[Spirit Class 6] Kei Saionji (Ver. 2.0)

» Name: Kei Saionji (切恩治 桂)
» Alias:
» Age: 289
» Appears: Early-20s
» Birthday: December 5
» Gender: Female
» Height: 5'3
» Weight: Appropriate.

» Association: Gotei United; Saionji Clan
» Rank/Position: 1st Division, (Provisional) 3rd Seat
» Specialty: Kidō and Kidō theory

» Sexual Orientation: Gay af
» Relationship Status: Singling and mingling
» Attraction: Big tits, long and dark hair, bubby personalities

» Appearance Written: You'd think Kei had a height complex with a 2-inch heel on top of three-inch okobo. Thankfully, she doesn't. Standing unshod at about 5'3, she's around the average height. Her Shihakushō has been modified to have shorter sleeves and to be more akin to a furisode. She also wears a large red obi over her hakama-himo. The most distinct part of her attire is her hairpin. Although not as expensive as certain other hairpieces, Kei's is a golden comb with that almost matches her Zanpakutō's tsuba in shape. She attaches two or three preserved morning glories picked from her own flower garden at the Saionji manor to finish its refined look.


» Personality: To most, Kei is seen as the HR bureaucrat that manages problems for the Gotei. She is friendly (perhaps too much so in some cases) and has the air of someone the average person would be fine with approaching. She socializes easily—even if she does have a secretly crude tongue. She's amicable to compromise and doesn't seem to have any real flaws. But that is far from the truth.

Kei is a woman who believes all others have far worse flaws than she does. Of course, she'll say she isn't perfect. She'll state little personality flaws as evidence. Oh, she doesn't get along with people who like dogs because they're too energetic. Oh, she rubs other nobles the wrong way because she can be a bit too up-front with her insults. Oh, she works too hard. Oh, how horrible of a person she is for those little slights. But Kei's biggest fault is her ego. She can't accept fault, and she abhors getting proven wrong. She won't admit she was wrong—it was always someone else that caused it. She's the victim here.

Kei's dating life is emblematic of this. She has no attraction to the male sex. She's a hopeless romantic with a weak spot for soft lips, long hair, and huge tits. She freely courts any woman she fancies—social status is only a mild concern. She's the type to flirt with her superiors and subordinates with equal candor. However, Kei is not the type to pursue after being rebuffed. She despises playing hard-to-get. This does not mean she is above teasing—she just doesn't expect anything in return.

But when Kei does get rebuffed and/or rejected, it isn't her fault. She may have pushed too hard, but it's the other woman's fault for leading her on. It's the other woman's fault for not explaining her sexual preferences when it was obviously a date and not just a friendly girls' night out. It's the world's fault she's single, not her own.

Feeding into her ego is Kei's opinion on Kidō. Kei believes that Kidō is Kidō. It is a basic art, and it is an art that one can do just about anything with. However, Kei abhors Kidō systems that break the established rules. Kei believes that a "basics mastery" is the purest form of Kidō supremacy. She will utilize and strengthen what Kidō anyone else can learn and master that before she would dare venture into a new form of it. Her mindset can best be boiled down as: "Getting struck by a Byakurai with the strength of Ittō Kasō is a lot more insulting than getting hit with a custom spell that does half a dozen different things because the caster couldn't figure out how to put more effort into what they should have learned." And so, Kei can respect the power output and creativity of another's creation. But she will never lose a Kidō match against those things because those aren't Kidō in her mind.

The trait that Kei admires most in people is when they "practice what they preach." Deceitful and duplicitous people are people she feels cannot be relied on. She'd praise the man who said he'd stab you over the one who stabs you in the midst of an embrace. This is why people like her brother are well-regarded in her mind.

With all of that in mind, it is important to know that Kei does have a coldness about her. She has a certain "look" that her brother will attest to. It's a far-off, yet piercing gaze. It's as if she's looking so hard through someone that her gaze has circumnavigated the globe only to look at them afterward. It is vacant of everything, yet it is almost like what it definitely does not exude emphasizes what it is meant to be. It is hatred, disappointment, and a desire for violence. It is the face of a woman who will set a poisoned cup of tea in front of her prey, tell them to drink, and if they ask if it is poisoned, she'll say yes—and still be expecting them to drink it. It is the look of a true blue-blooded noble.

» Likes: Peaches, jazz, fruity drinks, getting flowers

» Dislikes: Cherries, people who don't pick up on flirting, cheating, whipped cream

Part One: Noble Beginnings:

Part Two: The Old Times:

Part Three: Intermission:

Part Four: Back in Black:

» Durability and Speed: Kei's durability is only so high because of how many times her Kidō experiments have gone awry. She's been electrocuted, exploded, set on fire, and been trapped in her own netting more than once. Even through all of that, she still gets up and goes right back to it. For the same reason her durability is high, so is her speed. She's above average for a graduate, but a frontline soldier still likely beats her. But that's fine. Kei's not a true fighter. Like other members of the old Kidōshū, Kei was trained that the best place for the mage is away from the frontlines. Therefore, escape was a mandatory skill to be trained for.

» Kidō Expert: Kei's mentality is only at this level for Kidō and related topics. For any other effect, she is treated as one step lower. Because of both her innate skill and time spent studying, Kei has trained herself to identify things about Kidō that many others do not. Although she is not at the point currently of writing a thesis on a groundbreaking discovery in the field, she's well on her way to being able to see the things that would allow for that. Some of her theories on incantations have been particularly thought-provoking. Kei can notice small variations, especially in Kidō and other energy-based attacks. Combined with her knowledge, it allows her to accurately and quickly react to them—even though her body may not be able to keep up.

» Willpower: As mentioned above, Kei has injured herself many a time trying to perfect her own talents. She may not be able to push beyond her limits much, but her skill is that, no matter what, she'll go back to whatever she's failed at even if takes her time to regroup and reassess the situation.



» Kidō: Kei is something akin to a prodigy when it comes to Kidō. However, to call her a prodigy doesn't do all of the training she's done justice. As a "prominent" (this was mostly an insular prominence; as it's hard to determine Hooded Shinigami #345 from Hooded Shinigami #20 to people outside the organization) member of the Kidōshū before its merger with the 5th Division of the former Gotei 13 in the early 2000s, Kei had ample time to practice and experiment. Kei has modified and created a few Kidō, which are listed below in spoiler tags. Kei is a fan of Eishōhaki, but her unique twist on it has given her a slight edge.

• Eishōryakki: (詠唱略記; Incantation Abbreviation) Simply put, this halves the penalty to Eishōhaki by speaking half of a Kidō's Incantation. Why isn't this more common? It's because you have to know which halves to forgo and which to keep.
  

Modified Kidō:

Custom Kidō:

» Hohō: As part of the Kidōshū, Kei was trained on how to escape bad situations. Her Hohō was never the best, but the extra training during the sixty-or-so years of peace helped shore up this weakness somewhat. She doesn't like using Hohō—she'd rather use Kidō to replicate the effects if she can.

» Zanjutsu: Mostly thanks to her brother, Kei has undergone extra of training with her Zanpakutō. It may require her to be closer than she would like, but her Zanpakutō is still a tool worth using. Unfortunately, the disconnect between her desire to use Kidō and not her Zanpakutō has hampered her Shikai's growth.

» Hakuda: Kei graduated from Shin'ō Academy, but this was her lowest-graded subject at all times. Kei knows little more than the fundamentals of Hakuda in practice, but she does have a decent grasp of its theory.


» Zanpakutō Name: Aikanohoro (哀歌の法呂; Dirgeful Spine Flute)

» Zanpakutō Spirit:
Aikanohoro is a Zanpakutō that enjoys a show. She never stops calling out for an encore, even after the play is long-gone. She does not usually interact directly with her owner, but instead from the empty audience in front of the stage. Aikanohoro is quicker-witted than her master, and any challenge or criticism from Kei is instantly rebuffed. Aikanohoro usually sits with a bored expression and only truly gets interested when Kei does. This is because Kei neglected her Zanjutsu training for so long that the spirit is jealous of her Kidō training. Aikanohoro understands that Kei is perhaps better suited for Kidō, but it doesn't change the fact that she feels ignored. In truth, it's more that she wishes she could be a better help to her master, but their expressions of power end up being almost at cross purposes.

» Inner World: Aikanohoro's inner world is that of a stage. The floor on the stage moves and extends as Kei moves so that she is always on the stage and never off of it. She can approach yet never reach the audience. She can never retreat from the stage. If more actors appear, the stage extends. The background scenery is printed on a repeating roll, and as the "scene" changes, the background will fade into the correct one for that scene. The scene changes depend on three things: Kei's mood, the purpose of the conversation, and how many actors are present. For example, a hot-blooded fight between Kei and a representation of Aikanohoro might have the look of a burning forest, whereas a heart-to-heart may be that of a moonlit forest.

» Sealed Zanpakutō Appearance: Aikanohoro is a golden katana adorned with red metal inlays along the hilt. The tsuba is round and roughly shaped like a tulip on its side. Long, silver tassles extend from its pommel. Aikanohoro's sheath is decorated similar to its hilt.

» Sealed Zanpakutō Power: Swinging the sealed form of Aikanohoro produces various musical notes.


» Shikai Release Phrase:

» Shikai Appearance: Aikanohoro appears as a gold-hafted naginata only slightly longer than Kei is tall. It has golden, metal tassles that are more like fibrous wind chimes. Numerous holes along the haft produce musical notes when swung.

» Shikai Abilities: Aikanohoro is a Shikai with a great capacity for development, but Kei has elected to double-down on her Kidō skills. The sounds produced by the haft are enhanced with Reiryoku to affect the world around Kei. The blade also produces sounds, but Kei has not currently developed her Shikai to utilize those sounds.

The one usage Kei has managed to learn of Aikanohoro is Ryoshige (呂重; Discordant Tones). While spinning the naginata, Kei repeats what her opponent says through the spinning blade. This speech is then infused with her Shikai's Reiryoku, and thus it distorts the speech coming from her opponent. The effect of this is that Kei is capable of cancelling incantations. Mechanically, this is forcibly applying Incantation Abandonment on Kidō. This does not cancel the spell unless the opponent is incapable of using Incantation Abandonment. Currently, Kei only has experience with Kidō—and thus only Kidō or Kidō-adjacent techniques that require incantations/chants/etc. can be affected. Ryoshige can be used up to twice per post.



General Skills (1 Unspent)
» Durability: D
» Speed: D
» Strength: E
» Soul: A

Will Skills
» Willpower: Adept
» Deduction: Advanced
» Focus: Adept

Shinigami Skills
» Hoho: Beginner
» Kidō: Elite
» Zanjutsu: Adept
» Hakuda: Beginner


Kei is meant to be one of the better "middle manager" types within the Gotei. She's an expert in Kidō—but she's a better personnel manager. She's also meant to be a more positive and outspoken noble; someone who will gladly tell another noble they're being a dumbass (though maybe not as crude). I haven't included the recent developments site-wise, but she's already in the middle of having a near-mental-breakdown after losing most of everything. If people need "necessary tediousness," such as paperwork approvals and the like, then Kei's your gal.



Previous Application

Upgrade that prompted this reapplication has additional OOC information.

10/1: Updated with skills.
11/4: FC update