Kaen Youji[Squad 7 Vice Captain]

[Kaen Youji]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Basic stuff, Appearance and Personality}

-Opening-

Password 1: [Blubbering Bunny Radical]

Password 2:

Type: [Fighter Type 1]

Squad: [7]

Rank: [Third Seat]

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-Basic Information-

Name: [Kaen Youji]

Age of Death: [N/a]

Real Age/Age of Appearance: [165/17]

Birthday (Month/Day): [11/11]

Blood Type: [B-]

RP Sample (Optional): [N/a]

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-Appearance-

Height/Weight: [5’7/160 pounds]

Physical Description: [Kaen is a unique looking individual. He has Caucasion skin, and what would appear at first glance to be a somewhat slender build. However, disguised in that build is actually a veritable wall of muscle. Kaen sports a sixpack, and his arms are surprisingly muscular, despite an apparent slenderness about them, though seem just a hair too long for his body. His legs are just as muscular as his arms, if not moreso, as Kaen devotes considerable attention to them when he trains.

Kaen's face could be considered attractive by some in a roguish sort of way. His mouth seems almost constantly set in a perpetual grin. This grin is almost mischievous as if he knows something that nobody else does, and wears this even in the thick of combat. His nose isn't particularly pronounced, being somewhat small and slightly pointed. His eyes are large, and a brilliant sky blue (see above), which can give Kaen an almost innocent look, which is sharply contrasted by the scar on his right cheek, which has earned the shape of an awkwardly made cross. The scar is made up of two cuts, one roughly three inches in length, and the second is only one and a half. Had the shorter one been placed slightly higher up on the second one, they would have made an amusing shape of a Christian cross on his cheek, but instead, they simply form an awkwardly shaped "X."

Kaen's hair is also fairly unique. A wild mass of reddish black hair that juts out at odd angles in long spikes, Kaen's hair is unkempt and uncontrolled. It's coloration, if it was not implied to be so, is unusual, as although it looks black, under a direct light-source it appears to hold a reddish tint. Kaen is painfully aware of the coloration of his hair (though oddly not its wild state). The hair is relatively long, making Kaen appear considerably taller than he actually is, and at the back it nearly reaches his shoulders. His hair has, thus far, resisted any attempt to tame it, causing Kaen to give up in futility, and comments regarded its messy state no longer bother him (in fact coming up with comebacks has become a bit of a pastime for him).

Kaen's torso is an impressive piece of work. Although relatively slim, it is quite muscular, due to Kaen's intense training. His body is unmarred by any permanent, due to the efforts of the fourth division but it is not uncommon to see multiple bruises or cuts along it, again due to the intense training he undergoes. Kaen differs somewhat from the standard shinigami uniform, and instead has removed the sleeve from his uniform, claiming that they made moving his arms awkward and the sleeves caught on everything. Besides that, Kaen also has emblazoned his family crest on the back of his uniform-- a dragon in the center of a candleflame. Kaen wears his zanpakuto across his back, a Kodachi, with the handle coming up over his left shoulder. It is drawn diagonally across his body, top to bottom, left to right.

The lack of sleeves on his uniform exposes his powerful arms. Though not thick and bulging they are muscular and strong. Kaen's left hand has his family crest literally branded into the back of it, as proof of his status. His hands are moderately sized, not particularly big or small in comparison to the rest of him. His knuckles are toughened with callouses, as is the heel of his palm. These are direct results of his training, like the rest of his body. He often wears a silk fingerless glove over the left hand to hide the insignia.

While Kaen isn't a huge fan of overt decoratives, he does wear two pieces of ornamentation. The first is his division's badge, which he wears overtop the right side of his chest. The badge is chipped and worn from dozens of battles, but the insignia of squad 7 is still quite visible upon it. The other decoration he allows himself is a pendant that hangs on a silver chain around his neck. Though the actual pendant dissapears into his uniform, at the end is a small oval shaped locket. Kaen claims there is a picture inside, but none but himself know for sure.

In terms of legwear, Kaen has likewise changed his uniform from the norm. To keep his legwear from snagging on unwanted obstacles, Kaen's haori is not unlike the ones worn by the second squad. Slightly loose, but still tightfitting to his legs. Attached to to outside of either leg are straps with a weapon pouch attached, typically filled with projectiles, but really, can be filled with anything he feels should be brought to a fight. A third pouch hangs from Kaen's obi. However, Kaen has opted to use the traditional footwear of shinigami, wearing straw sandles beneath tabi, as he sees nothing wrong with this design.

If Kaen, for whatever reason, is forced to adopt a gigai in the human world, his clothing changes. He will typically wear blue sneakers with regular socks inside. He is actually quite fond of jeans, and wears a blue long sleeved shirt. Despite going to the trouble of specifically requesting a shirt with long sleeves, Kaen often will simply roll them up before long. He will also occasionally wear a simple gray baseball cap on his head. Whether he wears it reversed or not depend. While he's fond of the look he has when he has reversed it, with the front spikes of his hair poking out, he also uses it practically, to held shade his eyes from the sun (a.k.a. wearing it orthodox).

i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/blackfiend/roleplay/recca1.jpg Basic appearance in gigai (minus the arm brace).]

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-Personality-

Dislikes:
[*Limitations-- Kaen absolutely despises limitations in any shape or form. Physical limitations, legislative limitations. Even laws, to a degree. To Kaen, limitations are made only for people who have no desire to go beyond them, and so he absolutely hates it when he comes across something that prevents him from doing something he wants to do.

*Disrespect-- Kaen will absolutely not tolerate disrespect from anyone, to anyone. This applies to enemies as well. He emphasizes importance on respect, to the point that it's entirely likely you'd be smacked upside the head for disrespecting an enemy.

*Kido-- Kaen has a strong resentment for the use of kido. This largely stems from his own inability to use it, and as a result, he has a hidden jealousy of anyone who can, though he will attempt to hide it.

*Hunting-- Kaen has a strong dislike of the idea of hunting. Killing something in cold blood, without giving it much of a chance doesn't seem right to him at all.

*Enslavement-- This is something that Kaen hates the very notion of. The restriction of one's freedoms. This extends to all form of it, including slavery or even simple imprisonment.

*One-sided fights-- Kaen hates battles that are complete domination of one side or the other. He deems that such things cannot be learned from. The losing side cannot learn from the battle, because they will likely die, or at least be overwhelmed so greatly that it is useless. The winning side will learn nothing because of how easy it is. He finds them pointless, really.

*Narrow mindedness-- Kaen doesn't like those who think with a narrow mind. He thinks it is very good to be open to other people's ideas and concepts, even if you disagree with them.

*Nobility-- Although Kaen himself is a noble, he has a strong dislike for the ideas of many nobles that they are so much better than everyone else, byt virtue of their status. This is not to say he hates the nobles themselves, merely the belief many of them share that they are somehow better than everyone else because of their birth.

*Hypocrites-- Kaen cannot stand people who play up their beliefs and impress them on others, and then do not follow them, themselves. "Do as I say, not as I do" doesn't fly with Kaen, most of the time (there are some exceptions, certainly).

*High tension situation-- Kaen doesn't like it when the pressure is on at all. He's much happier being very relaxed about a situation, and hates it when the situation has reached a point that he cannot afford to be relaxed about it.

*Being forced to be serious-- Yeah. Kaen doesn't like it when he's FORCED to be serious. He can be serious on his own accord, sure, but just don't make it a requirement, and he'll be good.

*People who look down on others-- He just doesn't like it. Sure, you might be a better fighter than someone else, but that's not reason to look down on them. Everyone was at that level at some point, and look where you are now. If anything, you should treat them with MORE respect, since you have no idea of how high they'll climb!]


Likes:
[*Chocolate bars-- Kaen has a very special place in his heart for these sweets, and will often make excursions in the human world to stock up on them. He usually has at least one on him.

*Takoyaki-- If there is one food Kaen likes more than chocolate it would undoubtably be takoyaki. The most surefire way to get Kaen as your friend would be to treat him to some delectable takoyaki.

*Fighting-- Kaen is a hardcore fighter. With his personality he could almost fit into the 11th squad, but his zanpakuto prevents him from doing so. Fighting is addicting to Kaen, and he'll take any excuse to fight against a strong opponent.

*History-- Kaen's actually pretty decent with his history, and enjoys learning various facts about the past.

*Chemistry-- Kaen quite likes chemistry, despite the fact that he's abysmal at it. Despite this, trial and error has allowed Kaen to make a few very interesting little concoctions.

*Birds-- This one is not for eating. Birds are one of Kaen's favorite animals. He loves how free they look as they fly across the sky. Hawks are a particular favorite.

*Weaponry-- Weapons, weapons, weapons. Kaen likes weaponry, and the study of weaponry, thus he spends much of his free time researching weapons and figuring out how they might have been used.

*Training-- Kaen loves coming up with new and inventive training methods. He often goes to the 12th squad with suggestions of a new machine that will take his training up to the next level of hell.

*Chivalry-- To Kaen, chivalry is far from dead. As such, he cannot help but feel a sense of comradery among fellow chivalric people.

*Praise-- who doesn't love being praised for doing something good? Kaen does enjoy it when he's praised. He won't suck up to you for it, because he loves being genuinely praised for something good that he did.

*Freedom-- Freedom is what Kaen strives for. It's what he loves. Anytime he finishes his work, he feels a rush at the fact that, for a few moments in time, he is free to do as he wills.

*Platypi-- And really can you blame him? Kaen just loves how bizarre they look, and how they seem to be a giant middle finger to the classification system.

*Fire-- This is something Kaen just likes. It is possibly influenced by his zanpakuto, but in general, Kaen just likes fire, and can find it mesmerizing at times.

*Being bizarre-- Kaen loves to go (ore seeing others go) that extra mile to make something really unique or creative, even if it defies social norms.]



Flaws:
[Reckless-- Kaen is extremely reckless, often charging into situations without thinking of the consequences. This is dangerous in the long run, as there has been more than one occasion that Kaen has ended up in battle with someone far stronger than him because of this.

Social graces-- Or rather, lack thereof. Kaen has close to zero talent in social graces. Only his upbringing as a noble enables him to manage even the most basic of social graces, often barely avoiding offending whoever he is speaking to.

Chatterbox-- With some relation to his flaw with Social graces, Kaen does not usually know when to shut up. Often he will continuously dig himself into deeper and deeper holes because once he gets going he won't stop until it's much too late.

Rebel-- As stated above, Kaen doesn't like rules very much. While his general demeanor allows him to act within them, Kaen will think little of outright breaking rules in order to accomplish something which may lead to consequences down the line.

Work-- Kaen actually quite dislikes work and avoids it like the plague when he can. Oddly enough he doesn't seem to mind any work he gives himself. Only the work that others give him.]

Habits:
[Fidgeting-- Kaen cannot sit still for long periods of time. He always has to be on the move, doing something-- anything. It can range from toying with a knife, to doodling absently. Just... something.

Experimentation-- Kaen is fond of performing little chemical experiments in his lab. He occasionally submits a finding to the 12th division, if he feels he's really found something impressive.

Training-- Kaen's training could be practically considered a habit. He always finds time to train, regardless of how busy he is. He can't go a day without it. Whether it's simple sit ups or chin ups, or a full out training regiment, Kaen HAS to train himself daily.

Dramatic entrances-- Kaen dislikes the idea of simply walking into a room to meet someone. If he is going to meet someone, he wants to be a little more irregular about how he meets them. This can sometimes be taken to elaborate degrees, as Kaen may arrive a good hour in advance, to conceal himself in the room and seem to pop out of nowhere.

Names-- Kaen cannot remember people's names very well, and if he does not associate with someone on a frequent basis, then it is unlikely he will ever devote any serious effort to remembering their names.]

Fears:
[Enslavement/Imprisonment-- See his dislikes for a better idea, but one of Kaen's biggest fears is that his freedom might be completely taken away. Imprisonment is much the same idea, that he might be held back from something, against his will. This emerges from his parent's attempts to control him in his younger days. The few times they were successful has driven this fear into Kaen. Indeed, to Kaen there is no fate worse than to be at the whims of another, against your will. Far better to die than to endure such a fate, in his opinion. This is especially true if you cannot escape it.

Loss-- Kaen is extremely concerned about losing those close to him. It is due in part, to this, that he has adopted such reckless tendencies, being virtually uncontrollable when a friend is in danger. Kaen himself would far rather die than endure the death of someone he cares for. Such things to Kaen can drive him into a near panic if the situation is serious enough, and the possibility of someone dying is very real. The easiest way to keep Kaen under control if someone he knows is in danger is not to tell him about it. If not, he will be out that door and en route before you can finish telling him not to go.]

Goals:
[Kaen's goals are somewhat vague, to be fair. He doesn't care nearly so much for rank in Soul Society, in fact he prefers it that he is lower ranked. Sufficient authority to avoid being bossed around by everyone, but not so much that he has to deal with absolutely everything. Nor does he have a target of revenge. What Kaen craves is power. Not power simply for the sake of power itself. Kaen desires only enough power to protect the people he wants to protect, and to remain free. Kaen doesn't see the purpose in being the strongest alive. If you're the strongest person alive, then where's the challenge? Kaen doesn't mind not being the strongest, but he knows that for the sake of his ideals he cannot be permitted to be the weakest. This is why he desires that power.]

Alignment: [Chaotic Good]

Overall Personality:
[Kaen likes to think of himself as quite a character. In general he has an amiable and likeable personality. He is generally relatively friendly to strangers, and will even extend the hand of friendship to some of his enemies! He has a very optimistic outlook on most matters, believing people can accomplish anything if they want something enough. He does his best to impress this view on others, to try and help people to be more optimistic about their own lives, if he feels they're looking a bit down and out. He doesn't always know when to stop, and may force himself on you, even if you don't want him to.

Kaen has a cocky and reckless streak a mile wide though. He is extremely confident in his abilities, and likes to taunt his enemies in battle. Although his reckless streak has been touched on earlier in the profile, it is worth mentioning here. Kaen almost never looks before he leaps, and doesn't often care about the consequences for doing so. His confidence and optimistic nature help him to believe everything will somehow workout, regardless of how stupid a thing he does. While not totally misplaced, as Kaen is quite good at getting out of sticky situations, it is rare that this works out well for Kaen in the long run. Those who may work with Kaen would be well advised to keep an eye on him and be ready to reel him in, should he get one of his reckless ideas. Ironically, Kaen can recognize this, as one of his frequent phrases when something goes wrong is often "I did NOT think this one through." or "This was a bad idea." Despite these revelations it does not prevent him from acting on more bad ideas without thinking them through.

With this said, however, Kaen is a respectful young man. He treats nearly everyone with respect from shinigami ranked lower than him, even to his enemies. It is not unknown for Kaen to bow his head in respect for the passing of a defeated enemy, or otherwise compliment their abilities in battle. Typically such compliments are genuine, though it is also common for them to be mixed in with taunts. Kaen has a healthy respect for the strong, and as such, he treats his superiors with the respect he believes they deserve. Most of the time, this is quite highly, as he knows that to achieve such a rank, one must be very powerful. It is out of respect for the trials they have had to endure for their rank, that Kaen obeys the orders of his superiors, not for the rank itself. It is likely that Kaen would likely have listened to them even if they somehow ranked lower than him, as long as he possessed the same measure of respect for them.

Kaen has a strong attraction to women. While rarely going as far as to outright flirt with them, he will hang around them, and often tease them. Rejection doesn't entirely bother him, in fact he doesn't have a gameplan for if one ever said yes to him! With this said, due to his beliefs on how people should be respected, he does not treat women much differently than he would a man. In fact, he has seen some women as his greatest rivals. There is one key difference in treatment though, and it is tied into Kaen's code of chivalry. To Kaen chivalry is not entirely dead, and so he will actually make an effort to be polite when speaking with women, particularly those of high status. Though this will not stop the teasing he often forces women to endure, it does mean he will use somewhat more tact in his words.

Kaen always looks forward to a good fight. He finds fights give him a rush that he simply craves. Win or lose, it doesn't really matter, as long as the fight was fun. Kaen makes an effort to learn from his fights, to constantly improve himself. He learns as much, if not more, from his defeats than his victories, working on the flaws that led to his defeat, or improving the strengths that led to his victory. For Kaen, as well as a source of pleasure, combat should be an endless cycle of self-improvement. He's a brawler at heart, something he likely inherited from his father, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Kaen can be very stubborn at times. His will is very strong, and this can be a problem for someone who is convincing him to do something. If Kaen has taken a stance on a matter it will take incredible amounts of effort and logic to move him from it. This can even apply to matters of little to no importance. It doesn't really matter which. This stubbornness can be a good thing in some matters, as a side effect has resulted in Kaen doggedly pursuing any goal he sets until its completion. The downsides are obvious, however, as it can make him rather difficult to work with at times. Take note, however, that this typically only refers to things that Kaen feels relatively strongly about. It is never enough to make him resist doing his work as a shinigami.

A notable trait that sets Kaen apart from other shinigami is that he has no serious dislike of hollows, or even arrancar. To him any quarrel against them is purely professional. While he dislikes their methods and means of sustainance, he accepts that it is their only means of survival. And that while he must of course stop this, to prevent the suffering of others, there is no reason to hold it against the hollows. He sees arrancar in much the same light, believing that the shinigami are the greater instigators against arrancar. Truly, if not for the shinigami, the arrancar might not have a quarrel, or even exist. They would eat what they needed, but with few exceptions, Kaen doubts they'd eat much else.

A final thing to consider of Kaen's persona is his love of intense physical training. In his endless quest to become stronger, Kaen trains his bodies to ridiculous levels, constantly thinking up more and more elaborate ways to inflict the most horrendous tortures upon himself that he can come up with. All in the name of training of course. This extends to others as well. One would be well advised to steer clear of asking Kaen for training help. He tends to become very overzealous, and expect that those he trains will be able to live up to the same standards as his own training, which in some cases may prove potentially fatal to some.]

[Kaen Youji]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Combat}

-Powers-

Fighting Style:
[Kaen boasts a highly adaptive fighting style, that can be summed up with a simple philosophy. “Play to your strengths and your opponent’s weakness.” This philosophy encompasses his method of fighting. Kaen will analyze an opponent to uncover their weaknesses, and then employ his strengths to take advantage of this weakness. As a result his fighting style is very flexible and subject to change depending upon his analysis of his opponent.

However, he does need a default style, and by default, Kaen favors close quarters combat. He will seek to close in with his opponent and fight them at close range, demonstrating a fighting style based on a blending of Karate and Jiujitsu. Although he possesses innate knowledge of Shinigami Hakuda styles he prefers to use these mortal martial arts instead, augmented by his superhuman strength and speed, to deliver blows to devastating effect. Kaen is naturally a brawler and really enjoys close range fighting, preferring to fight barehanded than with a weapon of any kind. A philosophy reflected in his release.

As far as hand to hand is concerned, Kaen employs Karate and Jiujitsu fighting styles, supplemented by a handful of Hakuda techniques. Kaen’s hand to hand fighting is fast paced and furious. He is highly aggressive with his fists, keeping an opponent on the defensive with either his speed or strength. He also enjoys using unorthodox techniques including stomps, headbutts and shoulder rams, just in case his opponent believes he is entirely technical. Kaen is a skilled grappler, who favors the use of jointlocks, but can also execute throws and pins, and chokeholds thanks to his training in Jiujitsu. His blows are precise and skillful, and a high level mastery of martial arts is evident.

Kaen’s fighting philosophy is evident in his martial arts. Should an opponent prove capable of avoiding his physical strikes, he will immediately shift to grappling to impede their movement, and ability to dodge, using clinches, holds, or even throws to prevent them from avoiding his blows. Although he clearly favors striking attacks, his grappling, as mentioned above, is no joke. Likewise, however, if an opponent appears to push for grappling attacks, Kaen will use his own grappling training to break and counterattack with devastating strikes. Kaen is not especially fond of kicks, compared to punches, throws and joint locks but is still highly adept at them, especially leg kicks, taken from Kyokushin Karate, which can further break an adversary’s mobility.

However, Kaen is somewhat proficient with swords as well. He is a practitioner of Iaido, the Japanese art of drawing and striking with a sword in one lightning fast motion and will use this to attack from a passive position in an instant. A battojutsu strike will often be one of Kaen’s opening sword techniques. However, Kaen’s sword style is inherently deceptive, designed to draw the opponent’s focus to the sword, rather than the fighter. Kaen’s swordsmanship, although adequate, and further bolstered by his speed and strength, is not the main theme. Even here he prefers to utilize his body for his attacks. He prefers to wield his weapon onehanded, and will primarily use his sword as a defensive tool rather than an offensive one. This is where the deception of his iaido attack comes into play. Kaen’s swordsmanship is not aggressive, and he does not see his sword as a weapon so much as a distraction and a shield. He utilizes a light Kodachi that he can easily maneuver and deflect an opponent’s weapon strikes, and then counterattacking with hand to hand martial arts. As a result, Kaen prefers to wield his sword one-handed, to keep a hand free for punching or grabbing, and will make frequent use of kicks here as well.

Against opponents that favor a close range attack, Kaen will rarely see the need to release his zanpakuto, as they play directly to his preferred fighting style. However, from time to time, Kaen will encounter an adversary that he either cannot keep in close range with him, or one that can defeat him in a close range battle, despite his strength, speed and training. In these situations, Kaen will release his zanpakuto, to combat his adversary at a range. Despite the loss of an actual weapon, Kaen will employ his pyrokinetic abilities to bombard the enemy with a high number of attacks from long range. He also will employ this against Hierro using his flames to overcome these defences. He may also release in a hotly contested fight against an equal who is holding a slight advantage over him.

Speaking of the above, Kaen tends to like equal fights. He enjoys a battle between equals and may, when the adversary’s strength is known, to adjust his capabilities to only slightly above his opponent to maintain an advantage but still allow himself to be pressured by his opponent, and enjoy the battle. He will occasionally fight with some disadvantage, or grant his opponent an advantage to make an otherwise boring fight interesting. Kaen does not like boring fights. He wants his opponent to give him a tough time, otherwise he can’t full enjoy himself.

This brings us to his final stage of release. This is a last resort to Kaen, and if employed, it is only because he does not perceive a means to continue fighting without it. His strategy undergoes a whole new realm of depth once he employs Bankai and he will once again, seek to attain a close range fight in almost all situations, aside from those rare situations in which his opponent will still possess superior close range capabilities to him. However, now, due to his Bankai’s special properties, he is able to enact more complex fighting tactics, including pincer movements and flanking strategies, which he will employ to the fullest.

Kaen is a team player, and, in a team composition would play the role of the front liner. He will take hits for the team, and will protect his teammates to the best of his abilities. He will be quicker to release in a fight with multiple adversaries so that he can use his pyrokinetic abilities to create barriers, walls or other physical deterrents to dissuade an adversary. True to keeping with his philosophy, he will analyze the battle and if his opponent is relentlessly targeting one of his allies, he will use that to his advantage, using aforementioned ally to bait out an attack to force his opponent to become vulnerable.

Speaking of which that’s another principle Kaen employs, albeit to a lesser extent than his “Play to your strengths and your enemy’s weakness.” This lesser principle can be summed up with a theory, in that one cannot maintain an absolute defense while they are attack. If one is launching an attack, it becomes impossible for them to prevent exposing themselves to attack in some way. As a result this has led to Kaen heavily employing counterattacks, as shown in his swordsmanship, studying an enemy’s attack patterns and using their own attacks against them.

The last thing to consider is how Kaen fights against multiple opponents. In this situation, the training gloves come off. He’s willing to restrict his fighting capabilities against one or two opponents, but multiple on one, that goes out the window. Kaen will once again employ his primary philosophy, targeting the weakest links in the group relentlessly, shifting targets only enough to keep his opponents from easily predicting his primary target.]

Zanpakutou Spirit Appearance(Optional):
[Kaen's zanpakuto typically takes the form of a short old man. The spirit stands a meagre 3'8 in height. He wears a floral pink T-shirt and khaki shorts with sandles. His eyes are usually covered by abnormally large sunglasses that take up the majority of his face. He also has a pronounced, "poofy" white mustache and a beard that goes down to his belly. He has a large bald spot on his head, with wiry hair that juts out away from it as a pond in midsplash, after someone has thrown a rock into it. He also has tied the hair at the back of his head into a ponytail.

If he removed his sunglasses, one would, however, see an extremely grave looking face. His eyes are narrow and serious. Well, I suppose "eye" would be the better term, as the other eye has been sealed shut by a massive scar that reaches from his temple to his nose, though the majority of this is usually hidden by his shades.

But he has another form he has taken on occasion to test Kaen. This form is that of an immense fire dragon. Its serpentine body reaches nearly 50 meters in length, and is as thick as a fully grown oak tree. Its body is literally composed of reiatsu based flames. Its head somewhat resembled an avian in some ways, though its maw is filled with dozens of razor sharp fangs, the largest of which are nearly 12 inches in length. He also possesses tremendously muscled limbs, tipped in a four toed taloned foot. He has a vast wingspan of roughly 20 meters per side as well. Although composed of flame, he has a physical mass, so objects do not simply pass through him.]

Inner World(Optional):
[Kaen's inner world is a vast open desert under a huge night sky. Massive dunes rise up all around, and the occasional oasis can be found scattered around, where the grass is a beautiful emerald green, and the water is clear. Stars sparkle in the cloudless sky, and two full moons beam down on the land beneath. One of them is a deep red, the other an icy blue. They circle slowly around the sky, as if to mark their own day and night, occasionally eclipsing each other.

The other major feature in Kaen's inner world is an old abandoned European castle. It is in this castle that Hachiryuu dwells. The castle is a strange one, as everything is inverted. Chandaliers hang up from the floor, and tables and the carpet sit upon the ceiling. There is even a dining room where a succulent feast rests, hanging upside down. Finally, if one can navigate the castle's labyrinth of halls and rooms, they may finally come to the throne room where Hachiryuu awaits. The throne room is the sole room in the castle that obeys ordinary laws of physics and gravity. A vast throne of red and gold sits here, and the walls are decorated with suits of armor, dutifully standing on guard, weapons in hand. ]

Zanpakutou Appearances:
[In its sealed state Hachiryuu takes the form of a Kodachi. It is just slightly over two feet in length and has a surprisingly exagerrated curve. Despite this, the curve is not enough to prevent it being used as a thrusting weapon if required. The blade shines with a glorious silver sheen, and it is highly polished so that one can even see their reflection in the blade. This blade is very well kept and razor sharp. Engravings of flames are patterned along the back of the blade for some aesthetic appeal. Kaen made the engravings himself and is quite proud of how they turned out.

The handle is the length of a regular katana's handle, and covered in black leather. A red tassal hangs off from the end of the handle, again, mainly for aesthetic appeal, but Kaen has occasionally used it in combat, grabbing the blade by the tassal to increase the range of his attacks. The tsuba is square shaped, and a pleasant gold color. It doesn't particularly gleam like the blade does, but it is still quite pleasing to the eye. The tsuba is of standard diameter, going out from the blade about 2 inches in all directions.

The sheath itself is actually slightly longer than the blade. This allows Kaen to use iaido techniques faster than his opponent would expect, entering battles with a bang! It's color is a glossy black, and made of wood. The black color comes from a leather overlay on the outside of the sheath. Like the Kodachi, the sheath is fairly curved to accomodate the Kodachi's shape. Kaen has occasionally used the extra space at the bottom of the sheath to store various powders for battle. Examples may include some forms of poison, or occasionally sand which he will hurl into an opponent's eyes.

Upon his release phrase, Kaen is surrounded by a blinding eruption of orange reiatsu. The reiatsu shields him from view and releases a blistering wave of heat. Ultimately it begins to condense towards Kaen's right arm, forming a metal brace on his arm. Black flame patterns run up the brace, and there is a blue gem. There are no seams or points on the brace at which it connects to its other half. This means that it is virtually impossible to remove from Kaen's arm, short of amputating the arm or shattering the brace.

The brace goes from just behind Kaen's wrist to just before his elbow, covering the entire forearm. The blue gem is located towards the back of the weapon just before the elbow.

For his Bankai, Kaen undergoes a few changes. The first is that his shikai's arm brace is now on both arms. He also gains a blue shinobi gi, and two Kodachi can be seen, sheathed on his back. The most notable change in his Bankai though, is that an incarnation of his zanpakuto appears. Similar to its dragon state, his Bankai creates a dragon one hundred and fifty meters from head to tail, with a massive wingspan of roughly forty meters. Massive and powerful, with claws like swords and teeth like knives to shred just about anything.]

Zanapkutou Release Names(Include both Shikai and Bankai names, and call out phrases) ["Burn Hachiryuu!"/"Bankai! Resshin Hachiryuu!"]

Overall Ability: [Kaen's power is based in the creation and manipulation of the fire element. He while he can only manipulate the fire his shikai creates, once created he can do nearly anything with it. Being composed of reiatsu, Kaen's flames are virtually solid, enabling them to be used as weapons or shields if needed. Due to it being his own reiatsu used in the creation of the flames, Kaen is immune to their effects.

The primary function of Kaen's release is to shape flame. Using this ability, Kaen can shape his flame into virtually any shape, and have it take on the properties of whatever he shapes it into. For example, if he shapes his flame into a sword, then it can cut and parry like a sword. If he shapes it into a shield, it would be just as durable as whatever he shaped the shield into. With that said, it is still fire, and so can burn a foe and produces heat that can sear and burn the foe.

The primary limitation of this is that Kaen must understand what he is creating. For example, even if he shaped his flame into a pistol, unless he knew and understood the inner workings of a pistol, all he would produce is a pistol shaped flame that could pistol whip someone. Kaen's unshaped flames are semi-solid, similar to kido spells, like soukatsui or shakkahou, and impact foes with equal strength to Kaen's reiatsu strength.

The primary weakness of his release is that his flames can be doused or blown away by water or wind based techniques (for further clarification, see below).]

Shikai Overall Ability:
[ In shikai, Kaen's zanpakuto is capable of producing flames up to six inches away from the arm brace. It is capable of basic attacks, such as launching flames at a target and can indeed, shape them into virtually anything he can think of. Swords, spears, shields, whistles, frying pans, etc. By shaping his flames, however, Kaen can increase the strength of them, though they can be blown out or doused, assuming the opponent has comparable reiatsu strength. Any opponent with equal or higher reiatsu strength to the flames, can douse them or blow them out with water and/or wind attacks. If their reiatsu strength is lower, however, then their attack will either not affect the flames, or be evaporated by their heat. The maximum heat Kaen's shikai can reach (excluding Daihou, see below) is 5100 degrees Fahrenheit (2800 degrees Fahrenheit).

An important thing to note about Kaen's shikai is that in order to maintain control of any of the flames that Resshin Hachiryuu has shaped, they must remain attached to his arm brace in some manner, even if it's just a part of the flame. If they are not, they will simply careen off in a given direction, uncontrollably. That said, he can still launch attacks, such as fireballs or hurl javelins, etc.]

Bankai Overall Ability:
[In Bankai, Kaen's shikai powers are considerably augmented. The first notable thing about his Bankai is the expansion of the field in which Kaen can manipulate, create and shape his flames. An invisible, spherical field of roughly six feet out from Kaen in all directions is the field in which he can create and manipulate and shape his flames. As Kaen can create a flame virtually instantly, it can be an unpleasant surprise for an opponent, attempting to attack Kaen to suddenly have the shinigami create a flame around the area they are occupying.

The heat of Kaen's flames has also greatly intensified, reaching a maximum temperature of 20,000 degrees Celsius (5432 degrees Fahrenheit). At such temperatures, Kaen can actually create a flame that can melt through most metals in seconds.

Apart from this, the dragon is the biggest addition to Kaen's bankai. Burning at a constant temperature of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, it is extremely dangerous for anyone except Kaen to touch (as Kaen is the only person who will not be burned by it). It's fire is similar to that of Kaen's shaped flames, and receives all the benefits of it, such as being stronger than an unshaped flame. Being composed of fire he is completely immune to physical attacks, but can be harmed by reiatsu attacks, and, once destroyed, requires a rerelease of Kaen's Bankai to create again (physical attacks coated in reiatsu for the purpose of increasing the blows power, will also have an effect). He is not controlled by Kaen, being an incarnation of his zanpakuto's spirit and so does not need to be given orders to fight. In fact, Kaen commonly refers to the dragon as "old man" reflecting the fact that the dragon is a separate entity from Kaen. As far as abilities, in addition to possessing physical strength and speed equal to its reiatsu strength, and sensory stats equal to its creators, the dragon's only method of ranged attack is to breathe fire. It is unaffected by moves like reiatsu crush, being composed out of a reiatsu flame.]

Zanpakuto Techniques:
[(Techniques with a * beside them can only be used in Bankai)

Flame burst-- This is the most basic attack that Kaen has in his arsenal. Exactly as it sounds like, it's a burst of flame that he launches at a target. He can control the size, and speed of the flame and can produce it instantly, making it a faster attack than shaping his flames, though weaker. In this state, the flame is unfortunately, fairly weak and operates at only 80% of the user's reiatsu strength (ie. Reiatsu strength of 100 means the flames have a RS of 80). *During Bankai, his flames no longer lose power if launched while unshaped, but do not gain any power either.

Flame shaping-- Kaen can condense and shape his flame to make it stronger. As mentioned above, he can shape his flame into nearly any form and have it take on the properties of that form. It takes one or two seconds to shape a flame, depending on the complexity of what he's shaping, and half that time in Bankai. By shaping a flame, Kaen condenses it and makes it stronger, increasing the flame's reiatsu strength by 20%, as well as giving it the properties of whatever he shaped it into.

Daihou: This is Kaen's ultimate technique, useable in both shikai and Bankai. He can perform this technique in two different ways, by either rapidly condensing his flame or creating an immense fireball. Either way, the basic premise of the technique is Kaen continuously shaping his flame and enhancing it, repeatedly strengthening it.

The advantages to this is that the flame continually becomes stronger and hotter over time, and can be charged indefinitely, potentially giving it virtually infinite strength, heat and size if permitted to be charged so long. The flame's reiatsu strength increases by 25% every post that it charges, and grows about 400 degrees (Fahrenheit) hotter per post. In terms of size, if Kaen is focusing on increasing its size, it grows by roughly 1.5 meters per post, and is capable of starting at a base size of two meters in size. However, if Kaen chooses he can forego increasing its size to double the rate at which its heat and power intensify. By condensing his reiatsu as tightly as he can, the flame's reiatsu strength increases by roughly 50% per post and grows about 800 degrees Fahrenheit hotter per post.

Naturally, such a destructive technique requires drawbacks, and this one does as well. The technique requires a full post of charging minimum before it can be fired, and requires the user's full focus. While air ground may still be used or deactivated while charging this attack, the user may not move around, and must remain stationary (again, unless airground is deactivated). This includes in response to an attack. If the user is attacked, they must launch or cancel Daihou to avoid it. Finally, Daihou is not free to use. To begin charging Daihou costs 200 reiatsu and each following post used to charge it (including the one it is fired in) costs an additional 200 reiatsu.

*Immolation: This is a devastating technique that Kaen is capable of using in his Bankai. In truth it's less of a technique and more of an application of his Bankai's abilities, but nonetheless, it should be classified as a technique. Essentially, Immolation is the act of Kaen using his ability to remotely create flames in his Bankai to create a flame around, or inside an opponent, rapidly engulfing them in flames. This ability makes fighting a close range battle with Kaen a losing proposition for most opponents.

There are a couple of limitations to this technique however. The first is that it is an unshaped flame, and therefore not as powerful as Kaen could muster. The second limitation is that they can only be created within six feet of Kaen. Although the flames could be launched at an opponent, they really lose the element of surprise that is needed for these to be effective. Secondly, although it is extremely devastating to create a flame within an opponent's body it takes roughly five seconds to do so, and the opponent will feel the heat of the flame being created at the three second mark, providing early warning of the attack. Theoretically, they could also feel the heat of the flame just moments prior to having it form around them as well, but given how quickly the flame can form in the open air, only those with truly immense senses and instinct (400+) will have any chance of reacting to them.]

Other Techniques:
[* Indicates the technique is mastered
Shunpo*
Senka*
Utsusemi*

SPOILER: Click to show

{Darting Swallow Cut*}
Technique Name: Darting Swallow Cut

Class: [3]

Technique Type: [Zanjutsu]

Technique Element: N/a

Technique Description and Effects: This is an all-out offensive technique, that is executed by slashing an opponent three times in the blink of an eye, attacking so fast the three strikes appear simultaneously. In actuality, it is the user condensing their reiatsu through their arm, briefly enabling it to move at up to 3x normal speed, to deliver these three slashes. In addition, because of the highly condensed reiatsu, cutting strength of the user’s weapon is doubled for this attack.

When fully mastered, armspeed is increased 5x and cutting strength is increased 250% for the duration of the attack.


How to use technique: The user must grip their weapon in reverse grip, and concentrate their reiatsu into their attacking arm. The principle is similar to utilizing Shunpo, just directing it through the arm instead of the legs. They then slash, starting from the left or right, and use their accelerated limb to cut the opponent three times in an instant.


Drawback: [Due to the immense strain put on the arm, using this technique risks considerable muscle damage to the user, even when mastered. No character with less than 400 strength is able to retain use of their attacking arm after using this technique for the rest of the thread.

Characters with 400 strength or more, are still limited to no more than three uses of this technique per thread, before the strain becomes too much and the arm become useless due to muscle damage. They will be able to maintain use of their arm without severe impediment after a single use, though the arm will be visibly bruised. After two uses, putting any form of strain on the utilized arm will be extremely painful, and risk further muscle damage. After three uses, as mentioned above, the arm will become useless for the remainder of the thread, due to the muscles being too torn and damaged to be used.

Also, because of the immense concentration of reiatsu, this technique is all offense and no defense. Natural defences like Cutback or Hierro are inactive for the duration of this technique.]

Made by: Kaen Youji

Reserved?: Yes

]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Barrier Stance*}
Technique Name: Barrier Stance

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Hakuda] - Kidou, Quincy Technique, Bount Technique, Human Technique, Hollow Technique, Other

Technique Element: [N/a]

Technique Description and Effects: [This is a defensive fighting stance, inhibiting the user’s mobility in exchange for a near perfect physical defense. The user focuses all of their senses on the space around them, enhancing their perception and reflexes within a short radius around the user, roughly the space of their arms, allowing them to react to attacks within this space with unexpected precision and speed. Instinct is doubled within this radius, and sensory stats are also counted as doubled with regards to sight.]

How to use technique: [The user visualizes a sphere around themselves, that extends out to around their maximum arms reach, and concentrates all their focus into this sphere around themselves, unconcerned with what goes on outside of the sphere. This technique requires at least a 2 in any hand to hand martial art to learn.]

Drawback: [Mobility is heavily restricted while using this form. In fact, when unmastered, the user is incapable of maintaining this form while moving around, and so a user must remain stationary when using this technique. Even when mastered, movement is limited to only one or two steps at a time. This form cannot be used while holding a weapon, although gauntlets, or any form of device that does not need to be held is fine. Finally, using this technique too many times will inhibit the user’s senses for the remainder of the thread. After three uses of this technique, the user’s senses will be overtaxed and their Sensory stat will drop by 10%, plus an additional 10% per use afterwards. This user will suffer similar consequences for prolonged usage of this technique. Using this technique for more than two consecutive posts, will cause the same 10% reduction in senses, with an additional 10% per additional post.]

Made by: [Kaen Youji]

Reserved?: [Yes]

]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Flowing Water Stance*}
Technique Name: Flowing Water Stance

Class: [1]

Technique Type: [Hakuda] - Kidou, Quincy Technique, Bount Technique, Human Technique, Hollow Technique, Other

Technique Element: [N/a]

Technique Description and Effects: [This is a more advanced variant of the Barrier stance and requires the user to have fully mastered the Barrier Stance before they can learn this technique. Similarly to the barrier stance, the user has to create a field of perception. However, this field is much more flexible than the traditional shield stance, and is placed precisely one inch above the user’s skin. Rather than block techniques, this is a highly mobile technique that allows the user to dodge at the last possible second, and enable more efficient counterattacks. Additionally, any openings in the opponent become more pronounced. In effect, although this does not increase the user’s senses like the last one, their instinct, while using this stance is increased 300%. Due to the enhanced reaction speed, the user also gains a 10% speed boost when reacting to an opponent’s attack (though not when freely moving or attacking themselves).]

How to use technique: [Exactly like Barrier stance, but restricting the technique to a much smaller range. User must have mastered Barrier Stance. User must have at least a 3 in any hand to hand martial art to learn this technique.]

Drawback: [This technique actually stresses the body and mind more than the senses. Abuse of this technique will lead to muscle strain and dulling of instincts. This technique cannot be employed for more than 2 posts at a time, or the user’s instincts will be reduced by 15% and an additional 10% for every post after that. Additionally, they will suffer muscle strain, and if this technique is employed for more than 3 posts, their muscles will begin to give out, reducing speed by 10% and an additional 10% for every post following. This also prevents it from being spammed on and off. Using this technique more than 2 times in a single thread will reduce instinct by 15% and speed by 10% with an additional 10% reduction to both per use afterwards. These drawbacks will last until the end of the thread.]

Made by: [Kaen Youji]

Reserved?: [Yes]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Gokuinken*}
Technique Name: Gokuinken

Class: 2

Technique Type: Hakuda

Technique Element: N/A

Technique Description and Effects: This is a technique that disrupts an opponent’s ability to use reiatsu through striking specific pressure points throughout the body. A beginner with this ability can only prevent the use of a technique launched through that body part once, but someone who has mastered this technique can cause a backlash of energy, when any technique requiring reiatsu is attempted, causing the attack to explode in the user’s face.


How to use technique: In order to use this technique, the user much have a 4 in any of the following martial arts: Karate, Dim Mak, Bujinkan Ninjutsu, Kung Fu or Aikido. The user must then strike any one of four key points on the opponent’s body, while simultaneously infusing their strikes with reiatsu. The four points are the two reiatsu vents on the user’s wrists, the Saketsu or the Hakutsui. Landing a direct hit on the Saketsu or Hakutsui will prevent any reiatsu technique from being used, while striking the reiatsu vents will only prevent the ability from being used through that limb (such as a Cero being fired from that particular hand).


Drawback: First off, this technique can only prevent one ability per use, meaning it can only prevent up to a maximum of four abilities from being used at one time (as it can only potentially hit a maximum four points at any one time). Unless mastered this technique will not do anything of harm to the opponent. Even if it is mastered, the damage suffered by the target will only be equal to half their reiatsu strength, plus the reiatsu strength of the user, meaning that fighters with lower reiatsu strength will not find this ability as effective. This technique can also, only be applied by the user’s hands, and since reiatsu must be infused into them, costs 10 reiatsu per blow, whether they connect or not. Shunpo or other stepping techniques cannot be prevented by targeting the wrist vents, only by hitting the Saketsu or Hakutsui.

Made by: Kaen

Reserved?: No

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sakuretsu Ken*}
Technique Name: Sakuretsu Ken

Class: [4]

Technique Type: [Hakuda] - Kidou, Quincy Technique, Bount Technique, Human Technique, Hollow Technique, Other

Technique Element: [Varies according to the user]

Technique Description and Effects: [The user blocks a technique barehanded and releases a small burst of reiatsu, invisible to the naked eye. At first glance this does nothing, but in fact, the user has infused their reiatsu into whatever they defended against, be it a weapon, body-part, or something else entirely. This will initially do nothing, however, if the user releases their zanpakuto within 2 posts of using this technique, they will be able to instantly transform this imparting of reiatsu into their zanpakuto’s element, and cause it to instantly erupt from within the infused object.]

How to use technique: [Exactly as stated above. Use’s zanpakuto must be capable of launching elemental attacks of any of the following elements: Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, Light, Ice, Earth, Metal (earth, ice and metal will take the form of spikes erupting from inside the object).]

Drawback: [This technique costs 150 reiatsu to use. The reiatsu released can be detected by an opponent with at least 200 in Energy Sensory, though they will not necessarily recognize what it is. Once noticed, they can completely remove this technique by expending twice the technique’s cost in reiatsu—but it MUST be done to remove this technique. For example, you cannot fire a Cero, which costs 200 reiatsu, and count it as removing the technique. The reiatsu expended must be expended with the explicit purpose of removing the reiatsu from their bodies. Having 50% higher reiatsu strength than the user will allow this ability to be removed by expending the same amount of reiatsu (150), and having double or more Reiatsu Strength will allow an adversary to do so without expending any reiatsu.

This technique will not penetrate through Cutback or Hierro, and if the user does not release within 2 posts of using this technique, the reiatsu used will dissipate with no negative effects, the reiatsu used, effectively wasted. This technique does not work if the reiatsu is infused DURING release. While it is possible to infuse the reiatsu within the target during release, the user must seal and rerelease their zanpakuto for it to have an effect. Finally, this technique is effectively deadweight on characters without an elemental zanpakuto.]

Made by: [Kaen Youji]

Reserved?: [No]

]

[Kaen Youji]

SPOILER: Click to show

{History}

-History-

Birthplace: [ Rukongai 1st District, Soul Society]

Current Residence: [ Kaen lives in two locations, really. He has a family residence outside of Soul Society, a sprawling mansion in the first district of Rukongai. Here he typically lives with his parents, his mother and father. He will live here typically for a week, once every one or two months, when off duty. As a member of Seireitei's noble family, it is a bit of a pampered life here, something that Kaen typically despises, but will put up with, due to his care for his parents. It is also because he is able to spend time with his hawk: Tsume. He is also able to spend time with Reiko. His trips here are really his R&R from his work as a shinigami.

Otherwise he spends his time in his quarters or office in the squad barracks. Kaen's personal quarters have been designed in a peculiar manner. On one side of the room is a sandbag, a small weightlifting set and makiwara. On the other is a futon with a desk and chair beside it. The chair appears relatively worn down, and the legs appear to have been reattached at some point. This was due to Kaen using the chair legs as training posts in his earlier days a shinigami. There is also a worktable in his room with various chemicals and powders laid out on them, where Kaen likes to perform little experiments on his explosives, making newer and better ones.

His office is comparatively simple. A large couch adorns one wall, specifically for when he is required to make this place his home-away-from-home. A large workdesk can be found in the corner of the room farthest from the door, and takes up a good quarter of the room. Papers are strewn across it hazaardly, drawers are left half open, or even left on the floor. It's a mess, really. Despite this, the rest of the room is clean, with a trashbin beside the desk, with various remains of food dutifully placed inside it to be removed in a sanitary manner. A large banner adorns the wall above the couch, with the 7th division insignia scrawled across it. The other side of the room has a large filing cabinet, which is actually kept quite organized, in sharp contrast to his desk. Finally, the last wall of the room is decorated with various pictures and weaponry from various locations. Though the weapons often change on the wall, European and Indian weaponry is common.]

Memorable Figures: [Former Vice Captain of Squad 7: Kaen had a friendly relationship with Squad 7’s previous Vice Captain, and bailed her out of at least one dangerous situation.

*His father: Kaen sees his father as a shining example of both the inner and outer strength that a shinigami should possess.]


History: [Before we can talk about Kaen, we have to talk about his family. The Youji clan was a noble family in the Seireitei. While not nearly on par with the 4 Noble families, it was very well respected, being distantly related to the Shiba family, before its fall (and due to its distant relations, was able to avoid its status falling with it). For generations, the Youji family served as shinigami, often earning particularly high rank by virtue of their status, but this was rarely undeserved. The Youji family had a tradition of turning out very talented individuals, and from birth, their children were reared to honor the family and become worthy of the rank their status would grant them.

Such was Kaen's life. From an early age, his status granted him priviledges most normal Rukon children, with aspirations of grandeur could only dream of. His parents had both been seated officers in their day, and so while they were his primary trainers, it was not uncommon for Kaen to be trained by Captains or Vice captains from time to time. Due to this excellent training, Kaen's early days caused him to excel. There was just one small problem.

Kaen had no skill at kido whatsoever. Even the Vice Captain of the 5th division took it upon himself once to train Kaen in the art of kido, and ultimately concluded that Kaen had no talent with kido. Kaen was unable to summon up the most basic of kido spells, or even begin the basics of kido. He could not even perform a basic Sho spell to even the sloppiest levels of adequacy. Thus, Kaen's focus turned to physical combat.

Of course, combat was far from the only thing that Kaen worked at. However, it WAS the only thing he was good at. Kaen's family attempted to impress upon him the traditions of Seireitei's nobility, to no avail. Kaen was an uncouth and rude youth, with few social graces. While he barely managed to avoid offending fellow nobles in conversation, his family lamented that his lack of skill with the tongue would be the ruin of their family. They did not know why their efforts were proving futile, though if they had kept a closer eye on him, perhaps they would have been able to stop this.

Kaen was far from an ordinary noble. His training at a young age, had instilled a sense of adventure. He had met with great men, and heard of their exploits. Kaen wanted to experience a slice of that great wide world they knew, and so, when his parents were out, or otherwise occupied, Kaen would often sneak out of the mansion and go into the streets of Rukongai, beyond the sections of mobility, joining the "normal" children. There he would play in the streets, wrestle with the "tough" kids and occasionally steal from street vendors. Kaen was a regular little rogue. Of course, his sense of duty would prevent him staying too long, and he would return home, occasionally to furious parents. They began imposing stricter and stricter security measures upon Kaen, but Kaen took it upon himself to treat these as challenges, working his way out of each cage they attempted to put him in. Finally though, they devised a cage that Kaen could not escape.

One day, as they left for a meeting with other nobles, they ordered one of their servants to tail Kaen when he left the manse. They informed him not to interfere with anything Kaen may do, but to keep an eye on him. And so he did, tailing the future heir into the dingy streets of Rukongai. And he watched in despair as the young master played with normal children, and wrestled in the dirt with them. But he followed his orders, and did as he was told, not interfering, even when Kaen returned home from playing. When Kaen's parents returned they spoke with the servant and he informed them of what he had seen.

His parents took measures that would shock and horrify Kaen when he discovered them. They hired one of his friends, a young girl named Reiko. Reiko was one of Kaen's first friends.

When Kaen had made his first excursion into Rukongai, at the age of 15, he had initially been mocked for his good kimono and noble upbringing. Besides the stories and tales of the men who trained him that he had heard, Kaen had grown to find life quite boring. Nothing happened in his life. He went to fancy dinners, he trained hard, and he studied. That was really all he felt that he did. It was certainly a priviledged life, but one he felt could be better spent. He was lonely. His only friend was a pet hawk he had named Tsuume. He would set Tsuume off to fly from one of the windows, and admired how free she was. So one day, he decided to try and attain that freedom and snuck out of the mansion and out of Rukongai's first district.

Many Rukon citizens were angered that the nobility could live so well, while many of them scrounged for a living. The class divide was wide afterall. Kaen's first attempts at befriending some of the Rukon citizens had failed utterly, and he had seen some rather unpleasant substances thrown at him by the children. He had been on the verge of giving up, and returning to his family's home, where, should it have happened, his life up until his Academy days would have been a very boring prospect, and deprive this history of some much needed entertainment.

Fortunately, that was far from the case, as Kaen had come across Reiko and her mother being held up by two thieves. Years of training under some of the best swords Soul Society had to offer came in handy, as Kaen impulsively attacked the two with a powerful blow from behind, catching one of them across the back of the neck with a Shuto (knife hand) technique. The man crumpled to the ground, groaning, and his partner reacted immediately, slashing at Kaen with the knife he had used to hold up the woman and her child. Kaen almost avoided it, the chipped blade cutting a shallow, two inch long gash in his cheek. Before he could counterattack, however, the woman cracked the thief across the back of the head with a wooden pole, sending him crumpling as well. She then attempted to move her daughter away quickly. Kaen was discouraged that even after that showing he was still disliked. Ironically though her reaction was mainly due to Kaen recieving an injury in her defense, something that she feared Kaen's family would not take well, were it discovered. As it would later turn out, they did not, and they refused any first aid treatment beyond basic cleaning to be administered to it, hoping that the scar on his cheek would teach him better. It would not, due to an event that happened on his return trip.

Just as Kaen was reaching the border between Rukongai's first district and the rest of Rukongai, the girl ran over to him, asking him to stop. Kaen turned to face her. The girl leaned over panting. "You move so fast, noble-san. I almost could not keep up." Kaen looked at her, and, at the word "noble" scowled a little. In only the few hours he had been there, he had learned to associate that term with negativity. "What do you want?" He demanded of her. He was met by a surprisingly cheerful smile."I wanted to tell you-- thank you for helping us! My mother could not have fought off those thieves alone!" Kaen stared at the girl, a blush coming into his features. He had never truly been thanked for something before. It had always been an expectation he'd do the correct thing, not something to be praised. His face broke into a smile. "You're welcome, Ms. erm...." The girl continued to beam. "My name is Reiko, noble-san! Reiko! But it can be Reiko-kun to you!" Kaen nodded and gave a slight bow back to her. "Well then... Reiko-kun. It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll be sure to come back!"

And Kaen kept to that promise. Reiko's friendship meant everything to him in those days. She was one of the first people he could call a friend. He would occasionally even bring Tsuume, whom she seemed delighted by, and this made Kaen happy. Reiko introduced Kaen to many others whom he would later call his friends, and helped him to stitch together clothing so that he would not stand out nearly so much. They had real adventures. They were happy days.

But now Reiko had been hired by his family, to work as a servant. She was well paid, had earned some of the best protection a Rukon citizen could afford, and her mother was even given a place to live not far from the Youji's manse. Although small, was far nicer than any place in her original district. Kaen was confused on many accounts, not the least of which was how his parents had managed to discover his connection. But more pressing was why they would do all this AFTER discovering the connection. All would be revealed to Kaen that night. while preparing for bed after his training, his father entered his room. He sat Kaen down on his bed and began to talk.

Kaen's father was a large and powerful man. He had a wild red hair, and a thick stubble. He served in Soul Society's 11th squad as the 10th seat. A powerful warrior indeed. Now this man had directed all his attentions on his son to inform him of the purpose behind the hiring of a regular Rukon citizen. Most specifically, Kaen's close friend. And Kaen was not going to like it one bit.

He informed Kaen that Reiko had been hired as a servant, but also as a playmate to Kaen. He could now play with his friend whenever he wanted, as long as it didn't interfere with his studies, or his training. However, if he ever attempted to escape out to Rukongai again, he would see Reiko and her mother executed. And he had the power to do this. Furthermore, he told Kaen, he would ensure his son was there to watch. To know that their painful deaths would be on his own shoulders. Their lives were in Kaen's hands now. How well would he value that responsibility?

Turns out Kaen was willing to value his friend's life pretty damn highly. He stopped running away, though this did not stop him from inviting his friends over once in a blue moon, where they would play in the streets regardless. Kaen certainly missed the more adventurous life he had lived in the Rukon district, but Reiko's life took priority over his fun. And his father had told him truly. He now had his friend living quite close! He no longer had to hide his friendship with her, and so he did not. When he was not training or studying, he was hanging out with Reiko, provided she was not also working. And his parents seemed surprisingly reasonable about it, all things considered, and did not prevent him from doing so very often.

At the age of 25, nearly 9 years after Reiko had begun to work for their family, something big happened. A group of renegade shinigami who had been hiding out in Rukongai attacked the First district, filled with the nobles of Seireitei, in attempt to drive home a message. The Seireitei began mobilizing to prevent the attack, but it would take some time. In the time it took for them to mobilize, three particularly wealthy noble families were slaughtered, and Kaen's was next on the list. Kaen was sent to hide, as, although he had been well trained, these shinigami had seen real battle, and he would not be able to win. His father and mother took up their zanpakuto and the sound of battle began to fill the house. At this point Kaen became fearful. Reiko had been working that day. He had to make sure she was alright!

Reiko had hidden herself away in a broom closet, and Kaen slid in with her. He would protect his friend to his last breath! Unfortunately, it seemed that would potentially become a requirement, as one of the intruders picked up on their panicked breathing and tore away the door. Kaen attacked instantly, planting a powerful palm strike into his assailants chest, and then driving his knee into the attacker's groin. Then he went straight into a Kao Loi attack-- grabbing the foe's head and driving his knee into their face. His vicious assault succeeded, and he watched his foe crumple from the consecutive blows.

Unfortunately, Kaen immediately felt an impact collide with his ribs and he went tumbling across the ground-- victim of the basic Sho kido spell. Kaen leapt back up to his feet, grabbing up a naginata that hung on the wall behind him and charged again. However, the shinigami then cast a Bakudo spell on him, freezing Kaen in place. He was immobile. He saw Reiko leap forwards, bringing her fist across the shinigami's chin, but she had nowhere near Kaen's training, and the shinigami barely flinched. He grabbed Reiko and slammed her against a wall. He then stepped back, preparing to finish her with a thrust through the midsection. "NO!" Kaen roared at him furiously, with such intensity, that the shinigami faltered for an instant. However, he heard the door crash open and Kaen's father appeared in the doorway, summoned by his son's cry. A second shinigami attempted to attack the officer from behind, but was dealt with by a single backhanded strike to the temple, sending the shinigami crashing to the ground.

However this distraction was enough to give Kaen and Reiko's assailant time to gather his wits and draw back his blade. He brought it chopping down on Reiko, and Kaen saw a strange blur. Blood splattered onto the ground, but instead of Reiko, it was Kaen's father who had been slashed. Using a powerful shunpo he had crossed the room and shoved Reiko out of the way. However, now he was seriously injured, an amputated arm lying on the ground beside him. Despite this, he grinned with a maniac howl of war. "Fool! You had your chance and you failed. You should have taken my sword arm! And now you will pay! Break, Katsumei!" His zanpakuto flared with a tremendous surge of reiatsu, his spirit pressure forcing Kaen to his knees and Reiko straight to the ground. His zanpakuto lengthened and changed into a Khanda-- an indian warsword. Kaen thought it was only one swing, but it was actually five, and suddenly the shinigami was on the ground in pieces.

Kaen's father rushed to his son, who was shakily climbing to his feet. Kaen, overcome by emotion embraced his father, sobbing in relief and fear. Before he could say anything though, his father struck him on the cheek. "What do you think you're doing!? Those of our bloodline never cry before others!" He roared. Kaen stared at him, stunned. His father's features then softened. "Besides, it's only an arm. Now clean yourself up. There are more yet, and they're not going to kill themselves! Grab that naginata and stay close!" Glancing at Reiko he added. "You too. Grab a weapon and come with us!" Reiko grasped a kama from her belt and went with the head of the Youji family as they fought a swathe through the invaders.

They fought into the top floors where Kaen's mother was fending off three of the attackers, at once. His mighty father broke through the door, dropping two of them in a single swing. Kaen used a single sharp thrust to impale another through the shoulder, allowing his mother to finish the assailant. She looked at his father in concern. "Darling, your arm...." His father smirked. "It's just a flesh wound. I've had worse." And, almost as an afterthought he added. "For what I saved by losing it, I would gladly sacrifice both my arms and my head." He told her, with a grin.

At this point, they heard fighting below, as Seireitei's forces finally broke into the manse and successfully subdued the attackers. In the aftermath, Kaen approached his father. Something was bothering him. He saw the powerful man sitting, and looking at his stump of an arm as if mystified that the strong arm that once sat there, no longer was. Kaen spoke up. "Honored father...." His father looked at him and nodded, as if allowing him to continue. "Why did you do that? Give up your arm for Reiko? You told me... you told me you would kill her." His father's face was grave, but then lightened into a grin. "She is a servant of this family. And as long as she is under this roof, she is family. Therefore, she is due the same protection I would give to any other member of our family. Besides! I've rather grown to like the girl! She's a good child!" He replied. Kaen stared incredulously at the man.

At this point though, his father's face became serious. "Kaen. Your time here is coming to an end. I have arranged you to begin to take official lessons at the shinigami academy." He informed him. "You will leave for the academy in one weeks time." He placed his hand on Kaen's shoulder and made eye contact with his son. "You handled yourself well today. You surpassed my expectations by far, my son. I have no doubts that you shall do this family proud. You are truly of my blood!" He praised. And then, once more as an added quip, as though he must find some way to bring his son back down to earth he added: "But your emotions must still be trained. I fear that your time that you have spent with that common rabble outside of the First District may have weakened your grasp on what is appropriate. Never forget that you are a Youji! You must live your life as such!"

Kaen did well to remember those words as he made his final preparations to begin his training at the academy. On the day he left he bid a fond farewell to his parents. Restrictive as they had been, he still loved them. He also bid farewell to Reiko, now trusting her to be safe with his family. Then he was gone, planning on walking to the academy on foot. He approached the massive gates of the Seireitei, amidst many other nobles, intending to become shinigami. They were admitted through the gate. For Kaen this was the first time he had been inside of Seireitei's walls. He was awestruck by the shining pillars, and labyrinth of buildings throughout. He could not hide the smile from his face as he and his comrades were led to the academy to begin their training.
Due to the training he had received prior to the Academy, along with his studies at home, Kaen excelled at many of his courses, notably hand to hand combat, zanjutsu, hoho, and history. However, nothing he did could assist him in his lacklustre kido skills which would potentially be his undoing as a shinigami if he wasn’t careful. Proven incapable of performing even the most basic of spells without it blowing up in his face, Kaen was in a real spot of trouble there. Although there had been some shinigami, notably those in the 11th squad that had made it through the Academy without a strong grasp of kido, somehow Kaen did not feel a calling to that division. Staring at his practice zanpakuto in his lap he considered what to do. And then it hit him. Quite nearly literally. Something shot out of the sky and impacted the wall Kaen had been standing beside with sufficient force to knock the student on his butt, eyes wide and stunned. A shinigami came running around the bend, the insignia of the 12th divison clearly displayed on his uniform. ”Hey! What do you think you’re doing here!?” He demanded. ”We’re doing some very important research in this area! Do you want to die!?” He explained to Kaen that the 12th division was working on portable explosive weaponry, so that even shinigami who were incapable at reiatsu control could have some measure of combat ability, even without kido. Needless to say this interested Kaen, so he asked further about it. Being a rather pompous and proud type, the shinigami continued to speak with Kaen, telling him much of the research they had performed. By the time was over, Kaen thought he had a decent idea of the concept, and decided to start developing his own prototypes in secret.

As a result of this, Kaen eventually made it through the academy a year earlier than most, in only four years, rather than the standard five. Now an official fledgeling shinigami, Kaen was sorted into the lower ranks of the 7th division. At the beginning, it was quite tedious of course. Kaen had to do plenty of paperwork, filing reports and the like, while not being able to do much action himself. However, reminding himself of his origins, he continued to work hard. He would not disappoint his family, and he wouldn’t ride on his name alone. He would earn his place in the Seireitei. He came from a noble family, but for the purposes of rising in the rank, he would consider himself having come from the lowest scum in Rukongai! It was for this reason that Kaen was infuriated when fellow nobles abused their rank to climb the ladder in Seireitei. He knew he was far more skilled than many of them. Some of them in fact, bordered on completely talentless! Yet because of their rank in society they were able to climb the ladder, while Kaen was stuck on the bottom for playing the “honor” card. In his heart, this began to sow the seeds of anger towards the ideals of nobles.

But, nonetheless, Kaen’s hard work paid off, and he began to climb the ladder, slowly but surely. As he grew in strength, he began to hear a voice in his mind, from time to time. But after checking in with the 4th division, it was found that there was nothing physically or psychologically wrong with him. As a result, Kaen began to believe it was his zanpakuto’s voice. One night, he went into a forest not far from Rukongai, in an attempt to communicate with his zanpakuto in isolation. He entered a meditation, zanpakuto on his lap, and after sometime he began hearing the voice again. Stronger this time than before, but he still could not make it out. Kaen left and returned to that place each night from then on in, and each night the voice of his blade grew clearer and clearer. Finally, he was able to hold a full conversation with it. After weeks of talk with it, the blade finally deigned to tell Kaen its name: Hachiryuu—the eight dragons.

With his shikai newly unlocked, Kaen’s power grew exponentially and he finally moved up in the ranks, earning a place as a seated officer. He was now sent out on more dangerous missions, occasionally even deployed into the human world to slay hollows. Kaen proved tremendous success at that. However his reckless side gradually began to show through this. During a Menos attack on the human world, Kaen took it upon himself to enter the Human World in an attempt to stall the Adjuchas class menos grande until reinforcements could arrive. Even with Hachiryuu’s shikai, Kaen was proven to be no match for the fearsome creature, and was handily outmatched by it. Only the intervention of a team of eight seated officers from the eleventh division stopped Kaen from being killed. This did little to curve Kaen’s reckless tendencies. In fact, throwing himself into such situations almost became a regular part of his training. Although dangerous, and requiring him to be pulled out of the proverbial fire by others more than once, Kaen’s strength improved exponentially, and he worked his way up through the ranks, slowly but surely—albeit considerably more slowly than if he had adopted a less risky manner of improvement.

As the years passed Kaen eventually worked his way up to the position of 5th seat in his division. He began to set his sights on greater personal heights. That is, the achievement of earning his bankai. He began to speak emphatically with his zanpakuto on the possibilities, and Hachiryuu did not accept this at first. He informed Kaen that he was by no means ready for Bankai as of yet. He was still a meagre fledgeling! His word was final, and no amount of skilled wordplay from Kaen could deter him from that decision. At last Kaen let the matter rest for the time being.

Kaen’s big promotion occurred during a mission into the human world. Accompanied by several other shinigami officers, Kaen was sent on a mission to eradicate a colony of hollows, led by what was believed to be a pair of Adjuchas level arrancar. Kaen and his team infiltrated, the team intending to eliminate the arrancar first and break down the chain of command. Unfortunately, one of the shinigami was caught in a web and dragged away by a massive spider-type arrancar, which alerted the others. A tremendous combat ensued. Hachiryuu blazed a path through the battlefield, as Kaen allowed two of his comrades to rush ahead, along with a student fresh from the academy, promising to hold off the rest of the hollows whilst they accomplished their mission. His skills were formidable. The hollows came at him many at a time, but he produced scorching flames with his zanpakuto, driving the hollows back as they came. But Kaen’s strength was not infinite and he began to tire. He heard the sound of battle at his back, and thought he heard the sound of the Academy student screaming.

Things did not go according to plan, and although the mission was a success it was a pyrrhic victory, with heavy shinigami casualties. Kaen’s prowess in the mission, however, saw his promotion to his squad’s third seat, in which his journey truly began.

Since his promotion to third seat, Kaen was opened to a whole new world of combat, earning the opportunity to spar with his squad’s Vice Captain, and with the (at the time) third seat of Squad 11, Shade Kawada, a battle which ended inconclusively. He defeated the Captain of the Second division, and quickly gained a reputation for power amongst the Gotei 13, culminating in a test of strength against two Vice Captains at once, after which Kaen barely triumphed, albeit exhausted and very narrowly avoiding being destroyed.

After some time, the Vice Captain of the Seventh division simply disappeared and Kaen’s reputation saw him promoted to the position of Vice Captain of his division. ]

[Kaen Youji]

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{Stats and Abilities}
• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {2}
• Strength of Will {2}
Total: 20]

[[Strength - 375 Points (600)
Speed - 375 Points (600)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 325 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

[Amare Mori]

Character Name: [Kaen Youji]

Previous Real Age: [165]

Current/New Real Age: [165]

Previous Age of Appearance:[/b] [19]

Current/New Age of Appearance: [1]

New History: [Kaen has trained with a number of new Vice Captains, and gone on a mission with his captain. That’s about it.]

New Powers: [

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{Esteemed Hammer}
Strike any weapon with this hammer, and the hammer will instantly copy the reiatsu strength of the weapon. Therefore, it could be quite useful against numerous defenses. This hammer is able to be held in one hand and is around five pounds in weight, so it is able to be wielded by the weakest of fighters while still possessing the capacity to shatter bones. Kaen has attached a leather cord with a loop at the end to the handle of this hammer, that he can slip his hand through, to prevent being disarmed of it.

Learned, Proficient and Mastered the following:

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{Ichinen}
Technique Description and Effects: [What does your technique do? How strong is it? What is it's range of abilities? List these things below.]

This powerful Hakuda technique is used by many Hakuda specialists. This takes the retaliation concept of Wing-Chun and applies it to Hakuda. When the enemy launches a physical attack, the user grabs a hold of their attack, and loosens up the body, becoming a single, fluid motion of instant retaliation. This is a difficult technique to respond to because of the fluidity, requiring a minimum of 100 in instinct/senses to react to.

Once this happens, the user redirects that force into a forward punch into the enemy's body. This punch has the strength of both the user and enemy layered on top of one another for extra damage due to the absorption of force.

How to use technique: [How do you use this technique? List below.]

Requires at least a 3 in Hakuda to be used. Also requires at least a 1 in any one of the following martial arts: Wing Chun, Jiujitsu, Karatedo, Kung Fu, TKD, Keysi, Hapkido, or Shotokan. Class 3+ characters only.

Drawback: [What are the disadvantages and drawbacks of your technique? Don't forget that the drawback must be equal in strength to the technique. List everything related to the drawback below.]

Physical strain of the body.

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{Sakugen}
Technique Description and Effects: [What does your technique do? How strong is it? What is it's range of abilities? List these things below.]

The user pours reiatsu into their body, and their sword, and releases it in a mighty slash attack. A small slash of reiatsu shoots outwards, and can cut with the same force as the user, if it hits. It also bypasses cutback effect, as well as comes with the user's weight. It feels like it hit the enemy with the user's body weight, on top of cutting into them or their tools.

How to use technique: [How do you use this technique? List below.]

Charge and slash in an instant.

Drawback: [What are the disadvantages and drawbacks of your technique? Don't forget that the drawback must be equal in strength to the technique. List everything related to the drawback below.]

It drains some reiatsu and some stamina, but also comes with a requirement. One must have a minimum of 200 in strength to be able to use this technique, or it is invalid and probably cannot be used.

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{Redirection}
Technique Description and Effects: [What does your technique do? How strong is it? What is it's range of abilities? List these things below.]

This is a vicious technique used by strong reiatsu beings. This allows the user to grab a hold of reiatsu, cycle the energy through their body, consume it (therefore making it theirs), and then hurl it back. In other words, one can redirect the enemy's reiatsu based attack by catching it and throwing it back either by spin or just catch and throw.

How this works has been stated above. Now, the important thing to recognize is that there are three classes to this technique. The class 3 version can catch reiatsu of any class except class 1+, and redirect it for half cost of the technique. The class 2 version can do the very same, except it layers the user's reiatsu strength on top of the enemy's reiatsu strength for the returned attack. It also uses the full cost. The class 1 version can return any technique regardless of reiatsu strength, and does so with the user's reiatsu strength layered on top of the enemy's. However, it does so for double cost, and does not work on class 0 techniques.

How to use technique: [How do you use this technique? List below.]

Stated above.

Drawback: [What are the disadvantages and drawbacks of your technique? Don't forget that the drawback must be equal in strength to the technique. List everything related to the drawback below.]

This will burn the user. It will burn their arms. It will burn their insides a bit. They will cook a little. This will strain their body and reiatsu. It can only be used once per post. It shuts off release if used 3+ times in a released state.

What kind of update: [Technique and Equipment update]

Current Rank: [Squad 7, Vice Captain]

New Rank: [N/a]

[Kaen Youji]

Character Name: [Kaen Youji]

Previous Real Age: [190]

Current/New Real Age: [190]

Previous Age of Appearance:[/b] [19]

Current/New Age of Appearance: [19]

New History: [Kaen has fought and defeated Kazuko Shiba, and Pierre Descartes-- better known as Stern Ritter G.]

New Powers:

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{Gokken}Technique Name: [Gokken]

Class: [2]

Technique Type: [Hakuda]

Technique Element: [None]

Technique Description and Effects:

This is a powerful defensive Hakuda technique which was once popular in the Soul Society. It is no longer as popular as it once was. What it does is simple.

The user need only bar their arms and cross them in front of their body to defend against an attack. If it is a physical attack, there is no reiatsu cost. The attack hits the arms, which then lash out. This causes the attack to be repulsed.

What happens is unseen. The user's body is constantly vibrating during use of this technique, and this steals and repulses the energy of the incoming attack. This makes the speed stat the important stat for this technique.

When a physical attack hits, there will still be damage if the enemy's physical strength exceeds the user's speed stat. The force of the attack will be reduced in strength by however much speed the user has. If the user has speed greater than the hit strength, the attack will be repulsed. So if it's a direct physical attack, it will cause the enemy's internals to be hit with a force equivalent to the difference in the user's speed and enemy's strength.

When reiatsu attacks hit this technique, half the reiatsu that was used for the technique is drained from the user. This takes away reiatsu strength from the attack to weaken it. The attack loses all negative effects if its reiatsu strength drops to 0. This causes the speed of the user to be subtracted from the enemy attack's reiatsu strength.

How to use technique:

There are many requirements for knowing this technique. First, the user needs to have at least a speed stat of 600. That's the first requirement. The user also needs to have at least a 3 in Hakuda.

Drawback:

Gokken does not completely negate damage. The impact force will still leave its mark. Gokken also does not repulse attacks well if their power exceeds the user's speed. It is advised to use Gokken sparingly. It can tax stamina, sure, but really its drawback is a strain on the heart. The healthy heart may be able to use it several times, but less healthy specimens will find great pains in its use.

Made by: [Unknown - On forum, made by Kento! Kenpachi Shingai.]

What kind of update: [New Technique]

Current Rank: [Vice Captain of Squad 7]
New Rank: [Vice Captain of Squad 7]

[Kaen Youji]

In accordance with the new rules regarding summons, I have discussed some changes to Kaen's Bankai with Kyo to bring it more in-line with site rules

Character Name: [Kaen Youji]

Previous Real Age: [190]

Current/New Real Age: [193]

Previous Age of Appearance:[/b] [19]

Current/New Age of Appearance: [19]

New Ideals/Personality:[/b]

[/b][/u]
Since Enma left Squad 7, Kaen has served as the impromptu leader of the squad, focusing hard on maintaining the Squad's training-- something tempered by his own laziness and dislike of responsibility. Kaen has encountered a number of promising new Shinigami such as Yetsuna Yishnir and Senshi Odayakama. He has also met with his squad's Captain Kimiko Shihoin, a Captain that he actually quite likes on a personal level, and respects for her strength, but on a professional level, has nothing but disdain for her, and does not see her as worthy of picking up Enma's mantle, adding a new facet to his inner demons.


New Powers:
Bankai Appearance: For his Bankai, Kaen undergoes a few changes. The first is that his shikai's arm brace is now on both arms. He also gains a blue shinobi gi, and two Kodachi can be seen, sheathed on his back. The most notable change in his Bankai though, is that an incarnation of his zanpakuto appears. Similar to its dragon state, his Bankai creates an immense, serpentine dragon approximately forty feet in length from head to tail, with a massive twenty meter wingspan. Its body is as thick as an oak tree, and the beast is comprised entirely out of what appears to be shaped fire. With teeth like knives and claws like swords this colossal monster is capable of shredding Kaen's foes to pieces, devouring them whole, or turning them into ash.

Bankai Overall Ability: In Bankai, Kaen's shikai powers are considerably augmented. The first notable thing about his Bankai is the expansion of the field in which Kaen can manipulate, create and shape his flames. An invisible, spherical field of roughly six feet out from Kaen in all directions is the field in which he can create and manipulate and shape his flames. As Kaen can create a flame virtually instantly, it can be an unpleasant surprise for an opponent, attempting to attack Kaen to suddenly have the shinigami create a flame around the area they are occupying. Additionally, the time it takes Kaen to shape his flames into his flame constructs, is halved in Bankai.

The heat of Kaen's flames has also greatly intensified, reaching a maximum temperature of 20,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5432 degrees Celsius). At such temperatures, Kaen can actually create a flame that can turn even metal into ashes near instantaneously. Most innate defenses, such as Hierro are completely useless against heat this intense.

Apart from this, the dragon is the biggest addition to Kaen's bankai. Burning at a constant temperature of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, it is extremely dangerous for anyone except Kaen to touch (as Kaen is the only person who will not be burned by it). It's fire is similar to that of Kaen's shaped flames, and receives all the benefits of it, such as being stronger than an unshaped flame. Being composed of fire he is completely immune to convential physical attacks, but can be harmed by reiatsu attacks, and, once destroyed, requires a rerelease of Kaen's Bankai to create again (physical attacks coated in reiatsu, will also have an effect). He is not controlled by Kaen, being an incarnation of his zanpakuto's spirit and so does not need to be given orders to fight. In fact, Kaen commonly refers to the dragon as "old man" reflecting the fact that the dragon is a separate entity from Kaen. As far as abilities, the dragon possesses a Reiatsu Strength equal to that of Kaen's shaped flame, and it possesses a strength stat of 900 and a speed stat of 600. The dragon's only method of ranged attack is to breathe fire, though this attack is capable of reaching the same temperatures as Kaen's own Bankai flames.] ]


What kind of update: [Bankai Update]

Current Rank: [Squad 7 Vice Captain]

New Rank: [Squad 7 Vice Captain]

[Kaen Youji]

Character Name: Kaen Youji

Previous Real Age: 193

Current/New Real Age: 193

Previous Age of Appearance:[/b] 19

Current/New Age of Appearance: 19

New History: Kaen has confided his concerns regarding Enma to the new Squad 7 Captain, Himitsu Kasumi'Oji. He has begun rigorous training to try and elevate himself to a level that he will be able to fight and defeat the former Captain of his division.

New Powers:

Learned, Proficient and Mastered the following techniques:

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{Shunpo Karin}Technique Name: [Shunpo Karin]

Class: [5]

Technique Type: [Kido]

Technique Element: [None]

Technique Description and Effects:

The famous "partial Shunpo" technique. This allows the user to initiate a single movement at Shunpo speed with one limb. This cannot be used without initiating the forward momentum. The user will need to move their arm the way they normally would before this technique can be activated. Momentum for this technique cannot be controlled. This means once the user initiates this technique, they cannot stop their limb from the movement.

How to use technique:

Stated above.

Drawback:

Also stated above. Higher reiatsu cost than normal Shunpo. Limit is once per post. More stamina taxing than regular Shunpo.

Made by: [Admin]

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{Hakuda Defense: Do}Technique Name: [Hakuda Defense: Do]

Class: [3]

Technique Type: [Other]

Technique Element: [N/A]

Technique Description and Effects:

It directly applies a palm to the perfectly correct spot in an incoming melee attack. This can be on an underside or at the very edge of a weapon, but it must hit the spot where the force is most vulnerable. The force immediately ceases, and the attack stops moving. It's good for making openings.

How to use technique:

Stated above.

Drawback:

It's a physical attack. No drawback.

Made by: [Sozen]

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{Gigei Mikon: Hyaku Shikon}Technique Name: Gigei Mikon: Hyaku Shikon [Wild Arts: Hundred Fangs]

Class: 3

Technique Type: Other

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects:

This technique was developed in order to increase the user's strength in hand-to-hand combat. Using this technique sends Reiatsu pooling into the muscles and joints of his arms and hands, strengthening them and increasing their resilience. By using that same Reiatsu, he sends powerful impulses to the nerves that allows his limbs to react quickly in the form of a hundred powerful punches. Each one is fired off at twice the user's current Speed stat, causing his limbs to blur as the attacks are delivered in a sudden barrage that lasts only a few seconds. Each hit’s damage is equal to the combined total of user’s base Strength and Speed after type. This causes a massive amount of damage in a short time.

How to use technique: The user focuses their Reiatsu into the arms, strengthening the muscles and bones first to prevent excessive damage from overuse of the limbs. Following that, the same Reiatsu is channeled into the nerves and causes them to fire impulses rapidly, making his limbs move quickly in the form of a hundred lightning-fast blows.

Drawback: Moving one’s limbs beyond their natural limits causes strain and damage on the muscles and bone; though Reiatsu is first channeled to prevent the worst of the damage, each use of this technique wears down the muscles and causes them to throb heavily after only one use. Two uses within five posts causes the muscles to begin tearing, and small fractures along the bone. Three uses within five posts will completely tear several muscles while cracking the bones, and any additional uses within that initial five posts will render the user's arms useless without proper healing. This technique can only safely be used eight times within a thread without healing.

Requirements: This requires a 2 in Hakuda to perform.

Made by: [Zeich Yajuu]

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{Advanced Air Ground}Technique Name: Advanced Air Ground

Class: 7

Technique Type: Spiritual Technique

Technique Description and Effects:
This is a technique designed especially for breakdancing and parkour, utilizing a more advanced version of air ground. While in a terrain where air ground exists, the user can create more complex surfaces like air walls, air ceilings, air ledges and even an air push. This allows the user to perform handstands and windmills on air as if it were normal ground or even stand upside-down on air as if gravity was reversed. The air push makes the air ground very elastic so that the user can jump higher and allows for slight movement even when restrained by a bakudou.

For a reiatsu cost of 25, the user will be able to momentarily cast an "air ground" on areas such as soul society and heuco mundo, allowing the user to "double jump" or cast shunpo in midair. If this technique is mastered, the user will be able to create air grounds that last for as long as a post. This can be used in creative ways to improve acrobatics and visual impressiveness.

Drawback: No drawback.

Created By: Shiki Kanzaki

Reserved: No

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shattering Palm}Technique Name: Shattering Palm

Class: [1]

Technique Type: Hakuda


Usable By (Technique is available to which races?): Shinigami only; Vice Captain level or higher


Technique Element: None


Technique Description and Effects : This is a devastating Hakuda technique, designed to allow a weaker fighter to defeat stronger ones, or opponents protected by powerful defensive techniques or armor. Shattering Palm is a basic strike, typically a palm strike or punch that takes the striking principle of “punching through your target” to the highest possible level. Upon striking an opponent with the Shattering Palm, the user is able to transmit a shockwave directly through the target’s body, uninhibited by Hierro, Blut, Cutback, Flex Defense or any other defensive techniques. The result is that everything behind the point of impact, such as vital organs, ligaments or their very skeleton is struck by the user’s full strength, without protection from the target's muscles or anything else. This principle makes the Shattering Palm ideal for weaker martial artists fighting stronger opponents as it negates much of the protection from their blows that the stronger opponent’s muscles would normally provide. Thus, it gets its name from the fact that it tends to shatter opponents, crushing their skeletons and organs alike in a single strike.


At a basic level, the Shattering palm can only be performed with either a palm strike or a direct punch. At an intermediate level of mastery, it can be performed with any hand strike whatsoever, and when fully mastered it can be utilized with any physical strike using the body.


How to use technique (How is it activated?): Once this technique is learned, the user can make any physical strike an application of this technique it at will, for no reiatsu cost, provided they meet all of the requirements and limitations listed below:

To even learn the Shattering Palm, the user must first possess a minimum of 10 Skill Points in hand to hand martial arts. Of these 10 Skill Points, at least 4 must be put into a striking style martial art. They must also possess enough strength to be able to generate shockwaves (a minimum of 600).


Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc): Once this technique is learned, as long as the character has it, they are no longer able to use long range shockwaves through the air. The training to develop the control for this technique renders the act impossible. Shockwaves may still be used through the ground or water like the earthquake stomp, and the user is not incapable of performing very generalized effects (such as using the wind generated by their swings to clear away a cloud of sand or fog), but actually causing damage with their shockwaves alone, at long range becomes impossible. This technique requires significant focus and perfect form to use correctly, and as such, striking with poor technique, or with a disrupted psyche renders the technique unusable. This technique cannot transmit the shockwave through any empty space greater than one inch, therefore if more space than that exists between the point of impact and its intended target (in the case of hitting something like armor or a shield for example), the attack will not reach them.


This technique does require more effort and control than a normal punch or kick, and some minor muscle damage is accumulated with each use, to the offending limb, which will be exacerbated to moderate muscle damage after three uses with the same limb, and severe muscle damage after six uses. The limb can still perform one more application of this technique after reaching severe damage, but will shred the muscles in the arm, and it will become nearly useless for the remainder of the thread, unless treated. Not that this damage is cumulative with the strain from other Hakuda techniques.

It should be important to note that this is not inherently some death touch technique where landing a hit anywhere on the opponent's body will strike every organ inside them with your full striking force. The shockwave generated by Shattering Palm will only travel in a straight line, and will remain the size of the point of impact. That is to say, if the user strikes the target with their fist, the shockwave will be the size of the fist, and travel in a straight line, in the direction of the user's force, meaning in order to actually damage someone's internal organs, the user does have to make sure those organs are lined up behind the point of impact. You can't deliver the shockwave to someone's heart by punching them in the shoulder. A useful rule of thumb for determining what the shockwave hits is to visualize what would be hit if the character’s attack went straight through the opponent.


Incantation and Effect: N/a


Made By: Kaen Youji


Reserved?: No

Total Cost: 1380 TTP





What kind of update: [Technique Update]

Current Rank: [Squad 7 Vice Captain]

New Rank: [Squad 7 Vice Captain]

[Kaen Youji]

Character Name: [Kaen Youji]

Previous Real Age: [193]

Current/New Real Age: [194]

Previous Age of Appearance:[/b] [19]

Current/New Age of Appearance: [19]

New Ideals/Personality:[/b]
Kaen has finally broken free of the cloud of depression that surrounded him! His cynical, depressed mindset is completely wiped away, and he's back to his old self. Mostly at least. Though Kaen is still at least a little ashamed of his previous actions, he's not letting them hold him back in pursuing his new goals and aspirations. Or at least start looking for one.

New History:
Despite briefly occupying a very cynical and vengeance-driven mindset, as he strove to develop the strength to avenge the supposed death of Rin Minamimoto, he was rather surprised to walk into a kido lecture hall, and find his former Vice Captain present! Only a few minutes in her company was sufficient to completely drive Kaen's previous depression away. He's not 100% back to normal, and he's still more than a little ashamed as to his past actions and plans, but Kaen Youji is back! He's also spent considerable time hanging out with and bonding with other Vice Captains.

New Powers:

• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {2}
• Strength of Will {2}
Total: 20

[[Strength - 375 Points (600)
Speed - 375 Points (600)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 325 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

What kind of update: [Rank and Stat Update]

Current Rank: [Squad 7 Vice Captain]

New Rank: [Squad 7 Third Seat]

[Kaen Youji]

Character Name: [Kaen Youji]

Previous Real Age: [194]

Current/New Real Age: [196]

Previous Age of Appearance: [19]

Current/New Age of Appearance: [20]

New Ideals/Personality: Kaen has come to terms with a lot of facts about himself. He's been forced to take a long hard look in the mirror, and decide who he wants to be and what he needs to be. Although he still intends to serve the interests of his former Vice Captain, rather than simply being a "fan", he aims to stand as her equal, and is taking steps to visualize what that means. This time he is taking the Vice Captain position to serve the interests of his division but also as a stepping stone to climb up to finally claim the mantle of Captain of the 7th Division from its current holder.

New Appearance:

New History:

New Powers:
[Skills:

• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {2}
• Strength of Will {2}
Total: 20


Stats:

[[Strength - 375 Points (750)
Speed - 375 Points (750)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 325 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

What kind of update: Rank and Stat Update

Current Rank: 3rd Seat

New Rank: Vice Captain