Key Facts
Name: Iwakura Osamu
Age: 349 (Appears to be in his mid twenties but worn beyond his years.)
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Division: 10th
Rank: Captain (Veteran)
Appearance
Standing at six feet the man is tall but not imposing. He is however, rakish even gaunt. Flesh which was naturally slightly pale has been given a touch of grey by too many long nights spent bent over a desk. This is only accentuated by his slightly sunken cheeks and eyes with a firm brow and a hard, hooked nose which could be charitably described as roman. Sometimes, in the right light, he could give the impression of an eagle, but it would have to be a very flattering light.
His dark hair is cut short, largely in the name of function but also to look smart and ordered. Indeed his entire dress and general presentation could always be described as smart, if unconventional. He is permanently clean shaven, exposing a long, tapering jaw with came to a hard and menacing point. His cold, blue eyes stared out, taking in everyone and everything but just close to the pupils lay a slightly mucky ring of gold. Unconfirmed accounts have occasionally said that this golden ring seems to get larger from time to time but that could just be a rumour. Some certainly though, have credited the odd look of a forever burning furnace behind his sharp eyes to this odd golden ring.
As far as his clothing is concerned it varies from occasion to occasion. When formality and tradition are called for he is found wearing the conventional garb of the captain, kept in immaculate condition and without a hint of personalisation. However, most of the time he can be found in what he terms battle dress, even when there is not a hint of a battle around.
Said battle dress has some stylistic similarities to traditional shinigami garb. The torso portion of the garment is identical to it’s more conventional twin. However the sleeves are not loose and billowing but rather tighter to the arm, not skin tight but rather like shirt or jumper. The flowing lower half of the uniform has also been replaced by a pair of black, hard wearing, trousers and the sandals replaced by tough boots. His hands are covered by black, high grip gloves and the slightly low neckline of the garment has been filled in with a fine red scarf that he wears in a manner similar to a cravat. Furthermore he wears a plain breast and back plate for no real practical purpose but rather a symbolic one that will be explained later. The man wears the traditional sash around his waist, also coloured red, but over it he wears a brown leather belt which contains a few pouches. In these he keeps pens, paper, maps, powerful binoculars and other useful tools of command. Even his sword is hung off of his belt rather than his sash in a little spit in the eye of tradition. Even his captain’s cloak is untraditional. It’s as long as all the others and sleeveless, open at the front and with the same designs as his office demands. But it is made of white leather and has a standing collar. In short he looks like a shinigami but a shinigami from a very different time.
Personality
The man is a hard worker, a damn hard worker. His rise through the ranks was swift not just because of natural talent but also because of hard graft. The man has foregone many a pleasure all in the name of work. He works long hours, too long, he reads briefings during breakfast and dictates orders at dinner. Even when he seems to be relaxing or idle his brain is running at a hundred miles an hour, churning out new ideas and culling the bad ones just as fast. He is not a total work addict, he sleeps, he goes to the odd social occasion, he plays with his dog. But he works a darn sight harder than most.
With this hard work comes resentment and jealousy. He worked hard to be where he is today and every time he sees similar positions, or indeed any kind of success, just fall in the laps of the undeserving he becomes quietly infuriated. This is especially true of those who benefit from inheritance or tradition, those who obtain high office, wealth or power simply because of who their father was or because their family always held a certain position. The flip side of this is that he is a true egalitarian, giving anyone a chance no matter their background, providing aid and training to the most lowly men, blind to class and birth. Indeed he considers it something of a side mission to better the least off in society.
As part of this he makes frequent displays of unity and equality. He has no need of his breast and back plate but he wears both to establish some form of connection with his NDV who wear such things out of necessity. He will frequently visit men of all ranks, eat with them and try to help them with their problems. He will ask the opinions of many of his junior staff, even if he does not always do what they say, he makes the effort of consultation to foster inclusion and loyalty. Pre the hollow invasion he was also a frequent face in the lower districts, aiding with job creation schemes and attempting to improve education and opportunity by building and funding schools. Now the war effort takes almost all his time but he is still remembered.
He is a revolutionary thinker with bold new designs, radical plans and exciting ideas. The problem is he is also intellectually arrogant and thinks that those who outright oppose him, rather than just propose some modifications to his plans, are in someway mentally inferior. He used to have no talent at all at hiding his contempt towards such men but his time at the academy taught him restraint. Still, he is no diplomat or smooth talker.
The man is well humoured, able to take joy in his daily life even when it is even harder work than normal. He even has a robust sense of humour and is able to take several jokes at his own expense, though every man has his limit. He is not the best at telling jokes but he tries from time to time, always attempting to inject his unique brand of worn enthusiasm into others.
Whilst it would be possible to rattle on for a small age about this man we will conclude with one other, exceptionally important, thing. His dog. Montgomery or Monty. He adores that thing, an Irish Wolf Hound he rescued as a puppy during a moment of odd sentimentality in the first hollow attack. It’s easily his best friend and if you want to see a battle hardened commander reduced to a child at heart you just need to give him Monty and a stick to throw.
History
The Iwakura family had never been particularly noteworthy. By the time young Osamu was born the family had obtained modest wealth and an equally modest position. His father, Kyou, was in the rice business and owned a few farms. His mother, Natsuko, had been the heiress to a small fisheries fortune from a once prominent family that had been locked in a gradual economic and social decline for over two centuries. Between them they had three children, of which Osamu was the eldest. He has a younger brother named Ryouichi and still younger sister named Shizuka. The young Osamu had been expected to take over the family business come the proper time, continuing the gradual rise of the family. Indeed for many years it looked as though he would do just that and when he was turning into a man he was already a solid businessman and even better administrator. It was therefore a surprise when he announced his intention to join the ranks of the shinigami and to make a career amongst their illustrious, and occasionally short lived, ranks.
His mother supported the plan, many of her family, had served amongst them. Her enthusiasm however, was particularly surprising to the young Osamu as her own brother had died in their service. Indeed, he had been more reliant on the support of his father, who turned out to be less than impressed and initially thought of the decision as little more than a personal betrayal. Still, due to the diplomatic efforts of his mother, and the fact there was another son to run the business, his plan was eventually supported by his father as well. So, after passing the entrance exams, he joined the academy.
Whilst there he earned a reputation as a hard working young man, exceptionally so. Not only that he was able to acknowledge his weaknesses and was willing to practice them just as much as his strengths. However, whilst humble in his weaknesses he also became known as a tad arrogant in his strengths and would often become intransigent when convinced he was right. He also rubbed the traditionalists and the privileged the wrong way. The traditionalists he annoyed because he was a dangerously revolutionary thinker, some even whispered that he would tear down the 13 divisions if he had his way. The privileged he angered because he could scarcely hide his resentment and anger at the prosperity and life chances they enjoyed simply because of who their parents were. If it weren't for his strong practical and stronger yet, academic, performance he may have been asked to leave. Instead though, one of his tutors taught him the value of shutting up from time to time and so Osamu was able to successfully pass out, and strongly.
He did not however, go to the division many believed he would, indeed even Osamu was surprised. Physically speaking he had been better at speed, precision and agility more than any brute force solution. He also valued highly reconnaissance, small surgical strikes, indeed his entire attitude towards warfare seemed to scream second division. Instead he was assigned to the tenth. He obeyed, as a good shinigami would, but he asked why. For an answer he was directed to his favourite tutor, the very one that had taught him the value of keeping his big yap shut. This other tutor had singlehandedly directed him to the tenth. His reason being that whilst Osamu may have done well in the second he would have been wasted. Even had he rose to the illustrious rank of captain there he would have done well and then died, leaving no real impact, indistinguishable from the other captains of the second. But in the tenth there was real potential for long lasting reform, there he could make a difference more suited to his skills, temperament and designs. Buoyed, even inspired by these words, the young Osamu went into the life of a full-fledged shinigami, filled with zeal and purpose.
His early years in the job proper were marked with the same effort and determination as had distinguished him at the academy. True, he lacked certain social graces and skills but he worked hard and well. As a result he climbed through the ranks in the normal manner, though at a greater than normal speed. He only started to become distinguished when the hollow occupation of the lower districts began. He was the third seat at the time, by the end of the first day he was the second seat, death can make a fast promoter. During the first day he established what became known as the road to salvation, well after the event. Using those men of the tenth he could rally under his direct command he did not join the main fight. Instead he used them to create a corridor of relative safety through which civilians as well vital supplies and equipment, could be ferried to the upper districts. This was no mean feat, not only did it require exceptional organisational skills and quick thinking, it also called for skill at arms and courage. The line was not properly held at the front of the fighting, it never could have been. Hollows seeped through the cracks, flying overhead, burrowing underground, pouring through side streets and back alleys, popping up anywhere and everywhere. It was a constant battle just to keep the road open. Furthermore Osamu would occasionally lead a small group, three other hand picked men, to cut off temples, market buildings, bath houses or other likely places where men would gather in a panic, to try and lead civilians to the road who would have been unable to make it on their own. Osamu kept the road open for as long as the battle went on, gradually creeping back hour after hour, day after day as more of the lower districts were given up to the invaders until eventually, they ended up more or less in the situation they are in today. That battle was a sobering one. It shattered the illusion that the soul society was some impregnable haven and it established the shinigami were actually capable of suffering a truly humiliating defeat. It also turned the perpetual fight against the hollow into a very different type of war. The sheer number of shinigami bodies and wounded that got run up his road was proof of that.
Post invasion Osamu’s efforts were redoubled, he developed a new communication system in conjunction with the twelfth. He designed the organisation and procedure of it all whilst the twelfth made the actual tools. He also created the Neighbourhood Defence Volunteers or NDV, a grandiose term for bands of rag tag militia and tied them in to the new communication network. Their purpose was threefold. First, they were meant as a delay force, low skilled and expendable they would soak up enemy hollow’s time as much as possible, giving true shinigami a chance to properly organise a response to a fresh assault. Secondly, they were designed to create a sense of safety and community spirit. Nervous civilians felt safer with armed men patrolling the streets, men they knew and trusted and they were far too few shinigami to fulfill this role, plus it made people unite against the hollow. This unity would make it much harder for the hollow to recruit men for their forces should they expand into one of these neighbours. Thirdly, they were the proto form of Osamu’s much grander designs, if he could turn the NDV into something halfway respectable and effective one day who knows? He may just be able to turn them into an army and has already dedicated tremendous time to raising their quality and organising them in such a way as that the shinigami of the 10th and the NDV would fight as one unit come a set battle. However, this is but one of his many plans.
Osamu’s rise to the position of captain was born out his superior’s inactivity. He was coming up with bold new ideas and initiatives, though not all of them were popular. Osamu was making improvements, real headway, whilst his boss was content simply to be a strong front line fighter. Such an attitude was appropriate pre invasion but now there was no place for it. The metaphorical death knell for the old captain came when he gave an order in front of his whole division, after which there was a slight pause. Osamu, standing behind the captain, had to give a brief nod of approval to the men before the command was carried out. That silent gesture made it clear the captain had lost all authority and he was quietly transferred to other duties.
With the authority of a captain now learnt to his name Osamu pursued his designs more fervently, the NDV was expanded and shinigami from the tenth were assigned to train these militiamen. He also used the purse strings under his control to give them better equipment. Furthermore he is one of the most ardent supporters of the great recruitment drive for shinigami, insisting the new nature of this war requires ever greater numbers. He is, of course, not deaf to cries that demand quality over quantity. As such he has lobbied for greater investment in the existing academy in order to train more people, argued for the setting up of a preparatory academy which can be quickly set up in order to teach the more basic elements of fighting and living the life of a shinigami and has assigned members of the tenth to assist in the teaching of these new recruits when not fulfilling their other duties. In order to pay for this he has, controversially, suggested levying greater taxes on the wealthy. There are rumours he has other plans, grander still designs, even more radical ideas. But if this is true he has managed to keep it under his hat.
Relationships
Below are some of the more notable relationships Osamu has with shinigami society. They by no means include all relationships but give a very definite flavour of how he fits into things.
10th Division: As one would expect he is well liked and respected within his own team, even having won at least the respect of the traditionalists within his own division. Radical as he may be he is a dynamic leader of the team, attempting to drag the division into the foreground after the previous, uninspired, captain.
12th Division: As the captain responsible for organisation Osamu has a disproportionate degree of control over the budget of the entire seireitei and he has always been a supporter of the 12th. He occasionally disagrees with them over research projects and goals and would like projects which support his own plans to receive greater priority. But he accepts that will not always be the case and he believes technology could well be the key to victory in these dark times. As such he has always defended the 12ths funding, even expanding it slightly, on occasion.
2nd division: Though an advocate of broad and sweeping reforms within the 13 divisions the 2nd division is something he has always proposed to leave relatively untouched. Even he believes there will always be a need for such men and so Osamu occasionally draws less ire from here than other divisions. Furthermore he has always slightly admired them. After all, he almost joined them himself.
6th division: His relationship with this team is somewhat odd. He believes there work to be good and necessary, seldom attacking their purpose and asking questions even less often. But this is tempered by a distrust and unease when it comes to certain members of the squad. As such he is often on guard when around them, fearing a strike from within far more than a strike from without.
1st division: If Osamu can get the first division on board with his plans, then his reform program would be near unstoppable. Unfortunately , regardless of whomever happens to be the captain commander at any one moment, the division as whole is reliably traditional. It contains the greatest concentration of old blood and old ways of thinking. The people who would be most useful to him are perhaps his staunchest critics.
House Usagi: Osamu has a strained relationship with all the noble houses. Though not a pauper and with a mother who could be identified as a falling noble, Osamu remains staunchly opposed to privilege, certainly extreme privilege. However, house Usagi would have particular reason to dislike Osamu. The previous captain of the 10th had ties to the Usagi and not only did Osamu replace him under embarrassing circumstances but he also demoted the third and fourth seats, both of whom had loose connections to the house. This tense relationship is something of a shame. They share beliefs in the law, authority and duty. But it would take a good man to reconcile their differences.
Abilities
Reiryoku 4 (6 s points) Vast: A man could be forgiven for never spotting his reiryoku, or at least not seeing it. At best it presents as an illusive heat haze but you can taste it, almost feel it. It tastes like cold metal in your mouth with the slightest of currents running through it. At first it is merely unsettling but as time goes by it starts to plague and tease your every sense.
Reiatsu - 4 incredible: this presents itself in a manner very similar to his Reiryoku, though due to it’s use it appears as more intense and forceful. Whilst impressive his reiatsu is not over mighty. Others may feel uncomfortable, even pained, but it would take real conscious effort on his part to make people lose consciousness or anything of that ilk.
Kido - 1 unremarkable: technically proficient, that’s about all that can be said for this skill. He gets the job done but without power or grace, for now any way. This was always one of his greatest frustrations. He values kido highly and can really see it’s use. Unfortunately he lacks natural talent and what he has now is only through sheer effort. One day he hopes to find the key to this power.
Zanjatsu 5 (10s points) legendary: Talent, practice, in field experience. All three came together to make a legendary swordsman. Whilst personal combat was a mode of settling wars that Osamu had hoped to move away from even he could not deny his own prowess, so why waste it? Besides, at the end of the day it will always come down to a man, with something sharp, taking ground. He can adapt to more or less any situation but ideally he would go on the defensive, launching occasional distracting and interruptive strikes to prevent the enemy from stealing the initiative and building up a real flow. This would create more exploitable mistakes that Osamu could explode briefly but violently into.
Offense - 5 legendary: Master’s take lessons from this man, not that he is willing to give away his best secrets. True skill in offense doesn’t lie in heavy or precise blows, though these are both key. What separates the greatest from the good is the ability to prevent or minimise any weakness you may expose yourself to when on the offensive.
Defence -5 legendary : The ultimate aim of a fight is to stay alive long enough to see the other guy die and a solid defence is key to the staying alive part. Better yet is to do this whilst conserving energy. Let the other guy get tired and sloppy whilst you coolly reserve your energy.
Strength - 2 average : Osamu can still hit you decently with his sword, but he always valued speed and technique over raw power. After all, a cutting edge and a deft hand were supposed to make up for a certain lack of strength in your arm. He has not neglected this field but it just isn’t as important to him as the actual technique.
Hakuda 0 (1 s point) not yet learnt : Why hit a man when you can cut him? Honestly, who brings fists to a sword fight?
offense 0 poor: He might hit you, on a good day.
defence 0 poor: He is more likely to just stomach your blows than block them.
Strength 0 poor: He has the same power in his arm as he uses to swing a sword, but the technique for putting it into a blow is sufficiently different that it has little to no impact here.
Kido 3 (5 s point) Master: Again, his lackluster kido skill is his greatest martial frustration and to this day he works to better himself and would gladly take instruction and advice from one more able. He is not the most humble of men but here he shows true humility.
knowledge 2 average : His knowledge of kido is really quite awful, usually he would prefer not to talk about it and it is something he is working on in private. However, he is quite knowledgeable about other things. He is no scientist and he lacks knowledge of many things outside of his wheelhouse but logistics, organisation and strategy are three things he knows well.
intelligence 4 incredible : The man’s bright, exceptionally so, he is observant, has excellent reasoning and deductive skills, a decent memory, generally a fast learning rate , a good strategist and tactician. But most importantly he can use it practically, split second decisions on the field do not phase this man. Indeed he considers these types of skills to be the most important talents of a senior shinigami. Such a shame he has difficulty applying it to kido.
Ho ho 3 (3 s point) master: Speed and maneuverability are key to victory and the shunpo, along with it’s ilk, is perhaps it’s most deadly application. He would have been remiss not to develop this talent and he would have liked to develop it further. But alas there are only so many hours in the day and he probably spent a bit too much time on kido, unwilling to accept defeat.
mobility 5 Legendary: He is fast, damn fast. Worse still he is precise and unpredictable, able to exploit tiny gaps and openings in ways few would ever expect. Hard to hit, hard to evade, hard to see sometimes and occasionally it’s even hard to believe that not every joint in his body is a ball joint. If you don’t think this guy can get into a gap, you're wrong.
Zanpakutō
Name: Yōyū tenpesuto (Molten Tempest)
Sealed Zanpakutō Appearance:
The blade looks like an unremarkable katana whilst sealed, though it feels lighter in the users hand without sacrificing strength. The scabbard is made of treated ebony, with red dyed ivory comprising the hardened top and bottom portion of said scabbard. This same ivory makes up the main body of the grip, with black cloth wrapped around it in the traditional style. The hilt, is of course, made out of a more durable metal but it has been stained black for seemingly no other reason than stylistic continuity.
Element/Type: Metal, Long Range Mele
Personality: Devious
Spirit Appearance and Inner Realm: The spirit realm that this sword inhabits has been dubbed the crystalline wood by Osamu. It seems to be an endless forest of leafless trees, each one made out of strange, luminescent, crystals. Every tree gives of a slightly different kind of light, a light which gently shifts, strengthens and fades, creating an odd slow dance of colour amongst the trees. A thick mist, almost fog, covers the forest and upon the ground is a dense layer of mist, one or two inches deep, which is so thick a man cannot see the ground. This can be particularly dangerous as the ground has great cracks and fissures within it, some so deep that seething bubbling lava can be heard below, manifesting as glowing patches in the mist.
The spirit itself seems to manifest out of the mist, when complete he appears to be a tall creature of impossible proportions, long legs and longer arms that reach almost to the ground along with a neck that slope’s up seamlessly into his head, making it seem he has almost no neck at all. The spirit is always a dark, shadowy shape with no distinguishable features aside from dull, yellow eyes. Any effort to make out more detail is frustrated by the fact he seems to be eternally out of focus, no matter how much you concentrate on him.
Shikai
Release Command: Watashi no teki o yakiharau (Burn Away My Foes)
Shikai Appearance and ability: The blade seems to elongate slightly and shift a tiny amount closer to a design similar to a dark age eastern European cavalry sword. The grip curves down slightly to make it more readily manipulated and able to be held better in one hand. However, the grip also lengthens slightly to allow for a comfortable two handed grip should Osamu chose. The blade itself seems to heat up to red hot levels, with the outermost layers becoming a nonconductive semi liquid with crusty black flakes floating atop it, akin in appearance to lava. Every now and again a small drop may fall from the blade only to fade away after a few moments whilst the blade itself never seems to lose any mass.
The raw heat coming from the blade grants it a far keener cutting edge as does the increase in spiritual power that flows through the metal, allowing it to slice through defences more readily than the blade in it’s sealed state. Of course, it is not perfect and a particularly staunch defence will still stop it. Another Captain’s blade in an equivalent release, potentially the strongest substance known to shinigami, could stomach a few blows before failing. As a by-product of this heat anything the blade touches or passes extremely close too is liable to combust. This applies only to readily flammable materials such as wood, fabrics, alcohol and so on.
The second major element of the shikai release is also tied to the blade’s near molten state. By swinging the sword with some degree of vigour a wave or ripple of the molten metal is flung off at great speeds and propelled in whichever direction momentum carries it. Broad strokes create broad arcs of metal whilst thrusts create smaller, finger like darts of liquid metal. Just like the blade itself the metal is charged with reiatsu and is exceptionally hot and so has good penetrative power. However, it is not as powerful as the blade itself, possessing roughly two thirds of the power. The molten metal stays in existence for about twenty seconds before it simply fades away. Should the metal come to rest on an object before it fades away it stays there and burns for the remainder of the twenty seconds. This liquid metal can be flung roughly 15 meters.
It should be noted that at no point during 1st or 2nd releases can the metal harm Osamu, the blade isn’t stupid enough to burn it’s owner.
Bankai
Bankai Name: Yōkō no kawa (River of Liquid Steel)
Bankai Appearance: The blade itself is unchanged in dimensions but is no longer made of glowing red semi molten metal but is now made of white hot liquid metal. The heat coming off of the thing is immense and just as before occasionally the metal appears to be dripping off of it, though only to be instantly replaced so the blade never loses it’s substance. Indeed now small constant trickles of metal appear to be falling off and cooling rapidly. Just as before the extreme heat lends a still keener edge to the weapon, allowing it to cut through things far more readily. Just as before an opposing Captain’s blade in an equivalent release would likely stand up to a few hits before failing, depending on the nature of the blade, strength of the hits, duration of contact and so on. Furthermore, it still poses a risk of combusting objects it passes close to though now it does so more readily. Easily combustible objects light up from roughly a meter away instead of centimetres and at close range hard to light objects may start warping, show signs of heat fatigue or even start to smoulder and burn depending just where on the scale of combustibility they sit.
Just as before hard swings, thrusts and flicks throw off liquid metal which now stays in existence for roughly 30 seconds. Just as before the metal, once separate from the blade, is less powerful but it’s power has now increased in proportion with the blade. More importantly, the metal can now fly faster and further, up to a distance of 30 meters.
With the bankai comes a third ability. The sword is capable of generating a large amount of excess liquid metal which can flow off of the blade and onto Osamu as he wills. In total enough excess metal can be created to cover two thirds of his body. This metal is as resilient as his sword when dealing with both physical and reiatsu based attacks. The metal can move across his body according to Osamu’s will but does not automatically respond to threats, Osamu has to notice the threat and respond to it. Since the metal is liquid it does not restrict his movement but it should be noted he cannot see through the metal or breathe through the metal. This means his eyes and mouth will almost always be exposed and if he does chose to cover them it will only be for a short time or else he will be fighting blind or gently suffocating. Similarly he cannot hear through the metal, he can however, feel through it.
In order to retain control of the metal there must at least be some tiny tendril of liquid metal feeding back to the sword. If that tendril is cut or he loses his grip on his sword the metal will fade away after roughly 30 seconds, just as with the offensive flicks and ripples of metal. Should this liquid metal be covering one of his extremities then he can swing that extremity in a manner similar to a swing or thrust of his sword. This will create an ark of flying liquid metal just as if he had swung his sword. Since this requires a definite and clear movement he is practically limited to four such attacks at any one moment, one per limb. In dire circumstances he can even take some of the liquid metal into his mouth and spit it out, though just as with normal spit this would struggle to go beyond 75cm and is more often used as a last ditch effort if he has been locked into some sort of grapple or stalemate. It should also be noted that this metal remains just as hot as his sword.
Furthermore he can use this liquid metal to create crude or simple shapes which can extend up to a maximum of 1.5 meters from his own body. Just as before these shapes must in some way remain connected to both his body and the sword and the metal used to create such shapes must be drawn from the pool of metal protecting his body, inevitably sacrificing some protection.
I'm glad to find this thread up here on the new site, please find above Osamu once more. His abilities have been ever so slightly tweaked from the past thread as I only had an old CS saved and it was one of the versions where the maths was wrong so I have amended accordingly. Plus some formatting changes that I think come with the site change.