the chance to advance through the ranks, he would always grab the oportunity. It was only a matter of time before he was promoted to the Onmitsukido 1st-Division, the Executive Militia, answering directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Special Forces, essentially a member of the Seireitei's secret police instead of a field agent in charge of hollow extermination.
With his new position secured, Tsuno was well off, but however all was not so great when an accident at Squad Twelve's laboratories accidentally caused a massive explosion and injured many people, including Korin, who had to resign from active duty and retired into a small house in Seireitei which would become their own home that they were able to afford thanks to a compensation package paid by captain Daichi himself to make up for injuries caused in forgiveness, a small favor in return for the assistance the Azuka's had offered the 12th Division in the past. Even though Korin was no longer a member of the Onmistsukido, the Azuka name was still on file as a member of the Correctional Force, and as you could imagine there just had to be some idiot in the office one day day that screwed up paperwork so a few clerical errors later, and Tsuno was unofficially now both that and the Executive Militia, who would occasionally have to carry out the duties of his retired wife as well as his own despite his best efforts to have the paperwork corrected. That took quite a while to clear up, unfortunately, but did do wonders to spread his recognition around as a damned hard worker until Korin herself had to come in despite her recovering injuries and raise a little hell. Nobody from the Onmitsukido has ever dared do anything to anger his wife ever again.
Once the fiasco Tsuno trained under the Squad captain and showed great promise but wasn't the star-pupil of the Onmitsukido Commander, that would be the younger Kyuettaro Kisho, Tsuno was still fairly talented and quickly became 4th-seat within not too long at all at around the time Kisho became the vice-captain. He trained nonstop and with utmost devotion to making sure he can provide for Korin and ascend the ranks, becoming the vice-captain under Kisho for quite a few years, learning from the younger man whom was now his captain how to lighten up and enjoy life, have fun, and be able to relax. Tsuno respected Kisho as a leader, but deep down had a bad feeling concerning what fate would have in store for either of them, especially when Tsuno would be the one who'd do much of the administrative tasks while Kisho was off doing god-knows-what. Tsuno would get to know lots of his subordinate officers as well as most of the new-recruits into the Squad the advanced basics of fighting unarmed and how to use shunpo. Of course his kido skills were still low for a vice-captain in terms of hado and bakudo, but the few specific skills he did know were very well mastered to the point of excellence for their specific purposes but he wasn't strong enough for when the enemy would invade.
When the Espada attacked Rukongai, it was Squad Two that was first on the scene, Kisho fighting the Uno Espada and Tsuno fighting the Dos. Of course, Tsuno was not able to compete against the superior arrancar for long, being easily overwhelmed until the captain of Squad Five at the time stepped in for him. Ultimately, that loss made him realize he and his zanpakuto were not getting along, their personalities too conflicting, Lotomasa being a lazy dog that slept all day that would rampage the battlefield, Tsuno himself an active, energetic person who chose to study and analyze his foes carefully before making a move with delicate precision. The conflicting views on how to fight was causing his blade being dulled to the point of endangering him in combat, and that made him realize he had to begin training for bankai in order to force his zanpakuto into subordination. After the retaliatory attack on Hueco Mundo, Squad Two was left without a captain when Kisho was killed in action, making Tsuno the de facto leader of the squad, and he realized it was time he had to give it all to surpass his former commander and lead Squad Two to greatness.
He had began training at night like never before in order to achieve bankai, and training his unseated subordinates in order to harden them into elite warriors using his experience within the Patrol Corps. Korin was no longer injured, but she still decided to remain retired in order to try and start a family, something that she and Tsuno had discussed on occasion but were too busy to ever go through with in the past with them both being in the line of duty. Tsuno started to lay back on training other people so he could focus on training himself and spending time with his wife. Then he realized his training needed to progress even faster when he failed to kill another arrancar.
When he had sent the at-the-time current 5th-seat officer to investigate a hollow attack in the Living World, who never reported back, Tsuno himself decided to check it out for himself. There he met a powerful arrancar named Gramica, who with her pet menos was responsible for the death of the missing officer. Tsuno managed to kill the lesser hollow using everything he had, and by releasing the limiter placed on him he was able to keep up with Gramica's resurrecion form, but still lots of innocent people died that night thanks to her total disregard for human life. Tsuno just barely managed to make Gramica retreat, and even then he was sure she would only get stronger the next time they met so he had to complete his bankai training. Shortly after doing so, completing his bankai training after several long nights of nonstop training in the forests below the Sokyoku Hill, he had appealed to some of the captains of other squads, such as Mouretsu from Squad Seven whom he was close to as sparring partners, and Daichi from Squad Twelve as one more favor in return for all the side-work he's done for him over the years, to try and convince them to vouch for him to take the Captain Proficiency Exam to be promoted to the official leader of Squad Two.
The married couple's efforts did pay off, as no much konger before he did manage to obtain his bankai, they had learned that they were now going to become parents, so Tsuno decided to finish whatever training he had left in order to devote more time with his family come the time he becomes a father seeing as becoming a captain as well would rob him of any family time had he also decided to continue training everyone like he was known for.
Additional Info:
Tsuno is a master at stealth, shunpo and unarmed combat using many different combinations of various martial arts styles, as well as also being incredibly talented with many weapons, not only with his own zanpakuto but also any number of ninja-weapons, shuriken, daggers, kunai, kursarigama, sai, you name it. He and his wife are also soon to become parents, so that'll force Tsuno to cut back on his training schedule, seeing as being a person of his authority has little enough time on his hands to begin with so once he has a rugrat to raise he just might as well give up on trying to do everything and devote himself to his family and job instead of all the optional crap he does to not be bored. He is also training with Captain Mouretsu from Squad Seven in hopes of the two both achieving shunko, which in the process involves Tsuno improving his kido skills which aren't that amazing for someone his rank, just knowing enough kido to get by, barely knowing any bakudo and only knowing a small arsenal of hado.
General
Name:
Lotomasa
Spirit Description:
Lotomasa’s spirit form is that of a giant dog, usually several times the size of a large SUV whose entire body is made up of smoke and embers, but is able to compressing his size to accommodate when materialized in the outer world. When he speaks, the embers glow dimly in synchronization with his deep echoing voice. He is usually rather lazy and would probably just sleep for most of eternity if he wasn’t in fact a sword. He despises being too active or energetic, but always prefers to visciously attack head-on once provoke din order to spend as little time possible away from resting, always trying to second-guess Tsuno's tactics no matter if they be subtle or rushed, much to Tsuno's annoyance, all for the purpose of making sure that Tsuno is 100% confident in his strategies. When he raises his voice the embers glow brighter and when he and his master’s power raises the embers ignite into flames, in response to how much power they are flaunting about. His personality is one that when he becomes serious he is ruthless to Tsuno, yet still eternally loyal to his master, making sure to push him to his limits (through rather pathetic attempts at reverse psychology) in order for him to strive to greatness.
Sealed:
Lotomasa takes the form of a short sword like a wakizashi, as opposed to a full-sized katana. The shorter blade has a limited reach but can be drawn, sheathed, and swung around with much more speed then a standard zanpakuto, not only because of the shape of the small blade but also because of the amount of control he has over his own energy, compressing the blade to a smaller form. The grip is wrapped in a dark red and black cloth and the guard consists of three pointed prongs pointing outwards in the direction of the blade's edge and one point facing the direction of the dull edge, resembling either a fireball or maybe the emblem of the Foot Clan, depending on how far you want to consider taking the ninja motif.
Shikai
Activation Phrase:
“Whistle. Lotomasa”
Appearance:
The blade bends forward into a deadly hook, and the zanpakuto duplicates itself into a pair of identical sickles connected at the base by a chain, becoming a deadly sickle-nunchaku hybrid.
Abilities:
Lotomasa's chain connecting the two handles can extend to quite a long range, making it function as not only like a nunchaku when short but also as a kusarigama when extended, able to be thrown long distances and retrieved with a tug on the chain. The blades on each end can also triplicate itself and become somewhat of a grappling hook/claw weapon, able to cling to ledges and foes alike as well as simply ripping target to shreds when combined with his mastery of hand-to-hand combat. Lotomasa can be swung rapidly forming a type of basic defense against projectiles and weak kidō, as well as ward off melee attackers who wouldn't want to get caught up in a spinning chain with a sickle at the end. A special ability of Lotomasa, is that it can become immolated in flames which can add to the damage of being tangled up in the chain if extended or the cutting power of the sickle itself. The more power Tsunō puts into Lotomasa for this attack, the hotter and larger the flames become, but the hotter flames are also damaging to the chain itself. When the chain is short, the flames require less reiatsu to be more powerful, but the shortened chain is even less durable yet greatly improves it's attack power if used properly. If the chain gets too hot, it will begin to melt and Lotomasa will automatically reseal itself. at that point Tsuno has to wait short period for the weapon to cool down (1-5 posts depending on how long of a time we're dealing with, maybe more like 5 minutes) before he can release again.
Bankai
Activation Phrase:
“Bankai! Hinute Lotomasa! (A pun between the japanese words for dog, inu, and one of the words for fire, Hinote)
Appearance:
Hinute Lotomasa takes the form of a pair of large kanabo (large japanese war-clubs associated with their demons) connected at the ends of the handles by a large thick chain. At the end of each club, is a set of three large blades, which can each detach from the clubs to be launched and be retracted using smaller chains.
Abilities:
Unlike shikai, Hinute Lotomasa's main chain cannot extend to amazing lengths when one end is thrown, and are in fact not meant to be thrown because the size of the weapons make them suited for direct melee attacks as they can be used to bludgeon, slash, parry blades and crush bones easily as opposed to being swung and thrown. Hinute Lotomasa still retains it's kusarigami-like fighting style from shikai because the blades can be released and swung around by the smaller chains connecting them to the main sections of the weapon. This cyclone of carnage is able to tear most adversaries to pieces with minimal effort, but but can leave Tsuno exposed if the enemy gets past the spinning chains and blades, but even then he could easily still smash an enemy up close with either of the clubs themselves. The blades and their connected chains are still able to be engulfed in flames which are now able to reach much higher temperatures without the chance of causing damage to the chains connecting the blades to the handle-portions. The blades also become red hot, searing whoever gets caught in their path. An exceptionally powerful attack of this bankai is where one of the blades is launched from the main section of Hinute Lotomasa at such high speed and temperature that the connecting chain is is completely melted and the blade continues like a rocket towards the target, exploding on impact for heavy damage. Each rocket is capable of demolishing a building the size of the towers where Ichigo fought Kenpachi which he was able to slice like butter, before Ichigo had bankai, before Ichigo's bankai was useless against everyone. The blade remains destroyed for the remainder of the time Tsunō uses bankai and thus can only be used 6 times before there are no more blades and Lotomasa has to revert to it's sealed form for the remainder of the battle. With additional experience it would be possible to have the blades regenerate but for now its only usable six times per battle.
Shunpō/Flash Step: A shinigami technique allowing he user to move faster then the eye can follow. Tsuno is a master at this technique and is able to use it effortlessly, however only in short distances if used consecutively.
Hado # 31 – Shakkaho / Red Flame Cannon: “Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south!”
Shoots a small red ball of red energy at a target, exploding on impact. Not very effective in Tsuno's hands, but he likes using it to convince foes he is weak in kido to deceive them later with his other spells.
Hadō # 43 – Ryuiki / Dragon's Breath: (Custom spell) Hot flames spew in from the palm of Tsunō's hand in short bursts like a flamethrower. Only useful within a range of under 10 metres but can be used consecutively and to great effect if used properly. Tsuno has mastered this spell so he does not need to recite the incantation to use it.
Hadō # 55 – Ryudoki / Dragon's Wrath: "Almighty serpent of destruction! Soar above the heavens and earth, judge our actions as benign or wretched and punish us accordingly. Deem us worthy of your divine presence, rain catastrophe on the wicked!"
(Custom spell) A more powerful version of Dragon's Breath, now spewing more flames up to 15 metres away in a constant concentrated stream using both palms, lasting up to half a minute before dying out. Can only be used 3 times per thread. Very powerful if used properly but difficult to handle when used in desperation.
Hadō # 80 – Kyoubou Hou-ou / Raging Phoenix: "Hail Great spirit, creator of life, destroyer of souls. Boundless as the night sky, never ending flame of our unwavering faith in justice. Two paths to chose, two variations of our true destiny. Watch over us righteous and purge the sinners with your never ending flame!"
(Custom spell) Shoots a small spark of fire from the finger of the user, which moves at a somewhat slow speed, which combined its small size would make it seem almost impossible hit, right? Wrong. This spark is incredibly volatile, and reacts to the amount of spiritual particles it comes into contact with. Reishi causes it to rapidly grow in both size and heat and continues to grow as long as there is spiritual particles to burn. Its attack power is incredibly dangerous in the right conditions, so much that it used to be his last resort attack before aquiring bankai and even still will rarely be used unless bankai proves unable to do the job. If the air is saturated with high levels of reishi, like in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, it the spark with grow into a raging inferno like a wildfire in the dry season. Though the sheer amount of flames and heat are less concentrated than the Dragon's Wrath spell, like this, the sheer amount of fire makes it very challenging to get away from once trapped by the flames. That makes it far too dangerous for Tsuno to ever consider using within the Seireitei under any conditions, because a fire that spreads uncontrollably is no spell to use inside a city that is rich with the highest-quality spirit particles around.
The spell does not have to feed on reishi-rich air though, it can also fed fed by reiatsu, spirit pressure released into the air by powerful beings causing that staticy, blurred effect. That makes it especially dangerous for everyone nearby if this spell is used, because just being nearby a target with high reiatsu puts you at risk of being caught in the inferno. If the flames do touch you, the last thing you want to do is raise your spirit pressure because that only spreads the flame, like putting water on an oil fire. If you have total control of your reiatsu and can suppress it to the point of being unnoticeable, then the flames are not very damaging at all, thus as implied by the incantation, sparring those who have control and do not fight but destroying those who are recklessly violent. But given the last resort desperation of using this hado, chances are if he's willing to use it you aren't trying to hold back. It even puts Tsuno at risk if he uses this attack because this fire does not discriminate. It actually could be used as a training method for controlling your reitasu output under stressful conditions, keep it in check or burn alive.
Bakudo # 21 – Sekienton / Red Smoke Escape: Creates a blast upon activation and is used like a ninja's smoke bomb. (Actual spell, used (and failed) by the failure that is Omaeda. It appears to be a fairly simple spell and would be a staple for the Onmitsukido)
Bakudo # 26 – Kyakko / Curving Light: Hides the target from sight, by bending light. The spell has the ability to totally hide the presence and reiatsu of the user or specified object. (Again, actual spell, this time used (successfully) by Hinamori. I understand this may borderline as out-of-bounds as far as the RP goes, how about I say it deactivates if Tsuno's reiatsu fluxes so he cannot attack like this. Therefore, in order for him to assassinate a target using this, he needs to sneak up to the target and then charge his reiatsu before striking, which may very well startle an unsuspecting target but would leave him vulnerable to a target that is already prepared for battle.)
Other Characters:
Takeshi, Squad Ten unseated
Chiyo Iko, 7th Squad Vice-Captain
Daichi Minoru, 12th Squad Captain
Galihan Umbra, Brotherhood Vice-commandant
Daniel Conrad, New World Order Battle Operative
Roleplay Sample:
Tsuno wanted this arrancar dead. Plain and simple. The heat of the energy slowing burning around Tsuno as he gave a final staredown was evidence enough of that, and the determination to reduce her body from its humanoid form into a pile of charred ashes was visible in the force he put into his fist for a single punch. The fact that she did return to the form of a human instead of a white-armored monkey convinced Tsuno she was past her limit, unable to fight at the level she had been now that she had used that massive cero attack. Truth of the matter was that he too was at his limit, but he didn't have such telltale signs to identify this. After receiving countless shots from her cannon throughout the battle, as well as nearly being fried by more than one cero since engaging Gramica and her pet menos, Tsuno's body was pretty badly beat up, more than he would let on. That was just how he always was, Tsuno was able to ignore pain and injury better than others, out of sheer boldness to accomplish his mission no matter what, it would always be after the fighting that the sum total of his injuries would actually do their toll on him psychologically.
Tsuno threw his punch with everything he had, hopefully he'd break her skull in and leave her in a position for him to slice her open and fry her innards with his fire attacks, but that wouldn't be a problem. Tsuno's fist contacted with Gramica's skull and send her flying backwards. The moment impact was made, Tsuno was able to hear a cracking noise, one that would be associated with the breaking of bones. While it would be optimistic to guess it was Gramica's head, it was in fact several bones in the Vice-captain's hand fracturing on impact. It sure as hell hurt a lot, and Tsuno couldn't help but cringe and let out a loud groan of pain shooting throughout his entire left arm.
"Ah, son of a... damn!"
It was lucky that she used that opportunity to escape, because Tsuno would not have had much of a chance at continuing fighting with a broken arm. It must have been her hierro, the thick armored skin that arrancar were famous for, the same armor that was able to effortlessly deflect his blade barehanded at the beginning of the battle. When the black hole behind Gramica closed, Tsuno stood still in the air, and sighed as her presence had completely vanished. Not like when she would hide with her resureccion, this was totally no longer anywhere in this realm, having retreated back to Hueco Mundo where he could not continue his hunt. His guard lowered, and his reiatsu faded away to normal, and the chain on Lotomasa began to retract until the two sickles were end-to-end, transforming back into a short sword that was its sealed form. As Tsuno's battle-driven adrenaline faded, the pain of all of his injuries collided with him instantly, and he began to slowly lose consciousness as he started to drift towards the ground.
...I failed, thought the wounded Vice-captain as he landed on the ground, face up and in pain. Killed all those people and I let her get away.
You didn't get killed yourself, said the deep growl that was the spirit of Lotomasa, Tsuno's zanpakuto. You did well enough.
With that, Tsuno's temper began to raise in frustration with the slothful nature of his own zanpakuto, but he knew the lazy dog was right. No point arguing a valid point just because you don't like it. He was sprawled out on the hard pavement, looking up at the bright night sky, horribly polluted with the light of the city. Deep down, this really was more of a victory for Gramica than himself. While neither of the two combatants died, he was unable to prevent her from wreaking destruction and death, and chances are she was laying down in the white sand of Hueco Mundo which was probably more comfortable than this concrete rooftop.
I hate you. You know that, right? Tsuno groaned as he slowly arched his back, trying not to put pressure on his broken arm, and sliding the blade back into its sheath. He dropped back down, his body limp and tired and in pain as he then reached his right hand up to his glasses, and activating the hidden communication device inside.
"This is Vice-captain Azuka," he groaned into the hidden microphone. "The arrancar has retreated, the threat has been neutralized. Requesting assistance, injuries are significant. Over."
Tsuno groaned in pain as he struggled to his feet, lots of burns covering his body and he was starting to get lightheaded from blood loss.
[Affirmative, Commander Azuka-Sama, sending a relief team to accompany you back to Soul Society.]
Replied the hissy sound of the operator on the other end of the transmission. The communication was then filled with static before cutting out entirely. Tsuno turned towards the wreckage of the demolished building and witnessed emergency vehicles and relief workers trying desperately to save as many survivors as they could from the destruction of Gramica's games. Tsuno was sickened to the core that that hollow would so carelessly discard so many innocent lives just to try and get him, it was almost unfortunate how lucky he had been to escape the building as he did without getting killed himself. This would haunt him or a while until he'd have the chance to avenge the fallen here today and end Gramica's wretched life with his own hands. Or maybe his bankai instead seeing as he didn't fancy another broken hand, once he'd get back to Soul Society, he'd devote his entire time training his skills and mastering his zanpakuto until he could perform bankai against his enemies. That way, their rematch would be definitely involve himself standing over her ashes in glorious victory.
He waited for about a minute, and then the light of a senkaimon gate opening up lit his back, and out emerged four men clad in similar black attire to himself, these were members of the Onmitsukido's second division, the Patrol Corps.
"Azuka-sama! Are you alright?" Called one of the four men as they rushed to thier superior's side, helping him stand while trying not to disturb his injuries.
"Yeah, but I'm a terrible liar. I need to rest. One of you go to Squad Four to ask Captain Isami to have my regular bed prepared once we arrive, please."
"Yes, sir!"
The five shinigami carefully crossed into the senkaimon and returned to Seireitei with the guidance of a Hell Butterfly, closing the small doorway behind them. He would be accompanied to the hospital of Squad Four, where his injuries would be treated carefully and effectively. He expected he'd be out of commission for about a week or two afterwards, that would depend on just how serious his injuries really were. Lots of burns, broken bones, cuts, Tsuno was in a total mess. After his recovery he'd have to resume his training to become as powerful as his own captain used to be, no, preferably stronger than the former captain. He'd surpass the late captain and he'd surpass Gramica, that's all there was to it. Until then, all he could do was close his eyes and try not to exert himself too much, and hopefully get some much needed rest.
Shinigami
General Info
Name:
Tsuno Azuka
Gender:
Male
Age:
324
Division:
Squad Two, Onmitsukido (Secret Mobile Corps)
Rank:
Captain, Rank 1
Physical Description:
Tsunō is a rather slender, athletic looking person fitting the trend of the 2nd Division which specializes in agility, unarmed combat and stealth. Despite his power and authority, he does not possess outstanding stature, standing shorter than some other high-ranking shinigami at only 5'7” and weighing only around 120 lbs, shorter than even his own subordinates, but this doesn't necessarily bother him since his devotion to training his body has made him not much different in physique than the legendary Bruce Lee himself. While he is sometimes mocked by those he deems idiots for his stature, he is undoubtedly well developed muscularly and is more than capable of defeating, most opponents with his bare hands alone. He has short and jet black hair that is usually styled into short spikes which used to possess a thin braid going down the back of his neck, which he had cut after his promotion to Captain, as a symbol of graduation similar to the traditions of ancient Roman Gladiator's, or putting it into a more modern concept for you regular folk, the promotion of a Padawan to a full Jedi Knight. His skin is of a naturally darker-tone but his inclination to stick to concealing clothing and operating in the darkness of night has led him to only appear slightly tanned, and even then it can be hard to tell at times. His eyes are dark, reddish-brown orbs that distinctively appear like dark, moonless midnights concealed behind a dark veil of clouds, or in his case, sunglasses. He appears to be in his early- to-mid twenties, a bit on the young side for a captain, but there have been much younger before and the dangerous nature of Squad Two's work tends to result in a lack of older persons, forcing its members to become stronger at a younger age, assassins don't tend to age well like most warriors are able to do. On his mid-abdomen he has a tattoo of a crescent moon, and also a large, yakuza-style tattoo depicting intricate flames and flowers covering his entire back from his shoulders to his waist, and on his right bicep he has one more tattoo, this one of an eye surrounded in flames, the symbol of his own clan while alive and when in Rukongai.
He wears the robes of a normal shinigami but he wears tabijika boots instead of sandals, and also wears an additional undershirt, typical of the leader of the Onmitsukido, with no material covering the backside so as not to impede the use of Shunko when he eventually learns how to do so. He does not wear any hood or mask to conceal his face like used to while a Vice-captain, however, he still always wears a pair of black shades concealing his eyes, which he takes off very rarely unless he has personally vowed to kill his target or has to because it is so dark out that normal people cant even see without sunglasses. No Horatio Caine “sunglasses off, witty one-liner, yeeaaaahhh!!” for this ninja, seeing his eyes are a surefire ticket to the grave. He only lets his wife see his eyes. The white haori signifying him as the captain of Squad Two is sleeveless and is dark red on the underside. His zanpakutō is worn horizontally on his lower back from a black sash he wears above his haori, in the style often associated with being a ninja.
When in the world of the living for extended periods of time in a gigai, he always wears black cargo pants, sandals, and of course his signature black shades. The rest of his wardrobe, meaning his shirt, differs from time-to-time. He often wears a either a plain black or red t-shirt that sometimes have patterns on them not always. He also sometimes wears either a black hoodie sweater overtop of his shirt or a black vest overtop of either a red shirt or just his bare chest. He doesn't plan on staying in the Living World for any extended periods, however, and the aforementioned gigai wardrobe was entirely hypothetical just in case he had to, not that he would choose to with his duties to attend to in Soul Society.
Personality:
Tsunō is a very active person for most of the time and always finds something to do, he is often found training his subordinate squad members to improve their unarmed combat in the training grounds or even just running and practicing shunpō for hours until they collapse from exhaustion or are needed to carry out other orders. He'll even from time-to-time train members of other squads in his free time which often is more for fun than for serious training when involving lower ranking officers but with high-ranking officers, such as Vice-captains and other full captains, he will usually train seriously and with no nonsense, however that might be hard to recognize when he intentionally acts reckless and careless during training, taking unnecessary risks and dangerous stunts that could put himself in serious danger if he messes up, much to the annoyance of his wife, Korin, who wishes he'd settle down more because of their child being on the way.
He has a very strong pet peeve against people who are lazy, people who simply chose not to be productive or procrastinate often get looked down by him, especially if they are seated officers from other squads. Anyone within his own squad be caught slacking off while on duty will be scorned heavily, should a person be caught drinking or gambling on the job, ignoring their jobs or otherwise abandoning thier post he will personally make it his duty to punish them with brutal training regimens during their actual break times. This should not be mistaken for people who enjoy relaxing on their spare time, he himself is quite fond of enjoying just the simple beauty of the night sky, as well as cooking and even being incredibly talented at playing cards (particularly Oicho-Kabu, the Japanese version of Blackjack often associated with the origins of the yakuza gangs.)
Tsuno is a highly talented and esteemed chef, able to cater to large groups such as the graduation party for students from the Spirit Academy into the Gotei 13 held annually by Squad 5, to preparing meals for the seated officers of Squad 2, to just private meals for himself and his wife. While one may suspect him, being an assassin, to occasionally poison the meal to eliminate targets, Tsuno has too much respect for his edible creations to taint food with intoxicants. Tsuno is also a strong advocate for healthy diets, well balanced meals and proper nutritional intake, so much that he despises 5th-seat Darkoda's dislike of vegetables and obsession with chocolates, and utterly despises 3rd-seat Naiyashi's outright refusal to eat what wasn't once a living creature. Regarding Shin, its easy to mask vegetable flavor with a good tempura deep-frying, but Tayte, Tsuno will at times outright refuse to serve her any meals if she doesn't at least try something that grew from the ground or off a branch. The extent of Tsuno's devotion to healthy eating could explain his amazing physique despite being shorter than his subordinates, but will also make him physically sick to his stomach if he eats greasy, unhealthy fast-food from the Living World.
Before becoming a captain when he didn't have anything to do involving his own squad he sometimes helped out other squads in need, making him very well known and respected by Squads 4 and 12, where he has a history of helping out since they tend to lack manpower when they need it. Already being on rather good terms with most of his fellow former vice-captains, he is starting to try getting along well with their full captains, having already a bit of a history with Minoru from Squad Twelve, as well as already being trusted allies with Mouretsu Arashi from Squad Seven. Now he has been promoted into their elite ranks he intends to get to know other captains better as well. As a newly appointed captain, he takes it upon himself to be a competent leader, and makes it his responsibility to personally train all of the new recruits as well as his higher-seated officers on occasion, but is often too critical of his failures, being haunted in his dreams by his inability to save his clan on the anniversary of its demise every year, as well as holding deep grudges against any target he fails to kill or any subordinates that die under his command. He used to see his former captain as a role model who can be relied upon (even if Tsunō was older than him by at least 40 years,) and used to be content with simply obeying orders but upon his death he realized he had to become a powerful leader to make sure Squad Two would never suffer a similar tragedy ever again.
He is very observant of his enemies, preferring to study their strategies before fighting them at full force so he can exploit as many weaknesses as possible in order to fell his foes quickly before they can get the upper hand. He enjoys ambushes and using stealth in oder to win fights with minimal resistance, and often opts to issue a tactical retreat from battle in the event of enemy reinforcements showing up if there is too great of a chance this subordinates will be unable to survive. He thinks ill of multiple powerful beings teaming up against a single weaker individual, or powerful beings that attack and harm the weak, thinking highly of people who come to the aid of those in need and those who chose to risk facing powerful foes despite unfair odds.
He, while in charge of the Onmitsukido/Special Forces, does feel the need to integrate both it into Squad Two, he doesn't necessarily believe that Squad Two should become the Onmitsukido. One of the teachings of the special forces is:
"If you see your allies losing, that's your chance. Don't step between them. Take the enemy down from behind. And if the enemy is so strong you can't even do that, then just watch your ally be killed. That's what it means to be Onmitsukidō."
That slightly goes against Tsuno's own personal code of battle which he follows:
1. Never engage a target that is far too powerful for you to kill alone, if fighting as a member of Squad Two, then have your squad fight with you.
2. In order to prevent the fight from dragging out and causing harm to the people nearby, both innocent bystanders or yourself, never hold back and never play fair.
3. If fighting with honor prolongs the fight and entices violence and harm, then disregard universal honor and find your own personal honor as an assassin in your dishonorable deeds.
4. If the enemy is attacking the innocent then fight to protect those in danger no matter what, even if you die in the process. Only by fighting selflessly to protect others, does dying in battle constitute honor.
5. If fighting alone for personal reasons, for personal honor, revenge, and so forth, only then should you dye alone in battle. Bringing others to harm for your own personal quarrels is inexcusable.
Tsuno believes that while it is important to be powerful on your own, working together as a team of powerful individuals is even better, and hopes that in the future large coordinated efforts by the Gotei 13 will be better organized and will stand as a single unified armed force instead of thirteen separate divisions, because a divided force is only a fraction of its entire combined might. Not that he has anything against the individual squads, but he feels they need to set aside their differences and work on each other's strengths instead of have petty rivalries and disagreements in the face of a greater task, such as how the attack on Hueco Mundo was such a disaster and waste of resources, if only the entire attacking army was better coordinated then they wouldn't have suffered such cataclysmic loses. Tsuno dreams for a day that an organized Gotei 13 can preserve peace in the world. That's why he is often frustrated at his own subordinates who seem to be plotting against one another more often than working together, and giving Squad Two the reputation of being untrustworthy, so Tsuno takes it upon himself to personally get to know his seated officers as well as attempt at getting to know the high-ranking officers of the other squads.
History:
Edo-Period
In the year 1685, Iga Province, Japan, a baby boy was born into the Hattori clan. Raised from early age in the art of Ninjitsu to serve the ruling family of the now unified nation, the Tokugawa shoguns, the young child named Hattori Tsuno would become a highly-skilled thief, spy and assassin. By his mid teens he was sent to spy on the lords of various precincts and assassinate corrupt officials that plotted against the Tokugawa. On his last assignment working for the Shogunate, he had intercepted plans by a rebellious general to attack the capital of Edo and overthrow the Shogun, so Tsuno managed to send a warning in time to have troops sent to investigate. Eventually, Tsuno was discovered by a pair of enemy samurai who walked in on him stealing documents pertaining to the attack on the capital, and trouble broke loose. Tsuno managed to kill one of the samurai with a shuriken to the neck but could only trip the second before he called for backup and Tsuno had to get away. Luckily at the same time, Tokugawa soldiers were attacking the castle of this traitor so most of the guards were busy giving Tsuno a chance he needed temporarily, but in the end he was caught and defeated by a samurai, left for dead after falling into a river.
He washed ashore and several days later he came to, blind and with only vague recollections as to who he was. He was in the care of a girl named Azuka Korin, daughter of the ruling clan in a small hidden village. She had a very calm, caring voice that sounded like it had to belong to someone beautiful, and he grew fond of his caregiver. When he was able to walk again, she guided him around the village and Tsuno familiarized himself with the layout and the voice of all its inhabitants. Everyone seemed so nice and friendly, a very close-knit community. Eventually Tsuno was accepted into the village as one of their own, and he learned to live on his own in a small house near the river. He spent time with Korin every day and became friends with her father, the village's leader, and after a year since washing ashore his vision began to return to him. Also a few of his memories and instincts, he began remembering how to be a ninja. He has discovered that the village was mainly made up of small ninja clans, and was surprised to discover just how beautiful Korin really was. Tsuno had become a very powerful, respected member of the community for his generosity and kindness, and her father had a series of friendly duels until he started to fall ill and requested that Tsuno marry his daughter to become the new village leader, and passed away one week after their wedding night. Tsuno would train the young ninja in the village to become expert thieves and became a band of noble bandits, raiding and plundering the countryside, stealing from the various nobles that abused their power and ruled unjustly. Time went on and their actions increased with experience, until the day they were forced to abandon the village when the Tokugawa had ordered they be found and killed. The remaining survivors of the clan attempted to take over a hidden Shinto temple to establish their new home, but were killed by a group corrupt monks who using dark spiritual powers was able to summon hollows to do their bidding.
Rukongai
They all died. Tsuno, Korin, and all of their fellow clan members were all eventually killed by the resident monks and the hollows they were able to summon, but the sudden gathering of hollows has alerted Soul Society to send out a band of Shinigami to clear the temple out. Tsuno was the last of the ninja to be killed, and just as the hollow were going to focus on devouring the souls of the slain, the Shinigami arrived and the hollows and their summoners were all wiped out, and the fallen Tsuno and his clansmen were sent to Soul Society. Over the next decade, Tsuno spent his every moment in search of Korin until they reunited in South Rukongai District 79, Yokogiru, and along with other members of their clan, established a stronghold and became the local warlords of the lawless district. Yokogiru was the territory of the Azuka Clan, which had became powerful by training bands of soldiers that policed the outer Rukongai district and protected the weak inhabitants from the lawless scum that resided in the the area.
The soldiers trained to serve the Azuka were all somewhat powerful compared to the usual lot of wandering thugs, most the strength of the average weak shinigami (the unseated kinds that only seem to be good for running really, really fast and dogpiling Ryoka) with a few commanders with the potential to become seated officers in the Gotei 13 had they been properly trained, and their leader Tsuno was actually recognized in Soul Society by the Onmitsukido as a potential asset or threat with his authority and power comparable to a mid-ranking seated officer. Tsuno was a competent military strategist and gifted rouge, able to smuggle goods through the outlaw-filled countryside to distribute wealth from all over Rukongai into Yokogiru making it a sort of diamond in the rough, ideal community with a strong economy and police presence despite being by regions sprawling with the most violent, dangerous men of Rukongai. He and Korin had a dream that they could transform Yokogiru into the perfect domain that would rival Seireitei as a peaceful place and surpass it as a place open to the common inhabitants of Rukongai instead of the high-bred nobility.
After about a century, the Azuka's dream was close to reality. Tsuno's soldiers maintained peace and order and ensured safety to many merchants and vendors who made large profits selling assorted valuables and novelties fit for any lesser noble. Of course there were the occasional crime gangs that needed quelling and outlaws to squish but in reality all was well. Tsuno had no interest in actually ruling Yokogiru, but serving as the commander of its police force made him a wealthy and influential individual for an inhabitant of Rukongai. Unfortunately, the idyllic domain within Rukongai was also a frequent target for bandits from outside and in time the attacks would grow larger and larger despite his best efforts to quell chaos in the region. Tsuno would lead an army into the neighboring district, South Rukongai 80, from which most of the hostile attacks came from. While upon returning home, the attacks ceased on Yokogiru for now, but rumors would spread and grow until word got to North Rukongai 80, the Zaraki district, that there was war and fighting to be had to the far south. Unlike the rouges in South 80, the outlaws of Zaraki were hardened, bloodthirsty warriors in search of a fight and made their migration to find this Azuka army.
These were simply trained men not even comparable to average unseated shinigami, the Azuka clan's militia of soldiers were unable to comapare to the ruthless killers of the north. Constant attacks weakened Yokogiru and reorganized bandit raids crippled the district into a worse state than it was ever in. Tsuno attempted to ask for aid but nobody, not even the Gotei 13 or Onmitsukido would hear his plight from so far out into Rukongai. The Azuka clan attempted to hold them off until Seireitei would send reinforcements but they never came until almost everyone fighting under Tsuno's command died valiantly and the inhabitants fled north towards safer districts. The Azuka clan was completely demolished, save for its lord and lady, Tsuno and Korin. They had nothing left in Rukongai, their home destroyed and their small fortune plundered away. They too had to go north to start anew and leave Yokogiru behind. The ruins of the once prosperous district still lie in ashes, deserted and barren. The Azuka name is barely remembered outside of Yokogiru as being of any significance.
Seireitei
They moved to South Rukongai District 1, Nanashi, Tsuno and Korin both enrolled in the Spirit Academy, which very quickly caught the attention of the Onmitsukido, the Special Forces. This natural talent at the arts of stealth, unarmed combat and assassination shone above all else while Tsuno was leader of the Azuka clan, and his wife Korin's own skill was also impressive to say the least. During their years training how to be shinigami, Korin ultimately only proved to be above average, but the gap between Tsuno and his peers grew by leaps and bounds. While his use of hado and bakudo for fighting was meager, he was fairly skilled in other uses of kido, proving able to hide his presence as well as develop his own spells with devastating results for when his stealth would be insufficient. While offered to join the Onmitsukido very early on, he turned down the offer to further his own training to the best of his abilities for the full 6 years before accepting their request.
Korin had became a member of the 5th Division of the Onmitsukido, the Correctional Force, sending information all over Seireitei and Tsuno had become a member of the 2nd Division of the Onmitsukido, the Patrol Corps as well as the 10th-seat of Squad Two. Over the years when not deployed in the Living World to exterminate hollows for the Patrol Corps, Tsuno would spend much of his time with Korin aiding the Gotei 13's squads that were lacking in manpower such as Squad Four where he learned how to cook and Twelve where he learned the importance of nutritional intake, but overall he was still an assassin and a warrior, so when he had the chance to advance through the ranks, he would always grab the oportunity. It was only a matter of time before he was promoted to the Onmitsukido 1st-Division, the Executive Militia, answering directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Special Forces, essentially a member of the Seireitei's secret police instead of a field agent in charge of hollow extermination.
With his new position secured, Tsuno was well off, but however all was not so great when an accident at Squad Twelve's laboratories accidentally caused a massive explosion and injured many people, including Korin, who had to resign from active duty and retired into a small house in Seireitei which would become their own home that they were able to afford thanks to a compensation package paid by captain Daichi himself to make up for injuries caused in forgiveness, a small favor in return for the assistance the Azuka's had offered the 12th Division in the past. Even though Korin was no longer a member of the Onmistsukido, the Azuka name was still on file as a member of the Correctional Force, and as you could imagine there just had to be some idiot in the office one day day that screwed up paperwork so a few clerical errors later, and Tsuno was unofficially now both that and the Executive Militia, who would occasionally have to carry out the duties of his retired wife as well as his own despite his best efforts to have the paperwork corrected. That took quite a while to clear up, unfortunately, but did do wonders to spread his recognition around as a damned hard worker until Korin herself had to come in despite her recovering injuries and raise a little hell. Nobody from the Onmitsukido has ever dared do anything to anger his wife ever again.
Once the fiasco Tsuno trained under the Squad captain and showed great promise but wasn't the star-pupil of the Onmitsukido Commander, that would be the younger Kyuettaro Kisho, Tsuno was still fairly talented and quickly became 4th-seat within not too long at all at around the time Kisho became the vice-captain. He trained nonstop and with utmost devotion to making sure he can provide for Korin and ascend the ranks, becoming the vice-captain under Kisho for quite a few years, learning from the younger man whom was now his captain how to lighten up and enjoy life, have fun, and be able to relax. Tsuno respected Kisho as a leader, but deep down had a bad feeling concerning what fate would have in store for either of them, especially when Tsuno would be the one who'd do much of the administrative tasks while Kisho was off doing god-knows-what. Tsuno would get to know lots of his subordinate officers as well as most of the new-recruits into the Squad the advanced basics of fighting unarmed and how to use shunpo. Of course his kido skills were still low for a vice-captain in terms of hado and bakudo, but the few specific skills he did know were very well mastered to the point of excellence for their specific purposes but he wasn't strong enough for when the enemy would invade.
When the Espada attacked Rukongai, it was Squad Two that was first on the scene, Kisho fighting the Uno Espada and Tsuno fighting the Dos. Of course, Tsuno was not able to compete against the superior arrancar for long, being easily overwhelmed until the captain of Squad Five at the time stepped in for him. Ultimately, that loss made him realize he and his zanpakuto were not getting along, their personalities too conflicting, Lotomasa being a lazy dog that slept all day that would rampage the battlefield, Tsuno himself an active, energetic person who chose to study and analyze his foes carefully before making a move with delicate precision. The conflicting views on how to fight was causing his blade being dulled to the point of endangering him in combat, and that made him realize he had to begin training for bankai in order to force his zanpakuto into subordination. After the retaliatory attack on Hueco Mundo, Squad Two was left without a captain when Kisho was killed in action, making Tsuno the de facto leader of the squad, and he realized it was time he had to give it all to surpass his former commander and lead Squad Two to greatness.
He had began training at night like never before in order to achieve bankai, and training his unseated subordinates in order to harden them into elite warriors using his experience within the Patrol Corps. Korin was no longer injured, but she still decided to remain retired in order to try and start a family, something that she and Tsuno had discussed on occasion but were too busy to ever go through with in the past with them both being in the line of duty. Tsuno started to lay back on training other people so he could focus on training himself and spending time with his wife. Then he realized his training needed to progress even faster when he failed to kill another arrancar.
When he had sent the at-the-time current 5th-seat officer to investigate a hollow attack in the Living World, who never reported back, Tsuno himself decided to check it out for himself. There he met a powerful arrancar named Gramica, who with her pet menos was responsible for the death of the missing officer. Tsuno managed to kill the lesser hollow using everything he had, and by releasing the limiter placed on him he was able to keep up with Gramica's resurrecion form, but still lots of innocent people died that night thanks to her total disregard for human life. Tsuno just barely managed to make Gramica retreat, and even then he was sure she would only get stronger the next time they met so he had to complete his bankai training. Shortly after doing so, completing his bankai training after several long nights of nonstop training in the forests below the Sokyoku Hill, he had appealed to some of the captains of other squads, such as Mouretsu from Squad Seven whom he was close to as sparring partners, and Daichi from Squad Twelve as one more favor in return for all the side-work he's done for him over the years, to try and convince them to vouch for him to take the Captain Proficiency Exam to be promoted to the official leader of Squad Two.
The married couple's efforts did pay off, as no much konger before he did manage to obtain his bankai, they had learned that they were now going to become parents, so Tsuno decided to finish whatever training he had left in order to devote more time with his family come the time he becomes a father seeing as becoming a captain as well would rob him of any family time had he also decided to continue training everyone like he was known for.
Additional Info:
Tsuno is a master at stealth, shunpo and unarmed combat using many different combinations of various martial arts styles, as well as also being incredibly talented with many weapons, not only with his own zanpakuto but also any number of ninja-weapons, shuriken, daggers, kunai, kursarigama, sai, you name it. He and his wife are also soon to become parents, so that'll force Tsuno to cut back on his training schedule, seeing as being a person of his authority has little enough time on his hands to begin with so once he has a rugrat to raise he just might as well give up on trying to do everything and devote himself to his family and job instead of all the optional crap he does to not be bored. He is also training with Captain Mouretsu from Squad Seven in hopes of the two both achieving shunko, which in the process involves Tsuno improving his kido skills which aren't that amazing for someone his rank, just knowing enough kido to get by, barely knowing any bakudo and only knowing a small arsenal of hado.
Zanpakuto
General
Name:
Lotomasa
Spirit Description:
Lotomasa’s spirit form is that of a giant dog, usually several times the size of a large SUV whose entire body is made up of smoke and embers, but is able to compressing his size to accommodate when materialized in the outer world. When he speaks, the embers glow dimly in synchronization with his deep echoing voice. He is usually rather lazy and would probably just sleep for most of eternity if he wasn’t in fact a sword. He despises being too active or energetic, but always prefers to visciously attack head-on once provoke din order to spend as little time possible away from resting, always trying to second-guess Tsuno's tactics no matter if they be subtle or rushed, much to Tsuno's annoyance, all for the purpose of making sure that Tsuno is 100% confident in his strategies. When he raises his voice the embers glow brighter and when he and his master’s power raises the embers ignite into flames, in response to how much power they are flaunting about. His personality is one that when he becomes serious he is ruthless to Tsuno, yet still eternally loyal to his master, making sure to push him to his limits (through rather pathetic attempts at reverse psychology) in order for him to strive to greatness.
Sealed:
Lotomasa takes the form of a short sword like a wakizashi, as opposed to a full-sized katana. The shorter blade has a limited reach but can be drawn, sheathed, and swung around with much more speed then a standard zanpakuto, not only because of the shape of the small blade but also because of the amount of control he has over his own energy, compressing the blade to a smaller form. The grip is wrapped in a dark red and black cloth and the guard consists of three pointed prongs pointing outwards in the direction of the blade's edge and one point facing the direction of the dull edge, resembling either a fireball or maybe the emblem of the Foot Clan, depending on how far you want to consider taking the ninja motif.
Shikai
Activation Phrase:
“Whistle. Lotomasa”
Appearance:
The blade bends forward into a deadly hook, and the zanpakuto duplicates itself into a pair of identical sickles connected at the base by a chain, becoming a deadly sickle-nunchaku hybrid.
Abilities:
Lotomasa's chain connecting the two handles can extend to quite a long range, making it function as not only like a nunchaku when short but also as a kusarigama when extended, able to be thrown long distances and retrieved with a tug on the chain. The blades on each end can also triplicate itself and become somewhat of a grappling hook/claw weapon, able to cling to ledges and foes alike as well as simply ripping target to shreds when combined with his mastery of hand-to-hand combat. Lotomasa can be swung rapidly forming a type of basic defense against projectiles and weak kidō, as well as ward off melee attackers who wouldn't want to get caught up in a spinning chain with a sickle at the end. A special ability of Lotomasa, is that it can become immolated in flames which can add to the damage of being tangled up in the chain if extended or the cutting power of the sickle itself. The more power Tsunō puts into Lotomasa for this attack, the hotter and larger the flames become, but the hotter flames are also damaging to the chain itself. When the chain is short, the flames require less reiatsu to be more powerful, but the shortened chain is even less durable yet greatly improves it's attack power if used properly. If the chain gets too hot, it will begin to melt and Lotomasa will automatically reseal itself. at that point Tsuno has to wait short period for the weapon to cool down (1-5 posts depending on how long of a time we're dealing with, maybe more like 5 minutes) before he can release again.
Bankai
Activation Phrase:
“Bankai! Hinute Lotomasa! (A pun between the japanese words for dog, inu, and one of the words for fire, Hinote)
Appearance:
Hinute Lotomasa takes the form of a pair of large kanabo (large japanese war-clubs associated with their demons) connected at the ends of the handles by a large thick chain. At the end of each club, is a set of three large blades, which can each detach from the clubs to be launched and be retracted using smaller chains.
Abilities:
Unlike shikai, Hinute Lotomasa's main chain cannot extend to amazing lengths when one end is thrown, and are in fact not meant to be thrown because the size of the weapons make them suited for direct melee attacks as they can be used to bludgeon, slash, parry blades and crush bones easily as opposed to being swung and thrown. Hinute Lotomasa still retains it's kusarigami-like fighting style from shikai because the blades can be released and swung around by the smaller chains connecting them to the main sections of the weapon. This cyclone of carnage is able to tear most adversaries to pieces with minimal effort, but but can leave Tsuno exposed if the enemy gets past the spinning chains and blades, but even then he could easily still smash an enemy up close with either of the clubs themselves. The blades and their connected chains are still able to be engulfed in flames which are now able to reach much higher temperatures without the chance of causing damage to the chains connecting the blades to the handle-portions. The blades also become red hot, searing whoever gets caught in their path. An exceptionally powerful attack of this bankai is where one of the blades is launched from the main section of Hinute Lotomasa at such high speed and temperature that the connecting chain is is completely melted and the blade continues like a rocket towards the target, exploding on impact for heavy damage. Each rocket is capable of demolishing a building the size of the towers where Ichigo fought Kenpachi which he was able to slice like butter, before Ichigo had bankai, before Ichigo's bankai was useless against everyone. The blade remains destroyed for the remainder of the time Tsunō uses bankai and thus can only be used 6 times before there are no more blades and Lotomasa has to revert to it's sealed form for the remainder of the battle. With additional experience it would be possible to have the blades regenerate but for now its only usable six times per battle.
Shinigami Techniques
Shunpō/Flash Step: A shinigami technique allowing he user to move faster then the eye can follow. Tsuno is a master at this technique and is able to use it effortlessly, however only in short distances if used consecutively.
Hado # 31 – Shakkaho / Red Flame Cannon: “Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south!”
Shoots a small red ball of red energy at a target, exploding on impact. Not very effective in Tsuno's hands, but he likes using it to convince foes he is weak in kido to deceive them later with his other spells.
Hadō # 43 – Ryuiki / Dragon's Breath: (Custom spell) Hot flames spew in from the palm of Tsunō's hand in short bursts like a flamethrower. Only useful within a range of under 10 metres but can be used consecutively and to great effect if used properly. Tsuno has mastered this spell so he does not need to recite the incantation to use it.
Hadō # 55 – Ryudoki / Dragon's Wrath: "Almighty serpent of destruction! Soar above the heavens and earth, judge our actions as benign or wretched and punish us accordingly. Deem us worthy of your divine presence, rain catastrophe on the wicked!"
(Custom spell) A more powerful version of Dragon's Breath, now spewing more flames up to 15 metres away in a constant concentrated stream using both palms, lasting up to half a minute before dying out. Can only be used 3 times per thread. Very powerful if used properly but difficult to handle when used in desperation.
Hadō # 80 – Kyoubou Hou-ou / Raging Phoenix: "Hail Great spirit, creator of life, destroyer of souls. Boundless as the night sky, never ending flame of our unwavering faith in justice. Two paths to chose, two variations of our true destiny. Watch over us righteous and purge the sinners with your never ending flame!"
(Custom spell) Shoots a small spark of fire from the finger of the user, which moves at a somewhat slow speed, which combined its small size would make it seem almost impossible hit, right? Wrong. This spark is incredibly volatile, and reacts to the amount of spiritual particles it comes into contact with. Reishi causes it to rapidly grow in both size and heat and continues to grow as long as there is spiritual particles to burn. Its attack power is incredibly dangerous in the right conditions, so much that it used to be his last resort attack before aquiring bankai and even still will rarely be used unless bankai proves unable to do the job. If the air is saturated with high levels of reishi, like in Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, it the spark with grow into a raging inferno like a wildfire in the dry season. Though the sheer amount of flames and heat are less concentrated than the Dragon's Wrath spell, like this, the sheer amount of fire makes it very challenging to get away from once trapped by the flames. That makes it far too dangerous for Tsuno to ever consider using within the Seireitei under any conditions, because a fire that spreads uncontrollably is no spell to use inside a city that is rich with the highest-quality spirit particles around.
The spell does not have to feed on reishi-rich air though, it can also fed fed by reiatsu, spirit pressure released into the air by powerful beings causing that staticy, blurred effect. That makes it especially dangerous for everyone nearby if this spell is used, because just being nearby a target with high reiatsu puts you at risk of being caught in the inferno. If the flames do touch you, the last thing you want to do is raise your spirit pressure because that only spreads the flame, like putting water on an oil fire. If you have total control of your reiatsu and can suppress it to the point of being unnoticeable, then the flames are not very damaging at all, thus as implied by the incantation, sparring those who have control and do not fight but destroying those who are recklessly violent. But given the last resort desperation of using this hado, chances are if he's willing to use it you aren't trying to hold back. It even puts Tsuno at risk if he uses this attack because this fire does not discriminate. It actually could be used as a training method for controlling your reitasu output under stressful conditions, keep it in check or burn alive.
Bakudo # 21 – Sekienton / Red Smoke Escape: Creates a blast upon activation and is used like a ninja's smoke bomb. (Actual spell, used (and failed) by the failure that is Omaeda. It appears to be a fairly simple spell and would be a staple for the Onmitsukido)
Bakudo # 26 – Kyakko / Curving Light: Hides the target from sight, by bending light. The spell has the ability to totally hide the presence and reiatsu of the user or specified object. (Again, actual spell, this time used (successfully) by Hinamori. I understand this may borderline as out-of-bounds as far as the RP goes, how about I say it deactivates if Tsuno's reiatsu fluxes so he cannot attack like this. Therefore, in order for him to assassinate a target using this, he needs to sneak up to the target and then charge his reiatsu before striking, which may very well startle an unsuspecting target but would leave him vulnerable to a target that is already prepared for battle.)
Additional
Other Characters:
Takeshi, Squad Ten unseated
Chiyo Iko, 7th Squad Vice-Captain
Daichi Minoru, 12th Squad Captain
Galihan Umbra, Brotherhood Vice-commandant
Daniel Conrad, New World Order Battle Operative
Roleplay Sample:
Tsuno wanted this arrancar dead. Plain and simple. The heat of the energy slowing burning around Tsuno as he gave a final staredown was evidence enough of that, and the determination to reduce her body from its humanoid form into a pile of charred ashes was visible in the force he put into his fist for a single punch. The fact that she did return to the form of a human instead of a white-armored monkey convinced Tsuno she was past her limit, unable to fight at the level she had been now that she had used that massive cero attack. Truth of the matter was that he too was at his limit, but he didn't have such telltale signs to identify this. After receiving countless shots from her cannon throughout the battle, as well as nearly being fried by more than one cero since engaging Gramica and her pet menos, Tsuno's body was pretty badly beat up, more than he would let on. That was just how he always was, Tsuno was able to ignore pain and injury better than others, out of sheer boldness to accomplish his mission no matter what, it would always be after the fighting that the sum total of his injuries would actually do their toll on him psychologically.
Tsuno threw his punch with everything he had, hopefully he'd break her skull in and leave her in a position for him to slice her open and fry her innards with his fire attacks, but that wouldn't be a problem. Tsuno's fist contacted with Gramica's skull and send her flying backwards. The moment impact was made, Tsuno was able to hear a cracking noise, one that would be associated with the breaking of bones. While it would be optimistic to guess it was Gramica's head, it was in fact several bones in the Vice-captain's hand fracturing on impact. It sure as hell hurt a lot, and Tsuno couldn't help but cringe and let out a loud groan of pain shooting throughout his entire left arm.
"Ah, son of a... damn!"
It was lucky that she used that opportunity to escape, because Tsuno would not have had much of a chance at continuing fighting with a broken arm. It must have been her hierro, the thick armored skin that arrancar were famous for, the same armor that was able to effortlessly deflect his blade barehanded at the beginning of the battle. When the black hole behind Gramica closed, Tsuno stood still in the air, and sighed as her presence had completely vanished. Not like when she would hide with her resureccion, this was totally no longer anywhere in this realm, having retreated back to Hueco Mundo where he could not continue his hunt. His guard lowered, and his reiatsu faded away to normal, and the chain on Lotomasa began to retract until the two sickles were end-to-end, transforming back into a short sword that was its sealed form. As Tsuno's battle-driven adrenaline faded, the pain of all of his injuries collided with him instantly, and he began to slowly lose consciousness as he started to drift towards the ground.
...I failed, thought the wounded Vice-captain as he landed on the ground, face up and in pain. Killed all those people and I let her get away.
You didn't get killed yourself, said the deep growl that was the spirit of Lotomasa, Tsuno's zanpakuto. You did well enough.
With that, Tsuno's temper began to raise in frustration with the slothful nature of his own zanpakuto, but he knew the lazy dog was right. No point arguing a valid point just because you don't like it. He was sprawled out on the hard pavement, looking up at the bright night sky, horribly polluted with the light of the city. Deep down, this really was more of a victory for Gramica than himself. While neither of the two combatants died, he was unable to prevent her from wreaking destruction and death, and chances are she was laying down in the white sand of Hueco Mundo which was probably more comfortable than this concrete rooftop.
I hate you. You know that, right? Tsuno groaned as he slowly arched his back, trying not to put pressure on his broken arm, and sliding the blade back into its sheath. He dropped back down, his body limp and tired and in pain as he then reached his right hand up to his glasses, and activating the hidden communication device inside.
"This is Vice-captain Azuka," he groaned into the hidden microphone. "The arrancar has retreated, the threat has been neutralized. Requesting assistance, injuries are significant. Over."
Tsuno groaned in pain as he struggled to his feet, lots of burns covering his body and he was starting to get lightheaded from blood loss.
[Affirmative, Commander Azuka-Sama, sending a relief team to accompany you back to Soul Society.]
Replied the hissy sound of the operator on the other end of the transmission. The communication was then filled with static before cutting out entirely. Tsuno turned towards the wreckage of the demolished building and witnessed emergency vehicles and relief workers trying desperately to save as many survivors as they could from the destruction of Gramica's games. Tsuno was sickened to the core that that hollow would so carelessly discard so many innocent lives just to try and get him, it was almost unfortunate how lucky he had been to escape the building as he did without getting killed himself. This would haunt him or a while until he'd have the chance to avenge the fallen here today and end Gramica's wretched life with his own hands. Or maybe his bankai instead seeing as he didn't fancy another broken hand, once he'd get back to Soul Society, he'd devote his entire time training his skills and mastering his zanpakuto until he could perform bankai against his enemies. That way, their rematch would be definitely involve himself standing over her ashes in glorious victory.
He waited for about a minute, and then the light of a senkaimon gate opening up lit his back, and out emerged four men clad in similar black attire to himself, these were members of the Onmitsukido's second division, the Patrol Corps.
"Azuka-sama! Are you alright?" Called one of the four men as they rushed to thier superior's side, helping him stand while trying not to disturb his injuries.
"Yeah, but I'm a terrible liar. I need to rest. One of you go to Squad Four to ask Captain Isami to have my regular bed prepared once we arrive, please."
"Yes, sir!"
The five shinigami carefully crossed into the senkaimon and returned to Seireitei with the guidance of a Hell Butterfly, closing the small doorway behind them. He would be accompanied to the hospital of Squad Four, where his injuries would be treated carefully and effectively. He expected he'd be out of commission for about a week or two afterwards, that would depend on just how serious his injuries really were. Lots of burns, broken bones, cuts, Tsuno was in a total mess. After his recovery he'd have to resume his training to become as powerful as his own captain used to be, no, preferably stronger than the former captain. He'd surpass the late captain and he'd surpass Gramica, that's all there was to it. Until then, all he could do was close his eyes and try not to exert himself too much, and hopefully get some much needed rest.
