Dirge

[Dirge]

Name: Kimura Jiro
Age: 337, appears to be in his late 30s/early 40s.
Gender: Male
Birthday: December 12
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 221 lbs
Eye color: Brown
Hair color: Black

Division: Seventh Division - Executioners
Rank: Captain

Constitution
-Strength: 25 (Large in physique, spiritually formidable.)
-Endurance: 20 (Well-endowed fortitude.)
Dexterity
-Agility: 10 (Slow, mostly immobile in combat.)
-Accuracy: 20 (Artful and quick in close-combat.)
Zanjustu
-Attack: 20 (His zanpakuto is keen and deadly.)
-Defense: 10 (Favors offensive fighting styles.)
Kidou
-Hadou: 15 (Maintained for Captainship suitability, responsibility, and utility.)
-Bakudou: 15 (As above.)
Perception
-Intelligence: 15 (He is perceptive, though straight-forward.)
-Concentration: 20 (Exceptional battlefield awareness and binding resistance.)
Presence
-Charisma: 10 (Blunt, tactless, and wearing an ugly mask.)
-Leadership: 20 (Experienced, capable of rallying his comrades well.)

Appearance: Among the most discerning features of Kimura Jiro, aka Dirge, is the mask that he wears upon his crown obscuring most of his face and likely impeding his ability to properly navigate through narrow door frames. Most Shinigami do not know what Kimura Jiro looks like, and the few that do are generally aged and experienced enough that gossiping about it doesn't suit their interests. The mask has, in a way, become his face. Made of tynonnium, a sturdy metal alloy created by the 12th Division and employed by the Shinigami for various uses, it has the durability to withstand battle though not to actually offer any meaningful protection to his head; a zanpakuto or energy-based technique would have no trouble penetrating it, but it isn't likely to fall apart just due to spiritual pressure or extreme temperature change.

The mask bears four horns, two large ones hooking out to either side of his head and extending from the upper part of the mask, and an additional smaller pair protruding from the lower part of it in a sharper angle flanking his visage. Though the mask does not obscure his mouth, it does conceal the upper part of his head, particularly his eyes and head, allowing him to see through three pairs of eye holes arranged on top of one another and evenly spaced along the bold curve of the visor. A third pair of horns protrudes from the back, straight and of the same material as the mask itself, unlike the other horns which are crafted of Hollow bone.

Underneath the mask, he keeps his head shaven to accommodate the helmet upon his head, though his face often bears the shadow of a none-too-recent shave that is characteristic of this individual who tends not to have the opportunity to remove the mask and groom his face, since he is constantly guarding it from prying eyes. Underneath the mask, he wears a dark blue piece of fabric over the obscured portion of his face, one that he is able to see through, but in a reflection still obscures his visage even from himself, just as he prefers it. A forgotten tattoo lies underneath that fabric veil, of the same color as the cloth to make it more difficult to see and be reminded of, which once indicated a grim tally he no longer is interested in tracking the incrementation of.

Dirge is a large and intimidating individual, standing about six and a half feet with a very large frame. His wide shoulder span and well-defined muscular form make him strong though slow, as well as granting him a long reach with vast arms that make him worthy of performing Seventh Division duties both by the martial prowess such a physique confers, and by the intimidating factor of going toe-to-toe with a man of his stature. To accommodate this large physique, he must wear a custom-sized shihakushō which he keeps exceptionally orderly, secured by the hakama-himo with militant diligence and garnished by a white Captain's haori with his division number emblazoned on the back inside a black Gotei13 rhombus. This haori is sleeveless with a navy-colored underside and is well-kept by its wearer.

Personality: (This is the most important part of your application. Minimum of four paragraphs.)

Strengths: Kimura Jiro has always been respected as a well-rounded Shinigami, constantly maintaining his skills in zanjutsu and kidou and working to better them alongside his comrades in the Gotei13. This has not changed in light of a reoriented lifestyle, which makes him both a formidable opponent and an impressive leader, even if he is unwilling to show his face. Dirge, as he is now called, shows a natural aptitude for swordsmanship, trained to fight with swiftness and efficiency and to utilize proper form in the manner that best takes advantage of his strength and fortitude. His hand and his mind are more swift than the rest of his body, making his combat style stationary, steady, and decisive.

His battlefield awareness generally makes up for the impediment of wearing an obscuring mask that limits his field of vision, and his ability to anticipate opponent's moves from centuries of experience in the field of combat is deeply integrated in that awareness. As a Captain, though, his most important quality is leadership. Kimura Jiro reached his station because of his ability to rally and motivate his allies, to oversee their training, to make wise decisions in the placement, movement, and utilization of his assets, and most importantly for his overall exemplary ability to maintain the Seventh Division when the going gets tough. Though he's a bit crass and unusual (quirky, if you will), he is a respected officer who leads by example and inspiration.

Weaknesses: Though regret and uncertainty are dangerous flaws for a Captain to wield, they are not his sole shortcomings and could be considered negligible in that one of his strengths is concealing them when it is proper to do so. A lack of charisma is emphasized by the way he wears his mask and has seemingly lost all ability to be tactful in his words. He is often outgoing and critical, his statements either blunt and poorly timed and conveyed, or annoyingly and needlessly cryptic; scarcely anywhere in between. His leadership quality is offset by his cripplingly poor abilities in diplomacy, which has lead to his squad having poor relations with certain other divisions in the Gotei13. Being inarticulate as he tends to be, his feelings and instincts are rarely invested into meetings between the Captains which has led to both underfunding for his division and a dubious reputation.

In combat, his stature and fortitude are limited by his immobility. Being so large and burdened by a mask and his enormous weapon, he is unable to keep up with fast opponents and is left to defend himself against their swift onslaughts and hope for a valuable opportunity to present itself. In a sense, without back-up, matching opponents might view him as a sitting duck due to his predictability and inability to properly pursue them. This is a crippling quality for a Captain of the Executioners to have, as it permits his opponents to outrun and elude him, or to fulfill their objectives before he can intervene. This lack of speed also makes him susceptible to opponents who favor long-range combat or face him in an advantageous environment.

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Sealed Zanpakutō: Soushiki is typically kept in a plain black sheath of lacquered hinoki wood secured to the himo underneath Dirge's sash at his waist, underneath the haori so that the grip could bear itself as a threat to opponents. The handle is tightly wrapped in a plain navy fabric for secure grip and capped by a bronze chrysanthemum. The guard on the other hand takes the shape of Wanyūdō, with the guard itself being a bronze oxcart wheel with an old man's face on the blade's side, mouth agape so the blade appears to be escaping from his mouth with an expression of everlasting tortured malice upon his unsettling features. The blade itself is of formidable 79.5 centimeter length, hanging with the edge facing downward from his sash with a black, silver-edged blade. Just a few centimeters up the blade from the guard there is a notch in which is inserted a small funerary bell that tolls chillingly when the blade is wield. The sheath itself accommodates the bell so that it is external when the weapon is secured and rings when he moves, as well.

Zanpakutō Spirit: The inner world of Soushiki is a world of perpetual, unnatural night. There is no moon nor star in the skies, just an inky black, writhing pool above and horizons glowing red with distant flames, too far ever to reach, and never seeming to draw any nearer. The plane itself runs with plains of burnt grass, trees withered from the choking lack of sunlight, and crumbling mountains in the distance, toward one unknown cardinal direction specifically. In a way, it seems as though this realm were dying, or at least falling into grave disrepair.

At the center of this mostly unsettled and empty landscape (center by mental positioning, not by geographical; Jiro did not know where the true 'center' of this world was if even there was one) and at the front of the distant mountain range stood one smaller mountain upon which sat what appeared to be an ancient Buddhist temple, humble and erected of plain stone yet resting closer to the inky sky. At its mouth, a vast expanse of stairs unfurled down the mountain side to the base, so far and so high that Jiro, standing at the bottom step, could see the temple above only as a tiny, blurry speck gray.

The stairs themselves were once unnerving to him, an immense and intimidating obstacle to overcome for the simple task of visiting the shrine on top and a veritable crucible of patience. It became more unnerving to him, however, when the world within began to reflect his actions, of the world outside. At the beginning of the stairs, lining the sides of it as he climbs, there are wooden Ts flanking the ascent on which coffins were nailed, the masks of their respective Hollows sitting upon their front boards. They each indicated a Hollow he had destroyed, their masks split in two in a way that Jiro intimately remembered, each time he saw them.

Further up the stairs, however, coffins became people, dangling limply from the wooden posts with eyes peacefully closed. Upon their foreheads was stamped the mark of Konsō, the Soul Burial ritual. Further up the stairs still, dangled the bodies of Quincy, their faces obscured by sheets of paper on which the "haka" Kanji (ボ) is painted in dark red ink. And finally, furthest up the stairs dangle the bodies of Shinigami he himself executed, their faces also obscured by sheets of paper; on them, in brighter red ink, was inscribed the cryptic symbol "ウ" with a meaning that is only partially elusive to Kimura Jiro.

Ever present in deep meditation within the shrine of the temple is the spirit of Soushiki, an old monk trapped inside a full set of warrior's armor not unlike the sort that Samurai wore; his meditation creates and balances the positive energy which keeps the temple from falling into disrepair like the rest of the spiritual realm, a constant, never-ending task. An unusual trait of Soushiki, however, is the fact that his body is impaled through the abdomen and chest by varying lengths of sword and even a few arrows, though he seems completely unable to feel any pain or restriction from the impalement and in fact, in directing combat training with Jiro (something they rarely do, now) he tends to even draw one from his body and use it as a weapon. Each individual weapon, Jiro remembers as a representation of a special life he has taken or lost in the past, skewering his soul and leaving him forever pained and scarred by the tragedy. Though the weight and pain of these weapons within his body do not seem to have any negative effect upon Soushiki, the weigh upon Jiro's conscious each time he sees them. Soushiki's samurai helmet has sprouted four horns, not unlike the ones on Jiro's mask, as if reflecting that the mask has truly become his new face.

Jiro's learned much from Soushiki in this shrine, about humility through cleaning and maintaining the temple and practicing acts of cathartic pain self-exertion and self-deprecation, and about the responsibility that goes with taking lives and judging the worth of doing so. This training in humility and self-torture is meant entirely to keep him humble and to destroy any possibility of arrogance or delusions of grandeur within him, qualities that must be avoided at all cost when one is responsibility for many lives. A common sight in the temple, which seems far more vast on the inside than the outside, are scales weighing sand. This sand shifts as Jiro's real world experiences develop, and he is constantly working to balance and make sense of these puzzling devices, his own way of meditating upon the transgressions of criminals and proper punishment - though the law lies in the hands of a greater power, and he only works as one of their loyal blades. Part of achieving Bankai, nonetheless, had to do with weighing these scales properly and finding balance and truth in the lives that he held responsibility for. Still he struggles to perfect the balance and bring positive energy into the dark world within him.

Shikai Incantation: "Kurero, Soushiki." (The connotation is indistinct, in that Dirge could either be saying "Bring the end, Funeral," or "Give, Funeral.")
Shikai Category: Combat/ReSealed
Shikai Range: Mid Range
Shikai Release Action: Soushiki is unique in that rather than sustaining a released form, it releases only for individual attacks and reseals itself immediately after. This is due to the mindset of Dirge and the spirit of the weapon itself, that the blade's true shape only needs to be brought down for a swift execution, and not for a drawn out, convoluted battle. Thus, Soushiki's Shikai state is a ReSealed type, activated by the release phrase "Kurero," which brings forth a small piece of its true form for a decisive strike before returning to its Sealed state.

When Soushiki is released, it takes the form of a tremendous battle-axe, an incomplete version of the pendulum blade that he wields during the Bankai release with only about half of the blade present, the other half simply absent. The weapon itself is still large, heavy, and very keen, with a six foot haft and a blade extending about two foot over the haft and two foot beyond it as it curves to the apex of the weapon's length, itself. Generally, Dirge will call it into this form mid swing or just prior to striking a final blow; either way, it shall burst forth a plume of smoke that dissipates immediately after appearing, revealing that the Sealed sword has become an enormous axe. This is an effective method of surprising foes with startlingly deadly blows, although Dirge is not one for dishonorable combat and generally seeks not to misdirect.

Shikai Technique Name: Kubikiri no Senkoku (Decapitator's Verdict)
Technique Category: Offensive
Technique Range: Mid Range
Technique Description: Soushiki's Shikai form is especially deadly when used against the wicked or the penitent, rather than the innocent. Against those with many past sins and misdeeds, it becomes keener and strikes with greater force as if attracted by their evil. Against the innocent on the other hand, the blade is resistant and blunt, choosing to spare them a punishment to which they are not deserving. Those who tread the middle ground? They're certainly not safe, for the potential to commit evil is there, and Soushiki may very well catch scent of it. The moral principles which define this are left up to the spirit, which is strict and rigid in its categorical imperative to the point that it may even disagree with its very wielder, Dirge. It can simply sense the truth in its victims, and know if they're guilty. This extends to two moral standpoints; lawful, and universal. Those who defy the law of the Soul Society or whom upset the balance of the spiritual world are punished proportionate to the seriousness of their crime. However, those who commit an atrocity that violates the rights of another or which upsets the balance of the worlds, and which cannot be justified universally in any circumstances, are the true victims which the Verdict preys upon. It is they who must fear this weapon.

Bankai Name: Soushiki Setsudanki (Funeral Guillotine)
Bankai Category: Enormous Weapon Release
Bankai Description: Soushiki Setsudanki is the ultimate executioner's weapon, a veritable hand-held guillotine for carrying out the grim sentence that only the guilty deserve. The centerpiece of the weapon is a gigantic, silver funerary bell, on which is inscribed the last rites for the dead along the rim, as well as two flaming Soul Society skulls on the large of it, opposite of each other. The bell tolls only in the presence of the guilty, and only when an execution is about to be carried out; otherwise, it is still and silent, levitating several feet behind its wielder as grave warning of what lies ahead. The crest of the bell is topped with a metallic ring, with two large black chains connected to the ring and extending to both of the weapons in Dirge's hands.

The left of these weapons, Dirge's main hand, is an enormous battle-axe larger in proportion than its Shikai equivalent, edged on two symmetrical sides that coverage at the tip of the weapon, giving it the appearance of a pendulum blade. The right and off-hand of the two weapons is an equally large mace, with an end shaped as an enormous bludgeoning ring with spikes along the convex, exterior rim. The interior may accommodate the neck of a captured foe, with the mace-head being able to open and latch shut again, clasping around a foe to bind them in place for execution. The haft of either weapon are about six foot, with the blade of the axe about four foot large itself and the head of the mace three foot large. The portion that accommodates a restricted neck seems deceptively wide, as though it could be slipped out of, but that is part of the Bankai's technique. Both the blade and the mace head, as well as the haft of either weapon, are as black as the chain that connects them to the silver bell behind him. Only the sharp edge of the axe and the spikes of the mace are the same silver.

Bankai Technique Name: Saishuu Shikiten (Last Rites)
Technique Category: Augment
Technique Range: Mid Range
Technique Description: The gripping interior of Soushiki Setsudanki's off-hand mace is known to Dirge as higehaji, is capable of binding victims by the neck and causing them to feel the weight of their sins and transgressions, a sort of forced repentance while the metal suppresses them by their neck in place. When higehaji wraps around an opponent, the metal instantly closes in to tightly encase their neck, preventing escape unless by means of force (such as with reiatsu or a defensive technique.) While an opponent at or around (give or take) his power level could, with some effort, force themselves free with a release or by focusing their spiritual pressure against it, this will only work a single time. Once higehaji has taken grip upon a victim's neck once, it leaves a brand upon them - this is Saishuu Shikiten, a series of black symbols denoting each individual sin of the victim like a choker of shame. Foes wearing this brand may begin to feel guilt and regret for their past misdeeds, if they have any; foes with more transgressions are more distracted while foes with none will feel only the fear of potentially being misjudged.

In either case, the next time higehaji grips them by the neck, they will be unable to free themselves by any means and will have to face their sentence as the guilt amplifies and screams within their mind like a cruel choir of spiteful judges. Images of their peers, the people they have wronged or lied to, the pale visage of those they may have murdered, they shall all flash before their eyes and chastise them before the guillotine is dropped, possibly even preventing them from using their powers to fight the grip. When Dirge has an opponent branded and in the second grip, he is left with the decision to execute them - should they be found guilty, the bell behind him shall toll four times. Should they be found innocent, the bell will toll only three times, and his blade will refuse to be used against them. In the unfortunate former case, the only thing short of outside intervention or a well-placed trump card that can save them from their fate is a convincing plea for mercy and redemption to Dirge. Something that, if sincere, he may actually oblige.

Execution upon a constricted victim by the axe of Soushiki Setsudanki upon a guilty foe subject to this brand and held in place by the off-hand weapon is a perfectly fatal and generally instantaneous execution. The reiatsu of his zanpakuto 'detonates' the malevolent energy in the penitent brand in a manner of speaking, causing it to surge and ravage through their body and sunder their very soul and being, so even regeneration cannot save them. Higehaji can grip other parts of a victim's body, but it will not brand them nor weigh them with binding guilt, and can be escaped much more easily. The exception to this rule is only with enemies that have no typical neck to grasp (such as transformed Arrancar, unusual Hollow, etc) in which case they are branded instead upon their prominent limb (the arm, or the front leg, etc) - for it is with that limb that they commit dark deeds and manipulate the balance of peace, and so it must be severed to make them pay.

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History: In life, Jiro was born the second son and third child of Kimura daimyō Katsuro and his wife, Chiharu. Katsuro was the nephew of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who ruled the shogunate of the Edo period as the fifth shogun starting around the time that Jiro was reaching adulthood. Raised as a warrior, trained and cultured as a Samurai, Jiro came to respect his father as an excellent figure and role model, and his father in turn wanted to shape his sons into exceptional men, especially Jiro who he favored and saw the greatest potential within. At a young age he spent much of his time at their estate, becoming literate, being taught essential life skills for various spheres of living, and being exposed to the Samurai code of honor and the political climate of Nippon at the time. It wasn't until he was at the threshold of adulthood that he began the more serious portions of his actual war training.

Jiro was exposed to the concept of death firsthand while he was young; he'd lost a grandfather and a great uncle, one to illness and one to a sparring wound, and his father made no effort to protect him from the meaning of death, instead choosing to force him to face it. He'd seen his grandfather's body lying in its bed, felt his touch grow cold and his hold grow stiff. The concept sank in slowly at first, but spiraled into clear, reverent, and fearful understanding. He wasn't coming back, and more important, anybody else close to Jiro could disappear too - even he, himself. When he inquired to Katsuro about it, he dismissed the question and instead chose to explain to Jiro why he had to know. "Our clan will hold many lives in our hands. You, too, shall someday hold a man or a woman's life in your hands. But most importantly, you shall hold your own with every action you take. Be careful that you do not drop it." His father gave a small chuckle at that and patted him on the back with a smile. Understanding this statement came later in his life.

Around the age of twelve, Jiro was no longer living in the estate - he was living in villages and war camps, traveling with the warriors of his clan to aid and observe. He saw the people in the countryside and the way they lived in smaller settlements, witnessed their role in society and contrasted them with his own. He quickly realized how fortunate he was, and that he had a bright future compared to the villagers and farmers who were destined only to work and sustain their barely motivated existences with their chosen vices, arts, or hobbies. Though he didn't envy this lifestyle, he did as he grew older that his would be much more challenging. These people owed their peaceful existences to the warriors he was traveling with and learning from and the greater powers that be, which assembled society into what would later be known as the Edo period. It was at this point in his life that he came to appreciate the importance of society's structure, and the importance of preserving it through protecting people's place within it and destroying the unrest that would disturb it. It was also at this point that Jiro understood what his dad had meant, when he said that he would hold many lives in his own hands. He was going to succeed his father.

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Jiro succeeded his father as the daimyō of his clan and became known for being a ruthless ruler, exerting cruel punishments upon criminals and political enemies and often overseeing and carrying out their executions himself, when they so lacked the honor to take their own lives and were therefore found deserving. It is known that subjects which had fallen out of his favor or criminals that he greatly despised were drawn from the back of ox carts by his order. The fear of his cruelty as well as the respect for his closeness to the Tokugawa family in relation made him a productive ruler, particularly by the lack of unrest and crime in his province and the large production of rice.

The power and influence he earned also afforded him a great responsibility in maintaining and expanding the shogunate's power in Edo period Nippon. He earned the title, "the large daimyō" due to his unusual height and hulking frame. Jiro's stern and well-cultured warriors were known to have dissolved a significant rebellion mounted by overtaxed peasants living in squalor within the province. The effects of the rebellion were lasting, and Jiro's life ended when he was wounded during a skirmish and ultimately died of illness due to the infections resulting from the wound.

It was a little under three-hundred years ago that Kimura Jiro joined the Soul Society, a resident of a distant southern district of Rukongai who had the ironic misfortune of living in, lo and behold, a district where crime was rampant. Though Kimura Jiro wasn't exactly one who bore an immense obsession with law and maintaining order, this environment took much from him in his earlier years as a Soul Society citizen. Through it all, he made close friends with a younger (and smaller) man named Yuji, one with whom he had much in common in terms of beliefs, though much different in the way they lived their lives. They secured livelihood working for merchants in the district who needed an intimidatingly large man to carry their payments to local lords and goods to residents in hopes of discouraging loss to the hands of thugs and cut purses, and a charming individual to accompany the intimidating man and 'do the talking' so to speak.

RP Sample: (Show us how you will be RP’ing)

Final Acceptance: It will be done when I am ready to submit this as completed.