Erika Masamune [Update | WIP]

I. Basic Information

♦ Name: Erika Masamune
♦ Alias': Suicidal Devil [Formerly]. Shinigami of Ten-Thousand Swords.
♦ Age: 801 years old.
♦ Gender: Female.

Affiliation: Erika was formerly aligned with the Gotei Thirteen, the Gotei Thirteen before her mother left and she deserted to go and try to find her. In the five years of her search she has decided to align herself only to her adoptive mother Tsubine, primarily for her own loyalty to the woman but she doesn't see the Gotei United as her home anymore. It has changed too much for her to like it and so her loyalty to the organisation died the moment they were reborn.

Appearance: The frame of Erika is one that is reasonably small, she is about 5 feet and 2 inches which doesn't give her a very high stance or allow her to stand over people. She has a well-developed body when it comes to her fitness though. She has a slender body with excellent capacity but not losing any of her beauty or attractiveness. Her hands and feet have become calloused from her many years of training and a firm body on top of it. Erika's hair is a rich shade of blonde with a pink hue causing her hair to occasionally appear to have light pink hair in the right lighting. Her hair is kept neat and falls around her head around her shoulder blades but her hairstyle often keeps it tied back in some manner that makes it appear shorter but in a neat fashion, her hair is kept maintained and she takes great pride in her hair and cares quite a lot about it. She has golden eyes, a very soft hue which matches how she appears most of the time but there is an unyielding fighting spirit in them.

Erika has deep scars that have faded in recent times from the first time she used her zanpakuto since the handle cut deep into her hands. She has a group of scars littered along her body from her past years of combat, most she kept there instead of removing as reminders and a determination to get stronger. Erika has two main scars on her torso the first is a remnant of a close call with death which is located to the right, it stretches from just under her breast to just below her shoulder blade. The other one is located towards the left, she has a deep stab wound which is still healing from an attempt at suicide which she couldn't carry out, these two are the only scars that have important meaning to her. She wears an interesting attire which is designed for optimum fighting capacity, it is open and leaves her arms and legs free for combat.

I. Personality

Personality: Erika is a good person, or at least she tries to be. She is very far into the true good spectrum of alignment, she is not lawful although in the past she might've been described her as such. She leans towards the light and works to keep the world in good order, she is anything but a hero but she will try to leave the world a better place wherever she makes her mark. Erika is not one to walk around blindly believing what she is doing to be right, even though she served the Gotei Thirteen she would believe some laws to be wrong. She understands that if one follows blindly the ideas of "good" they are spoon fed by other's then it's not truly good.

She is mature, but she isn't. It's a confusing dilemma for her, to strangers and when she is level-headed Erika could be described as incredibly confident and mature but at the same time she is known to possess a childish understanding of a lot of things, romance for example. She has never had any understanding of romance or love in that sense or experienced it. Her mother falling in love confuses her, in her eyes the idea disgusts her more so. Given that love made her mother leave the way she did, she sees romance as something that is cruel she wants no part in it but at the same time is interested in it.

Despite a yearning for romance Erika is anything but traditional with it. She despises the idea of settling down, being a housewife and happily marrying someone. She finds physical affection and acts of affection uncomfortable with the exception of a select group which she deems as family or friends of her family.

Family is something she holds close to her heart. Only recently has she began to question and the idea has come to confuse her greatly. In the past Erika believed that family wasn't bound by blood, it didn't need blood ties for two people to be family however the persisting idea has stuck in her mind that blood is important. That is not to say she doesn't love her adoptive mother any less but she always is confused about which is stronger and people prioritise.

She is a survivor, having come close to death a great many of times one of the closest calls with death would be World War Three, an event that gave her mild PTSD. She is prone to night terrors on occasion with nightmares of her experiences in the war or based off them. She has come to deal with them but she always hates the feeling they leave with her.

She's a introvert, she prefers to be alone or with a small amount of people than be a socialite and out-going person. Not that she lacks confidence or is shy with people. She is only really shy in moments of romance or situations which are embarrassing for her. Otherwise she is pretty confident and capable.

She finds the only true moment of being herself is in combat, locked in a sword fight or when her blood is rushing. She doesn't have the worry or issues when she's not fighting, it's just her focus. She has almost absolute confidence in herself. It's a mystery to her why she cannot function the same way in social matters as she does in battle. It's just so much more simpler for her.

I. History

NSFW WARNING
Contains some 18+ content and some scenes might be confronting. You have been warned.

Human Life: Erika was born to her parents Katou and Misaya Kawada. She was born as a twin to her identical twin sister Naomi, despite their birth going relatively well and calm the two girls were born without a father due to Katou's death shortly after the Battle of Osaka that took place in the year preceding their birth. As a result Erika and Naomi never experienced their father in anyway but they were not without a male role-model. That would be their grandfather who Misaya moved in with following becoming a widow as it would've been seen as very dishonourable for her to remarry.

Growing up Erika was exposed to her mother's teachings, it was anything but what she wanted. She grew up hearing how great a man her father was from her mother and the stories she told. Her mother wanted her to grow up like a woman should, the same was expected of her sister. Erika didn't want this. She wanted to be like her father who she never met regardless of the mocking and punishment it afforded her from her mother.

When she was six Erika sought her grandfather to help her become a great swordsman, he knew she wasn't joking and he was probably the first person other than her sister to support her. Every other adult laughed at her whenever she announced her intent and would often get her punished by her stern mother, she never let Naomi get these beatings. Whenever her twin said something that her mother didn't like or if she got in trouble Erika would do something worse to take her punishment and then pretend to be Naomi to take her's.

She was selfless for her twin, wanting to protect her and become a great warrior to achieve her dream and prove to everyone that she could be strong. She began training with her grandfather in secret whenever she could, usually late at night when everyone was asleep since it meant she felt confident her little sister was safe and no one would disturb them. She was exceptionally mature for a child and loyal, it carried on with the two of them. By the age of 12 they had developed a bit more, given the societal standards her mother was trying to arrange suitors for them.

Needless to say it was a disaster, all it had to be was Naomi to say no and that was it. Erika was more than capable of handling the young noble suitors that sought her hand in marriage but her sister's lack of interest along with her own meant that she wouldn't let anyone get in her way. She knew of Naomi's desire to be a scholar and tried to support her to the best of her abilities and that turned out to be providing the girl with a peaceful environment. Their mother had all but given up, disappointed in her daughters and calling them failures but to Erika it mattered very little, her mother had never supported her. Misaya had simply tried to use them for politics or to raise them to be something they didn't!

It wouldn't be long before she sought out the titles, the fame of being a great swordsman in Japan that could rival the names of Kojiro Sasaki and Miyamoto Musashi. She trained, and trained and trained. She soon came to understand once again that this society would never acknowledge her purely for her sex. It frustrated her! It angered her but it wouldn't stop her! She adopted the concept of cross-dressing, wearing clothes that hid her feminine curves, her breasts and everything that made her lesser in society's eyes. She took off to be a great swordsman and slowly but surely her dream came true. She stayed in a certain area though, close enough she was never far from her sister whom she sought to protect and not let her be harmed by the world.

Alas, her game wouldn't last forever. It was by sheer fluke and a twist of fate that Erika would be caught bathing by a noble. While one would not have given any thought in most cases he could tell exactly who she was by the distinguished sword she carried and the attire. She knew he had deduced that she was the swordsman that was rising to fame and saw her as something he wanted. It would be blackmail, threatening her with her her identity if she didn't submit and marry him. She refused this, her dream was more important than this man. She knew that by saying yes she would be giving up her freedom and dream, She was a woman of 19 years, still young and in her prime. Love wasn't on her mind in the slightest and especially not with that pig. The last thing he'd say to her was "You'll regret this bitch".

Sure enough he did, she was outed as a woman and couldn't be taken seriously anymore. Walking through villages had changed from gazes of respect to attempts to court her or perverted gazes. In some cases even attempts to defile her, it sickened and angered her that it was all it took was knowing of her sex and people could change so much towards her. It would not be long before her actual identity got out, a few years later that is when she was seen with her sister and rumour spread, right to that same noble which began this chronicle that ruined her.

Sure enough he would uphold his threat to her, she still strove to be a famous swordsman despite being nothing more than a joke to people. It would be when she was away that her entire family would be put to the torch, a group of men setting their house alight and burning it to ashes as well as everyone inside. It would be a few days before Erika came to see what had happened, the charred bodies left in the remains of the house. It would be a long amount of hours of her cradling her dead sister's charred body with the simple truth echoing inside her skull.

"It's all my fault"

It was probably the most defining moment in her life at that point. The knowledge and thoughts that your own actions killed the very thing you sought to protect and loved most in the world. Erika fell into despair, putting the value of her sister under the dream she had unintentional it was but nonetheless she hated herself, she hated society, she hated the man that did this. She wanted to avenge them - feeling it was more appropriate than giving up and committing suicide - she strove to kill him, she went right to him and that would end up with her walking right into his trap.

She was one woman, against 24 armed men. She at least figured they'd have the honour of single combat, she was wrong. She was better than all of the in swordplay which is why the noble had them overwhelm her and bring her to him alive, he wanted his trophy after all since she had been so hard to obtain. Erika didn't realise at the time exactly what he had planned, she made it perfectly clear that killing her would only free her, no amount of pain they could inflict was greater than what they'd already done. In a way it was a mistake when she said that. They truly sought to break her.

Her last few days alive can only be considered hell, he used her body like it was a toy. Raping her and abusing her to keep her life miserable, while yes it did accomplish something he would not stop, she refused to break for him knowing that she at least owed her twin that, she would not break to the man that killed her. It would only get worse as he stripped her and left her naked and bound for his servants to use for their own, it was humiliating and it was only when they finally got her pregnant that she broke - she couldn't handle the thought of giving birth to the child of the man that took her life away. It finally pushed her over the edge and she endured a very painful death by self-inflicted trauma from smashing her head against the pole she was tied to until she finally passed on expecting there to be nothing on the other side.

Pre-Konso: Death was supposed to be the end. The end of her pain and suffering but it wasn't, she woke up laying on the ground where there was a puddle of blood. Her blood but her body was gone and it was daylight. She was panicked, she should've been dead, not here! It only got worse when she wondered if Naomi had suffered the same fate and it crushed her more - taking that wound and twisting a knife in her chest. Not only had she killed her twin she had left her alone in the afterlife. She spent so long searching, going home to the grave of her family and looking around. She had no idea that her sister had passed onto the Soul Society, hell she didn't even know what the Soul Society was.

It wouldn't be long before she saw a Hollow, it ripped and tore into another spirit and she was scared. Monsters really did exist. There was a disgusting feeling of pain and fear that her sister had actually been eaten by the "monsters". It sent her into a panicked frenzy, she searched for so long and quite a few areas. It wasn't until she finally came along someone that could see her, touch her and try to tell her she was able to leave now and go to a better place but Erika didn't want that better place, she wanted Naomi! When she demanded to know if her sister had passed on the man admitted to having thought she looked very familiar and tried to help her pass on. Erika couldn't though. He told her that she would forget all her pain but she couldn't accept it, she didn't want to forget her sister.

She killed him, despite his status he lacked any real skill in zanjutsu probably why it was just an ausauchi, Erika grabbed it and tore it from its sheathe before impaling him before he could finish his kido spell. She kept that sword as a means to defend herself from the hollows and resolved to keep searching but it all just kept bringing her back to the grave of her family and the place she once called home. Her misery and despair bound her to this place, there was no doubt at this point she had descended into what was known as a "Jibakurei", she was bound to this place. Despite this though she would not become a hollow, she would stay here for a few months before a shinigami was able to defeat her and force her to pass on. But to say that the Erika that was alive was the same as the Erika that passed on, now that was not to be. She was a completely different person.

Rukongai: Finding herself arriving in a strange new place after the konso was performed on her and she was standing in a new place, all her memories gone from the experience of the cleansing, she was a clean slate. Erika was a new person and she sought to achieve a lot in this new place and world. Being a young teenager she was old enough to understand the world and try to avoid the mistakes of other people. Naomi had faded from her mind completely making her forget she even had a sister.

She quickly sought to make a name for herself, in her bold youthful way she worked very hard. She cleaned houses and worked like no one ever worked before and with her charismatic nature she was able to save up her pennies, using only what she had to in order to save as much as she could. She lived in a decent part of the Rukongai, not being on the very outskirts but instead being just outside the thirteenth district of the Western Rukongai. After a few months Erika finally had enough money to purchase a sword, it was the first thing she bought.

Despite being a plus Erika wanted to become a shinigami, to be a great swordmaster like a Kenpachi or something prestigious. She would spend hours training within the woods, going there to train for hours on end and sometimes days if she remembered to pack everything she'd need for going. After a few months she had heard about a famous swordsman coming to her district, Ivan Crow, known as the Golden Crow he was an early swordsman which was said to have even held the title of second kenpachi officially earning it after Yachiru Unohana disappeared from the world.

In an attempt to get him to teach her Erika participated in a tournament he was apparently going to attend and she did try hard, especially when Ivan was there, she took down and dispatched her opponents easily. Most, if not all, lacking the same thing that she had: resolve. When the tournament was finally over and Erika was named the champion she was very disappointed when she found he had disappeared. Going back home in a disappointed state she went to sleep but only for ten minutes at most since she woke up to the sound of movement in her room, jumping up and slashing at the intruder with her blade and causing the sparks to fly only to catch the face of Ivan Crow in the moonlight that was seeping into the room.

A little shocked Ivan offered her the opportunity to train under him but he had a few tests for her. Happily and more than willing she agreed only to watch him take her most valuable possession, the katana she worked so hard for, and broke it over his leg. Telling her to meet him in the forest the next morning she was left very shocked and a little upset but the opportunity to train with him made her very excited. She barely slept at all that night.

The following morning she was there before Ivan arrived, he had a sword on his back and held it out to her. Expecting her to take it which she did. He told her that she would from now on, only use one sword for a week before it was to be destroyed. A little confused by this she received the new sword that would be using, noticeably off-balanced much to her annoyance but she was too timid of annoying her new teacher to the point of him rescinding his offer of training.

His first trial was for her to cut a tree in half with a sword, a little confused and still ignorant to many way of the shinigami she voiced her irritation at him playing with her like this which he quickly silenced by appearing not to move at all, looking bemused at her while she was complaining to him. Then she heard it, the tree exploding into small fragments and leaving nothing but shards of tree.

Flabbergasted Erika was confused and scared, but below that was awe and wonder! This man, was incredible to her, her revealed that he was going to make her more powerful than him and that if she wanted to be the best then she must accept his conditions. Naturally she accepted this, she trained harder than ever and stayed awake for three days just to cut through that tree with her sword by the end of it her blade was dull and the edge chipped. Surprised she was willing to go through with such a test Ivan gave her a wooden sword, telling her that she could proceed once she could cut through a tree with the wooden training sword.

Unheard of to the girl, how was she going to break a tree with a stick! It was impossible surely!? Erika's test spanned over multiple days, unable to stay awake for a lot of it but she wasn't going to stop. Somehow the stick survived the ordeal but Erika couldn't break the tree. Apologising to Ivan, she finally conceded before he stated that the test was designed for her to fail. She had to learn that she wasn't able to do everything although upon taking the stick he cut the tree into two pieces, reminding her that he wasn't her and so he could do it.

From that day forward the real training began, reiryoku and reiatsu, beginning the art of Jinzen. Erika was quick to learn this skill, the assistance of the wooden path teachings allowed her to focus and concentrate on this inner-energy. This continued for a few weeks before she finally had much of the workings of her energies available to her control. She was finally allowed to move onto the third path of her training which was focused on her body.

A swordswoman couldn't just rely on having a sword, Ivan was going to teach her how to make herself as powerful as a sword and and become the weapon of her art. It began by focusing on her body and focusing her reiatsu onto her body to make herself stronger and more powerful than her normal bodies limits. Already she had began the path of the shinigami whether she knew it or not with the teachings of Ivan she was passively becoming one.

When she could finally empower her body with the assistance of reiatsu her test began with her cutting her hand, and thankfully the blade could not pierce the skin due to her reiatsu making her harder like a sword. Pleased by this result her mentor aimed to make her able to learn his ability that he had mastered and made him so famous as a Kenpachi.

She began her teachings of Katanakaji, while she had already been training for it for many years and must've gone through hundreds if not thousands of swords by now but she had finally began for real, she could work with her inner energies and begin to try and form a weapon that would serve as her physical zanpakuto's form. This empty vessel of her energy would make her own energy become her zanpakuto's form and they would develop a very strong bond.

This length of training was by far the hardest, she had to be able to finely control her energy as she projected the sword. This took an incredibly long time and even when she was able to form a sword her mentor would do something to distract her like tap her head or as she developed it further even send her flying a few metres away and see if the blade would stay formed.

Eventually she had it quite competently down, she could form a sword and keep it maintained, even sparring with it against Ivan's own swords formed by his own power. This training and honing continued until she was adept in the ability and was able to even manipulate the properties of her projections. The need for a sword became obsolete and she was able to conjure one whenever she required.

Everything would be short-lived though, the name of Ivan being the Second Kenpachi gave him quite the reputation. He would quickly find bold swordsman targetting him for the title that he possessed from Yachiru Unohana. Although most fell to his blade he was no invincible. Erika would find her master late for a training session, going to investigate she found him dying from a wound that had been inflicted on him by an opponent. Giving her his final words he gave her a final gift, impaling her with his zanpakuto he gave her his shinigami powers, the reiryoku that he had and the boost of his own Katanakaji prowess.

Her belief in the Bushido code made her strive to avenge Ivan, hunting around for the man that called himself the Third Kenpachi wasn't difficult and openly facing him she was swiftly defeated and left a mortally wounded state, publicly humiliated and broken her most hated enemy leaned down and gave her information, some information that tore through her beliefs. He told her that believing in honour and the bushido code makes her weak, she should give up those stupid beliefs and get stronger.

Leaving her alive to die slowly her broken body was picked up by an old lady, a healer in the Rukongai. She never told Erika her name but she was a shinigami and was skilled with Kaido, able to heal even her gruesome wounds she finished healing Erika and left without saying goodbye, a note being the only thing the woman left for her that suggested she head to the Shino Academy and train to become a Shinigami. Erika did not want to though, she continued throughout the Rukongai.

A Ronin within the districts she became a mercenary and hired her sword to do work, not willing to swear her allegiance to anyone she wanted to be alone and away from everyone. This lifestyle continued for quite some time. Many hundreds of years of solitude, not that she was alone but she held no one close to her; no friends, no family and no lord. This continued until Erika felt the loneliness begin to bite her, the desire to avenge her master had finally died due to the Third Kenpachi being killed and the title being passed on.

Without a purpose Erika finally sought out the Shino Academy, joining up in the academy to begin training as a shinigami and find purpose in the Gotei Thirteen. She sought to make herself feel like she had something fruitful, not just wealth and empty feelings of loneliness in her mind.

Shino Academy: Following her entry into the Academy, Erika passed the entry test. Relying quite a lot on her zanjutsu to get her through the tests, despite being trained by the Second Kenpachi she didn't make it known. Even after she passed and was accepted she didn't speak a word about her former teacher, feeling that if she did then it would bring her unnecessary attention and people would view her for her reputation than who she actually was. She would begin two years at the academy, paired with the junior year and shared a room with three other girls all intent on becoming shinigami.

She got to know them quite well; the one that had taken a leader-like role within the group was called Miyabi. She was bold and out-spoken, despite having no where near the skill of Erika she was always willing to try and did her best which Erika found admirable and liked her work ethic even though the girl disregarded honourifics and all the cultural norms that she was used too. Miyabi became something of a role model to her with everyone happy to be around her and enjoying her company.

Her second friend was a little girl, appearing very young and shy, she lacked a lot of confidence and Erika quickly saw her as a little sister. She'd always try and take time out to help the little girl called Risa. The third and final roommate was very similar to her, although easily frustrated and irritated when things didn't work properly, she was very beautiful and men always sought after her, however her true skills was her intelligence and knowledge of kido, her final "sister" had the name of Misaki. Over her time in the academy these girls became very close to her with the time they shared yet Erika was always reserved. While the others talked about their past she wouldn't speak about her own.

She was a dedicated student, unable to hide her talent at zanjutsu she quickly received infamy for the skill she possessed. She used her Katanakaji to keep her projection constantly active she had long since returned her asauchi anonymously since she didn't want nor require it. She trained extensively in kido and hoho to try and bring them up to a standard similar to her zanjutsu but that was almost impossible, she had already invested to much into zanjutsu and no amount of training could keep the fields equal.

She did as little as she could in Hakuda, unlike other shinigami she viewed it as pointless. She could form a blade whenever she required it unlike everyone else. Training with Misaki she became quite adept in her kido and hoho, getting it to a level quite advanced in the academy she excelled in the three arts. She made it three years this way, during her third year she began to have dreams.

Erika would find herself constantly wandering through a dream world, it was chaos. Swords and bodies were everywhere. There was no fighting, everyone was dead. It was confronting for her to see, as the wandered through this world more and more she began to see faces. Faces of her past, her mentor Ivan and even people that were still alive with her friends being scattered about the battlefield. For weeks she barely slept, becoming more and more traumatised by the sights she saw and the atrocities kept changing, occasionally she'd see those she love be dead after torture, executed. It was too much for her to handle causing her to have night terrors.

She was hospitalised for a week, given medication to help her sleep and also kaido to assist in her night terrors. Returning she continued her studies and her goal, pained by the calamity of her mind. They stopped eventually, and the occasional nightmare she learnt to deal with. Erika once more returned to her status as a highly-skilled student within the academy, already multiple seated officers from other divisions sought after her for their ranks. Erika however sought to stay with her friends who were like family to her and continue the shinigami curriculum until the end even though she realistically didn't need it. Erika was one of the most skilled Zanjutsu practitioners and so the temptation for the Eleventh and Sixth Division of the Gotei Thirteen was quite high. Her lack of skill in Hakuda however made the Second Division pass her off.

When she finally reached her final year there was an exam, at the time it was an experimental idea to test students. The students were sent to the realm of Hueco Mundo - a part of it where the academy had set up a barred off area with kido and left the students to get some practice in against hollows while watched over by the teachers. Erika and her friends stayed together, deciding it was safer and more effective to be a group but there was more to this event than what met the eye. Outside some early Arrancar had gathered, infiltrating the barrier by tricking the sentries since at the time a natural arrancar was rare to see and the group entered in for a bloodbath.

Everything was in control to begin with, only a single teacher had died in the initial fight and only two groups of students were slaughtered but that would all change, and not through a fight but because Erika listened to the voice in her head. Telling her to use her shikai or everyone would die. Erika didn't know her sword's name, but the sword gave it up so easily, just tossed it to her without any work. Juuchi Yosamu was released and the death toll started rising. It didn't begin with her enemies though. Her release targeted her allies first, her friends and her teachers and everyone that she wanted to protect. She was killing them and no matter what she did it wouldn't stop.

When shinigami finally arrived to see what happened the woman was taken in and hospitalised for wounds she sustained in the fight. Being the sole-survivor of her class the event would come to be known as a massacre and tragic event. She ultimately decided to move on, leaving behind this place with nothing left for her.

Shinigami: Upon graduating she moved onto the Eleventh Division, a division filled with criminals and the underbelly scum of the Soul Society that could be used as expendable units against the hollow threat, she used this time to hone her skills with the sword even further. Still under the illusion of this release being her shikai she sought to defeat and claim a power stronger than any others around her, being in this division reminded her of her life in the Edo Period. These men being arrogant, thinking less of her since she was smaller and woman, it frustrated her and Erika became known by the Moniker of "Koakuma" ["Small Devil"]. She became known as a little fighter that could dominate quite a lot of the Division, being only beaten by the Captain and Kenpachi of the time.

Erika's new home brought upon an age of development for her skills, this hostile environment prompted the progress of her skills to new heights which she couldn't have found in another group. She had to develop her instincts and honing her mindset to perfection so that she could be able to stay ahead in a division that swallowed the weak. Of course she refused to take part in her release form, her shikai was something that she ran from and she'd often avoid the very topic of it. She became highly proficient by not relying on a release form to be strong which gave her an edge when she fought people that had their shikai since she could fight them at the same standard in her unsealed state.

The Eleventh Division wasn't good for her though, it lacked the ethical code that she followed and the overall feel of the group she was with made her wary and constantly paranoid towards if someone was going to attack her. She applied to move to the Fifth Division under Captain Sousuke Aizen a place where she could try and improve herself while honing an area that she couldn't in the Eleventh Division, she was able to get more Kido Experience in this new division.

Up until the Aizen incident Erika was a hard-working member of the Fifth Division under Captain Aizen and Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori, she quickly made her way up to the role of Seventh Seat in the first few months of her service. She was a strong fighter and the environment was peaceful which gave her plenty of space to train but also maintain her morals, during the Ryoka Invasion she was a support person who organised the division's resources which she maintained up until the revelation of Aizen's betrayal which completely changed the entire situation of the Gotei Thirteen.

Winter War: War broke loose. Aizen's actions prompted the first real major conflict that she had ever been involved in. It meant that her division was in disarray given that her captain had started the war and her vice-captain was left psychologically incapacitated because of him. It made it hard for the Fifth to operate in the war but command would be given to the third seat as much as they thought they'd never hold the role. It was his inexperience that made him make many mistakes, his actions while they were true to the cause of the Gotei resulted in heavy losses for the fifth division during the war.

Erika would often be dispatched in groups, it was something that made it hard for her to operate in given she was afraid of using her release. she was still very competent with her zanjutsu though and her ability with Katanakaji gave her the alias of Shinigami with Ten-Thousand swords given that she could summon and use so many in combat, people in general began to assume that was the power of her shikai when really it was nothing of the sort. She earned a reputation one might suggest being that she was nothing more than the seventh seat yet people would think she should qualify for Vice-Captain given her shikai. Erika wanted no part in it though, but leadership would eventually catch up with her as more and more seated officers would die from the Third seat's incompetence. Despite it being quite a blow it was probably a good thing for him to inevitably die in combat and be replaced by the more competent fourth seat.

During the war Erika and a small group was sent to Tokyo, an attempt by the numeros to draw major players from Karakura to Tokyo. Playing this bluff a small group of Gotei members were sent to the capital expecting some basic numeros but they got much more with the appearance of a Privaron Espada. The entire group was slaughtered as to be expected, Erika and the fourth seat were determined to win. He had his shikai, she had Katanakaji but the Arrancar had his resurreccion which equalled a Bankai. It seemed grim. The fight would be over in a matter of minutes, with the victor being her. It had taken a combo which was meant to sacrifice one of them to win, the fourth seat refused to let her do it and ultimately he took a killing blow which allowed Erika to bring the fight to an end and kill the arrancar.

She grew more notorious but stopped fighting, the battle was possibly one of her more well-known feats but in her eyes it was a failure. If she had won or could control her "shikai" she wondered if she could've won and he wouldn't have died. It made her angry and frustrated. She placed herself in a support role, despite her actions promoting her to the fifth seat of the division. She would become less active in her role until the fight with Aizen ultimately concluded and the war came to an end.

Post-War: With the war over a new captain was placed in charge. Tsubine Koezuka. Many new faces turned up and rose to take up higher roles but Erika refused to position of Vice-Captain, as any other position above her current one. She didn't trust this woman, she trusted Aizen and he turned on them all. She saw what happened to Momo Hinamori and didn't want to possibly suffer the same fate under Tsubine. Erika could perhaps have been called a thorn in Tsubine's side at this point, she was polite and a good subordinate but she got in the way of Tsubine's attempts and helping the fifth division get back up on its feet and raising morale. Erika was harsh as a seated officer and not very charismatic. Her strict and high-standards got in the way of Tsubine's goal.

It would not be long before the captain approached her, it wasn't a bad talk. It was more polite and respectful between the two woman which continued until Tsubine found the problem. She wanted to help Erika and that she did. She offered to train her to help her get better which although reluctant initially she agreed to the idea and started training in seclusion with Tsubine.

She found her guard dropped, it wasn't something she was aware of either. She had always been a cold and callous individual that rarely went out to socialise or make friends or expand relationships. It stemmed from everyone around her dying, even if she was incredibly wary of Tsubine she didn't want to bring harm upon the woman, so it was a shock when she actually warmed up to the captain. The older woman was much more friendly than what she thought and it was a genuine feeling of friendship she felt for the captain. It did take quite some time though for Tsubine to rock the boat enough for Erika to speak about her paranoia towards Tsu following the Aizen incident though. Erika admired her captain, their teacher-student role allowed Erika to become quite adept with zanjutsu, well above her peers in learning from her. They had very similar interests which helped.

It happened without her knowing it over time, their friendship grew stronger and their student-teacher relationship became more prominent. possibly one of the more defining and more embarrassing moments of her life was when she was attracted to Tsubine. Well before the idea of Tsubine being a mother to her came to thought, the woman was strong and beautiful and being all alone Erika was attracted to the captain. She was ashamed and embarrassed, training became harder and their encounters became strained. It was something she tried to hide and initially Tsubine ignored it until it became a serious problem when Erika started avoiding her.

Being cornered and all but forced to spill the truth Erika expected for her mentor to push her away. She was all but surprised when Tsubine instead indulged her with a kiss that gave her mixed feelings, mainly bad as she felt wrong doing so, it was nothing like she dreamed of or imagined. It made her feel like it wasn't really love she felt and soon enough her feelings for the woman would fade.

Over their courses of spending time together Erika felt a different way towards Tsubine it was less of the sisterly or friendly role they had or even the teacher-student. Tsubine felt more like a mother to her, she felt those feelings from before but not sexually or of attraction, it was more akin to a familial one. They never talked about it, despite the fact that Tsubine seemed to go along with it in the same manner. She wasn't complaining, she was happy about it. The lingering thoughts that Tsubine might die were gone and she trusted the woman completely.

Her relationship with Tsubine would be one of the reasons that she was happy to fill the Vice-Captain rank for her temporarily due to Momo's incapacitated status and thus being inactive. She loved being the Vice-Captain under Tsubine, she got to spend quite a lot of time with her not only when they were alone but also in the barracks. She made it as easy as she could for her mother, making sure the division ran like clockwork. To the division it was as if the sour Fifth Seat had been swapped out completely with the appearance of this new Vice-Captain.

Ender Invasion: When Ender came and invaded the Seireitei forcing them to retreat following the death of Genryusai Shingekuni Yamamoto in the conflict, This lead to her mother taking over as the Captain-Commander and Erika found this a very solemn time. Over the early stages of the war Erika saw people go out on missions, literally everyone was doing their part in the war. Except her. Even though Tsubine was the Captain-Commander now and Erika was a vice-captain she was the only one idle. She was being overlooked due to favouritism and over-protectiveness while everyone else was dying and fighting. As much as she loved Tsubine she couldn't be idle. She had to participate and this resulted in many missions by herself which earned her the moniker "Suicidal Devil" from the Gotei. She'd always be scolded but her contined actions eventually had her placed in detention by Tsubine, she would be forcefully kept from the conflict. Safe.

Erika couldn't. She couldn't use Juuchi Yosamu for the fact that she'd cause a massacre of the people assigned to watch her. She couldn't stay here but she needed more strength to escape and fight. She spent a lot of time trying to escape, the answer finally came from an abstract idea which would give birth to "Sayatai". This release allowed her to escape and be free of her mother's protectiveness. Over the course of the war she'd engage in small skirmishes with her Sayatai form, she looked nothing like herself, she looked older and more womanly. When the war was finally over and victory came to the shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen she came back to Tsubine and well, she was overjoyed when she got to embrace the woman and feel her again but she was deeply upset by her punishment.

Two whole weeks. Two weeks alone in the first division holding cells. It was probably one of the worst times in Erika's life. She ached for her Tsubine's presence but she complied. She had indeed caused the woman pain and even though she was more than capable of escaping this cell she stayed put. Once she finally was allowed to be be free of this place she went straight to Tsubine, basically bursting into the Captain-Commander's office and embracing her tightly while telling her she was resigning as the Vice-Captain of the fifth division.

For the next ninety-years Erika got to spend it with Tsubine, despite her rather dull role as an unseated member she was happy under the leadership. She did indeed miss the older days when she could enjoy the simple life as a Vice-Captain to Tsubine as a mere captain though. Her mother figure had become famous, a legend which put her on this higher level of existence in a way. To Erika though she was just Tsubine, not this legendary fighter. When Tsubine was promoted to the Zero Division she was heart-broken, she felt pained at this leaving. In her eyes it meant she'd never get to see her mother again and it was possibly the worst feeling she'd ever experienced.

It would not be so however, she'd occasionally be able to sneak in to the palace with Tsu's help and spend some time with her. Although these occasions varied and all Erika savoured them, when not in Tsubine's city in the Soul King's palace to see her Erika kept contact with her via letters. A lot of time would pass like this, eventually though the event known as World War Three would break out across the globe and ravage the world like nothing ever seen before.

Without Tsubine to shelter her like in Ender's Invasion she was used like any other shinigami, in a way it made her happy to be treated the same as everyone else. She was nothing really special anymore, in the past she stuck out for her skills but she did very little improvement past the Ender War aside from developing her sword skills, use of Katanakaji and Zankensoki. She was used on the front-lines, able to decimate large squadrons of demons and hollows within minutes with katanakaji but she could never fight to the fullest of her potential without Juuchi Yosamu. It would only be a matter of time before she met her match though.

What should've been an easy mission to eliminate enemy supply lines turned into a massacre as everyone in Erika's squad of twenty had been cut down within minutes of engaging. With nothing to lose and all alone she used Juuchi Yosamu, the scars forming once more in her arms from the blade's ruthlessness. The initial activation provided enough of a distraction to kill half the demons before they even knew what had occurred. Once it had been taken away Erika was still heavily out-classed and she fought, techniques executed in ways that would've made Tsubine proud as she seemed to be winning. It was chance, a sheer moment of pure unluckiness that Erika's weakness was exploited, her style being on that had few weaknesses but the demon she was fighting had been able to get it by fluke and with that wound inflicted, she was doomed.

The cut was all it took for a demon to cut deeply into her side, cutting off her right arm in the process and burying itself deep in her torso. It was death, it had to be right? Wrong. They left her bleeding out to die, letting her be an example for all other shinigami of the Gotei. When she was found and returned back her arm was reattached surgically and the scar removed, she kept the one on her chest though, it served as a reminder. The time it took for her to rehabilitate and once more get used to her arm put her out for the majority of World War Three. By the time she was deemed good for combat it was in the final stages and the war was all but over.

Blank Period: Post 2410 Erika saw a lot more of her mother, less than what she wanted but still more than before as she got visited more frequently. She trained more with her and learned from Tsubine about Juuchi Yosamu not actually being her zanpakuto spirit and that was something that scared Erika as much as it relieved her. She wanted Tsubine's help in attaining her real zanpakuto, feeling like the woman could help her actually do it. This would be cut short when Tsubine disappeared shortly after.

It came as a shock, initially Erika didn't believe or accept it. Tsubine running away? Never. She thought she was just out on a mission or had important duties to attend to but the truth only became more and more prevalent with the letters ending, the visits never coming. The event broke her heart, she fell into a state of misery and sorrow. She assumed the woman was dead, like everyone that ever got close to her she had died. She could not accept this though. She resolved to find her mother, she started with her mother's best friend Midori but not even she had a clue as to what happened. She left the Gotei Thirteen, she left behind everything to find Tsubine.

I. Racial Skills

♦ Hyakuken-ryuu [One-Hundred Sword Style]
Erika's own primary zanjutsu style, it is derived from her use of the Katanakaji as opposed to the traditional means provided by the ausauchi. Because of her being the only known user of Katanakaji it could be considered that she is the only one capable of using this style to its fullest capabilities. The style focuses on using the sheer versatility and potential of being able to manifest a variety of swords of many shapes, sizes and forms in addition it revolves around a control of the blades' properties. It isn't a style that's traditional by any means but focuses on the user being proficient not in a style, but knowing and being able to use a huge amount of weapons. The style is unpredictable, in one moment the user can shift from a katana to an odachi, manifest a second sword out of nowhere in their free hand.

The style is designed to be unable to be predicted and to catch people off-guard. That is it's purpose. Erika makes use of this in many ways, a small adjustment to the blade length or weight can be critical in her attacks as is the properties.

♦ Jūken Maisō [Ten Sword Burial]
The Jūken Maiso is very simple, it is based around Erika creating ten swords via katanakaji around her opponent, the circumference is dictated by her own position,she moves back and the circle expands, she moves along the circumference of the cirlce and the blades move to. Every sword is exactly the same as the one she is holding, they all follow her movements exactly. It is designed to overwhelm a person or group by surrounding them and then making it hard to fight the sheer number of swords. Otherwise it is very useful in forcing the target to try and escape through the top of the circle which is easily predicatable and can allow for Erika to perform the secondary technique: Jūken no Zanshu.

• Jūken no Zanshu [Ten Sword Beheading]
  Often seen only in the event of someone trying to escape by the swords through the empty air above the technique. This technique instead solves that issue by Erika leaping forward and into the air, resulting in the blades all coming closer and in the air with her. This allows for her to bring it down and intercept the would-be escapee. This causes the ten swords to converge and cause heavy damage in most cases and usually leaves the head in quite a bad shape if the person couldn't react fast enough hence it's name.
  
  
• Jūken no Sōgi [Ten Sword Burial Rites]
  Considered to be the final use of Juken Maiso, this technique is initiated when Erika lets go of the sword, whether by her own accord or someone disarming her. Unless she wills it otherwise all ten-swords converge on the centre of the circle, making a horizontal sweep to limit the escape route before impaling anyone in the path. When at last the blades meet they all form into a single sword and stands upright in the dirt ready to be drawn marking the end of this particular technique.

♦ Hanagasaku [Flowers Bloom]
Forming a sword in her hand Erika engages in combat, the purpose of Hanagasaku is all about surprise and catching the opponent off guard, using Katanakaji to form a second sword Erika can take advantage of an opponent's focus on her single-sword and execute a surprise attack with a newly formed weapon.

♦ Hanagashinu [Flowers Die]
Unlike before Erika breaks down the blade of the sword that she is holding, akin to a flower wilting. These many fragments the explode outwards and attempt to shred apart the insides of a person, this usually results in death or serious injury but can leave Erika exposed if she doesn't be careful as it puts her in close-quarters with her target for a counter.

♦ Nise-no-ken-ryuu [False Sword Style]
A style perfected sometime following World War Three in her spare time to fill the loneliness that afflicted her. The style specifically sought to focus on taking that concept of zen, the pinnacle known as Mushin and conceptualise it into combat. Erika has yet to achieve such a feat, however Katanakaji in a way is merely nothingness. There are no swords but those that she projects. Nise-no-ken-ryuu targets using these projections to....

♦ Usagi-ryuu [Rabbit Style]
Speed is Erika's friend, Iaijutsu and Hoho have always been strong areas for her. Usagi-ryuu instead combines the two together, that being her swordsmanship and her hoho speciality to create a style that aims to strike before the person can react or register what is happening. She has attempted to use some influence from her mother's Tsu-Naku-Kiru-Ryuu where one strikes twice and then sheathes but it looks like one. Erika has instead tried to push that to three albeit only in specific circumstances that she can do three and that's through her Mamyou Sandanzuki. Her true strength lies in the use of speed clones and Utsusemi. Using clones and Utsusemi Erika can combine it with Katankaji to move the blades as though her clones are actually

♦ Mumyō Sandanzuki: It stems from the use of practice similar to her mother's Tsu-Naku-Kiru-Ryuu. Where two strikes are performed instead of one. In Mumyō Sandanzuki, named after Okita Souji's own technique. This technique is commented to be one of her best techniques.it requires her to move towards a target, using shunpo she appears and makes three slashes however it leaves afterimages due to the application of shunpo to speed her arm up. In this moment the opponent registers just one true blade, she takes advantage of this to instead opt and "fill" the afterimages with real swords from katanakaji and this results in an opponent usually resulting in some form of injury as their struck by these blades.

♦ Mamyou Sandanzuki: Honki Using the same method as Mumyou Sandanzuki Erika however uses speed clones in this instance. She forms three speed clones and charges from different angles with the exact movements in each clone. As she approaches she....

♦ Mamyou Sandanzui: Ukō

♦ Oyako-ryuu [Mother and Daughter Style]
Over the many centuries of their relationship it would only make sense for Erika to pick up a thing or two off her mother with the sword, instead of taking Tsubine's sword style word for word Erika wanted to develop her own style with the help of Tsubine, it could be said that this method involves aspects of both Erika and Tsubine's strengths merged into one form. It takes specific points of Tsubine's Iaijutsu style and her use of twin swords while combining it with Erika's own Kenjutsu. It follows the principle of exploiting the opponent's weaknesses. Erika learned from Tsubine about the 3 means to ensure victory in a fight; sen-no-sen, sen and go-no-sen.

Sen-no-sen is when the opponent is minutely distracted by something and is temporarily unable to defend themselves, which lets you strike and take the kill.

Oyako-ryuu enforces these principles


Sen is the hardest, and it’s at that instance when the opponent is in the middle of striking, and it’s in this crucial moment when they are unable to defend and you find a way to get a hit in. It’s hard precisely because they are in the middle of their strike, and you have to figure out how to block, evade, or deflect it — all the while mounting an attack — it requires very intricate timing to do this.

Go-no-sen, where you let the opponent attack first, and when they’re at the momentum of finishing their strike and are temporarily unable to execute another one in blinding speed, that’s when you go for the kill.

I. Sayatai - Reverse Release

♦ Summary: Considered to be the evolved and overall the perfected version of Erika's previous form under the same name. It operates on many of the same principles hence why Erika often refers to it as "Reverse Release" [Gyakukai]. This release operates on the inverse principle of Shikai in where the user pours their energy into their zanpakutoto induce a higher level of power through transformation. Erika, who cannot possess a zanpakuto spirit inside of her soul, has resolved to use Sayatai which allows her to draw from the separate pool of reiryoku which would otherwise be her spirit's. This has the effect of inducing a transformation upon her body by using it as a catalyst effectively becoming the zanpakuto in this sense. This form has been stated that it shouldn't be aspired to achieve as Erika is a case where she cannot habour a zanpakuto spirit inside her, this results in permanent damage to another person's zanpakuto if they were to try it themselves.

♦ Appearance:

♦ Powers: As apposed to her previous form Erika's new Sayatai is like taking a sword and reforging it to refine and improve it, the power is much more efficient and overall it could be compared to a Shinigami advancing from the status of mastery of their Shikai. If before Erika's was a basic shikai in nature this new form would be compared to a person that understands their

I. Basic Information

♦ Name: Juuchi Yosamu
♦ Alias': The Ruthless Sword
♦ Age: Unknown
♦ Gender: Female.

Affiliation:

Appearance: Erika's inner manifestation of her own calamity and negativity takes the form of a tall and attractive woman, she bares a faint resemblance to Erika where one might assume the woman to be her mother or an elder sibling. She has a scar running along her face, marring her beauty. It creates a T-mark across her face, her hair is blonde and short. Hanging around her shoulders when let out she often keeps it kept up.

Juuchi Yosamu's body is tall and slender, covered by a black kimono which is kept closed by an obi, the fabric is patterned with golden maple leaves that appear to be falling. The kimono is open to expose her legs and allow for movement easier. She wears black boots to compliment the attire and does not appear to have her sealed form on her.

I. Personality

Personality: Erika is a good person, or at least she tries to be. She is very far into the true good spectrum of alignment, she is not lawful although in the past she might've been described her as such. She leans towards the light and works to keep the world in good order, she is anything but a hero but she will try to leave the world a better place wherever she makes her mark. Erika is not one to walk around blindly believing what she is doing to be right, even though she served the Gotei Thirteen she would believe some laws to be wrong. She understands that if one follows blindly the ideas of "good" they are spoon fed by other's then it's not truly good.

She is mature, but she isn't. It's a confusing dilemma for her, to strangers and when she is level-headed Erika could be described as incredibly confident and mature but at the same time she is known to possess a childish understanding of a lot of things, romance for example. She has never had any understanding of romance or love in that sense or experienced it. Her mother falling in love confuses her, in her eyes the idea disgusts her more so. Given that love made her mother leave the way she did, she sees romance as something that is cruel she wants no part in it but at the same time is interested in it.

Despite a yearning for romance Erika is anything but traditional with it. She despises the idea of settling down, being a housewife and happily marrying someone. She finds physical affection and acts of affection uncomfortable with the exception of a select group which she deems as family or family friends.

Family is something she holds close to her heart. Only recently has she began to question and the idea has come to confuse her greatly. In the past Erika believed that family wasn't bound by blood, it didn't need blood ties for two people to be family however the persisting idea has stuck in her mind that blood is important. That is not to say she doesn't love her adoptive mother any less but she always is confused about which is stronger and people prioritise.

She is a survivor, having come close to death a great many of times one of the closest calls with death would be World War Three, an event that

I. History

NSFW WARNING
Contains some 18+ content and some scenes might be confronting. You have been warned.

Human Life: Erika was born to her parents Katou and Misaya Kawada. She was born as a twin to her identical twin sister Naomi, despite their birth going relatively well and calm the two girls were born without a father due to Katou's death shortly after the Battle of Osaka that took place in the year preceding their birth. As a result Erika and Naomi never experienced their father in anyway but they were not without a male role-model. That would be their grandfather who Misaya moved in with following becoming a widow as it would've been seen as very dishonourable for her to remarry.

Growing up Erika was exposed to her mother's teachings, it was anything but what she wanted. She grew up hearing how great a man her father was from her mother and the stories she told. Her mother wanted her to grow up like a woman should, the same was expected of her sister. Erika didn't want this. She wanted to be like her father who she never met regardless of the mocking and punishment it afforded her from her mother.

When she was six Erika sought her grandfather to help her become a great swordsman, he knew she wasn't joking and he was probably the first person other than her sister to support her. Every other adult laughed at her whenever she announced her intent and would often get her punished by her stern mother, she never let Naomi get these beatings. Whenever her twin said something that her mother didn't like or if she got in trouble Erika would do something worse to take her punishment and then pretend to be Naomi to take her's.

She was selfless for her twin, wanting to protect her and become a great warrior to achieve her dream and prove to everyone that she could be strong. She began training with her grandfather in secret whenever she could, usually late at night when everyone was asleep since it meant she felt confident her little sister was safe and no one would disturb them. She was exceptionally mature for a child and loyal, it carried on with the two of them. By the age of 12 they had developed a bit more, given the societal standards her mother was trying to arrange suitors for them.

Needless to say it was a disaster, all it had to be was Naomi to say no and that was it. Erika was more than capable of handling the young noble suitors that sought her hand in marriage but her sister's lack of interest along with her own meant that she wouldn't let anyone get in her way. She knew of Naomi's desire to be a scholar and tried to support her to the best of her abilities and that turned out to be providing the girl with a peaceful environment. Their mother had all but given up, disappointed in her daughters and calling them failures but to Erika it mattered very little, her mother had never supported her. Misaya had simply tried to use them for politics or to raise them to be something they didn't!

It wouldn't be long before she sought out the titles, the fame of being a great swordsman in Japan that could rival the names of Kojiro Sasaki and Miyamoto Musashi. She trained, and trained and trained. She soon came to understand once again that this society would never acknowledge her purely for her sex. It frustrated her! It angered her but it wouldn't stop her! She adopted the concept of cross-dressing, wearing clothes that hid her feminine curves, her breasts and everything that made her lesser in society's eyes. She took off to be a great swordsman and slowly but surely her dream came true. She stayed in a certain area though, close enough she was never far from her sister whom she sought to protect and not let her be harmed by the world.

Alas, her game wouldn't last forever. It was by sheer fluke and a twist of fate that Erika would be caught bathing by a noble. While one would not have given any thought in most cases he could tell exactly who she was by the distinguished sword she carried and the attire. She knew he had deduced that she was the swordsman that was rising to fame and saw her as something he wanted. It would be blackmail, threatening her with her her identity if she didn't submit and marry him. She refused this, her dream was more important than this man. She knew that by saying yes she would be giving up her freedom and dream, She was a woman of 19 years, still young and in her prime. Love wasn't on her mind in the slightest and especially not with that pig. The last thing he'd say to her was "You'll regret this bitch".

Sure enough he did, she was outed as a woman and couldn't be taken seriously anymore. Walking through villages had changed from gazes of respect to attempts to court her or perverted gazes. In some cases even attempts to defile her, it sickened and angered her that it was all it took was knowing of her sex and people could change so much towards her. It would not be long before her actual identity got out, a few years later that is when she was seen with her sister and rumour spread, right to that same noble which began this chronicle that ruined her.

Sure enough he would uphold his threat to her, she still strove to be a famous swordsman despite being nothing more than a joke to people. It would be when she was away that her entire family would be put to the torch, a group of men setting their house alight and burning it to ashes as well as everyone inside. It would be a few days before Erika came to see what had happened, the charred bodies left in the remains of the house. It would be a long amount of hours of her cradling her dead sister's charred body with the simple truth echoing inside her skull.

"It's all my fault"

It was probably the most defining moment in her life at that point. The knowledge and thoughts that your own actions killed the very thing you sought to protect and loved most in the world. Erika fell into despair, putting the value of her sister under the dream she had unintentional it was but nonetheless she hated herself, she hated society, she hated the man that did this. She wanted to avenge them - feeling it was more appropriate than giving up and committing suicide - she strove to kill him, she went right to him and that would end up with her walking right into his trap.

She was one woman, against 24 armed men. She at least figured they'd have the honour of single combat, she was wrong. She was better than all of the in swordplay which is why the noble had them overwhelm her and bring her to him alive, he wanted his trophy after all since she had been so hard to obtain. Erika didn't realise at the time exactly what he had planned, she made it perfectly clear that killing her would only free her, no amount of pain they could inflict was greater than what they'd already done. In a way it was a mistake when she said that. They truly sought to break her.

Her last few days alive can only be considered hell, he used her body like it was a toy. Raping her and abusing her to keep her life miserable, while yes it did accomplish something he would not stop, she refused to break for him knowing that she at least owed her twin that, she would not break to the man that killed her. It would only get worse as he stripped her and left her naked and bound for his servants to use for their own, it was humiliating and it was only when they finally got her pregnant that she broke - she couldn't handle the thought of giving birth to the child of the man that took her life away. It finally pushed her over the edge and she endured a very painful death by self-inflicted trauma from smashing her head against the pole she was tied to until she finally passed on expecting there to be nothing on the other side.

Pre-Konso:

Rukongai: Finding herself arriving in a strange new place after the konso was performed on her and she was standing in a new place, all her memories gone from the experience of the cleansing. Erika was a new person and she sought to achieve a lot in this new place and world. Being a young teenager she was old enough to understand the world and try to avoid the mistakes of other people.

She quickly sought to make a name for herself, in her bold youthful way she worked very hard. She cleaned houses and worked like no one ever worked before and with her charismatic nature she was able to save up her pennies, using only what she had to in order to save as much as she could. She lived in a decent part of the Rukongai, not being on the very outskirts but instead being just outside the thirteenth district of the Western Rukongai. After a few months Erika finally had enough money to purchase a sword, it was the first thing she bought.

Despite being a plus Erika wanted to become a shinigami, to be a great swordmaster like a Kenpachi or something prestigious. She would spend hours training within the woods, going there to train for hours on end and sometimes days if she remembered to pack everything she'd need for going. After a few months she had heard about a famous swordsman coming to her district, Ivan Crow, known as the Golden Crow he was an early swordsman which was said to have even held the title of second kenpachi officially earning it after Yachiru Unohana disappeared from the world.

In an attempt to get him to teach her Erika participated in a tournament he was apparently going to attend and she did try hard, especially when Ivan was there, she took down and dispatched her opponents easily. Most, if not all, lacking the same thing that she had: resolve. When the tournament was finally over and Erika was named the champion she was very disappointed when she found he had disappeared. Going back home in a disappointed state she went to sleep but only for ten minutes at most since she woke up to the sound of movement in her room, jumping up and slashing at the intruder with her blade and causing the sparks to fly only to catch the face of Ivan Crow in the moonlight that was seeping into the room.

A little shocked Ivan offered her the opportunity to train under him but he had a few tests for her. Happily and more than willing she agreed only to watch him take her most valuable possession, the katana she worked so hard for, and broke it over his leg. Telling her to meet him in the forest the next morning she was left very shocked and a little upset but the opportunity to train with him made her very excited. She barely slept at all that night.

The following morning she was there before Ivan arrived, he had a sword on his back and held it out to her. Expecting her to take it which she did. He told her that she would from now on, only use one sword for a week before it was to be destroyed. A little confused by this she received the new sword that would be using, noticeably off-balanced much to her annoyance but she was too timid of annoying her new teacher to the point of him rescinding his offer of training.

His first trial was for her to cut a tree in half with a sword, a little confused and still ignorant to many way of the shinigami she voiced her irritation at him playing with her like this which he quickly silenced by appearing not to move at all, looking bemused at her while she was complaining to him. Then she heard it, the tree exploding into small fragments and leaving nothing but shards of tree.

Flabbergasted Erika was confused and scared, but below that was awe and wonder! This man, was incredible to her, her revealed that he was going to make her more powerful than him and that if she wanted to be the best then she must accept his conditions. Naturally she accepted this, she trained harder than ever and stayed awake for three days just to cut through that tree with her sword by the end of it her blade was dull and the edge chipped. Surprised she was willing to go through with such a test Ivan gave her a wooden sword, telling her that she could proceed once she could cut through a tree with the wooden training sword.

Unheard of to the girl, how was she going to break a tree with a stick! It was impossible surely!? Erika's test spanned over multiple days, unable to stay awake for a lot of it but she wasn't going to stop. Somehow the stick survived the ordeal but Erika couldn't break the tree. Apologising to Ivan, she finally conceded before he stated that the test was designed for her to fail. She had to learn that she wasn't able to do everything although upon taking the stick he cut the tree into two pieces, reminding her that he wasn't her and so he could do it.

From that day forward the real training began, reiryoku and reiatsu, beginning the art of Jinzen. Erika was quick to learn this skill, the assistance of the wooden path teachings allowed her to focus and concentrate on this inner-energy. This continued for a few weeks before she finally had much of the workings of her energies available to her control. She was finally allowed to move onto the third path of her training which was focused on her body.

A swordswoman couldn't just rely on having a sword, Ivan was going to teach her how to make herself as powerful as a sword and and become the weapon of her art. It began by focusing on her body and focusing her reiatsu onto her body to make herself stronger and more powerful than her normal bodies limits. Already she had began the path of the shinigami whether she knew it or not with the teachings of Ivan she was passively becoming one.

When she could finally empower her body with the assistance of reiatsu her test began with her cutting her hand, and thankfully the blade could not pierce the skin due to her reiatsu making her harder like a sword. Pleased by this result her mentor aimed to make her able to learn his ability that he had mastered and made him so famous as a Kenpachi.

She began her teachings of Katanakaji, while she had already been training for it for many years and must've gone through hundreds if not thousands of swords by now but she had finally began for real, she could work with her inner energies and begin to try and form a weapon that would serve as her physical zanpakuto's form. This empty vessel of her energy would make her own energy become her zanpakuto's form and they would develop a very strong bond.

This length of training was by far the hardest, she had to be able to finely control her energy as she projected the sword. This took an incredibly long time and even when she was able to form a sword her mentor would do something to distract her like tap her head or as she developed it further even send her flying a few metres away and see if the blade would stay formed.

Eventually she had it quite competently down, she could form a sword and keep it maintained, even sparring with it against Ivan's own swords formed by his own power. This training and honing continued until she was adept in the ability and was able to even manipulate the properties of her projections. The need for a sword became obsolete and she was able to conjure one whenever she required.

Everything would be short-lived though, the name of Ivan being the Second Kenpachi gave him quite the reputation. He would quickly find bold swordsman targetting him for the title that he possessed from Yachiru Unohana. Although most fell to his blade he was no invincible. Erika would find her master late for a training session, going to investigate she found him dying from a wound that had been inflicted on him by an opponent. Giving her his final words he gave her a final gift, impaling her with his zanpakuto he gave her his shinigami powers, the reiryoku that he had and the boost of his own Katanakaji prowess.

Her belief in the Bushido code made her strive to avenge Ivan, hunting around for the man that called himself the Third Kenpachi wasn't difficult and openly facing him she was swiftly defeated and left a mortally wounded state, publicly humiliated and broken her most hated enemy leaned down and gave her information, some information that tore through her beliefs. He told her that believing in honour and the bushido code makes her weak, she should give up those stupid beliefs and get stronger.

Leaving her alive to die slowly her broken body was picked up by an old lady, a healer in the Rukongai. She never told Erika her name but she was a shinigami and was skilled with Kaido, able to heal even her gruesome wounds she finished healing Erika and left without saying goodbye, a note being the only thing the woman left for her that suggested she head to the Shino Academy and train to become a Shinigami. Erika did not want to though, she continued throughout the Rukongai.

A Ronin within the districts she became a mercenary and hired her sword to do work, not willing to swear her allegiance to anyone she wanted to be alone and away from everyone. This lifestyle continued for quite some time. Many hundreds of years of solitude, not that she was alone but she held no one close to her; no friends, no family and no lord. This continued until Erika felt the loneliness begin to bite her, the desire to avenge her master had finally died due to the Third Kenpachi being killed and the title being passed on.

Without a purpose Erika finally sought out the Shino Academy, joining up in the academy to begin training as a shinigami and find purpose in the Gotei Thirteen. She sought to make herself feel like she had something fruitful, not just wealth and empty feelings of loneliness in her mind.

Shino Academy: Following her entry into the Academy, Erika passed the entry test. Relying quite a lot on her zanjutsu to get her through the tests, despite being trained by the Second Kenpachi she didn't make it known. Even after she passed and was accepted she didn't speak a word about her former teacher, feeling that if she did then it would bring her unnecessary attention and people would view her for her reputation than who she actually was. She would begin two years at the academy, paired with the junior year and shared a room with three other girls all intent on becoming shinigami.

She got to know them quite well; the one that had taken a leader-like role within the group was called Miyabi. She was bold and out-spoken, despite having no where near the skill of Erika she was always willing to try and did her best which Erika found admirable and liked her work ethic even though the girl disregarded honourifics and all the cultural norms that she was used too. Miyabi became something of a role model to her with everyone happy to be around her and enjoying her company.

Her second friend was a little girl, appearing very young and shy, she lacked a lot of confidence and Erika quickly saw her as a little sister. She'd always try and take time out to help the little girl called Risa. The third and final roommate was very similar to her, although easily frustrated and irritated when things didn't work properly, she was very beautiful and men always sought after her, however her true skills was her intelligence and knowledge of kido, her final "sister" had the name of Misaki. Over her time in the academy these girls became very close to her with the time they shared yet Erika was always reserved. While the others talked about their past she wouldn't speak about her own.

She was a dedicated student, unable to hide her talent at zanjutsu she quickly received infamy for the skill she possessed. She used her Katanakaji to keep her projection constantly active she had long since returned her asauchi anonymously since she didn't want nor require it. She trained extensively in kido and hoho to try and bring them up to a standard similar to her zanjutsu but that was almost impossible, she had already invested to much into zanjutsu and no amount of training could keep the fields equal.

She did as little as she could in Hakuda, unlike other shinigami she viewed it as pointless. She could form a blade whenever she required it unlike everyone else. Training with Misaki she became quite adept in her kido and hoho, getting it to a level quite advanced in the academy she excelled in the three arts. She made it three years this way, during her third year she began to have dreams.

Erika would find herself constantly wandering through a dream world, it was chaos. Swords and bodies were everywhere. There was no fighting, everyone was dead. It was confronting for her to see, as the wandered through this world more and more she began to see faces. Faces of her past, her mentor Ivan and even people that were still alive with her friends being scattered about the battlefield. For weeks she barely slept, becoming more and more traumatised by the sights she saw and the atrocities kept changing, occasionally she'd see those she love be dead after torture, executed. It was too much for her to handle causing her to have night terrors.

She was hospitalised for a week, given medication to help her sleep and also kaido to assist in her night terrors. Returning she continued her studies and her goal, pained by the calamity of her mind. They stopped eventually, and the occasional nightmare she learnt to deal with. Erika once more returned to her status as a highly-skilled student within the academy, already multiple seated officers from other divisions sought after her for their ranks. Erika however sought to stay with her friends who were like family to her and continue the shinigami curriculum until the end even though she realistically didn't need it. Erika was one of the most skilled Zanjutsu practitioners and so the temptation for the Eleventh and Sixth Division of the Gotei Thirteen was quite high. Her lack of skill in Hakuda however made the Second Division pass her off.

When she finally reached her final year there was an exam, at the time it was an experimental idea to test students. The students were sent to the realm of Hueco Mundo - a part of it where the academy had set up a barred off area with kido and left the students to get some practice in against hollows while watched over by the teachers. Erika and her friends stayed together, deciding it was safer and more effective to be a group but there was more to this event than what met the eye. Outside some early Arrancar had gathered, infiltrating the barrier by tricking the sentries since at the time a natural arrancar was rare to see and the group entered in for a bloodbath.

Everything was in control to begin with, only a single teacher had died in the initial fight and only two groups of students were slaughtered but that would all change, and not through a fight but because Erika listened to the voice in her head. Telling her to use her shikai or everyone would die. Erika didn't know her sword's name, but the sword gave it up so easily, just tossed it to her without any work. Juuchi Yosamu was released and the death toll started rising. It didn't begin with her enemies though. Her release targeted her allies first, her friends and her teachers and everyone that she wanted to protect. She was killing them and no matter what she did it wouldn't stop.

When shinigami finally arrived to see what happened the woman was taken in and hospitalised for wounds she sustained in the fight. Being the sole-survivor of her class the event would come to be known as a massacre and tragic event. She ultimately decided to move on, leaving behind this place with nothing left for her.

Shinigami: Upon graduating she moved onto the Eleventh Division, a division filled with criminals and the underbelly scum of the Soul Society that could be used as expendable units against the hollow threat, she used this time to hone her skills with the sword even further. Still under the illusion of this release being her shikai she sought to defeat and claim a power stronger than any others around her, being in this division reminded her of her life in the Edo Period. These men being arrogant, thinking less of her since she was smaller and woman, it frustrated her and Erika became known by the Moniker of "Koakuma" ["Small Devil"]. She became known as a little fighter that could dominate quite a lot of the Division, being only beaten by the Captain and Kenpachi of the time.

Erika's new home brought upon an age of development for her skills, this hostile environment prompted the progress of her skills to new heights which she couldn't have found in another group. She had to develop her instincts and honing her mindset to perfection so that she could be able to stay ahead in a division that swallowed the weak. Of course she refused to take part in her release form, her shikai was something that she ran from and she'd often avoid the very topic of it. She became highly proficient by not relying on a release form to be strong which gave her an edge when she fought people that had their shikai since she could fight them at the same standard in her unsealed state.

The Eleventh Division wasn't good for her though, it lacked the ethical code that she followed and the overall feel of the group she was with made her wary and constantly paranoid towards if someone was going to attack her. She applied to move to the Fifth Division under Captain Sousuke Aizen a place where she could try and improve herself while honing an area that she couldn't in the Eleventh Division, she was able to get more Kido Experience in this new division.

Up until the Aizen incident Erika was a hard-working member of the Fifth Division under Captain Aizen and Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori, she quickly made her way up to the role of Seventeenth Seat in the first few months of her service. She was a strong fighter and the environment was peaceful which gave her plenty of space to train but also maintain her morales, during the Ryoka Invasion she was a support person who organised the division's resources which she maintained up until the revelation of Aizen's betrayal which completely changed the entire situation of the Gotei Thirteen.

RE-DO WINTER WAR, TSUBINE, ENDER INVASION, WW3, BLANK PERIOD AND PRESENT!!


Hen'i [KANJI, Displacement]: This technique is one that is executed with the intention of blocking a sword. In it's most basic principles of resolve the entire principle of Hen'i is to displace a blade and to prevent an attack from succeeding. this can be accomplished through a variety of means, take for example the simple act of reinforcing and readying one's body to react in-kind which is quite a risky technique as it requires an good amount of force which could either result in the user being injured and/or their blade being damaged.