"We live to defend Soul Society to the limit of our strength. We must devote our hearts, our minds and our very souls - our pride as the Shinigami, to that task. We stand together, as brothers and sisters, and we will stand together in life and in death. In life and in death, Soul Society is going to stand tall."Theme songName: Goken Kuribayashi; the bastion of Soul Society
Age: Around 700
Race: Shinigami
Rank: Captain Commander / former Captain of the Sixth Squad
Spiritual Pressure Color: Gold
Personality: Should one try to think of a righteous Shinigami that strives to protect the people under him - Goken would be the first person to fall on their minds. He is a brave man that does not flinch from battle, no matter how bad the outcome may be. His demons once made him a coward, running away from his role in life, but he emerged victorious from that battle and started rebuilding the barren wasteland that became his life.
Goken is educated in many areas and quite versatile, but to top it all off - he is an extremely eloquent speaker. That means that even if he is somehow not adept in an area, he is able to make it look like he is. His speeches, be it ceremonial or pre-battle, became somewhat of a legend in Soul Society. It was noted by Shinigami in both his former and current Squad that his words make blood boil in a good way. They make Shinigami souls grow larger than life itself.
Unlike a few former Captain Commander's, Goken is close to most of his subbordinates and always greets his comrades with open arms. He is also one of the rare officers that refer to lower-ranked Shinigami as comrades. Although he doesn't drink anymore, it was not a surprise to see him chatting the night away with his fellow Squad members, even while he was a Captain of the Sixth Squad. Nowadays, however, he has less and less chances to do so, but still tries to keep a relaxed atmosphere around the barracks.
However, when in battle - his demeanor is everything, except relaxed. His eyes burn with a fire of thousand Shinigami and he won't stop until the battle is over. He will never run away, he will never fear and he will never let his comrades down.
History:Goken was born in a family basking in military tradition; his father was a soldier, his grandfather was a soldier - every man in the family was destined to stand on the battlefield at one point of his life. In Goken's case, however, things were a little different. His mother being a foreigner gave him some, to the elders of the family, unwanted characteristics; his western appearance, for one - and later on, his height. Along with his western genes, Goken was the sole child in the generation, thus his family set high standards for him - educating him in the way of military from the start. His mother, though, was the reason he became adept in other areas outside of military; caligraphy, poetry and philosophy were only a few areas that she brought close to his heart. His father, on the other hand, was responsible for teaching him strategies, command, respect and swordsmanship. A family legend went that he learned to hold a sword before he learned how to speak. And his father was proud of re-telling it to everyone, although it was far from the truth.
In reality, Goken didn't learn to hold his sword first, but instead showed signs of being an eloquent speaker. Something that his father looked down at, with sheer disgust. He believed that there was no place for words on the battlefield and thus tried to literally beat that side out of Goken. That is, until Goken grew up to surpass his father, both in strength and in ability. Their practice duels were one sided no more and Goken didn't stop until he was able to truly show his father what kind of a man he became. Then, and only then, did his father fully accept his son, as pride of a warrior did not let him argue with a better man. Because, even though he was still his father, it was evident that his son surpassed him, not just as a warrior, but as a man.
The honed eloquence proved more than useful to Goken as he enrolled in the military. His smooth lines combined with his natural ability gave birth to a rising star in the ranks of the army; it wasn't long before he earned himself his first officer rank - that of a warrant officer. By the time he rose to the rank of a major, a bloody sun was on the rise - a dawn of the new war. A great war inside of Japanese borders. Little information was disclosed at that time, even to ranked officer - which meant that by the time Goken was deported to the battlefield, he knew little to nothing of their adversaries. His request to get information about the front was refused and he was sternly told off, not even his ability as a gifted speaker was able to give him access to any information.
But he was a soldier, he had his orders and he would fulfill his role. Goken's newly assigned battalion consisted of five hundred men, no more - no less, all mostly young men that were drafted to the army after the first shots were fired. Goken was given command of said battalion due to his ability to connect to his men, as it was believed by his superiors that he would be able to calm their young spirits and keep their heads cool - he was believed to be the only person able to lead that battalion to triumph.
The battle raged on for six days and six night, with neither side giving up. Supplies were running low on both sides, but the enemy was far stronger and larger than anyone in Goken's battalion, not even Goken himself, anticipated. On the dawn of the seventh day, Goken realized the approaching storm was one they weren't likely to survive. Enemies front lines were filled with blood-thirsty men, which meant only one thing - reinforcements. His men were injured, hungry and didn't have a good hour of sleep for the last week. The same could be said for Goken, but he still rallied his men and stood on the front lines along with his brothers in arms, not showing a sign of weakness.
"Today, my brothers, we will prevail," he begun as he drew his katana, "Soaked in blood, soaked in sweat and tears - but we will be the ones standing when the dust settles down." He was the first one to take a step forward, as the opposing forced begun their rush towards them. "Let our blades bathe in their blood, Tenno Heika Banzai!"
Ironically, those words were the last ones he ever said. For a few minutes, they held their ground, fighting back to back - but they fought to die. With one slip of focus, a blade made its way through Goken's torso. And at that moment, it was all over. Without leadership, those young boys hold themselves together - his teary eyes saw them spread out as they slowly got taken down, one after one. Goken tried fighting through the pain, standing back up and swinging his katana before falling back down again. In hindsight, he should have realized that the higher-ups were utilizing a misdirection strategy, so that they could prevail on other fronts. His battalion wasn't chosen to triumph on this front, but to bring triumph to the Emperor through the own sacrifice.
His death was slow and painful, but his heart was in much more pain. He lied to his men, he lied to himself - and ultimatively brought them all to a summit with death. In his last moments, he wasn't able to turn his gaze away from the sight of his comrades falling lifeless to the bloody ground. He kept blaming himself, while his soul was slowly leaving that earthly existence. The last thought he had on his mind before everything faded to black was that of hate - towards himself. He faced the ultimate form of disgrace and failure for a leader.
No. For a man.
Although he never explicitly believed in the after life, that didn't seem to matter. Whatever force was responsible for the existence of everything had different plans for him. His soul was brought to a place he later found was called Soul Society. His memories were brought along intact, his shame still lingering in his mind. For days, weeks and even months, Goken wasn't able to pull himself together. He wasn't able to forgive himself for not being strong enough. For not being honest. It was as if everything in this world served as a remainder of his failure. He encountered armed men called Shinigami on multiple occasions and even had the opportunity to witness their, seemingly eternal, struggle with their monstrous adversaries called Hollows. As if the demons they battled represented his own inner battle. He thought for the longest time it was his form of punishment; that the whole setting of Soul Society was just a vision from the deepest part of his soul.
Goken did not interact with other people, Shinigami or not. He didn't interact with himself either, or at least he tried not to. A period of silence was his own kind of punishment for the sins he committed. But little did he know that his former comrades would set the gears of cleansing into motion. It was by accident that he, walking aimlessly through the Districts, came across a group of five souls. It didn't took him long to recognize them for who they really were. Young boys that once fought by his side. That died by his side. At that moment, a once fearless man like him was overtaken by that unknown emotion. His entire soul was certain that they hated him and would not stand even seeing his face - he feared them turning away from him. He feared their words more than anything.
"Traitor." - "Scum." - "Filthy dog." - "You're a disgrace to us all."
But, instead of these words that continuously echoed through his mind for his entire time in Soul Society, they greeted him with warmth that he'd forgotten long ago. They didn't seek vengeance nor pain - they sought their former leader. A leader like the one he was before, with presence bringing shivers down the spines of his opponents, with words that were able to pierce even the strongest doubt.
But Goken was a hollow shell of his former self. The once mighty leader was a relic of the past and his present was a barren wasteland. His comrades, although noticing the change, didn't not want to admit it - neither to him, but even less to themselves. He refused to even touch a wooden sword they tried giving him as a way of coaxing him back to his fighting spirit. But, a drink he did not refuse. And a second, a third and a fourth one. He was a broken man, not a leader they sought. After countless efforts to make him stand up on his feet and after countless times he mentally yelled at them to leave him alone, they finally turned back and left into the night, although reluctantly. That night, the last thing he remembers before passing out of alcohol is one of the boys turning around to glance at his pathetic state one last time. "We are not turning back on you. You turned your back on you."
When he eventually woke up, he noticed the wooden sword on the ground to his right. And a bottle of wine to his left. He had a choice, but the demons kept picking at his soul. For the first time in his life, tears started uncontrollably forming in his eyes. He sat there for what seemed like eternity, battling with himself. While he was still alive, he read in a book that the entire life flashes before one's eyes at the moments prior to death. But instead, his life decided to flash before his eyes now and he wasn't dying. He felt empty, but he was alive. And the memories served as a remainder for that. Looking deep into his shattered soul, he felt the urge to protect. Especially as his last memories from the world of the living flashed in his mind. He wanted to protect people then, now - and forever. It was something that etched into his heart from day one. Something he had to do.
The only question was, were his hands able to protect anyone anymore? The shaky, post-drinking, hand reluctantly grabbed the wooden sword. To his surprise, the hilt did not feel alien. In fact, the bottle felt a lot more alien, even if he held it for who knows how long. The voices in his head became easier to handle just with holding the sword. In the end, he decided to take it with himself, just in case he decides to protect once again. Although his soul still wasn't fixed.
It wasn't until the time he first encountered a Hollow face to face that his soul finally clicked together. It was the darkest time of the night when he heard a female voice calling for help. His soul felt fear, but his instincts made his muscles move toward the source of the sound. There was no way for him to stop himself even if he wanted. Upon reaching the source, deep in the forest Goken saw a female soul pinned down by a six-legged, darker than dark, fiend. His cries for help set his mind into motion and he rushed towards the monster, gripping the wooden sword with both of his hands. There was little to no damage that he was able to do with a blunt blade, but he made it move away from the woman. He provided her with enough distraction to get away from the site. In turn, his body was cut, time and time again, by blades on the ends of its feet.
Instead of falling down to the ground, Goken stood on his own two feet, supporting his body with that same sword he took with him months ago. Instead of feeling pain, it seemed as if every cut provided a scar that closed a deeper wound that resided in his soul. He was getting sliced at, but the fragments of his soul got put together by the same wounds. By the same pain.
Even if he is the one that has to bleed, he will gladly take that pain on himself, but he won't let other people down. Not anymore. No more lies, fake promises. No more blindly listening to orders. Each cut brought a new ray of light to his mind.
No more demons.
Each cut brought more confidence to his heart.
No more tears.
Each cut brought more energy to his soul.
No more.
In that instant, something inside of his erupted. It felt as if his soul was trying to break out to the surface. And it did, in a form of a golden stream of energy that spread through the forest like wildfire - blowing leaves away and breaking branches. As he looked up to the monstrosity in front of him, his eyes emitted a strong glow. If eyes were mirrors of the soul, his soul was at that moment on fire. Burning with desire to protect. The energy engulfed both him, the forest, the monstrosity and the wooden sword impaled into the ground.
After a while, that same woman returned to the forest, with a group of Shinigami in tow. But there was no Hollow to face anymore, the only one that stood in front of them was Goken, energy still sipping out of his body, like a waving flag. In his hand, he firmly held the grip of a sharp katana, much like the one he used while he was in the army. As the Shinigami approached him, in order to treat various wounds on his body, he simply shook his head. "I am fine," he broke his silence for the first time.
"As long as I get to protect."
His journey, towards becoming the man he once was, was not an easy one. In order to do so, Goken learned, his best option was to become a part of the Gotei 13. A military organization consisting of thirteen squads, with a Captain on top of each, all of them led by a Captain Commander. When he enrolled into the Shinigami academy, he was already older than most students, but his abilities far surpassed them already. Even before enrolling, he learned the basics and proceeded to train by himself. His military skills and general knowledge allowed him to finish the academy in two years - spending the first one honing all of the skills taught at the academy and the second one taking the exams from all years.
Goken mastered his Shikai before leaving the academy and garnered the interest of various Captains. He was soon selected as an ranked official in the Sixth Squad. Since he grew more confident in himself, with all the years of experience he slowly started gathering behind him, the eloquent speaker inside of him started emerging once again. The quick promotions he got flattered him, just like before, but he never forgot his true goal. His speeches gave him an opportunity to become a lieutenant and, at the age of 105, he mastered his Bankai and overtook the place of a Captain at the sixth squad. But, the change in captaincy wasn't hostile. The former captain decided to retire as he considered his Lieutenant a prodigy. And he wasn't the only one to share that belief. He told Goken during the ceremony that it was one of the loudest applauds he ever heard, in his entire career.
And that Goken deserved every bit of it.
Goken spent the next two hundred years leading the Sixth Squad, mastering his abilities as a Shinigami and as a leader. When he met a new recruit to the Squad, Riko Tamura, it just so happened that he honed his abilities as a man as well. The two were romantically involved during the remainder of his time as a Captain. And, to be completely, honest - she made him the man he is today. Before he met her, he was just a Captain, but she brought out the other side in him. The long forgotten human side.
But, as all good things come to an end, so did their relationship. For good or for better. The news of the Captain Commander retiring shook the entire Seireitei, as no one had seen it coming. Supposedly, it was due to an illness that kept him from fulfilling his role as a leader of the Gotei 13. The rumors then started appearing, labeling Goken the next Captain Commander. And after a few months, the decision was made by the Central 46. The next Captain Commander, should he accept his role, would be Goken Kuribayashi.
Even with all the rumors, the official news came as a surprise to Goken, who was only around 400 years old at the time. There wasn't a lot of doubt in his heart. He wanted this and his soul in entirety knew it. It was his chance to protect Soul Society as a whole. His Squad was sad to see him depart, but they still held him a farewell party that would remain etched in his memory forever. That night he and Riko decided to go separate ways, for the sake of Soul Society. It was a mutual agreement, although Goken felt she wasn't happy. Truth to be told, neither was he, but his destiny was on a different path and he felt no remorse walking down it.
The ceremonial procedure preceding the naming of a new Captain Commander was equal to crowning a new king. He felt on top of the world as the entire Seireitei came out to witness the ceremony. The Sokyoku Hill provided a nice setting for a new page in his book. The applaud quietened down as Goken opened his mouth. He gazed out into the distance, before turning his attention to the crowd of Shinigami - with Captains standing behind him.
"Today is a new dawn. For me, for you and for Soul Society," he begun, "I encourage you to remember our former Captain Commander as a man that served as a pillar that supported our society. I encourage you to keep working hard, to give it all you have got in your hearts to Soul Society. We are all comrades here, united for one goal."
"We live to defend Soul Society to the limit of our strength. We must devote our hearts, our minds and our very souls - our pride as the Shinigami, to that task. We stand together, as brothers and sisters, and we will stand together in life and in death. In life and in death, Soul Society is going to stand tall."
Other: Goken is a very close friend of the 12th Squad Captain, Zume Tatasuko. The boy caught Goken's attention from the get-go - ever since Zume entered the 12th Squad. There was just something about him that reminded him of himself, but it wasn't until years later that he learned exactly what. For fifteen years, after Zume ascended to the position of a Lieutenant, Goken tutored him. Zume was highly intelligent and was taking in information unlike anything Goken had seen before. Military strategies, philosophy - there was not an area that he wasn't able to escalate at. Goken even took it to himself to help him improve his swordsmanship.
The two became good friends over those years and he became one of the Captain's that Goken trusted with all his heart. When Zume was set to get married, Goken was even his best man; Zume even had a son at one point. But fate had different ending in store for that chapter and both his wife and son died in a massive explosion that engulfed the Research Department. Goken always had a feeling that it was one of Zume's experiments that went wrong, but never said anything.
It was at that point, when Zume completely regressed into himself, that Goken finally understood what was that thing that reminded him of himself. The amount of self-harm he was ready to inflict to himself in order to attone for his sins. Or to stop the demons from taking him. Of course, having passed through such a period himself, Goken never turned his back on him, even as other people did.
Fortunately, Zume recently managed to stabilize himself and is still in good relations with Goken.
Hair color: Light brown
Eye color: Dark green; gold when emitting Spiritual Pressure
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 198 lbs
Shinigami Skills:Vast Reiryoku (4/4)Legendary Reiatsu (5/4) Average Kido Power (2/4)Zanjutsu Grandmaster (4/4) - Currently one of the most experienced and gifted swordsman in the Soul Society, his knowledge tracing back to his time in the world of the living. An interesting style usually allows Goken to trick his opponents into seeing an opening that isn't there, before cutting them down with a deadly strike. Unfortunately, Goken is right-handed and although years of practice made him adept at using the left hand, he is still not as skilled as he'd want to be.
Impressive Offense (3/4)Impressive Defense (3/4)Impressive Physical Strength (3/4)Hakuda Expert (3/4)Average Offense (2/4)Poor Defense (0/4)Average Physical Strength (2/4)Kidō Master (3/4) - During his time as a Captain of the 6th Squad, Goken learned how to cast spells up to 70 without incantation.
Impressive Intellect (3/4)Impressive Knowledge (3/4) - Educated before and after dying, Goken is adept in a wide spectrum of areas; ranging from art of war, to philosophy, to sciences, to art of love.
Hohō Master (3/4)Unremarkable Mobility (1/4)Gifted Speaker (4/4)Legendary Strategist (5/4) - Even during his time in the world of the living, Goken was refered to as the Glorious Strategist of the New Era. His tactics were unorthodox at times, but effective. Combining creativity, knowledge and experience makes him a valuable asset to any military organization.
ZanpakutoName: Tyr, the Eclipse of the Gods (Tyr, Kamigami no Nisshoku)
Type: Light
Spirit Appearance: 
Inner World: 
Sealed Appearance: 
Shikai Release Command: "Keep our safe haven away from the intruders. Bathe in the blood of our enemies, Tyr!"
Shikai Appearance: 
Shikai Skills: Goken's Shikai gives him the ability to manipulate photons and twist light itself to do his bidding. Although in theory light manipulation has limitless possibilities, since light is constant, light solidification is near impossible for Goken to utilize. It would take almost every fiber of his being to constrict light and keep it from going on forever, thus making a solid object from it. An ability that would take his Spiritual Pressure as compensation in such a way that he would be drained in an instant.
The current appearance of his Shikai is actually not the original Shikai. When he first achieved it, his sealed Zanpakuto dissolved into photons, leaving Goken unarmed, but with an ability to manipulate. It was during one of the early training sessions that Goken tried to manipulate light in order to materialize a weapon out of thin air. The current Shikai appearance is a result. Although his sword doesn't bear any particular light manipulating abilities, it is still made of photons and is harder to break than other Zanpakutos, as the photons surrounding it regenerate any broken part. However, Goken almost died during that session as he did not know the price one has to pay in order to manipulate light to such extent. Although his Shikai still bears the appearance of the sword that almost cost him his life, Goken embraced it as a remainder never to succumb to such power trip again.
Through rigorous training, Goken currently mastered and is able to utilize two techniques of light manipulation.
Photoportation - Goken can teleport using photons, merging into light and appearing anywhere else from the same element. Light beams, however, travel in straight lines and due to that, Goken has to utilize kido or his environment to manipulate the travel path. Even though using Photoportation may not be faster than Shunpo, the path traveled is harder to notice, making Goken's stealth considerably greater and it allows him a wider range of movement.
Light Override - A technique that utilizes bending or shifting light particles, in order to manipulate the true appearance of object. With the use of this technique, Goken is able to induce visual illusion, directly influencing the photons in front of the eye of his target. Utilizing it, Goken is able to make allies look like enemies; a small army look like a nation; or a cat look like a dragon. However, he is able only to alter the appearance of an object, not make an illusion by targeting nothing. He has to have a painted canvas in order to change it.
However, the biggest downside to Goken's Zanpakuto is that it cannot create light in itself, only able to manipulate from existing sources.
Bankai Appearance: 
Bankai Skills:Goken cannot activate his Bankai if he is in a place absent of light, yet should he be plunged into darkness after he activated it, his Bankai will sustain itself, only the strength of his abilities will weaken greatly.
The only ability that transfers itself from the Shikai is Photoportation, but due to his connection with the photons themselves, he does not need to manipulate particles to travel in more directions than a straight line, making his movements far more unpredictable than in the Shikai.
Light Form, The Armor of Forseti - Upon activating his Bankai, the particles around Goken are absorbed by his body and in combination with his spiritual pressure, they give the appearance to his Bankai, which manifests itself in shape of a golden armor. The armor, like his Shikai, is made mostly of photons and is hard to break, as the photons around him work to regenerate any broken part. However, it is not impossible, because the strength of the armor depend on the amount of light in the area, which means that if Goken finds himself in ultimate darkness, his armor could be pierced by a normal thrust. Since he is not armed in his Bankai, the armor is designed to amplify the power of his hand-to-hand combat.
The armor sustains its materialized state by sucking in waveforms close to it, which results in a small black and white area around the armor itself. The more times his armor tries to regenerate himself, the larger the area grows.
Light Form, The Walls of Magni - Activating this skill requires Goken to draw a black and white symbol in the air, depicting a compas, by manipulating the photons in the vicinity. Upon thrusting his hand through the said symbol, four walls are erected in the cubical perimeter over a large area, trapping Goken inside with his target/s. The "prison" is not easily broken into and even harder to break out of. However, without enough firepower, it should be possible (although it never happened so far). Once erected, the cube remains in place until Goken either deactivates his Zanpakuto or dies.
Halo of Hlín, Heaven's Weapon - One could refer to it as Goken's ultimate skill, as he is (even with all of his years of experience) able to use it only once per battle. Using his light manipulation, he generates a halo in front of himself (as seen in the appearance) which then proceeds to absorb wavelengths, literally making the area black and white, except for the area in halo itself, which shines a bright light before firing a massive ray of energy in a circular motion. The range of the ray depends on how much Spiritual Pressure Goken releases at the time of halo's release. Also, upon using the halo, Goken's armor crumbles away and leaves him unable to activate his Bankai nor his Shikai for the remainder of the battle.
Member
