Fighting Style:

Aki trained in as many parts of Zankensoki as he saw feasible in order to be able to fight without needing help. Still he mostly relies on Kido and Hoho to fight from a distance, and focus on not getting hit himself. As a result he isn't as good in close quarters combat or tanking hits.

: meaning “Flash Steps,” this technique, while not the pinnacle of Hoho, is the primary Arte afforded by the Skill. This Arte allows the user to move faster than the eye can easily follow by using as few steps as possible to cross a distance. The higher the user’s Hoho Proficiency, the faster and more efficient this Arte becomes. This technique clashes against the Perception Skill, meaning that the lower an individual’s skill value is, the more difficulty they will have predicting the trajectory of or even following the user’s movement. This becomes more pronounced if the Perception Skill is at a lower Proficiency Tier than the Shunpo User’s Hoho Skill.

Meaning "Battering Ram," this technique turns a headlong charge into a deadly-quick dash using Hoho, to enhance the attack that comes after it. Mechanically, the user may add one tier of their Hoho Skill to a Zanjutsu or Hakuda-based attack that comes directly after this technique.

【Name: Eiyu Kyori
【Nicknames: Kyo, Yu, Ori
【Alias: The Deadly Whisper
【Age: 240
【Age Appearance: Low twenties / late teens
【Gender: Female
【Race: Shinigami
【Former Rank: Ryoka.
【Former Division: 2nd

【Additional Appearance Info: Kyori sits at an easily overlooked 5’6”, being not exactly short but far from what most would consider tall. Her build, meanwhile, is equally unassuming. She doesn’t have much in the way of muscle, nor is she frail. She just looks like a random person.

This extends to her clothes as well, being found in sweatpants and a slightly too big hoodie that lets her hands be hidden behind the folds of her sleeves. None of her clothes have much in the way of iconography, usually just black or neutral colors entirely. When working as a Reaper, she wears the clothing typical for a member of the second division, with her undershirt being sleeveless and her clothes being designed for ease of movement. Her zanpakuto is kept on her left hip, where it can be quickly drawn by her originally dominant right hand. She is, however, ambidextrous, and usually keeps any extra tools on her right side.

The only thing that really stands out on the woman, however, is her eyes. While he black hair is usually kept in a ponytail, her eyes strike out from the heterochromia. Her right eye being a light, icy blue while her left is a simple, deep brown.

【Biography: Eiyu has always been a bit of an outlier to some, being the combination of two spirits rather than someone who had once been alive. Though to her she's been just as alive as anyone else, because what else would you call this life? It's just a little different, that's all.

Growing up, Eiyu continued that trend of being just a little different. She was never a physical type, always bounding with energy and drive more than anything, and despite her often aloof nature, avoiding the usual friends and bonds that most form naturally, she felt passionately. When she cared for something, or someone, she did it with all that she had. There was a fire inside of her that just didn't spark all the time, and her analytical nature often led to her being...off-putting.

This never bothered her much, however. She was happy as she grew and learned and watched. Even with the chaos and fear that could permeate the Rukongai districts that she called home, she only ever strove to be helpful. To save those she could, to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

And that was the ebb and flow of her life, for quite a long time, before she began to feel the urge to do more. Over the course of years she tried, and tried, and tried again to get into the academy, to join the ranks of those who fought to protect. It seemed like the right place for her to be, and so despite her failures she just continued to strive harder.

Everything changed, however, when a Hollow outbreak erupted near her home one day. It was chaos, terrifying and sobering, but she was moving before she even realized she was going to. She was fast, and she paid attention, so that meant (to her) that she couldn't just stand around or run. She needed to help. Escorting people, pulling them from rubble, getting people to safety. She pushed and pushed and pushed, but she knew it wasn't enough. And sure enough, soon enough, there were people she couldn't get to. Isolated away from the rest, surrounded by Hollows, and she just wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. What could she do?

As she made the decision, that she could sacrifice herself if she had to as long as she did something, her life was changed. Second Division commander Harime appeared seemingly from nowhere, seemingly blinking from place to place in the blink of an eye. The woman moved so fast that it made Eiyu's eyes hurt as they struggled to comprehend the movement, and in moments she had carved through the Hollows. A single attack.

Eiyu almost didn't believe it, it seemed so beyond anything she could fully understand, and yet she felt something in her rise like a fire as the woman glanced her way, lending a single nod.

The next time that Eiyu applied to the academy...she wasn't rejected. She had never seen the woman before or since that day, but she idolized that woman, admired her, and she would push herself forward until she could stand besides that woman. Perhaps not as equals. She wasn't sure if she could do that.

But she knew she could do better. Both for herself and for those around her, those who couldn't protect themselves. She could be strong, just in her own weird little way.

【Personality: A bit of an aloof loner who cares excessively about those she deems honorable or “good”.

Ultimately, Eiyu is a seemingly detached person at first sight. She keeps to herself, always watching everything around her with seemingly disinterested eyes. But inside her there burns a fire, a passion, a love for everything around her. There is a drive to protect those around her, and a desire to see people flourish. Despite the hardships that she's seen in the world, she has not been discouraged and will fight all the harder for those who can't do it for themselves.

But she is far from perfect. That same loner mentality, the lack of friendship or companions to confide in or be around stings deep inside her where she refuses to acknowledge it. In a twisted way of attempting to compensate for it, she can be obsessive about things, especially when she thinks she's in the right or that its for the betterment of others. And this, coupled with her borderline martyr behaviors towards fighting, can make her seem cocky, as she'll seem to believe that she can't lose. But in reality it's less that she thinks she can't lose, and more that she refuses to be useless no matter what. If she isn't good enough to stop something, then so what? That just means she needs to throw herself into it even harder than she would otherwise, and if she comes out on top that just means she had the strength inside her for it the entire time and just needed to break another barrier. And if she's wrong...well, she won't be around to find out, right?

Regardless, there's nothing like the thrill of a fight or of the wind in your hair as you move faster and faster, or when you learn something completely new. And if that means she has to experience those joys alone, it can't be that bad forever anyways, right?

meaning “Flash Steps,” this technique, while not the pinnacle of Hoho, is the primary Arte afforded by the Skill. This Arte allows the user to move faster than the eye can easily follow by using as few steps as possible to cross a distance. The higher the user’s Hoho Proficiency, the faster and more efficient this Arte becomes. This technique clashes against the Perception Skill, meaning that the lower an individual’s skill value is, the more difficulty they will have predicting the trajectory of or even following the user’s movement. This becomes more pronounced if the Perception Skill is at a lower Proficiency Tier than the Shunpo User’s Hoho Skill.

Meaning "Artful Deflection," this Arte defies the norm set by those who rely on raw strength to defend themselves. Instead, those skilled in this technique can rely on their ability to redirect strikes, using their momentum against them. Mechanically, this translates into the user of this technique using their Mobility stat to clash instead of Strength. If their Mobility tier is equal to that of the clashing stat they flip a coin (Heads is a successful block | Tails results in them being struck for "half damage"). If their Mobility tier is higher they can harmlessly deflect attacks.

Meaning "Stealthy Steps," Shinobiashi draws one's reiatsu into a diffuse 'shell' around the user's body, using it to dampen sound and increase kinesthetic awareness. In tangent with a user's skillful footwork it allows an individual to go largely unnoticed. Functionally, this technique may clash with either Perception, Mobility, or Hoho. The user may choose the lowest of these three. If the user's chosen stat is higher than those contesting it by a full proficiency or milestone tier, the user will go unnoticed. In its base state, this technique makes it impossible to detect the user while they're using the technique. If a user is one tier higher in any of the three relevant stats they gain the 'hidden' state, which grants one Milestone/Proficiency tier of advantage on any attack. If the user is struck or they attack, they are automatically knocked out of the 'hidden' state.

Name: Kōtetsu shochō (Steel Warden)
Attunement: Phase One - Unattuned (1)
Deviation: Kyumin (Dormancy)

Inner World & Spirit:


Zanpakuto Personality: While Eiyu is self-sacrificing and caring to a fault, her Zanpakuto is almost her opposite. Apathetic, seeing no point in sacrificing yourself for no good reason, and seemingly bored by everything. But that doesn't mean that they have no common ground. Both of them want to protect and help others, they just differ on how that should be done.

Ability: Due to Kōtetsu's discretion, Eiyu is capable of utilizing the physical aspect of her Shikai from the get go, allowing her to split her shield into its six segments at will. Notably, each segment of the shield can store a single Kido spell. Once she gains access to her full Shikai ability, it will likewise be capable of storing reiryoku-based kido-like effects.

【Name: Miryoku(Charm), Seikō(Delicate).
【Nicknames: N/A.
【Alias: N/A.
【Age: 437.
【Age Appearance: 25.
【Gender: Female.
【Race: Shinigami.
【Former Rank: Ryoka.
【Former Division: Fifth Division.

【Additional Appearance Info: Wearing her Shihakusho well-cinched, one could say that Seikō is rather conservative in terms of her clothing choices. The reality is due to her experiences, she’d much rather not tempt the world. Nonetheless, Seikō is a rather attractive woman, standing at 5’4 and weighing in at around 140 lbs with an hourglass figure and sufficient assets that she feels she must conceal them. Above all, though, her brilliant, almost glowing sapphire eyes are her most defining feature, especially when paired with her barely shoulder-length raven-black hair. Beyond this, of note is the pendant that rests around her neck, almost a choker given its tightness.

【Biography: Born far out in the Rukongai in a District often raided and terrorized by the violence of the gangs of the outer districts, one could say that Seikō has always led a difficult existence. Even as a young child, she came to know that danger was always just around the next corner. Yet, sometimes one can never truly understand what is at risk until it is taken from them, and unfortunately, this has very much been her experience.

So it was at a young age, barely able to fend for herself, that she witnessed the horrible violence of the outer district. Though her parents did their utmost to protect her, hiding her away, they failed in one way.

They did not blind her to the world, did not deafen her to their screams, did not dampen her senses as the scent of blood filled her nostrils. Crying in silence and wanting to scream, she lost her parents and much of the community she’d grown up in.

Frozen in terror, trapped in a state of shock, face and shirt drenched with her own tears, Seikō remained in that decrepit place for a long time. Whether hours or days, she didn’t emerge until someone found her and sadly, they were not just a kind stranger, but rather a raider.

Still, seeing her dirty tear-streaked face as her wide blue eyes stared at him emptily, he must have taken pity on her. So it was that she accompanied the raider in his rough lifestyle.

---

Many years later, after hardships too numerous to count, Seikō escaped Funinjō and his posse, fleeing to safe districts. Now a young woman hardened by the many hardships of learning to survive and stay safe–and often failing–amidst such rough company, Seikō was closed off for a long time. Retreating into herself and avoiding others for fear of being hurt, it took many many years for her to begin coming out of her shell despite her resilient nature.

Still, eventually, she sought greater safety and decided that she would rather die doing something that mattered than continue to waste away in the districts forever. So it was that she began opening up, reaching out, and even occasionally letting people into her life. Though she could not wash away the pains of her past, Seikō found meaning in helping others escape the possibility of such things in their future.

With time, she heard stories even as she noticed the imperceptible burden that others seemed to bear with her around. Though it upset her to see this, eventually, she found solace in the knowledge that it wasn’t truly her fault, as she discovered the source of the problem: Her Spiritual Pressure.

Though it wasn’t titanic like some legendary shinigami of the past, it was still sufficient to cause the average soul trouble. With this knowledge in hand, she applied for the Shin’o Academy, thinking that she could better protect others from the horrors of the world if she was stronger. Yet in her heart of hearts, she knew that she was running away, trying to get as far from reminders of her past as she could. After all, maybe that distance would help her heal or…help her forget.

Years passed, and she trained, and though she was never considered particularly talented by her teachers or her peers, she was well-liked. Her kind demeanor and attentiveness made her rather popular, but as she graduated and became a member of 5th division, such things stopped mattering nearly as much, and she quickly found herself isolated. Time went on this way for some time until the steady, safe, and largely unchanging environment of the Seireitei was struck by a sudden and violent upheaval.

The betrayal of a Captain, in fact, the Captain of her very own division: Tsubomi Suzunami. Though she’d never had any special relationship with the woman, the sudden violence and instability in a place she’d thought free of such rattled Seikō moreso even than many members of her division. Worse still was that many of her peers joined their Captain in her insurrection. So it was that she found herself numbly watching as so-many strangers–people she knew but was not close to–fought eachother because of the foolish mistakes of one woman.

It was madness. It terrified her, but she’d been scared before, frozen, petrified. Never again. Acting quickly, Seikō had sprung into motion, getting as many of those who had not betrayed her and Soul Society out of the way even as she felt the true battle begin. The one between their Captain and a shinigami who she recognized as the Lieutenant of 7th Division: Yōki, Kōunora.

Eventually, in the process of serving as triage and combatant, Seikō found that she’d moved startlingly close to the brilliant and blinding display that was the two high-ranking shinigami. It was a sight that she found both harrowing and stunning in equal measure. After all, one woman was a blinding flourish of almost impossible-to-follow blades and afterimages, one flowing into the next with an ease that had to have been practiced for decades. Yet…the Lieutenant never faltered, even outclassed as she should have been by Tsubomi, Kōunora somehow managed to evade or turn away the vast majority of the errant Captain’s blows. There was something about the younger shinigami’s movements that felt somehow more honed even than the Captain’s…but that was impossible. Tsubomi had been a Captain for a long time and even if she was hardly the strongest of the Gotei 13’s upper echelons, she was couldn’t possibly so sloppy as to be outclassed by a lieutenant.

Yet she was.

Still, as enraptured as she’d been in the magnificent display above, she soon detected a presence at her side, attacking. Eyes widening, Seikō reacted as quickly as possible. Rather than attempt to block, she’d utilized kido, using a defensive spell in the same instant as she preemptively wreathed herself in Kaido.

Still, the blade struck her with a terrible ferocity that sent her flying. Gritting her teeth from the pain, she flipped in the air and drew her blade in the same instant as she dug her fingertips into a wall to slow her flight. Still, the traitor kept coming, his eyes blazing with fury as he used shunpo to close the distance.

That was his first mistake, for she saw through his every move, and as he appeared, her hilt was already in position to slam his sword down into the ground. With her other hand upraised, she paralyzed him with a spell and then left him for dead. Wiping a bit of blood off her cheek, she cast her gaze around and located one of her compatriots fighting a small group of lesser shinigami who had surely defected.

Narrowing her gaze in disgust at the sight of her ally being bullied, Seikō vanished in a flash step. Joining Kana, Shion in her defensive, the two bonded that day, even amidst that chaos and despair. It was a good thing, too, for though Seikō had shaken off her shock rather quickly, Shion was another case entirely. In the coming months, the two grew close, and as the vice-grip of depressive trauma began to loosen, their friendship began to blossom.

It would be the one thing that truly made Seikō feel secure in the world. Well…that and their new Captain, the very woman who had defeated Tsubomi.

The thought always made Seikō chuckle with a grim sort of amusement; after all, fate did have a twisted sense of humor, why should she be any different?

【Personality: Seikō is a woman who has been tempered in the fires of tragedy and pain, given time to cool, before being reforged in the very same flames. Through the many trials and tribulations of her life thus far, Seikō has been forced to be strong to survive. So it is that in the face of violence, she does not flinch but remains steady and brave as she braces herself against further misfortune. Yet still this is not the sum of her being, for not every facet of her has been forged to the same pristine finish. Quite the opposite, as beneath the brave face, the mask, the wall she puts up to protect herself from the world, there is something brittle and bleeding. Something she refuses to look at, refuses to acknowledge, refuses to accept. It is part of her and it is hurting, wailing, clawing, screaming…silent. Unwilling to look at such a part of herself, Seikō instead turns her attention outwards, nurturing others where she can and protecting whoever she can manage such that perhaps some few will never experience what she’s had to endure.

Still, her past has not just left her with nasty scars and unhealed wounds–psychological and otherwise–but wisdom as well. When one suffers and struggles and yet finds a way through the world, so too do they learn, and indeed Seikō has learned much from her trials. She has learned the importance of bonds, of appearances, and what strength truly looks like. Sadly, a gentle heart and a kind guiding hand cannot save the world…indeed, cannot save her from it either. Nonetheless, she tries, and secretly she hopes as well, hiding that tiny flickering flame of wonder away from the cruel claws of existence such that no more of her innocence might be torn away.

Attunement(1): Phase One - Unattuned.
Deviation: N/A.

Inner World & Spirit:


Zanpakuto Personality: Patient and understanding, Zen'nō Kaiyō-kami is a rather maternal figure, its voice one of reason in its master’s mind. Nonetheless, their relationship is rocky as Seikō finds the ancient and ever-present gaze of her spirit to be overbearing. After all, it can see into the depths of her being where no one else can, and though Zen'nō is as gentle as possible…she has no intention of allowing Seikō to avoid her traumas forever.

Ability: Upon entering its release state, Seikō’s Zanpakuto continuously generates an incredibly intense aura of turbulent azure reiryoku that acts much like incredibly high-pressure water. Additionally, Seikō’s Shikai focuses her reiatsu, bringing it into alignment with her Sword Spirit. As a result, there is an intense–physically tangible–force that emanates from her Shikai’s azure reiryoku at all times. This force can be used both offensively to enhance the already potent reiryoku of her Shikai or defensively to slow or weaken attacks. However, there is–unfortunately–a catch: Seikō’s Shikai is indiscriminate and constantly puts her body under significant physical strain so long as it remains active. Functionally it is as if Seikō is being constantly poisoned while her Shikai is active–unfortunately, this effect does not carry over to other individuals who come into contact with her Zanpakuto’s Shikai ability.