Tsukiko Okumura [shinigami]

» Name: [Tsukiko Okumura]
» Alias:
» Age: [138]
» Gender: [Female]

» Association: [Gotei United; Onmitsukidō]

» Appearance Written:
>Height 150cm/4ft 11in
>Weight 54kg/119lbs

Tsukiko stands with a confident yet feminine posture, one that somewhat hides her very well defined musculature and slightly above average bust; which along with her white hair in the form of an undercut pixie style with lavender dyed ends and her dark green eyes creates a kind and aloof look that matches with her kind and soft yet tomboyish personality outside of battle.

Closer inspection reveals her to have rough hands with heavily calloused knuckles, a nose that is ever so slightly misaligned, and soft but still somewhat visible scars and scratches on her arms legs torso and face harken to the struggles of her upbringing and her at times somewhat self destructive levels of devotion and drive.

She often keeps these features hidden with cloth wrapped knuckles and forearms and tight fitting short sleeve undershirts under her shinigami uniform. She is also rarely seen without the few cylindrical pouches on her sword belt in which she keeps mostly snacks and water along with a few various knick knacks.

» Appearance Image: [Put an image of your character here if you have one]



» Personality:

Kind, caring, gentle. These are the words that strangers or distant acquaintances would use to describe Tsukiko. She is always quick to lend a helping hand, and is often using parts of her off duty time to assist the orphans of Rukongai.

Her squadmates would use a quite different set of words depending on how closely they have worked with her. The few that know some of her history would use words like “soft” or “weak” perhaps even “unfit” all words which Tsukiko simply ignores, seeing their words for what they are, projection and pitiful flailing attempts to make themselves feel strong. Those that have worked with her, even more so those that have fought beside her would use the words “strong” “dependable” and even “intimidating”

Behind the scenes she takes training seriously, what free time isn’t spent helping others is spent pushing herself to the limit. She focuses on self improvement and pushing to new heights of power, constantly comparing herself to those on top; often failing to see the great strides she makes in power and skill. While she knows what she is capable of and is confident in her ability, her habit of comparing herself to those on a higher level leads to her often underestimating what she is capable of.

Those imprisoned in the “Den of Maggots” look upon her favorably. She treats them like people so long as they give her the option of doing so. While she is kind to them and will turn a blind eye to minor infractions, those imprisoned there know not to step out of line in her presence. Swift powerful kicks and punches will quickly set them back in line

Her soft and kind demeanor fades upon entering battle. Tsukiko takes every battle seriously no matter the enemy. In fact some would say she revels in battle, the soft kind girl giving way to a fighter whose smile grows bigger the more of a beating she takes. Her powerful and quick punches and kicks are somehow always smooth and graceful like some kind of sadistic dance. One can not fully mistake her however for a full on berserker because now matter how intense the battle she still will prioritize making a way for injured comrades to escape.



» History:

Tsukiko was born to a woman of the Okumura family, a lesser noble branch of the Omeada family, and an unknown father which her mother refused to name. This led her early years to be tough to say the least. Having lost her position due to the scandal, her mother had to return to active duty with the Onmitsukidō leaving Tsukiko to fend for herself among the family. Children her age and older took to constantly teasing her for not having a father and calling her mother all manner of twisted names. At first this caused her to often cry, run, and hide.

On one particular day after another child knocked her food from her plate stating someone as weak as her should not need food. Tsukiko ran off though the main gate of the estate to a field full of various flowers to hide beneath a kaede (maple tree). Beneath this tree hiding her face and crying, she came to realize she was crying in the lap of a woman in a soft silk kimono. Tsukiko could not make out the woman very well though her tear filled eyes, but could tell she was wearing a bright colored mask of some kind and that her kimono was brightly colored. She could not make out the voice of the woman very well, but the woman began to sing to her softly, a lovely melody that while soothing somehow had a sinister undertone to it. As Tsukiko drifted off to sleep she heard the only words she could make out from the woman “Never stop climbing, dear girl, never stop climbing.” Tsukiko didn’t know what the words meant but would come to sear those words into her very being.

Tsukiko was awoken by one of the older women of the family, Tsukiko quickly moved to sit properly, expecting to be scolded once again for running off but the woman simply looked at her with pity as she handed her a small box and walked away. Tsukiko's entire world shattered upon opening that box, inside was her mothers hair pin and her blood stained sword belt along with two sealed notes. The young girl felt cold, and broken, sad, overwhelmed, other feelings she didn't know the words for, yet somehow; as if something had broken she couldn't cry. Tsukiko couldn’t read fast on a normal day but found today even harder so upon going to one of the kinder women in the family to read the letters to her she learned of her mothers fate. Killed by a rogue shinigami while trying to save one of her juniors. A good death, a proud one but it was still so wrong.

At the funeral procession for her mother and the others killed she for the first time got to see captains of the Gotei. Just being near them set her in awe, if she were that strong, she thought; no one she cared about would ever have to die. Immediately after the funeral the group led her and a select few others to the top of a barren hill overlooking part of Seriteri. There, captured and imprisoned was the man who killed her mother. Tsukiko staring at him felt something flare to life within her, a feeling like fire, and water, and lightning, like rage had turned into a physical thing flowing though her, this was the first time she had awakened her reiastu; and it was sudden enough to get looks from a few other witnesses. Suddenly Tsukiko felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Captain Sui-Feng looking ahead at the prisoner but talking to her “Calm down, control it.” she said simply before going back to standing with her arms crossed. Tsukiko did her best to hold her emotions back. As the Sokouku roared to life she stepped back but kept watching until the criminal's life was snuffed. Tsukiko wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time, it all felt so empty.

The next few years passed and Tsukiko's life didn’t get any easier, with her riatsu awakened she found herself needing more and more food. She also caught the ire of her peers again this time not only from the Okumura family but also from the ones her age from the main Omeida family; the ridicule from them however was different, it was more sinister in nature. They constantly berated her for her riatsu level accusing her of showing off and often escalating to shoving her or knocking her things away. She did her best to hide her anger and sadness and learned to keep her riatsu suppressed when calm. She found it difficult to hold back when the teasing got rough but did her best anyway.

In the summer of her twelfth year she watched as a few of the older children were selected to join the spiritual arts academy to become full fledged shinigami and some of which would likely go on to be Onmitsukidō members. Knowing how strong some of them were she knew she had a solid chance to be chosen but that simply wasn't enough for her she wanted to be sure, she thought back to what that woman told her on that fateful day under the maple tree “Never stop climbing, dear girl, never stop climbing” it clicked with her then. Since no one else would help her here, she had to train herself.

The members of the branch family in better standing all had striking dummies, Tsukiko had trees, the family had weights, she had rocks, the family had bokken, she had sticks. None of this would prove to phase her, she spent the better part of each day in the edge of the woods near the estate practicing her strikes on trees. At first she could only hit them a few times before the pain swelled but she muscled though always hitting that one extra time after she thought she had hit her limit. Her knuckles and shins were bloodied and bruised but she took time to wash them and wrap them up at the end of each session. When the adults found out about this they scolded her for her foolishness and told her to use the families training areas. However just because she had permission did not mean the others would necessarily let her even after being told. She kept training on her own, it became the outlet for all her negative emotions. The burn from the running, set ups, and push ups became addictive to her. The pain from striking the trees made her anger disappear. She however wanted more and took time before and after each session pushing her reaitsu to its limit, then suppressing it as low as she could before letting it return to its normal levels. Having no one else to directly compare herself to she failed to see her steady growth.

Nearly a year later while walking back to her shared room she heard commotion from the others, this time it wasn't aimed at her it was aimed at another younger girl in the family of similar low standing. “Hey, cut it out.” she yelled at them before actually thinking it through. For some reason seeing another take the same abuse she had faced had made her angry, a level of anger she hadn't felt in some time. The largest boy in the group laughed and shoved the other girl down. Tsukiko moved faster than she ever had before punching the boy square in the stomach, the boy slid back and hit the ground hard. Tsukiko then realized what she had done. Striking a child of the main family was a severe offense. She was scared of the consequences but didn’t regret her choice, even if it was like her body acted on its own. The boys father arrived and was angry until seeing who it was that struck his son, leaving him gasping for air on the ground.

The next morning Tsukiko stood outside the sliding door to the main families meeting area. Once called in she bowed and sat down as was custom. A thick and heavy air of silence hung over the room before she was asked what happened. After a discussion the few elders there decided to withhold her punishment with the requirement she train directly with the others for sparring and to pass the recruitment for joining the spiritual arts academy, if she did both she would be forgiven. Each day she would spar with the others near her age, at first her inexperience of fighting another was apparent but once she got the hang of dodging she began to shine. It was clear then that she had a natural talent for hakuda, not only were her strikes themselves physically strong but even without formal training she was imbuing her riatsu into her body. As time continued her movements became quicker and more graceful, becoming almost dance-like. Her shortcomings however were apparent when it came to sword training. So long as she was still allowed to punch and kick she did fine, but when required to use nothing but her bokken she was below average at best. In her spare time Tsukiko continued to train herself in her established ways, moving on to bigger and harder trees, longer runs, and spending extra time sword training.

When the time for the entrance exam came back around she made sure to attend. With everything riding on this she gave it her all. She demonstrated her riatsu level to the instructors, getting more attention to her level of control more so than her level of riatsu, She truly shined though when it came to the sparring test, each applicant could use whatever their preferred method of combat was and of course she chose hakuda. Making rather quick work of all but one of her opponents (that being a member of the main family which she still went on to beat) she earned top marks in combat. Where she didn’t do well however was in her questionnaire, not knowing as much about certain aspects of Soul Society as she should have. Tsukiko awaited the results of the exam anxiously as members of her family and branch family watched on. Her name was called towards the end. “Okumura Tsukiko….class one”

The next few years went by in a flash. Tsukiko received her asauchi and began her time at the academy. She put the same drive into her studies here as she did her training before. She excelled in Hakuda and took to Hoho as second nature however her zanjutsu and kido lagged behind. Her dance-like movements in combat were further refined with the use of Hoho as she flowed around attacks, counter striking with Hakuda strengthened strikes that looked much softer than their heavy impact would suggest. Tsukikos kido suffered from slow cast times. Though she had very good control of her spiritual energy she struggled with the in combat application of most offensive kido. Her power was not lacking by any means, in fact her kido attacks were quite potent, however they were slow, it seemed that she herself just was not compatible with offensive kido. Her support and binding kido however was average. In her second year a different zanjutsu teacher helped her overcome her poor swordsmanship skills by having her approach zanjutsu differently, instead of treating it like another set of skills she focused on combining it with her Hakuda allowing her to finally settle into use of her zanpakuto.

When the time for the academy final came around Tsukiko felt confident in her abilities, she knew she could pass this exam no matter what it was. The exam was announced and explained in the courtyard, teams of five would be taken to a far off forest to hunt hollow. On one hand they had fought hollows before, but on the other they had always had a graduate with them from the gotei. Working as a team they had little issue tracking down the area with the hollow they were supposed to face but they had no idea what was in store for them. The hollow was faster and smarter than they had ever expected, it was able to knock out one of the team and severely injure another. The three remaining fought hard but were unable to land the killing blow on it while defending their downed classmates. Flashbacks of her mother came to Tsukikos mind, she refused to die in this situation before ever being able to prove herself. She commanded the others to take the injured two and run, at this point it mattered more for everyone to survive rather than complete the task. When finally alone and not having to defend downed allies Tsukiko finally let loose. She pushed herself harder than she ever had before. She found herself moving at a rate she had not expected and it took some time to get used to. In that time she took a few hard blows but for some reason even though they hurt those blows and the injuries from them made her want to fight even harder. A smile covered her face as she fought the hollow. Her surroundings became blurred to her, each tree or rock just another platform for her to attack from, She fought this large hollow with all her might, finally able to shatter its mask with a punch and slice it in half with a blow from her zanpakuto. As she fell to her knees to catch her breath she looked up to see the instructor and the two still mobile members of her team arrive. She gave them a smile and thumbs up before the pain from her injuries finally really settled in. The instructor carried her back and it was only then that she realized her zanpakuto had changed shape, she had not unlocked shikai but the form of her asauchi had changed to suit her style now resembling a thin but wide bladed short tsurugi style sword rather than a katana.

After graduation she was chosen to join the second squad as part of the Onmitsukidō. She spent her first few decades training as all others do. She quickly gained a reputation as a kind and outgoing hard worker. Her first long term assignments were with the patrol corps, where her superior speed and gracefulness shined while she learned to sharpen her intellect and detection abilities. She began to perform above her peers as she made more and more captures and gathered intel that proved useful in investigations. Even as her renown grew she refused to settle, she continued to push her body to the limit in her free time, taking advantage of the slower pace of many of her patrol areas in order to recover after particularly hard sessions of training. She had long moved from trees to large stones for her striking practice hoping one day to be able to achieve the height of power of legends like Sui-Feng and Yoruichi Shihoin. Knowing the next step of her power revolved around achieving shikai like others in her squad she spent her recovery time meditating or at least trying to with her zanpakuto, unfortunately for her though each time she would end up drifting off to the same dream. Her mother dancing with a somehow familiar woman in a dragon mask and kimono, on a large stage in the middle of an endless field of flowers.

After proving herself over years of serving in the patrol corps, Tsukiko was finally moved to the Executive Militia. Here her well focused skill in Hoho and Hakuda helped her find a role quickly. While not earning a seated rank she found herself after less than a decade leading small units on various missions, from eliminating dangerous rogue shinigami to scouting, finding, and eliminating hollows in certain areas outside of the Seriteri.

What was supposed to be a normal day changed suddenly when her group was called to backup another who was performing a standard seek and capture mission. The scout from the other squad had a look of terror across their face as they asked for help. Tsukiko and her squad arrived seconds too late as they saw this rogue shinigami strike down the last of the other squad. Separating into their standard tactics Tsukikos group seemed to have the upper hand before the enemy yelled something aloud. Tsukiko recognised this as a release phrase and realized one of her subordinates was the target of the attack and she was too far away for shunpo to reach her. Moving in a flash of light and reishi as she roared in anger, Tsukiko somehow found herself able to close the distance just in time to see a dagger on the end of a chain coming straight for her face. Tsukiko braced herself as hard as she could for the incoming blow but didn't feel it. When she looked up she saw herself in a familiar flower field on a dancefloor standing opposite from that dragon masked woman in the beautiful kimono. This time she heard her song, she knew her name “Karyū” in an overlay of reality and her inner world she followed the beautiful song with each step she took. Dancing together with the woman gracefully as she parried the incoming blow and ducked and dodged each and every following one while closing the distance towards her enemy. With a graceful step she moved the final distance to him and landed what looked to be a soft blow yet the shockwave that traveled through him shattered meters of trees behind. He fell to the ground limp as his shikai reverted back to its sealed state. Tsukiko looked down to see large bracelets on each wrist in the shape of a dragon's head with her now armored fists protruding from their mouths this iridescent scale like armor extended up to her elbows. From the dragon's mane and from her elbows hung ribbons covered in various flowers. She felt happy, she had finally achieved shikai but what was that other thing? How did she cover that much distance that quickly and why were the arms of her uniform shredded? Was that her shikai or was it something else?

For her actions here and achieving shikai she was given a seated position on the second division, though it was in the double digits it was still considered a great honor. Tsukiko however was not going to let this go to her head. She had to continue getting stronger. She had survived the same situation that killed her mother but even being in that situation showed her she was still not strong enough to make sure those she cared about survived every battle. She began volunteering to go with other squads to the real world to act as a scout and to assist in battle, gaining experience in tracking and eliminating hollows.

Her promotion within the squad also increased her standing with the family. She was still in the branch family but by now had earned their respect. She could request assistance from them in various matters or for money if she needed but she rarely did. Every time she went back to that house she was reminded of the mental and physical abuse from her peers and how the adults turned a blind eye till she was strong enough to be of use to them. She desired to be invited to the main family but would only accept if it were for her skill and power alone, she would not marry into it under any circumstances.

Over time her training stepped up again, long leaving behind striking stones and moving on to striking large steel poles which while at first proved to be somewhat painful to strike became no worse than the stone. Oftentimes when she had longer times off she headed out to the wilderness in order to find larger boulders to strike to dust. She assisted with the training of newer Onmitsukidō members, many times allowing whole teams to strike her during sparring in order to further push her toughness and to improve their striking style. She would also spar against senior members of the group focusing on pushing her Hoho to the next level, always striving to be faster and more efficient.

Many years later she was given a task. To gather a small team and go to the real world in pursuit of a rogue shinigami that had escaped soul society. It was rare for the crimes of a shinigami to rise to the level requiring assassination and it was rarer still for one to survive long enough to find their way to the real world. She gathered trusted associates and headed on to the real world. Tracking the rogue down proved difficult but after a few days they had narrowed his position down to a small valley. Upon arriving they found multiple hollows but no shinigami. They spread out to search the area more thoroughly, until the voice of one of her comrades cut through the air in a scream. Moving as fast as she could to her comrades' position Tsukiko was confused as to what she saw. Her friend was on the ground and the target of their search was there but seemed to be somehow changing into a hollow. Half of his body was black and white and his face was covered in a hollow mask. His attack came quickly, Tsukiko blocked and was sent flying back into the valley wall. Pulling herself up to her feet Tsukiko smiled. A hit like that got the blood flowing. She dashed towards the enemy with a shunpo at full speed and gracefully flowed around him to deliver a powerful hakuda powered kick to the back of the hollowfied shinigamis head. The strike landed true but didn't send her enemy flying like she had thought it would, she dodged a punch then a kick then was struck across the chest by a tail that wasn't there before. She bounced off the ground like a rock being skipped off water til striking a rock and coming to a stop. Shuffling to her feet she felt pain course through her body. Tsukikos smile grew wider as she held out her zanpakuto and she gave it a twirl and gave a curtsey like bow “Dance the night away! Karyu!” her shikai roared to life, her speed and strength increased immensely as she launched a counter attack, dodging blow after blow and blocking the ones she couldn’t, this time rebounding off the ground each time she was sent flying. The pain grew the longer they fought but she got more and more into the battle. After a few minutes as she was reaching the limit of her shikai she realized that the battle was going nowhere. She was absorbing the power of his hits but at the same time he was getting stronger too. She had to do something to turn the tide.

Unfortunately the hollowfied shinigami she was facing had the same idea. Firing a small cero, the hollow used the opening to attempt to flee. Tsukiko followed after but was some distance behind. A younger squadmate with whom she had become actual friends tried to slow the enemy down but before Tsukiko could call out for them to stop; the hollowfied shinigami slashed them across the chest. The familiar rage exploded within her and Tsukiko felt a power surge within her as another limit shattered. The energy of her hoho engulfed her arms and legs as she felt a burst of power and speed. She darted towards the enemy, overtaking him and delivering a punch more powerful than any she had thrown before square to the back of her target. The punch created a large shockwave in the air, its force enough to knock the water from the air creating a visible wave front as the hollowfied shinigami broke the sound barrier many times over on its way for a face first meeting with the ground below. Tsukiko landed in the crater created by the impact, the hollow tried to stand up but Tsukiko was not giving it the courtesy, She dashed forward with the same explosive speed and kicked it in the face, this impact creating a shockwave as well yet also creating a small billow of fire at the impact zone. She dashed after overtaking her target and delivering another powerful punch this time to its chest. She continued her blitz, completely overpowering her enemy before finally delivering a punch to its face, shattering its mask and the skull underneath. As her enemy's corpse laid in front of her Tsukiko tried to catch her breath but the fatigue of breaking her limits and from the injuries she sustained caught up with her as she fell unconscious.

Tsukiko awoke just over a week later. She was unable to save her friend but everyone else made it out alive and she eliminated the enemy. It took her time to recover and in that time she realized she had achieved an incomplete version of shunko, Improving it would take quite some time. Once she was fully recovered she began researching what she could about shunko, what she found was vague but it helped her put things into perspective. She wasn't great at kido but had exceptional control over her riatsu. Her natural ability with Hoho and Hakuda is likely what allowed her to achieve this incomplete shunko. Something she would strive to perfect and complete.

World war three and the demon invasion would see her working behind the scenes as a scout, doing what she could to assist the others. The reformation of the Gotei 13 into Gotei United along with the major losses saw her spending more time as a guard in the nest of maggots. Now as new gears are turning will she step forward into the spotlight.






» Natural Abilities:

Heavy Strikes: While Tsukikos strength is above average, her lifting and throwing strength pales in comparison to her massive power exerted by her punches and kicks. Even without utilizing Hakuda she is capable of shattering boulders.

Supernatural grit: Her hard beginnings in life and devotion to training allows her to temporarily ignore the pain and effects of many powerful blows. Though they tend to catch up with her as soon as she slows down.

Precise reiatsu control: Being constantly chided about her riatsu as a child and her training as an adult led to Tsukiko developing adobe average fine control of her riatsu



» Racial Abilities:

Sluggish Kido: While her offensive kido is potent it is abnormally slow to cast. Often slow enough that she struggles to use it in battle. Her support and binding kido are simply average.

Hakuda natural: Tsukiko has an above average compatibility with hakuda techniques able to pick up and learn new applications quite quickly.

Hoho natural: Her natural grace along with her natural skill with shunpo allows her to excel at hohos various movement techniques.



» Zanpakutô Name: Karyu (Flower Dragon)

» Zanpakutô Spirit Appearance:

Karyu is a tall graceful woman with long ivory hair wearing an ornate dragon mask. She wears an ornate dancing kimono covered in various flowers and has multiple silk ribbons that trail behind her as she moves. She moves with grace and sings a haunting melody as she dances. When dancing her premier dance flames follow in the air like a trail behind her.

» Inner World:

Her inner world is a large wooden dance floor amid an infinite field of flowers on a cool spring night with the moon gently peeking through clouds. The smell of flowers and incense hangs lightly on the air. The flowers form a thick blanket on flat ground as far as the eye can see.

For those familiar with hanakotoba (japanese flower language) meaning can be ascribed from the mix of flowers including; tsubaki, hibiscus, saiyuri, botan, kuroyuri, and shion. The flowers grow and wither depending upon her mood, and lately she has seen what appears to be a storm approaching on the horizon.

» Sealed Zanpakutô Appearance:

A short but wide bladed thin tsurugi (japanese straight sword similar to a chinese sword) with a violet handle and flower shaped tsuba.

» Sealed Zanpakutô Power:

Not yet achieved.



» Shikai Release Phrase:

Odori akasu! Karyū! (Dance through the night Karyu)

» Shikai Release Action:

Tsukiko twirls with her blade and does a curtsey like bow.


» Shikai Appearance:

Her shikai takes the form of scale mail gauntlets with eastern dragon head shaped bracelets on each arm. Her armored hands protrude through the mouth of each dragon.

The iridescent purplish armor extends from her now clawed hands all the way to the elbow. The dragon heads are green with golden trim and bright white manes with flowers throughout. From the mane of the dragon and from her elbows flow silken ribbons covered in flower pedals, as she fights these ribbons burn away starting at the ends, when there are no more ribbons left her zanpakuto reverts back to its sealed state.

» Shikai Abilities:

Her shikai increases her melee ability by a considerable amount but offers no extension in range. Each of her blows seem to land with much greater force than it appears they should. Her speed increases as well but this also puts a great deal of stress on her body.

Dragons pride: Allows Tsukiko to absorb a portion of each hit she takes, storing it to return later, however storing too much causes her ribbons to burn away quicker.

Bon odori: Like the festival dance it's named after this ability welcomes the spirits of the (soon to be) dead. Tsukiko delivers a few short blows in order to line up her opponent before the dragon mouths cover her fists as she strikes a heavy blow, returning all the stored energy boosted by a powerful wave of her own raitsu; resulting in a blow powerful enough to level multiple buildings. When used at full power it burns away whatever is left of her ribbons causing Karuy to revert back to its sealed state.



Not yet achieved



» Equipment:






General Skills

• Durability: Advanced
  
• General Speed: Advanced
  
• Strength: Elite
  
• Martial Skill: Advanced

Will Skills
[list][*]Willpower/Determination: Advanced
[*]Mental Deduction: Advanced
[*]Focus: Adept

Shinigami Skills
[list][*]Hoho: Elite
[*]Kidō: Beginner
[*]Zanjutsu: Adept
[*]Hakuda: Elite



» Roleplay Sample:

Tsukiko finally manages to free herself from the rubble; she winces and stands up looking at the arrancar that sent her flying. That last attack hit her square in the side it hurt and definitely left an injury that will be with her for weeks. The pain however made her feel alive, she could finally enjoy this fight. A smile crossed her face as she pushed the pain to the back of her mind; the injury would slow her down but for now she could reduce its effects somewhat. Tsukiko breathes in deeply, smelling the dust and acrid stench of death in the air as she refocuses herself. She activates her incomplete shuko, ready to launch a counter attack as soon as her enemy moves.

END OF THE SHINIGAMI APPLICATION