Takae Tachibana [2-1; 1-5 At Full Power]

» Name: Takae Tachibana

» Titles: Sword of Kusajishi.

» Race: Shinigami

» Age: 672 years old

» Appearance Age: 23 years old

» Gender: Female

» Personality: Formerly a naive, innocent girl who was cheerful and happy about her life, looking forward to her bright future as the prosperity of her bloodline and the prestige of her education carried her forward... Takae Tachibana's life changed as she died and became a Plus, and then again as the limitations of her body were unshackled. She was forced to come face to face with a violent reality, and survive in a world where death was uncomfortably around the corner. Only through the realization that in order to live she needed tofight for her life, did she manage to gain control over herself and dispense of her weakness. She would turn into an independant and powerful woman who was not afraid to go ahead and do what was necessary.

• Cynical: After witnessing a series of traumatic events in her life as a Plus, such as witnessing her foster brother being taken away from her, her parents being murdered, and even needing to stab a man who had abducted her to death in order to free herself, Takae would adopt a 'glass-is-half-empty' point of view, as she accepted that such things were unavoidable due to the nature of living beings as a whole. In order to live in this cruel world, she had to join them and become a part of the cycle, or else be consumed by it. And this pessimism would color a good majority of her outlook on life, filled with lack of trust in others, contempt for those around her, and hopelessness for the world at large. Few things are left for Takae to believe in, but there are exceptions at least like that of her brother, allowing her to cling to a small prospect of hope.
  
  
• Determination: For half of her life, Takae Tachibana has been chasing the shadow of the brother taken from her long ago; three-hundred years, give or take. This perseverance is not only a core aspect of the woman, but a concept that is rooted into the very flesh and bones of her body. It is so strong that even when she herself has believed that she has given up, her body will act on its own to carry her forward, as if it had a mind of its own. Takae knows the truth to how unrelenting the world is, and how it will swat her like a fly if she lets it. It is up to her and her alone to trudge through this hell, for she wants nothing more than to live, and to live she must fight for every last thing she desires. It doesn't matter how imposing the challenge is to her, or what things she must do in order to succeed; she has accepted it all a long time ago and will do what is necessary. This is her determination.
  
  
• Stoic: Takae to this day is the opposite of the woman she used to be, loathing the innocence and weakness that used to fill her head and exchanging it for a cold and fully-conscious mind. Any situation given to her, no matter how bleak it appears, she knows she can handle in a calm manner; not letting her emotions of fear, anger, or sadness get the best of her especially in crucial moments. As Takae has unshackled her being from the limitations of her humanity, she has gained remarkable control over her self, down to the mundane functions of her body. She does not hesitate, nor does she shake, and neither does she panic. When the repercussions are as cruel as death, Takae cannot afford to lose control.
  
  
• Humble: There are just far too many dark thoughts in Takae's head for her to consider such petty things as arrogance or flashiness. Despite her extreme natural talent and utmost devotion to her arts, how she stands up in regards to her allies or her enemies does not matter to her, so long as she is able to protect her own life and the lives of those she cares about. She does not live for the sake of combat, or enjoy it. She does not aspire to become anything more than good enough. Rarely does she ever even speak upon such matters as her own capability. There are a couple of factors that drive Takae to push on, but pride is not one of them, not by a long shot.
  
  
• Perceptive: Had it not been for this trait, Takae Tachibana would likely not have lived as long as she did, or been able to muster up the ability to free herself from her own tragedy. However, the woman has always possessed a powerful awareness to her surroundings. The entire time leading up to the day she was 'unshackled' she would notice how in various situations the cycle of violence, of the strong preying on the weak seemed to exist as a rule of nature. Even as she tried to push this to the back of her mind and ignore it so that she may live the path of peace, she couldn't help but realize it. Only after the fateful day of her parent's death did she wipe away the self-imposed illusions, opening her eye to reality. No longer would she be oblivious to the world, even if the truth was horrible. She would gain the power to see what she couldn't see before, and be rather adept at it as well. For a young woman, she would seem to possess the experience and wisdom of a much more aged person.
  
  
• Deep Bonds: For the sake of her brother Tetsuya, Takae is able to express the seemingly normal emotions of a young woman; compassion, anger, embarrassment, sadness, tenderness, playfulness, and happiness. Such traits had not been forgotten by the woman, only suppressed. However, for those that she develops a strong bond with, she is not against opening up to them and allowing herself to be swayed by them as long as it does not threaten their safety. While it is difficult to initially create a bond with anyone, it is very possible, and Takae is then willing to fight to maintain those bonds. It is these relationships that truly define her and her actions. The majority of her life has been devoted simply to becoming strong enough to protect her brother, so that she won't lose him. All steps taken revolve around these bonds, as she acts differently towards them than she does others.

» Appearance: See Above.

» Height: 5 Feet 5 Inches (166 cm)

» Weight: 128 pounds (278 pounds with Equipment)

THE BACKGROUND

In a world filled with war and bloodshed, where the enemies were very powerful, and one could lose their life as easily as an ant could be crushed underfoot... there were those who simply wished for the peaceful path in life, wishing to avoid all conflict. The Mikasa clan lived generations through generations as royalty, employing warriors to fight for them so that they may live in peace. The Mikasas never opened hostilities with other clans, nor did they seek more power or wealth than they already had; they were one of the few benevolent factions with power in Japan, but that didn't stop others from coming to take that from them. War was not something they sought, but it was unavoidable nonetheless...

Shiori Mikasa was born into this age of conflict like a fragile lily drifting upon a calm pond, separate from the open sea where the water was torrential. Walls were erected around her to keep her safe inside, away from anything having to do with the disputes at their borders. She was raised as a normal child through these strenuous efforts. Her parents were able provide her a life of peace, at the cost of some freedoms... She was able to attend a prestigious academy and graduate with a less-than-humble degree in both the fields of Painting and Japanese literature, taking her talents into a career as an artist. All the while, she was brought up as a person who was soft, and naive. For all her talent her view of the world truly only ever extended to the boundaries of the Mikasa's territory. She lived a worry-free life within those walls.

There was nothing wrong with this; it was not her fault, or her parent's fault that she didn't know the extent of the war raging around her, or the number of lives given to protect the peace of her pleasant life. She was on a path apart from fighting, having no interest in the powers that be in this world. She was just a normal human being with the desire to pursue the arts, and to continue living peacefully. However, there was nothing that quite lasted forever; even the serene illusion of peace would eventually be shattered for Shiori, and for a person so soft... the disillusionment would be cruel to her. This was a world filled with war and bloodshed, where the enemies were very powerful, and one could lose their life as easily as an ant could be crushed underfoot.

Shiori would come to terms with this reality just as the sensation of cold steel slid across her neck.

» The Tachibana Family: The details of Shiori's death and the events that had surrounded it on that day were long lost from the young woman's mind, as were the majority of her memories. Even her own name had disappeared from her mind, leaving her with only the ragged clothes she had been wearing at the time of her death on her back. When she awoke, she found herself no longer a child of prosperity, but instead a common peasant taken in by a family of strangers in a completely different land than what she had known. This was... the afterlife; the place a soul went after they had died. She was what was known as a Plus.

Kikue Tachibana and Miyoko Tachibana were a husband and wife to one another, residents in the 79th district of the Rukongai, the Wandering Soul City. They, like her, were but souls having passed on from the Living World to the Soul Society, retaining no memories of their past lives. However, a relationship had blossomed between them even in death. Shiori, now a nameless woman in the Rukongai, had been taken in by them when she had been found unconscious and lying in the streets. There was no blood relation between them at all, yet they were still more than happy to take her in as one of their own. She would become an adopted daughter of the Tachibana family, given the name Takae.

But life was not peaceful nor pleasant for Takae or her family here in the 79th district. This ragged town was nothing more than a festering slum of violence and chaos. It was not something that she could just ignore this time. Rather, it was something she had to face and witness every day, as people she knew one day lost their lives the next due to the uncontrollable turmoil present. The Tachibana family got from day to day hiding away, using both knowledge of the district and quick thinking to avoid having blades pointed their way. There was no shortage of stress, for someone who had no experience with this fighting and death, now forced to bear witness to it constantly. Takae clung to her adoptive parents and relied on them to protect her. Dying again was not something she wished to go through.

Never did it really occur to Takae that she could solve her problems through fighting, and neither did it to her parents. These were people who had chosen the path of non-violence, simply wishing to live normal lives. Yet, they were thrust into a place filled with bloodshed, making it a rather ridiculous fantasy that that could ever happen. They had no powers or skills to speak of, and each time they escaped a dangerous scenario only seemed to be like a postponement of what was coming their way. The 79th district was very much a dog-eat-dog world where only the toughest survived... and they were anomalies in this system. Never did it occur to them that they could stop it—they merely endured it.

For centuries the family lived on the run, until one fateful day, when he had arrived.

» The Miracle of Tetsuya: It had been quite a while since Takae had first been taken into the Tachibana family, rescued from the streets before something tragic could happen to her. More or less the same would occur then, with a dark-haired young man who would simply appear one day on the streets of the Rukongai. He too would be brought to their humble living space and taken care of until he awoke, treated as if he were a part of the family. However, this one was far different from Takae, and would completely change their lives in this hellhole forever with his presence. He would be taken into the family under the name Tetsuya Tachibana, and taught everything he needed to know about this district by Kikue and Miyoko. He never quite felt like a true part of the family, though, acting as an outcast among them.

As the days passed by with Tetsuya's company, miraculous things began to occur around him. Wildlife would spring up around him from the dead soil of the Rukongai, bringing new colors to the gray and the brown. As thugs and killers came too close to the Tachibana family, instead of running the young male would display an unfathomable power before Takae, easily able to take down the would-be attackers. For the first time, she would witness the power of a true fighter in the form of Tetsuya, who seemingly was able to ignore the limits of the body and defeat any opposition no matter the odds. Takae believed that the person they had taken in was incredible, even if she did not understand how he had achieved such strength.

This drastic change in the 79th District would attract attention, as ones known as Shinigami began to arrive within the slums. They weren't thugs, but rather powerful warriors weilding deadly swords. Trying to draw out the source of the upheaval, they did something truly terrible. They would begin to cut down innocent residents without warning, killing people who believed them to be their protectors. Blood and screams filled the air as the Shinigami massacred the town, slashing at anyone and everyone on sight. It was a scene from a horror story, up until Tetsuya Tachibana would arrive to combat them. This one male would once again prove just how great he was, as he stopped the Shinigami in their tracks and absolutely destroyed them. In a matter of moments he would be standing upon the corpses of his enemies, holding the blade of his enemy in his hand.

Who was he? Was he truly like them, a Plus? Or was he something completely different? This was an unbelievable power he possessed, capable of changing the way of the 79th District, and of protecting the weak from the strong. There were things that he could do that everyone else could only dream of. And, he was never quite part of the family, or the Rukongai... he tended to prefer being alone, rarely speaking to Takae at all. Still, he appeared to be human like them... and he would use this power of his to protect the peace here. No matter what he was, he was something amazing in Takae's eyes.

For a full decade, this would be the lives of the Tachibana family, living in a peace created by Tetsuya's strength. Takae's interest would take hold, causing her to constantly inquire how Tetsuya was able to do what he did. She never got answers, however, and those she did recieve made no sense. She should have just been happy with what she had, but there was something more to it than that, and she wanted to know. For the first time, the one who had lived upon the path of peace wished to change direction. Takae wanted to discover how to fight just like Tetsuya, and be able to bring about miracles just like he was able to.

Time moved by fast, and at the end of the ten years with Tetsuya's presence, a new challenger would appear. A shinigami more dangerous than any of those before him—one who held the title of Captain—Tsubasa Unabara, was here to finally defeat Takae's adoptive brother. What she expected to be another victory in Tetsuya's hands, however, quickly turned into a one-sided defeat as the Captain brought him down before she could understand what had happened. This man would not only defeat Tetsuya, but also take him away from the Rukongai, with no one daring to stop him. Takae, who was too fearful of the power possessed by people like them, could only watch in shock as he was taken away. Just like that, the miracle of Tetsuya Tachibana, had come to an end.

» Unshackled: Tsubasa's deeds had quelled the flames of the 79th District for a time, as fear flowed through the minds of the people living within the slums... But as time passed and those memories faded, and without Tetsuya present to stop the fighting, the 79th District would return to the state it was in before their arrival. The innocent civilians whom had grown lazy and soft under the protection of Tetsuya would not be slaughtered like lambs by the colder and the crueler of the District. Even Kikue and Miyoko would struggle to evade the hostility of this town despite their wiles; it was as if they had aged and their minds weren't what they used to be. No longer would they always get away without a scratch...

Takae was scared, and knew something terrible would eventually happen. She wished for Tetsuya's return, or for somebody else to stop this madness, but it never truly came. The chaos could not be extinguished, and it was catching up to them quickly. Sooner or later, her life would be in true danger, and she felt so helpless. It would only be one year after her brother's capture that it happened; the day of judgment. The Tachibana family was cornered by a group of killers, all of them armed with deadly weapons while they were just regular civilians with no fighting experience whatsoever.

Takae could only watch as her father and mother ran at the assailants with whatever they could find nearby to defend themselves with. They told her to run but there was no where to go. Takae could only watch as they dropped to the ground with rivers of blood sprouting from their bodies. As for Takae... rather than be killed, she was taken; abducted. There was nothing she could do but scream, and eventually even then she would be silenced with a concussion to the head from one of the thugs. As consciousness faded from the young woman, she would lose everything she ever knew, now at the mercy of those more powerful than her.

Her eyes were but dried out now, as she lie hopeless on the ground having cried until she couldn't cry any longer. She was now a prisoner of the men whom had taken her, kept like a toy in their house to be played with. She couldn't tell what they were doing to her, as her body's senses were numb and she didn't care anymore. She had given up on life at this point, as it was too cruel to continue on through. She would not eat the food that was provided to her, and she would not drink the liquids either. They would beat her, and push her around, but she welcomed it at this point. She was wishing for death...

But she would not be allowed it. The men who lived in this home would be attacked themselves, as was normal of the 79th district. Takae wondered briefly if it was just another group of men who would take her anyways, or perhaps kill her on the spot, but she would find herself surprised as instead of that a young boy would mutilate her abducters, using his small size and his wits to take them down one by one. He would tell her that she was saved, just like that, and Takae truly could not believe her luck. She was surprised at the how the boy—someone even younger than her—had been able to take down an opposing force greater in numbers and stronger than him with just a knife. He had no hesitation in taking a life, at so young an age.

The celebration would be short-lived as the third and final man living in this house would return to find his two comrades dead on the floor. The boy, who had not expected a third, would be taken by surprise and captured by the man, beaten over and over as he shrieked in anger. The knife that was in his hands had fallen next to Takae, but she was too horrified of the situation as her savior was smashed in the face repeatedly by her abducter. That's when the boy called out to her, shouting at her to fight back even as he was being bloodied to death. His words would strike true to her more than anything else she had ever heard, for they were words she had heard before from Tetsuya Tachibana:

"If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don’t fight, you can’t win!"

And that is what would be the turning point in Takae's life, for her to turn away from the path of peace and accept the violence and the cruelty of the world around her. Her body would stop shaking in fear, the emotion dissipating from her. She could feel every inch of her body now responding to her, under her complete control; she had complete control of her body for the first time since she had begun existing. There was no time to lie helplessly on the floor anymore; she would take up the knife that had been dropped, stand, and rush at her enemy. Power surged from the recesses of her body, causing the wooden floor of the room to break apart as she ran across it. She would look directly into the shocked eyes of her victim just as he turned to find her running at him with a weapon; before his life would be ended by Takae's power. The knife pierced straight through his heart, breaking several bones in the process from the sheer force. As the body fell to the ground, and the boy had been saved from his clutches, Takae would look down upon it strangely. She accepted death, and she had accepted murder, and she had become something more.

She had been freed.

» Chasing Shadows: Takae Tachibana was no longer content with just living a peaceful life. Her parents were gone, as was her past life, but she knew her brother was still out there, and she knew that she wished to fight for him. Without even knowing his circumstances, she would begin a journey of her own, knowing what must be done in order to achieve her desires. She knew she was still far from powerful enough to protect somebody like Tetsuya, so she needed to find an even greater strength than the one that she had unlocked within her. If she was going to save her brother, she was going to have to trudge through the whole of the Soul Society in order to do it.

Thus, Takae Tachibana's quest began in the Rukongai, travelling through the districts outside of the one she's lived in her whole life. The poor 79th district had nothing left for her; she had to go to the higher-numbered areas where the Pluses were wealthier and more advanced. All the while she was making her trip she trained her body, finding herself capable of feats she could only dream of before. Her fists could plow through trees, and she could jump almost as high as the wall of the Seireitei. She needed to refine and strengthen that power while figuring out new ways to fight. Her trips to the greater districts of the Rukongai were to achieve precisely that.

Takae knew in order to defeat her enemies, she needed weapons, armor; something to enhance herself. This would be the purpose of her first endeavor, causing trouble among the wealthy districts, trying to find somebody out here that worked on such things. She kidnapped and killed and made noise throughout these districts to survive. Her actions would even bring the attention of Shinigami to her, and rather than run as usual she would fight them, and defeat them. Taking on the warriors of the Soul Society would serve as great tests, allowing her to improve her combat capability as she sought out something to fulfill her first task.

She would take the sword of her first Shinigami victim just as Tetsuya had done to his. She would learn of the Zanpakutō and the spirit residing within it at that time, as the creature inside tried to resist her will. However, whatever had been done to Takae gave her the strength to subvert the Zanpakutō spirit, taming it for her own and ripping it away from its previous owner. It would serve her not as a companion, but as a submissive silent beast. This straight edge weapon would become her blade, a bastardized version of the Zanpakutō.

Meanwhile, her quest in the Rukongai would continue, as she found and held hostage a man with the appropriate skills to assist her. With nobody to stop her, she could easily secure what she needed in exchange for not taking the man's life. She didn't know exactly what she needed, however, and could not tell the craftsman when asked. She merely told him to make whatever would make her stronger. Iteration after iteration the man built tools and armor for Takae at sword's tip that she continuously found unsuitable and unhelpful. This situation would grow deeper than just one man's life however, as the Rukongai around her and the Shinigami from the capital would continue to try to dissolve the hostage situation.

Takae could not become satisfied with whatever the man built, and asked where she acquire what she wanted if not from him. All the while the matter would turn into a week-long ordeal as Takae had to fight against body after body to maintain power over the situation. She would garner a reputation as a trouble maker not only throughout the Rukongai, but in the Seireitei as well. Takae did not care how much noise she was making, so long as she was able to find a way to reach her goal. This would be the extent of her life from this point on, as she ran through the Rukongai, surviving tooth and nail against the Pluses and the Shinigami, just trying to become stronger.

She would accept any piece of equipment that enhanced her capability, and any mentor that would teach her how to fight. Every last scrap of power she could take, she would, all to get on the level of her brother, Tetsuya Tachibana. And throughout this long few centuries she would learn of his situation little-by-little, getting closer to the day where she could find him. One thing, however, was that she refused to become a dog of the Soul Society's Gotei in order to achieve her goal, or to serve anyone. One thing Takae was attached to more than anything save her brother was the freedom she had gained, and she would not relinquish that to anyone. Takae would reach Tetsuya, but by her own power.

» The Flash Goddess: It is only in the recent years that Takae Tachibana has come out from under the shadows of the Rukongai—from that one fateful day when she broke the mold of a simple Plus, she has only continued to climb upwards and onwards in order to achieve her goals of becoming more formidable. Having heard rumor of Tetsuya's whereabouts finally, and risen to a level that she felt could satisfy herself and her brother... she decided now was the time to be bold. She would break through the Great Wall of the Seireitei, delve into the heart of the city, and hunt down the one who shared her blood. And she would achieve that with all of the training she has put herself through.

For, Takae was mostly a self-taught Shinigami, lacking a proper mentor that resided outside the holy city. She didn't have anyone to teach her the special techniques of the Shinigami, nor their magics, nor the power of the Zanpakutō. Everything she earned, she earned by herself. The sword she wielded was a Zanpakutō stolen from a man she defeated, and then broken down over and over until its spirit was nothing but an amalgamation of energy. Though she lost any chance of ever developing a connection to her weapon, and thus never being able to achieve the Shikai or Bankai or any of its special techniques... she imprinted her own power onto the weapon and practiced with it to an extent where she could be called a Zanjutsu master without using a single technique.

That was one thing, but Takae lacked in some of the essential skills of a Shinigami due to not having proper guidance—no one to teach her Kidou, no one to train her in Hakuda, nor anyone to show her the way of the Hohou. Rather, Takae had to discover her own way forward. Despite this lack of knowledge, she would simply improve her physical prowess to turn her body into a weapon, becoming proficient in Hakuda simply due to her strength and speed, without any techniques to back it up. Much the same way as she adopted Zanjutsu, Takae was a powerful Hakuda user only because she had raw talent and power to make up for the lack of suitable training.

And probably most fascinating of all was Takae's discovery of the Flash Step. Never having even heard of the technique before, she set herself to developing it on her own due to necessity; requiring the ability to move quickly and reposition herself in combat due to a reliance on short-range attacks and lack of reach. She not only learned the Flash Step from scratch but also become far more accomplished with it due to building it up from the base, and understanding it down to its roots. "From Point A to Point B in the least amount of steps possible..." Takae had stumbled upon the Hohou by coincidence, but it would become almost as significant a tool in her arsenal as her sword, and she would improve herself in it as such.

Wielding these few but potent strengths, Takae would put a plan into motion; the final step in order to become recognized for her capability by the Seireitei, the Gotei, Tsubasa, and most importantly her brother. Reckless, dangerous, and perhaps just plain stupid, Takae would call upon the Shinigami known as Yoruichi Shihouin to challenge her for the title of "Flash Goddess." Her goal was to use her unique understanding of the Flash Step and her insane prowess with it to try and defeat the so-called greatest of Flash Step users in the Soul Society. If she succeeded here, not only would she claim a prestigious title, but also draw the attention of powerful eyes to her. Then, when she had their attention, she would finally be able to realize her goals for the past several centuries... not because someone gave it to her, but because she stepped up and earned it.

Yet, like a big fish in a small pond, she never truly realized the magnitude of the world besides the Rukongai she's lived in for the whole of her life. For all her training, she was unable to defeat Yoruichi, and failed to claim the title. Takae was forced to readjust her views on the magnitude of the world, and the possible dangers that existed beyond what she could have imagined; all the more that she needed to be by her brother's side and protect him. Her training couldn't end here... and yet after the challenge it was up to Yoruichi herself to decide her fate, for Takae had been causing a great deal of trouble for the Soul Society. If she was to be judged and her plans interfered with, she would fight against Yoruichi with all she had...

But such was not the case. The duel had taken place outside of the Seireitei's walls, and for some reason she was allowed to go. But rather than return to the slums, wreaking havoc and scrapping for what little was left to gain there... Takae would push forward. In order to proceed with her goals, she had to move out of the Rukongai and pursue greater things. She would begin the next chapter of her journey in the Soul Society, and she would, for the first time in a long time, see the face of her brother. This was Takae's purpose.

NATURAL ABILITIES

» Unshackled: Several centuries ago, Takae was able to undo the shackles that held her soul, body, and mind back. Through the combination of trauma and force of will, she surpassed her limits and took power over herself, for herself. Through that one turning point in her life, Takae had become something more than herself. What does this mean? It means that she has gained total awareness over her self, and a willpower capable of subverting the unconscious actions of her mind. No longer does emotion or habit hold any sway over her, as she can force herself to act as she wishes at will. For example, she can control her feelings over any situation, force pain to vanish from her senses, send herself into a state of sleep, or push herself forward without food or drink for weeks. She can even use this inhuman willpower to force herself to remain conscious where others would not be able to, to push against mental attacks that would pry into her mind, and resist forces of control against her will... With this power, Takae can ignore her limits.

Furthermore, she can enhance the strength of her ability in almost any aspect by "Unlocking" it, which can grant such things such as enhanced senses, stronger physical capability, more durable skin, or a greater spiritual pressure. The list goes on, as Takae can take control over any function of her body, spirit, and mind and cause it to act as she desires. However, this sort of extremity can and will have harmful effects on Takae's health, as it goes beyond the natural tendencies of the body. It is the act of gaining great immediate power, and paying for it later depending on how far beyond the normal limits it is. It is a self-destructive ability, but Takae has always been a very sacrificial fighter in order to achieve victory.

Despite having the capability to break her limits, Takae can still only go so far past the apex of her power. She can gain the level of power of people a full tier above her, almost as if she had unleashed a higher form, but not. However, that is as far as she can go and she will absolutely be feeling a crippling feedback when the power boost fades. Additionally, the time for which she can fight beyond her threshold is restricted as well, lasting only three posts at max strength... though the shallower she pushes herself the longer she can maintain it.

» Sword of Kusajishi: While Takae's legend has always been one more of hearsay and rumor than one of renown... it was certainly there. She was a virtuous young woman one day, turned cold-blooded killer the next. Starting from the first life she took in the dirty slums of Kusajishi, there has been a trail of murders by the one known as Takae Tachibana, who had even killed a Shinigami with her bare hands and taken his Zanpakutō as her weapon of choice. Enemy of both the districts of the Rukongai and the hunters of Seireitei, she fended for herself alone, always in the eye of the storm. Hiding was never her goal, and thus she was always fighting; constantly at odds with the world around her. This was her method of training with her stolen blade—live combat with her life on the line—and every time she fought she would clash with someone more skilled than her with the blade, needing to overcome her limits time and time again to win.

When the time came for her to seek out a true teacher in the art of swordsmanship, Takae was already at the level of a master, leaving very little for her to learn. Still, the lessons finalized her training, refining the raw talent into perfect tool for killing. The final result was single style that combined all of Takae's talent into a fluid form, built upon the foundations of speed, ruthlessness, and seeking out the weakness of her enemies. Honor and fairness were completely disregarded in her fighting style, as she was not afraid to do anything in order to claim victory. While she does not possess an expansive knowledge in the field of Kenjutsu, nor an especially unique ability to supplement that which she does know... her single-minded focus on the art of the sword is so great that she attempts to defeat her enemies with simply superior skill. After all, Takae possesses almost no other abilities as a Shinigami, having practiced only swordsmanship in her time as a fighter; it is her lone, and most powerful tool in combat.

SHINIGAMI SKILLS

» Hakuda: Using one's body as a weapon; making the most of one's own flesh and bones; turning the weak form into something strong... That is Hakuda, unarmed combat. Takae Tachibana, who has unshackled the limitations of her spiritual body to gain complete control over it, has developed herself into a powerful master of Hakuda. She not only is capable of surpassing her limits, but consistently breaks them. Her Hakuda is on a level beyond that of what should be possible for her, as she forces herself onto a level she shouldn't be at. At the cost of her own health, Takae can achieve physical feats of a tier beyond her current due to the ability to break her own limits. In both speed and strength, the two offensive traits, as well as stamina is where her power lies, as all of these aspects can be improved through her own unnatural willpower. Endurance, a defensive trait that is trained in a different manner, however, remains the same. Takae's speed is the most superior aspect of them all.

One thing to note about Takae pushing herself beyond her extremes is that she will almost always be injuring herself in combat. The maneuvers she pulls off, and the feats she attempts that should be impossible for her, generally are self-destructive. Broken bones, torn flesh, ruptured organs... all of these are common happenstance for Takae. Of course, with the control she has over her own body, she can keep fighting through the pain and the damage until the parts of the body are rendered completely inert. Additionally, she tends to wear specialized armor on her limbs that force them to move even if they're completely broken. Given the speed that she can pull off, almost every fight she has she causes more damage to herself than any enemy ever can.

» Hohō: Takae is highly skilled in the use of Flash Steps, a high speed movement ability. Though this is by no means a unique skill, as most seated officers are capable of performing it to various degrees, Takae has mastered this ability to such an extent that she can appear to be in several places at once and wipe out an entire squadron in seconds. She can easily close tremendous gaps of distance in the blink of an eye while remaining undetected. She is unparalleled in the art, able to perform the technique almost effortlessly, and at a speed beyond what any Shinigami, Arrancar, or any soul has moved at. She can utilize this in almost any situation no matter how dire and troubling, as it is as easy as breathing for her.

There are several rules one should always keep in mind when fighting against Takae, due to this ridiculous mastery of the art of the Flash Step: The first rule is that one can never expect her to be where you see that she is. Often referred to as Utsusemi, Takae can dash away at such extreme speeds that the human mind and eye cannot comprehend the departure until a second after. To onlookers, an afterimage will appear, and when attacked the afterimage may even appear to have taken damage due to the mind filling the image in with what it believes should have happened, when in reality Takae has already disappeared from that location. As a result, in order to truly keep up with her, an opponent must always fight as if she is in the next most likely spot than she is at the moment, or else it is impossible to keep track of her. Most opponents make the mistake of relying on their senses in order to fight Takae, but the moment when something like that registers within one's mind is the moment they are cut down, because the woman is always a step ahead of where she seems to be.

The second rule when facing Takae is that there is never truly a distance between her and her enemies: that distance is a lie. Takae must always be treated as if she is right next to them, for the distance can be closed in an instant. If any move is made believing there is leeway to make it, Takae will easily be able to interrupt it with a counter-attack that there was no time to react to. In truth, it should be treated that there are no openings with her, because her speed can make up for any lapses. In the same vein, one should always be cautious with her and make sure there are no openings in their own movements, as Takae will always be able to be in the right location to take prime advantage of this. Positioning in the midst of the battlefield is one of her strongest suits. In addition to these basic aspects of Takae's flash step, she knows the following advanced Hohou abilities:

• Iaido: This is a specialized Shunpo technique used by Takae by concentrating the high-speed enhancement of Hohou into any part of the body, rather than just the feet. By doing this, she can execute simple movements at the same speed as her flash step to outmaneuver her opponents in close combat. Iaido can be used to chain together the drawing of the sword, a swipe of the blade, and the resheathing of the weapon all in one motion, for instance, which is what the ability was named for. If performed correctly with the Hohou, the entire procession can occur in the blink of an eye; yet Takae is such a master of the art that it almost cannot be seen excepting for a small twitch of the hand and a infinitesimal shimmer of silver, and only to those with special visual powers. With the ability to utilize this technique with any part of the body, the possibilities are great, but it comes with a catch in that it breaks the limits of Takae's own natural speed, thus often causing self-injury.
  
  
• Shinmetsu: This is a specialized Shunpo technique in which the user utilizes the enhanced momentum of the Flash Step to launch a projectile such as a throwing knife, at incredibly high speeds. It increases the piercing power of any sharp object, or the blunt force of any dull object launched by this technique. It also increases the travel distance in addition. For most, it is hard to even tell that a projectile is heading their way before it has already hit them, due to the ridiculous speeds.
  
  
• Fuuhada: This is a specialized Shunpo technique in which one uses to dodge an attack without even seeming to move. In any case where an attack is about to hit Takae, she can first dodge the attack with a Flash Step, and immediately return to her original position once the attack has flown through the space of her body and it is safe. The sequence of this move is so fast that it will look as though the attack would have gone right through her, with only a slight blur giving away her movement. Because this technique ends up returning to the origin point in a short amount of time, this will certainly not work against all attacks.
  
  
• Kageresu Shissou: This is an advanced Flash Step ability which does not require more energy to utilize, but simply takes a considerable amount of skill to perform. It is a Shunpo with absolute silence, not allowing the swift steps of the high-speed movement to make but a sound. By keeping the treads as light as physically possible, Takae can move from place to place stealthily and without drawing attention to herself.
  
  
• Rourou Shissou: This is an advanced Flash Step ability in stark contrast of the Kageresu Shissou, meant not to be stealthy but completely disruptive. By collecting an increased amount of spiritual energy into the technique, Takae can blast off with such visceral speed that it will create a vacuum of space in the area she began, near-instantly crushing anything caught within a short radius of her after her departure. Then, causing a displacement of air at her destination due to the sudden arrival, which results in a powerful outward explosion of force. Also, if this Shunpo is utilized on a destructible surface, a load of debris will be kicked across the path she took.
  
  
• Soku Bunshin: This is an advanced Flash Step ability that involves the user dashing between several set locations in a way that creates the illusion that there are multiples of that person. These clones exist for a short period of time, and are incredibly blurry and unfocused to any onlookers. Though each 'clone' appears for only a short time, each departure usually winds up with the creation of a new 'clone' somewhere else. A master of this ability can attack from these multiple positions seemingly at the same time, and dodge any counter attack aimed at them by simply flash stepping away. However, out of all the Shunpo techniques, this one is the most energy consuming. Takae is one of the few who can maintain this ability for a relevant amount of time.
  
  
• Baibure-Shon Modo: Baibure-Shon Modo (Vibration Mode), is a state of being that Takae can create by applying high speed movement to one, many, or all parts of her body and then by moving in place back and forth. This vibration is barely visible, but it can be detected by a low hum coming off from the vibrations. While in this state, Takae will gain a small array abilities: The first of which is an increased resistance to certain attacks. By matching the speed of wave-based attacks such as sonic, wind, et cetera. She can completely cancel them out due to their nature. This mode can also resist physical attacks by softening them up with the vibrations before the full impact and settle through. Another ability granted by Baibure-Shon Modo is that it can also empower Takae's Hakuda on the same note, increasing the kinetic energy behind her strikes.
  
  
• Hosou: Hosou, the Phase Step, is one of Takae's most radical Hohou techniques. Like almost all Hohou techniques, it utilizes immense—but brief—bursts of speed as a means to an end. What makes this ability so special is not just the technique but the sheer scale of speed needing to be utilized in order to carry out. To use Hosou is to vibrate oneself back and forth with these extraordinary speeds millions and millions of times in a single second, far beyond the scale of the Baibure-Shon Modo, to achieve a very specific state of being. These vibrations will loosen the bonds keeping Takae's spiritual particles together and allow her to assume a strange energy-based form devoid of actual physicality. In this state, she can move freely through any other physical object like a ghost, and even any energetic or spiritual based object that may be in her way, as long as it isn't specifically designed to target and destroy spiritual particles. This is because without the bonds, the individual reishi can be filtered through these objects. However, it isn't just maxing out on vibration speed; Takae must cap it out at a certain point for if the vibrations are too fast, the bonds will be destroyed completely, dispersing her form and not allowing her to ever recuperate... Hosou is a dangerous ability for this reason. Extended use of this technique can be unhealthy, as any utilization of it past ten times will begin to bruise the areas of the body that have vibrated, breaking the skin if used multiple times in the same place. Trying past twenty times will begin to actually destroy parts of Takae's flesh, and thirty times is her absolute cap. If she ever tries to use Hosou for a thirty-first time, it will be abruptly cut short and reduce her to only the most basic Shunpo ability until she can recover from the damages.
  
  Hosou is generally meant to be utilized with the whole body, but she can target only certain parts of the body for conversing energy. Another note to be made is that Takae can maintain this ability no longer than one second at a time, and must rest twice that in between each use. While in the vibrating state, her movement speed will be reduced to the average Shunpo speed at maximum. It may not seem like so much of a Hohou technique, but it follows the general rule of the Flash Step; getting from point A to point B in the least amount of steps. And that can be achieved with Hosou by allowing her to ignore obstacles in her way.
  
  
• Superhuman Reflex:This is a passive ability, driven into her through her centuries of practice with the Hohou. Due to using the Flash Step so much, her reflexes have adapted to superhuman levels while performing the techniques, cancelling out the tunnel vision that would normally be caused by them. All five of her senses will be able to recieve information at incredibly enhanced speeds, and her nerve impulses will increase likewise to allow her to act more quickly as well. It is much like the state of increased perception one acquires when trading blows with a sword; immense, yet brief. These sensory boosts will only apply when Takae is utilizing a Hohou technique.

ZANPAKUTŌ

» Zanpakutō Name: Roshin Yōyū (Meltdown)

» Zanpakutō Spirit Name: Unknown

» Unreleased Abilities: Roshin Yōyū is Takae's blade, but not her Zanpakutō. It is the name she has given to the weapon she took from an enemy she has defeated long ago. It is the sword whose spirit was broken and overwritten by Takae's will, made into something unrecognizable from the original—a bastardized version of the Zanpakutō. In its place, a spiritually-charged weapon that Takae siphons power from in order to fight with it, rather than developing a bond between her and the spirit. That is why she does not know the Zanpakutō Spirit's name, and why she cannot achieve the evolved states of the weapon; Shikai and Bankai.

Roshin Yōyū, otherwise known as Meltdown, is a straight edge sword whose blade is more densely woven than most other Zanpakutō, sacrificing speed for power, albeit the speed can easily be made up for by Takae herself. The weapon's grip is rigid and cold, made entirely out of metal and not meant for comfort. There is nothing quite unique about the weapon except for in its complete regularity: there are no shades beyond black, silver, and white to be seen. The design is simple and straight forward, lacking intricate designs or patterns. Roshin Yōyū possesses a very bare-bones style.

This is made up for with the sword's sheath, named Sutā no Koa or Star's Core. Completely rectangular, Sutā no Koa is like a long, thin metal brick with a slot meant for the Zanpakutō. The faces of the sheath are held together by iron corners, and there are several slits along the sides where steam and light can escape. The reason the sheath is designed this way is because it has a purpose beyond just holding the weapon. Sutā no Koa is a furnace within itself, perpetually heated at the center where the blade of Roshin Yōyū is held. Thus, as the sword is inserted into the sheath, the core brings its metal up to a molten temperature, causing the sword to glow white hot.

This process gives the sword its namesake, Meltdown, for it purifies the weapon of all imperfections and repairs all damage done to it. Even should the entire blade snap off; by dipping the stub back into the furnace, a new length is added onto it, bringing the weapon back within a matter of moments. Thus, when Roshin Yōyū is unsheathed once again, a fresh blade without any faults or corruption will be unleashed. However, due to the repeated reshapings of the blade over time, the Zanpakutō spirit inside has been reduced to an incoherent mass of reishi—nothing but a powerful source of energy.

That is not the only effect of the Sutā no Koa, however, for while the blade of Roshin Yōyū glows with the heat of the furnace, its cutting power increases to an astronomical level, separating almost anything that gets in its way like a hot knife through butter. The first post in which the sword is unsheathed, its blade glows white and is at maximum strength, leaving little that it cannot cut through instantly. The second post, it becomes yellow, and drops off in sharpness by more than half, and begins to equalize with her actual power level rather than being far above it. Then, the third post, the blade glows orange and slowly fades to red, becoming little more than that of a standard unsealed Zanpakutō, with no special effects.

• Kiru: A sword's purpose is to cut, and Roshin Yōyū is no different. It's special ability is to sever, to slash, to slice, to part... and that does not always pertain to the physical. While the blade glows with the heat of Sutā no Koa, Takae can activate this ability with its unsealed state. 'Kiru' grants Takae's weapon the ability to interact with and slice through things that should not be able to, depending on if she can correctly visualize what she is trying to cut, and performs an action that could feasibly strike what she is targeting. Be that of a mass of energy, in which a blade would normally just phase through, or that of literally an enemy's focus, a non-concrete target. Kiru allows her to break the rules of reality in order to strike whatever needs to be cut down... it merely needs to follow the rules. First, as a sword is a melee weapon, Takae needs to be in close range to the target of what she wishes to cut. Second, is that such a sophisticated attack cannot be taken lightly, and Takae must aim her strike with the utmost precision and with enough strength to be able to break through (the stronger the thing she wishes to cut, the harder it will be to achieve). Finally, if Takae cannot comprehend what it is she is facing, and does not understand it like she would understand the vitals of a person or the weaknesses of an object, then it will be impossible to target it in the first place.
  

EQUIPMENT

» Zakugu - The Gears: The Gears are a four-piece set of exoskeleton parts made for both the arms and legs of Takae Tachibana. They are easily equipped, but not so easily utilized, due to the stress they can put on the wearer. Each has a unique name: 'Yuusha' is the Brave, the piece for her left arm. 'Dokyou' is the Grit, the piece for her right arm, her weapon arm. 'Tsubasa' is the Wing, the piece for her left leg. And, finally, 'Geitou' is the Trick, the piece for her right leg. By themselves, they serve as powerful suits of armor wherein Takae's mere flesh would be too soft. With durability akin to spiritual weaponry of the same level, the Saguku can defend against magical attacks and Zanpakutō-like weapons.

However, the Gears are more than just pieces of tough metal around the skin. The outside surfaces are riddled with small holes from the top to bottom, large enough to allow fluid and gases to move through, but not enough to become a structural weakness. When activated, Takae can cause pure force to be pushed out of or sucked in to them, which can serve mainly one of two purposes: The first is to rapidly change direction of the body parts by force, whether in mid-air or during the flash step. The second is to enhance her physical attacks, speeding and slowing herself down, or utilizing the force itself as an attack. The Gears, despite their compactness, can easily release devastating amounts of kinetic energy.

This type of technology comes at the cost of the host's arms and legs. As forces are expelled or taken in, this had adverse affects on the body parts within: flesh is easily bruised, bones are quickly broken, and the limbs eventually become unusable due to the constant abuse. At that point, Takae is relying completely on the exoskeleton to supply the movement, and if at any point the Sakugu fails or is taken off, the limb will be rendered useless. Takae often is forced to take trips to medical wards in order to have her limbs repaired from using the Sakugu too freely. Thankfully, she is at this point used to moving with broken arms and legs, and does not mind the pain that comes with using this gear.
» Origin: The Sakugu was the combination of the efforts of several craftsmen within the Rukongai, working together to create pieces of equipment on the level of quality that a single craftsman of the Seireitei could produce. Takae Tachibana was quite notorious for the week long hostage crisis she started, threatening the lives of those she forcefully employed to create these pieces, and killing those who weren't deterred by the situation and tried to stop her. Through this precarious situation, she forced them to create the Sakugu for her.
» Yen: 1,000,000 Yen.


» Tanso Combat Pill: The Tanso Combat Pill is not an especially unique combat pill, but one rarely seen, and only then on the black market or the equivalent within Soul Society. Takae possesses several of these dark green pellets within the various pockets of her utility belt around her waist. The Tanso Combat Pill, when broken by the teeth and swallowed, releases a mixture of chemicals that replenish one's energy and stamina, and sharply increase the physical aspects of the body such as speed, strength, and even sensual capability—all of this is standard for a Combat Pill, but the Tanso variant is unique in that it also is able to temporarily provide a relief to even utterly fatal wounds, like that of a heart missing, or multiple limbs being ripped off... as long as it doesn't have to do with the brain. When consumed, the pill will invade the body and seek out areas through which blood could escape, and then releases a different set of chemicals out of the wound to imitate that of the body. These fluids solidify and mold themselves into a dark green tissue in place of that which was lost, and emulate it as well. For a duration of five posts, the Takae can fight on with fatal injuries to herself by relying on the synthetic tissue created by Tanso Combat Pills, and even survive long enough to find a way to heal herself. After the time is up, the fake tissue will dissolve, but it can be maintained by consuming another pill. The longer Takae remains in this state under the influence of the Tanso Pill, the harder the crash will be when she comes out of it.
» Origin: While the Black Market is something you won't quite find in the Seireitei, it very strongly thrives out in the Rukongai where the law enforcement is not nearly as strict. Within this shady market are often the failed, inhumane developments of the research division, sold at quite the hefty price. The Tanso Combat Pill, deemed an aberration of science, was one such creation, and Takae acquired hers through bloodshed and theft.
» Yen: 500,000 Yen for sustainable supply.

SKILL SHEETS

General Skills

• Durability: -
  
• General Speed: -
  
• Strength: -
  
• Weapon Skill: -

Racial Skills

• Hoho: -
  
• Kidō: -
  
• Zanjutsu: -
  
• Hakuda: -

Will Skills

• Willpower/Determination: -
  
• Mental Deduction: -
  
• Pain Endurance: -
  
• Focus: -

Last edited by Dexterity on Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:18 am; edited 5 times in total