Name:
Darius Stone
Age:
28
Gender:
Male
Personality:
Darius Stone is a fairly simple man, who has lived his life by an equally simple ideology- Those who can protect, should. With this core aim, and the morals built up around it, he has been content to live his life a day at a time, offering aid and kindness where he can, and maintaining the strengths he believes necessary to be a bastion for others to shelter behind.
While one would be in considerable error to call him a gentle or peaceful man, there is no denying that he is kind hearted, with a particular soft spot towards the troubled and the young. He is, for such people, endlessly patient, and fiercely protective, though he will push them to be their best selves with equal intensity.
Beyond this, he is an honest man, gruff and outspoken, a strong presence, and respectful.
Backstory:
Born and raised in a small Midwestern town in the United States, Darius' life followed a path that was, perhaps, predictable, or even cliche, by many standards. His father was a factory worker, his mother a veteran- and to hear Darius tell it, they were as different as two people could be, sharing only their love for each other, and the good sense to raise a boy of Darius' size with the discipline and respect to become a guardian, rather than a bully. His school life and home life were, otherwise, quite unremarkable, save those things that are common place in such a community- Schoolyard fights, highschool parties, and a small string of youthful romances that taught him where to stand up for himself, where to relax, and to guard his heart as carefully as he guarded his friends.
It was entirely unsurprising to those who knew him that, the moment he was able, Darius enlisted with the Army, sent away to training no more than a month after he graduated highschool. Here, too, his life went on as most would expect, the youth standing out as a guardian and a leader- though never, he would insist, as a hero. So far as he was concerned, his role in life was to make sure the real heros got where they were going- to protect and train them until they surpassed him by miles.
He spent ten years in service in this manner, progressing no further than Sergeant First Class, and spending the bulk of his career training others- his final years spent in a joint training unit with the JSDF, a posting that would lead him to what he believed would be his future. Here, he met the woman who would become his fiance, and make a permanent home with her in her home town, Sagamiyama...
Why did you become a Substitute Shinigami:
A mere two months after his retirement from the Army and the beginning of his new life in Japan, Darius met what he believed would be his demise. While out purchasing groceries for an evening meal with his fiance, he was struck in passing by what he thought, at first, was a vehicle, thrown into an alley and badly concussed. His vision hazy, he saw a young man sprint past him- one he could have sworn had a golden chain hanging from his chest. Then, came the monster. A vast and powerful creature, masked in white and bearing a gaping hole of black through its chest. He acted before he could process the horrors he was witnessing, springing to the defense of the youth. They escaped from sight, leaving Darius to fend off the monstrosity. It seemed as if nothing he did could harm it, and before he could think to run, it rent open his belly with a swipe of claws he never saw coming.
He saw a flash of silver, and the world faded to black.
Days later, he woke in the hospital, an unfamiliar man with a comical Pompadour introducing himself as Tatsuha Ouga. The information he revealed to Darius there came with a choice. He could die there in the hospital, as sepsis ravaged his wound... Or he could once again live his life in service and protection of others, and be saved. It was not a difficult choice, for Darius.
::COMBAT::- Strength: 400
- Skill: 300
- Speed: 100
- Focus: 300
- Constitution: 400
- Reiryoku: 500
- Reiatsu: 100
::Shinigami Arts::- Zanjutsu: 0/5
- Hakuda: 1/5
- Hoho: 0/5
- Kido: 1/5
Feats:
Undiscovered
Zanpakuto:
Darius' Zanpakuto is a surprisingly short weapon, about the length of a kodachi. It's guard is unremarkable, though he has exchanged it's wrap for one in a deep green, with a matching tassel hanging from the guard.
Shikai:
Sealed
Techniques:
Hakuda-
- Handoburēdo - "The Ol' Knife Hand". By focusing his Riatasu in his fingers and palm, Darius has made an old military joke into reality- Able to deliver a fierce slash or thrust with his open hand, sharp as any blade.
- Gahou - "Fang Blast", a focused punch that upon impact, the user would release a burst of reiatsu, exploding and doing concussive damage. If correctly applied, is quite effective at pushing through barriers and breaking defenses.
Memorized Kido:
- Bakudo: Kōshi - "Lattice". By laying a lattice of reishi over the skin, the wielder may make their body more resilient to slashes of any kind, so long as they maintain focus.
- Bakudo: Fūsa - "Barricade". A broad, rectangular barrier used for access denial... or to have something to put somebody's back to.
- Hado: Tamahou - "Soul Cannon". A small, intense, and fast moving blast of reishi, as effective as a bullet.