[Spirit Class 3] Erika Masamune

Erika is a person that is introverted, she prefers to keep to a small amount of people and avoid having lots of people in her life. Most of the people she keeps around her tend to not get very close to her either, she is a character that is very reserved and distanced from others. She can hardly be said to be lonely but at the same time she is never close to others.

Coping with her loneliness is easier on her than most, attributed to a general disdain and distrust towards people. She is a bitter individual that doesn't like to interact that much but while she doesn't like this she is capable at it decently at the very least. Even though her attitude might come off confrontational or passive aggressive for no apparent reason at times, and she is especially suspicious and wary of people. People that are new to her life are particularly subject to this fickle attitude of her's.

Despite all her flaws, Erika is incredibly honourable and will keep her word to the dot. It is why she rarely will make a promise, even if this is a very simple and easy promise to fulfil as it applies the pressure of her honour in order to fulfil that oath. A promise is something she will only make to someone when she has some form of trust or faith in them, however a promise made to herself is not that uncommon compared to giving her word to other people.

A lingering trait from many years of her trust being abused, whether that is being abandoned or betrayed by others makes her incredibly lacking in her ability and willingness to form proper or lasting relationships. She would much rather arrive and depart like the wind through someone's life rather than remain in it out of concern of becoming settled.

While she is immature and still what you might call a kid from her many years alive, Erika still boasts vast experience and knowledge that she has acquired in those years alive. However, she doesn't think of herself as much of a teacher. Neither wanting to pass on whatever knowledge she has or feeling like she's capable in the first place. Due to this her leadership skills are something she believes has been worn down in her time away from other people.



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. Sokobie 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. Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki. Erika could perhaps have been called a thorn in Tsubaki's side at this point, she was polite and a good subordinate but she got in the way of Tsubaki'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 Tsubaki'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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki.

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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki. Well before the idea of Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki it was less of the sisterly or friendly role they had or even the teacher-student. Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki seemed to go along with it in the same manner. She wasn't complaining, she was happy about it. The lingering thoughts that Tsubaki might die were gone and she trusted the woman completely.

Her relationship with Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki, 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki, she would be forcefully kept from the conflict. Safe.

Erika couldn't. She couldn't use Sokobie 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 "Sayadōji". 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 Sayadōji 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki'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 Tsubaki, 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 Tsubaki, 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki, not this legendary fighter. When Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki'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 Tsubaki 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 Sokobie. 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 Sokobie, 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 Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki about Sokobie not actually being her zanpakuto spirit and that was something that scared Erika as much as it relieved her. She wanted Tsubaki's help in attaining her real zanpakuto, feeling like the woman could help her actually do it. This would be cut short when Tsubaki disappeared shortly after.

It came as a shock, initially Erika didn't believe or accept it. Tsubaki 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 Tsubaki to no avail.

» Impressive Speed and Reflexes: Unnaturally fast and quick is the best form of fighting potential that Erika has, she is a high-speed combatant that does not aim to get super strong and be able to rip apart mountains with her bare hands. Her fighting style is usually fast, nimble and done at a much faster rate than most normal people. She has trained her reflexes for years and her speed as well, it is easy for her to move fluidly and without much thought. Her body can move without her consciously thinking about it either, allowing near instantaneous reactions with her movements.

» High Reiryoku Reserves and Control: A long serving vice-captain of the Gotei Thirteen, serving as vice-captain of the fifth division after Aizen's defection and the conclusion of the Winter War. Erika possesses quite a large pool of reiryoku to make use of. While the pool itself is impressive, Erika's control over her reiryoku is far more impressive by her ability to apply it in ways to compensate or apply it to enhance her battle capacity.

» Damage Mitigation: By focusing her reiatsu into herself she can create a thick barrier of energy which reduces incoming damage to her person. By further focusing her reiatsu around a specific region rather than her entire body she can gain a greater defensive value but leaving the rest of herself exposed - using it in such a way requires her to be focused and be able to anticipate her opponent correctly.

» Power Augmentation: By focusing her reiatsu and concentrating it, she is capable of bypassing the reiatsu of another who might be stronger than her. The caveat being that they must not be applying their greater reiatsu protectively and so it is mostly effective against those who are not as adept with control over their reiryoku and reiatsu.

» Psychological Attacks: Against those of weak mental they can be dazed when exposed to her reiatsu, instilling a feeling of fear or dread. At extreme cases it can have the effect of making an individual feel as if they've already been struck down or that the situation is hopeless though a strong-willed individual won't find this as impactful.

» Physical Attacks: Releasing her reiatsu she is able to generate shockwaves or launch it as plain energy attacks, often from swings of her sword rather than waste time by performing kido.

» Reikaku: All Shinigami have the inherit ability to sense energy, whether they are aware or not a shinigami uses both their eyes and reikaku to see, a skilled user like Erika can use reikaku consciously however and to a high level, primarily due to being blinded after a combat mission which forced her to develop her sensory skills in the time before she healed. Erika's reikaku can almost be described as a sixth sense, working in harmony with her other senses and instincts in situations to bolster the analytical skills of her's.

She is able to see in a three-hundred and sixty degree scope around her with her inner-eye, she is skilled enough with her reikaku to pick up on faint changes in a person's reiatsu and deduce just what that change was, being able to understand a person as well. Giving Erika a perceptiveness about her when it comes to analysis of a person's potential capabilities in a short amount of time. Her range is quite far and her attention to detail with this skill is not to be mocked. A potential use of this technique is being able to accurately make a guess as to what kind of potential powers a zanpakuto could possess or the volume of energy a being has left. Erika's use of sensory abilities is very advanced and should she be unable to use her eyes that is no issue for her. She is more than capable of fighting without the use of her eyes.

» Kido Expert: As the basis of her Katanakaji can be found within the realm of kido, Erika is quite proficient otherwise with the way of applying reiryoku into the formation of spells. She is able to apply kido spells and intergrate them into her swordplay which gave rise to her Yōkujakuryū, through usage of them she is able to greatly bolster her fighting capabilities and utilise techniques such as two-fold incantation and incantation abandonment.

» Swordsmanship: Erika is most proficient with her use of swordsmanship. She has numerous styles that she created and developed using her ability Katanakaji and just her intent for pursuing the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Her swordsmanship cannot be defined or restricted to conventional means.

» Gokkotōryū [極虛刀流, Ultimate Hollow Sword Style]
The truest expression of her power, usage of this sword style entirely focuses around esoteric usage of her generated swords. None of these techniques are feasible in a traditional swordsmanship sense due to relying entirely on Katankaji to complete the associated techniques. An example of such a technique is Erika's Gokkotōryu - Nichirin where she circles a target and manipulates the blade to function more like a whip, eventually surrounding them and pulling it tight to eviscerate them. All applications of this sword style may as well be esoteric magic due to the swords that perform them are unique and temporary.

Hoshōgekiryū [鯨衝撃流, Whale Crashing Style]
A style of Erika's that involves striking in such a manner that the blade does not cut. Often made use of for training purposes or when it is not preferrable to cut someone, it instead involves usage of brute force. An example technique would be Shitonegaeshi, which immobilises an opponent with brute force by trapping them against the ground with the blade held milimetres from their face to discourage getting up.

Another example, which is of Erika's making rather than an official zanjutsu technique, is Saisekizan (砕石斬, Rock Breaking Slash) which utilises the sword's blunt back to deliver a strike which can split underlying bone without splitting the skin to pacify a target or prevent them from using the limb.

Senshōryū [蝉声流, Cicada Singing Style]
A style which is focused around speed and decisive attacks which can also disorientate. These often involve strikes that impair or aggitate a target's senses, such as striking around the ears to disrupt one's hearing or sense of balance. They are often shallow cuts which wear down a target over time and ease one into a weaker position for the practioner to deliver a finishing blow. It is a duelling style however and being used in large groups is difficult, it shines in one on one combat situations.

Yōkujakuryū [妖孔雀流, Enchanting Peacock Style]
A sword style that involves the fusion between kido and swordsmanship, it's techniques involve manipulating kido spells in conjunction with sword strikes to be more overwhelming than what could be accomplished usually such as heating the blade with Hadō #31: Shakkaho to make the blade catch fire another example would be applying Hadō #1: Sho to cause an increase of force upon connecting with a blade. It particularly shines though with Bakudo, such as using Bakudo #26: Kyokkō to surround the blade in a veil that makes it difficult to gauge just how long the blade is and as a result make it incredibly hard to fight without knowing the length of Erika's sword.

Unnamed Style
This particular style is a more sentimental one. It stems from the use of practice similar to her mother's Tsu-Naku-Kiru-Ryuu, where it relies on a person's understanding of weapons to make the most out of them. Conditions such as size, shape, weight and even ornaments need to be understood to effectively use this style as it forces the wielder to be able to fight without hesitation or thought and absolute focus is required to make the most out of it. Placement of weapon, perfect recollection of the entire battle and anticipation as to how it will develop. Essentially, Erika's strategical prowess with this in being able to set-up traps and perform difficult to predict feats such as not forgetting a detail as a dropped weapon minutes earlier and then still making use of that in the heat of a fight.

» Master Chef: She is well versed in the art of cooking and cuisine, made to learn it after Tsubaki made her take up the role of being in charge of cookin after she called painting and calligraphy an area she was not interested in studying, and said she'd rather be a housewife than do that. So Tsubaki made her take up that role and she became quite the proficient little chef, being able to cook innately and not from a cooking book.


» Katanakaji [刀鍛冶, Swordsmith] A unique skill that was born thousands of years ago, created by the First Captain of the Tenth Division in her pursuit to create something that would be superior to Oetsu Nimaya's zanpakuto. In a sense she succeeded, the creation was Katanakaji, which she taught to her three students. Despite her aspirations they were cut short by Central 46 deeming it illegal since it removed the capacity for one to imprint on Oetsu's ausauchi and given that it didn't offer anything as powerful as release forms that its predecessor offered the practice was made illegal and unable to be taught to anyone else making the captain and her three students the first and last legal users of the art.

The premise of the ability is simple, the creation and generation of swords and weapons. Where instead of making a weapon that reflects a manifestation in a person's soul, the user creates a weapon that reflects a name. The creation process has made it more similar to kido than actual zanjutsu in a sense. Because of the functionality the swords and weapons created are more akin in nature to kotodama - power associated to words and meaning.

Erika's application was taught to her by her teacher, a deceased Kenpachi and one of the students of the captain that developed it. Despite that she possesses an incredibly advanced skill in it to the point where she has been able to create the closest thing to an actual zanpakuto than any other. The sword Sokobie, with its innate meaning being - "my reflection" - it should be noted though that this still cannot be defined as a zanpakuto despite reflecting Erika as a person. It is not born of an ausauchi and therefore incomplete compared to a true zanpakuto.

» Katanagatari [刀語, Sword Tale]
A power which is based on creating a replica of another sword with a story, ie. the creation of imitation zanpakuto. Due to the nature of katanakaji which is the simple principle of making swords - combined with using a template as something she has witnessed. Erika is able to create a sword with attributes based off a zanpakuto (or any other weapon) she has seen, though this is a hollow shell. There is no spirit, nor if she copied a spirit weapon's design would it carry the same properties as a actual spirit weapon. These are hollow imitations at the end of the day which only allow her to utilise the powers.

In addition, she does not gain the intuitive knowledge of how to use these powers. If she were to try and copy a fire-aligned zanpakuto there is no guarantee that she wouldn't hurt herself by a lack of understanding, there is no greater evolution of these swords and ultimately an individual who possesses their zanpakuto ultimately possess a connection with the sword that she could never have.

» Ausachi Incompatibility: She is unable to bond or imprint with an ausachi, as long as she possesses Katanakaji, she cannot actually do such. While it may be possible with intervention, if said could remove the effects of katanakaji on her being that she could maybe bond with an asauchi but such a thing would cause her to need to discard this ability.

» 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 "Counter Release" [Sakakai]. 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 Sayadōji 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.


» Power: Not a release form that is anything particularly special. Besides the physical changes that she has occur to her body, there are very little in the way of powers due to it mostly pulling on an additional pool of reiryoku to force her body up to a higher level of power.

Her physical skin becomes hard like proper metal due to taking on attributes of a "sword" and when she makes strikes it appears as though people get cut if they lack the durability similar to running one's hand over a sword's blade. This form is equivalent to Bankai - though it lacks much in the way of large and flashy powers that most would expect from a real Bankai.

» Name: Sokobie (底冷, Penetrating Cold).
» Alias': The Ruthless Sword.
» Age: Unknown
» Gender: Female.

» Affiliation: Erika herself.



» Malicious: A being of pure spite and hatred, she seeks to hurt people and possesses a desire to hurt those around her and make them suffer. It is a bi-product of being formed within the confines of Erika's mind, her birth being the result of much hatred and conflict that her creator felt at the time. She does not seek to change, enjoying making her master suffer and she does all she can to hurt those that come near her. Hence why her powers target allies as a priority, why the sword leaves cuts on Erika's hands after she exists the release stage and why the woman does all she can to make life hard for Erika. Seeking to force her into a pit of dark thoughts that would destroy her.

» Resentful: She is a hateful woman, she resents Erika a great deal. She was the product of all Erika's despair and sadness, her rage and anger. She is an embodiment of negativity and she resents her creator for it. The woman blames Erika for her negative personality and powers, seeing herself as the lake that is just there for the girl to dump her negative thoughts and emotions in that pollutes her mind even more.

» Apathetic: There is a distinct lack of emotion within the spirit. She will happily hurt someone and not feel remorse. She lacks the ability to empathise and sympathise with people, one might label her as a psychopath for this trait because she is absolved of love, friendship and any form of meaningful relationship. To Sokobie all humans are merely the same and there is not connection which is linked to her ability to harm indiscriminately.

» Dishonourable: Something that sets her apart from her master, being almost a trait that is the anti-thesis of Erika's code of honour, Sokobie is a liar, she is a cheater and she is a dishonourable person in every way. She doesn't care about anything or anyone other than herself and Erika but that is purely due to the fact that they are bound and she cannot survive without Erika. Her power allows her to be dishonourable, by cheating in combat through its destruction which overall makes her hard to reason with or trust which contributes to why Erika and hre cannot seem to get along.

» Trouble-Maker: She is quite relaxed, she knows no form of respect and so she doesn't care about how she might appear to people. She doesn't try to follow formalities or bend to the will of society which makes her seem to exist outside of the world. She doesn't refer to Erika as anything that seems respectful or anyone, she often dresses in clothes that are not what people want her to wear or do things that she wants to do instead of what she is told to do.

» Rude: Quite a rude spirit, she is abusive towards people and her master in specific. It is quite deeply associated into her core to hate and be out-right rude towards her master and those around her. She would frequently insult people close to Erika and make her feel bad, remind her of her mistakes and all the bad things she has done. She doesn't treat Erika with respect, in fact she treats people Erika hates with more respect than her master.



» Appearance: A completely black blade and within any kind of ornamentation besides a simple tsuba. It looks incredibly mundane and very boring.

» Sealed Power: The basis of Erika's sword's power is 'cold' and bringing things to freezing point, because of that the only power is that the blade of Sokobie is extremely cold, cold enough to cause blood that it draws to freeze and flash freeze a wound though when within its sheath the blade's chill is kept within it as well.



» Release Phrase: "Freeze 'em Dead, Sokobie."

» Appearance: The blade switches from black to white and the blade appears to become as ice though it is far more durable than its look suggests. As well as appearing to be made of ice, the blade itself is not receptive to fire or heat as it is fundamentally opposed to it which makes the blade unaffected by fire in addition to new look.

» Power: A frost aura which radiates outwards and progressively brings the temperature further and further down, her power is the manipulation of temperature to lower it. Whether that is to smother fire, direct waves of freezing cold air as projectiles with swings of the blade or to impale a person and freeze them from the inside. The usages of the blade are incredible due to it being versatile and potent but also indiscriminate. The area around her will always be affected regardless of attempts to focus it or not, allies or enemies alike will be struck by the steady freezing.

This power takes a small build up though, steadily over the course of the fight the blade will become less and less transparent as it becomes closer to a solid white. This subtle metre is a measurement of how long the release will last - it cannot be ended before the blade becomes completely solid again and when it does the area for a fifty metres radius around the blade will flash freeze in an attempt to damage everyone around it. Air particles become tiny pieces of ice that try to eviscerate the lungs and tender membranes of a body, attacking the body itself by trying to lower the core temperature. Ultimately it will try to kill anyone around it - sparing only individuals who have their hand on the blade at the time of climax. This still is based on a lot of factors and many could easily have methods of dealing with the closing call or factors which make it easy to survive/mitigate it.


General Attributes
» Durability: C.
» Speed: B.
» Strength: B.
» Soul: A.

Will Skills
» Willpower: Elite.
» Deduction: Adept.
» Focus: Elite.

Shinigami Skills
» Hoho: Adept
» Kidō: Advanced
» Zanjutsu: Untrained
» Hakuda: Adept


First Upgrade

Attribute Update.