[Spirit Class 8] Yoshioka, Gaoh

» Name: Gaoh Yoshioka______________ » Alias: Gaoh Yabushige » Age: 180 » Birthday: May 17th » Gender: Male » Race: Arrancar » Association: Self » Alignment: Neutral » Marital Status: Single » Nationality: Han-Japanese » Sexuality: Heterosexual » Estigma: Various » Hole: Stomach » Aspect: Betrayal » Height: 5'10" (10'2"*) » Weight: 192 lb. (480 lb.*) » Hair Colour: Ruddy Pink » Eye Colour: Red

Despite traveling a tumultuous and violent road, Gaoh has come out the other side decidedly well adjusted. Polite enough, with a proclivity and willingness to smile otherwise attributed to dopes. A nomad at heart, he takes to new places and faces more easily than old memories. Distinctly bad at forming long-lasting relationships or keeping in touch with acquaintances, Gaoh has made the effort to always be open, ignorant that actually contacting him can be a ridiculously arduous process. Without extensive education, he is quick to speak without thought, and often has to correct himself or take things back.

Having not spent an inordinate amount of time amongst modern society, he finds many things quaint, but lacks the curiosity to fully explore most, if not all, of them.

A strong believer in communication through violence, considering the people closest to him the ones who've he's shared the experience of a punch to the face. That strength of the self can lead to quality of life, muscle and sinew the building blocks to a better self. Gaoh is not shy about any of it either, openly willing to accept challengers that present themselves, or otherwise prophesize the benefits of violence - regulated or otherwise. While he is not unwilling to kill, he does find it distasteful, unless there is no other option.

Romantically, he's always been interested in the idea of a family, but due to past experience is trigger-shy on dating in general. Furthermore, he enjoys the peace and quiet of nobody for long stretches, and knows himself well enough to avoid making himself miserable by settling down in a situation that'd make such a thing impossible. Not a fan of densely populated cities and the like for similar reasons, known to 'get headaches' before opening a garganta and leaving. In spite of his own martial art defined life, he isn't particularly interested in learning more arts, seeing it as one's personal definition and discipline.


Gaoh Yabushige was born to a ex-general who participated in the Jeanmi Massacre, his mother - a "comfort woman" - was an unwilling, and unfortunate participant in his life. His father, aging decrepitly, began losing sense of self before Gaoh began puberty. With a rough early life, he got into fights often, beating and being beaten by the neighboring children, all the while unaware and yet berated for his heritage. Goading remarks and short tempers flared, day after week after month, reaching a boiling point at the age of fourteen. Moments away from breaking a younger boys arm, the hand of fate intervened, strong and calloused; a Gōjū-ryū master by the name of Keihō.

It would take some persuading for Gaoh to become the man's student, but not before it took much more for Keihō to not hand him over to the authorities. While the man preached "A rowdy child is an untrained one", he did believe the country more than capable of handling such matters. Dragging the boy through dirt and mud home, he grew in sympathy. An uncaring mother, barely awake through a drunken haze. A father who didn't know who he was, or the day. Even a disciplined heart falters under incredible weight.

They'd grow close over the next several months, much of Gaoh's life underneath the roof of Keihō's Dojo. Given the structure, the environment to grow, he turned into a responsible young man. The fists that gave him an outlet for pain and dereliction turning into tools to sculpt himself into something more. Years would fly by, and his biological parents would pass. With the death of his mother, he learned of the reality of his birth, and in grieving took a surname more befitting to his heritage - Yoshioka. The announcement to his kohai was met with a few odd looks, but nothing he took to heart.

Sometime after Gaoh turned twenty, Keihō would pass suddenly, an unknown illness taking him in his sleep. It was a heavy blow to the Dojo, and himself, with no named successor nor biological children to take over. Arguments began swiftly, and while some of the fresher kohai would splinter into other newly formed schools of the time, those Gaoh considered brothers snapped on each other, vicious arguments filling the days and overflowing into the nights. In a bid to stop the arguments, he stepped forward, and declared that he would be taking the place of the Dojo head, and that if there was concern or question of his ability - "A week from now, I will take all challengers. One by one, then we will know who is worthy for Keihō's mantle!"

When he arrived, the Dojo was empty, save for seven. Twelve eyes twisted in anger and refusal, another pair tilted with sorrow. The first to approach him bowed, before stripping himself of his gi - looking to Gaoh with apology in his voice, and left the Dojo for the last time. Bewildered, Gaoh looked to his other senpai. It was then he recognized their looks, their hatred. The same eyes that had flared resentment to a child, beaten him black and blue. Some hours later, he would realize the mistake of not leaving then, as they took their time beating the 'half-breed' to death.

The Dojo would keep Keihō's name, and with scrubbed floors, a fire, and no witnesses or family to grieve, they would get away with their crime. A new successor was named, and so the days turned on. Shackled there, to the spot where his bones were smashed, eyes gouged, lungs pierced; Gaoh was forced to watch, a wailing agony.

Where most chains last a soul months or years, Gaoh's lasted three days; a desire for vengeance devouring his soul. Shifting in the dark, curdling what was once a bright young man into a hollow. As a mask solidified across his face, six men shifted in their sleep, and their lives were forever changed. Stepping onto the floor of a place he had once called home, Gaoh entered a new chapter of his life - marked by death and blood, and it could only end the way it began. With bloodied knuckles, and a soul stained black.

The lives of the Dojo members who took it on themselves to kill Gaoh would turn to hell. Girlfriends would fall ill and die, accidents would leave them in back to back hospital visits, family members would be mutilated - all to feed Gaoh's hunger. Soul after soul that came into close contact with these men would die, painfully. But their Dojo, what they had paid for in blood, remained untouched, falling into disrepair as their lives turned consistently and quickly for the worse. Months would pass before one attempted suicide, their rope snapping before they could die. The next, their razorblades could not cut skin - another found the water pushing them back to shore when they wanted to drown. Try all they might, they would not die, the hollow Gaoh had become would not allow them.

Not until he wanted.

The first was gifted death after a year, his hunger overtaking him in an act of torment. Another would follow each year after, and in their panic, the remaining trio took more naturally to the idea that they were being punished for what they had done. They had become destitute, ostracized, with broken spirit and abused bodies at their wits end. They pooled their resources, hiring an exorcist, a woman who claimed she could see spirits. In their desperation, and from her guidance, they gathered at Keihō's Dojo. Exhausted, they pleaded to a jar of ashes to be left alone, begging for forgiveness over their crimes. As they wept, the youngest of the remaining three floated into the air. In his final moments, the man saw what had been tormenting them, reflected in a pool of his own blood. A twisted monster with four eyes and four arms, chewing on the stump of the exorcist's neck.

Only one of the three managed to escape, the man who proclaimed himself the new master of the Dojo. Setting the building ablaze, he ran as far as his legs would take him, a crazed desperation pushing him further than he could have ever imagined. Bloody footprints trailing into the woods, and he collapsed beneath cherry blossoms. Heart racing, he fought to keep his eyes open, but was not strong enough. He blacked out, awakening as a soul, chained to an unrecognizable corpse. Heavy breathing filled the man's ears, and turning, he came face to mask with Gaoh. Gaoh and his wide, bloody smile.

In his hunger for vengeance, the Hollow had been far too hasty. He wanted - no, he NEEDED - more. A beacon of the man he once was filtered through, and he understood how to get more. So he tore open a hole in space, and took his senpai with him, dissapearing into the menos forest. For the next few months, he patiently waited, berating the man's soul, watching closely as his chain rotted. Gaoh would settle things the only way they ever mattered to him in life - a competition of strikes. And he had found his opponent.

With vitriol and a roar, his last senpai transformed. Attacking immediately, he was on Gaoh like something feral, and weak from his birth, easily repelled. Back and forth for days on end, Gaoh would goad him into attacking, beating him down until he regenerated. Day in, day out. His senpai became more conscious after a month of beatings, and their exchanges became martial once again. Yet Gaoh's body proved the advantage, the senpai's transformation that of a beast, and he was struck down again. Weeks passed in the timeless night of Hueco Mundo as they fought, technique and mind returning ever sharper each time. Months, years - the woods became a battlefield for the two, locked in a duel that only Gaoh allowed to continue. In the unfortunate circumstance they encountered another of their kind, he took it as an opportunity to feed, leaving his senpai scraps. Twenty years would pass, the constant fight ever evolving the pair; twenty years, the amount of life that had been taken from him.

Gaoh grew tired - and much to his surprised, his vengeance was sated. His blood boiled for it no more, and at last, he signed his senpai's death warrant. Standing over the hollow after another round of beatings, Gaoh roared to the sky, and at last, made the declaration he pained for decades prior, hands pulling at the mask that hid his face for so long. "LOOK AT ME! ALONE, I AM KEIHŌ'S SUCESSOR!! LOOK!" Gaoh ripped his mask off, moonlight gracing him as he leered over the lesser hollow, spittle flying freely with the roar of decade's fury. "I GAVE YOU THE PAIN YOU GAVE ME! I TOOK BACK KEIHŌ'S FIST! AND WITH THIS FIST, I GRANT YOU WHAT YOU DESERVE!!"

Gaoh's blows stopped landing hours later, permanently staining his hair with blood. Having started a unexpected transformation with the removal of his mask, standing with heavy breath. He looked down on what he had wrought. A smile spread on his face, and he was content.

Adjusting to his new life as an arrancar, Gaoh lived within the menos forest for decades, the constant fighting he had partaken in drawing rumors. With rumors came challengers, and with challengers came bodies, unintentionally at first. His bloodlust had been sated, yet hollows would not stay down - something he had grown to know intimately. By the fifties, word of him had faded, and he could have peace. For some time, he did - a hermit's lifestyle, rebuilding the devotion and habits that he drove for in life. Taking the odd trip to return to the human world, seeing what the arts that defined his life became. With peace, eventually came boredom - and with the turn of the century, he left the menos forest, to explore Hueco Mundo.

Over the last twenty-odd years, his travels have taken him to meet and see various people and sights. Continued visits to the human world, with a wary eye to shinigami as he became aware of them. Avoiding war and major conflicts as they sprung into existence, he continues to work on himself, physically and mentally. At peace, knowing that he had taken the heads of everyone to ever wrong him.


» Gōjū-ryū Karate: Multiple lifetime practitioner of the Gōjū-ryū (Hard-Soft Style) of karate, he far exceeds the traditional merits that one is graded by in the school. Possessing a complete and total knowledge of the core 12 Katas, Gaoh is uniquely talented in both saifa and sanchin. For reference, katas are not directly used in combat, rather containing the building blocks for his ability to fight.

1. Gekisai Dai Ichi: Consisting of straight blows and quick blocks, this kata makes heavy use of double-straight punches and elbow strikes, along with the principals of a chop.
   
   
2. Gekisai Dai Ni: More defensively oriented, this kata relies on a lowered stance, allowing for more angular blocks that would otherwise be devastating to defend head on. First of the katas to implement the open palm and downward strikes, and foundational for stances.
   
   
3. Saifa: Quick, striking blows making use of every part of the fist. Knees, elbows, and kicks are all implemented in efficient, snapping movements, with a shocking amount of range. The kata also makes use of compacting palm strikes, a devastating blow when utilized correctly.
   
   
4. Seiyunchin: First of the kata to introduce full redirection of an opponent, it also makes use of mid-low strikes with an angled fist. It also introduces an incredible quick high blow using the back of the fist, which implementing practiced footwork to augment.
   
   
5. Sepai: Making use of both hands gripped together to deal a hammer blow, this kata introduces the stomp, as well as many of the truly useful movements to help flow between blows while utilizing other parts of the body to strike.
   
   
6. Shisochin: Implementing the nukite, this kata instills movement with the entire lower half of the body, allowing for incredibly quick pivot and strikes into what would otherwise be blind spots.
   
   
7. Sanseiru: A kata that applies consecutive quick blows from multiple angles, taking several of the fundamental strikes and chaining them together. It emphasizes ones ability to imbue additional force into an attack, particularly straights.
   
   
8. Kururunfa: Particularly emergent for exceedingly quick side strikes, the kata instills a solid basis for elbow blocks and further trains one's turn speed.
   
   
9. Seisan: Quick, jackknife stepping movements that help generate force in incredibly short distance define this kata, along with heavy, powerful uppercuts. Continuing the importance of repeated blows, it furthers ones ability to re-close a gap without letting up.
   
   
10. Suparinpei: Methodical and slow, intermittent with bursts of power and speed. Body control and output, recognizing the sturdiness required to do so, along with the redirection and throwing of incoming opponents.
    
    
11. Sanchin: Foundational and supportive, largely viewed as a meditative kata as opposed to combative. The ability to tighten and brace one's body is elevated with high knowledge of this kata, allowing one to take and deliver blows otherwise not normally possible.
    
    
12. Tensho: The softest of the kata, and highly important in the use of throws and grabs. Redirection of blows comes naturally with training, and has the least strict form of all the kata.

» Battle Forged: Where traditional training fails, experience and conditioning prevail. Adaptation and resilience, born from decades locked in combat - with the strength of body that accompanies it. Carved into muscle and bone, flesh and blood. Augmented in no small part by his transformation to arrancar, he has a sense and physicality for combat that few can compare. Never one to try and mock his opponents, anything akin to copying techniques or stealing ideas for his own is far from Gaoh's purview. Incredibly quickly, he can adjust to new techniques through application of the environment, his raw physiology, and controlling the pace of a battle. A bystander might see it as reading several moves ahead, or somehow being psychically preternatural; but it boils down to experience, and a body capable enough to execute.

» Sonido Instinto: Capable of utilizing sonido at a basic level, Gaoh has no formal training or education regarding its use, relying fully on instinct. This equates to no conscious use of sonido; either as a knee jerk reaction or reflexively when attempting to run at high speeds.

» Cero Instinto: Completely incapable of charging and firing his own cero, he has an instinctual grasp of how it should work, honed entirely from battle with other hollows and arrancar. If a cero is fired or charged by another, Gaoh can theoretically redirect the blast with his hands. The closer he is physically, and in range of spirit class, the more likely an attempt is to succeed.


» Venganza^(Vengeance)

A combat knife, sheathed behind his waist. It has no particularly notable qualities.

» Corresponder: While sheathed, any damage that Gaoh receives will slightly and temporarily raise his own physical prowess. With the zanpakutō drawn, any damage that Gaoh receives will gradually increase the zanpakutō's next strike, building until used.



» Venganza Saciada ^{(Sated Vengeance)}
__________________「血を浴びた」^{(Bathed in Blood)}

Releasing his zanpakutō, Gaoh's skin reddens rapidly, darkening to a near pitch black before it cracks, spiritual pressure forcing itself out in beams of light. With the roar of thunder, it explodes, and he emerges transformed.

A hulking transformation, Gaoh's size nearly doubles. From his face's estigma, a fraction of his mask regrows itself, with an additional pair of arms emerging from his lower torso. Overall, his musculature is massively inflated, boasting a robust physique unattainable on his normal frame. Limbs like tree trunks, with the chest of a mountain. The various other estigma across his arms are split among the new, and his face is shifted into an older appearance, growing an additional set of eyes beneath his regular.

» Cuatro Puño: Gaoh sees very little change in his spiritual energy during resurrección, being roughly one tenth of the release's output. The remainder augments his transformed body; strength, speed, durability - all a far more disproportionate gain. And, to no surprise, four arms change the quality and quantity of the blows he can inflict, maintaining the same sense of motion and size he had with just two.

» Percepción: Processing an extra pair of eyes, Gaoh's physical perception is boosted by a considerable amount - allowing him to focus on more opponents without losing details. Conversely, he can track a singular target with a large degree of accuracy. He can also see further and in higher detail, although it makes him somewhat more susceptible to blinding attacks. With the additional stimuli, it becomes more difficult for him to sense spiritual beings and attacks.

» Corresponder Fisico: Gaoh's resurrección makes his body not just tough - but dangerous. Attempting to physically harm him in his release, Gaoh can forcefully retaliate if the opponent is at a disadvantage - swords cutting into the user's palms, hands breaking from punches, even arrows reflecting back to their archer. This can be surpassed through spiritual means, even so much as ensuring that a physical instrument is clad with substantial enough spiritual energy to not make direct contact but still allowing it to transfer force. Similarly, it makes direct contact with his blows more impactful, although this is difficult to discern from the blows themselves. The targets of Fisico's retaliations are limited to his physical perception; ie, line of sight, hearing, touch, and can currently only focus on two combatants at a time.


General Skills

• Durability: C
  
• General Speed: C
  
• Strength: D
  
• Soul: E

Arrancar Skills

• Cero: Beginner
  
• Nucleo: Adept
  
• Aumentar: Adept
  
• Sonido: Beginner

Will Skills

• Willpower/Determination: Adept
  
• Mental Deduction: Beginner
  
• Focus: Advanced