Hanaya Hirashi

[Hanaya Hirashi]

SQUAD FIVE VICE CAPTAIN FLOWER OF THE SEIREITEI TAG @tag OUTFIT Shihakusho WORDS 18,902 NOTES Blah

-Opening-

Member's Discord Name: Marcia

Password 1: Black Hole

Password 2: Moon Pray

Type: Prodigy Version 2

Squad: Five

Rank: Vice Captain

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-Basic Information-

Name: Hanaya Hirashi [華や 火ら師]

Age of Death: Eighteen Months

Real Age/Age of Appearance: 314 / 25

Birthday (Month/Day): September 17

Blood Type: O negative

RP Sample: Hmm, very formal indeed. The other woman even stood up. It was like being a kid again, back at the Hirashi mansion all those decades ago... Jee, who'd have thought people would be treating her like this again? Well not exactly the same, but same difference. She smiled sunnily as she was greeted. Captain Fēng was every bit as precise and graceful in her movements as Hanaya had expected her to be. She indicates that Hanaya is welcome to sit. A woman of fewer words, perhaps? She'd heard that Captain Fēng had a fiery temper, however and so she didn't exactly count on that. Hana herself was more easy going except- well if you were this tightly wound, she couldn't help but feel the urge to act a little mischievous. Hanaya was about to begin but then both she and Suì-Fēng noticed the papers on the desk. She sat, a finger raised in the air, her mouth open as if to launch into a sbiel, when the Captain decided to clear up the paper. It was a good idea, and Hana retracted her index finger, lowering her arm and shutting her mouth, pursing her lips as she awkwardly paused while the papers were rapidly put away.

She pulled her hair out of its bun, letting her long golden locks swing freely from her head as she did so, just to keep her hands busy, mostly. Luckily it was a fairly efficient bit of administrative work; Hanaya noted the Captain's firmness in her actions. This one knew what she was doing, evidently. Hanaya wanted to re-assure her that it was all right, her desk was usually a cluttered mess even worse than this, but she thought better of it. It was after the clearing had been done that the Taicho leaned forward, elbows on desk (Hana's hands were in her lap, her pretty fingers twiddling in a fidgety manner) and asked her to get to the point. Hanaya was struck speechless for a second, and pulled a face which was a mixture of incredulousness and confusion. Though it wasn't angry or upset or anything, in fact she looked like she was on the verge of laughing, almost.

"Uhh, yes. The point. Right. Uhm." Golly that was such an intense stare. It was the equivalent of people who gripped your hand really tight when they shook it. Her eyes sparkled back, their pacific blue awash with joy. "Ahh. I come bearing troubling news I'm afraid. Well. This news is to do with the 'recently deceased'," she mimed the quotes in the air, "shinigami Vanessa Vårjen. She was a transfer to the Kido Corps from the Second Division; her Zanpakuto leaked reiatsu all over the place, so she wasn't exactly fit for espionage, but it made her good with the Demon Arts, you see." Hanaya informed Suì-Fēng, in an attempt to jog her memory. Not so much joy in her eyes any more, as she relayed her serious tidings. "I'm not sure if you were informed but she was killed in the field some six months ago." Hanaya explained.

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-Appearance-

Height/Weight: 174cm (5 ft. 8.5 in) / 73kg (160.9 lbs.)

Physical Description: A confident, swaying, chest-first gait carries Hanaya throughout the world. It's the first thing to notice upon her entrance to a room, followed shortly thereafter by her willowy frame. Tall for a woman, Hanaya carries her height with grace, and seldom presents as lanky or gangly, instead slipping through the world with careless ease, visibly at home in her body. Despite her lithe frame, she is hardly svelte; her arms and stomach are finely toned, and she is possessed of a noticable bosom. 

Her flaxen hair is long, and usually worn down, or else pinned up with traditional ornamental barrettes and kanzashi when required for formal functions. She sports a long straight-cut fringe, which stops just above her eyes, into which her eyebrows disappear when she is shocked, or flabbergasted by someone else's actions. She also has two long bangs which frame her face which she often decorates with small flower pins. Her eyes are a pacific blue, framed by dark lashes, with the slightest crease at their corner when she smiles. Said smile is, more often than not, a toothy grin; fuchsia lips parted about pearly teeth, straight but for ever so slightly snaggled incisors.

During the summer, the bridge of Hanaya's nose, and her cheeks are dotted with miniscule freckles, though otherwise her usually porcelain skin, white with a red undertone, tans to a builder's tea complexion. Conversely, during wintertime, especially snowy conditions, Hanaya's fair skin almost glows with paleness. Often, when cold, the tip of her nose, her cheekbones, and the joints of her fingers all flush a deep pink, which she finds particularly aggravating and suffers little teasing for. Other than that, Hanaya is proud of her hands, and considers them her best quality. They're slender, flecked with but one or two freckles, with shapely almondlike nails, and smooth joints, each phalange sporting just a few soft blonde baby hairs.

Ordinarily, Hanaya is seen clad in her shihakusho, which she wears without any significant modifications, and ensures she tightens fully so as not to be too revealing. Outside of work, however, when she is attending functions, she is a big fan of delicate, floral print yukatas and kimonos, or else even simple summer dresses. In the winter, she might be clad in stylish fur boots and gloves, and wear velvet coats and cloaks trimmed with fur.

Now happier than she's been, Hanaya is often seen smiling and laughing; her bright face cheers up those around her. She is a very emotive person, and flushes quite easily when embarrassed. She bows often in apology, and is often seen flipping her hair back over her shoulders. She tends to cut her hair back to shoulder length between letting it grow out to her elbows. On the other hand, in response to either silly or useless actions by others, her exasperation also shows clearly upon her face.

---

-Personality-

Dislikes:

• Cleaning. Hanaya is pretty laid-back, and dislikes having to do cleaning, and indeed prefers cluttered places anyway. While she doesn't exactly enjoy dirt or filth all that much, she is not one to be bothered by a bit of dust or cobwebs, and takes a maximalist approach to belongings and personal living space.
  
• Owls. They just give her the creeps; she doesn't trust anything that isn't around when the sun's up in general, perhaps with the exception of cats and, of course, badgers, but Owls in particular give Hanaya an uneasy feeling, a creeping sensation of existential dread. This dislike is strong enough that it borders on a phobia.
  
• Coriander / Cilantro. It simply tastes like soap to Hanaya. Indeed, she considers herself unfortunate as she also does not possess the gene which allows for the tasting of the particular sugar which gives grapefruit its sweetness, ensuring that the fruit tastes purely bitter to her. At least, however, she can appreciate that a grapefruit might be delicious to those not similarly cursed. Coriander, on the other hand, is (to her) an irredeemable, soapy object of disgust, which she can't simply understand what it might have to offer.
  
• Smoking. She finds it rather distasteful, and can't stand the smell of most smoke, but especially any kind of menthol cigarette, or God forbid, a cigar. Occasionally, a particularly delicate tobacco blend, smoked through a pipe or similar, might give her a nostalgic feeling, though she would never even contemplating smoking anything herself.
  
• Nobility. In particular, arranged marriage and the damage many selfish and self-serving nobles can cause unsuspecting victims such as herself. While Hanaya has somewhat of a respect for the authority of law (out of necessity more than anything else), and the hierarchy of martial power, the influence of noble families is a matter of great distress to her.
• Paperwork. Honestly, who likes paperwork? Hanaya will find excuses to get out of doing it if at all possible, or will simply rubber stamp most documents due to her extreme exasperation.
  

Likes:

• Flowers. Flowers are Hanaya's greatest love, especially flowers with strong scents. Her favourites, however, are the especially delicate and beautiful alpine and upland wildflowers. Arnicas, bluebells, buttercups, snowdrops, lupines, saxifrage, daisies, heather cause Hanaya's heart to sing with delight.
  
• Tea. In particular, Hanaya is partial to Earl Grey and other breakfast teas, with milk. She likes her tea strong and milky, in a style often dubbed "builder's tea". In general, she carries a flask with her, as well as a couple of tin cups, in case the urge ever strikes her.
  
• Picnics. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned Victorian picnic, on days off, Hanaya will journey to picturesque parts of the Rukongai to take the air and enjoy finger sandwiches, Victoria sponge, biscuits, strawberries, crackers and cheese, sticky dates, and slices of pear.
  
• Choir Music. In particular, Hanaya loves male voice choirs. She has a thoroughly ancient gramophone procured from squad twelve which she uses to play records illicitly acquired from the Human World, featuring usually Welsh or German men.
  
• Rhymes, Puns and Spoonerisms. Indeed, Hanaya has quite the sense of humour, much of which is dependent on wordplay. She will often delight in the confusion and subsequent realization of others from her swapping letters in her words, especially words which sound funny as a result.
  
• Sunshine. A total heliophile, Hanaya loves being in the sun, enjoying its warmth and light, like a plant drinking its rays to grow and flourish.
  

Flaws:

• Hanaya possesses a deep scar on her midriff, above her belly button, from where her late husband stabbed her in a rage. While she considers it a physical flaw, one which she dislikes, she has not sought for it to be removed by the healers in Yonbantai, as a reminder of the vicious man which she managed to escape from, and to never allow herself to be chained by another who wishes to use and control her.
  
• Even in serious situations, Hanaya can come across as a little flippant. That is not to say that she is arrogant or cocky- she does not hold herself in higher regard than she ought, but even at moments where it would be ill-advised, she still has a tendency to make light of the situation, which can work to her detriment, especially when it comes to more dour superiors, or even more, hot-tempered opponents who take her humour as insult.
  
• A strong proponent of "work smarter not harder", Hanaya can be extremely bone-idle, which can lead to goofing off, though never quite to the point of shirking her duties and responsibilities entirely. She simply possesses an orthogonal set of priorities to some people around her, and those priorities include getting enough time lying in the sun or getting some R&R done, and not so much ensuring her paperwork is word-accurate.
  
• Although she would never admit it, Hanaya can be guilty of using her charm and good looks to get her way. While she would refuse to accept it, she can be a little manipulative, and subconsciously, if she finds someone who seems attracted to her, she might pump the gas a little if she wants something from them. Someone might be upset when their expectations are spurned down the line.
  

Habits:

• Given the two long bangs either side of her face, Hanaya has a tendency to grab and twirl the ends of them between her fingertips if she is feeling bored, restless of exciting. She twists them around her slender index finger, and rolls the strands between the same finger and her thumb.
  
• Often, when she is pondering something deeply, she will bend her index finger and bite at her second knuckle: the one between her intermediate and proximial bones. When she's thinking especially hard, she bites with a lot of force, which she says helps her concentrate, and leaves little teeth marks in her finger. Those who know her well might see that she's been contemplating something deeply by observing these little dents.
  
• She has a habit of saying "now, in a minute" to indicate something happening either straight away or even up to an hour away.
• Whenever Hanaya greets someone, or parts from someone, she does it three times; "Hello, how are you, how are you doing?", "Goodbye, see you later, farewell." Partly she regards this as simple politeness, though it's born of an unconscious whimsy.

Fears:

• Above all else, Hanaya is afraid of the night. Hollows often emerge from the darkness, and for her it has associations with being lonely, and oppressive. Throughout her life, Hanaya has found little refuge in the night, and as a lover of the sun, being without it makes her sad. This is more than a simple fear of the dark, indeed she can manage in the darkness. But the kind of deep quiet nighttime brings, its citizens, and the monochrome bleakness of a life under moonlight terrifies her.
  
• Incarceration is another fear of Hanaya's. Having spent much of her life feeling trapped; in a home, in a marriage, in a family which she did not care for or feel any particular love of, and having subsequently broken free, the idea of once again losing her freedom is a source of existential dread for Hanaya, and one which she battles against almost every day. Her fear is so great, that in battle, even the threat of some power or ability which might lock her away indefinitely will be enough to send her into a berserk state, acting more aggressive, like a cornered animal.
  

Goals:

• Hanaya wishes to grow stronger, for the sole purpose of ensuring her continued liberty. Motivated by her fear of being trapped, she wishes to gain power not to use to oppress or to gain authority over others, but simply to gain more authority over herself, and to ensure that no-one must be trapped in the way she was, if there's anything she can do to help it.
  
• Additionally, having had the opportunity to discover herself, she has found a love of studying, and especially studying and learning Kido. The opportunity to develop kido in Gobantai is a golden chance for her to fulfil her ambition to learn everything she can about casting spells and understanding how to develop ever more effective kido.
  

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Overall Personality: In her deepest core, Hanaya's key trait, the one which informs and overarchs her personality is her tenderness. It is both a positive and negative trait, but despite all the transgressions the world has visited upon her, Hanaya retains her gentleness, and her softness. In the past, it has allowed others to take advantage of her, or belittle her, however she feels a great sense of personal pride in the resilience required to ensure that she has not become cruel or hard when treated with callousness and rigidity. Her tenderness extends to all those around her; in her care for her friends, her compassion and mercy for her enemies, her special patience and love for children and animals.

Tenderness need not be mistaken for weakness however. A strong proponent of the paradox of tolerance, Hanaya is under no illusion that there are many in the world, even if through their own unfortunate circumstances, who wish to harm and destroy others. She is unafraid to apply her considerable strength towards their destruction, even if she attempts to sway them from the course of darkness. She will fight to win, and do so decisively, without holding back, causing unnecessary suffering, or toying with her opponents.

In less forlorn matters, however, Hanaya is seriously goofy. She'll often pull silly faces to react to things, and her love of jokes and puns fuels her desire to break the ice and put people at ease. She's not above giving a gentle ribbing to people she knows, or even people she doesn't who might appreciate a good joke, or need lightening up. Never nasty, she always tries to use humour or flippancy to lift others up. Part of her playfulness does sometimes extend into battle. While she does not wish to cause suffering, when facing off against the right opponent, she can come to enjoy a fight, treating it like a game.

After centuries of working hard; to please her family in law, to fight for her emancipation, Hanaya has embraced the joys of idleness. The first to suggest bunking off to spend some time in the sun, she will find any excuse to avoid chores, or paperwork, or any other kind of dull, menial work. She isn't above making use of her feminine wiles if need be to entice others into completing her work. Indeed, she can be rather mischievous when prompted. Accompanied by a sly side eye, and a wry, twisted grin, Hanaya might prompt others to embark with her into silly situations, to see what shenanigans they might accomplish.

More than anything, Hanaya loves the outdoors. She loves to be in nature; around flowers and plants and trees. She has an almost obsessive need to be outside as much as she can be, and is virtually unable to resist the allure of a fair day. While she eats meat, and enjoys game and fish her favourite foods are all providence of the naural world; fruits and nuts and berries and honey, rosetips, and mushrooms. Hanaya also loves the first day of rain after a dry spell, and will happily get soaking wet dancing through puddles, inhaling the petrichor. Long rainy spells, however, will get her in a funk, making her depressed and blue, but she always bounces back as soon as the sun comes out once more.

Hanaya struggles around people who take themselves too seriously, especially those of a higher rank where it is important that she doesn't make light of their rigid dispositions. As someone who has truly suffered, she finds the idea that pain and churlishness are required in order to be treated with dignity to be banal in the extreme, and will inwardly scorn those who insist on using their hardship to spread even more misery in the world.

One thing which she has come to understand of herself since her emancipation is her love of learning. As a younger shinigami, Hanaya was a prodigy, especially in the spiritual arts, picking up skills and growing in strength easily despite not necessarily being the brawniest person. However, at that point, this was merely a necessity- an expectation put upon her by her in-laws. Now a free woman, she has returned to studying; studying and researching Kido for her job in the fifth squad, studying the history of soul society, studying martial and spiritual arts in an academic sense. She has become quite the little bookworm, and can often as not be seen carrying an armful of scrolls around with her, or else within a canvas satchel.

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-Powers-

Type: Prodigy Version 2
Description: Someone who is extremely skilled and has had a natural talent for things since a very young age. These individuals have skyrocketed ahead of their peers thanks to this natural talent. However, this talent is a double-edged sword that has occasionally caused them to become too accustomed to having it easy and not having to work hard, which can come back and bite them.
Advantage:
Rank 2: Double either Reiatsu Strength or Spiritual Pressure (100 would be 200). Double either Energy Sensory or Healing Expertise (100 would be 200). Capable of using higher-Class techniques a class early (capable of using Class 2 techniques at Class 4 instead of Class 3).
Disadvantage:
Rank 2: Select either Strength of Speed to decrease by 45% (100 would be 55). Instinct is decreased by 45% (100 would be 55).
All Ranks: Select either Energy Sensory or Healing Expertise (whichever was not boosted) to be decreased by 66% (100 would be 34). A character may not “avoid” this drawback by leaving the Stat at 0. A Prodigy v2 must put at least 25 points per Rank (up to 100 SP at Rank 4) in the Stat being decreased. Characters of this Type cannot take points in either Calm Mind or Lack of Fear (or equivalents thereof), and are also prone to mental instability and mental games.

Fighting Style: Hanaya is a gentle person by nature, and generally averse to fighting. This is reflected in her battle style, where she will generally attempt to avoid bloodshed and only employ aggressive, violent methods as a last resort. This is embodied in her tendency to hang back, begin a fight defensively, and study her opponents' plays, choosing to strike decisively when she has a tactical understanding of the fight. This can cause trouble especially when she faces off against opponents who get more powerful the longer a battle has been ongoing, though generally, she finds it favourable to forego the potential advantage of a swift first strike given the risk of that sort of recklessness not paying off.

Overall, her style relies on versatility; not sticking to a single mode of attack or defence, but playing up her ability to employ skills in all four of the shinigami disciplines; zanjutsu, hakuda, hoho, and kido, to find openings and overwhelm her opponents with a chaotic strategy which makes it difficult to predict what will come next. This ability to gradually ramp up pressure over the course of a fight by changing her approach to match the situation is her greatest strength. It is also not something she chooses to boast about, as she feels that obscurity is a powerful tool which can win fights.

When fighting using her zanpakuto, she employs quite traditional, but well honed kendo skills, relying on her reactions and observation to drive home any advantage she can find. Of course, in Hanaya's case, a simple katana is the least of the weapon skills she is able to bring to bear. Often, when fighting with the use of her shikai, she is able to take advantage of a fighting style unique to her, which she calls Jūnanjutsu [柔軟術]. By adaptively changing her weapons, Hanaya is able to find any niche which can net her an advantage and abuse it. Using the special properties of her zanpakuto to transform its shape, she can employ any number of weapons; swords, spears, maces, axes, all of which have specific uses; such as the enhanced reach of a spear, the hooking and strong swing of an axe, the nimbleness and fine control of a sword. She has spent time mastering a myriad of weapons of differing styles in order to ensure that she is able to effectively use her zanpakuto regardless of the shape it is in.

She is also not above tactics some might consider underhanded. If a situation has deteriorated to the point where violence is necessary, Hanaya feels little honour, and will happily rely on the aid of allies, or other distractions in order to gain the upper hand. Using the fluid motion of her zanpakuto, she might engage an opponent in close quarters combat, while employing a sneaky tendril of Rensui Nagareru in order to attack simultaneously from a blind spot. She is also not above lying about the nature of her weapon; often preferring to pretend, or else imply that its properties are merely the transformation into a particular type of weapon, while reserving its true properties for a surprise play. Even then, this might simply comprise of a transformation of her weapon into another, without revealing the fluid nature of Rensui Nagareru.

Beyond her weapon skills, Hanaya is capable of deploying kido to devestating effect. Following her nature, she is more likely to employ bakudo to defend against attacks, and bind opponents than to open up with hado spells. She is particularly skilled at these types of kido, and has a good understanding of when incantations are necessary, and when they must be foregone in aid of expediency. She will use these spells to keep her distance and study her opponent, learning more about their powers and teasing attacks from them so she can analyse their function and devise a counter-strategy. For this purpose she is capable of rapidly employing barrier-kido to protect against attacks, and sense their energy.

When the situation calls for it, especially if she is backed into a corner, she can also attack very aggressively. While she's developed her close combat skills to be sufficient, she is at her most powerful at range, where she is able to more freely manipulate the battlefield. In addition to the bakudo mentioned above, she is able to employ devestating attacks from her zanpakutou; blading, lancing, and concussive blows. In combination with her excellent ranged capabilities with her zanpakuto, she deploys hado in tandem, unleashing devestating combination attacks when she has reached a point where she feels she must go on the offensive.

In one particular circumstance, when she herself is trapped by an opponent, Hanaya will become truly desperate, and will begin to fight with a savageness more befitting a berserker. In this state, while the change in pacing can be a surprise and her sudden aggression can put foes on the defensive it comes at the cost of abandoning her analytical approach and cautious nature, leaving her more open for counterattacks and retaliation.

Zanpakutou Spirit Appearance: Rensui Nagareru takes the form of a very tall woman, with extremely straight, flowing black hair. She wears a silvery yukata, and her hair is bound in an ornate copper headpiece, from which many small copper talismans dangle, making a slight jingling noise. Her wrists are shackled by copper restraints, and she is blindfolded. In her Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa form, she is no longer blindfolded, and the copper restraints are broken, but still hang about her wrists. Her hair, previously straight, billows outwards in constantly undulating waves.

Inner World:

Hanaya's inner world takes the shape of a large, alpine meadow, filled with flowers. Mountains tower in the distance, and a sparkling, crystalline river flows through the landscape, icy cold and perfectly clear. The sun shines down warmly, and a cool breeze can be seen rippling in silvery waves over the grass and petals. In the distance, a small stone house with a wooden door sits by the largest of the rivers which trickles its contents into a bright blue lake. The house possesses a waterwheel which turns lazily in the current with a pleasant creaking and splashing.

When Hanaya is experiencing moments of turmoil, night falls over the meadow and a deep orange half moon shines ominously down from the sky, reflected in the surface of the lake. The flowers are not present, and instead there is only long grass, which trips and grasps at Hanaya's ankles, which grows from a bed of sticky, sinking mud.

Zanpakutou Appearances: 

Asauchi
In asauchi form, Rensui Nagareru is a slightly longer than average katana (to accommodate Hanaya's height). The blade itself is unremarkable, similar to most other shinigami's asauchi. The tsuba is shaped as an extended octagon, with its longest sides along the width of the blade. Upon the tsuba are two carved images of flowers; on the grip side, they resemble snowdrops, whereas on the blade, there are carvings in the shape of bluebells. The ito, or braided fabric which covers the handle, is pastel pink in colour, and wrapped in the traditional fashion, leaving diamond shapes exposing the handle beneath.

Shikai
Upon calling the release phrase, Rensui Nagareru melts in its entirety, changing from the shape of a sword into a viscous dark grey, almost impermeable metallic fluid, which rapidly drips from the previously held sword, before coalescing into a loop of flowing liquid, up to fifty gallons worth, which orbits Hanaya. It resembles a river flowing across the land on a moonlit night. When the fluid hardens, it becomes black, and any bladed segments shine a steely silver colour, in this regard matching other zanpakutou. Hanaya often chooses for the shikai to condense itself and retain certain forms with which she is accustomed to fighting. The zanpakutou might immediately take one of these forms when released, which include shapes such as a katana-wakazashi pair, a large halberd, a skin-tight set of dark gloves, a series of orbs which orbit in a figure eight.

Bankai

Releasing her bankai causes a torrent of fluid to emerge from the blade, which must be reformed from the shikai in order to activate the bankai. This fluid appears similar in nature to that of the shikai, the main difference being the enormous quantity, which grows to one thousand gallons. In this form, while it flows, it resembles an enormous river flowing, or even the milky way stretched endlessly across the sky.

Shikai Name: Rensui Nagareru [蓮水流れる] (Flowing Lotus Water)

Shikai Release Phrase: Overflowing cup topple over, enticing scent ride upon the breeze, show the moon's distortion reflected on your turgid surface, surge, Rensui Nagareru!

Bankai Name: Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa [蓮水流れる天の川] (Heavenly River of Flowing Lotus Water)

Overall Ability: Much like Hanaya's history of shaping herself to the needs of the Hirashi family, the ability of Rensui Nagareru is to contort itself to the desires of those around it, losing its own form in the process. Both the shikai and bankai share the same power; to become a fluid which the user can freely control telekinetically, or with greater dexterity if they employ their arms, hands and fingers into somatic gestures. The fluid travels at speed 500 if controlled by the user's mind, or 600 if they use their hands. Portions of the fluid can instantly stiffen according to the user's will, creating sharp blades or structures. These structures may be reshaped by once more being turned to fluid and rejoining the rest of the fluid of the zanpakutou.

Shikai Overall Ability: The ability of the shikai takes the shaping of the zanpakuto in a literal sense; the initial release largely involves the use of the fluid for attacking, and defending. It may be shaped into whatever structure Hanaya desires whose total volume is fifty gallons or fewer, with smaller volumes involving the compression of the fluid into a more concentrated shape. This means that it's possible for Hanaya to compress the entire mass of the zanpakuto into the shape of a single weapon such as a sword.

This ability allows Hanaya to attack from a distance, using fast-moving tendrils of the fluid with solid, bladed edges to slash at opponents from afar, or even to cage opponents. She can engage in melee combat with a weapon she extracts from the total volume of fluid while sending a blade at an opponent from another angle entirely, or send several sharpened, solidified pieces of Rensui Nagareru at opponents. She can also create large sheets of it to defend against blows, or energy attacks such as cero.

Bankai Overall Ability: The bankai ability of Hanaya's zanpakuto increases the volume of the weapon immensely. On its own this would be a significant boost in power, however the true strength of Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa is in its ability to more radically shift and alter itself to manifest the desires of those around it. While it can't mimic battle techniques or releases, the shapes that the zanpakuto assumes can transubstantiate into the objects which they represent. For example, Hanaya could shape the zanpakuto into a loaf of bread, which when solidified, would change from metal into bread. Of course, there are limitations to this ability; Hanaya must be able to accurately recreate the object, and of course, whatever is imitated using this quasi-illusion cannot exceed Hanaya herself in strength.

This more conceptual ability of the bankai has a drawback, however. It responds to the desires of those other than Hanaya. While Hanaya is the only one who may command the bankai to act, she must take into account the inclinations of those around her. Should Hanaya command her bankai to alter itself to accommodate herself without consideration of her opponents' or allies' aspirations, she may face unintended consequences as the zanpakuto attempts to adhere to the wishes of everyone around it, or else it may simply be unable to do as she asks of it.

Zanpakuto Techniques:

Technique Name: Furyoku Kugutsu Yoroi [浮力傀儡鎧] (Buoyancy Marionette Armour)
Class: 3 | 300 Reiatsu
Technique Type: Shikai
Technique Description and Effects: Hanaya coats her body and limbs in a pattern of her zanpakuto's fluid. This enables her to augment her movement by solidifying portions of the zanpakuto in the shape of rings, connected by bands the liquid, which she is able to manipulate using her zanpakuto's abilities. By manipulating her own body through the use of her zanpakuto, Hanaya is able to keep moving even when her body is damaged to the point where she would not be able to will her muscles to move; or even if she has sustained damage which would make it impossible for her to move. This technique can additionally be used if, for some reason, she has been rendered immobile, due to poison, or some other ability and allows her to regain her ability to move.
Technique Drawbacks: The primary drawback of this technique is the loss of use of some amount of her zanpakuto; the Marionette Armour uses 10% of the shikai's total volume of fluid, which cannot be otherwise used for attack or defence.

Technique Name: Kōgeki Negai Setsuri [攻撃願い摂理] (Attack Wish Providence)
Class: 3 | 200 Reiatsu
Technique Type: Bankai
Technique Description and Effects: This ability serves to grant both Hanaya and her opponents' desires simultaneously. It allows an opponent to strike Hanaya through construction of a simulacrum of her, and it allows Hanaya to simultaneously manifest her desire to avoid being struck. When she is about to be struck by an attack, Hanaya can cover herself with an almost invisibly thin shell of her bankai's fluid, and extends a tiny river of the fluid away from herself. She then travels 'along' this thread at a speed of seven times her zanpakuto's speed (600), leaving a lifelike imitation behind which suffers the effects of the attack, even bleeding or bruising from a blow, while Hanaya emerges from the end of the fluid.
Technique Drawbacks: Hanaya is momentarily vulnerable the instant she exits the river of fluid. Additionally, any solidifed parts of the bankai which she was holding must be reconstructed, as they simply meld into the thread-like river. If the opponent is especially perceptive, they might see the river of fluid extending from Hanaya (especially after multiple uses of this technique) and take advantage of it.

Technique Name: Nikutai Mippū Nagare [肉体密封流れ] (Flesh Sealing Current)
Class: 3 | 200 Reiatsu
Technique Type: Bankai
Technique Description and Effects: Manifesting the combatants' desire to continue fighting, and survive, this ability allows the fluid of Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa into a kind of substitute flesh, which can be used to seal (but not heal) wounds, and even construct limbs with which to fight, which function identically to the originals. Hanaya is able to very finely and relatively quickly produce this sealant using her telekinetic manipulation of Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa.
Technique Drawbacks: When Hanaya uses this technique, her opponents are also capable of using the fluid to seal their wounds. If they are able to get ahold of any of Hanaya's bankai fluid, they are able to paste it onto their wounds in order to seal them; the sealant cannot subsequently be removed by Hanaya. It also temporarily disables all other uses of her bankai for the remainder of the post where Hanaya uses this technique. While the sealant lasts beyond the use of the technique, it does not actually heal wounds, or restore limbs. As soon as Hanaya's bankai is sealed, these wounds open up once more, and can cause shock from cumulative injuries occurring all at once.

Technique Name: Genkaku Kairen Sekai [幻覚海蓮世界] (Illusory Ocean Lotus World)
Class: 1 | 400 Reiatsu
Technique Type: Bankai
Technique Description and Effects: Genkaku Kairen Sekai is the ultimate technique of Hanaya's bankai. It begins by the fluid of the zanpakuto vapourising into an incredibly fine, cloudy grey mist that begins to seep into the air around Hanaya at the speed of her zanpakuto, and extend up to one hundred metres away from her over the course of two posts. Anyone within this radius will be affected if they breathe in the mist or it otherwise enters their sinuses, lungs, or bloodstream. In the first post they are exposed, if they breathe in the mist, they become affected. Simply holding one's breath is insufficient; it is necessary to block one's airways entirely. It takes two posts for the mist to seep in through exposed wounds, and three for the mist to enter through the sinuses; that is, the tear ducts, or the eardrums. The vapour is not harmful, and will not cause any ill effects to individuals affected by it.

Once the mist has fully spread out, the world within the Bankai's range initially begins to fill up at the zanpakuto's control speed, as if with water, which then washes away, leaving behind a world or environment of Hanaya's choosing. The Bankai creates an entire world within its area, a world in which Hanaya has total and utter control. She could construct it as a wildflower meadow; a vast desert of mesas and scrubland; a bustling cityscape filled with people moving to and fro; a blank white room, even. Hanaya has total control within this realm, as its mistress, a place where she is totally free.

If an individual has been affected by the vapour, Hanaya may choose for the world to take on a shape which is enticing or desirable for that individual. A manifested world of Genkaku Kairen Sekai then emerges which mirrors the deepest longing of that person; perhaps it is to spend time with a beloved and long lost colleague or friend. Perhaps it is to be home safe, with family. The individuals represented in that character's desire are manifested by Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa, using that person's own conception of them to form simulacra of their loved ones.
Technique Drawbacks: Use of this technique requires almost the entirety of Hanaya's bankai to be used and as such when it is activated, she loses the ability to manipulate the zanpakuto's fluid, as it has transformed into the vapour which coalesces into the world which is manifested. Hanaya is, however, left with a single katana for a weapon.

A Special Master in Illusion Resistance is able to discern that this world is merely a creation of Hanaya's zanpakuto, as well as a character with any Sensory stat greater than at least 25% of Hanaya's highest spiritual stat.

Unlike with her zanpakuto fluid, changing aspects of the world which Hanaya has manifested costs her reiatsu. For small things, like changing small objects; a picture on a wall, a rock the size of a fist, a pencil this cost is negligible. However there is a reiatsu cost for larger objects. Generally, when both creating the world, and manifesting additional objects within it, if that object is used to directly cause harm to someone within the realm of the Genkaku Kairen Sekai, there are additional restrictions. These "aggressive" objects manifested cannot be created within 10 metres of any being within the world. Additionally they cost a greater amount of reiatsu to manifest. This applies to the structure of the world, as well: for example, should Hanaya create a deadly and dangerous lava world, then any being caught in the world would find themselves on a safe platform of radius 10 metres. The reiatsu costs for creating and restructuring objects are outlined in the table below.

Object Size	Reiatsu Cost	Offensive Reiatsu Cost
Small Objects (dustbin, chair, weapon)	0 Reiatsu	25 Reiatsu
Large Objects (table, refridgerator, bed)	25 Reiatsu	50 Reiatsu
Huge Objects/Small Features (automobile, boulder, tree)	50 Reiatsu	100 Reiatsu
Large Features (house, airplane, shrine)	100 Reiatsu	400 Reiatsu
Restructure Entire World	400 Reiatsu	N/A

For individuals who have been inside the Genkaku Kairen Sekai for three posts, Rensui Nagareru Amanogawa begins to respond to their wishes as well as Hanaya. Individuals who have been inside the bankai's area of affect for three or more posts are also able to have their wishes fulfilled by the Genkaku Kairen Sekai, however the cost for them to manipulate the world is 50% greater than for Hanaya.

Finally, for individuals who are determined to break out of the world; it is possible through reaching the border and striking it with an attack which is at least 50% greater in offense than Hanaya's strongest spiritual stat.

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{Zanjutsu Techniques}

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{Hakuda Techniques}

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{Hoho Techniques}Technique Name: Shunpo (Flash Steps)
Class: 7
Technique Type: Kidō
Technique Element: None
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.

Technique Name: Advanced Air Ground
Class: 7
Technique Type: Spiritual Technique
Technique Description and Effects:
This is a technique designed especially for breakdancing and parkour, utilizing a more advanced version of air ground. While in a terrain where air ground exists, the user can create more complex surfaces like air walls, air ceilings, air ledges and even an air push. This allows the user to perform handstands and windmills on air as if it were normal ground or even stand upside-down on air as if gravity were reversed. The air push makes the air ground very elastic so that the user can jump higher. It allows for slight movement even when restrained by a Bakudō.
For a cost of twenty-five Reiatsu, the user will be able to momentarily cast an "air ground" on areas such as in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, allowing the user to "double jump" or cast Shunpo in mid-air. If this technique is mastered, the user will be able to create air grounds that last for as long as a single post. This can be used in creative ways to improve acrobatics and visual impressiveness.
Drawback: No drawback.
Created By: Shiki Kanzaki
Reserved: No

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{Kido}Technique Name: [Kido Teacher]
Class: [7]
Technique Type : [Cinematic]
Usable By : [Shingami, Rogues]
Technique Element: [None]
Technique Description and Effects :
This person has been around for many years and over the years they have learned how to use countless kido. With all of this information swimming in their head they wants to help teach others all about kido and how to use kido. They're able to use any kido they wants as long as thy're the appropriate class, but only when teaching someone how to use it. Any kido fired off in training threads have the strength of 0 RS and can't inflict damage, binding kido and defensive kido will work as planned however can be broken easily. The only point to them is to teach others how to use them and what they can be used for. In any PVP this skill can't be activated at all and in adventure only if there is a moment of rest and peace without foes around he can use this to show others what kido is or try and convince others to use a specific kido. All kido used cost 0 reiatsu.
How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Person uses it like Kido]
Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
As stated above can't be used in PVP, all kido is only used for training
Incantation and Effect: None
Made By: Wycliff
Reserved? : [No]

Technique Name: [Konshin (Jamming)]
Class: [3]
Technique Type: [Kidou]
Usable By: [Shinigami]
Technique Element: [Sound/Reiatsu]
Technique Description and Effects: [This is a very useful technique for any Shinigami to have, and is quite useful in shutting down Arrancar Pesquis and techniques of the same line. Simply put, this is a technique to disrupt, distort, and distract anyone using a Sensing Technique, such as Pesquis. The user of this technique sends out a unique Spirit Particle vibration that causes noise resembling static to be heard in the minds of whoever uses a sensing spell. The static is deafening, roaring loud, and will disorient and confuse anyone who tries to listen to it for too long. Due to Spirit Particle interference, regular Energy Sensory is affected as well. This comes in the form of creating energy doubles, blurs, and the like. The jamming field's size is dependent on the user's Reiatsu Strength: 100 is an Eighth of a Mile, 200 is a Quarter of a Mile, 400 is Half a Mile, 800 is a Mile, and so on and so on.]
How to use technique: [Release a large amount of Reiatsu into the air, interfere with the Spirit Particles, and concentrate. ]
Technique Drawbacks: (To use this technique, the user must maintain a high level of focus on their task; a few distractions will cause this spell to faill. Furthermore, this technique requires a Reiatsu Upkeep to keep it active, equal to that of the techniques original cost. However, upkeep increases by 50% every three posts this is kept active. This is a technique best used with someone else to help guard you. and to take advantage of the jamming's effect. Furthermore, if the enemy's senses and Energy Sensory combined are equal to or greater than 1/5th of the user's RS, then they can penetrate the technique with some effort. However, the user's position is still present, even while using the technique. Sort of like a signal beacon.)
Made By: Taien Hadohou


Hado:

Technique Name: Hado #4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning)
Class: 7
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: Thunder
Technique Description and Effects: The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger that pierces a target.
How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand at the target.
Incantation and Effect: "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" When the incantation is spoken, the Reiatsu Strength used to determine the power of Byakurai is increased by 10%. (i.e. 100 Reiatsu Strength is treated as 110.)

Technique Name: Hado #33: Sōkatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down)
Class: 5
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: Fire
Technique Description and Effects: This technique is a more powerful version of Hado #31, releasing a fireball of blue flames that’s about half as large as an average person in size. The impact of this fireball leaves first-degree burns upon impact, and has more impact force than Hado #31.
How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand towards the target.
Incantation and Effect: “Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!” With the incantation, this spell gets a 20% increase in Reiatsu Strength (i.e. if Reiatsu Strength is 100, this is treated as 120 with incantation).

Technique Name: Hado #73: Sōren Sōkatsui (Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down)
Class: 3
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: Fire
Technique Description and Effects: This spell is, in all practicality, a doubled version of Hado #33, Sōkatsui. When released, this spell fires with the potency of not one, but two Sōkatsui orbs, creating an enormous blast of blue fire that can easily consume a target as it envelops them. Even glancing hits can cause first-degree burns with ease.
How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand towards the target.
Incantation and Effect: “Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens.” With the incantation, this spell gets a 30% increase in Reiatsu Strength (i.e. if Reiatsu Strength is 100, this is treated as 130 with incantation).

Technique Name: Hado #90: Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin)
Class: 2
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects: A brutal spell, this Kido forms a box of black energy around a target, which is then pierced by dozens of energy "spears", lacerating the one inside from head to toe. Its appearance and function is reminiscent of a common magician's trick, as well as certain torture devices used during the Spanish Inquisition. Escape from within is nearly impossible, causing those trapped by it to face certain doom. It is virtually unbreakable from the inside, except by a vastly superior spiritual strength, and with a technique class 2 or above. This is also considered impossible to dodge at point blank range.
How to use technique: Speak the spell and point hand towards the target.
Incantation and Effect: “Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!” With the incantation, this spell gets a 40% increase in Reiatsu Strength (i.e. if Reiatsu Strength is 100, this is treated as 140 with incantation).


Bakudo:

Technique Name: [Bakudo #1: Sai (Restrain)]
Class: [7]
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: [None]
Technique Description and Effects:
Causes the target's arms to lock in place behind their back.
How to use technique:
Physical contact is required from the hand of the caster to any part of the body of the target.
Incantation and Effect:
Incantation increases the strength behind the technique by 10%. (I.E. A reiatsu strength of 100 would instead be valued at 110 for this technique.) "Man, shaped by Divine hands, revert to the form before limbs, clutch at your own throat and be afraid!"

Technique Name: [Bakudo #39: Enkosen (Arc Shield)]
Class: [5]
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: [None]
Technique Description and Effects:
A medium sized round shield fashioned from yellow, condensed spiritual energy instantly forms on the caster's wrist. This is not unlike Seki, however it does not paralyze, it only blocks. This can be used on low level physical strikes and low level Kido-like spells.
How to use technique:
Instantaneous cast which requires either thought of it, verbal speaking of the technique, or an incantation.
Incantation and Effect:
The size of the shield is tripled, though the duration is halved, for use of incantation. Incantation unknown.

Technique Name: [Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro (Six Rods Prison of Light)]
Class: [4]
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: [Light]
Technique Description and Effects:
Summons six thin, wide beams of light that slam into a target's midsection from all sides, holding them in place. This technique also results in total paralysis, and can even suspend targets in mid air.
How to use technique:
This requires the user's eyes to be focused on the target, and their casting hand to be aimed at the target as well. The six beams will then close in, but those who are quick enough or instinctive enough will be able to dodge.
Incantation and Effect:
The incantation increases the reiatsu strength of this technique by 25%. (I.E. Reiatsu strength of 100 is instead worth 125.) ("Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!")

Technique Name: [Bakudo #75: Gochutekan (Quintet of Iron Pillars)]
Class: [3]
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: [Metal]
Technique Description and Effects:
Summons five incredibly tall and thick pillars which are chained together. These fall from the sky and slam at great speeds into a target, pinning them to the ground as well as causing physical damage to the body.
How to use technique:
State the name of the technique while the casting hand is aimed at the target.
Incantation and Effect:
The incantation causes the speed of the pillars to double, while also causing immobility in targets trapped by this technique. ("Walls of ironsand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end.")

Technique Name: [Bakudo #81: Danku (Splitting Void)]
Class: [2]
Technique Type: Kido
Technique Element: [None]
Technique Description and Effects:
Creates a clear, very high and wide barrier of reiatsu instantaneously in front of the user. Can be used to block reiatsu attacks, low level physical attacks, and any Kido from numbers 1-89, though this is also still dependent on the user's reiatsu strength.
How to use technique:
This can be cast with mental thought, with hand motions, or with naming it. This requires no special movements for casting.
Incantation and Effect:
The strength of the technique goes up 40% from incantation. (I.E. Reiatsu strength valued at 100 is instead valued at 140 during incantation.) "Barrier of dust, shield of north, protector of Men! Arise from ashes and reveal our weakness. Dissolve into air and hide our sins! On altars of greed we call you. In graves of virtue we worship you. Bind, scatter, reduce to ash! Cripple, crush, dissolve!"


Kaido:

Technique Name: Hīringuōbu (Healing Orb)
Class:
Level 1: 6
Level 2: 5
Level 3: 4
Level 4: 3
Level 5: 2
Level 6: 1
Technique Type: [Other] - Kidou- other
Technique Element: None
Technique Description and Effects:
This is a technique used to heal external injuries. The technique could be considered slightly powerful due to its ability to heal a person. To use this kidou the user must be within arms reach of the target. There are three levels to this.
Level 1: Shallow cuts, bruises, abrasions, and first degree burns.
Level 2: Second degree burns.
Level 3: Mending broken bones and deep lacerations.
Level 4: Third degree burns.
Level 5: Reattaching recently severed limbs. Can only be done within five minutes of severing.
Level 6: Revival (close to using a defibrilator, but with a higher chance of success). Can only be used within a minute of death.
How to use technique:
To use this kidou technique the user must pull an adequate amount of reiatsu to their palms. After they do that they must form an orb of reiatsu between their palms and place that orb on the injury of the target. Once the orb is on the targets injury the user must pour the reiatsu ball into the wound slowly. As the reiatsu enters the wound it will start to heal until the orb is gone. At that point the injury should be healed completely.
Drawback:
One disadvantage of this kidou is that the person is completely vulnerable to attack whilst using it. Another is that this kidou has absolutely no battle capabilities. And the kidou takes a long while to use as pouring the reiatsu into the wound takes time. This will also leave the user a little winded. The higher the level the more time it will take and the more tired the user will become. Plus the healing is only done within the area of eight inches.
Made by: RyogaKaribe

---

-History-

Birthplace: Human World, Unknown.

Current Residence: Squad Five Barracks

Memorable Figures:

Kita Satō [北 佐藤]

Hayato Tanaka [隼人 田中]

Ichika [一千花]

Guro Ryōshi [嵎露 猟師]

Shishiza Hirashi [獅子座 火ら師]

History:

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{Beginnings}Hanaya died very young. She was barely even a toddler at the time, and recalls nothing of her life in the world of the living. Indeed, her parentage, and the circumstances of her birth are all but lost to her. The thought of even attempting to reconcile with her parents is alien. For what it's worth, like many born at the time, Hanaya was a person of no particular note. Her parents, names lost to time, were servants on a feudal lord's estate, she a maid to the noble women with the pretty dresses and expensive perfumes, he but a humble and gentle gardener and tender of the land. They found love, or, whatever love there was to be found in such times. Hanaya recalls not the calloused but careful touch of her father's hands, the tender kiss of her mother's lips, the smell of the roses, the crackle of aromatics upon the hearth, the squealing and squabbling of many siblings. A rich, humble life was lost to her when the thread of her life was severed, all too young. Tuberculosis is a deadly and cruel illness. Ripping through families, consuming children. Truly, there was no hope for one such as Hanaya.

Ignorant to her parents' grief, to the reality of her own demise, it was thus that the baby Hanaya arrived, as most souls do, into the soul society, younger than many. In the middle Rukon districts, life was not as terrible as could be, but nonetheless, a young child alone, unable to walk, was not safe. It was swaddled in cloth, cold in the streets of the fourty seventh district of the north Rukongai that Kita Satō and Hayato Tanaka found Hanaya and named her for the single white carnation tucked into the blankets which were wrapped about her. Not much more than a couple of delinquents who had managed to escape the deadly outer rukon districts themselves, Kita and Hayato were scarcely a couple, but neither could bring themselves to abandon the small child. In some sense, this moment, a dusty road between vacant houses, the moon shining palely overhead, few sounds but a distant set of chimes and the fussing of the baby Hanaya, was her true birth, the moment she became someone.

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{Family}Kita and Hayato did their best. Neither had known much love before, and wanted to prove that it could grow from nothing even in a world that had treated them so unkindly, like a weed pushing through a crack in the pavement despite all odds. They forged a life for themselves in the Rukon districts, avoiding the violence they had experienced in the outer districts and raising the young Hanaya with care and attention. One complicating factor, which nearly resulted in her demise, was the fact that unlike her adoptive parents, Hanaya possessed an appetite from the time she could walk. It was not clear why she was so frail until taking her to a community leader in their district provided them the wisdom that the girl possessed spiritual power, and needed to eat. Of course, this came with its own set of challenges, and Kita and Hayato were soon tasked with foraging, farming, or bartering for food for their child. Hanaya was implicated in these tasks, and possesses many fond memories of fishing for her dinner with her father, or spinning cotton for garments which her mother sold at market.

As she grew, and fuelled her spiritual powers, Hanaya grew in strength, to the point where she was able even to apply her spiritual pressure, a baby pink glow, shaped like petals blowing in the breeze. Whenever she felt particularly emotive, and applied her reiatsu, the scent of wildflowers filled the air, and any plants in the vicinity grew and flowered with abandon. She became known as the flower of the forty seventh district, and local children loved to come and watch her make the petals dance with her spirit energy.

Over time, their small family acquired more members; an uncle Saburo [三郎], fond of the sake; a sister Tomoka [智花], another baby, of whom Hanaya was extremely protective, twin brothers Kotaro [興太郎] and Kouki [輝], not truly related to one another but both individually twins who had lost their brothers upon arrival, and whose mischief Kita and Hayato hoped to curtail; a grandma Minami [南], old and sickly but full of kindness, but not afraid to discipline the children. To Hanaya, as she grew from a toddler, to a child, to a teen over the course of many many years, life was perfect. Surrounded by loved ones, exploring the wilderness of the Rukon districts, fishing, hunting, spinning, playing pranks with friends, teaching her sister or chasing her naughty little brothers, listening to obachan's stories. She would have been happy to live out such a carefree existence until her time in soul society was finished, alas it was not to be.

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{Abduction}The Hirashi family were a minor noble family, holding little power and influence. Little more than a vassal family to the Shiba clan before their destruction, their primary duty was the upkeep of routine seals and other kido necessary for the smooth function of the west seireitei. A family whose duty could be overlooked for some time without worry, and thus whose influence was severely curtailed due to their lack of responsibility. Some part of the family's lack of growth and importance could be attributed to the curse placed upon them in ancient times. Many eons ago, when the family were in their infancy, the head of the family, Kouten Hirashi [功天 火ら師], sought the love of a woman who he found very beautiful, whose name has been lost to time. This woman, the First Wife of the family, was a commoner who spurned Kouten, enraging him. Bitter at her rejection, he sought her out where she lived and despite her pleading, slaughtered her husband, and forced her to marry him with the aid of his family. The First Wife's hatred of Kouten burned deeply, even as she acted as the model wife, out of fear. However, when the time came to bear heirs, the First Wife's first pregnancy resulted in twins. One twin, it was clear, was not the child of Kouten, and resembled the husband slain by the Hirashi family. The other was the First Heir, clearly the son of Kouten. The family ordered the 'bastard' twin slain, and the First Wife escaped with him in the night, deep into the Rukon districts, but not before cursing her other child and all descendants of that wretched family. She vowed that for the rest of eternity, the inheriting sons of the Hirashi family may never forge a zanpakuto from an asauchi, and that they may never find a wife of noble blood.

Over time, the Hirashi clan learned to overcome these obstacles, obstacles which might ordinarily be truly devastating for a noble family to maintain what little power and influence they possessed. The first son of each generation of the Hirashi clan would find a wife from amongst the common women of the Rukon districts; ordinarily a child who could be broken and moulded to serve the interests of the family. The true trickery of the family came in the duties they would impart to this bride. Each bride of the head of the family would acquire a zanpakuto, forging it with experience and communing with it using jinzen in order to unlock its potential, before surrendering the blade willingly to her husband, who would be able to wield the zanpakuto. With these methods, the head of the household could seek his fortune as an officer in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

To that end, any allies and others loyal to the Hirashi clan, or even simply those who knew that the clan were always interested in young girls who showed powerful spiritual pressure, were motivated to help the family in this scheme. Who had alerted the clan to the existence of Hanaya? Perhaps she will never come to know. Nonetheless, her fate was sealed one dark summer evening.

Crickets chirruped, the only interruption to the tranquillity of the night air. The moon was new, the only light in the fields of the Rukon district the glow of fireflies, and the distant torchlight of the homes. Hanaya's family were sat, enjoying their supper, carousing and chattering and laughing together in their small pool of warmth in the midst of the darkness. From the night, the shinigami came. Gods of death, clad in black robes, wielding the swords with which they cut down monsters and citizens alike with joyless ease. A knock on the door alerted the family, but for Hanaya, who had felt the encroaching spiritual pressure, and had almost immediately passed out. She sat, sweat pouring from her face, arms placed upon the table. Uncle Saburo, carafe of sake in one hand, sauntered over to the door, a goofy grin upon his lips, ready to greet the guests. Upon opening the door, however, his face fell.

"What're you doing here? We don't want any trouble, we haven't done anything wrong." Shinigami in a district such as the forty seventh were seldom a good sign. There were three of them; a woman and two men, one young one old. The woman and the older man frowned at Saburo, while the younger man gazed passed him at the buckling and shaking Hanaya.

"We are members of the noble house of Hirashi. We have come to see the one known as Hanaya. Out of the way peasant; we will not ask again." the woman said coarsely to Saburo. Havato got to his feet to try and warn Saburo, but he had been drinking, and he felt belligerent, even in the face of these soul reapers.

"Now just hang on a minute. You can't simply barge in here expecting to see-" he did not finish his sentence. The older man muttered something, and the woman drew her zanpakuto, quick as a flash, and sliced through Saburo, cutting him upwards from hip to shoulder. He cried out in pain as blood erupted forth from the wound, and he fell to the floor. The shinigami stepped into the house, and looked about them with obvious distaste, a sneer curling up from the old man's lips. Not the younger man, however. She simply stared at Hanaya with that same intensity. With a single deft swish, the woman flicked Saburo's blood from her blade before re-sheathing it. Havato took several steps back. The twins and Tomoka were crying in fear, clinging to Kita and Minami, while Havato placed himself between the shinigami and Hanaya whose vision was pulsing black, and who was fighting unconsciousness.

"I told you to get out of our way." The woman snarled, her hand going to the hilt of her blade.

"What do you want with my daughter? Why have you come here?" he asked them, pleading. The old man laughed cruelly.

"We heard that she is possessed of extraordinary spiritual power! Of course, for a bunch of cockroaches such as yourself, surely she is simply a mouth to feed and a burden. So us, the kind elders of the noble house of Hirashi, have come to extend benevolent charity by taking her off your hands." he chuckled, withdrawing his blade. "So out of our way." he said.

"Hanaya is not a burden..." Havato pleaded. "Please, do not take her. We are... We are happy. She is fed and nurtured. She's grown so much! Don't destroy our family, how can you be so heartless?" he reached out and picked up a broomstick which lay against the kitchen counter, and brandishing it like a staff or a club. "I will... I will be forced to stop you." he said shakily, feeling the effects of the spiritual pressure of these shinigami. The woman's face contorted into a hideous visage of rage.

"Havato no!" Kita screamed.

"How dare you, you disgusting, insolent little bug. I will cut you down where you stand!" she sprang forth, ready to cleave Havato clean in twain with her zanpakuto, until the young man placed a hand upon her shoulder. She tensed, and looked over to him, and he shook his head. The woman demurred instantly, sheathing her sword, and bowing deeply. The young man stepped forward with a smile, and looked at Havato, the first time he had taken his eyes off of Hanaya.

"If you stand your ground here, you will die." he said, with a ghoulishly cheery tone of voice. "My sister Himari [陽葵] will strike you down, and your woman, and even the old lady if you get in her way. She is pretty cruel like that. Don't throw your life away. You still have three children who need your care. Live; for them. We will take good care of Hanaya." he told Havato with a warm smile. Broken and defeated, Havato dropped the broomstick. Grandma Minari shook her head and sighed sadly, clutching the twins tightly. Hanaya, at this point was virtually unconscious, the sudden presence of strong spiritual energy causing her soul to instantaneously expend all of her own reiryoku to try and counteract it. She could barely move, and was lain upon the table, drooling and convulsing.

The young man picked her up in his arms, and motioned for the other two shinigami to leave with him. As a final act of disrespect, the old man threw a purse of coins upon the ground, where it landed within the pool of Uncle Saburo's blood next to his corpse, spilling coins outwards across the ground. With this, the shinigami left, Hanaya in tow, and so ended her life with her family and thusly began her life with the Hirashi family.

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Weight of Expectation}She awoke the next morning in a plush bed, in the modest mansion of the minor Hirashi family. She found herself attended by a young lady-in-waiting, Ichika [一千花], who greeted her with warmth and kindness. Ichika would prove the only one within the walls of the Hirashi household who treated Hanaya with any respect or goodwill. Having reassured her that she was safe, Ichika explained to Hanaya that she had been taken in by the Hirashi household, and the previous evening's events had come back to her. She wept. Wept for her uncle, whose blood had been spilled on her account. For her family that she had been torn away from. Ichika held her, stroking her hair, apologising for the hardships she had been subjected to. Hanaya, of course, immediately began plotting her escape. That first day, she was locked in her room, attended only by Ichika, who brought her meals to help her regain her strength. It was only at the end of the day, when night had fallen, that she was visited by her new-found 'family'. Himari came to see her. She made clear her distaste for her.

A boiling hatred formed a pit in Hanaya's stomach when she first saw the woman who had cut down her uncle enter her room, clad in those same hateful black robes. She snarled, and flexed her spiritual pressure as hard as she could, attempting to calculate what object in the room could be repurposed into a weapon. Himari, unaffected, simply sneered, and approached Hanaya, slapping her hard across the face. Hanaya crumpled in shock. She had never been assaulted by an adult before, and it was a rude awakening.

"Don't you ever dare to raise so much as a finger to me, do you hear that, you disgusting piece of vermin?" Himari asked, the hatred in her voice sharper even than the stinging pain which smarted upon Hanaya's face. She fought back tears which welled up in the corners of her eyes. "Your hair is a tangled mess. I'll have to have words with that Ichika girl. Come here." Himari sat upon the bed in Hanaya's room, and began to comb her hair with an ornate comb from the nightstand. As she did so, she made the new arrangement clear as crystal, while Hanaya cried to herself quietly. "You will do as we say. You will be who we command you to be. You have been saved from destitution in the Rukon district, so you will not complain about your lot in life, or question us, or talk back." She commanded, painfully and carelessly tugging through knots in Hanaya's blonde locks. "I'm sure you're curious as to why you've been taken in. It's been decided that you will marry my big brother, Shishiza Hirashi. Of course, as things stand, such a union would be... Improper. So we have time to fix you. Sit up straight!" she barked. "That my poor, long-suffering brother will have to have such a bride is a source of great dishonour. Your existence is punishment enough to us. If you try and flee, the cretins with which you lived in the Rukon district will be slaughtered like the cockroaches they are, and you will be slain too. Owing to his infinite patience and wisdom, grandfather has opted to give you one week to lay about like the parasite you are, before you must begin your training. You are to become a shinigami like us. You will acquire an asauchi, and train to enter the shino academy. You will join one of the military corps, and you will not disappoint us. There, your hair at least is not such a bird's nest now." Himari said, sounding proud of her work. Without so much as another word, she left Hanaya, sobbing silently to herself in the darkness of her bedroom. Nothing good ever comes of the nighttime.

The next years were difficult for Hanaya. Indeed, following one week where she was able to regain her strength, she spent the vast majority of her time practising with the blade, training her body, growing her spiritual power, mostly under the watchful eye of Himari and other members of the family. Infrequently, Shishiza himself would come and watch her train, standing always in some shadowy alcove out of the way, observing silently, sometimes with other members of the family. Throughout these years, Hanaya's only steadfast friend was Ichika, who soothed her hurt and aching body after each rough training session, who cooked for her and brought her meals, and commiserated in her awful treatment by the Hirashi family. Ordinarily, Hanaya would see very little of Shishiza, the man she was to marry, but Ichika gave her any tidbits of information she had. He was a member of the fifth squad of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and an officer, to boot. He had excelled at Kidou, one of the few areas of Hanaya's training she somewhat enjoyed instead of merely trying her best at to avoid incurring the wrath of Himari, and one where she herself was unusually skilled.

Curiously, of all members of the Hirashi family, Shishiza treated Hanaya with kindness and gentleness on the rare occasions the two did spend any time together. He handled her with the same tenderness he had the night of her abduction. Hanaya hated her new life. She hated the horrible way which members of the family would bully her; many hardly acknowledging her, others outright calling her a parasite, a cockroach, or vermin. The weight of expectations upon her shoulders, and the nasty comments about her appearance; her hair was a mess, or her flushed face was unbecoming, or she was too tall. It all served to kindle a roaring inferno of sickening self-hatred inside of her, only quenched by her feelings of powerlessness. Indeed it felt as though there was nothing in the world she would ever do to cast off her shackles. And as Shishiza was the reason she was in this situation, she had always thought that he would be the nucleus of her resentment, its source, and the one for whom she held the most contempt. However, his gentle words, his soft affirmations, assuring her that he was proud of her progress with her training, served to cause her heart to falter. She remembered how he had spared her father and the rest of the family, and the genuineness with which he had implored her family to live. And now, on the very seldom occasions they would see one another, he would take her to the Seireitei to eat ice cream, or to seasonal festivals, buying her lovely silk yukatas of the highest quality, with beautiful floral patterns, or to his favourite spot overlooking the city to watch the sunset.

The result was a conflicted Hanaya. As she grew older, and shrank ever more into herself, only Shishiza and Ichika made her feel truly human, as opposed to an empty vessel, a tool for the Hirashi legacy. When she had aged into an adult, she was permitted by the family to enter the shino academy. Coming from even a very minor noble house with no influence, such as the Hirashi family, gave her a leg up on many of the common entrants from the Rukon, and her training had paid off. She was a contender for top of her class, especially in the demon arts where she was somewhat of a prodigy, and before her time in the academy was even finished, she was scouted for a position within the Kido Corps. The family bristled at this, expressing disapproval that she would not be joining the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Shishiza was the sole dissenting voice, however, claiming that the Kido Corps would be beneficial for Hanaya, and that it wouldn't harm the family to have a diverse set of connections. After Hanaya's graduation and joining of the Kido Corps, she and Shishiza were married.

The thought of marriage frightened her; further cementing how she was merely a piece of property of the Hirashi family. On the other hand, she had come to understand that in this world, dominated by nobles and where she was merely a piece of dirt that they had rescued, but who would never truly be clean that this wedding, and her fate overall, was the best she could possibly hope for. She felt guilty at her misgivings, as so many years had gone by that even she herself believed the position of her fiancee's family. However, dressed in her white kimono, standing at the shrine with Shishiza, whose soft face smiled at her and made her feel whole and human, and hearing him state the words of commitment, she felt finally as though there was a hope for a bright future. Ichika, whom she had been allowed to choose as a 'maid-of-honour' cried a tear of joy for her mistress, who for the first time since the two had met many years prior, seemed genuinely happy.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Married Life}From a life where she had been treated harshly by the Hirashi family, belittled, bullied, and made light of, things seemingly changed overnight for Hanaya. Upon marriage, she took up the family name from her husband, and officially became Hanaya Hirashi. The jibes and harsh remarks stopped almost immediately. She gained seat of honour at the family table next to her husband. Even Himari began to treat her with begrudging consideration. Finally, after so many years, Hanaya had gotten her happy ending. Those first years were truly bliss; a loving husband, a position in a modest noble family, and a job in the kido corps. She considered herself one of the luckiest women alive.

She quickly rose through the ranks of the Kido Corps, attaining a seated position within only a few years. It was at this point that she first met Guro Ryōshi [嵎露 猟師]. Another member of the Kido Corps, he and Hanaya quickly became friends, or at the very least, friendly acquaintances. They would casually lament senkaimon duty, or having to seal and unseal parts of the seireitei and other menial gruntwork which required expertise in kido. Guro had grown up in a similar situation to Hanaya, if not worse, coming from the sixty second southern Rukon district. The two traded stories of things which happened to them as youths, simultaneously cheering and lamenting their escape from that world.

By this time, Hanaya was seriously developing her talents as a shinigami, not least of which was working on communicating with her zanpakuto. She had asked her husband for aid, assuming that he would have words of wisdom, but whenever she broached the topic, he became distant and cold for several days, even going so far as to ignore her. It was hurtful, and it stung especially since she had revealed to him, now that they were husband and wife, how much she had been hurt by his family's treatment. Shishiza had apologised profusely, explaining that he had done everything he could to improve their treatment of her, but that his old man had been unreasonable and unrelenting in ensuring the remainder of the family had treated her well. Now of course, they were at least cordial, if not friendly, and Hanaya had simply accepted that she had been beneath the family, until her marriage. As such, she stopped bringing up the issue of her zanpakuto to Shishiza, who carried an asauchi, she saw, but had never told her his own sword's name, or its abilities. Of course, Hanaya accepted that it was not a wife's duty to understand her husband's power or affairs, and the family ensured she knew as much.

Slowly, on her own, and partly with a little help from Ichika, who herself had a brother who was a soldier in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and who knew the name of his Zanpakuto, Hanaya grew stronger, and eventually gained the power to commune with her spirit. At first, the appearance of her sword's spirit had frightened her, and was in stark contrast to the beauty of her inner world, in which she delighted and soon chose to spend a great deal of time within using Jinzen. The sword's spirit on the other hand, was simply frightful. A masked woman with lank hair, dressed in a shinishozoku, a white kimono in the style usually worn by the deceased at a funeral. Her eyes were bound, and her wrists were shackled, but this did not stop Hanaya from losing to her each and every time when they fought. Despite her generally fast learning skills when it came to kido and spiritual disciplines, it took a number of years for Hanaya to learn her Shikai's name. The day finally came, when she had learned her zanpakuto's name: Rensui Nagareru.

Upon informing her husband of her achievement, his reaction was a complete 180 to how he had been when she asked him about attaining the initial release. He had picked her up by her waist with his strong hands, and swirled her in the air, giving congratulations which made her heart sing. He held her tightly, and told her how proud of her he was, and Hanaya could hear that he had never felt happier. She shed tears of joy; telling him that she was delighted that she could make him so happy. That all she wanted in this life was to make Shishiza happy. This made him glow and beam with delight. He told her that it was very important that she hone her skills and learn the use of her zanpakuto, and that if she'd let him, he'd love to sit in and watch her get ever more powerful. 'Of course,' she had told him, so overjoyed at the attention which he was now lavishing on her, that she didn't wonder why his interest had changed all of a sudden.

Her colleague Guro, as well as the rest of the Hirashi family, were also overjoyed for and proud of her. Her newfound status among the Hirashi household increased manyfold and she changed from being merely tolerated to being truly celebrated. The only person who seemed unhappy at the development was Ichika, who gave and airy and noncommital congratulation to Hanaya. This lacklustre response was dismissed by Hanaya as jealousy- jealousy that after so many years where Hanaya had needed Ichika and leaned on her exclusively, that she was finally taking the things that were hers. She felt pity for the handmaid, and so did not attempt to push her away or punish her, but their fast friendship, honed over many years, slowly began to drift apart.

Now that Rensui Nagareru had given her its name, she trained often with it, with Shishiza sitting in whenever he could. He took notes fastidiously, as keen to learn as much as he could. He would someimes spar with her, using only his asauchi. It made Hanaya feel so loved that he was paying such heed to her that all her previous misgivings were washed away. It motivated her train ever harder, and eventually, juggling her responsibilities to her squad and to her training, she gained a mastery over her shikai.

Things were bliss, for a time.

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Ultimate Betrayal}It was months, perhaps, or even a year later. The two had celebrated White Day together. Hanaya was ordinarily somewhat bleak in February, but Shishiza had arranged to have flowers from all seasons delivered to her, even rare species ordinarily only found in the rural mountains of the rukongai. She didn't especially approve of plucking the wild flowers, but the gesture, overall had utterly melted her heart. The two were enjoying a digestif together at the end of the evening following a delicious meal of crepes, berries, and chocolate, and she laid her head upon his shoulder.

"Petal, I need to ask you something. I've been meaning to ask, and I wanted to wait for the right time to do it." He said, taking a sip of his drink. She felt the bassy rumble of his voice through his shoulder as much as she heard it.

"Anything, dear heart." she said, her heart catching in her throat. The flowers, the sweet dinner, the celebration of White Day... Cogs began turning in her head. They had been married some time now. Her heart beat faster. He was... Was he going to ask her to have children with him? She almost gasped. It had to be. Excitement built up in her, and she sat up, looking at her husband, raptured. He smiled widely at her, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Hanaya... Would you... Give me, your zanpakuto?" He asked. She didn't even really hear him.

"Yes of course! Oh my goodness I- wait, what did you say?" she asked, elation turning to confusion.

"That's wonderful news! I'll have the staff bring us some champaigne."

"No, Shishiza, what? You want my zanpakuto?" She asked, her brow furrowing. His smile faded, and he sighed. She sensed a hint of irritation.

"Your zanpakuto. Rensui Nagareru. I need you to give it to me." he told her, flatly.

"As in, to borrow it? Right now? What for, I don't understand." He rolled his eyes.

"No. I need the blade. You see, mine- well, my zanpakuto doesn't work. I am unable to forge a blade from an asauchi." She shook her head, still not fully understanding.

"But... What, no. You're an officer in the Court Guard Squads! You... And my zanpakuto?" she physically recoiled. "Shishiza, I can't give it to you, it's a part of me." she told him, and his face fell flat. She looked in his eyes and they were cold, and emotionless. He smiled once more, but it felt different to her.

"Hanaya dearest, don't you love me? Don't you want me to be happy? You're really upsetting me right now. My own wife, not even doing this one little thing for me? After everything I've done for you it's... It's honestly enough to make me question your character." She gasped, tears brimming in her eyes.

"What, Shishiza no. Please, Shishiza." she said reaching for his hands, but he snatched them away. His fake smile faded and he looked down.

"I rescued you from the Rukongai... I had Himari spare your family... I thought I'd done everything right. Am I- am I not enough for you? Is that what this is? I know we're only a modest family, we can't provide you all the fine dresses and jewelery I'm sure you want. But I've tried so hard Hanaya. Please, for me. All I ask is your sword. Imagine my dishonour. Son of the Hirashi family, who cannot even forge and asauchi into a zanpakuto. How will our family prosper if I cannot wield a righteous blade, the blade which you and I forged together, and lead us into riches." He shook his head sadly, as tears streamed down Hanaya's face and she fell to her knees, prostrate before him, scrabbling at his hands, her entire world being torn asunder.

"Shishiza, no, my love, my husband. I would trade every piece of gold in the world for you. I would tear and burn every dress and fine silk and satin. But not my soul, Shishiza. If you take that I will be only half of a woman. Not even half; some sliver. Please, please don't be so cruel." at this, he turned. His chin turned upwards, and his upper lip was pulled into an angry sneer. He drew his hand back, and slapped her hard across the face, sending her tumbling, sobbing from his lap into a crumpled heap upon the floor.

"Cruel!? You speak of cruelty to me, your saviour? You ungrateful wretch!" he got to his feet and kicked her in the stomach hard, as she convulsed, causing her to scream with pain, before she let out a series of shuddering, wracked sobs. "I should have let my bitch sister kill you and all of those other vermin when I had the chance! All the things I did for you! I fought, against my own family, I nurtured you, I helped you, and all I want is this one thing and you've grown so fat from avarice that you can't even give it to me. What a monster I've created. I can hardly stand to look at you, you disgust me." he said. Each word was like a shard of glass, slowly piercing Hanaya's heart, such that she felt every milimeter, sliding in, the abrasive edges torturing her nerves. She was dizzy with dread, sick with despair. She wanted to die at that very moment, her whole existence worth nothing when the man she had loved showed such contempt for her.

"Take it." she croaked, barely able to speak. "Please take it my husband. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for my transgressions." she told him, and he laughed.

"Yes, grovel some more you bitch-dog. I will take this zanpakuto, but don't think I've forgiven you for this." he said and she shuffled as if to get up, but he placed a foot upon her head, pinning her to the ground.

"Of course my husband." she told him, completely broken and defeated.

And thus, Shishiza defeated the Hirashi family curse- taking his wife's zanpakuto and her freedom, even the urge to act independently all in one. Hanaya's eyes became dead and lifeless from that moment, as though she was an automaton with no true internal self. The next day, and each subsequent day, Shishiza appeared to act normal, as though everything was fine, though he conspicuously wore Rensui Nagareru at his belt at all times. It scarcely made a difference to Hanaya. She existed now only as an empty vessel, created by the Hirashi family from naught but the flowers of the Rukongai for the singular purpose of serving her husband.

It was several days afterwards that Ichika found Hanaya alone in her bedroom, sat on the ground, staring blankly at the wall. As soon as the handmaid laid eyes upon her she burst into tears, and fell to the ground weeping, and held Hanaya tight, Hanaya, who barely even noticed. Ichika cradled her mistress, warm wet tears falling down her face and onto Hanaya's.

"Oh Lady Hanaya, I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry." she wept. "I wanted to warn you, I wanted to say. And all I did was drive you away when you needed me. And now this has happened."

"It's not your fault." Hanaya mumbled out, distantly.

"Oh but I should have done something. I knew, I knew all along." This was the first thing in days that had caused her to react, or feel anything. Her blue eyes slid into focus, and she stared up at Ichika.

"You... Knew? That he was going to take it?" Ichika sobbed and nodded.

"They... They all do. Every man in the family. Lady Hirashi passed away before even you arrived, Master Shishiza's mother, that is."

"Why- they take... the swords?" each word was somewhat of a struggle. Ichika told Hanaya about the curse on the Hirashi household, about the plot of the men to take the zanpakuto of the brides they find in the Rukongai and groom into the perfect victims. Hanaya grew more horrified with each passing word, and fell deeper into despair. By the time Ichika had finished, her eyes had once again glazed over.

"Oh well. What's done is done, I suppose." she said, airily, causing Ichika to erupt into another fit of tears. It was at this point, that Shishiza entered the room. He looked between them, and they felt a surge of reiatsu emanate from him, as his anger boiled over.

"Miss Ichika. I don't think we'll be requiring your services any longer." Ichika, still tear-stricken relinquished Hanaya, and got to her feet, and bowed deeply.

"Of course mas-" before she could finish, Shishiza withdrew Rensui Nagareru from its sheath, and with a twisted, ferocious face, he slashed her across the chest. Blood spurted across the room, spraying Hanaya all over. Shishiza flicked the blood from his blade and re-sheathed it. Ichika took a shuddering breath, and pulled herself across the floor, grasping at Hanaya's sleeve. She looked down at her friend, the life draining from her body. "Lady... Hanaya..." she said, before her eyes lost focus, and she died.

Shishiza sneered, kicking her corpse as Hanaya remained kneeling, covered in blood, staring blankly at the body of her oldest friend, struggling to comprehend what had happened, and how she hadn't even lifted a finger to stop it.

"Clean that up." he commanded, and she nodded, acquiescing instantly.

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Life}The following months were torturous. The murder of Ichika was, of course, covered up, and the implication that Hanaya would be held responsible should she ever speak or act out of line was dangled over her neck, like a sword of Damoclese. In truth, however, it was unnecessary. Hanaya had lost her sense of self, her sense of purpose. She worked her job in the Kido Corps, but hardly spoke, her eyes possessing that same glazed over look. Mostly, her colleagues let her be, only occasionally murmuring about the disappearance of her zanpakuto, and the strange change in her personality.

Guro was the first to truly attempt to talk to her. One afternoon, Hanaya was sat beneath a tree, avoiding lunch with the rest of the shinigami on duty in the Kido Corps, watching the clouds go by, scarcely able to think but for a few tattered threads of thought which eluded her. From what seemed like nowhere, she was struck hard on the face with an object. She looked up, confused as to what had happened, when she was struck by another, which fell into her lap: cherries. She furrowed her brow, before Guro appeared from behind a nearby tree, smiling. She stared blankly at him.

"What was that for?" she asked, flatly.

"Well, it looked like you were half asleep there! You looked like you could do with some company." he came and sat, cross-legged before her. He had a kind of bandy appearance, as though he'd been strung like a bow. Hanaya shrugged, limply holding the cherry in her pale hands. "You gonna eat it?" Guro asked, untucking his shihakusho to reveal a veritable mountain of shiny little red cherries, that almost served to held his face a red glow. "Cause if not, I'll have it back. These cherries are great!" he said, stuffing three... Four... Six... Eight of them in his mouth all at once. She smiled wanly at his goofy, cherry-filled grin. Guro smiled, causing many of the cherries to fall from his cheeks. "Hey, that's better. You haven't smiled in weeks Hanaya-chan." he told her between chews of a mouth full of fruit, before pausing. "Not that you should have to smile for my benefit, of course. It's just you've seemed so down lately." This was enough to briefly pull some part of her from her reverie. She had never considered that anyone but Shishiza or the Hirashi family really noticed much of anything she did. She felt so small and insignificant that it seemed ridiculous that anyone would see her at all, let alone notice how she was feeling.

"Oh... I have?" she asked, sliding her pacific blue eyes into focus upon his face properly. Red juice dribbled down his pointed chin. He was chewing loudly, which she in fact found quite irritating, but helped her to actually think about and focus on what he was saying. He regarded her with a slightly bemused look, one eyebrow cocking upwards.

"Well sure you have. If there's something bothering you, we can talk about it, if you want. Warriors' pride and all that, I know I know, especially for a member of the illustrious Hirashi house," he bowed so ridiculously low, his nose brushing the little pool of cherry juice on the ground before him that Hanaya couldn't help but giggle slightly. "but we are squadmates after all." Hanaya sighed, looking down with another weak smile. She played with the cherry between her fingers, before popping it in her mouth.

"You know, you're making a real mess there, Gujo." she told him imperiously, and he swallowed.

"Of course, your majesty, humble apologies." He withdrew a napkin from within his robe, and wiped his face. "Is that better?"

"You missed a spot," she told him, "right there." She pointed at a spot on his chin which he wiped. He thanked her, and offered her more cherries, which she accepted. From that day onward, Gujo and Hanaya began to eat lunch together. Firstly it was once a week or so, with Hanaya sticking to her ordinary routine of spending time alone, so as not to be underfoot or bother anyone. However, Gujo came to find her, and would share fruit, onigiri, noodles, or whatever other food he had that day with her. Weeks went by, and soon, she began to find sitting by herself to be rather tiring, and she began to seek Gujo out. She didn't tell him about Shishiza, though he knew she was married, or about her zanpakuto; the two, at first mutually abided by an unspoken agreement not to bring it up.

Guro was very different to her husband. He didn't speak in the calm, measured, gentle way that Shishiza did. He was often sarcastic, and even teased her. He didn't possess the same air of mysteriousness, which at first had been somewhat alluring but had rapidly turned into fear of the unknown and the unexpected, worried that he would anger from some perceived slight or transgression. And Guro had no expectations of her. Little by little the two became closer, and he told her more specifics of how he had become a shinigami; starting out as a lowly hunter in the rukon districts, fighting for the food he required to fuel his spirit energy, with a band of companions who were one by one destroyed by hollows, or bandits, or even by soul reapers when they interfered with some grim, illicit thing they were doing in the outer districts where they thought they could get away with it.

It took more time for Hanaya to come clean about how things had been for her since she had arrived in the Seireitei. And the more time she and Guro spent together, in the squad, at lunch, out on duty, the stronger her feelings became. Complicating matters was the downturn in her home life; she saw Shishiza infrequently- as infrequently as when she had been a young girl even. The two spent little time together, which the more she thought about it, the more it suited her. They usually spoke only at family meals, and even then their relations were tearse. Occasionally, he would come to her, late in the evening, with demands of matrimonial obligation, with which she was forced to comply, and which reduced her to tears each time once he had gotten what he had wanted and left. She hated him, with a burning intensity. Her feelings of helplessness and self-loathing had, after all this time, finally began to metamorphasize into rage. Every time she saw him, carrying her zanpakuto, her Rensui Nagareru, it made her want to gouge out his flesh, to tear his heart from his bones and see how he liked it.

The moment which finally steeled her resolve came one evening, when she was in bed, and had heard that knock to which she was accustomed. She broke out into a cold sweat, knowing what came next, and steeled herself. She opened the door and her husband lurched in, stinking of sake and of women's perfume. Really... He would stoop so low? Hanaya knew her marriage was a sham, that her husband considered her little more than an object to be used when it suited him and thrown away otherwise, but for him to seek outside companionship filled her with disgust. She couldn't understand how she had ever thought she loved this pig of a man. However, when he looked into her eyes that time, her resolve faltered somewhat. He was tear-stricken, his eyes bleary and face pale. She regarded him with a serious look, as he collapsed into her arms, sobbing into her bosom. Unsure of how to react, she lurched backwards, sitting on her bed and cradled her husband's head, stroking his hair. Even to this man whom she despised so much, when she felt his pain, she could not stop herself from being tender, the gentleness that they had failed to rob from her her last great strength even when all else had been taken.

"Hanaya... My dear wife... Beloved wife... Spurned and scorned wife, who did no wrong. I lament! I weep! I would tear my eyes from their own sockets. How I have wronged you, tender wife." he howled. Hanaya smelt the liquor upon his breath. She grimaced in disgust, looking down upon him. Her hatred turned to pity. Here he was, a weak, selfish man, who had allowed the weight of his family's expectation crush him into abhorrence. Many nights Hanaya had wondered if this man could truly be so callous, if his cruelty really weighed so little upon his heart. Now she knew, but the answer didn't make her feel much better. Before long, Shishiza had passed out from the sake he had drank, and she put him to bed.

After this encounter, she resolved to tell everything to Guro. As she recanted the tale, he went from shock, to despair, to anger. He shook with rage, and she felt his spiritual pressure blanket his room where they sat, in his barracks. She calmed him down with a single hand upon his chest. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he apologised that she had suffered through all that. She told him that that was simply the way of the world, and he shook his head, refusing to accept it. He told her that it was unnatural that someone like her was so caged. He swore to her, that if it was the last thing he ever did, he would free her from this prison. She kissed him.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Revenge}They kept their affair as hidden as could be; it was not difficult for Hanaya to hide from her family, who paid her little mind these days, and Guro was but a common officer. Indeed, keeping matters from the Kido Corps was the most difficult part, however with all of the turbulence in the soul society, there were bigger fish to fry than the affair of a woman from a minor, no-import noble family, and a shinigami from the rukongai, both tucked out of the way with the kido corps.

Nonetheless.

There is always a housewife who is just bored enough. Always a couple of guys with loose tongues and little better to talk about. It was, of course only a matter of time before the word spread. But Hanaya and Guro were not ones to sit idly by. The two understood, that one day, the time would come when they would have to destroy Shishiza, where Hanaya would have to recover her blade and become whole once again. The two trained tirelessly, Hanaya teaching Guro the ins and outs of her blade, such that he could face off against her husband, teaching him what weaknesses may be exploited. She trained in kido, refining her skills in case it were ever needed.

Unfortunately, this newfound resolve was their very giveaway. Shishiza might never have suspected- at least for a long while, his wife's infidelity, he might have been content with drinking his nights away in his barracks, and enjoying the call girls his squadmates employed from the rukon districts, had the zanpakuto upon which he had come to rely not suddenly refuse to work for him. Out of the blue, the blade which for many years now had been as subservient to him as his wife, was beginning to refuse his call and his order. This enraged the man, who considered Hanaya to be his property, little else. And it was to her that he came.

Her feigned ignorance meant little. He drew the weapon against her, threatening to cut her down where she stood, if she did not fall back into line and make her zanpakuto obey. Hanaya told him to try his hardest, blocking his enraged swing with a bakudo spell. She fled from the house, with her husband giving chase. She had arranged with Guro that should the time ever come where her husband had chosen to enact his retribution, she would meet him on the hill beside the Kido Corps barracks, and send off a signal flare with her reiatsu to alert him.

Chased by Shishiza, Hanaya reached the hill and sent out her signal, before having to ward off another blow by her husband. He cornered her, against the same tree she had been sat beneath that fateful day where Guro had thrown cherries at her, and bore down, and stabbed her through the abdomen with Rensui Nagareru.

"You curr. Your life is forefit here, wench." he said, withdrawing the blade, preparing to stab her again, however, with a whooshing noise, a second blade appeard from the darkness and stopped him. Guro appeared. He looked down at Hanaya and growled, kicking Shishiza backwards, sending him tumbling a ways down the hill.

"I'm so sorry Hanaya, I didn't reach you on time." he said, stroking her hair.

"You're here now, my love." she smiled, clutching at her wound.

"So this is how it is, hmm?" Shishiza sneered, regarding the both of them with contempt. "You've found another piece of vermin? Who even are you?" Guro bowed, and introduced himself.

"Guro Ryōshi, officer of the Kido Corps. It truly is a pleasure to meet the man I have wished to kill... FOR SO LONG!" he launched forward with a mighty strike, which Shishiza parried, before leaping back.

"You truly are a scoundrel, attacking a man before he has had the opportunity to introduce himself." Shishiza smirked, drawing some errant hair from his face. "Shishiza Hirashi, officer of the Seventh Division. And it's my job to destroy scoundrels like you!" he said.

"I don't care- your name won't matter much when you're a corpse!"

The two fought ferociously, stabbing, ducking slashing and parrying one another's zanpakuto. It appeared that the two men were an equal match for one another. They each sustained cuts and nicks at first, and as their fight dragged on, they managed to land deeper slashes and lacerations. Hanaya struggled to even tell what was happening, as she held her shihakusho bunched up to staunch her bleeding. After a fierce battle, Guro emerged victorious, slaying his foe, stabbing his zanpakuto straight through Shishiza's chest. Hanaya's husband gripped the blade of the sword, blood spurting from her fingers as he did so, the light fading from his eyes. He looked up at his wife, lain against the tree, and said her name one final time, before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Guro stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned on it for support, before bending down gingerly to retrieve Rensui Nagareru from the corpse of Shishiza. Using his zanpakuto as a crutch he hobbled up the hill towards Hanaya, bleeding profusely the whole while from his many wounds. His vision swam, and darkness encroached at the edge of his vision. He threw Rensui Nagareru down at Hanaya's feet, and she wept tears of joy as he lay down next to her.

"You did it... You finally did it." she told him wanly, clutching at his hand before coughing up spots of dark red blood. Guro looked over at Hanaya, and saw that her stab wound was deep, and saw the pool of blood in which they both lay. He sighed sadly, his vision shrinking to pinpricks. "Thank you, Guro, thank you so much." Hanaya wept. With considerably effort, he hauled himself up and bade her to remove her hands from her wound, which she protested against, but fighting unconsciousness, Guro inspected her, and shook his head.

"You're bleeding out Hanaya. That's a wicked zanpakuto you've got."

"You're bleeding too my love." she told him. He shook his head, and extended his hands. He began incanting kaido. "No, Guro no, you're too weak." she said, attempting to pull herself up to fight him off, so that he might preserve his strength and live, or else that they might both die together. But she couldn't stop him as he cast his spell, and her wound sealed up as the last of his reiatsu vanished, and he collapsed to the floor. "Guro? Guro no! Please, please don't leave me! Not now, not after all this!" she cried, kneeling over him as he clutched her hand.

"You're... Finally free. That's all I ever..." he let out a shuddering breath, and did not draw another.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Freedom}The deaths of two officers were not unremarked upon, but Hanaya's tale that Shishiza had attempted to murder her using her own zanpakuto, and that Guro's brave sacrifice had saved her was accepted by the authorities. Of course, the Hirashi family was another matter entirely. Himari swore a blood oath that no matter what, she would take her sister-in-law's life. Without marriage to tie her to the family, and with the freedom of a salaried job in the military, it suddenly became abundantly clear to Hanaya that she need live under the Hirashi family's shadow no longer.

Following Guro's death, she requested a transfer to the court guard squads, as the old duties, haunts, and hangouts of the Kido Corps had become too painful. Instead she joined Squad Five, the Gobantai, and moved into the barracks. It was here, sad, and alone, but finally able to do whatever she wanted, that she began to, after hundreds of years, become her own person. Her prodigous talent, which had been exploited and wasted for the Hirashi family's goals until now, was the fuel of a passion in kido. The blade which had been taken from her was reunited with her, and after much grovelling to Rensui Nagareru, the two reconciled and she became a whole person once more. Indeed, in reforging her relationship with her zanpakuto, Hanaya even began to embark upon the next journey of unlocking the true nature of her weapon.

At last, she was free.

[Hanaya Hirashi]

Hi there! I want to say that Hanaya is "ready for grading", and she is in as much as I have done everything I can right now (more pictures on the way though, I'm still inking them in Clip Studio!)

I think I got everything right! However, I'm sure that there will need to be some changes to her release powers in order to ensure that they're a good fit. I'm not quite familiar enough with how all the stats etc. work, and so I erred on the side of something more general which can be adapted to fit the system, as opposed to completely butchering it with my half-baked understanding and making it impossible to interpret.

If a lot of work needs doing please don't hesitate to get in touch on Discord if it would be easier to have a conversation about it.

[Col Arana]

Alright! So you're aiming for Vice Captain position! Noted!

Overall, as far as requirements, I have no problem. My sole concern with your ability is this one:

Technique Name: Furyoku Kugutsu Yoroi [浮力傀儡鎧] (Buoyancy Marionette Armour)

Stat boosting techniques are typically harshly scrutinized and in this case I would say this is no exception. While I acknowledge the entire point of the technique is to raise your speed, I would suggest an alternate technique in this case, or alternate purpose besides a generic speed boost. As an example, if you can telekinetically manipulate your Zanpakuto, this may be a good technique to allow you to keep fighting with injuries that would normally impede you, or enhance your mobility without expressly increasing your speed.

Alternatively, if you're really stuck on the speed boost, what I would instead recommend, is to give your Zanpakuto's liquid form a set speed stat (600 would be fine, if you want to go for a different speed, feel free to discuss it), and state that it allows her to move at that set speed instead. If you go this route, I would also advise adding a drawback that the massively increased speed can cause injury and strain to the body from being forced to move beyond its normal limits.

----

Either solution is fine by me, but that's the only issue I could see! Fix that one thing and I'll give my 1/2!

[Hanaya Hirashi]

Hi there! Yes, the intention is to go for the VC spot! I read the 'starting strong' thread, and I hope I've managed to provide an application of sufficient quality!

I've removed the speed boost from the marionette armour; it's now focussed solely on allowing Hanaya to move if she's too hurt/exhausted or if she's under some effect prohibiting her motion.

[Col Arana]

1/2 You've got my vote of approval!

[Kitai Yoru]

Yes, I will be your second grader, pleasure to meet you.

First thing's first, I couldn't help but notice that you only have four Zanpakuto techniques, when you are allowed to have six in total. Is there a reason for that?

Second, I would like to know how fast you can manipulate your Shikai and Bankai, as they do not have a set speed. If you would like them to match your speed stat, that is fine, but if you wanted a static speed for them, I feel that would help the power of it a lot.

Third, I like the illusion theme that your abilities are taking, but there should be some way to resist them. I would like to see these abilities have some interaction with Illusion Resist, and for those who are stronger than you, be it in class or OS.

Furyoku Kugutsu Yoroi: This technique is one of the reasons I was asking about speed earlier. With this, you could functionally move at whatever speed your Zanpakuto can move. I'm not necessarily against this, per say, but there should be limitations on it. As it is now, reducing the amount of your liquid makes sense, but doesn't really come up again in any of your other techniques, and with so much liquid available to you, it probably wouldn't be noticeable. Given that this is a one-off cost, and you don't have to pay reiatsu to upkeep it, I think the reiatsu cost is reasonable.

Kōgeki Negai Setsuri: How quickly does this move your character? Is it as fast as a step technique like Shunpo, which is 10x your speed, or does it make you move as fast as your shikai/bankai move? You could probably drop the reiatsu cost of this by a hundred points or so.

Nikutai Mippū Nagare: I like the drawback of not healing the wounds, delaying the injuries for later, but how would this work on your opponents? You say they can use this technique, but does that mean they can just scoop up some of your Zanpakuto and rub it on a cut? Can't you telekinetically control your release? What is forcing you to mend your opponent's injuries? You could probably cut the cost of this in half.

Genkaku Kairen Sekai: This is very big. I would like a speed attached to this, and does this have a visual indicator to tell other people that it is happening? I get that this is your magnum opus ability, but I would like some resistances to it. Maybe not as harsh as your base overall ability, but maybe a 3-4 in Illusion Resist is required to even partially see through the illusions, as well as needing 50% higher than your OS to resist it through raw stats.

An individual of lower class than Hanaya affected by this technique will additionally forget the events leading them to enter the Genkaku Kairen Sekai.

No, absolutely not. This is an instant win condition for anyone under class one, or even class one if you manage class zero, even with the drawbacks of the technique. The moment someone forgets that there is a battle is taking place is the moment you can instantly kill them, be it with your weapon, or a Kido.

This technique is also very pricy. The fact that you have extra reiatsu costs attached to this technique makes me think you could probably lower the base cost by half.



Get back to me once you've made the requested changes.

[Hanaya Hirashi]

Hola! Okay, I'll list my changes and comments.

Firstly as we discussed, I'm saving my final two techs until I have a better grip of things to make sure I make something good and thematic which fits the system.

Next up, I've given the zanpakuto a speed of 500, which increases to 600 when manipulated with the hands.

For seeing through the fake objects created by the bankai, I've stated that a 3 in Illusion Resist or a Sense stat greater than Hanaya's OS is required.

Kōgeki Negai Setsuri: I've dropped the cost by 100 points, and have stated that Hanaya moves at 7x the Zanpakuto speed (such that it's a little weaker than if the zanpakuto had its own step speed.

Nikutai Mippū Nagare: Yeah, they just scoop up the liquid. I've clarified that Hanaya can't just pull it off with telekinesis. If they paste it on their cuts, it stays there until the bankai is sealed. I've also cut the cost.

Genkaku Kairen Sekai: I've clarified that the mist moves at zanpakuto speeds (though it still takes 2 posts to seep around). The mist itself is the visual indication. The speed of the world is that it just kind of happens instantly when it's activated (i.e. at the end of the second post after the tech is activated). I've added the bit about needing a 4 in Illusion Resist or Sense stat 50% higher than Hanaya's spiritual OS to sense that it's just a construction of the bankai, but I specifically didn't put "see through" since it does actually physically manifest things (so "seeing through" it would actually be detrimental since it can still affect you). I've also added how hard you need to hit it to break through it (OS 50% higher than Hanaya's spiritual OS).

I also specified that I can't create offensive constructs within 10m of an opponent, and have established separate reiatsu costs for constructs which are offensive (like if I throw a house at someone) or non-offensive (if I just create a house from nothing).

[Hanaya Hirashi]

Update: Have removed the sensory thing to "see through" the quasi-illusions of the bankai. The stuff she creates it's pretty obvious that it's come from the bankai, anyone could see it, and it's a real object manifested by the zan as opposed to an illusion. The Illusory Ocean Lotus World though is now any sensory stat 25% of the OS.

[Kitai Yoru]

Approved, 2/2

Vice Captain of Squad Five, Class 3 Rank 2

500 SP awarded, post your stats after this one.

[Hanaya Hirashi]

SQUAD FIVE VICE CAPTAIN FLOWER OF THE SEIREITEI TAG @tag OUTFIT Shihakusho WORDS 000 NOTES Blah

STATS

Stat	Points	After Type
Strength	55	25
Speed	60	60
Reiatsu Strength	75	75
Spiritual Pressure	70	140
Instinct	80	44
Senses	50	50
Energy Sensory	60	120
Light Aura	85	85
Dark Aura	15	15
Healing Expertise	50	17

SKILLS
Mental
Analyzing - Proficient
Learning - Proficient
Battle
Weapon [Katana] - Adequate
Weapon [Rensui Nagareru] - Proficient
Battle Analysis - Proficient
Pain Tolerance - Adequate
Body
Mental Incantation - Proficient
Damage Recovery - Adequate
Utility
Charisma/Leadership - Proficient

ISHY of THQ & ADOXOGRAPHY