Nakajima Kimiko [Shinigami Hopeful, Squad 11]

[Nakajima Kimiko]

[ O P E N I N G ]

Discord/Chatango Username (include nicknames): Genka#0572

Password 1: Black Hole

Password 2: Moon Pray

Type: Fighter Version 2

Squad: Squad 11

Rank: Shinigami Hopeful - Academy Student (8)

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[ B A S I C   I N F O R M A T I O N ]

Name: Nakajima Kimiko

Age of Death: 20

Real Age/Age of Appearance: 20/20

Birthday (Month/Day): 09/28

Blood Type: B+

Themes

• General: No More Heroes - Do Not Destroy
• Battle: No More Heroes - Season of the Samurai
• Shizukakane Shikai: Street Fighter V - Ibuki Theme
• Taishokukane Shikai: Street Fighter V - Kage Theme
  
• Dual Shikai: Street Fighter V - Main Menu Theme
• Bankai: Super Paper Mario - World of Nothing

RP Sample (Optional)

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Final Fight}

"Tch."

A single noise resonated throughout a sunny battlefield almost voided of the life that once filled it. It was a noise of struggle, disappointment, perhaps even akin to a nearing defeat, and it came from one of the only two fighters that now remained within the area. She was a woman in her early twenties at best with flowing red hair wearing what seemed to be an ancient kimono of red and blue, which surprisingly made for a rather-intimidating sight. In her hands she held a Japanese blade, a typical katana of times long passed, and much like how she herself currently was, it was covered in what seemed to be blood. Should a passerby gaze upon her being, they would most certainly feel fairly intimidated now, enough so to most likely immediately turn tail and run away, though it would most likely not be because of her appearance; rather, it would instead be because of the atmosphere that reigned between her and the armored being that stood before her.

As it stands, it wasn't her opponent's blade that covered her body, but rather her own. Her opponent- a large man clad in a suit of white metal from head to toe which beamed with a mighty air to it - only stood watch with what seemed to be pride and accomplishment for what he has done to the red-haired warrior so far. His claymore was in pristine condition despite it being also stained with blood, and although a few scars and scratches had pierced through the steel of his mighty defense, it was quite clear that he had the advantage in this fight. The worst part about it all was that he was clearly aware of it, else he would not just stand there and admire his handiwork, not while the woman was open the way she was now. It was as if he was taking his time in enjoying this sweet victory of his, something which admittedly quite annoyed his rival.

"Ha-ha! My expertise knows no bounds!" The man would exclaim as he took a pose, his almighty blade now pointing towards the bright sun. For a moment, it almost seemed though golden rays of light would shine upon his body in the process. "Hearken to me, fiend, and I shall deliver to you sweet release!" He continued to ramble on as he then spun his blade before allowing it to rest upon his broad shoulders. The woman, in the meanwhile, was of course not amused, which was an expected emotional reaction when it came to being disrespected in such a way. However, all this time the knight has spent mocking her efforts to take him down was enough to give her the means to plan what to do next. It will not be easy, oh no, but should it be successful, she will triumph over his carcass and leave this wretched place victorious.

"Hmph, don't waste my time..." the woman would first declare as she straightened herself, running a hand throughout her hair in the process. Much like the knight had himself taunted her, she was going to taunt him back. In response to this, the knight immediately kicked the ground forward and attempted to swing his blade towards her head. It was a fast attack, a forward slice that had good reach and momentum thanks to his previous movement. There was no respect to be had in his attack, no honor, only mockery and an attempt to declare himself as the superior fighter. In all fairness to his cause, it was the ideal time for him to strike: her action had arguably left her even more open than before and all he really needed to finish her off was one single strike. Just one strike, just one feeble attack, and then he could be crowned king among peers and countrymen alike!

And yet, victory did not come. As his blade swung forward, it missed. The woman had lightly moved back, enough so for the sword to pass inches in front of her nose, but not far enough to even touch her. Before the knight could follow this mistake with another attack, the samurai had already rushed ahead. In what seemed to be only but within a matter of a few seconds, the arrogant paladin was delivered an onslaught of attacks both high and low. It was all done so quickly that he did not even have but a second or two to react properly. Sword swing after sword swing he suffered, with sometimes even kicks and blunt hilt strikes to boot, as pieces of his suit started crumbling down onto the ground below from the damage it received. Eventually, the woman's blade started piercing the chainmail that lied underneath the man's armor, and by then, it was already over. Powerless, he saw his life quickly being drained away from the many blows he received, and by the time all of his armor had been stripped from him, he let one final cry of pain before falling onto the ground, beaten.

The samurai stood above him with a tired, yet confident gaze now. It seemed that her simple, albeit efficient plan had somehow succeeded. With a swipe, she cleaned the newfound blood off of her long blade, then sheathed it back within the scabbard at her hip with a stylish twirl. Once done, she gave the knight one last look before giving him a smirk. "Is that all? Pathetic. I told you not to waste my time," she declared then before she then started to walk away from the wounded knight now fated to die, satisfied with her victory. As she did so, there would seem to be howling in the distance, cries of joy but also one particular voice that took her back to another world, a world that she currently inhabited, a world where... she stood right in front of the screen of an arcade machine right beside a man who was definitely not happy about what happened there.

"God damn it!" the man shouted in disarray, shaking his head as he turned his gaze away from the screen all the while his adversary, a woman with short and unkempt black hair, merely watched him with a light yet satisfied smile. "How the... Damn it! That's literally impossible, Theodore is top tier! How do I keep losing to a freaking Taiga!?" He'd huff in complete discontent as he turned towards the spectators giving him a good stare that was clearly once appreciative of the woman's victory, but soon thrown off by the man's childish tantrum. Soon enough, the man picked up a bag that he had set by the arcade machine and he started to walk away. "Screw you guys, I'm going home! And when I come back, I'm kicking your ass, Naka!" He'd point a finger at the woman before he then truly left the scene, leaving the crowd to then resume their previous cries of hype and excitement.

Naka, in the meanwhile, merely watched him go with a shake of the head. She was not impressed at all by his attitude, but she nevertheless could not at all take away the credit of such a beautiful comeback. Sure, she would have much appreciated if the whole match would have gone so well for its entirety, but it at least ended on a good note. This is what happens when a simple newcomer who sticks to the most powerful tools that a game can offer does not possess all of the capabilities to take down a fighter who is simply more skilled in comparison. "Alright, well, see ya, I guess," she would give him a light wave as he left, then stretched herself before taking a look at the watch attached to her right wrist. The evening had already come, as it seemed. "Hm... Okay, that's gonna be it for me. One of you guys can take my place," she told the spectators before she picked her own bag and left the place. Arcades are nice, but avoiding the wrath of her parents for returning home after curfew was a fair bit nicer.

Oh well, diner's going to be enough to satisfy her if that happens. Good thing her parents can't resist against the thought of leaving her hungry after a scolding.

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[ A P P E A R A N C E ]

Height: 6'2''
 

Weight: 150 lbs

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Red

Physical Description

Kimiko appears much as how she has appeared within the Human World before her death: a young and fit Asian woman who was just starting her twenties. Thanks to all the Kendo practice that she has done while she was still alive, she sports a toned body designed for swordplay, thus gifting her with impressive physical strength residing within her arms. For one of Japanese descent, she is a notably tall person with a long pair of legs. Paired with her slender hourglass figure, this can make her appear as a rather intimidating figure depending on the circumstances, but most of the time, it only attracts attention, which is unfortunately not something that Kimiko always want to have to deal with. This matter worsens whenever she gets the attention of people that only care about her other sizes, which could be described as ample and generous for her age.

Even if one would ignore her sizes, however, it could be said that Kimiko would have attracted attention anyway due to her looks. In the past, she used to possess a long and feminine hair style which she made sure to maintain very well during the course of her childhood. However, as she reached her teenage years and grew more rebellious, she decided to instead adopt a shorter, more unkempt style which fitted her new tomboyish side. Although it definitely makes her look slightly scarier especially in battle, the hair fitted well with her scarlet eyes, giving them a curious gaze as they pierce through the bits of hair that would at times pass in front of them. It certainly makes her look more alluring and noteworthy than most.

Usually, Kimiko's posture fits her personality rather well. Most often than not, it will take a slouched appearance with a laid back tone even though she will at times try her damnedest so stand as straight as she possibly can in front of her superiors. This extends to the way she moves and speak, which is more often reserved with her arms positioned near her sides or crossed underneath her chest. It is while she sits on a surface that things start becoming more complicated. She will at times cross her legs on a chair, push her foot against the nearest wall, press her chin against the table with her arm positioned right underneath it. No one can really tell how she is going to sit on something until she, well, is simply told to sit normally, which is why she will typically instead adopt a more traditional posture.

Within battle, however, Kimiko tends to appear far more focused and intimidating. Her eyes become wider, colder, almost as if frozen within an eternal glare, and a light smile breaks through her usually-relaxed visage. Her posture becomes more tense, with an arm always nearing her blade and an almost-malicious atmosphere seemingly surrounding her being. It was what made her appear so superior while fighting people in Kendo or playing against other players at the arcades, and it is what is probably going to make a few Hollows - and also perhaps a few sparring partners - question what kind of Shinigami they are exactly facing.

When it comes to the matter of clothing, it all boils down to where Kimiko really is. Before her time as a Shinigami, she was used to wearing a very simple and perhaps lazy style consisting of a shirt and pants which were both rather unfitting for a woman to wear among the crowds of Rukongai. Now that she is a Shinigami, this has slightly changed. When residing within Soul Society or heading out for missions in the Human World, she typically wears a sleeveless version of her Shihakushō robes over a white shirt, black trousers and a wooden pair of geta sandals. Attached to her obi sash is the scabbard of her blade, Shizukakane, and later on her second blade, Taishokukane, though Kimiko sometimes will casually detach them from the sash to instead hold them in her hands. The whole get-up is still slightly masculine, but it is perhaps a little bit less aggravating now for some.

In contrast, whenever she is in the Human World while using a gigai, she tends to stick to the same trends she once followed, meaning a t-shirt, a pair of jeans and sports shoes. Yes, that is arguably a masculine trend and no, Kimiko doesn't care that it is. Most of the time, she will change her top so as to make sure she never wears the same one twice in a row. At times, it will display a single word with bright, bold characteristics, but at other times, it will instead portray a more defined design. The jeans, whoever, will never change. Ever. And neither will the sports shoes. If she finds a favorite pair of either of them, it will be instantly noticeable. Around her right wrist will always rest a modern digital watch for her to take notice of the time, though she mostly wears of style rather than necessity.

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[ P E R S O N A L I T Y ]

Dislikes

• Dishonor: Speaking of which, it is difficult to tell what would happen should someone dare to commit an act of dishonor right in front of Kimiko. This can take many forms, but it generally centers around dishonor in battle rather than necessarily within tradition. As such, things such as underhanded tactics, attacks from behind, surprise ambushes and the use of sensory illusions are not condoned by the swordswoman, going as far as to personally refer to them as abhorrent and cowardly tools a warrior should never have to rely upon.
  
  
• Disrespect: Although disrespect could technically be qualified similarly as dishonor, Kimiko does not value these two things as identical concepts, seeing as she can still respect someone even if she personally finds their fighting style to be disgusting. On the other hand, a disrespectful opponent who does not value the power of their adversaries nor their respective abilities will find mutual disrespect in the swordswoman. Most fortunately, she does not tend to get too fed up by such an attitude if it comes from Hollows, as she cannot really blame them for acting the way they do. The same cannot be said for fellow Shinigami, Quincy, Vizored and other beings capable of proper self-control.
  
  
• Cowardice: The greatest affront to any warrior there is in all of the realms, especially Kimiko, is to show cowardice. Whenever a battle is started, the swordswoman believes that every participant of that fight must see it to its end with strength and dignity. In her eyes, to show cowardice is to prove to your opponent that you are weak and unworthy of your capabilities, no matter how good they may have been to you in the past.
  
  
• Corruption & Injustice: Oh, how easily one can abuse the law to their own benefits. Corruption and the abuse of the legal system are both things that Kimiko loathes to no end, especially if it is all done for nothing more than either a monetary or purely political reason. It does not matter if the person committing such acts is important or not, be they noble or not, the only thing that they will get from Kimiko is a rain of sarcastic comments.
  
  
• Cheating: Kimiko sees the act of cheating as being the very highest form of disrespect one can have over another being. It does not matter whether it is cheating within a game or going against a rule specifically made for a fight that promotes the goodness of battle: she simply cannot stand the thought of trampling all over the concept of fair play. Cheat in front of her and it might be guaranteed that you will simply be forever branded as a "lame" person by the swordswoman until apologies are made.
  
  
• Lying: The swordswoman simply cannot enjoy the act of lying. She simply can't. No matter how many times she may convince herself that lying would be the best course of action in a particular situation, she will always eventually admit the truth even if it gets her into trouble. Likewise, if she believes that admitting the truth is always good, then so should others. Honesty will always bring you on a better path than insincerity, no matter how hard it hurts you in the long run.
  
  
• Denizens of Hell: Kimiko reserves a particular hatred for those who remain within the pits of Hell. More often than not, there is a good reason as to why its denizens end up there to rot for the rest of their pitiful existence. They are murderers, war criminals, psychopaths and usually living beings that do not deserve being part of Soul Society. Really, the most of them are people that ideally should never be part of any society, be it earthly or not, so Kimiko believes. For now, there is no hint as to the fact that opinion may change any time soon.
  
  
• Quincies: Much like many Shinigami, Kimiko cannot respect the will of the Quincy and thus also believes in the destruction of Wandenreich for the greater good. Despite the fact that she agrees that Hollows must be stopped, that does not mean that they must be destroyed as it is part of the natural process for these beings to be guided away from the world between worlds. Break that process and it could very much threaten the fickle balance that forms the totality of the realms' souls. There is no argument to be had, no conversation to be started, no matter how terrible Hollows may be. That is just how things are and that is how things should remain, period. That, and Quincies favor bows, so that is enough for Kimiko to hate them right away.
  
  
• Ranged Combat: Kimiko absolutely cannot bring herself to enjoy the idea of using ranged weaponry or techniques in a battle. A warrior at heart, she sees bows, guns and magic such as Kido to be ultimately unwieldy for her own person. She finds them to simply be too disrespectful to her opponent, even if said opponent tends to be the lowest of the low or nothing more than a stray Hollow. Talk about a knightly, honorable fellow.
  
  
• Paperwork: The constant school work that Kimiko has had to do in her past life in the Human World has brought her want to deal with any official paperwork to a very low point. She can tolerate working on such things for a period of time, but after said period has passed, her motivation and dedication to the paperwork will gradually lessen until she will eventually become frustrated by it. This includes the act of writing down reports to her superiors, which she will often attempt to make them look as good as possible to her own mental detriment.
  
  
• Piercings: Something about piercings creeps Kimiko out up to a point that it almost breaks her usually-calm attitude whenever she is around someone who has but a single one of them. To her, they look odd, unnatural and downright ugly, even if she will not voice her dislike for the style in front of said someone. Why would you want to deliberately shove a piece of metal into your ears or face, or worse, your lips or nose? Ew! Disgusting!
  
  
• Flashiness: Kimiko absolutely cannot stand everything whose sole design aspect is to appear as flashy as possible. Bright neon colors, "art" which depicts characters so over-the-top that it makes it all more annoying than entertaining, and loud people who seem to react in a way to desperately attract everyone's attention towards them make the swordswoman so deeply uncomfortable that they easily all can be qualified as being among her sources of anger. If that is how positive attention is meant to be gained, then she'd rather never be popular.
  
  

Likes

• The Bushido Code: The rules of Japanese chivalry have always been a matter of interest for Kimiko. Ever since she was partly introduced to them at a young age back when she still practiced Kenjutsu in the Human World, she has held respect for its rules and virtues that she never had the chance to successfully replicate as a student. Now that she has died and passed on into Soul Society, she believes that she can now somewhat follow its rules to become a true warrior.
  
  
• Swords: Be it because of movies, videos games or simply ancient Japanese history, Kimiko is almost downright obsessed with the concept of swords. If anything, she is so enamored by their existence that they - and therefore, her Zanpakuto - have become a noticeable part of her identity. She likes their pointy bits, their sharp sides and the simple elegance that come along with them, be they the distinct katanas of her native country, the medieval blades of the West and even the more unknown variants out there that some may not even be aware of.
  
  
• Pre-Modern Architecture: Kimiko was always drawn to the architecture that was most prevalent before the rise of the current urban era. From ancient European castles down to the slightly-more recent oriental manors which instead populated Japan, she always found their looks to be more aesthetically pleasing. That is not to say that she necessarily dislikes the rougher and more concrete-filled looks of modern Human cities, but this fact easily makes her more allured by the likes of Soul Society in comparison to modern Tokyo.
  
  
• Fighting: Someone who has such a liking for bladed weaponry surely cannot dislike the idea of fighting now, eh? Kimiko adores fighting. Although she does not always wish for it, her love for battle is not really a secret. Whether it be because of the idea of becoming more powerful, to prove that she is truly the best fighter around, or really because she simply wants to win in some way or another, the young woman will never not appreciate a good fight.
  
  
• Video games: As to be expected, Kimiko's liking for battle easily translates to video games. Ever since her very young years, she has always been a great fan of games which contain at least a minimum of action. To her, every video game is a battle for her to partake in, even if they may look as silly as one depicting the tale of a plumber saving a princess by bumping his head against every block in his path, or something more serious like the adventures of a party of four tasked in saving a realm from its destruction. Of course, quite unsurprisingly, fighting games are amongst her favorite.
  
  
• Shonen Anime & Manga / Comic Books: Giant robots with laser swords! Aliens from outer space destroying planets with a single punch! A man struck by lightning capable of reaching unrivaled speeds! All of those things have had a great imprint on Kimiko's cultural knowledge of modern times and she really could not like them more so than she does now. The idea of beings with superpowers somehow existing and thus proving that such powers can be realistically achieved have been a great source of inspiration for her, and now that she is in Soul Society, this idea has now become reality. As such, one could technically say that her life has now become a manga! Too bad it required her to die for that to happen.
  
  
• Samurai & Martial Arts Movies: Visual works which depict the movement of ancient samurai warriors or people who are capable of destroying entire armies with only but their fists always brought Kimiko's jaw right against the floor. If she could, she would probably watch those movies dozens and dozens of times without ever looking at the time flying by. They can be schlocky, they can be full of cliches and bad narratives, but as long as they are full of good action, they will immediately grab Kimiko's attention.
  
  
• Literature: Naturally, Kimiko's liking for comic books and manga partially extends to proper novels. She likes reading adventure flicks and mystery, be they Japanese or foreign, and also has a penchant for anything fantastical. Additionally, she also enjoys reading books depicting ancient history to expand her knowledge of the world, especially now that she is part of one that she did not even know existed prior to her death.
  
  
• Rock Music: Kimiko likes a good amount of music genres, but she is especially a rock fan thanks to all the exposure that she's had to it during her youth. She enjoys the crunchy and metallic noises of the electric guitar much like many who respect the genre, but she has a particular affinity for drums that she unfortunately never really had the pleasure to enjoy in the Human World due to her busy schedule. Maybe one day, she'll get one all for herself in Soul Society.
  
  
• Pizza: One of the most popular meals in the western world, pizza has always been one of Kimiko's absolute favorite fast food recipes. If she ever has the choice to eat pizza rather than anything else, she will always opt to eat as many slices of it all as possible. Yes, that is even despite everyone telling her that it would probably benefit her body to stay away from the stuff. It may make her fatter if she doesn't keep up with training, but it may never taste bad.

• Quietness & Solitude: For someone who likes rock music so much, Kimiko arguably enjoys quietness even more. It is not rare for the young woman to sometimes head into a quieter place for her to focus better onto whatever she is doing at the time. It is also not rare for her to go to these quiet places to distance herself from others so as to bring peace to her lone mind.
  
  
• Pet Animals: Much to the damnation of her father who never ever wished to have one, Kimiko has always wanted to own a pet animal, most preferably a dog or a cat. Although she is aware that they do not own a conscience that is great enough to allow for proper conversations, she sees them as a person's best friend and usually greatly enjoys their company. When in their presence, she will generally feel much happier and will eventually attempt to pet them.
  

Flaws

• Honor Before Dishonor: Kimiko's ultimate dislike for dishonor and slight want to adhere to the laws of Bushido has led her to never wish to act in a way that she would find to be dishonorable or, in her words, "incredibly lame". She, for example, cannot adhere to the mere concept of sneaking around and she also is unable to create strategies that would involve her or even her comrades to attack in any other way but the front of an enemy. This dislike has grown to such a point that doing such things makes her feel emotionally depressed and drained to the point of uselessness.
  
  
• Obsessed with Success: Kimiko has always striven to be successful in everything she does, or at least be as successful as she possibly can with whatever comes in contact with her. No matter what she may face, be it paperwork or a proper combat scenario, she will always try to win. Defeat is never an option, even if the victory that she may achieve leads her onto a more dangerous path than the former. Much like her liking for honor, this can lead her to make decisions that could easily be considered as baffling and maybe even irresponsible.
  
  
• Without Limits: Although it is perfectly okay to always do your best in any situation, Kimiko takes this concept a little bit too far due to the aforementioned issue. No matter what the situation may be, the young woman will always give it her all. On one hand, this is a good thing as it can lead her to abrupt and perhaps easy victories, but on the other hand, it can also easily lead her to overestimate what she is facing and therefore make her spend more energy than what is truly needed. 
  
  
• Restless: It is not hard to imagine that an individual that is as focused and driven by success as Kimiko would be unable to really stand still. To say that it is difficult for the girl to relax is an understatement. She is almost completely incapable of simply doing nothing. In her own opinion, if something must be completed before a due date, then it absolutely must be completed as soon as possible, regardless of her own state. Tiredness is, after all, not an excuse for failure.
  
  
• Lacking Self-Confidence: Quite unfortunately, this obsession with success has also led Kimiko on a path of constant self-deprecation. No matter how many times she may succeed, she will most often believe that her victories were the fabric of a stroke of luck more so than skill unless she was more or less already declared the winner from the very start. Additionally, this has also led her to even criticize some of the aspects of the more mundane parts of her daily life, such as the amount of time taken to read a book or the level of exhaustion she feels after training.
  
  
• Socially Awkward: Talking and socializing has never been Kimiko's forte. Although she is capable of making friends and can be part of a conversation, she typically prefers to remain quiet as she is afraid of saying something by accident that she might either regret or be ridiculed by. As such, she often talks in an almost-mumbling fashion and could perhaps be considered to be a little bit evasive depending on the subject of the gossip.
  

Habits

• Training: Her quest of mastering the art of swordsmanship of course requires lots and lots of training, something which Kimiko is more than ready to do as she believes there is not much else for her to do in Soul Society. Her training schedule mostly consists of physical exercise due to her refusing to learn any Kido and so is composed of many sets based upon those learned in the Human World and a few more that can be used in Soul Society thanks to the new properties of her body.
  
  
• Making Schedules: Kimiko has long grown used to the act of making schedules so that she can at least have some time for herself whenever possible. She will always record the deadlines of the tasks that have been given to her somewhere and she will make sure that those deadlines are met successfully.
  
  
• Humming: Kimiko most often can be found lightly humming songs whenever she is not around too many people, many of which being of the rock genre. Depending on how recent she may have heard a song, the frequency in which she hums said song may change, though it is easy to tell what her favorite tracks are thanks to how many times she hums them per day.
  
  
• Air Drumming: Although a little bit rarer than her humming, air drumming is something that Kimiko does whenever she is a bit bored or needs to relieve a little bit of tension. This usually takes the form of banging a nearby structure with either her fingers or a small pointy object akin to sticks or pens. She will sometimes also do it in battle by lightly tapping her fingers against the hilt of her Zanpakuto, though this only really happens when she is part of a very tense fight.
  
  
• Reading: Whenever she is not training, Kimiko will most likely be found reading a book instead. Let's just say that interrupting her reading will be enough to severely annoy her. Most of the books that she tends to read are pocket editions that can easily be carried onto her person for the sole purpose of being able to read them everywhere, though she can at times decide to read larger works while in Squad 11's barracks.
  
  
• Theorizing Battle Scenarios: It might be a strong word to qualify the thoughts that plague Kimiko's mind at times, but she often theorizes battle scenarios to see what she could do to beat an enemy. Things such as the speed that is needed to counter attacks, the opponent's use of weapons that she will need to take into account during a fight, and the spiritual pressure exhumed by said opponent are all variables taken into account here. Ironically enough, most of the strategies that she comes up with end up never being used, as they simply become either useless or irrelevant in a real fight.
  

Fears

• Loss: Although she prefers not to show it in front of others, Kimiko is often afraid of what would happen should she lose a loved one, a friend or even so much as an acquaintance. This does not necessarily imply something as tragic as the death of the person in question as it can instead take the form of loss through something much more mundane, such as never seeing a friend again due to them moving to a different location or, worse, a quarrel bringing an end to her relationship with said person. Usually, whenever such a thing tends to happen, the young woman will be visibly down and saddened by what's happened, bringing her away from matters at hand.
  
  
• Failure: Failure is never fun. Typically, one always strives to avoid it, especially if they possess some sort of conscience. This is especially noteworthy in Kimiko's case. Thanks to the hardships conveyed by the demands of her family and her past stressful school life, she has grown a deep fear for failure and so will always attempt to avoid it. Back in the Human World, this took the form of unending study until she was absolutely certain that she could remember everything that she needed by heart. Now, as a Shinigami, it is what fuels her training.
  
  
• Rejection: Being accepted is one of Kimiko's ultimate goals whenever she happens to become part of a new community or clique, and as such, the fear of being rejected due to something she has done is always omnipresent. Whenever she has done or said something that could be considered to be embarrassing, she typically starts carefully choosing her words in hopes that she won't receive any backlash from them, making her appear somewhat less natural. This problem becomes much worse when it involves a romantic relationship.
  
  
• Death: The shadow of death has always been a darkness that Kimiko had hoped to avoid for as long as possible. She had thought she could have lived long and prospered as an adult woman to finally be done with all of those duties after a good fifty years or so. Unfortunately, it swooped by much earlier than expected and snatched all of those dreams away. It all ended so abruptly that Kimiko now fears death more than ever. Once she dies as a Shinigami, she will be resurrected and all that composes her being will simply vanish to form a completely different person. She will not let that happen, not until she concludes she has lived a long and prosperous life.
  
  
• Seeing Her Parents Again: If there's some people in the Human World that Kimiko wishes to never meet again, her parents would be among them. The swordswoman was never on their good side. No matter how hard she worked at school and no matter how high her grades were, they simply would never accept her as being part of their family. As such, if they couldn't accept her then, why would they do so now? All she would get from them is nothing more than scathing remarks and a constant need to have her on hold. No. No more.
  
  
• Small Insects: For some reason or another, Kimiko has always had a fear of bugs that are smaller than her own size. She sees them as incredibly disgusting and cannot stand the thought of having one rest upon her shoulders, even if said insect happens to be a peaceful one like a butterfly or an ant. In her words, "if the barracks ever become infested with spiders, I swear to the Soul King, I will force myself to learn Kido to burn it all down". 

Goals

• Ultimate Swordsmanship: The dream of all swordsmen is to become the very best like no one ever was, and as an aspirant swordswoman herself, Kimiko is no exception to that rule. Fueled by her constant need for success, she strives everyday to achieve unrivaled greatness when it comes to the art of sword-wielding. It may take a while, perhaps even centuries of training, but nothing will stop her from straying away from that goal, no matter how long it may take her to reach it.
  
  
• Authority: Ever since she was able to get a good understanding of the Gotei 13's ranking system, Kimiko has always imagined herself being in a position of power. She doesn't necessarily want to become a leader per say, but people respecting her and potentially working for her to at least reduce the amount of paperwork that she has to do every now and then is a very fun thing to think about. Maybe it'll happen eventually. Who knows.
  
  
• Recognition: With authority, Kimiko of course also wants the recognition that usually is tied to it. For most of her life so far, the young woman had never really tried to turn herself into someone that is easily recognizable, or better yet, even noticeable. She was always that one student who just preferred to merely work on the duties given to her and that was it. Well, she now plans to rectify that mistake through her swordsmanship! The greatest swordswoman of Rukongai... Now that would be a great title.
  
  
• Equality: Despite what the Gotei 13 constantly declares as absolute facts that are never to be questioned, Kimiko does not believe that all Vizored are necessarily evil. Sure, the whole idea of combining Shinigami and Hollow is rather creepy, to say the least, but it does not seem as though all of them deserve to be underneath such a bad spotlight; after all, unlike the latter, they do possess a conscience and are thus capable of discerning right from wrong. Furthermore, it may one day be necessary for Soul Society to reveal itself to the Human World depending on the threats the realms' may face down the line. As such, if it ever becomes possible, she would be totally for the creation of an alliance combining all of the forces of the Gotei 13, the Vizored warriors and the Human armies in order to further control the balance of souls forever threatened by the selfish goal of the Wandenreich and the more dangerous Arrancar, but also more importantly to normalize relations between each race. There should not be such a need for secrecy any longer.
  
  
• Slay Her Killer: Kimiko's death was unfortunately no accident. Although she never had any ill will for the one who murdered her while she was among the living, the little bit of time that she's had in Soul Society so far has led her to develop a deep hatred for the person in question. It may take a while, but a part of the young woman knows that her killer will eventually turn into a Hollow, and once that happens, she will make sure to send him where she belongs.
  

Alignment

Kimiko's personality typically aligns with the mindset of a Neutrally-Good person, meaning that she upholds values that are to be considered morally sound, but does not necessarily always want to stick to every rule set by society. Should there be a rule or decision that she disagrees with, the swordswoman will eventually voice her opinion on the matter if possible in order to achieve a resolution that both she and the rule-maker would find to be amicable. If the rule is set in stone and cannot be avoided, Kimiko will not hesitate to break it if it allows her to reach a specific goal at a point in time depending on how highly the rule is seen among both her peers and superiors. Cosmic rules such as the universal laws that describe the process of navigating souls to Soul Society or Hell and the code that describes what a Sinner is are both exempt from this fact.

Overall Personality

Kimiko is what one could consider to be a woman of many faces.

Usually, at a first glance, one could easily see her as a focused individual who is ready to complete any goal given to her. Outside of a conversation, she is typically calm, quiet, with her concentration entirely set onto the activity that she is pursuing at the time. It does not matter whether it is reading a book or pursuing training: she will always maintain her full focus onto it until she is interrupted by either outside interference, a sudden need to stop or the absolute completion of her goal. In a way, it is what helped her reach success in the Human World and it is also unfortunately what has led her to her death. As such, she is aware that the control of this hyper-focused state of hers should be achieved over the course of time, as it leaves her slightly off-guard.

Within a conversation, the young woman will appear friendly and supportive despite how much her quietness tends to follow her around. Although she seems to almost speak in mumbles and hums with a penchant of preferring to limit the number of words coming out of her mouth, she at least attempts to participate in conversations the most she possibly can to further her admittedly-poor social skills, and that is even if she is definitely not the best talker around. Additionally, her mumbling does not dictate a wish for conversations to end, for she will always try to find more subjects to talk about if the talk appears to reach its end.

As such, if we take into account the last two paragraphs, one could say that Kimiko fits the typical stereotype of the awkward loner girl who prefers to remain alone unless talked to. However, this could not very much be said at all; after all, if that was really the case, then she would not have decided to go into Squad 11 or even join the Shinigami Corps. Oh no, if she really would have been just a normal girl who preferred to remain in her little world, she would have just remained within Rukongai as a typical villager uninterested in the likes of becoming a soldier for Soul Society, and in hindsight, the realm of souls abound. She would have stayed there in peace, with her only goal being to find books to read.

It is hard to normally see it, but Kimiko loves fighting. In fact, she adores it. Every day, she awaits her next battle with utmost anticipation. Whether it is a spar or an actual fight against a Hollow does not matter to her; instead, what does is the emotions she will feel during it. The excitement, the sensation of danger, the pulse of competition beating powerfully within her chest. It is what fueled her being then where she had to fight in the virtual machines that lied within the arcade machines of Akihabara and the dojo of her school, and it is what drives her forward now where she can now accomplish those virtual realities with her own corporeal form.

Of course, Kimiko's love for battle does not mean that she is an unethical fighter, as she makes sure to follow the guidelines dictated by the the collection of rules residing within the Bushido Code of samurai past. With each battle foreseen, she looks upon its virtues: Justice, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Honor, Loyalty and Self-Control. Although she may not always fully respect each and every single one of them, the girl follows them nonetheless and applies them to every individual fated to meet her blade. It does not matter if the opponent is a mere Hollow devoid of personality or a fellow Shinigami: all is equal to the Bushido Code, whether they be willing to follow it themselves or not.

This admiration for the virtues of feudal Japanese warriors also extends to their main weapon, the katana, which Kimiko admires greatly. She sees the blade as an extension of herself, an additional arm whose sole purpose is to bring victory to the one who wields it. As such, she has a particular connection to her Zanpakuto which she always keeps close to her at all times and often makes sure to conduct Jinzen almost every day. It is up to a point that she almost feels naked whenever she is within her gigai in the Human World where she cannot see nor feel it near her being. Without her sword, she is unworthy of any future victories, and without victory, she is unworthy of happiness and the sharing of the dreams that have yet to become reality.

Considering all of this, Kimiko thus could not have possibly fit in any squad but the Eleventh. She may not like everyone there and they too might not necessarily like her, but the simple fact is that her love for combat is just as immense as theirs, and so she believes that the other squads would have simply been unable to tolerate it in comparison. Nevertheless, despite all of these things, the young woman still aspires to become a symbol of righteousness for the inhabitants of Rukongai and the rest of the world's Souls alike. Hopefully, that liking for battle and obsession over success won't eventually make her stray away from that ultimate goal.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

[ A B I L I T I E S ]

Note: Due to Kimiko's "Fighter Version 2" Type and her being Rank 1, she receives a +35% bonus in both Speed and Spiritual Pressure, and a -25% penalty in Strength and Reiatsu Strength. This Type also prevents her from ever raising Healing Expertise above 0 and Energy Sensory above 50.

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 38 (50-12) Speed: 115 (85+30)	Reiatsu Strength: 30 (40-10) Spiritual Pressure: 137 (110+27)		Instincts: 85 Senses: 55 Energy Sensory: 25	Light Aura: 65 Dark Aura: 35 Healing Expertise: 0

Total SP:  0/450

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 1 Lack of Fear: 1 Learning: 1 Strength of Will: 1	Weapon - Katana: 1 Martial Art - Karate: 1 Battle Analysis: 1 Battle Focus: 1		Acrobatics: 1 Focused Eye: 1	N/A

Total SkP: 5/15

---

[ F I G H T I N G   S T Y L E ]

Kimiko shares a particular love for battle. She awaits every possibilities of a fight with anticipation, and once she finally gets the chance to participate in a battle, she will do so without any hesitation. As such, it is thus not shocking to believe that the young woman could be considered to be a rather-intense opponent.

The swordswoman's main fighting style revolves around the use of Iaijutsu, a technique that is meant to be used as a counter-attacking maneuver rather than one of pure aggression. Traditionally, it is an old technique favored by samurai past who trained in the translation of the art of unsheathing one's blade from its scabbard during battle. It requires good posture, precision, and most importantly, speed, seeing as the technique is not really the most subtle and therefore will usually be instantly recognizable to most opponents. Due to this latter fact, most feudal warriors preferred to maintain the act of unsheathing their blade as nothing more than an act of introduction due to the armor they wore in battle rendering this technique quite difficult to perform. Thankfully, Shinigami do not posses armor for the most part, and so Kimiko has decided to turn this technique into the very center of her form. Twisting a counter-attacking maneuver into one of pure aggression, thus turning it into its complete opposite, is not an easy thing to do, and yet Kimiko somehow relatively achieves that goal very well.

At the beginning of a fight, Kimiko will at first declare her name, rank and squad to appropriately introduce herself to her opponent. This is at times accompanied with a standing bow, or better known by martial artists as the Ritsurei, but it all depends on how respectful her opponent is to her for that to occur. Otherwise, she will personally never offer a bow to a Hollow who were left devoid of any personality but a savage need to satiate their hunger, and neither will she offer it to a Denizen of Hell out of sheer disrespect for their existence. In that case, or should there be too many opponents for her to fight at once while she is part of a squad, she will instead loudly declare those titles. In either case, the excitement this act gives to her is enough to break her usual calmness and instead bring about a slightly-more bloodthirsty personality beneath her cool exterior.

Upon finishing her first introduction, she would then go on to immediately first attempt to rush towards her opponent to unsheathe her blade and instantly cut at them. It is a sudden move, one that usually follows a burst of Spiritual Pressure caused by the woman's excitement for battle which, later on in her life, will cause even the gravity surrounding an enemy to be affected. However, despite this, it typically lacks any will to kill and it could be considered to be the weakest attack among her collection. The reason why that is is that the swordswoman considers this first attack to be her second introduction to a fight, her "proper entrance" after the battle has officially begun, and she uses it to gauge her opponent's skill. "I wanna fight people that I can call strong. If you can't survive something like that, then I'm sorry, but I can't call you anything but lame," so she would explain in her own words.

Once this attack has been delivered, Kimiko then starts fighting more seriously. She fights quickly and without mercy, not even giving so much of a chance for her opponent to take their breath, and will often think during battle of how to beat her opponent. With every single unsheathing of her blade, she becomes more focused and driven by the experience of the fight. The sounds, the tension, the killing intent... It all boils down to something that she will never forget, no matter what kind of adversary she is fighting against. It is thus why, although she most often cannot resist the urge to fight at full power, she always wants every single one of her battle to last at least a decent amount of time, especially if she considers whoever she fights to be a worthy opponent.

Should she feel at a disadvantage, Kimiko will continue to attempt fighting at her best even if it would be best for her to retreat. Due to her belief in the Bushido Code, she cannot allow herself to flee battle before its end, even if it may cost her life. However, she is not a fool: even she knows her limits, and once she is close to reaching them, she will typically start understanding that she may die. This is especially the case when she fights a Hollow or a being that is very intent on killing her. Once that happens, her ultimate fear of death mixed with her natural instincts start overwhelming her and she finds herself unconsciously forced to flee. This, however, never occurs during spars or while fighting an opponent who has no wish to kill her, as the creeping shadow of death does not loom over either of these contexts.

Later on, as she grows stronger as a Shinigami, the swordswoman will unlock the true potential of her blades, Shizukakane & Taishokukane, and even much later on, the very essence of her weapon, Tsūkakane. However, due to the distaste of her own weapons' use against weaklings, their Releases will be sparse, especially the latter Kimiko herself personally dislikes relying on it to defeat an opponent. Most of the time, she will attempt to only call upon their abilities in times of absolute need when she faces an opponent that she deems to be stronger than her or large groups of enemies who have no meaning of honor. For a few adversaries, this may occur at the very start of a fight against them, but it is a rare occurrence due to Kimiko's aforementioned liking for longer battles.

Should Kimiko ever somehow lose the ability to use her swords in combat, be it because of them being broken during battle or simply taken away from her grasp, she will attempt to switch her fighting style into a more brutal and vicious karate. Fueled by the temporary loss of her sword, the young woman becomes less forgiving and slightly more desperate to deliver acrobatics punches and kicks of shocking speed, though never desperate enough to ever employ the use of ranged combat such as Kido. Even at her lowest point, she will never employ techniques that require her to stray away from physical contact, no matter how good of an option it may be to use them. What good can a fireball do if a punch can't do it better? So she says.

---

[ Z A N P A K U T O ]

Kimiko's weapons embody the concept of "focus", as in the ability to empower the importance of their wielder on the battlefield through the act of leeching the environment's strength. In other words, they are both responsible for a drastic rise in Kimiko's power whenever they are Released by affecting the lifeblood of an area, more specifically its looks and sounds. Statistically, this empowerment primarily affects her Speed and Spiritual Pressure as they are both what the spirits within her blades consider to be Kimiko's essential attributes for battle, but it also affects her own appearance, as it tends to make her look less Human and instead more so akin to an ink drawing until she achieves Bankai. Her voice is also amplified by this empowerment.

Shizukakane, the Quiet Bell (静か鐘)

Shizukakane is the Zanpakuto that Kimiko will be able to conjure from her first Asauchi as she rises above the ranks of the Shinigami. It is the weapon that she cherishes the most between the two she owns, as it is the one that she has kept for the longest time. While Sealed, it takes the form of a simple katana with a blank guard and an unremarkable white scabbard. However, when Released, its appearance becomes much striking and perhaps even aged. Its blade takes a firmer shape with a high-pitched ringing sound constantly following its path in the air, and a golden design forms upon the guard to depict banks of fish swimming within a body of water. Additionally, its stark-white scabbard becomes marked with an ink-like design reminiscent of the appearance of a grass field over a rising sun.

Shikai

"Quieten, Shizukakane."

Shizukakane is the blade responsible for the empowerment of Kimiko through the act of absorbing the sounds emanating from within a certain area. This is done through the creation of a globular field all around the blade which absorbs nearby sounds up until the area is rendered completely mute in the matter of four posts. This field possesses a diameter of about 25 meters - roughly the size of a quarter of a football field - and is delimited by hints of white "ink" protruding from it. As such, it can be avoided so long as one never comes near it, though it is to be noted that it follows Kimiko's every movement. Once the source of a sound leaves the field, it will gradually be capable of forming noise again, though it will take it two posts to reach its full volume anew.

This absorption of noise is delimited by a Light Gauge, which fills up the longer the effects of Shizukakane's field remains active within an area at a pace of around 15% per post. Unsurprisingly, the gauge does not fill up if the area in question is rendered or already completely mute. The more noise that is absorbed by the field, the longer the blade becomes, expanding into a bright sheen of white "ink" almost akin to a void separate from this reality. The length of the blade is depicted as follows depending on how filled the Light Gauge is:

• 0-20%:     0.6m. No change in base size.
  
• 21-40%:   1m
  
• 41-60%:   1.5m
  
• 61-80%:   2m
  
• 81-99%:   2.5m
  
• 100%:      4m
  

As one can imagine, the energy contained by the Light Gauge can also be used by Kimiko to perform boosting techniques that cannot be achieved through normal means. These techniques can drastically raise her speed to dodge incoming attacks, soften enemy blows and provide relief to wounds.

Zanpakuto Spirit

Shizukakane is what happens when you take Kimiko's love for fighting and for life, her ultimately-kind nature, and her absolute obsession over the Bushido Code and the feudal age of Japan.

In appearance, it takes the form of an old man who is physically scarred by many battles. Sporting short grey hair underneath a top knot over his head and silver eyes, his facial features are strong with a sharp chin hidden beneath a strand of long grey hair hanging from it, yet also soft with his eyes often showing traces of caring and understanding. His body appears small and frail as if weakened by time, though sports impressive musculature that betrays years and years of training beneath an ancient robe of white. The frailness also hides the ultimate agility within as he is still very much so capable of showing both amazing physical strength and shocking speed.

His temper is much like a kind old man's. He acts in a very friendly manner almost akin to a dear uncle with Kimiko due to how she treats him, and shows respect to all, even those that his wielder does not quite appreciate. He very much enjoys the bitterness of his supposed "homemade" tea, and adores shogi, seeing it as a game all warriors should master to its fullest. As to be expected, this had led Shizukakane to thoroughly appreciate quietness and what forms it, and it is thus why he resides firmly within the Fields of Tranquility of Kimiko's Inner World. If anything, he loves the place so much that he could not bring himself to leave it anytime soon.

Of course, despite his kind exterior, Shizukakane has his fair share of dislikes. His preference for quietness has led him to despise loud noise to such an extent that he becomes very grumpy if he ever starts hearing any, which is why he does not really enjoy being around Taishokukane. He personally finds signs of weakness to be immensely disappointing, especially when they come from Kimiko, and so refuses to be Released should any and all sign of weakness be shown either by her or her opponent. Naturally, he also doesn't like it whenever he faces a cheater or a bad sport, which both bring him outrage. 

Taishokukane, the Fading Bell (褪色鐘)

Taishokukane is the Zanpakuto that Kimiko will be able to conjure from her second Asauchi as she rises above the ranks of the Shinigami. Its appearance, in hindsight, almost mirrors Shizukakane's without much surprise, though it appears to be much younger than the other in contrast. While Sealed, it takes the form of a katana with a blank guard and an unremarkable black scabbard. However, when Released, its blade instead takes a firmer shape with a low-pitched ringing sound constantly following its path in the air. Upon its guard forms a golden design depicting a tree slowly dying in the dawn of autumn. Additionally, its pitch-black scabbard becomes marked with a white ink-like design reminiscent of the appearance of an unending forest.

Shikai

"Cleanse, Taishokukane."

Taishokukane is the blade responsible for the empowerment of Kimiko through the act of absorbing the color emitted by a certain area. Much like Shizukakane's own ability, this is also done through the creation of a globular field all around the blade roughly the size of a quarter of a football field, though this one absorbs nearby colors up until the area is rendered completely colorless in the matter of four posts. This field is delimited by hints of black "ink" protruding from it and, as such, it can be avoided so long as one never comes near it, though it is to be noted that it follows Kimiko's every movement. Once the source of a color leaves the field, it will gradually regain said color, though it will take it two posts to reach its full splendor anew.

Likewise to how Shizukakane's absorption of noise is measured, this absorption of color is delimited by a Dark Gauge, which fills up the longer the effects of Taishokukane's field remains active within an area at a pace of around 15% per post. Likewise, the gauge does not fill up if the area in question is rendered or already completely colorless. The more colors that are absorbed by the field, the longer the blade becomes, expanding into a blade of black "ink" so dark that it is almost akin to a black hole. The length of the blade is depicted as follows depending on how filled the Dark Gauge is:

• 0-20%:    1m. No change in base size.
  
• 21-40%:  1.5m
  
• 41-60%:  2m
  
• 61-80%:; 2.5m
  
• 81-99%:  3m
  
• 100%:     5m
  

The energy contained by the Dark Gauge can also be used by Kimiko to perform techniques that cannot be achieved through normal means. However, these particular techniques are instead more oriented for offense than defense as they instead raise her Spiritual Power and display merciless ways to damage an opponent, such as empowered slashes and repeated attacks.

Zanpakuto Spirit

Comparatively to Shizukakane, Taishokukane is what happens when you form a being out of Kimiko's darker side, meaning her aspiration for recognition, her thirst for blood in battle, her fear of both failure and death, and her absolute obsession over success.

Visually, the spirit resembles a young man about Kimiko's age who has seemingly yet to have had the chance to face struggle in his life. Due to the paleness of his skin, he almost resembles a ghost whose form is unable to dictated as being either alive or dead. A short mess of white hair pulled towards the back of his head covers the latter with a few strays passing by sharp, demanding silver eyes. His body is larger than Shizukakane's, but not by much, as their key difference is the age of their muscles rather than their strength. As such, although Taishokukane appears stronger than him, his body also is just as small, if not equal in height to the latter's. His clothes are a reflection of his body: a gray, colorless veil in the form of a coat that almost blends in with his skin color.

Much like a good number of young warriors of his age, Taishokukane is a selfish and arrogant being which only cares about battle. He does not show respect to anyone but himself and sees his blade as the ultimate Zanpakuto any Shinigami deserves to wield. Unlike Kimiko, things like honor, fairness and competition are completely irrelevant to him as he instead values victory above all, which easily brings up a few disagreements between him and his master. In his eyes, there is simply no use at all for a warrior who cannot always wish for victory even through the dirtiest of means. A fight to the death is what it is and so it does not matter how one wins it. Nevertheless, he appreciates the chaos of the heavier musical arts Kimiko is so fond of which pairs well with his liking of the sounds the leaves of the Fading Forest create. He is also very fond of the darkness of the forest, much preferring it compared to the brightness of the fields.

Speaking of which, ridiculous brightness could easily be considered to be his absolute source of anger. He cannot bring himself to appreciate bright colored lights, not even the sun's, and should he ever cross any, he will immediately attempt to either shield his eyes from it or destroy it in a fit of blind rage. This reason alone is enough for him to absolutely despise Shizukakane as he simply cannot understand why the old man could ever enjoy basking in such light. Although he shares the elder's dislike for weakness as he finds it all "worthless" in his own words, it is instead mercy that will prevent him from being Released, as he firmly believes that every opponent should be either crushed into submission or thoroughly eliminated from existence. Anything less than that is not worth his time.

Bankai: Tsūkakane, the Death Bell (通過鐘)

"Consume, Tsūkakane."

Kimiko's Bankai is most perhaps the scariest-looking form in her arsenal. Achieved by combining both Shizukakane and Taishokukane into the almighty Tsūkakane, the effects of the prior blades immediately take effect to cover an area with a globular field of bright white of 50m of diameter, meaning about the size of half a football field. Unlike the other fields which only stuck to one element of the area, Tsūkakane's progressively absorbs every features of the area - be it form, shape, color, noise, etc - all that remains are crude ink-made renderings of the living beings within its field. Even life itself seems to be absorbed by this aforementioned field, as opponents gradually become weakened by it unless they escape the field where they can then recover for the next two posts. This effect is so powerful that beings that are unable to sustain themselves within the field are swallowed whole, absorbed by the fiendish ability.

Kimiko, among these renderings, becomes a shape overflowing with white and black "ink" befitted with a single katana of an absurd length that hums with the low, hellish toll of a distant bell. It is within these forms that her attacks grow almost uncontrollably powerful, capable of unleashing devastating damage to a nearby foe. Unfortunately, due to the effects of this Bankai, allies must remain as far away from it as they possibly can at all cost, as Kimiko possesses no control over which life she absorbs while in this form. After all, Tsūkakane does not care: all who dares cross its path shall be purified into another step forward towards ultimate power, be they friend or foe.

Like the swords that form it, Tsūkakane possesses its own delimiter referred to as the Death Gauge which grows quicker than the Light Gauge and the Dark Gauge at a pace of 25% per post. Naturally, it also possesses the ability to become longer depending on how filled the Death Gauge is, as depicted below:

• 0-20%:    2m. No change in base size.
  
• 21-40%:  3m
  
• 41-60%:  4m
  
• 61-80%:   5m
  
• 81-99%:  6m
  
• 100%:     8m
  

The more life Tsūkakane absorbs from the world, the more powerful Kimiko becomes in both Speed and Spiritual Pressure. Additionally, she can also allow herself to exchange percentages of the Death Gauge for amazing techniques of great power. Those techniques revolve around pure destruction and so can be incredibly dangerous to any and all who dares cross Kimiko's path.

---

[ I N N E R   W O R L D ]

Kimiko's Inner World, meaning the place that she shares with the spirits of her Zanpakutou, is separated into two main areas. Each of these areas could be considered to be the homes of her respective Zanpakuto, with the appearances of the both of them being affected by both their and Kimiko's overall mood.

The Fields of Tranquility

The first "side" of the Inner World is what one could call a classic depiction of a samurai's true home: a grass field. It is where Shizukakane can be spoken to. Simple and elegant, the field sprawls into what seems to be an infinite abyss of blue skies filled with a various amounts of beautiful clouds. It is not even, most often rising and falling into a series of hills, but it possesses a number of flatter surfaces here and there. A few sakura trees can also be seen in the distance quietly basking in the sunlight's touch, seemingly silent enough as to not bother their owners. Overall, it is truly a place which nature has yet to ruin, one just good enough to allow for endless meditation and conversation.

Depending on Kimiko or Shizukakane's mood, the weather within the grass field can change very quickly. Shared joy and pleasantness causes the sky to become sunny and bright, while sadness brings rain to the earth below. Frustration causes thunderstorms to suddenly boom across the entire field, while anger or wrath causes the storm to evolve into a violent hurricane. Fortunately, to compensate for these changes, the temperature of the area is always relatively enjoyable, usually resting between twenty to twenty-five degrees Celsius.

Shizukakane will most often be found in this place joyfully sitting onto one of the aforementioned flatter surfaces of the grass field. At where he sits can also be found a table positioned right in front of him which most often supports two cups of tea, a teapot and a shogi board all set to welcome a new player. Usually, the old man will always invite Kimiko to play a match of shogi with him in a kind manner, but he is no fool; in direr times, he will sometimes instead only invite the young girl to drink tea in his company.

At times, at the very stretch of the horizons of the field can be seen what seems to be a forest composed of enormous trees. The trees seem to be so high that they bloat the skies above them, causing the ground below to appear as a realm of pitch black darkness. Kimiko herself has never reached for these trees just yet, but something about the way they only seem to appear at the corner of her vision frustrates her. Shizukakane is aware of the forest's existence as well, yet he prefers to not talk about it, as he simply has no answers to give to Kimiko about why it drifts in and out of existence. It is only when the swordswoman will develop her second Zanpakuto, Taishokukane, that the forest will become tangent.

The Fading Forest

The second "side" of the Inner World is a bit more threatening than the first, as it instead takes the form of a large foggy forest. Befitting of an haunting atmosphere, the enormous trees of the Fading Forest rest upon an entirely flattened earth where their roots take shape underground. They are so immense that they are as wide as a soccer field and tall enough to reach for the clouds. Due to the equally-ridiculous side of the leaves sprouting from their branches, the ground below is left darkened with only but a few cracks of brightness piercing through the leaves. The lack of sunlight also leads its grass to become gray and dead, void of the life the distant star could ever possibly befit to them. It is however not a place totally devoid of sound, as the sound of the leaves above creates a cacophony that resonates throughout the forest. To a new visitor, their constant rattling can be maddening.

Unlike the Fields of Tranquility, both the weather and temperature of the Fading Forest do not ever really change; rather, it is instead the time of day that does, and it is only Kimiko's own mood that can cause these changes to occur. Happiness causes the forest to be bathed in a serene morning light bathing the fog of the forest in white while sorrow instead causes the forest to darken in the dead of night. In contrast, irritation brings the blazing reds of sunset to scorch the woods with rage only reddening the fog up to an almost-bloody color. 

Taishokukane resides in these woods almost akin to a ghost. Due to the density of the forest, one would assume that it would be incredibly difficult to find the Zanpakuto spirit, and yet, he typically appears from behind the trees almost as if he always wishes to be found by Kimiko. In contrast to Shizukakane, he does not await the girl to converse and play, instead preferring to make their conversations short and to the point. As such, when speaking to her, he will often simply walk through the forest almost aimlessly hoping that Kimiko is in tow.

---

[ T E C H N I Q U E S ]

Note: Due to Kimiko's "Fighter Version 2" Type, she is allowed to possess a total of eight Zanpakuto techniques with an even split between two different Shikai blades.

Zanpakuto Techniques (Shizukakane)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kagayaku Kasoku (輝く加速, Radiant Acceleration)}
Technique Name: Kagayaku Kasoku (輝く加速, Radiant Acceleration)

Technique Type: Shikai | Stat Boost

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 300

Technique Description and Effects

A Speed boost which can be exchanged for 10-50% of Shizukakane's Light Gauge. Kimiko raises her left forearm before sliding the flat side of her blade against it, causing the white "ink" covering it to be absorbed by her body. This causes trails of the strange supernatural substance to appear on her akin to drawn mist emanating from her being. In response to this absorption, the swordswoman's physical being gains a drastic boost of Speed, allowing her to dodge her adversaries more efficiently. Depending on how much of the Light Gauge is used during this process, the boost will provide Kimiko with an effect of variable power and time:

• 10%: 10% Speed Boost for six posts
  
• 20%: 20% Speed Boost for five posts
  
• 30%: 30% Speed Boost for four posts
  
• 40%: 40% Speed Boost for three posts
  
• 50%: 50% Speed Boost for two posts

In exchange for additional percentages of the Light Gauge, Kimiko can reuse this technique to raise her boost up to a maximum of 50% and, consequently, reset its effect's timer. However, doing so will reduce the timer in question depending on the increment of ten that has been reached. Any further use of this technique beyond 50% will only reset the maxed effect's timer.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kagayaku Yōsai (輝く要塞, Radiant Fortification)}
Technique Name: Kagayaku Yōsai (輝く加速, Radiant Fortification)

Technique Type: Shikai | Armor Formation

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 150

Technique Description and Effects

The formation of armor around parts of the body which can be exchanged for 30-60% of Shizukakane's Light Gauge. Kimiko balls her hands into fists before slamming her feet down onto the ground (or air) below and letting out a loud cry, causing the white "ink" surrounding her blade to attempt to cover her body in response. Once done, the substance then hardens into a fabric as hard as steel, drastically raising the swordswoman's defenses. Depending on how much of the Light Gauge is used during this process, the fabric will cover a variable amount of Kimiko's body starting with her right arm:

• 30%: Right Arm
  
• 45%: Upper Body + Helmet
  
• 60%: Full Body

Should the armor be broken in one way or another, Kimiko can use this technique once again to repair the damaged parts. Due to the nature of this fabric, however, it cannot be stacked.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kagayaku Kanwa (輝く緩和, Radiant Mitigation)}
Technique Name: Kagayaku Kanwa (輝く緩和, Radiant Mitigation)

Technique Type: Shikai | Self-Heal

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 400

Technique Description and Effects

A technique which cleanses the body of harm for 50-100% of Shizukakane's Light Gauge. Kimiko stand still for a brief moment of time before taking a deep breath, absorbing the white "ink" of her blade in the process to ease her pain. As this process is completed, the substance enters her body to cleanse the mind and soul, ridding the swordswoman of wounds, poisons and diseases. Depending on how much of the Light Gauge is used during this process, Kimiko will be healed up to a certain extent, cleansing the following:
 

• 50%: Minor injuries and debuffs. Ex: scratches, scars, light bite marks, effects of weak tranquilizers and common diseases, etc.
  
• 75%: Average injuries and debuffs. Ex: sword wounds, broken bones, damaged muscle tissue, second-degree burns, common poisons and rarer diseases, etc. 
  
• 100%:  Major injuries and debuffs. Ex: Heavy sword wounds, shattered bones, destroyed muscle tissue and organs, third and fourth degree burns, fatal poisons and diseases, etc.

Extreme wounds such as the loss of limbs, the destruction of the heart, and the obliteration of the Saketsu and Hakusui are all beyond this technique's ability to take care of, especially in the obvious case of the latter, and so must be treated by a specialized medical expert or scientist. Nevertheless, the technique can be used as a means to cut off both pain and blood loss provided by the first two of these specific wounds, allowing Kimiko to fight just a little bit longer before collapsing. 

Zanpakuto Techniques (Taishokukane)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Nibui Zōfuku (鈍い増幅, Dull Amplification)}
Technique Name: Nibui Zōfuku (鈍い増幅, Dull Amplification)

Technique Type: Shikai | Stat Boost

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 300

Technique Description and Effects

A Spiritual Pressure boost which can be exchanged for 10-50% of Taishokukane's Dark Gauge. Kimiko raises her right forearm before sliding the flat side of her blade against it, causing the black "ink" covering it to be absorbed by her body. This causes trails of the strange supernatural substance to appear on her akin to drawn smoke emanating from her being. In response to this absorption, the swordswoman's physical being gains a drastic boost of Spiritual Pressure, allowing her to dish out more damage to her adversaries. Depending on how much of the Dark Gauge is used during this process, the boost will provide Kimiko with an effect of variable power and time:

• 10%: 10% Spiritual Pressure Boost for six posts
  
• 20%: 20% Spiritual Pressure Boost for five posts
  
• 30%: 30% Spiritual Pressure Boost for four posts
  
• 40%: 40% Spiritual Pressure Boost for three posts
  
• 50%: 50% Spiritual Pressure Boost for two posts

In exchange for additional percentages of the Light Gauge, Kimiko can reuse this technique to raise her boost up to a maximum of 50% and, consequently, reset its effect's timer. However, doing so will reduce the timer in question depending on the increment of ten that has been reached. Additionally, the use of this technique can create exhaustion, as Taishokukane's "ink" is much more overwhelming than Shizukakane's white "ink" for Kimiko's body. Any further use beyond 50% will only reset the maxed effect's timer.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Nibui Kurikaeshi (鈍い繰り返し, Dull Repetition)}
Technique Name: Nibui Kurikaeshi (鈍い繰り返し, Dull Repetition)

Technique Type: Shikai | Attack Replication

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 150

Technique Description and Effects

An odd-looking maneuver which can be exchanged for 30-60% of Taishokukane's Dark Gauge. Kimiko holds her blade to her side in a tilted position before flicking her thumb against the guard, causing the black "ink" covering the weapon to then slowly float over it. This causes a dark dragging effect behind the blade when swung. Should the substance ever hit a target, the latter will feel their body being hit several times by the attack that precedes the substance's touch. Depending on how much of the Dark Gauge is used during this process, this technique can last for a variable amount of time:

• 30%: 2 posts
  
• 45%: 3 posts
  
• 60%: 4 posts

SPOILER: Click to show

{Nibui Hakai (鈍い破壊 , Dull Extinction)}
Technique Name: Nibui Hakai (鈍い破壊, Dull Extinction)

Technique Type: Shikai | Multi-Target Attack

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 500

Technique Description and Effects

A powerful attack which can be exchanged for 50% of Taishokukane's Dark Gauge. Kimiko sheathes her blade in its scabbard, causing the black "ink" surrounding it to hum progressively-loudly until the swordswoman unsheathes the blade with a slash. After this motion has been completed, the substance of the blade disappears before suddenly surging from the very air in front of a maximum of ten targets which are present in Taishokukane's field in a cutting motion heading for the targets' bodies. The expelling of the substance is so powerful that it is comparable to a true sword swing.

Zanpakuto Techniques (Tsūkakane)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tenrai Bunri (天来分離, Divine Separation)}
Technique Name: Tenrai Bunri (天来分離, Divine Separation)

Technique Type: Bankai | Single-Target Attack

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 150

Technique Description and Effects

A super-powered rendition of the Iaijutsu technique which can be exchanged for 40% of Tsūkakane's Death Gauge. Kimiko holds the blade to her side in a tilted position before focusing her gaze into a single target. Once accomplished, she then moves the blade in the direction of the target in a swiping motion. The "ink" that forms Tsūkakane expands drastically during this motion - up to a maximum of 50m - in an attempt to reach the target. Should the blade ever touch the target, a vicious slash will suddenly cut deep into the latter's body, tearing it apart.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tenrai Jōhatsu (天来蒸発 , Divine Evaporation)}
Technique Name: Tenrai Jōhatsu (天来蒸発 , Divine Evaporation)

Technique Type: Bankai | Life-Drain

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 1000

Technique Description and Effects

Kimiko's ultimate technique that also proves to be the most destructive to all surrounding the vicinity, thus requiring the totality of the Death Gauge to be exchanged for its use. In an attempt to absolutely satiate Tsūkakane's eternal hunger for life, the swordswoman raises her blade high in the air to collect the "ink" surrounding her body before twisting the blade. Shortly after this, the field that surrounds the weapon suddenly grows exponentially to a much bigger size than usual in a powerful life-sucking blast spanning 200m, roughly the size of two football fields combined. Enemies caught within this blast sees their life - or in more appropriate terms, their Offensive Stat - reduced by 75%, thus becoming quite a fair bit weaker. All life absorbed by Kimiko raises her Speed and Spiritual Pressure by 50% for two posts per the absorption of a strong target's life up to a maximum of six posts.

Should a target be too weak to survive the Divine Evaporation before the blast, meaning if their combined Offensive Stat and Speed are both lower than 50% of Kimiko's own base respective stats, the target will immediately die with its body disintegrated into "ink" shortly after to then be absorbed by Kimiko. When such an event occurs, Kimiko's power grows even further, benefiting from a 100% boost of Speed and Spiritual Pressure until the end of the thread, after which their vitality is taken away from Kimiko to then be completely swallowed by Tsūkakane.

Other Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash Steps)}
Technique Name: Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash Steps)

Class: 7

Technique Type: Kidō

Technique Element: None

Technique Reiatsu Cost: 50/step

Technique Description and Effects

A movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point that determines the basis of this technique is speed. As speed is the main point of the technique, the method is best characterized by how fast one can get from Point A to Point B in the least amount of steps. Training and skill are what determines how fast a user of Shunpo can move. Those of little skill in the technique or those who haven't used it for an extended amount of time would obviously be out of practice, causing those individuals to be considerably slower. This requires the use of more steps to move the same distance and become tired more easily in a shorter amount of time. A single step magnifies speed for that step by ten times. Shunpo uses fifty Reiatsu per step. This one is automatically learned in the academy. All Shinigami know this when created. This technique does not take up a technique slot.

How to use technique

Focus of Reishi around the feet area and launch off into a single blurring step. It is not unlike teleportation in appearance, but it is simply extremely fast movement. It is often used to gain an edge in a single moment of combat or to dodge incoming attacks.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

[ H I S T O R Y ]

Birthplace: Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

Location of Death: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan

Past Residence: 25th District, South Rukongai, Soul Society

Current Residence: Squad 11 Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society

Memorable Figures

• Nakajima Keiko: Kimiko's mother. A quiet teacher residing within the Japanese countryside, she one day contracted a terrible disease which was once considered to be fatal. Fortunately, thanks to the aid of a master surgeon - Nakajima Kaito - employing an experimental procedure, she was able to survive the ordeal. Eternally grateful for the surgeon's aid, she eventually fell in love with him and they both married after their relationship had quickly grown due to the bond they shared from the medical procedure. Her soft personality makes her more malleable to Kaito's decisions, prompting her to almost unanimously side with him on any subject.
  
  
• Nakajima Kaito: Kimiko's father. Coming from a lineage of surgeons and medical experts, he was instructed to become a doctor at a very young age by his own parents, and so dedicated his life to the mastery of the healthcare system. Eventually, he graduated from one of the most famed schools in Tokyo and went on to become a proper surgeon. His thesis on parasitical anomalies residing on farm animals and avian life forms have allowed him to save the lives of many of his patients, including his wife Keiko. He possesses a strong and arguably-admirable personality that makes him a good leader, but his stern traits tend to make him too severe, especially with his daughter.
  
  
• Yamamoto Kazumi: Kimiko's murderer, once-nicknamed "Ano" by his peers. As the eldest son of his family, Kazumi was held in very high regards for a long time by his parents. He was a hard-working man who once believed he could eventually become something great. However, after a series of horrible downturns in his life shortly after he was fired from his job, he quickly grew addicted to video games and became a recluse. The only times he ever found victory was at an arcade in Akihabara which he visited on a weekly basis, until he met Kimiko. Left downtrodden by the constant defeats he received from her, he eventually succumbed to anger and searched a way to permanently get rid of his rival. He currently serves jail time within Tokyo's Detention House where he awaits his judgement in death row.
  
  
• Mysterious Shinigami: An enigma of a man who performed Konsō on Kimiko's soul. Although she is eternally grateful for sending her to Soul Society and has since attempted to inspire her own style out of his, Kimiko is not very much aware of who this man even is. She has not seen him within the Seireitei since her admittance within the Academy and the way he rushed the Konsō ceremony is now making her believe that he was hiding something more than just the simple task of slaying a nearby Hollow. Is he trustworthy? Only time will tell.
  
  
• Sakai Yu: One of Kimiko's past roommates within South Rukongai. Although he is technically older than she is as he has died about thirty years ago in a deadly fire, Yu still acts much like a bratty teenager and prefers not to take anything seriously. He sees Kimiko as a sort of big sister figure and so often tended to follow her around the streets of the 25th District. Knowing him, Kimiko firmly believes that he will attend the Academy in a year or two now that she has just entered it.
  
  
• Ito Sakura: The first person that Kimiko has ever had a prolonged conversation with in Soul Society, and the one who was able to properly enlighten her about every basic thing there is to know of the afterlife. Born shortly after the conclusion of the second World War, she was part of a rising yakuza clan and was to be trained to become one of their finest swordswoman before her life was abruptly cut short in a shoot-out. Ever since then, she remained within Rukongai without any knowledge as to why she was allowed to join Soul Society considering what kind of creature she was supposed to become. Shortly before she was able to meet Kimiko, Sakura would finally decide to head out to Seireitei to put her past skills to better use as a Shinigami rather than yet another vagabond. Is it unknown to Kimiko what has happened to her since, but she speculates that she might now be apart of the Kuchiki clan.
  
  

1) Childhood

Nakajima Kimiko, daughter of Kaito and Keiko, was born in the year 2000 in the municipality of Toyohashi near Tokyo, Japan. She came in the life of her parents during the very height of their relationship back when they were younger and more energetic. One a teacher and the other a doctor, the two made sure to construct a very stable home environment to live in that they both hoped would be enough for them to plan a decent future for them all to enjoy. That included the likes of living within a notable apartment, all the toys and games they could possibly buy for their child, and stable jobs that they did not believe would give up on them any time soon. All in all, it was a good time, a better time amidst the end of a period of economical crisis for all of Japan. For a family of three like theirs, they could not have asked for anything better.

As such, for much of her younger childhood, a young Kimiko lived what could be considered to be a happy life. She was treated fairly by her family and perhaps was a bit pampered by her mother who had always wished to have a child. Her father was not around very much at home due to his work, but he made sure to interact with his daughter with all of the attention he could give her. Seeing Kaito become such a caring father around their daughter always brought a warm smile to Keiko's face. It was so nice to see the sterner traits left by his work fade away every time Kimiko would grab his attention, and perhaps it was even nicer for the young Kimiko as she developed a strong connection to her parents.

However, as time went on and Kimiko eventually became old enough to attend school, her father slowly started to become sterner and sterner by the day. The things he would see at the hospital were making him less and less emotional, and instead more severe. He could not bear to care about injuries any longer, which eventually extended to not caring very much about the well-being of people, whether it be physical or emotional. This unfortunately extended to the likes of his wife and daughter. Every year, he would become less emotional and instead more serious, and eventually, once he was promoted to a new position in the very heart of Tokyo, he became the very thing he himself had once hoped to avoid: to become a mirror of his past father. By the time Keiko realized what has happened, it was too late to bring him back, and with a broken heart, she followed his words without question.

Thus, Kimiko's career was forged without her consent. No matter what she wanted to previously become, she would now instead become a doctor. With that sole goal in mind, Kaito convinced his family to move to a moodier apartment in downtown Tokyo, a place that gleamed less with life than their previous apartment has ever had, and from then on, Kimiko would start to work. Day after day, the young Kimiko would work incessantly in an attempt to please her father like she has once had as a child. She would study all the time, create schedules all the time, even go as far as to limit the number of social activities she would participate in every day all the time. Her social skills plummeted almost instantly as she unconsciously distanced herself from her friends to work even further. Many at her school were ironically shocked by her sheer dedication for excellency, so much so that a few of her classmates started referring to her as a freak. For a good while, Kimiko would convince herself that perfect grades was worth the ire of her classmates, and so she would ignore them, but unfortunately, by the time she became a teenager, she would realize that it was all for naught.

No matter how good her grades were at school and no matter how many times she would appear at the very top of her class' rankings, her father would never think of it all as anything more than "good enough". All of her efforts, all of her work, all of the amount of time she has put in everything she had thought her father would care about would always be met with resounding indifference. Despite this, Kimiko continued to work as hard as she could. For a few more years, she continued to press on. She just wanted to make her parents proud, damn it! She just wanted to be seen as something great, as something to congratulate! And yet, that time never came. She never was able to bring anything more than a mere shrug from her father. To him, it was just par for the course.

But then, one day, Kimiko received one bad grade. It wasn't her fault: all of that constant work had made her insanely tired, and eventually, she forgot the date of one of her exams and so had not studied for it in the slightest. It was the first one that she's gotten in a very long while, perhaps ever. Perhaps it was shock doing its thing, or perhaps it was disbelief instead, but the worry she should have felt then was minimal at first. It was one bad grade, a single and perhaps tiny mistake on an impressive resume that would most certainly impress anyone taking a good look at it. Mistakes happen, right? Really, what could possibly happen?

Well, turns out that everything can go wrong really fast. The moment her father heard about her grade, Kimiko received a powerful scolding. In what seemed to be the matter of only but an hour, she was forced to talk to him face-to-face and be practically shouted at without even being so much able to form but a single defense for her position. She was told many things, many of which left her - who had been more or less pampered and treated well for most of her childhood - almost traumatized. The bottom line was that she had been told that such results were absolutely unacceptable and that, if she receives too many of them in the future, her father will make sure that she learns to never make any more mistakes. Her mother, powerless, could only watch it all unfold in silence, unable to help her daughter. The sight of her just standing there without muttering even a word as the scolding was what eventually broke Kimiko.

2) The Birth of Naka

From there on out, the teenager entered quite the rebellious phase. She would still go to school, uphold her duties and make sure to have good grades, yes, but this time around, she decided to completely separate from her mind the wish for her family's praise. So her father wants her to become a doctor? No. She won't become a stupid doctor. That is not his decision to make! This mentality led her to develop a more-cultural side of herself that she had pushed away since her very childhood. She would join the Kendo club of her school, start reading literature that she was genuinely interested in and even play video games from time-to-time. It was around this time that she started becoming a little bit more social too, as getting rid of the shackles that her father's demands once had on her allowed her to push herself to talk to others. No more did she wanted to be seen as a freak. No more.

This of course did not please her father. Every time she would come back home, he would start complaining about her attitude, so much so that it gradually started making her come back home much later than usual by either going out with friends or heading out to arcades. The latter option was usually what she would do whenever she absolutely had nothing to do for school. Once her classes and club duties were over, she'd simply take her leave and head out for Akihabara to compete against other players in fighting games. Due to the tomboyish attitude that she had developed by then, she did not very much care that the most of them were males, and so she was able to blend in rather well among the crowd as the newcomer "Naka". She had gone as far as win a few local tournaments too! It was fun. Very fun, even. It allowed her to escape the drabness of her family life and the constant nagging of her father. Finally, she was accepted. Finally, she belonged in something that she enjoyed.

As she played the many games at the arcade, she would eventually meet another player going by the nickname "Ano". Ano was famed around Kimiko's favorite arcade as being one of the better fighting game players there was and, for a while, the by-then young woman could definitely see where everyone was coming from. He was a ruthless player who more or less acted like a big villain reveling in his victories with constant taunts and downplay. Although a part of Kimiko was slightly annoyed by that sentiment of his, she soon grew slightly fond of it as it reminded her of the manga she was now reading every now and then, and so she decided to aim to take Ano's crown off his head.

And so, she did. It was difficult at first, of course, as it was a new opponent, but by the time Ano had won his first two matches against Kimiko, the girl then started winning. In fact, the man was never capable of beating her again. No matter the game they played, no matter the character they would pick, Kimiko would always be declared the winner in the end of every single one of their matches. For her, it was a great achievement and an amazing feeling to behold, but she could tell that the same was unable to be said for Ano. Although he was more respectable at the start of it all, the constant amount of losses he would suffer from her would become more and more insufferable. The act of "rage-quitting" became more prevalent from him, and eventually, he was not seen at the arcade for a good while. Kimiko could understand that it was not fun to lose, but she had always thought that him losing his temper so much was incredibly childish. It was just a game. There was really nothing to be mad about.

During the time he was gone, Kimiko continued to prosper as a fighting game player. Her nickname was starting to become quite used at the arcade where she played and, in all seriousness, she was starting to be seen as a legitimate competitive figure. The players that would see her play were astonished by her ability to learn how to play even the newest games as quickly as she could, and as time went on, the wager money that she would win from them would start becoming a legitimate source of money. It wasn't going to make her rich or anything, but it was able to keep her from having to feed too many quarters to the machines. To her, that's all that mattered. The arcade was her world, where she truly belonged, and if not there, it was the dojo where she could practice Kendo.

And then, suddenly as she went to take a bathroom break, Ano appeared once she reached the door.

She did not see the knife coming.

3) The Death & Passing of Kimiko

The pain is the thing that Kimiko can remember the most from that point in time. It lasted only but a minute or two at best, but it felt like an eternity. The boiling heat that exploded from her throat, the blood that kept reaching out of it, the choking, the gasping, the lack of air... All of these happening at once was the very product of nightmares. As she fell on the bathroom floor and progressively ran out of oxygen to breath, she'd struggle to even stand back up. For a moment, she had desperately called for up, for someone to come and save her from whatever had just happened to her. However, all that she saw then was Ano who stood over her, gazing down at her with the filthiest grin that she had seen in her life.

"I told you I'd come back, Naka. Be a good girl and lie dead now like the loser you really are," he told her then in that vindictive tone of his before he then scampered away. Kimiko did not know where he had gone, but in all honesty, it really did not matter to her. In a desperate attempt to gather the attention of everyone who was still playing with the arcade machines, she had tried to reach out for the door, but by the time she had done so, her legs were already falling her and she was starting to lose consciousness. The blood would continue to spill from her throat like a calm hot river to form light pool beneath her head, and not before long, the strength to even lift her chin had left her completely. Eventually, she passed out and a few minutes later, someone was able to find her body. She was officially pronounced dead by the authorities an hour later, and Yamamoto Kazumi was arrested for her murder after having being physically beaten to a pulp and detained by the arcade's players.

It took a little bit for Kimiko's spirit to wake up from her slumber and understand what was happening. By the time she had become a Soul, her body was being carried onto a stretcher towards an ambulance, and so she had awoken onto the streets. Dazzled and confused, she first attempted to simply return inside the arcade without much of an understand of what was going on. However, once she realized that no one was even giving her any attention and that she was physically incapable of lifting her school bag, she was quickly reminded of what had happened to her. Once the memories came back, the realization of her current state then came.

She was dead. Her life had been stolen, taken away, just because she had beaten someone in one of her favorite video games. The matter left her in such an incredulous state that she eventually started to laugh out of utter disbelief. However, the laugh then turned into cries of anger and frustration. How? How could she had left herself be killed by such a pathetic man?! She still had so much to live for, so many things to experience! She was only twenty years old, for cry out loud! She had finally found a place to call home and that was how life decided things would go. Killed by a sore and desperate loser who just wanted her out of his sight. What a sickening, cruel joke.

At this point, Kimiko did not really care about the chain in her chest: she just wanted to stay there in the arcade. And so, for a little while, she did just that. Minutes passed, then hours, and then a few days. She just stayed there in front of that machine attempting to press her fingers against its buttons. She would stay there near the people that had decided to come back to the arcade after the grizzly event, and she would also see it eventually close down shortly after, seeing as the murder scene had completely destroyed its clientele. It happened quickly. After about two weeks at best, the place had turned into a maid café, out of everything it could have possibly become, and once it did, Kimiko simply wandered off into Akihabara, drifting from arcade to dojos and manga stores. She did not really want to interact with anything; really, now that she had died, she was just sort of spending her time waiting. No, she was not going to go back to her house. There was just no reason to do so.

Eventually, as she performed what seemed to be her thousandth tour of Akihabara and its estates, a strange sight crossed Kimiko's sight: a single man wearing what seemed to be some kind of mixture between a jacket and samurai robes. His hair was tied in a long pale blonde ponytail, his eyes covered with shades, and there was a very large sword scabbard at his hip. Whoever stood before her was so out of the ordinary that she couldn't help but whistle and openly admit her appreciation for what she thought to be some kind of elegant cosplay. It wasn't as though the man could hear her or see her or anything like that, really, so it did not matter.

Quite shockingly, he actually could both hear and see her just fine. In fact, he was so flattered by her comment that he chuckled and went on to wholeheartedly accept her words with pure honesty right before her. It was a pretty fun sight, sure, but for Kimiko, it was much more than that. To finally be acknowledged after what seemed to be such a long time felt like a downright heavenly experience. Relief overcame her almost immediately. She did not know who this man was, how he could even see her and why no one else seemed to be capable of seeing her either, but she just wanted to know more about what was going to happen to her now. The afterlife, as mysterious as it may seem, was actually incredibly boring if you ignore the trauma caused by, you know, realizing that you died. It was even more boring for Kimiko too, for she could not read books in this state nor play any video games in the slightest. It was just a sad and lonely experience.

Before she could ask much, however, the man had suddenly unsheathed his blade and set its hilt upon her forehead. A second or two later, a pool of bright blue light suddenly started to shine from beneath her feet. She could not understand what was happening at all, but unfortunately, much of her questions could not be answered by the man who seemed to be... rushing the whole process, all things considered. "Sorry, kid! Just know that you will now be in a much safer place than this," he would tell her then in an attempt to reassure her. For some reason or another, that was enough for her to somewhat be at peace. All this light... is she going to Heaven? It must be nice...

4) Arrival in Soul Society

Kimiko's entry into what she once previously thought to be Heaven did not exactly go the way she believed it would. She thought she was going into what everyone believed Heaven to be as depicted by the religion her past family members once preached, meaning a sort of cloudy land full of angels and golden arches and what-not, but in reality, it was something oddly more akin to feudal Japan where everyone lived in a variety of households together. She was quickly assigned somewhere she could live, was delivered to it, and that was where she guessed her real afterlife started. In a wooden house. With no technology in it. Needless to say, the realization that she was not really going to play video games any time soon was a real bummer.

Well, at least there were people around here, as previously mentioned. The inhabitants of her household were kind, if not understanding people. She was clearly the most recent inhabitant among all of them, but she was not the most immature around. There was a couple in what seemed to be their mid-twenties, a glass-wearing woman who seemed to be about Kimiko's age, a teenage boy and a dog. Since the house was at least a bit spacey, it allowed them all to live fairly comfortably among one another, which Kimiko was definitely thankful for, but it was was fairly empty otherwise if you took away all of the essentials like cooking wares and basic furniture. It was a shame, to say the least, that there were not at least books to read, and for a while, the new Soul Society inhabitant felt quite dispirited. What was she going to do now?

This question went unfortunately unanswered for a little while, quite unfortunately. For most of the days that came after her arrival, all that Kimiko really did was do some household chores and wander around the 25th district. She also talked a fair bit with the household's inhabitants who went to talk a little bit about themselves and what-not. The glass-wearing woman, Sakura, was the one Kimiko talked to the most as she was, oddly enough, the elder of the house and thus had the most information to share to the newcomer. It was through her that Kimiko was able to learn about what Soul Society was all about, the existence of the eternal struggle between the angels of death known as Shinigami and the soul-devouring creatures referred to as Hollows, and the hierarchy that separates the Seireitei from Rukongai. Although it certainly was an enormous amount of shocking information to suddenly learn about and there definitely seemed to be more to learn about, it was all Sakura could tell her for she then one day decided to leave for the Seireitei to become a Shinigami herself.

With all of that now in mind, Kimiko would become more and more uneasy as she stayed within the household. She did not mind the people there and, despite being annoying at first, she became friends with the teenager, Yu, fairly quickly, but she honestly wanted to do something else with this new spiritual life of hers. There was no way she could just stay here in the house doing house chores all day until the end of times eventually decides to occur. No, she needed something to spend that energy of hers and she was of course not going to spend it the way she was doing so now. As such, after at least three or four mouths remaining within the household, she eventually decided to leave for the Seireitei as well. If she can't fight some virtual world, then screw it, she'll just go ahead and fight whatever those Hollows are supposed to be.

And so, Kimiko traveled to Seireitei and became an official student of the prestigious Shin'ō Academy. Becoming a student again sure felt weird, but so long as it can help her achieve that same spirit she's had back at that arcade, then she'll make sure to pass whatever exams these guys are going to throw at her, no matter the cost, no matter the efforts that are required of her.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

First off, amazing work with this application. One of my favorite reads in a long time.

I'll be only commenting on powers, because the rest are well above minimums for Class 8.

For both of your Shikai, I'll need a time, in posts, of how long it takes for an area to completely drain of sound/color. That way you know how long that particular area can donate to your Light/Dark Gauge. Also, please list a size of these Fields.

For Taishokukane, you appear to have a typo in the overall ability unless I just understand your intent incorrectly. "Once the source of a sound leaves the field, it will gradually regain its color, though it will take some time for it to reach its full splendor anew."

Radiant Acceleration will need a specified increase to Speed. I'm thinking a 50% increase at most seeing as it doesn't have many drawbacks in terms of cost (it should also have a reiatsu cost in addition to the Light Gauge cost anyways), especially since you can effectively do this every other post given you absorb 15% per post. Additionally, please add a duration to the boost. A cheap increase like this should only last a post or two, but could last longer if the drawbacks were extended. It also should list that it takes up a Stat boost slot, whether short or long term depending on duration.

For Radiant Fortification, does 30% cover the entire body? Or am I understanding it wrong and it only covers part and you can consume more Light Gauge to cover more of the body. Additionally, it should have a reiatsu cost as well.

Radiant Mitigation should list what extent of wounds can be healed with a single activation. Should also have a reiatsu cost.

Dull Amplification should also follow all the requests of Radiant Acceleration. This one being an Offensive Stat boost should come with harsher drawbacks.

Dull Repetition is awesome. Just needs a reiatsu cost.

Dull Extinction appears to be an Auto-hit if they are within your field, which at present does not have a specified size as mentioned earlier. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest, as an opponent could just not be in your field to avoid it, but also I don't know how large the field is so don't know how hard it is to avoid. It also looks like it takes some time to charge up, so that's a drawback in and of itself, but still, I'd like to see it not be an auto-hit on every target in your field, somehow, if possible.

Bankai also needs a size of the field.

Divine Separation should list how large the extension becomes.

Divine Evaporation needs changes requested of Divine Separation, Radiant Acceleration, and Dull Amplification. It should also list what a target needs in terms of Offensive Stat to be able to resist dying outright. I'm imagining that this blast should drain a target's vitality (determined by their Offensive Stat) by 50% of Kimiko's Offensive Stat, any that would be reduced to 0 are killed and drained and any that survive are reduced in vitality by an appropriate amount, with a maximum debuff of 75% of their stat as per the Battle Mechanics.


Overall, I love the power. It's simple, brutal, and well put together. Easily one of the more unique in awhile. I'm excited to see Kimiko grow into her powers. Let me know when you've made the requested changes by commenting here in this thread and we'll see what we can do about getting you on the road to approval.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Thank you! Working on this sheet has been quite the adventure, if I may admit, and I too am excited to see how this is going to translate into RP.

In any case, as you have requested, I have made some changes to the parts in the Powers' post that were problematic. Here is a summary of everything that has been accomplished. Please note that all sizes and/or numbers may be either too big or too small as I am still a bit inexperienced in this site's mechanics:

• Both Shikai now properly explain how long it takes for an area to be drained of its noise/color by the fields that they produce, how long it takes for the areas to recover their losses once they exit the field, and how big the fields themselves are.
  
  
• Taishokukane's overall ability has been corrected. That was indeed a typo. Apologies for any confusion that may have been created because of this.
  
  
• Radiant & Dull techniques now all have a list that properly explains their capabilities depending on how much of their respective Gauge is allotted to them. This should properly explain how far their Boosts, creation and healing effects can go as well as how long their duration can be in some cases.
  

• Dull Extinction should now not be an Auto-Hit. That was not my intention, but it indeed definitely sounded like it was impossible to physically defend yourself against such an attack. As such, it has been rewritten to mitigate this issue.
  
  
• Bankai now has a field size and a list of blade sizes similar to the Shikai's.
  
  
• Divine Separation now properly describes the maximum length of the extension.
  
  
• Divine Evaporation has been rewritten to properly reflect the changes to the techniques that you have mentioned. It now has a size and effects that are both appropriately described. These numbers might however be a little bit too high.
  

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Most of your changes look good, though I'd like Divine Evaporation to have a little bit more clarification as well. At what point does the cut to Offensive Stat kill the target? It just states "if they're too low to survive it" but doesn't list at what threshold they would not survive. I'd also like to note that Stat boosts cannot stack and though it's the same technique being reused, I don't feel like you should be able to stack them and instead should just replace the boost with the new value if you reuse it. Additionally, how many targets can Dull Extinction target at one time?

As far as Reiatsu costs go, here's the Standard Reiatsu costs for Non-release techs per Class.

Class 8 - 0 Reiatsu

Class 7 - 25 Reiatsu

Class 6 - 50 Reiatsu

Class 5 - 100 Reiatsu

Class 4 - 150 Reiatsu

Class 3 - 400 Reiatsu

Class 2 - 600 Reiatsu

Class 1 - 800 Reiatsu

Class 0 - 1200 Reiatsu + Special Drawback Cost (death, burned out powers, etc.)


Release techniques are different in that they don't have a set class for the technique but have a class for the release as a whole. Shikai is usually Class 4, Bankai is usually Class 2.


Both of your Stat boosting techniques should cost at least 300 reiatsu each use. Not quite a Class 3 cost, but still higher than Class 4 due to the nature of boosting your stats potentially pretty significantly.

Armor Formation seems pretty simple, though, Closer to in between a Class 5 and 4 cost, if not one or the other. I'm up to hearing your opinion on what class you'd set that at.

Radiant Mitigation is definitely a Class 3 effect and should cost 400 reiatsu minimum.

Dull Repetition is equivalent to Armor Formation in effect, in my opinion, and should cost a similar amount.

Dull Extinction should probably have a minimal cost, such as 50-75, per target instead of a flat amount, up to your max amount of targets.

Divine Separation is pretty simple, and is solidly a Class 4 effect and should cost 150 reiatsu.

Divine Evaporation, as an ultimate attack which costs a lot of preparation, should cost a very high amount of reiatsu. Probably a minimum of 1,000. Especially since it can target up to 200 meters worth of targets.


Let me know if this all makes sense!

Also, do remember that Reiatsu amount is ten times your Spiritual Pressure at the start of the thread (i.e. your SpPr boosting techs won't boost your reiatsu amount as well, just your Offensive Power) so as a Fighter Version 2 you could potentially have a really good amount of reiatsu to work with depending on how you build Kimiko.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Thank you for showing me how to grade the Techniques' Reiatsu costs! Here are the newest modifications that were made as per this reply:

• A few more clarifications were made for Divine Evaporation. What I had in mind while rewriting this technique was for it to kill the target should the latter's Offensive Stat reach a number below 0 after being drained, meaning that the target has become so weak that it cannot even lift its own body. The number may be a bit too low, but this is what I thought at the time to be the ideal threshold.
  
  
• The Stat Boosts now do not stack. They should now only power up their respective boosts and reset their timers when they are reused.
  
  
• Dull Extinction now has the number of targets that gets hit by it. It hits a maximum of ten targets for 500 Reiatsu.
  
  
• Reiatsu costs have been added for all techniques.
  

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding. A debuff such as Divine Evaporation can never reduce a stat to below zero. If you have 100 in a stat, the lowest your stat can go is 25. No amount of debuffs can reduce it past a 75% decrease.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Looks good now. Approved for a class 8, 450 SP start.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Statistics and Skills have been added to the sheet! Everything should be in order now.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

When I wrote down the character of Kimiko, I was back then aiming to eventually turn her into a Vizard. Much of her design, her personality and - to an extent - her abilities have been made to appear overtly dominating and powerful due to the presence of a Inner Hollow that was supposed to be introduced later on in her character development. However, due to my inexperience with the site, I have failed to realize that Vizards are required to respect certain conditions in order to, well, be eligible as Vizards, and so I unfortunately did not respect the primordial steps of the Path to Hollowification upon Kimiko's creation. To put it bluntly, I took everyone's word about Vizards needing to start as Shinigami a bit too seriously, and so I only designed her as a Shinigami without going any further in her power set.

The following CIU is meant to rectify that mistake by adding sections to Kimiko's current Shinigami sheet so as to turn it into a Vizard Hopeful sheet. It contains the proper tools of the Vizard - as in, the Inner Hollow itself and the Mask - alongside a few revisions made to some of the sections currently present on her sheet so as to better represent the version of her that has passed the Academy. Resurrection will be added later once it is returned to the Path to Hollowification as part of the race's global rework.

==============================================

[ N E W   B A S I C   I N F O R M A T I O N ]

Character Name: Nakajima Kimiko

Real Age/Age of Appearance (Old/New):  20/20 ----> 22/20

New Themes

• Inner Hollow General: Tekken 4 - Authentic Sky
  
• Inner Hollow Battle: Tekken 7 - Moonsiders 1st
• Inner Hollow Complete Takeover: Tekken 7 - Moonsiders 2nd
  
• Mask: Black Tide - Honest Eyes

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[ N E W   P E R S O N A L I T Y ]

New Like

• Shin'ō Academy: Although much of her experience within it wasn't quite as pleasant as Kimiko would have liked it to be, the Academy which has shaped Soul Society's greatest into what they are today still remains a place that is dear to the Shinigami. She may not have liked her teacher, she may have had to deal with a few bullies and she may have had the displeasure of dealing with exams again after in her afterlife, but it allowed her to make a few acquaintances she believes she would have been unable to make on her own, and it also allowed her to experience a little bit of positive popularity for once. Better that than negative popularity, right?
  

New Dislikes

• Shinkawa Hamanai: As a person who is completely unable to use Kidō, Kimiko couldn't have asked for an any worse teacher than Mr. Shinkawa himself during her time at the Academy. For the grand majority of the two years that she has spent at the scholarly institution, the man has made it clear that he dislikes her lack of passion for Kidō through countless acts of pure harassment, blaming her presumed "laziness" for her inability to cast any spells. Naturally, this has led Kimiko to utterly dislike the Shinigami's magical arts even further than originally, consequently also leading her to grow a sort of hatred for the teacher that she does not tend to hide before him any longer.
  
  
• Yume's Trickery: Most Vizards tend to hate their Inner Hollows, unsurprisingly enough. They tend to reside within their beings in silence akin to a predator looming over its prey, waiting for the opportune time to steal their Souls to finally arrive. However, in a twist of fate, Kimiko does not quite despise Yume. No, the Inner Hollow itself is not what she hates most from her existence; rather, it is her fondness to trick and surprise Kimiko. The sheer amount of power she has allotted to her during her unnaturally-quick growth has led the swordswoman to feel as though much of her early years of training have been shortened dramatically for nothing more than a pitiful reason. What good is it to be strong if there is no effort behind it all? That is the question that haunts Kimiko even to this day.
  

New Fear

• Losing Herself: Kimiko has realized throughout her rapid progression within the Academy that she has shown personality traits that she once thought to be unlike her: a vivid appetite for battle, a thirst for victory, and worse yet, a sort of carelessness for the fallen. Although it is easy for her to only put the blame on her general inexperience to the Spiritual World when it comes to these things, the swordswoman now worries that, one day, these terrible qualities of hers may swallow her whole and leave behind only but a monster which solely hunts for blood. The eventual discovery of her Inner Hollow (the enigmatic and confounding Yume) will only accentuate this worry, causing her to train even further to prepare to eventually face it in battle so as to purge her Soul from its taint.

Overall Personality (Current/New)

Kimiko is what one could consider to be a woman of many faces.

Usually, at a first glance, one could easily see her as a focused individual who is ready to complete any goal given to her. Outside of a conversation, she is typically calm, quiet, with her concentration entirely set onto the activity that she is pursuing at the time. It does not matter whether it is reading a book or pursuing training: she will always maintain her full focus onto it until she is interrupted by either outside interference, a sudden need to stop or the absolute completion of her goal. In a way, it is what helped her reach success in the Human World and it is also unfortunately what has led her to her death. As such, she is aware that the control of this hyper-focused state of hers should be achieved over the course of time, as it leaves her slightly off-guard.

Within a conversation, the young woman will appear friendly and supportive despite how much her quietness tends to follow her around. Although she seems to almost speak in mumbles and hums with a penchant of preferring to limit the number of words coming out of her mouth, she at least attempts to participate in conversations the most she possibly can to further her admittedly-poor social skills, and that is even if she is definitely not the best talker around. Additionally, her mumbling does not dictate a wish for conversations to end, for she will always try to find more subjects to talk about if the talk appears to reach its end.

As such, if we take into account the last two paragraphs, one could say that Kimiko fits the typical stereotype of the awkward loner girl who prefers to remain alone unless talked to. However, this could not very much be said at all; after all, if that was really the case, then she would not have decided to go into Squad 11 or even join the Shinigami Corps. Oh no, if she really would have been just a normal girl who preferred to remain in her little world, she would have just remained within Rukongai as a typical villager uninterested in the likes of becoming a soldier for Soul Society, and in hindsight, the realm of souls abound. She would have stayed there in peace, with her only goal being to find books to read.

It is hard to normally see it, but Kimiko loves fighting. In fact, she adores it. Every day, she awaits her next battle with utmost anticipation. Whether it is a spar or an actual fight against a Hollow does not matter to her; instead, what does is the emotions she will feel during it. The excitement, the sensation of danger, the pulse of competition beating powerfully within her chest. It is what fueled her being then where she had to fight in the virtual machines that lied within the arcade machines of Akihabara and the dojo of her school, and it is what drives her forward now where she can now accomplish those virtual realities with her own corporeal form.

Of course, Kimiko's love for battle does not mean that she is an unethical fighter, as she makes sure to follow the guidelines dictated by the the collection of rules residing within the Bushido Code of samurai past. With each battle foreseen, she looks upon its virtues: Justice, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Honor, Loyalty and Self-Control. Although she may not always fully respect each and every single one of them, the girl follows them nonetheless and applies them to every individual fated to meet her blade. It does not matter if the opponent is a mere Hollow devoid of personality or a fellow Shinigami: all is equal to the Bushido Code, whether they be willing to follow it themselves or not.

This admiration for the virtues of feudal Japanese warriors also extends to their main weapon, the katana, which Kimiko admires greatly. She sees the blade as an extension of herself, an additional arm whose sole purpose is to bring victory to the one who wields it. As such, she has a particular connection to her Zanpakuto which she always keeps close to her at all times and often makes sure to conduct Jinzen almost every day. It is up to a point that she almost feels naked whenever she is within her gigai in the Human World where she cannot see nor feel it near her being. Without her sword, she is unworthy of any future victories, and without victory, she is unworthy of happiness and the sharing of the dreams that have yet to become reality.

Considering all of this, Kimiko thus could not have possibly fit in any squad but the Eleventh. She may not like everyone there and they too might not necessarily like her, but the simple fact is that her love for combat is just as immense as theirs, and so she believes that the other squads would have simply been unable to tolerate it in comparison. Nevertheless, despite all of these things, the young woman still aspires to become a symbol of righteousness for the inhabitants of Rukongai and the rest of the world's Souls alike. Hopefully, that liking for battle and obsession over success won't eventually make her stray away from that ultimate goal.

Although she now believes herself to ultimately be a strong warrior thanks to the support of her mentor Celes Shindazu and her peers, Kimiko is partly aware that the downright-prodigal power that she has shown to the Academy and therefore the Gotei 13 is not quite normal for a Shinigami of her caliber. Considering that she has only been a Soul for two years, the sheer speed at which her strength grows is unprecedented even among other prodigies of the Academy. This awareness has grown to such an extent that she now suspects that a being currently beyond her understanding may be influencing her physical capabilities in some way or another, possibly by fueling her with additional reiatsu by influencing her Spiritual Pressure. For what purpose, she really could not say for now, but it has certainly made her grow uncertain and perhaps even a bit reluctant to admit that she is strong, instead still preferring to maintain a humble approach to any praise or criticism she may receive.

By the time Kimiko will be able to meet her Inner Hollow for the first time, this curiosity of hers will have by then turned into fear and contempt for the powers that have been fueling her throughout her Shinigami career. Although she does not appreciate Yume's presence within her core and typically always regard her as nothing more than a hurdle in her path, she does not necessarily hate her personally so much as the fact that she dared to play with her physical capabilities solely to entice Kimiko towards the equivalent of a deal with the devil. This hatred for this petty trick will lead the Shinigami to despise her Vizard abilities for a very long time, so much so that she will most often prefer to not use them at all if she doesn't need them solely to prove to Yume that the powers she always wishes to confer to her are nothing more than pointless cheats.

---

[ H O L L O W I F I C A T I O N ]

Inner Hollow: Yume, the Enigma

"Oh, Kimiko-chan~... One day, you will be the one who dreams."

Inside every Vizard's Soul lies a Inner Hollow born of foreign Hollow energy. Most often bearing personality traits opposite to the Vizard's, they are there to remind them of their weakness, of their frailty, and that they shall one day take over their Soul should they ever be too weak one day for their liking. With that in mind, it is thus unsurprising that Kimiko too possesses a Inner Hollow.

Shaped similarly to a more mature version of the Shinigami's old studious Human self, the Inner Hollow known only to her as "Yume" was - in her words - created upon her murder through the transferring of Hollow energy via the stab wound that she received to the throat. She typically sports a Japanese school blouse with office trousers, rectangular glasses and a well-kept ponytail that seems to be regularly maintained, almost as if she was trying her best to appear as the perfect student. Her stature is typically very straight, too straight to be maintained through usual means, and her face is most often disfigured by the presence of a quaint smile betraying her utter playfulness. The sharpness of her eyes seems to do much of the same, giving off an eerie sense of both power and confidence that, combined with her smile, makes her appear very different yet also very similar to Kimiko's normal self, almost as if it was meant to mock her more than anything else.

No matter her shape or form, Yume primarily acts like a person who enjoys tormenting Kimiko through both playful teasing and what she personally considers to be friendly banter. She tends to enjoy watching her train without stop to eventually somehow beat her one day, and loves purposelessly messing with her growth to give her a taste of how her abilities would truly look like should she ever take over her body. Although she ultimately wishes to gain total control over the Shinigami, she sees Kimiko more as a friend to bully more so than something that she needs to push aside, a pet more so than a rival. As such, she always maintains an eye on Kimiko's progression to see how far she can go, how powerful she can truly become without her, and if it may one day be more profitable for them to work together as one rather than as two separate entities.

Although it is never clear when she wishes to come out of Kimiko, the rare times in which she does are welcomed both by happiness, satisfaction to finally see something else than the Shinigami's Inner World, and a pure unadulterated desire to destroy any enemy that stands before her. She fights quickly and mercilessly, employing dirty tricks and tactics as she pleases to forcibly render the enemy both unable to fight and obliged to surrender. Unlike Kimiko, honor and fairness are not concepts that are respected by Yume, for she will often purposefully unleash several attacks onto others out of the blue only to then immediately stop and run away. For all sense and purposes, she acts much more like a cruel assassin than a proud warrior, something that is completely contrary to everything Kimiko believes in. 

Because of her abnormal presence within Kimiko's Soul, Yume resides both anywhere and everywhere within Kimiko's Inner World, and will at times deliberately go out of her way to converse with the spirits lying within the Shinigami's blades so as to attempt to convince them to let her take over their selves. At times, she will even purposefully attempt to trick them into surrender, playing mind games with their ideals to get them to sign away their consciousness even further so that it can be replaced by hers. Since she does not truly belong within their worlds, the both of them find her presence unnerving, especially Taishokukane who firmly believes that her destruction is mandatory for Kimiko's safety. Nevertheless, Shizukakane is aware of what her presence truly means, and so has resigned himself to a fate that he knows will eventually come to both himself and his greyer partner.

Hollow Mask

"Tch...  Alright... I've had enough of this."

Much like the Vizards that have been previously recorded in history, Kimiko will eventually able to conjure her own Hollow mask to significantly increase her physical capabilities. In appearance, this particular apparel is not noteworthy in hindsight, as it is in fact one of the most basic Hollow masks that one can find. It merely consists of a plate of white harboring three holes: two larger ones for the eyes and a smaller one for the mouth. Due to the mask's simple features and the fact that the first two holes prevent anyone near Kimiko to look away from her bright red Hollowfied eyes, one can easily overlook the stranger details of the mask, such as the perfect circumference of each hole, the smoothness of the mask itself... and the many small, almost imperceptible sharp teeth that harbor the edges of the mouth. Despite the smoothness of its structure, however, it remains an incredibly-solid piece of equipment and cannot be easily destroyed by those who happen to witness it.

In essence, Kimiko's Hollow mask represents the emotional mask that she wears to hide her battle-addicted self from her friends and acquaintances for fear of judgement, which is an insecurity that she most likely will never be able to defeat. Although this fact is not consciously understood by Kimiko, it - alongside her hatred for short battles and her willingness to only rely upon her natural abilities - leaves her only willing to use her Hollow mask whenever its use is absolutely necessary to allow for her survival. In other words, she will typically never use her mask in a simple spar, a honest duel with a fellow warrior, or during training that does not revolve around the willing use of Hollowification. That would just allow her Inner Hollow to speak its annoying dribble even further.

Although rare, it is sometimes possible for the mask's appearance to change depending on Kimiko's emotional state and Yume's willingness to dabble with the Vizard's abilities. Whenever this happens, the most peculiar changes mostly revolve around the mouth of the mask, which will tend to crack into several expressions, one of which being a large cruel smile that reaches from one ear to the other. In a way, one could say that it is almost as if an entity more powerful than Kimiko and Yume themselves attempts to break free from the constraints of the mask. Fortunately, this does not happen very often, though it is safe to admit the event as being quite troubling.

---

[ A B I L I T I E S ]

Kimiko's experience at both the Academy and Soul Society as a whole has changed some of the views she previously had of both the world and herself. The newfound focus she has acquired in her battle against the officer of the Eleventh Division has made her understand that her path as a warrior of Gotei 13 will solely rely upon the exclusively-offensive use of the Iaijutsu technique. If she's so good with it, then she might as well get better with it until nobody else in the world will be able to rival her mastery. Maybe one day, she will even share her knowledge, bring it to others who wish to follow a path similar to her own. Until then, she shall focus all of her being into strengthening her technique.

As a result of this reorientation, Kimiko's Skills have been changed to now resemble the following:

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 1 Learning: 1               Strength of Will: 1	Iaijutsu: 1 Martial Art - Hohō: 1 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Analysis: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

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[ N E W   H I S T O R Y ]

Memorable Figures

• Shinkawa Hamanai: The teacher who was responsible for Kimiko and countless other students' education at the Soul Society's Shin'ō Academy. Among those who seek to enlighten the Shinigami of the near future within the Academy, Hamanai is one of the oldest there is. Born a notable amount of hundreds of years ago, he was known back then to be a very eccentric and happy man who sought to become the greatest painter of Soul Society. Unfortunately, as both his experience and age grew within the Ninth Division of the Gotei 13, the many horrible things that he has witnessed left him struck with both sadness and grief to such to an extent that he eventually turned into a completely different person. Now, the man is often considered to be the most severe and vindictive of all of the teachers of the Academy, keeping a watchful eye over all in an attempt to make them understand that the best way to fight in battle is not in close quarters, but instead far, far away. Some may consider this manner of teaching as a way for Hamanai to show care for his students, but to someone like Kimiko who loathes such tactics, all that care of his only led to incessant harassment and bickering between the both of them. She currently receives letters every once in a while constantly reminding her that the man wishes for her demise due to her inability to use Kidō, to which she happily destroys upon reading.
  

• Celes Shindazu: Kimiko's mentor and her closest friend. Having met the then-Vice Captain of the Tenth Division during a school lesson at the Academy, Kimiko has forged a close bond with Celes ever since of which she feels eternally grateful for. They have sparred together, trained together, and it seems as though there are many more days of training to come for Kimiko under her wing. It may seem like nothing for others in hindsight, but for someone like the swordswoman who has never really experienced such a close relationship with someone before, she sees it all as something to cherish for as long as she possibly can.
  

5) Another Life, Another School

It takes a while for someone to get used to going to school for the first time. You need to get used to new social terms that you do not understand, get ready to learn things that are still very new to your fresh mind, and also tolerate a whole new branch of hierarchy that you were once completely unaware of. For some, this is an easy thing to process, but for others, it can be quite difficult, especially when the school in question happens to be a particular institution which was specifically made for the equivalent of gifted spirits to learn how to become super-powered samurai warriors. As in literal spirits and literal super-powered samurai warriors, as someone might conclude upon reading that sentence for the first time in their lives.

With that in mind, it is thus perhaps easy to describe Kimiko's time at Shin'ō Academy as being turbulent. She had not expected that the very first thing she would do in her spiritual life would be to return to school, and quite frankly, she had even least expected it to feel this... normal. For the most part, her experience at the school was almost identical to one she has had in her Human schools. Sure, there were magical abilities fully on display here and there, and it was quite clear that she could not consider any of the people at the school to be Human at this point, but it nevertheless still felt like any other scholarly institution from its cafeteria and its library down to the inconsiderate bullies. Although it wasn't a negative time by any means, its novelty soon came to pass once Kimiko learned her inability to cast Kidō and consequently attracted the ire of her teacher. That was something that she could have definitely lived without, to say the least.

Thankfully, these two years of her life were not as boring as what that paragraph may have made it seem to be, for many unusual events occurred during that time for a student of her spiritual age. First of all, she was able to get the attention of a certain officer during that particular time, Celes Shindazu, and was able to in turn become her disciple, something which has been of great help to her since. Second of all, she was able to spar a member of the Eleventh Division and another Vice-Captain with relative success for a warrior of her caliber, and was able to witness the Shikai of her mentor in action. Finally, she was even able to survive against a Hollow on her very own during a guided activity in Karakura Town gone wrong. Hell, she has even made a ruckus in the Academy's courtyard with another member of the Eleventh Division shortly before her leave! Needless to say, all of these events have made her quite the celebrity within the Academy, and her reputation is now starting to precede her wherever she goes, something which she has yet to grow used to do ever since it began; after all, she was better known as a rather-quiet loner before her spiritual life began.

Despite this, something about her sudden rise in strength has left Kimiko unsure of if is truly normal. To put it bluntly, she believes her growth to be too rapid, too quick for her own good, and even starts to think of it as a bit unfair for those that study the same techniques by her side. Every day that passes makes her doubt the legitimacy of her abilities even further, makes her wonder who she really was and what she is really all about. At times, she would dream of her past relatives turning into Hollows, and at times she can swear that she can feel herself sometimes drifting away into an unknown place, almost as if she is letting herself leave her very being in that moment. Maybe the questions will stop once she becomes a proper Shinigami, maybe they won't, but for now, it seems as though she will have to live without proper answers for them just yet, for better or for worse.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

[ B A S I C   I N F O R M A T I O N ]

Character Name: Nakajima Kimiko

Class: Vizard Hopeful - Seated Officer - Third Seat (1)

Rank: 2

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[ Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S ]

Kimiko's career as a Shinigami officer of the Gotei 13 has been quite extensive, to say the least. Over the course of just a little bit more than two decades, she overcame many obstacles that would have usually taken down the common warrior tenfold, witnessed and survived what should have almost been the fall of the Soul Society more than once, and was nevertheless able in spite of all of those things to become a swordswoman of unparalleled strength, power, and will. These accomplishments, all more impressive than the other, have reached far and wide. The officers of the Eleventh spoke of her deeds, those of the other Divisions began to hear of her name, and through the establishment of her dojo, she began to also become a notable figure within Rukongai. Considering this, it would only be a matter of time before she would become a main topic of conversation amidst the wise ones of the Central 46.

During their conversations, the men and women of the higher government would speak of the following matters to decide if the woman should be potentially assigned to the position of Captain of the Eleventh Division:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Qualifying Threads}

Note: The following threads are listed chronologically within their sections from top to bottom, though some threads may appear out of order.

• Magical Inquiries, The Young and The Fresh, Karakura Daze & End of School Days:
  
  Kimiko's existence was noted as being rather exceptional during the days she has spent within Shin'ō Academy. For the measly two years she remained there as a student of the faculty, many of the teachers that interacted with her noted her as having an unusual amount of spiritual energy for her age despite being completely inept when it came to using Kidō, something which allowed her to accomplish feats in physical combat that normally wouldn't be feasible for other students. She could overpower most, if not all students that challenged her in a spar with ease, and even beat officers who had graduated from the scholarly institution. This performance impressed both Celes Shindazu, now-Captain of the Tenth Division, and Kawada Tsukuyomi, Vice-Captain of the Eleventh Division, while also attracting the attention of a few key individuals within Central 46.
  
  However, among the feats Kimiko has accomplished, the one that truly took aback the people of the shadowy political organization to the core was the way the young woman was somehow capable of defeating Teresa during a student activity gone wrong. Though this Hollow was but a Stray at the time, she had been active in Karakura Town and had proven herself to be strong enough to defeat the guide of the student activity, Sazaki Yumi, with ease. For all intents and purposes, Kimiko should not have survived this encounter, especially given that she had decided to attack the Hollow head-on, and yet she was able to do so without a scratch, albeit without actually killing the Hollow. This proved without a doubt that the young woman was capable of using her excessive spiritual energy to her advantage, while also being capable of showing uncommon strength and bravery in front of a typically-insurmountable threat. Some believed this bravery of hers to be more so akin to simple ignorance, though this was concluded as being a detail that was ultimately irrelevant at the time, as such qualities were particularly demanded in the Eleventh Division.
  
  
  
• Beasts for a Price & Dark Under Brightest Nights :
  
  The times which followed the woman's graduation were considered as outstanding by her superiors. They spoke of her as a woman with a high standard for quality when it came to the accomplishment of her own paperwork as well as a highly-motivated individual who sought to train her skills in swordsmanship as much as possible. Those were not uncommon characteristics to be found in recruits that were accepted within the Gotei 13, but they were nevertheless welcome, especially given her division often accepted new officers that were most often brash and unruly. Moreover, it did not take long for her to prove herself as powerful-enough warrior who could easily hunt down several Stray Hollows who appeared within sectors that were being monitored by the Eleventh Division without any notable difficulties, even if her ability in finding these Stray Hollows on her own often somewhat left much to be desired.
  
  What was more impressive was the fact that she was somehow able to uncover an operation that was being conducted right under the nose of the Soul Society all along. In what could only be considered as an act of complete treason, several officers of the Seventh Division had decided to defect from their usual duties by capturing Hollows and bringing them to a criminal organization of the Living World who remained within Karakura Town. Unfortunately, the profits gained from this operation has allowed this criminal organization - the Hirawa-gumi - to gain power by experimenting on these Hollows, then selling them to the highest bidder. In other words, the traitorous acts of these officers has allowed for the making of a new ideology to spread within the Living World revolving around the use of biological-spiritual weaponry.
  
  Unfortunately, despite the efforts of several Shinigami officers, the Hirawa-gumi's operations have not been ceased as of yet, as they have proven themselves to be quite a fierce organization with several Fullbringers at their disposal. However, if it were not for Kimiko's actions, such operations could have potentially never be uncovered, and the information that was brought out of the traitors who now remain within the Maggot's Nest could never have been found. As such, many men and women of the Central 46 believe this situation to be a showcase of Kimiko's utmost loyalty to the Soul Society, as well as her lack of hesitation when it comes to fighting an enemy that is not Hollow in nature.
  
  
  
• Rome Ruined in a Day? :
  
  The one point of contention to which many members of the Central 46 believed to be a stain on Kimiko's record for a certain amount of time. One day, the officer's superior was tasked to hunt down Teresa, the same creature who she had handled in Karakura Town years prior. At the time, it was believed that the woman would have found the strength to slay the beast, and so it was why her superior was permitted to give the assignment to her. Unfortunately, the antlered one had grown much during the time between their encounters, and by the time she was able to meet Kimiko again, she had turned into an Adjuchas. What followed then could have only been described as one of the worst disasters to have been recorded in the Living World in a very long time, with the officers who have witnessed the aftermath of the conflict describing it as a bloodbath.
  
  What happened during the battle was unclear, as Kimiko had found herself curiously incapable of remembering every part of it. Due to the fact that signatures of her spiritual energy could be found all around the area in which the catastrophe took place, some believed that she was partially responsible for a few Human casualties, and so many believed her to be at best susceptible to mind control and at worst unstable due to her excessive spiritual energy. It was to be expected for these people to believe in such theories; after all, in the world of spirits, there are beings who are quite capable of showcasing such abilities. However, after a time, it was simply concluded that Teresa had proven herself to be much more powerful than anticipated, and that Kimiko had simply tried her best to once again eliminate a threat that surpassed her. Hopefully, such a thing will never happen again.
  
  
  
• A Time for Games & The Distant Gray :
  
  Spiritual energy experts tend to generally agree that it takes time in order for a Shinigami officer to be able to achieve their Zanpakuto's initial release, let alone their final release. A typical Shinigami officer who does not have a notable record will tend to not be able to unlock their Shikai whatsoever, instead forever remaining in the lower ranks of the Gotei 13 until they find themselves becoming a casualty of war. Those who are more gifted or simply more skillful than these officers will tend to achieve this release, but it can take an amount of time that could be considered as being quite lengthy in comparison to the preferred standards of Central 46. This amount can very greatly per officer, and so it is often quite difficult for any expert to properly point out what it may be. However, most who study the matter tend to put this amount between three to five decades in the best of cases, with the worst cases instead being more so closer to a century.
  
  Kimiko was able to release her weapon two years after her graduation from the Academy. Then, not even a decade later, she was able to all-so-suddenly manifest another Zanpakuto from an Asauchi, and release it as well.
  
  Releasing one Zanpakuto in such a short amount of time was already an exceptionally-rare moment that is very much out of the ordinary, as it completely goes against many of the studies that have been completed as of the time of her accomplishment. However, releasing two Zanpakuto was something that should theoretically be impossible. It only ascertained the girl's unusual spiritual energy reserve, solidifying that she was an individual whose energy was so abnormally high that she could accomplish that cannot be done by normal means. Moreover, it showed that she was also a person who was strong enough to simply withstand the existence of two separate Zanpakuto.
  
  
  
• Evil Never Sleeps, It Just Waits & KILL SIX MILLION DEMONS :
  
  The Soul Society is still recovering from these particular events. In only but a span of two years, the celestial realm was subjected to two separate attacks against it which both took the form of invasions. The first invasion was conducted by a single entity who was capable of both raising the dead back to life and transforming whatever remained of their bodies into grotesque abominations, and the second invasion was instead a massive demonic onslaught. If it were not for the work of the Shinigami who were present during these conflicts, Seireitei would have potentially fallen. There were a few who even believed that the Soul King may have even been endangered by these conflicts. Such thoughts were ridiculous, but nevertheless important enough in such trying times to consider. 
  
  In any case, as to be expected, Kimiko was present during these conflicts. In fact, she proved to be a shockingly-powerful individual in both battles. Though she was but a Fifth Seat at the time who could not at all match the strength of the Captains at her side, she was able to defeat several of the more powerful undead that had been conjured without fail. Then, when the ones from below struck the heavens, she by herself eliminated a countless of demons in East Rukongai with such shocking strength that it had become impossible to properly calculate the number she had slain after the conflict came to an end. Apparently, this massacre was such that many of the lesser Hellions who had somehow survived the ordeal were found in a state of paranoia whenever they crossed the sight of a Shinigami, with a few of them begging the officers to send them back to Hell before the "Ink Devil" slaughters them into pieces.
  
  The fact that the officer was capable of traumatizing Hellions is a characteristic that was very much appreciated by the men and women of Central 46. It is a troublesome characteristic, seeing as it proved that Kimiko was not afraid to unleash indescribable violence upon her targets, but it was nevertheless one that could be considered as admirative. If a member of the Eleventh Division is capable of attacking with such might that they scare the enemies of Humanity, then it would be wise to keep such an asset under the control of the Soul Society.
  
  
  
• What Lies Beyond :
  
  Not much is publicly known about Kimiko's Bankai. Despite the fact that she herself fully possesses the strength to be capable of bringing her Zanpakuto to such a state, the majority of the forces of the Gotei 13 and the residents of Rukongai have never once presumed that she was able to do such a thing. It is rather difficult to blame them for thinking this way; after all, she was never seen actually wielding her blades' final release, and there has not once been a record of her spiritual energy ever reaching the energy levels typically associated with such a release, even if the act of differentiating her typical bursts of spiritual energy from those expelled by a Bankai is often more complex than it seems.
  
  Yet, one day, a massive eruption of energy was detected in the 52nd western district of Rukongai. It was an unusual amount of energy that was not to be expected in such an area of the Soul Society, and so many officers were sent there for investigation. It could have been a Hollow, or worse, a resurgence of the demons from Hell. Fortunately, what they found were not related to Hellions... but it could be argued that it was something more troubling in hindsight. There, where the energy was detected, only stood a massive hole. There were no trees, no grass, simply a sizeable hole of dirt that was somehow perfectly spherical in shape. It was as though something had somehow erased what once stood over this earth, or completely eradicated whatever was there to such a degree that it had been utterly disintegrated. Not even the reishi of the land itself remained, and so it became impossible to tell what had once been there.
  
  A time after this event has occurred, an anonymous agent of Central 46 revealed the culprit as being Kimiko. Apparently, they had seen the officer walk onto the road nearest to the hole in the opposite direction. When asked about what happened, she told the agent that she had fought a Hollow which resulted in the discharge that they had witnessed, but she did not elaborate any further, instead telling the agent to stay away. Why she decided to keep this a secret from the Gotei 13 is unknown, though some assume that it is because the blast could have only been caused by a spiritual Zanpakuto, which is a weapon that is most often disapproved by the members of the division. Though this reasoning is simply too petty for the people of Central 46 to bother giving much thought to, the fact that she was able to do this proves that she is even more powerful than they once believed she was. With that said, they would have much preferred they be informed of this incident sooner. It would be unwise to see her use this Bankai within Seireitei.
  
  
  
• Binding Chains & Where Dead Dreams Sleep :
  
  Kimiko was often described by the people who have interacted or personally witnessed her interactions as being a rather anti-social person. Though she was so loud in battle that she almost appeared as a wild beast who happened to be wielding a sword, she was almost a completely different person outside of it. She was quiet, somewhat meek, and most often did not attempt to pursue any form of social activity with the rest of her comrades. Despite the fact that the officer had shown signs of leadership here and there, this was at the time seen as an unproductive characteristic that could easily make her a rather unimpressive individual that could not be worthy of the mantle of higher officer if one simply ignored her strength.
  
  However, most recently, it would appear as though she suddenly became greatly aware of these features and sought to better them. What was able to suddenly kickstart this personal development is rather unclear, as this sudden change seemingly has happened over night at a first glance, but in the matter of a few years at best, a few officers started speaking of her in a more respectful term as rumors about her teaching others began to spread within Seireitei. Soon, Central 46 has come to learn of the birth of a particular school of swordsmanship within the 40th western district of Rukongai known as the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. The fact that the school itself existed was not quite what interested the most, but rather instead that Kimiko was gifted the school after she liberated it from a Hellion who was remaining within it a few years ago. Her being capable of simply maintaining this school afloat alongside all of her duties as an officer is nothing short of exemplary, and showcases that she is not only a very capable officer who can accomplish several tasks in a same day, but also a generous and motivated officer who is not afraid to share her knowledge with others.
  
  These qualities are not necessarily things that can be found within a leader. In fact, most of the teachers of Shin'ō Academy have never once been leaders themselves, instead having once only been officers occupying various positions of authority. Nevertheless, the most effective of leaders tend to at the very least showcase minor versions of these qualities prior to their leadership, meaning that they can evolve into something greater. Perhaps Kimiko could thus become a leader of a similar quality.
  
  
  
• How To Train A Hollow :
  
  The final feat Kimiko has accomplished as of late that has ultimately caused Central 46 to focus their most recent conversations towards the matter of the officer. During a vacation the officer took towards the Living World, sensors detected Hollow activity within Karakura Town. Such activity is not shocking in its own right, given the location within which it was detected; however, the spiritual energy associated with it was such that it caused many sensors to quite simply appear to break for the briefest of moments. An amount as big as what was detected could only be associated with not only a great number of Hollows, but more precisely a great number of Adjuchas. Fearing that Karakura Town was on the verge of becoming completely overtaken by the beings of Hueco Mundo, a squadron was immediately established to be sent to the Living World. By the time they arrived, however, they would find that whatever conflict had occurred there was over. All there was left of it then was an unconscious Kimiko lying next to a panicking artificial soul inhabiting her gigai, and an immense moss-filled crater of rot.
  
  The officer awoke the next day and appeared to be conscious enough at the time to explain what had happened. Apparently, as she went to the forest in order to conduct Jinzen with her Zanpakuto spirits, she encountered Ailene Haschiro, the Septima Espada. The two of them began fighting on sight, attracting many Hollows in the process before, at one point, the Arrancar suddenly unleashed a technique that caused her to explode. By then, Kimiko had been so exhausted by both the battle and the many Hollows she had slain that she had fallen unconscious. The investigation which was done near the crater concluded that the officer's allegations were true, and so it became public knowledge within the Gotei 13 that Kimiko had effectively slain a member of the Espada. This was not a random feat that could be accomplished by anyone, as such Arrancar are often seen as possessing strength comparable to a Captain's, and could only thus act as another assertion of Kimiko's power.
  
  
  

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[ S H E E T   M O D I F I C A T I O N S ]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Additions and Changes Found Here}

[ N E W   B A S I C   I N F O R M A T I O N ]

Real Age/Age of Appearance (Old/New):  22/20  ---->  48/20

Theme Changes

• General: No More Heroes - Do Not Destroy  ---->  Guilty Gear Xrd - Django Django
  
• Battle: No More Heroes - Season of the Samurai   ---->  Guilty Gear Xrd - Big Blast Sonic

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[ N E W   P E R S O N A L I T Y ]

Character Traits

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Likes}

• Food: Kimiko has oddly grown extremely fond of eating ever since she became a proper Shinigami. Although this could have once been considered as already having been a thing, given that she most often enjoyed western foods while she was a Human, her meeting Celes Shindazu has gradually led her to adopt a very similar philosophy when it comes to fighting and training, which is to always eat a lot of food after having conducted excessive physical exercises. It is quite miraculous that she not once grown fat over the course of time... though then again, given the ridiculous nature of this aforementioned training, perhaps it is not too miraculous after all.
  
  
• Her Dojo: The Nijū Kanmeki-ryu is what could only be described as something Kimiko qualifies as her greatest accomplishment as of yet. It is, in essence, the culmination of her Shinigami career manifested into a proud school whose name is becoming grander and grander as the years go by. Unbeknownst to many, however, it is also her own way to express her strength to her Inner Hollow, and to tell that she would not fall under her influence, no matter what.
  
  
• Teaching: It would not make sense for one to enjoy possessing a school if they themselves do not enjoy teaching. Despite having once presumed herself to be wholly unqualified for the field, Kimiko was eventually capable of realizing that she loves teaching. She enjoys showing to others how to accomplish certain things in their own way, as well as to see them grow more powerful over the course of time thanks to the lessons she has taught to them. Though she would herself would never admit, to be seen with respect by a multitude of different individuals from all across the Soul Society is also something that she appreciates immensely, as it brings her both pride and validation.
  

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Dislikes}

• Her Bankai: Achieving Bankai is considered by many Shinigami to be a very notable accomplishment. It identifies the one officer who was able to do such a thing as being not only a warrior who is innately superior to the majority of their brethren, but also a person who is worthy of wielding the mantle of Captain of one of the many divisions of the Gotei 13. However, though she certainly recognizes the accomplishment as what it is, Kimiko does not appreciate her Bankai. If anything, she thoroughly detests it. She finds its existence to be an error, a mistake, something that does not respect her core beliefs and instead attempts to apply its own demands onto her all so that it can be used for its own greater good. In so doing, she prefers not to wield it before others, and prefers to keep it as what it was supposedly designed to ever be: a final weapon to use against her Inner Hollow should things go awry.
  
  
• Inferiority: The relationship Kimiko has held with Celes Shindazu could be considered as having been majoritarily positive. With that said, something that the young woman has grown to learn from it was that she personally disliked being treated as someone who was inferior to somebody else. This inferiority could take on many forms and does not necessarily appear as negative in hindsight, such as Celes unconsciously treating her as a child. Hell, it might not even specifically affect her. However, no matter how she looks at it, she will always find it to be insultingly reductive.
  
  
• Magic: Kimiko generally dislikes ranged combat. That has always been true, even back when she was but a Human, and later on, a student of the Academy. Yet as she graduated from the Academy and then began to rise within the ranks of the Gotei 13, the young woman progressively became more and more intolerant specifically regarding the likes of magic. It would be true to assume that she hates magic because she finds it naturally unfair, and it would also be true to say that this hatred of hers has been indirectly accentuated by the likes of Shinkawa Hamanai. However, there seems to be a more profound reason as to why she loathes it all so much. Is it... envy? Jealousy? In any case, it unfortunately doesn't seem as though she is ever going to give a proper answer about that particular aspect of hers.
  
  
• Slavery: The horror Kimiko has witnessed during the time she has uncovered a black market of enslaved Hollows has made her reach an immediate negative conclusion in regards to the enslavement of a being. Whether this being be corrupted or pure, it is intrinsically evil to shatter the will of this being in order to force them to abide to another's bidding, no matter the reason this another may provide to defend their actions. In her eyes, there is no righteousness in robbing a being's authority and ability to be self-sufficient, even if that being was once the most cruel and violent there ever was.
  

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Fear}

• Losing Her Dojo: With her school now fully established, the one thing that Kimiko fears above most is to somehow lose it entirely. Though it is not something that is constantly plaguing her mind whenever she is away from it or the Soul Society, seeing as she trusts her students would be able to defend the school rather efficiently if need be, the mere idea that it may one day find itself under attack from a rampaging Hollow or worse is enough to make her fear the possibility altogether. Even she does not know how she will react if she witnesses her students lying dead on the steps leading towards the dojo.
  

Overall Personality (Current/New)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Initial}

Kimiko is what one could consider to be a woman of many faces.

Usually, at a first glance, one could easily see her as a focused individual who is ready to complete any goal given to her. Outside of a conversation, she is typically calm, quiet, with her concentration entirely set onto the activity that she is pursuing at the time. It does not matter whether it is reading a book or pursuing training: she will always maintain her full focus onto it until she is interrupted by either outside interference, a sudden need to stop or the absolute completion of her goal. In a way, it is what helped her reach success in the Human World and it is also unfortunately what has led her to her death. As such, she is aware that the control of this hyper-focused state of hers should be achieved over the course of time, as it leaves her slightly off-guard.

Within a conversation, the young woman will appear friendly and supportive despite how much her quietness tends to follow her around. Although she seems to almost speak in mumbles and hums with a penchant of preferring to limit the number of words coming out of her mouth, she at least attempts to participate in conversations the most she possibly can to further her admittedly-poor social skills, and that is even if she is definitely not the best talker around. Additionally, her mumbling does not dictate a wish for conversations to end, for she will always try to find more subjects to talk about if the talk appears to reach its end.

As such, if we take into account the last two paragraphs, one could say that Kimiko fits the typical stereotype of the awkward loner girl who prefers to remain alone unless talked to. However, this could not very much be said at all; after all, if that was really the case, then she would not have decided to go into Squad 11 or even join the Shinigami Corps. Oh no, if she really would have been just a normal girl who preferred to remain in her little world, she would have just remained within Rukongai as a typical villager uninterested in the likes of becoming a soldier for Soul Society, and in hindsight, the realm of souls abound. She would have stayed there in peace, with her only goal being to find books to read.

It is hard to normally see it, but Kimiko loves fighting. In fact, she adores it. Every day, she awaits her next battle with utmost anticipation. Whether it is a spar or an actual fight against a Hollow does not matter to her; instead, what does is the emotions she will feel during it. The excitement, the sensation of danger, the pulse of competition beating powerfully within her chest. It is what fueled her being then where she had to fight in the virtual machines that lied within the arcade machines of Akihabara and the dojo of her school, and it is what drives her forward now where she can now accomplish those virtual realities with her own corporeal form.

Of course, Kimiko's love for battle does not mean that she is an unethical fighter, as she makes sure to follow the guidelines dictated by the the collection of rules residing within the Bushido Code of samurai past. With each battle foreseen, she looks upon its virtues: Justice, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Honor, Loyalty and Self-Control. Although she may not always fully respect each and every single one of them, the girl follows them nonetheless and applies them to every individual fated to meet her blade. It does not matter if the opponent is a mere Hollow devoid of personality or a fellow Shinigami: all is equal to the Bushido Code, whether they be willing to follow it themselves or not.

This admiration for the virtues of feudal Japanese warriors also extends to their main weapon, the katana, which Kimiko admires greatly. She sees the blade as an extension of herself, an additional arm whose sole purpose is to bring victory to the one who wields it. As such, she has a particular connection to her Zanpakuto which she always keeps close to her at all times and often makes sure to conduct Jinzen almost every day. It is up to a point that she almost feels naked whenever she is within her gigai in the Human World where she cannot see nor feel it near her being. Without her sword, she is unworthy of any future victories, and without victory, she is unworthy of happiness and the sharing of the dreams that have yet to become reality.

Considering all of this, Kimiko thus could not have possibly fit in any squad but the Eleventh. She may not like everyone there and they too might not necessarily like her, but the simple fact is that her love for combat is just as immense as theirs, and so she believes that the other squads would have simply been unable to tolerate it in comparison. Nevertheless, despite all of these things, the young woman still aspires to become a symbol of righteousness for the inhabitants of Rukongai and the rest of the world's Souls alike. Hopefully, that liking for battle and obsession over success won't eventually make her stray away from that ultimate goal.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Dreams of Ink}

Although she now believes herself to ultimately be a strong warrior thanks to the support of her mentor Celes Shindazu and her peers, Kimiko is partly aware that the downright-prodigal power that she has shown to the Academy and therefore the Gotei 13 is not quite normal for a Shinigami of her caliber. Considering that she was a younger Soul in comparison to most other figures, the sheer speed at which her strength grows was unprecedented even among other prodigies of the Academy. That awareness had grown to such an extent that she was by then suspecting that a being beyond her understanding was influencing her physical capabilities in some way or another, possibly by fueling her body with more spiritual energy than necessary. For what purpose, she could not say at the time, but it had certainly made her grow uncertain and perhaps even a bit reluctant to admit that she was strong, instead still preferring to maintain a humble approach to any praise or criticism she may have received.

After a time, she was eventually made aware of the fact that her suspicions were correct. All along, there had been a being inside of her that was responsible for her rise in strength, and it had decided to remain in her dreams specifically to torment her during her sleep. Being unable to understand what this being was supposed to be coupled with both the mental and physical torture suffered from the nightmares she experienced almost every night led Kimiko down a path of utter exhaustion. She became less caring and patient, pushing herself away from others all to completely consecrate herself to things that kept her whole, such as training with Shizukakane - something which unfortunately was broken by the emergence of Taishokukane -  and going to the Rukongai to eat food during the evening. Eventually, she became something almost akin to a sword-wielding recluse who was trying her best to remain active within a community that she did not believe she fitted in.

This tiredness of hers became much more visible during battle. While faced with various threats of variable strength, the young woman found herself become much more susceptible to the many dozes of adrenaline she believed the being to be supplying to her, which led her to often hold irrational thoughts that almost seemed incomprehensible in hindsight. She would behave without care for anyone or anything that surrounded her or perhaps even herself to a degree, instead acting like a wild animal acting purely by instinct who simply wished to slaughter all that stood in her way for the sake of bloodshed alone. This observation was at its peak during the latest demonic invasion of the Soul Society where she slaughtered so many Hellions that, for the briefest of moments before they were sent back to Hell by her own blades, the creatures began to believe that her behavior was almost as demonic as theirs, if not more so.

At a certain point shortly after her very briefly learning about the existence of Inner Hollows and the acquiring of her Bankai, the girl began to recognize this behavior as her being led down towards a darker path that she did not wish to follow, and so she began to act more dispassionately. If it were not for the cry for help she threw towards Celes, it would have been easy to assume that the officer would have perhaps not been the person she is today.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Awakening from Slumber}

To be told of the existence of an Inner Hollow within one's soul is most often quite the traumatic experience for most Vizards. This is not really surprising; after all, it would be a shock for anyone to learn that there is a malevolent being that remains inside of them and that there is no easy way to purge it out of them. However, to finally learn the truth about the condition that has been hidden away from her for so long by both her own Zanpakuto spirits and the Captain of the Tenth was not a shock, but rather a liberation. Though she did not find it pleasant to learn of the dangers the Inner Hollow presented to her well-being, she was glad that the lies would finally cease and that she could finally strive to fight an enemy that was by then no more unknown than whatever threat remains in Hueco Mundo or Hell. It was something that she, at the time, felt that she could at worse identify with at least a nebulous term, fight with both her will and her weapons, and eventually conquer through sheer might. 

Unsurprisingly, this liberation has thus allowed the officer's behavior to take a step towards a more positive direction. Her attitude has become more positive, energetic, and motivated, enough so that she now almost appears radiant whereas she once instead appeared as the complete contrary. Not only has this allowed her to become slightly more receptive with her friends and squadmates, but it has also allowed her to pursue a field that she has not once ever considered as something she would have found herself being apart of: the realm of teaching. Perhaps her burning will has finally found the strength to burn the insecurities that she has been holding all this time within her heart, and turn every questions she once had about herself and the world around her to ash.

Nevertheless, though this positivity of hers is to be commended, Kimiko remains vigilant of her Inner Hollow and the activities she may conduct. The spirit within her has proven over the course of the last few years that she has now decided to progressively act with less and less restraint. The nightmares have ceased, but now, the officer feels as though the malevolent entity could take over her body at any given moment simply because she wants to. She remains hopeful that the Soul Society will remain unaware of her condition as well as Celes', and she has made sure to steel her will against the negative thoughts the existence of the spirit alone may conjure within her, but sometimes, even she cannot deny that it appears as though it is only a matter of time before their Inner Hollows are revealed to the other officers of the Gotei 13. Hopefully, when this time comes, they will be able to understand.

---

[ A B I L I T I E S ]

After having graduated from the ever-so-prestigious Shin'ō Academy, Kimiko became fully immersed into the culture of the Eleventh Division. Like most officers of the infamous squad, she began to accept the sword as an important part of her life. This has consequently made her see a need to enhance her skills in swordsmanship even further. Pseudo-obsessed by the sword and how to wield it, and still very much determined to become a master of the Iaijutsu technique, the officer thus eventually became a swordswoman of almost-unrivaled power over the course of her career as a Shinigami. With that said, the time she has spent in order to accomplish this mastery of hers has lessened her time training in Hakuda, leading her to become a less-fearsome fighter in hand-to-hand combat. Her free time was also affected, and so she has been finding herself reading less books and other written works, thus becoming slightly less knowledgeable about certain topics.

As a result of this reorientation, Kimiko's Skills have been changed to now resemble the following:

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Strength of Will: 3                  Analyzing: 2	Iaijutsu: 4 Martial Art - Hohō: 3 Battle Analysis: 3 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

---

[ N E W   H I S T O R Y ]

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Memorable Figures}

• Blue-Haired Specialist: An American Fullbringer who Kimiko has met after having uncovered the activities of the Hirawa-gumi a second time during her Shinigami career. Not much is known about this person even by the most knowledgeable people of the Soul Society. From Kimiko's perspective, he was an exceptionally-rude teenager who swore so many times, it was as though the word "respect" wasn't part of his vocabulary. More importantly, he appeared to be working with the criminal organization not necessarily as a member, but rather as a sort of hired gun to monitor the activities of the group and protect these activities whenever the need arose. The officer has never seen the man again after having defeated him and the Hollow he had enslaved, though she has a feeling that it is only a matter of time before they find themselves meeting one another once again.
  
  
• Emile Nelson: The first person to be officially recognized as Kimiko's disciple under the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. Born in the 32nd district of western Rukongai, he was raised in a large family of builders whose members were solely dedicated to better the living of the people who were not lucky enough to have been moved to the first districts. Having not much interest in the craft, however, Emile would eventually leave the business and instead head further west towards the 40th district in search for a place that could allow him to better achieve his true goal: becoming a martial artist. There, he found Gabrielle Voland and the great dojo she owned. For many years, he would follow her as her student and learn how to fight. His ability to learn was such that, one day, the master told her that she would give him her dojo should he one day prove that he was stronger than her. Unfortunately, this day never came, as during one awful day, the dojo was suddenly attacked by a Hellion who massacred everyone in the dojo, including Gabrielle. For years, he lived with this grief within the village below the dojo, watching powerlessly as the place he once called home became progressively corrupted by the demon. Kimiko giving him the chance to send the creature back to Hell in the same vein it had murdered his friends and master has allowed him to eventually understand that Gabrielle would have not wished for him to live with endless grief. As such, he now lives on at the dojo, looking over it and the village below as its wiser guardian.
  
  
• Gabrielle Voland: The one who oversaw the construction of and owned Kimiko's dojo long ago. Gabrielle is often considered by the people of the 40th district of western Rukongai to have been akin to an angel. She was often described as a soft and caring person who wanted to better the lives of everyone who remained within the mountainous region by teaching them how to fight, and so acted somewhat as the leader and protector of the district during that time. Even to this day, the people of the district could still remember how she defeated many Hollows who threatened the safety of the village with her bare hands. Unfortunately, her skills did not allow her to defeat the demon that has slain her and her students. Her death from the demonic coward has heavily impacted the lives of the village, stripping them of the strength they've once had until Kimiko was able to return the dojo to normal. Kimiko may have never met this person, though as a gesture of great respect for the woman, she hopes that the spirit of the master will be able to live on in her teachings.
  
  
• Binita Singh: A brash and foul-mouthed, yet skillful officer of the Eleventh Division who once acted as Kimiko's main sparring partner and one of the people who were most often paired with Kimiko during patrols. Before joining the Gotei 13, Binita was a resident of the 54th eastern district of Rukongai who was unfortunately born in a poor family that generally possessed a modicum amount of spiritual energy, which unfortunately often led them to become hungry. In an attempt to protect their family from starvation, she and her brother Faris would compete in various fights within the latter districts to gain prize money. They would win almost every fight, with the two eventually being crowned with the titles of King and Queen of Fighters by an audience of betters and bandits. Unfortunately, they were one day told that they would against one another, and that they had no choice in the matter. Faris refused nonetheless, and so was killed for his disobedience by that same audience. Traumatized, Binita subsequently entered a blind rage and immediately decided to murder every member of the audience responsible for her sibling's murder. Somehow, she was able to do so, though she was almost mortally-wounded in the process. Exiled by her family shortly after her wounds were treated by them due to their belief that she had a part in Faris' murder, Binita would decide to become a Shinigami in order to make sure no more tragedies occur ever again. Though she does not know much about Binita's story, Kimiko believes that the officer is amongst the most powerful soldiers of the Eleventh, and so could very much survive even in the most difficult of scenarios.
  
  
• Bushida Dai: An arrogant, brutish officer of the Eleventh Division who was once one of the people who were most often paired with Kimiko during patrols. A member of the wealthy Bushida lineage, Dai considers himself to be of the privileged sort. He was raised in a family of Seireitei that would give him everything he needed, was able to show that he was able to wield spiritual energy at a young age, and once he eligible, he was immediately sent to become a Shinigami with his mother paying expanses to make sure he would skip the Academy, which was a decision that more or less guaranteed that he would end up in a place where knowledge and magical expertise was not needed. Despite this latter fact, he naturally considers himself to be superior to everyone else within the division, which is enough to cause many to detest his presence wherever he goes. Kimiko is, of course, one of the people who has grown to dislike him, especially given that he has tried to attack her several times as a form of revenge for her constantly beating him in spars. Nevertheless, she believes that he could one day become a better person. How he is going to do so, however... remains to be seen.
  
  
• Charles Hensley: A sleepy and somewhat lazy officer of the Eleventh Division who was once one of the people who were most often paired with Kimiko during patrols. Charles is one of the people of the division who has officially seen true war prior to his days within the Gotei 13, as he was once an American soldier who participated in the Vietnam War. As such, he could be considered as someone who has true military knowledge that should have perhaps gone to a more strategic squad in comparison to the Eleventh, like the First. However, the memories he holds for the people who have captured and tortured him has made him rather unstable in battle, which has caused him to instead be stationed to the more-expendable group. Though he often appears as someone who greatly requires more sleep, he today most often act as a sort of straight man in casual conversations, making sure that everyone goes along with one another, especially Binita and Dai who hate each other quite extensively. His patience is something that Kimiko has admired for a very long time, and she believes that his strategic mind could benefit the Eleventh if allowed to prosper.
  
  
• Gideon Lockwood: An unusual and mysterious officer of the Eleventh Division who was once one of the people who were most often paired with Kimiko during patrols. Having come from the 72nd district of Rukongai, Gideon is perhaps one of the most feared men of the squad due to his looks. In hindsight, he resembles what could only be described as a Hollow attempting to resemble a Human, with sickly features and long limbs. His attitude in battle only accentuates this belief, as he acts almost like an actual Hollow within it, attacking quickly, irregularly and relentlessly. Yet the man is, more often than not, nothing of the sort. Outside of battle, he acts kindly and almost innocently, often preferring to do very harmless activities such as paperwork. His favorite hobby is knitting and reading the magazines often distributed across Seireitei, something which he quite enjoys to do whenever he is not tasked to train or spar. Kimiko believes that his strange personality is due to several factors, namely how he has died in the Living World and whatever has happened to him so far within Rukongai. However, she nevertheless thinks of him as a great ally who she can always trust in times of need.
  
  
• Siegfried of Balatoria: A seated officer of the Eleventh Division who Kimiko thinks of as her third mentor alongside Celes Shindazu and Kawada Tsukuyomi. Siegfried is a very proud and boasting individual who acts in a very knightly fashion in order to push his comrades to victory, whether this victory be an actual victory or something much more simple in nature in comparison such as being able to finish a complex report. He often speaks of his ancient home, Balatoria, and how he once ruled over the land there as a kind yet powerful king that defended his people from various threats, though no one has really heard of the place before, not even the oldest members of the squad. Despite this, no one thinks of him as a liar, and instead only believe it to be nothing more than a quirk of his personality that they enjoyed hearing. Though Kimiko believes him to be sometimes too eccentric for her liking, she understands that the man most often wants what is best for her, such as when he attempted to show her how much she liked teaching others by bringing her to an event held by the Academy. As such, she tends to accept his advice more often than not, and thinks of him as a great friend to have.
  
  
• Ailene Haschiro: The owner of a tea shop in Karakura Town. When they first met, Kimiko believed Ailene to be nothing more than yet another Hollow who she had to be careful with, with the only difference between her and the typical Stray being that she possessed an appearance that was more akin to a Shinigami's in comparison to them. However, as she came to know the Arrancar better, she began to understand this person as being a much more complex individual than she had once believed her to be. This was only accentuated once they met a second time while Kimiko was on vacation, which was when Ailene decided to relinquish her powers as an Arrancar in order to become fully Human. Nowadays, she thinks of her as a friend she can trust and protect from the law, as she believes that she ultimately deserves a quiet and solitary life after all that she has endured within Las Noches.
  
  
• Wynne Kuchiki: Kimiko's true first disciple. On one day that should have been completely reserved for training, Kimiko suddenly happened to meet this officer of the Tenth Division. The woman told her that she had been sent by Celes because she believed she needed to be taught by someone how to properly fight in combat. Though the officer of the Eleventh at first believed herself to be too inexperienced in the act of teaching to show her anything substantial, the time she then spent with Wynne has allowed to eventually properly realize that not only did she have a sort of gift for teaching, but she also quite enjoyed doing so. Ever since then, she recognizes Wynne as being her disciple. With that said, the tall woman has been oddly absent lately within the Soul Society, with even Celes being quite worried about the fact that she hasn't been getting any reports from her ever since the demonic invasion. Hopefully, she is safe and sound.
  

6) Rookie Days

Though she held a few worries regarding the nature of her rapid growth during her time at the Academy, Kimiko would go on to become a proper member of the Eleventh Division swiftly enough. In the span of only but a single week, she was assigned a proper Shihakusho, a bed, a list of tasks and duties that she needed to accomplish, and a schedule of activities that she needed to respect alongside her fellow comrades-in-arms. It was a bit of a shock for the young woman to receive so many things at once, especially given that she had only been a student of a school only but a few days prior; after all, there was a stark contrast between an educational environment and what was the equivalent of a military environment. Nevertheless, she felt that it was for the best that she get used to it without a word, and so tried to accustom herself to her new life without complaining as much as the other recruits that had joined her.

The first few weeks of her life as a Shinigami were... Well, they were not very impressive. The most of it was filled with the completion of various paperwork, the most of which she could only describe as being boring and uneventful. Chore lists, inventory approvals, it was all quite mundane. She was even at times asked to do a bit of cleaning within the barracks. It was not quite what was to be expected from a division who was often infamously seen as this rowdy bunch who only cared about swords and violence, and some recruits made sure to point that out to their higher-ups. Fortunately, Kimiko was diligent, and so she did not find herself ranting too much. Instead, she would keep her words to herself and work things out to the best of her ability. Sure, these tasks was mundane, but the group activities that were being held for those who had finished those tasks were definitely worth it in the long run. The cross-division event between the Tenth and the Eleventh was a testament to that.

Although their communications had decreased due to the then-Vice-Captain's promotion to Captain, Kimiko made sure to keep contact with Celes whenever she could. These opportunities were sparse, but there was one particular activity that they have decided to accomplish together that has caused Kimiko to be more interested in Zanpakuto and Inner Worlds. Unfortunately for her, she would be unable to access her own Inner World for quite some time. It would be as though her blade was simply refusing to allow her to speak to it, no matter how many times she would decide to conduct the Jinzen ritual. Eventually, however, she would be finally able to succeed in doing so a few weeks later. At that precise moment, within the great fields of her Inner World, she met the elderly spirit of her sword. Two years later, after a long and arduous journey, she was able to find his name, Shizukakane, and release him from his constraints. The fact that she was able to unlock her Shikai so quickly after her graduation was something that shocked even those who were the hardest to impress with the Eleventh Division, and so shortly after this moment, she was assigned to the squad's Fifth Seat.

The years that followed this accomplishment were, in hindsight, what to expect from an officer of Kimiko's new position. She would complete more paperwork, accomplish various tasks (minus a few chores), and spend time in group activities. She would also make sure to train in swordsmanship as effectively as possible in order to be able to wield her blade with a hand that would "guide it to victory", as Siegfried would so eloquently put it. What was interesting about her new position, however, was the fact that she could now properly go on various patrols. At times, the woman would be sent either to Rukongai in order to watch over some of the activities of the rowdier residents of the latter districts, and at other times, she would be sent to the Living World in order to hunt down Hollows. Two of these latter hunts - one where she found herself paired with a Fullbringer and another where she was instead paired with an Arrancar - even allowed her to find information about a particular criminal organization that captured and experimented on Hollows in order to sell them to the highest bidder.

But then, after what should have been a relatively-quiet early career despite Kimiko's great achievements, she and many others suddenly found herself witnessing many residents of Rukongai transform into flesh-eating monsters.

7) Silver Shades

The performance Kimiko showcased as she attempted to defend Seireitei against those who had been infected by the foreign spiritual disease was exemplary. She had proven that she was not only a great fighter who could fight even against the most dangerous of foes even though she was theoretically outmatched when it came to pure strength alone, but also a leader who could command troops when needed. In so doing, the superiors of the Eleventh Division decided to assign her to the squad's Third Seat, the very same one right below the Vice-Captain's. For Kimiko, this development was quite the honor, and she was at the time quite proud of having been able to progress so high up the food chain within the Gotei 13. However, unbeknownst to her then, it would be during this time that her beliefs in her strength would lessen and lessen, as she would begin to realize that something was truly wrong with her.

Every single night since she developed her Shikai, the girl would experience a terrible dream. They were not all the same to one another, but there was one thing that linked them all with one another: a single being within them that caused her great pain. She would make her suffer horrible injuries, make her believe that she was starving or being incredibly thirsty. When the being was at her cruelest, she would even show Kimiko memories of people that she has met before being distorted into things she could not explain. The worst part of them all? After experiencing every one of them, she would forget all about them, preventing her from recalling what happened in them and speaking about them to others. It was as though she had been trapped in a cruel cycle of endless violence with seemingly no way out in sight, and it tired her immensely. It was a miracle that she was somehow able to hold on for so long without cracking. Although, then again... sometimes, it feels as though she already had.

At one point, however, she would be able to remember the nightmare. Even now, she could remember it. The path towards Seireitei, the way it stretched on infinitely, the starving, the skies melting above a being who mocked her for her weakness... She was not sure of why she could recall of those things back then, but a part of her now believed that it was because of the streak of black she saw striking the being. It was perhaps not just the streak that made her remember the dream, as she was also suddenly able to see a growing spot within her Inner World that grew bigger and bigger as time went on. Eventually, she would conduct an investigation that she believed that she had sorely needed, and from it, she would conclude that this spot was perhaps created by her excessive spiritual energy by consulting the tale of a man who was able to generate a second Zanpakuto from a second Asauchi. Maybe she simply had too much of it which was causing the spot to grow exponentially until she acknowledged it. For all she knew, it could have even created the nightmares. As such, she went on to get another Asauchi. This event would mark the quasi-instant birth of Kimiko's second blade, Taishokukane.

Unfortunately, for the many years to come, the officer and the new Zanpakuto spirit would not go along. The silver shade was arrogant, dishonorable, and generally unkind. He was, in essence, the complete opposite of Shizukakane, not to mention that his existence had not stopped Kimiko from experiencing nightmares. As such, she loathed him. Due to the fact that the spirit demanded that she train with him every single day, this would make the officer become more and more irate in her every day activities. She did not want to socialize with her fellow comrades any longer, did not want to do anything but train, and was overall on a consistently bad mood, even though she tried to hide it from her entourage. There were of course times during which she was able to bring her feelings towards a more positive light, namely when she personally trained Wynne Kuchiki in combat and went to a spa resort with Celes for a day. However, the latter activity brought her down in a few ways, as it was during which that she has learned the being within her dreams was perhaps not simply a dark figment of her imagination. This was most especially noticed during the latest demonic invasion that rocked the Soul Society, where her thoughts reached their darkest point as of yet.

But then, one day, Kimiko had another nightmare. At first, she believed it to be nothing more than yet another one destined to grant her pain and suffering. However, she did not just receive pain in this instance. She also received a message. The being in her dreams directly told her that she would kill Shizukakane, the spirit of her first Zanpakuto. After discussing the matter with the elderly one, it would be decided to Kimiko immediately be set onto the path towards obtaining her Bankai. Fortunately, this path was rather short, as it only required her to complete a trial. Unfortunately, this trial was arduous and could have potentially killed her. Despite this, she succeeded and was able to come out of it unscathed, though with a power that she herself could barely accept as her own. At the very least, she could think of it as an effective self-defense weapon, even if she preferred to keep it hidden from public sight.

8) For Brighter Tomorrows

The year that followed the obtention of her Bankai was perhaps the one within which Kimiko was her weakest. With her greatest power being among her greatest regrets combined with her dislike of her Zanpakuto spirit and the nightmares, the officer had become demotivated and simply exhausted. She almost simply could not take it anymore, to a point that she almost did not even want to train any longer. She had ran out of questions to ask, and none of the ones that lingered within her mind had been answered. At the time, she had thought that she could have solved absolutely everything by simply working hard to find a solution on her own. However, she had been mistaken. She could not deal with this on her own or so much as believe she could do so on her own. In so doing, she turned towards the one person that she believed that she could trust most above all in the matters that she had found herself plunged into: Celes.

After a brief conversation, the two officers decided that it would be best to enter Kimiko's Inner World together in order to seek answers from the Zanpakuto spirits who had thus far remained vague and somewhat uncooperative. Though it was difficult and they both had to cross a few obstacles along the way, the officers were able to uncover what was most likely the most crucial piece of information Kimiko had ever received during her career as a Shinigami. The being in her dreams had never been a figment of her imagination. It was a true being, something referred to as an Inner Hollow by Celes. She was still not quite sure of what the being was supposed to be, but to simply learn about it and how it supposedly affects her was more than enough to finally put her on a track that she believed was satisfactory. It wasn't much, and she wasn't quite happy about the fact everyone had hidden this fact away from her, but it was something at last.

With this change of heart, Kimiko would feel herself becoming whole again. She was no more on the dark path that she believed was following; instead, she was now on a path that would lead her to what she believed would be victory against a being who clearly meant her harm. In so doing, she consulted her spirits more often about what she needed to do. Apparently, being happy was something that allowed the Inner Hollow to be pushed away, and so the Shinigami decided to do something that she believed would bring her happiness: teaching others how to fight with a sword. The question then was how was she going to teach these others without a place within which she could teach properly. In an attempt to bring an answer to this question, she would head towards Rukongai and begin a search for a school. Eventually, she and Celes would be able to find one located within the 40th western district which had been overtaken by a demon. Together, they would defeat the demon, and shortly after, Kimiko would claim this dojo as hers.

As of today, the Shinigami now stands as the master of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu, a new school of swordsmanship whose name is now spoken all across western Rukongai and Seireitei. She welcomes all, whether they be plain residents of the celestial realm or Shinigami of the Gotei 13, bringing her philosophy to everyone who wished to learn more about the blade. Whatever happens now, she will find a way to dedicate her life to the dojo, even if she is tasked to act as Captain of one of the thirteen squads due to her "slaying" the Septima Espada.