tetsushiori, keikage [fin]

[Fluffernutter!!]

TETSUSHIORI KEIKAGE
the shinigami

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"And I'm back - by popular demand."

name: tetsushiori, keikage

age: She is exactly 920 years old, and appears to be approximately 22 years old.

gender: female, dear, female

rank:

division: Ninth Division ~ Counter Intelligence

appearance:

Keikage has a certain charm about her appearance. Is it perhaps the defiant look on her face, her long shiny hair, her stylish choice of jewelry, or what? Those crimson red eyes of hers, like puddles of blood. Her hair glistens in such a way that one could not figure out whether or not it is a dark chocolate brown, or just a glossy shade of black? If you knew anything about that hair of hers, it's the latter color. She has a body similar to that of a modern dancer; long, slender arms and muscles. And about her height, she lands at the most "average" size of five foot, six inches. Yeah, not too much else to say there. Now, on to her skin complexion. Kei is slightly paler than others, but her skin looks and feels baby soft, not that you'd be touching her. She is free of scars, freckles, bruises, blemishes, and wrinkles. Well, except for what looks to be a small mole on her left cheek, beneath her lips some. It is most likely a birth mark, but in most East-Asian countries, women with a birthmark near their mouth are classified as "the most desirable mate type"... so it's probably just another beauty enhancer, right? That's the typical Keikage for you.

More about this face of hers. The lipstick is a shade of violet, a color that symbolizes sophistication and loyalty, notably matching her personality. Her eyeshadow seems to be a lighter shade of said color, and it seems to bring out her eye color. Not to say that it isn't already apparent to the world that they're there, probably glaring at something. The shape of her eyebrows add to the look that depletes any signs of a naive person on her face. Because, of course, she simply is not. It actually seems to give her a somewhat sarcastic expression. Does she have even a hint of sarcasm? Yes, but it certainly isn't hard to believe, is it?

As one of the most vital pieces of the puzzle that is her fabulous appearance, Keikage's hair style and accessories are easily her most recognizable looks in a crowd. Her hair is long and flowing. Even put up in the way it is, her hair still dangles down to her hide. Starting in the front, she has side bangs on both sides, though you can more accurately think of it of "the hair in the front that's shorter than the rest apparently". Her left side of her face is shadowed and nearly covered by this hair, revealing her pierced ears. The ears are like the official line before the all the braids and such that reside in the head of the mysterious Keikage. Tight, horizontal braids start from the beginning of the ears, and all tie into the center point bun that is knotted on to the back of her head. Four different hair sticks [similar to chopsticks but for the hair] are stuck into her bun, two of which have things dangling from them. Back to the hair, four long braided strands of hair run down her back, each bearing several beads on each. Yeah, there's a LOT about her hair to tell. Practically nobody has ever remembered seeing her hair down, so a sudden change of style would have meant everybody lacking in the ability to recognize her.

Next we come to the jewelry department. By the materials and design, you could say that it is reminiscent of the ocean, or perhaps they hold a tropical sentimental value? Maybe she just bought them for the hell of it? No one knows where she acquired the need to wear all she wears, but some tend to think of it as a show of personality. Those who think that are correct [for once]. This jewelry is worn out of the sole desire to wear it and express herself. Keikage secretly cherishes the more colorful pieces to her jewelry collection. Her preferences aside, let's get to the basics. She typically wears three necklaces, one completely of pearls, another lightly larger one of red cylinders, and the longest being one with a deep shade of circular blue beads. Any bracelets? Apparently, no. How many piercings does she have in her ears? At least four. Two are small duds, one a small hoop, and a reddish circular earing reside on each ear. Other than that, all her jewelry's at home somewhere.

Finally, we get to the infamous shinigami garb. Keikage owns a uniform similar to the late Yoruichi and Soifon's, only with a few minor modifications. There is more coverage on the chest area, though that's pretty much it for upper body and thighs, except that the back and sides remain covered by black kimono until shunko is performed. There are also detachable sleeves to the uniform to take off before using the shunko technique [or maybe cause Kei feels like it]. Instead of a standard white silk obi, she shows off her own personal style by replacing it with many small interlocking belts that form around her with the same approximate size as a standard obi. Unlike the other few that wear this version of the uniform, she does not wear anything on her arms besides the detachable sleeves. The only other thing she wears is the white sleeveless captain's jacket of division nine. The inner material of the jacket is the color of violet.

As you can plainly see, she has a fetish about fur on her clothes. The fur IS faux, however, but some tend to think otherwise on that matter. If you ask her about the fur's origins, she'll probably come up with a sarcastic remark that is most likely "it's hollows' fur". Although, it might be true. Nobody knows for sure. When her detatchable sleeves are worn, and usually when she isn't wearing her offcial jacket, [or haori, as I like to call it] you can find a piece of fur worn over her uniform identical to that of which is on her black dress, and worn in the same way as is on the dress. Ah, that dress in her pictures is also part of her wardrobe, kept only for special occasions and just to look at. It is a display of her very own personal style at its best. Keikage seems to have claimed she made it herself. But...that's pretty much it for the appearance.

zanpakutō:

Bara Kannai Gachi [Rose within the jurisdiction of elegance]

shikai:

Release Phrase Togewonuku [Pull out a thorn]

Once the shikai release phrase is spoken, nothing past the tsuba is transformed, leaving the hilt as it is. The tsuba dissolves to mist, replaced with actual red roses. The blade itself transforms into a much larger version of a rose stem, as sharp and long as the blade of the average naginata. As any rose stem, there are many prickly thorns on th zanpakuto. This stem evenly splits into fours down the middle afterward, and then come back together once more. These quarters of the stem are given [by me] letter names [Stem A, Stem B, etc]. The stems' each and every move is mentally controlled by Keikage.

bankai:

Kahi no Bara Kannai Gachi [Perianth of the rose within jurisdiction of elegance]

Bankai Activation: The zanpakuto is held upside-down. When "bankai" is spoken, the stems almost immediately twist together while growing. The zanpakuto pulls itself down heavily, smashing into the ground until nothing of it is left, then the hole is suddenly filled. Underground, the stems untwist and split into millions of smaller stems that grow and connect to every root within a twenty foot radius of the zanpakuto. A small, outline of a fully blossomed rose appears where the zanpakuto is underground. It represents the center of the bankai, namely referred to as the rose crest. Above ground, the twenty foot radius is surrounded by twenty foot high flower's closed perianth. The lines of the rose crest produce a of pillar of energy that closes in the rose design, and shoots straight up to the barrier. This tall pillar of energy serves as the only source of light supplied by the zanpakuto.

~Pillar of Light~
The rose-shaped pillar of light serves as a vital part of the zanpakuto's bankai concept, giving offensive advantages to Keikage. It is what the given ability of bankai revolves around. It actually draws energy from the plants that the zanpakuto's stems connect, and converts that energy into reiatsu. If someone other than her were to step into, or simply touch it, they automatically trigger a reiatsu needle attack [not by her choice] that won't stop until the unfortunate victim backs away from it, or unless Keikage puts it to a stop. This pillar slowly diminishes power as Keikage looses energy and the the plants connected to the zanpakuto wither from the energy taken from them.

kidō:

Keikage has trained herself to use kidou spells without the incantation, yet has unlocked the power to use them to their full potential in spite of that fact. She isn't as experienced in the arts of Bakudou, as to say she favors and thus uses Hadou more frequently so she has more potential with the latter. It should also be noted that she can only bypass the incantation of four different bakudou [the only ones she's ever used], while she can bypass all hadou incantations up to #84.

Bakudou
1. Restrain ~ Locks a target's arms in place behind their back.
9. Strike ~ Engulfs a target in red light, completely paralyzing them.
78. Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air ~ Transmits messages to anyone within a specific area.
81. Splitting Void ~ Creates an energy barrier in the form of a rectangular wall. It is capable of stopping destructive spells up to #89.

Hadou
1-84. All spells up to #84

Other
Mirror Door ~ To­shiro­ Hitsugaya used this to seal Momo Hinamori's hospital room. It creates a glass-like barrier which is difficult to break from the outside, but quite simple to break from the inside.

Reverse Demon ~ This technique nullifies an opponent's kido by hitting them with a perfectly opposite surge of energy. Yoruichi uses this against Soifon's shunko­.

Flash cry (shunko, lit. instant war cry) ~ Combines kido energy and hand-to-hand combat to concentrate spiritual power at the back and shoulders for quicker movement and increased attack power, allowing it to be fired at opponents.

"Don’t let your victories go to your head, or your failures go to your heart."

personality:

Keikage's personality is just another big, fat, complicated jigsaw puzzle. There lies several sides to her, of which she controls based on who exactly you are. People's first impressions about her are usually wrong. In fact, there's a rumor around Soul Society that she never sleeps, because you can find her awake much more often then asleep. To many, she comes off as dark and mysterious. Her thoughts and intentions often go unknown, actions and words misjudged. Understanding her is difficult for most. Until it comes the day she considers you worthy of her trust [and respect], maybe even friendship, you may never catch on. She tends to keep to herself, which leads to one thinking she's anti-social. She keeps her distance from people, emotionally and physically. A closed book to strangers, but open to the people she loves and trusts.

Kei isn't outright freezing cold in terms of personality. She's just naturally reserved. Don't mistake that exterior of hers as unhappiness. She keeps both negative and positives sides of herself inside, as to say she's realistic and not optimistic or pessimistic. As down-to-earth as she might be, there are times when she'll say things really out of this world. Even if you don't believe it yourself, if she says something, she usually means it. If you take the time to learn her, you'll be able to tell when she's having fun or not. It takes getting to know her to read her moods.

Keikage is downright analytical; making many observations, having the ability to see the good and bad in others. Things are seen for what they are to her, in every possible way she can look at it. It's a piece of her personality puzzle that helped throw her into the bunch of "mad scientist" twelfth divisioners shortly before leaving the Special Forces. Sometimes, she sees the best route straight through the mud, and she doesn't mind taking it. If the best end to a situation is through less than pleasant means, she will most likely pursue that end, regardless of the road leading to it.

It is hard to laugh and smile during rough times, for anyone. She believes in the hopeful power of smiles, as if they were rays of light piercing the dark. So to say, aside from her serious nature's sense of duty, Keikage is as much able to laugh and smiles as much as the next person. While it takes a bit for her humorous side to come out, it does exist. She just prefers not to let it take control of her, but she does let it out through sarcasm when she can't any other way around. Her sarcastic cracks do help to tone things down when optimism starts to take over. It's evidence of her strong sense of balance. Senses... say, she sure has a lot of them.

Just as she is now, you can count on Keikage to forever be level-headed, serious, and to the point. She easily holds herself together, even in battle, along with a small amount of determination. Being extremely loyal to friends, she would even go as far as to put her life on the line to save them, if they were valuable enough to her [they usually are]. In her earlier years, she had been known to purposely decrease her advantages in battle, but her reasons for this were for more experience [that's really what her intentions were, others misjudged that for wanting to die]. If the rumors of her still seeking out a place to die were in fact true, then she wields the resolve to die for a cause. Based on how she is now, it is doubtful that Keikage may one day turn back to her "Deathseeker" ways [she has already surpassed the amount of experience she hoped to gain many, many years ago]. Still, she wants her death to be honorable, should it ever come. Perhaps this is why she is renowned as "Tetsushiori Keikage, the Undying"?

Over her many years of life, she has acquired much information, sharing it with others in small bits and pieces when the time arises. She can be very trustworthy and informative on her part, frequently found to share her wisdom and explain important morals to others. Now a highly wise, intelligent shinigami, Keikage is not only physically strong but mentally as well. Every move she makes in battle is carefully planned out before being followed through with. In battle, she prefers using hakuda and kidou over her zanpakuto, but she uses it just as often, especially in sparring/training sessions.

Believe it or not, Keikage is one of those people who like to kick back, relax, and enjoy a nice cup of sake in the middle of the night. She doesn't drink as often as many as some of her comrades, and not enough to get drunk, but rather to enjoy herself. She'll loosen up more and hang out like this with others, but when all her work is finished, and during times that aren't all too chaotic. She's always liked to gaze at the sky during the night time since it noticeably helps her to unwind, so that she can rejoice. What else does she love? Tea. Morning and night. It's not surprising that you'd find her drinking it every time you turned around, especially in the morning and late night... Which raises a important question: when does this woman go to bed?

Keikage takes much pride in her division and its members. It is a vital piece of the Gotei 13, and being its immediate commander? That's quite an honor to her. She tries to hold up its reputation, and a twelfth division it works with. The ninth division particularly has many duties to attend to, from preventing information from leaking or being stolen, counter attacks against SS invasions, memory-replacing, and the news media. Plus the paperwork every divsion must attend to. She splits up the work among the division, giving herself the largest portions. She isn't too work-driven or lazy, making sure everyone is capable of their orders, and taking away some work when it seems to overwhelm them. She'll occasionally allow her subordinates to take breaks from work, whether it's a few days in SS or some time in the mortal realm. This privilege comes to those who work hard, instead of complaining and lying around. Generally, everyone in her division is treated equally, but she takes more of a shine to the more dedicated of workers. Constant laziness is a common cause to lack of privilege.

history:

~ From Life to Death
Tetsushiori Keikage was first born as human into the early years of the Muromachi period of Japan, also known as the Nanboku-cho period, that lasted from 1336 to 1392. Her father was a rich lord, who gave her pretty much everything she wanted. She called him "Papa". Her mother had died when she was only two years old, so she didn't remember her very well. Back then, she was a bit of a spoiled brat. She kept to being free-spirited, trying to have as much fun in an atmosphere around her that lacked so much as that.Yet, she distanced herself from everyone among the village, so she acted like that around others when they interrupted her during playtime. She spent most of her time running around and practicing the art of parkour. She was very energetic, with very extensive, seemingy everlasting agility. Over the years of her short life, she grew quite experienced in performing acrobatic tricks, which impressed the peasants [mostly the children] when they weren't shunning her.

One of the main things keeping her seperate from the village was her ability to see and sense spirits. Although, Keikage was too young to tell the difference from the dead and alive, and for such was often found playing with the souls of the dead that resided at a graveyard off the side of her village. It was for this reason that the village secretly shunned her, calling the young girl disrespectful and spoiled, in spite of her not knowing better. This spiritual awareness came from her father, so he was the only one who really understood her motives, thus allowing her to carry on with her play. Over time, the village's loyalty to their lord was weakening. They believed that he was neglecting his people, instead paying all his attention to his daughter.

By the age of fourteen, Keikage's father had caught an pneumonia. He struggled to stay alive, no will to die. He wanted to take care of his daughter, make her happy, to see that smile on her face. His will to live had no effect on his illness, for he soon died less than a month later. The villagers had no will to follow under the girl after their village lord had died, and went about their lives regardless for what she had to say. If she wanted food, she'd have to work for it now. Ultimately, it began to turn her out of the the selfish, spoiled girl she once was.

About a year had passed when Keikage had wandered in the woods outside her village, where she was attacked by a hollow. No just any hollow, though -- her father. He had been attatched to the living world, having no will to pass on. Kei had zero experience fighting hollows, never seen on, never heard of them. It was a slow hollow, or at least to her, so she had manged to escape before it can take her life, but with some serious injuries nonetheless. She ran and ran, until her injuries weakened, and her legs gave out on her. She collapsed, and died soon after. Meanwhile, a shinigami had purified the hollow. The shinigami then went scouting for possible victims, thus he found Keikage, and performed soul burial, sending her to SS on the date of February 29th.

~ Welcome to Soul Society + Pre-Academy Years
Keikage was born into nobility, known as the Tetsushiori clan. Those of the clan who were shinigami typically specialized in the arts of kidou or zanjutsu, but she was more intact with her agility and hakuda. Although, she did acquire her family's skill of kidou too, which they could tell by her excellent reiatsu control. Several family members considered her one of the "all-rounder" types, believing she would do well as a shinigami when she was older. And, they were right of course.

As soon as the family became aware of her spiritual power, Keikage's father had hired a personal trainer for his daughter. This trainer was a woman referred to simply as Nanami. This woman seemed to have exceptional skills as a shinigami, and later told her trainee of her adventures with the Special Forces. It attracted Keikage's attention enough to shoot toward joining it as her goal. She had agreed to let Nanami teach her the arts of combat and stealth. Strangely, Keikage had somehow kept her skill of parkour from the years of being in the living world. Although, she did not remember anything else from her past life.

Throughout her younger years of life in Seireitei, she trained vigorously in the arts of shinigami combat. She had little to no trouble with hohou, and was soon found to be especially gifted in it, along wth kidou. Hakuda was the mid point, and zanjutsu had been her weakest point. It frustrated her to try and master the power of the sword, and stepped around it when she could. She'd learn it... eventually.

~ From SA to Gotei 13 + Special Forces
After about twelve years of strenuous training with Nanami-sensei, Keikage had decided that it was time to move on to the Shinigami Academy. There she met her closest friend, Oozora Saito, who trusted her so much that he told her his future plans, to which she agreed to aid him in his plans because of his powerfully admirable dedication to his brother. And thanks to her pre-training, she was able to enter the Special Forces' Executive Militia as one the commander-in-chief's bodyguards while she was still in the academy, and also graduate two years early. As soon as she had finished up the academy, she joined the second division of the Gotei 13. Despite not having achieved shikai yet, she was almost immediately promoted to the seventh seat position because of her skills in the other three shinigami combat departments. In addition, she also joined the Woman's Shinigami Association.

After several years, a new commander-in-chief was elected, who went by the name of Shihouin Yoruichi. She belonged to one of the four houses of nobility. This particular woman had great experience with hakuda and hohou. For quite a while, she was far better than even Keikage. But as time went by, Yoruichi had an influence on her. Kei's experience, battle tactic knowedge, and overall power increased day by day. She held much respect for her commander-in-chief, and acting captain of the second division, and still seems to over the years.

As a bodyguard, she was able to observe and grasp the idea of some of Lady Yoruichi's various techniques, others were taught to her subordinates directly. One of those techniques, particularly, was the powerful shunko attack. Although, this technique that combined kidou energy with hakuda, was only vaguely spoken of by Yoruichi and by her predecessor Keikage had served under just years before. It wasn't until years later when Soifon had succeeded Yoruichi that she was able to see the technique in action. Keikage had gone on to serve Soifon as a bodyguard as well, a woman from another lesser noble family, who seemed to perform it quite often. She told few of the higher-ups, including Kei herself, about the technique she claimed to have "created". Little did Soifon know that it wasn't her technique. Keikage knew about it from the other two predecessors of Soifon, but had never said word of it. And after [secretly] witnessing Soifon and Yoruichi use it multiple times in a fight, she was able to grasp its idea and later try it out for herself.

~ Seireitei Riots! + Aizen's Betrayal
It all started with the death sentence of a girl by the name of Kuchiki Rukia. Keikage personally did not know her, but word had gotten around about Kuchiki Byakuya's supposedly adopted sister was to be killed by the mighty Sokyouku. As the news spread around Seireitei, she learned that this Rukia character had apparently transferred her shinigami powes to a human. Strange... being sentenced to death was too big a punishment for her deeds, also considering the fact that it was a desperate force of action she took for a matter of life and death. Keikage grew suspicious about the situation. Something about this was set up. Whoever was behind it must've wanted her dead for some reason... someone of a high position. Her lack of trust for Aizen had paid off. She soon learned she was right not to trust him.

Originally, Keikage was meant to have joined fifth division and become a member of the Kidou Corps, however her lack of interest in it set her on the path to the Special Forces instead. Luckily she chose what she did, for she would have otherwise had Aizen for a captain, a man she wanted nothing to do with. Why trust Aizen? Any idiot couldve realized he was up to something, save their naive ideology twisting them into thinking he was a respectable man. He was nothing more than a traitor. It was a streak of bad luck that he had gotten away before Soifon-taichou could've instantly killed him with her zanpakuto. Keikage believed that her taichou was one of the only ones capable of taking out a powerful man such as Aizen. Why couldn't the arrancar just eat him and be done with it?

The whole situation was like experiencing a movie in first person. To Rukia's rescue came a group of ryoka [aka invaders] who came via a large orb that penetrated the barriers of Seireitei, an amazing site to behold, for things like this were not seen everyday. It took incredible power to have done such a thing. Little had she known that Yoruichi-sama was actually in on it. Despite having been stripped of her titles, Yoruichi was still strongly respected in Keikage's eyes. She was not upset like Soifon was when the "Goddess of Flash" had finally appeared again, for she had known a bit about Yoruichi's leave beforehand.

Aside from that, Keikage didn't get as much action as her comrades in all the chaos going on within Seireitei during the invasion, for she turned her attention to other matters, such as her initial release training. It was only several months ago at that time, that she had actually achieved shikai. With everyone else distracted, she had enough time to master it completely. After Seireitei calmed down and Aizen, along with Ichimaru Gin and [surprisingly] Kaname Tosen, had betrayed SS, she continued to train in the art of Zanjutsu. Now that shikai had been obtained, she was going to try for the next step -- bankai.

~ The Twelth Division + The Escapist
Upon informing Captain Soifon of her shikai achievement, Keikage was offered a promotion. Instead of accepting, she turned the offer down and requested to transfer divisions to twelth. She told Soifon she wanted to stay out of the war and do some research, which she did not elaborate on much. However, she agreed to remain in the Special Forces for a little while longer. This limited Soifon's command on Keikage, but she agreed and filed the transfer.

Kei immediately took to the fourth seat position, and when the war in Hueco Mundo started shortly after, she became the acting third seat until the actual person holding the position to return. He didn't. She was promoted to third seat, and held the seat alone for a short period of time when an old friend of hers was suddenly to share the position -- Oozora Saito.

A couple of months before the sacrificial barrier was created to shelter Soul Society and the Mortal Realm from Hueco Mundo, Keikage suddenly vanished, leaving no traces of herself. She left almost everything of hers at the Tetsushiori Clan house [excluding, most notably, her zanpakuto]. Most just assumed she had died, but nobody knew for sure what had really happened to her. Her own family did not know. She did not return for nearly 300 years, making a reappearance as the new ninth division's first seat and as her clans twenty-sixth head, and first female to lead the clan in over 100 years, also claiming to have achieved bankai.

role-play sample:

Keikage watched as her reiatsu was cut off. It was hard holding herself back in battle while fighting a lower seat, as proven by her use of too little reiatsu combined with her last move. Now she had slightly lost some interest in her zanpakuto, now thinking of using Kidou. That was one of her better skills, next to zanpakuto. She would've gone to Kidou Corps upon graduating from shinigami academy, if it weren't for her further interest in the 12th division of the Gotei 13.

She watched Yukino's movements to carefully observate how her unique combat skills worked. Not the type of observation to be able to imitate the moves, but to understand them and use her wits to use it against an opponent at the right time. That was the technique that had directed Keikage's interest to her division. For years, around 300 at the very least, had she been part of the Gotei 13. Her aging was a bit slow, as she was still only an appearance-wise 20-year-old.

Her elbow didn't hurt that much, but Kei countered again, this time using stronger reiatsu that she would be able to use the momentum of. She had first countered with her own reiatsu, just enough to hold back the opposing blade. With that over with, she quickly jumped back using the momentum of her opponent's weapon that pushed toward her neck. As she leaped up into the air, at about 5 ft tops, she spun to face forward at Yukino.

With kidou, Kei had a certain sequence. She would usually use bakudou first to restrain the opponent, then would use a relatively strong Hadou for the actual attack. Bakudou to slow down the opponent, even if by a small amount. Hadou to finish it off. That was the typical 3rd seat, using her head like a division like her's did. There was no specialty of using your head in 12th. It was normal for them. You'd be expected to think. Not like it wasn't expectant from other parts of Gotei 13 as well.

Having her left hand free, here came the first part...with a swift shunpo toward the other shinigami, Kei gave herself a better position to use her power against the 2nd division shinigami sparring with her. If Yukino planned to attack with her blade, it would be countered by Keikage's. Though that would only make it that much easier for her if her opponent did so.

"Bakudou no. 9...Geki.", she said almost under her breath, directing her left hand toward Yukino.

No, she didn't bother even using the incantation on such a low level spell. Probably meant only part of the actual power it was to give off when executed normally with the incantation, but Kei didn't feel like chancing herself into paralyzing her opponent if the kidou spell ended at a direct hit. That would make it unfair and boring to spar anymore, having only herself mobile. So she awaited the result. If it didn't work out, she'd still skip onto Hadou. If it did, then it did.

[Vy]

ACCEPTED !

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