Soujiro Soratama

Name: Soujiro Soratama

Gender: Male

Age: 178

Personality: A calm and cool-headed individual. Certainly not one that is easily flustered, in fact he never seems to let aything actually upset him. Of course this is only because he chooses not to let it show; not due to callousness. Deep down he's actually quite kind. He is rather highly intelligent; commonly seen as a sort of bookworm since he spends a great deal of his free time reading. His thirst for knowledge is only surpassed by his love for music. While he's not always with book in hand, his harp is never far from reach.

In battle, Soujiro is incredibly confident in his abilities although not to the point of being overly cocky. He thoroughly enjoys a good fight, but not like the 11th Division members that seem to live for it. When it comes down to it, he's still a performer and battle to him is simply another art form. Even though he's having a good time, you wouldn't really think it by looking at him. Rarely will he actually crack a smile. Instead, while crushing the opposition, he chooses to show his enjoyment by putting on a fabulous show even if there is no audience to see it.

Appearance:

Soujiro is a man of slight frame. Standing five feet and nine inches tall. His body appears frail and fragile, but where actual muscle mass is lacking, his body is rather well toned. Silver eyes are perpetually hidden beneath a veil of deep black locks. He wears a slight variation of the standard shinigami shihakusho; the hakama are a light gray and the kimono is a deep blue that appears almost black. Covering both shoulders is a black scarf that hangs down his back reachig just below his hips. On each hand is a black, fingerless, leather glove embroidered with a silver star on the back of the hand. His zanpaktou rests tucked into a gray obi sash on his left hip. Strapped on his back is a small harp.

Zanpakutô Spirit: The spirit of Nagareboshi takes the form of a beautiful woman, appearing to be in her late twenties, dressed in a hunter green robe with golden trim. Eyes of pure gold, with no visible iris or pupil, shine like stars within the shadows cast over her face by the hood drawn over her long red hair. In her left hand is a golden staff that stands roughly a foot taller than the young looking sorceress. Her right hand holds a large golden orb, six inches in diameter.

Inner World: A world shrouded in the darkness of perpetual night. Illuminated softly only by the pale, full moon that hangs high overhead and the continual streaks of light left by countless shooting stars visible off in the distance. In the center of a thick forest is a large circular clearing in which the spirit of Nagareboshi resides.

Sealed Zanpakutô : While sealed, Nagareboshi takes the form of a kodachi with a blade that is 28 inches in length. The hilt has the typical diamond wrap pattern with overlapping black and gold dyed leather. The sheath is all black save for a streak of gold seen on either side.

Shikai Description: Nagareboshi is certainly not your typical zapaktou when it undergoes the transformation to shikai. After the release phrase is uttered, a golden aura envelops the entirety of the kodachi before splitting into four small translucent golden orbs. Each orb is roughly four inches in diameter and fit perfectly into the palm of Soujiro's hands. Two of the orbs float behind him a few inches above either shoulder while the other two hang about a foot further down and a foot further away from their respective side of the boy's body until commanded otherwise.

Each orb's movement and abilities are controlled through mental command. This allows Soujiro to send them either simultaneously or separately in to slam into an opponent's body for an attack.

Shikai Abilities: The true power of Nagareboshi lies in its ability to absorb Soujiro's reiatsu. Each orb can be charged with either pure reiatsu, by pouring reiatsu ito the orb, or a kidou spell of his choosing, by either reciting the incatation or simply the number of the spell without saying the name, while held in the palm of his hand. Depending on the contents of an orb, it changes color and begins to glow.

When filled with Soujiro's reiatsu, there is no change in color. It just begins to glow brightly gold. In this state the orb has the ability to fire off small bursts of reiatsu bullets in a single direction. It can fire off ten shots before needing to be recharged.

When a kidou spell is added to an orb, it will shift to one of two colors; red for hadou or silver for bakudou. This allows Soujiro to fire off a kidou from where ever the orb may be at the time when he says the name of the given spell held within the orb. This of course comes with a penalty in the power of the spell equal to it being cast without the use of the incantation.

Release:"Streak the sky, Nagareboshi."

Skill Level: Kidou:
Skill Level: Swordsmanship:
Skill Level: Shunpo:
Skill Level: Hand-to-Hand:

Bankai Description:

Bankai Abilities:

History/Background:

The streets of the town sure were crowded. It was almost impossible to move anywhere without bumping into another person. This was a sight not often seen in the small country village, but today was a special occasion. A group of traveling performers of all sorts; musicians, dancers, singers, jugglers, magicians, and the like, had stopped here to set up a fair a few days ago. The square was filled with various stands, women selling hand-fashioned jewelry and clothing, a man performing simplistic card tricks, a fortune teller, and many others.

In the center of the a square, a stage had been setup for the shows that were to be put on for the villagers. On stage now was a man of many talents. Normally he would put on a harp solo, but today he had something different in mind. The audience watched in awe as the man began a splendid display of knife juggling. It had started with only three each spinning high above the man before being plucked effortless out of the air. Every so often he would pull out another from his belt until there were ten deadly blades dancing brilliantly around the juggler. After several minutes of the twirling blades slicing through the air, with the occasional gasp from the audience when a knife came dangerously close to cutting the man that controlled them with absolute perfection, it was time for the finale. He slowly spun around, tossing the knives as high as he could at set points during the turn. After completing the spin he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small white ball, and tossed it hard onto to the stage floor producing a cloud of thick smoke that completely concealed the juggler. The knives seemed to hang, spinning end over end, in the air for a few moments before plummeting down into the smoke. Within only a few seconds the smoke had cleared to reveal juggler standing in the center of a circle of knives stuck into the stage, but one of them was missing. Screams echoed throughout the square as the audience realized that the missing blade had impaled the man straight through the top of his head.


A tragic end to the performer's story . . . or was it only the beginning?

Many years had passed since his death and arrival in Rukongai. Soujiro lived alone in district twelve of East Rukongai. It was here that he put on shows for his fellow citizens in the local tavern with a harp that he had crafted himself. Despite not remembering anything about his time before arriving in Soul Society, the performer's spirit never left him. The music filled a void within his soul, but he still desired to do more with his afterlife.

A few more years had passed and the bard of East Rukongai decided that it was time to apply for the Shinigami Academy. Only a few months later, he was approached by a Shinigami after one of his shows and was informed of his acceptance to the Academy.

So the boy was to become a Soul Reaper . . .

Soujiro's time in the Academy was sure a challenge for the musician. He was in no way a fighter. The hand to hand and swordsmanship classes were difficult for him to keep up with and to be honest he wasn't entirely interested in them. Despite this he still them his all since he knew they were essential to graduation. There was one area that intrigued him to no end: Kidou. The thought of being able to channel his reiatsu into different spells was simply amazing. He spent nearly all of his downtime either studying the basics and even more advanced techniques or practicing with the destructive and binding spells.

Six years later, the time had come for his class to graduate. Soujiro had improved quite nicely over the course of his time in the Academy, yet still only managed mediocre marks when it came to Hakuda and Zanjutsu. His scores in Kidou, on the other hand, were through the roof. No one else in his class even came close. Due to this he was asked to remain in the Academy for a few more years to conduct specialized Kidou training which he agreed to without hesitation.

Upon completion of the additional training he had been assigned, Soujiro was released from the Academy as a full fledged Shinigami. He was then placed in the fifth division as well as the Kidou Corps, where his exceptional skills with Kidou would be most beneficial.

The voice awakened by a melody

Over his years spent serving the Gotei, Soujiro had begun to hear faint whispers whenever he was alone. The soft words always seemed to elude him until that fateful night . . .

Soujiro sat alone on the rooftop of the Gobantai barracks. His eyes, masked by dark bangs, were fixated on the nearly black sky above. It was well into the night, but the Shinigami wasn't able to sleep despite the exhaustion he felt. He knew just the thing that would help him drift away and that was why he was out here this night.

Harp in hand, he began to slowly pluck the strings with his right. One by one they vibrated, each giving off a single note that blended together into a serene melody. The night air was filled with the soft tune, gently breaking the silence around him. His fingers quickened slightly, increasing the tempo by only a couple beats per minute. The song continued for another minute or two before being cut short. Soujiro had heard that voice again yet couldn't make out what it was saying over the music.

"Why did you stop? Your song was beautiful."

The Shinigami looked around searching for where the voice was coming from, but it was to no avail. "Who's there?"

"Come. Play me a song and all will be revealed to you."

Complete darkness. For next few moments Soujiro could see nothing at all. Had he gone blind in the blink of an eye? No. This was something entirely different. Streaks of silver raced across the darkness far in the distance. A moment later, a bright, full moon appeared high above him. He could see clearly now thanks to the light it radiated. No longer was he within the walls of Seireitei, though. A thick forest circled around him. Where am I and how did I get here?

"You look puzzled, Soujiro. Don't worry. Your questions will soon be answered." A solitary figure sat in the center of the clearing on the stump of a tree. It was shrouded in a dark green robe, the only notable features were those glowing golden eyes that seemed to stare into the Shinigami's soul. "I brought you here so that we may become closer, but first I'd like to hear more of that beautiful music."

Soujiro wasn't one to keep an audience wanting so he complied with a smile. He began to play once again. The cheerful tune echoed throughout the clearing. During the song, the mysterious figure pulled back the hood that shrouded its face revealing the beautiful woman hidden by the shadows. She explained that Soujiro was in the inner sanctum of his zanpaktou and that she was the spirit that resided within the blade. As the song ended she stood from the stump and finally introduced herself to the Shinigami. Her name was Nagareboshi.

"Nagareboshi." As Soujiro repeated the name everything went dark again for a minute. When his vision cleared he found himself back on the rooftop of the fifth division barracks. The blade the rested on his left hip was replaced by four small golden orbs that circled slowly around him. He had attained shikai that night. Now he was sure to earn a seated position in his squad.


Roleplay Sample:

Sereitei always seemed to be quiet at night and the training grounds were no exception this evening. Not a soul to be seen save for a solitary figure standing before an array of targets that he had set up on the opposite side of the field. Eighteen in total, three rows of six. Each was evenly spaced a foot behind the one in front of it and two feet from the target on its side.

The lone soul standing before these targets was Soratama Soujiro, Fourth Seat of the Fifth Division. Tonight he was to continue training with his Zanpaktou, Nagareboshi. He needed to improve his control over the abilities it held in Shikai. Only then would he be good enough to move up the ranks within his squad.

Quickly the Shinigami drew forth the kodachi from its sheath on his left hip. He began to raise his left arm while twisting his right wrist so that the blade was parallel with the ground. "Streak the sky, Nagareboshi." With that a bright golden aura enveloped the zanpaktou as the young looking man slid fingers down the length of the blade. It took only a fraction of a second for its original form to split four golden, translucent orbs; each four inches in diameter.

He turned both hands so that their open palms faced upwards. Two of the orbs quickly fell into position, one in each hand. Soujiro began to channel reiatsu into the spheres and in only a moment they took flight, glowing brightly gold. The two remaining drifted behind him, hanging motionless in the air a few inches above his shoulders and awaiting further command.

The first two orbs soared through the air, one veering off the right while the other to the left. The outside rows of targets were up first. They worked in seemingly perfect unison; firing a burst of reiatsu into the first target before swerving around the outside and back in to take a shot at the next in line. In and out they went, blasting each target once along the way.

As the first two made their back to Soujiro, orb three and four sprang to life. Both dropped down into his still open palms. Again reiatsu was channeled into the two orbs, but this time it was different. The Kidou Corps member was preparing two separate spells. "Hadou #4 . . . Bakudou #39 . . ." That was all that needed to be said to imbue the spells into their respective spheres. Simultaneously they shifted color. The one in his right hand now deep red and the left bright silver.

The red orb shot off towards the middle row of targets while the silver floated out and hung in the air a foot in front of Soujiro, remaining level with the target's center. The Hadou charged orb followed the same swerving pattern that the other two had originally until it was behind the far target. It was now in position and ready to fire.

"Byakurai." With that one simple word, a bolt of white lightning erupted from the ball and quickly tore through the center of each target. It was racing quickly towards Soujiro, but he wasn't in the least bit worried. He had complete trust that Nagareboshi's power wouldn't let him down. It was the silver orb's turn now. "Enkosen." The Bakudou stored within cast a condensed shield of reiatsu directly in front of the small floating ball. The lightning bolt slammed into it with a loud crash and a bright flash before fading from existence.

Soujiro was pleased with the results of the exercise. All had gone perfectly well. Sure he hadn't nailed a bull's eye on a single one of the outside targets, but all were indeed hit. " 'boshi, you are certainly something. Looking forward to testing you out against a livelier target sometime."

Approved, 3-2

Moved to inactive.