Kirani Juujisei

[Kirani Juujisei]

Rules of Bleached Soul
Name: Juujisei, Kirani
Age: 30 // 1240
Gender: Male
Birthday: 12th December
Height: 6’3’’
Weight: 220lbs
Eye color: Green
Hair color: Gold

Division: 8th
Rank: Captain

Constitution
-Strength: 18 (Kirani has fought for most of his life, yet does not specialise in brute force.)
-Endurance: 30 (Following his beliefs to the end, forcing Kirani to fall back of his own free will and allow what he considers unjust to occur is all but impossible.)

Dexterity
-Agility: 13 (Kirani’s shunpo is just slightly below average for a Captain class shinigami.)
-Accuracy: 18 (His accuracy, however, is quite adequate.)

Zanjustu
-Attack: 21 (An impressively skilled swordsman, Kirani is dangerous on the offensive, and his abilities are not to be taken lightly.)
-Defense: 24 (However, Kirani is a much more defensive individual in the end, focusing on protecting others and keeping people alive.)

Kidou
-Hadou: 5 (Kirani has never cared for kidou.)
-Bakudou: 5 (Kirani has never cared for kidou.)

Perception
-Intelligence: 18 (Kirani is an intelligent man, but it is mostly focused to what he has learnt from his own life, and knowledge of the battlefield. This is a man is a clever soldier, but his mind does not go much further beyond that.)
-Concentration: 15 (Kirani is average in terms of concentration amongst the Captains – his disregard for kidou is one reason for this.)

Presence
-Charisma: 18 (Friendly, kind, honourable…Kirani is a man that is easy to listen to and believe in.)
-Leadership: 15 (Kirani has been a Captain for hundreds of years – he knows how to lead others into battle. His desire to keep others alive makes him a good leader for the 8th Division, but has a negative impact on his leadership qualities.)


Appearance: A single glance is not enough to truly appreciate Kirani Juujisei. To that first look of the curious eye, Kirani is a figure of strength; standing tall beside most including his peers, with a weight to match. No frail, lanky figure is Kirani – his body is muscled…perhaps not to the level of some of the brutes in the Eleventh, true, but still fine indication of training, of a man with the discipline to achieve such a physique. Well justified, given that Kirani is a man that has dabbled in many forms of the art of combat, ranging from the unarmed martial arts to the various styles of the sword. Training, dedication, and an iron will have forged the figure of Kirani. That said, he certainly isn’t a titan of a man…the best word to describe him, from this first glance, is ‘strong’.

Kirani has fairly pale skin; certainly, he has seen his fair share of sunlight, but Kirani just doesn’t tan or burn in such light unlike others, thus his skin remains the same shade regardless – naturally, it is impossible to change. More evidence for Kirani’s adventures in the way of the sword are the scars that mar, or, from a different perspective, perhaps complete his form – twin scars are crossed across his chest, the greatest of them all, with a handful of lesser scars on his arms. These are from the times when Kirani has failed, in one way or another – and as the scars on his chest show, failure for Kirani is often a spectacularly terrible event.

For all that, despite the scars, Kirani is, to most, a fairly handsome man; his many years of life have not caused much aging to his features, even if they have laid claim to the colour of his hair. Cut above the neck, Kirani’s hair is fairly short and is mostly golden blond in colour, streaked through lightly with white. Noticeable highlights, certainly…and yet easily forgotten, not overwhelming. The irises of Kirani’s eyes are an emerald green; hardly unique, yet uncommon in their vibrancy. No scars are present on his face, which is also always clean shaven…simply because Kirani dislikes the idea of allowing otherwise.

But the second glance…ah, the second glance casts doubt upon the accuracy of the first for some, and lends it support for others. Surrounding Kirani is an almost physical weight – often not of reiatsu, but there have been an unfortunate few to suffer in the presence of Kirani because of it – but instead, a sense that Kirani carries a massive burden. His eyes are emerald green, yes, but another glance there will often reveal – in times of apparent relaxation, when Kirani is not called to battle or to other events – what seems like sadness…and anger. When with his peers, however, when associating with others, when fighting the wicked…Kirani isn’t like that. With friends and comrades, a smile can often be found on Kirani’s face…and with his enemies, a frown of regret.

The reiatsu of this man, like that of all shinigami, possesses a colour – and it is golden. Not yellow, but instead shining with a lustre that is unmistakably gold in hue; when this reiatsu is revealed in quantities sufficient for others to see, then the green eyes of Kirani also turn the same colour…a terrible warning of approaching death.

In terms of clothing, Kirani doesn’t exactly wear the standard uniform – he has it, yes, but also some additions. Black clothes, over which he wears the white haori that is the symbol of his rank as Captain; the haori has long sleeves, a hint – but not a perfect sign – that Kirani is one of the older Captains within Soul Society. As well as this, Kirani wears functionally ornamental armour – golden spaulders on the shoulders, and a pair of golden gauntlets…these serve little but to remind Kirani of a life long since passed, of his time as a human and a short time at the beginning of his afterlife. Aside from these, nothing else is worn…for a memory need not burden Kirani, and full armour would do nothing but that. Strapped to a belt around his waist is his Zanpakuto, usually on his left side. At his right side, Kirani often carries a dagger – ornamental in appearance, a gilded blade, and surprisingly deadly – a fact more than one arrancar has discovered, to their sorrow.

When wearing a gigai, however, Kirani is less…noticeable. Clad in more simple garments, usually a decent looking set of grey clothes, designed not to attract much attention.

Personality: Kirani is, in short, one of the finest allies anyone can make, and one of the best enemies anyone can hope to make. The one thing all will notice about Kirani is that he is remarkably calm – hell itself could be bursting from the ground below, and Kirani would remain apparently calm…and this isn’t just a show. On the inside, Kirani has a masterful control over his emotions, and even the most shocking things can be treated with an unconcerned glance. This isn’t to say that Kirani is dull (far from it), but he isn’t one to fall into panic, no matter how terrible the situation is. His goals are always kept in sight, as are all the things required to achieve those goals. He knows when a situation has become terrible, but he isn’t going to let the turmoil seize him…that wouldn’t only bring ruin to himself, but would also bring ruin to those around him.

His subordinates, his peers, his allies, his friends…all of these, Kirani cares for, and is willing to do nearly anything for to protect. He understands that, as shinigami, those in the eighth division are required to go on missions, often perilous missions, and there is always a chance they will not come back…indeed, he appreciates that this is the case for all shinigami, but other Captains can often protect themselves better. If a call for aid is issued, or the situation becomes grim, then Kirani would, without hesitation, arrive to provide assistance, to pull others out from the fire. He has seen too many die to events and disasters that he could have prevented…and every death is remembered by this man, every loss that should not have been a loss. The fact is, as a Captain, Kirani does not believe it is merely his duty to give orders to his subordinates; it is his duty to ensure they survive those orders.

He cannot avenge all the fallen; shinigami die fighting hollows and arrancar every day, and that is just the way of the war between the races of spirits. However, things are decidedly different if an ally or friend falls in battle, particularly if the opponent is powerful and well known as an enemy, or if Kirani happens to be present at the time. If this happens, then the rare, almost unheard of wrath of the Captain will be felt; his is not a blind, burning rage, but instead a cold, precise fury. To the unfortunate foe, there will be few signs that Kirani is angry at all, unless they understand that when all emotion flees the face of this Captain, when he fights without an expression of pity on his features, he has become dedicated to their destruction. For all that, Kirani will fight normally, with no added precision, no added force behind his blows…but he will not stop until the opponent is dead.

This is quite different to a normal battle. The truth of the matter is, Kirani dislikes fighting – or at least, dislikes fighting enemies to the death, because it is often such a waste of time…and lives, and Kirani has seen enough of death and pain in the past. Even against the dread enemies, the arrancar, Kirani would rather have a pleasant conversation, grow to know them, or at least have the enemy fall back, rather than draw his sword. Fighting is the last option, and he will only do so if forced; if the opponent insists on fighting, if they will simply not back down. Even once engaged, Kirani will not pursue the opponent if they genuinely withdraw and leave the battle behind, for that shows that they have seen sense. However, despite this, once dedicated to the fight, Kirani will not hold back, save perhaps his Shikai and Bankai. These will be unleashed as necessary…it is not pride that stops him from using them, but instead a desire to avoid overkill. All the while, Kirani will fight with a sad smile on his face; he fights without doubt of victory (at least to begin with), because a moment of doubt casts true doubt upon the outcome, even if there should be none.

Kirani will engage an enemy without hesitation, however, if he must rescue another from the precipice of defeat, or if given direct orders from a higher authority. For all his desires, Kirani does his best to adhere to the laws of Soul Society…they are there for a reason, after all, and they work, otherwise they would have long since been replaced or amended.

Pride, arrogance, hate…Kirani does not feel these emotions in the same way as many other mighty warriors, as even some of his fellow Captains do…and in not feeling them, he is far more free. He is confident in his skills, and it is true that he allows no doubt at the beginning of any given fight…but he also knows the limit of his skills, and will, without shame, admit when another is simply better than him. So, perhaps it is best to say that Kirani does not feel doubt - beginning with required confidence, Kirani will know from the moment he sees the depth of his opponents skills whether or not he can win. Yet, Kirani will never give up – once an objective is decided in his mind, he will pursue it to completion or until he is incapacitated; there is no middle ground, no retreat, no surrender. When fighting an opponent, he will gladly let them leave, but he will not stand aside. In regards to hate, even those who kill his friends are not subject to this – the death will always be remembered, the sadness of the event appreciated, justice served…but the tale of the enemy who killed the friend or ally is just as sad as anything else. Why hate an individual condemned to death?

Honour, at least on the battlefield, isn’t too important for Kirani…not like it is for others. He doesn’t care what style he uses to complete a mission, what has to be done, so long as the mission is successful. An enemy will be defeated by any means necessary, but Kirani will often show a small token of honour, a gift to his opponents…whilst using his Zanpakuto, he will fight them with either a one hand or two hand style, depending on their own personal preference of style. This is the sole nod to the concept of honour that Kirani is willing to show…but importantly, whatever style he chooses will not be changed unless the opponent changes first. There are things that Kirani will never do…betrayal is one of them. If Kirani makes a promise, it will not be broken. Similarly, Kirani does not lie, and will, at most, bend the truth, only then to avoid bringing pain to others when they cannot bear the burden of the truth.

When in the presence of friends during his free time, however, Kirani is far more relaxed, friendly…perhaps not a man of many words, but definitely not one to bring gloom, to darken an atmosphere. Kind, caring and always polite – indeed, this even extends to his enemies. Those who have not angered him will be never be treated to insults, never be treated to trash talk. At worst, he might point out the flaws in their techniques, but even this is unlikely – once a battle begins, Kirani is efficient and rarely talks. Those who have angered him, however, are treated to nothing but silence. To others, Kirani’s words always bring support, and when training others, there is no harsh criticism…only constructive.

Thus, the finest ally – never a man to make others feel weak, unimportant, unworthy…ever trying to ensure their safety, to act as an individual they can rely on, no matter what the situation. Thus, the finest enemy – ever trying to spare a life, ever trying to show mercy.

Strengths: The main strengths of Kirani lie in his not inconsiderable intelligence, his finesse in combat, and his efficiency. Kirani doesn’t often show it, believing more in acting reserved than strutting around, revealing the depths of ones intellect and strength, but he has quite the formidable mind. As a tactician and strategist, there are certainly better individuals amongst the Captains, but what Kirani has suffices. He has lived for quite some time – long enough to have seen most things, to have quite the pool of knowledge. Indeed, as he was previously an Academy Teacher before becoming a Captain, Kirani has not only had the chance to keep his skills, both physical and mental, polished, but he has also seen quite a few tricks that others have learnt and developed along the way.

In terms of skill, Kirani is a Captain, and by default is one of the top thirteen shinigami in the Gotei Thirteen. However, Kirani specialises in close quarter fighting, much like the shinigami in the Eleventh division…the main reason he was never a part of that division is, of course, his dislike for fighting. Relying on skill far more than strength, Kirani’s ability in combat is remarkable, and importantly, he brings all combat to a close as quickly as possible. When fighting an enemy, he will fight to kill so long as they continue to fight, with no hesitation, no prolonging the battle for fun. It is important to realise that Kirani is skilled at using all forms of his Zanpakuto, is even dangerous without any weapons at all, and is also capable of using the dagger at his side to lethal effect. The knife is usually only useful for one attack, being useless as a defensive tool…but Kirani does his best to make that one attack count.

Weaknesses: Kirani does not give up; if he stands in the way of an opponent, then he will not back down, regardless of the consequences. Thus, if an opponent proved his superior, Kirani would be in quite the dangerous situation, for he is entirely unconcerned about dying. A second weakness, and one more exploitable, lies in the technique he often uses to fight; as his swordplay relies on quick, efficient strokes at areas that will bring down the enemy swiftly, a cunning opponent could use brute force to create an opening. Kirani often corrects his style if an opponent can do this, but hardly ever before it happens.

Relying heavily on close combat and his Zanpakuto, Kirani isn’t quite as skilled when it comes to using kidou. At both bakudou and hadou, Kirani is as poor as the kidou shunning brutes of the Eleventh Division – this is due in part to the powers of his Zanpakuto encouraging Kirani not to invest his time in kidou, and also due to his time as a mortal spent fighting forever with a blade in his hand. As a result, Kirani hardly ever uses kidou, and even when he does, the spells are not nearly as powerful as they should be for an individual of his rank.

Sealed Zanpakutō: In fitting with the small amount of golden armour that Kirani wears, and as another memory of his past life, the sealed form of Aikoku is a blade in the form of a katana, longer than normal (yet not fitting classification as a different blade) and apparently made of gold…but it is merely gilded. Visually, there is no difference; functionally, it is infinitely more practical – he carried a similar weapon whilst alive, and what idiot would use a sword made from gold? The blade is otherwise rather simple, possessing, as all katanas do, a single, deadly cutting edge. Due to being gilded, the sword possesses a uniform gold colour, which is quite different from many other katana. At the base of the blade, the metal has been etched on both sides of the blade with the image of two crossed katana…like with many things regarding Kirani, a tribute to his mortal years.

The guard of the sword appears to be made of circular glass, quite transparent and useless…in theory – in practice, it serves just as well as any other guard might, not prepared to shatter under a blow and unmarred by damage. The hilt is slightly longer than average too, black and wrapped in green thread of a matching shade to Kirani’s eyes, a shade that stands out remarkably on the black, so close to the gold. At the base of the hilt is a symbol; the flower of the eighth division, and it is this that is to be struck against the heads of lost spirits to perform the konso. In contrast to all this, the sheath is relatively plain; pure black and without any design.

Zanpakutō Spirit: The spirit of Kirani’s sword, Aikoku, dwells at the very heart of his inner world. An impressive thing the inner world is – a large, tranquil sea, utterly still in the absence of any wind, reflecting the rays of a never setting sun within the sky. That sky is cloudless and bright blue, which together with the sun makes for a bright world. The sea is not alone; there are small islands of stone covered in golden sand placed in seemingly random locations throughout the sea, each linked together by a series of bridges. These are not made of wood, however, and are instead apparently made from bright glass, like light made solid. The bridges are perfectly flat and smooth, yet despite appearances, they provide enough friction to prevent movement across them from becoming perilous.

From the very first glance, there is only one reason to travel across these bridges; each small island is of an identical size and shape, the golden sands being the only feature on them; they are otherwise unremarkable, dull…lifeless. However, at the centre of the world lies a much larger island, this one apparently carved from the same material that forms the bridges. Spires of this crystal rise up in a circular formation around an astonishingly bright light, as if emitted from some spectacular source, and this light dances in the crystals, forming quite the display on the central island. However, the bright light is both more and less than it seems…it is not just a light, but it defies conventional thought in being no more than a barrier, a thin veil of reiatsu that emits the light…and once one walks through this veil, the spirit of Kirani’s Zanpakuto can be seen.

The spirit often seated upon a stump of crystal, bowed down, gazing upon the ground…and it is humanoid, but certainly not human. A careless glance could lead one to believe that it is human – after all, the first sight is of a being clad in golden armour, formed of angular plates, seemingly impractical and impressive. Every part of the body is armoured, with the joints protected by golden mail, the head enclosed in a golden helm…a dazzling sight indeed. However, the moment one looks at the face of the figure, that belief quickly changes. Aikoku will tear its gaze away from the crystal ground the moment Kirani stands before it, and at this moment, it is revealed that Aikoku possesses no face, but instead, smooth crystal like the surroundings around it; the innards of the suit are apparently solid crystal…and yet animated. A small orb of light seems to dance within the head of Aikoku, constantly moving around…and when it deigns to speak with Kirani, the orb splits to form two eyes in the crystal.

Yet Aikoku is a spirit of very few words. It has a personality to match Kirani’s own – it seeks to protect, seeks to prevent death, but importantly, the death it seeks to protect is Kirani’s own. Whilst Kirani looks out for others, Aikoku is the one that looks out for Kirani. Despite this, Aikoku also remembers every shinigami that is lost, every fallen comrade…and it is the one that sits and contemplates it all where Kirani does not. Musing over life and death, thinking deep thoughts…that is Aikoku, the Zanpakuto otherwise known as Grief. It has no real taste for battle – even less so than Kirani, seeing it as just another source of misery in the world, and it encourages Kirani to avoid as many battles as he can. Yet, when a battle must be fought, Aikoku is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that Kirani survives.

Shikai Incantation: Hikaru, Aikoku! (Shine, Grief!)

Shikai Category: Kidou
Shikai Range: Short
Shikai Description: By saying the words (or, as a Captain, saying nothing at all but merely making a decision), the sealed Zanpakuto suddenly glows with bright light, morphing into a new form. In terms of size and shape, Kirani’s shikai is identical to his sealed sword – it remains a blade, yet the overall appearance has quite clearly changed. Both the guard and hilt of the blade are now made of crystal, polished, multi-faceted and glittering, but this is not the change most visible. The blade itself has lost the gilded effect and, indeed, no longer appears to be made out of metal – instead, the blade of the sword is far more remarkable. Like golden pearl, the blade has the lustrous nature of gold, and, as light shines on it, it possesses the iridescence of pearl.

Technique Name: Akari Tenrai
Technique Category: Offensive
Technique Range: Long
Technique Description: Akari Tenrai essentially has two different forms, depending on whether or not the name of the technique is spoken. If the name is ignored, then Akari Tenrai can be fired at a whim without a word. There is a brief moment between the decision to use the technique and the actual blast, of a duration much the same as it would take most arrancar to charge a cero. During this time, the blade will glow more brightly, and the crystal of the hilt will be filled with light. Akari Tenrai then manifests as a bolt of incandescent energy – by pointing the sword at an enemy, a bolt will be released on a linear trajectory with great speed.

If the name of the technique is spoken, however, there is but one change; the power of the technique is not affected. At any point during the movement of the Akari Tenrai attack, Kirani can cause the attack to explode then and there, perhaps in the hope that splash damage harms the enemy, or to prevent the technique from harming others, should it miss. In either scenario, Akari Tenrai loses power over great distances – at its maximum range, Akari Tenrai will at best act like a more forceful version of hadou one; at relatively short distances, however, this technique is rather powerful.

Bankai Name: Ranrantaru Aikoku (Blazing Grief)
Bankai Type: Vast Battlefield Release

Bankai Description: Upon saying the word Bankai, certain things will occur, changing slightly depending on whether Kirani is in Shikai or is wielding his sealed sword. If his sword is sealed, then it will automatically progress to the Shikai form - the cutting ability is in no way increased or diminished, but the kind of attack the weapon can project is slightly different; it is instead known as Akari Hakaisha (Light Destroyer).

The main Bankai itself, however, forms in the very air around Kirani and his enemy; the area enclosed by Kirani’s Bankai is roughly two hundred metres by two hundred metres by two hundred metres. In this area, the air is filled with thousands of small shards of crystal, each rather dull, not even glinting in sunlight. They tend to drift randomly within the area of effect, and can be effortlessly brushed aside by both Kirani and whatever opponents happen to be within the area of effect; were one to accidently inhale a crystal or two, it would not be an issue…they would disintegrate within the opponent (causing no harm) and be replaced by new ones in the field. Any pieces of crystal struck by the physical attacks of an opponent may well break, but this changes nothing; the smaller particles will simply begin to drift instead. Energy attacks and explosions will, for the most part, merely move crystals around or break them down into smaller forms. Essentially, when left to themselves, the crystals are little more than a visual effect, but all but impossible to get rid of. If one could inhale the crystals in large amounts, or find another way to utterly destroy them, then they would be able to suppress the Bankai and weaken Kirani.

Bankai Abilities:

Technique Name: Akari Hakaisha (Light Destroyer)
Technique Category: Offensive
Technique Range: Long
Technique Description: Essentially a more powerful version of Akari Tenrari, Akari Hakaisha is visibly similar but, follows much the same rules, but, on impact, will cause much more damage than its weaker cousin ability.

Technique Name: Manipulation
Technique Category: Defensive
Technique Range: Bankai Range
Technique Description: Kirani is, however, quite capable of manipulating the crystals (to a degree), and can do so rather quickly. Importantly, he is capable of causing the crystals to fuse together and shatter at will; this allows him to form larger constructs of crystal as well as break them down again into their constituent shards. These constructs always take the shape of perfect, solid spheres of crystal – the size varies depending on the number of smaller crystals used and the time Kirani has to create a crystal. As a rule of thumb, in reacting to a technique with cero level charge time from medium distance, Kirani would have sufficient time to create a crystal large enough to enclose an area of one meter cubed.

Technique Name: Tenbatsu: Regoku (Divine Punishment: Purgatory)
Technique Category: Defensive
Technique Range: Immediate
Technique Description: The crystal of Kirani’s Bankai does, however, have certain effects under certain conditions; the ability that can be expressed through the crystals is known as Tenbatsu. Usually, Kirani might quickly create a small barrier of crystal, perfectly transparent, very brittle…but with a direct touch, he can infuse the crystal with reiatsu and ‘activate’ the crystal in question. This requires Kirani to actually want the crystal to activate, thus stray shards in the air will not become active if they touch him. Once active, the crystal will begin to shine slightly – these active crystals have the ability to absorb reiatsu based techniques, storing the energy within. The crystals will absorb any reiatsu based technique they come in contact with – however, they will only absorb as much as is touching them, and at the rate at which the technique is flowing (a small crystal will stop relatively little of a wide area attack, for example, but will completely stop any attack of equal or smaller area of impact that it). An active crystal with any stored energy is no longer fully under the control of Kirani; he cannot cause the crystal to fuse with others, nor can he demand it break down (without using physical force). For this reason, active crystals are ineffective against defensive techniques unless those techniques are deliberately clashed against the active crystals by the technique user. Even if physical force is used against the crystals, the crystal will only shatter – each shard will still glow, possessing a part of the reiatsu stored. Kirani has never discovered the limit of reiatsu that can be stored in one crystal; essentially, the upper limit is irrelevant during a battle. There is a limit to the number of active crystals on any one battlefield, however, and that number is three.

Technique Name: Tenbatsu: Makai (Divine Punishment: Hell)
Technique Category: Offensive
Technique Range: Long
Technique Description: However, he can order the stored energy to be released at any time via a beam of incandescent energy rather similar to Akari Tenrai or Akari Hakaisha, through saying the word ‘Tenbatsu’. The direction in which the beam is fired in entirely his decision…however, since he must decide, it is obviously difficult to co-ordinate many beams firing at once – due to this, Kirani can only fire the beams at a single target, regardless of how many are fired. Importantly, there is nothing special about this energy – it is equal to the amount of reiatsu that was stored within the crystal – and Kirani is quite capable of storing the energy again if it is directed into an active crystal.

[Kirani Juujisei]

History: Born to anonymity, but not to stay there for long, Kirani was once a child of a rather poor family, in a rather poor village…distant from the ruling powers of the land, distant from even the nearest town, and without any guards or armed forces present; perhaps the eventual fate of Kirani’s hometown was inevitable. But, let us consider the youth of Kirani; his village might have been small, and might have been poor, but everyone knew everyone else…there were no old feuds…everyone helped keep the rest alive. Kirani assisted his father with his work, but as he grew older, hearing the tales of bravery, of glory won by the soldiers of the land, Kirani began to wish to leave the town, to travel on and join the army of the local lord.

Even as a child, Kirani was strong; his family might have been fairly poor, but they had a decent supply of food and water…but not excess. In helping his father work the land, Kirani was fit, strong for his age…and the gods had clearly seen fit to make him quite tall. He was more than ideal for the role as a soldier…and his family saw no reason not to allow his new ambition; indeed, they were proud by the thought of such a brave son. However, Kirani first sought to learn the art of the sword as best he could, before moving on. Most men of his hometown knew little in regards to war; a few carried scythes, a few had their pitchforks…but there was one old, former soldier, a man scarred by war, by the many battles he had once served in, living out the remainder of his days in the village. He alone possessed a sword; an old and rusted thing…and he was quite willing to teach Kirani what little he knew. He even gave away the sword; that old man didn’t want to remember the wars he had been in, although he didn’t try once to dissuade Kirani from his goal.

But, eventually, the end came – in a storm of death and fire. With the village so defenceless, bandits saw it as an easy target, and so they came, pillaging and slaughtering. The men of the village resisted, and were killed for their efforts. Kirani considered picking up his sword and contributing to the defence, but when he went to look for the weapon, it was gone – his father had taken it, knowing the risks, knowing the consequences…and so ended the life of Kirani’s father. At the end of the day, the men were all dead, and the women and children were taken into slavery. That was the last Kirani saw of his friends, of his mother…but, in a way, luck remained on his side. Despite his size and obvious strength, he was spared for not resisting.

At first, it had certainly seemed like the bandits were nothing but thugs, but monsters…but eventually, it turned out they were something more. Mercenaries in the employ of the lord…Kirani’s village was simply so small, so insignificant, that they had destroyed it for nothing more than pleasure. And, in taking slaves, for more coin too. Passing through the nearest town, many of the captured women and children were sold off, but Kirani was kept…for the mercenaries had a different plan regarding him. Whilst the old days - hundreds of years ago - of gladiator contests were long gone, there were still a certain few men, filled with cruelty and, more importantly, with pockets full of coin, who continued the sport of pitting human against human, sometimes against beast, to watch the blood fly. There were always many, filled with bloodlust, to attend such spectacles, and those who had taken Kirani knew it.

Importantly, they understood that Kirani was strong. Perhaps even strong enough to survive a few rounds of the bloodbaths. Thus Kirani, together with a handful of younger children, was sold off to one such beast of a man, the mercenaries fading away…yet, it was not the last Kirani was to see of that group. Regardless, a few days later, Kirani was given a sword, put into a makeshift area together with the children, all to face another man with terror and rage in his eyes, holding a bloodstained blade. Kirani was told the simple rules of the fight – no one could step outside the arena, or they would be slain by the guards of the keeper. That rule was reinforced by the youngest child immediately running away…only to be run through by a sword. There was a small crowd attending, every one of them had paid, and thus the keeper didn’t care how many he lost to the fight; he had already made a profit. No authority would dare intervene, because the local lord had no issues with such brutality. Kirani would eventually realise that the lord was not noble, was not just…he was corrupt, and a tyrant.

The second rule was simple – kill the opponent, or be killed. The children other than Kirani were not given weapons…they were there to distract him, to make him lose concentration, and, if Kirani fell, to have their blood shed for the satisfaction of the crowd. Those two rules were the only rules. Before the battle began, Kirani asked the children, fear and despair in his voice, to stay back…this fight would be the first real fight of his life, and he did not know how it would conclude. With that, the order was given, the fight began. But a real fight, it turned out, was not like the stories – tales of men fighting with each other, swords clashing for an age until one was struck down. The real fight was over in a few blows; a block here, a parry there, and suddenly Kirani’s sword met the unprotected throat of his opponent, cutting vein and artery – the man raised his sword, giving a choking gurgle, and collapsed unconscious, bleeding out shortly after.

That was not the end…not the end by far. This became a near daily routine for Kirani, killing men, protecting the children. The keeper understood that he had real talent, and thus allowed Kirani what rest he required…no more did he want Kirani to die. The fights quickly became about watching Kirani kill others. The other slaves owned by the keeper proved inadequate; none could pass Kirani’s defence, and all were cut down without a shred of mercy. Every death weighed on Kirani, however; he killed what were, effectively, defenceless men, men condemned like he…they could have lived good lives. They were not cruel, not evil. They didn’t deserve such a fate. And yet the children did not deserve to die either. But, eventually, the regular crowd began to grow bored…watching the same battle each day was not quite as fun. Thus, the keeper changed the game – although he knew he would have to change everything quickly if he could not appease the crowd, if Kirani continued his winning streak.

Three men were pitted at once against Kirani, and this time, Kirani was not so successful. He was wounded several times – minor injuries…and although he killed two men quickly, the last…the last got to the children. By the time Kirani’s sword whipped round, driven by anger to catch the man on the neck and sever his head entirely, all the children that Kirani had protected for so long were dead. And with that, died the first stage of Kirani’s new profession. The keeper had lost many slaves that day…but he had turned a profit. He could no longer continue throwing three men per game at Kirani, and the added tension of the children had been lost. Thus, the keeper changed the game – no longer would he pit slaves against Kirani. Instead, he invited others to stake their lives for money, effectively a gamble, to fight Kirani in the arena.

Before the new set of games began, however, before the eager – and likely far more skilled warriors took to the arena, the keeper actually chose to speak with Kirani. He saw the sadness of the boy…no, the young man in truth, but he did not care. Instead, he offered Kirani a rare gift; the stakes for the keeper would be higher, but the payout would likely increase too, as far as he was concerned. He needed Kirani to be even better prepared, but more – he needed Kirani to be as much a duellist as a figure that all could recognise. Thus, he offered Kirani new weapons, and light armour – they cost the keeper, certainly, but the benefits would surely outweigh the cost...Kirani wasn’t just a slave, he was going to become a legend. When Kirani returned to the arena, he wore newly forged armour, carried not one, but two swords, both slightly curved, unusual for blades in that country. All polished steel.

At first, avaricious guards, sure in their skill, came to fight with Kirani…and those first few guards were neatly eviscerated by the opponent they faced. Driven by an even greater will than before, having seen those he protected die, and with two weapons…Kirani was something else. The death of guards, the success of the keeper and Kirani, eventually alerted the lord, who began to attend the duels. Each time, Kirani would step into the arena, and his opponent would fall, often bleeding from several injuries, each fatal. And all this fighting acted as fine training for Kirani; his skill as a swordsman began to become rather impressive. Eventually, the lord contacted the keeper, making an agreement…he would buy Kirani for quite the sum, and take Kirani into his own personal guard…provided Kirani could survive one, final duel.

All his opponents so far had possessed little training; the guards rarely drew their swords, even if they knew how to use them, and the soldiers that fought him were used to the battlefield, not single combat. But the final opponent was from the guard of the lord; a man trained to defend the lord, trained above and beyond any Kirani had ever fought…and their duel was more like the tales that Kirani used to hear. Each blocked the attacks of the other, parried, attacked with savage ripostes…in the end, both landed a strike on the other simultaneously. The noble guard raked his sword across Kirani’s chest, leaving a shallow wound…but Kirani’s first sword bit into the sword arm of the guard, cutting it clean off at the elbow, and his second blade found the heart of the guard. Thus, for the final battle, and for all the battles, Kirani proved the victor.

In contrast, Kirani’s new profession was far more relaxed. He received more professional training; he was moved to a castle now, had his own private quarters, received payment…was free. Yet he no longer had to fight opponents to the death. His armour and blades were taken by the lord and gilded; Kirani quickly became known as the golden knight, the one who had defeated all opponents in the arena…and so the lord proved a cunning individual. Would-be assassins were more reluctant, knowing that an individual of such skill was now present within the guard. It seemed that at last, Kirani would be able to lead a relatively normal life. A few years passed, Kirani continued to train and remained in good shape whilst the lord, and even some of his fellow guard, grew fat, squandered their wealth. Kirani, instead, did what he could to help others…not only because such was in his nature, but to atone for his past sins.

Kirani was even close to having a wife when everything changed for the worse again; the lord was found dead in his bed, bloody vomit spilled everywhere. Of course, that lord had been old, and his son took over the role…but his son was a weak thing, and obviously not the one who had poisoned the lord…no, as it happened, a rumour quickly spread through the town, through the castle, that spoke of exactly who had done the deed. Kirani’s old keeper, that horrible, greedy man, had organised another duel, the crowd had arrived…but the one who had entered had been a member of the mercenaries under the employ of lord. The mercenaries that had sacked Kirani’s hometown. From the crowd, others of that band had sprung, butchered the crowd, and sent a clear message – they were responsible for the death of the lord…they were no longer under his employment, for they had found another, higher offer.

Many of the town guards had also been poisoned…in truth, as more details began to emerge, the murder of the lord had been quite the grand scale plot…and his son believed he knew the one responsible; another of the lords of the land. Many of the lords hated each other, and such was the case here. More importantly, the dead lord had been a minor lord…he would not be missed. Kirani knew the man had been corrupt, had been cruel, had been responsible for so much pain in his life…yet he had a duty. At his request, he resigned from his role as a guard of the new lord, said goodbye to his newfound love…he realised there was a chance he would never see her again…and assembled a group of volunteers. A group he would lead to hunt down the mercenaries and bring justice. He knew that to kill the other lord would be, frankly, impossible, but he could deal with the mercenaries.

This was, perhaps, the beginning of the end for Kirani’s human life. On the journey with the few dozen recruits, each armed and armoured, Kirani began to develop spiritual powers…minor, not controlled, not even recognised, yet he had as small amount of spiritual energy. Such was the power of his will, the strength he had earned from a life of hardship. And so, hollows began to become naturally attracted to Kirani’s position. Yet they remained out of sight, away from the human who might have been able to see him…and during the nights, they would move in, pluck away the weakest, the most ill of the men with Kirani, and return to the shadows. Every morning brought sorrow for Kirani’s group, and confusion. Yet Kirani forced them to move forward – they had a duty. Nothing – be it wild animals snatching away brave men, or cowardly desertion – would stop them from accomplishing their task.

When they did find the mercenaries, Kirani ordered a straight attack; they held the advantage in numbers despite the mysterious disappearance of their fellow soldiers…and even though Kirani had spent his life in duels, rather than in open combat, he was able to apply his skills well enough. Over ten men died by his blades alone that day. In a remarkably short space of time, the mercenaries were gone – most dead, the rest broken and fled, likely never to regroup. Half of the recruits had also perished…a terrible thing…but justice was served. With that, Kirani ordered a rest for the night, before the march back home.

During the march, death came. Hollows, having detected the death of so many humans, having sensed the spirits that now screamed and wailed, descended on the battlefield left behind Kirani and his soldiers, devouring the souls of the fallen before going after Kirani. In the middle of the day, screams alerted Kirani, who had been at the head of the force…as he turned, in the presence of such danger, he could finally see…and what he saw was a small army of hollows, what he could only believe were demons, perhaps ten in total, tearing apart his men with disgusting ease. Kirani readied his blades, expecting nothing but death…when a group of men and women in black clothes arrived, all possessing swords like his own, and they attacked the group. Kirani watched at first, seeing the beings move faster than he could have believed, watched as demons fell and, eventually, one…two…three of the figures in black fell, and he was spurred into action.

Kirani charged forward, seeking the nearest demon and swinging his blades at the legs of the beast, seeking to cut it down. It had ignored him, and so he had thought, for a moment, that he might have contributed to the effort of the figures in black…but his swords struck the legs of the demon like stone walls, drawing not a drop of blood and shattering in the attack, leaving him without weapons and in pain. In response, the demon merely swung its tail at him…but that was enough to sweep him off his feet and throw him a few metres away. Bones cracked, and Kirani could tell from the sharpness of his first breath after falling that he was already a dead man. However, despite the pain, despite the flecks of black swarming in his vision, he stood up, moved back into the fray, picking up the sword of one of the fallen figures in black, and stabbed it forward into the back of the nearest demon. Such a blade proved more effective – it bit deep, and a demon fell forward only to have its head split open by the sword of one of, what could have been, Kirani’s saviours. But Kirani had sought to help them, and in failing that, had sought a final vengeance…and it cost him his life.

When Kirani awoke, he was already in Soul Society. Kirani learnt what he could from others; he discovered that he was dead, that he had essentially ascended to heaven…and a day later, the shinigami that had performed the konso found in Rukongai to explain everything else. The ability to see hollows, the bravery to attack them, and the determination to struggle on despite such grave wounds were all amazing things, and he was given the offer of joining the ranks of the shinigami. Hearing that they served to protect humans from the demons, those hollows, Kirani could not help but accept, and so he followed the shinigami into Sereitei and was directed to the Academy.

He did not remain there for long, however. He received an asauchi, and whilst many spirits might have had only a vague understanding of how to use a blade, Kirani had lived his life using one – he proved that quickly enough. Yet standing at an advantage amongst those newly brought into the Academy was nothing – Kirani might have spent years on Earth fighting, but shinigami had spent decades, some even centuries, learning the way of combat. His instructors revealed to him that for all his skill, he was still just a child...and Kirani was fine by that, for with practice, with his own natural skill, he was able to improve quickly enough. Where his skill did improve from virtually nothing was in the realm of hand to hand combat, and he learnt some kidou – albeit just enough - before graduating, deciding to become a part of the Eighth Division…the squad that would assist other shinigami if things began to go horribly wrong. Upon joining, Kirani took the rank of Seventh Seat – fairly high for a new graduate, and yet quite fitting.

Many years passed – Kirani made new friends amongst the Gotei Thirteen, and began to train mostly in Zanjustu, Houho and Hakuda, ignoring kidou…he simply disliked the demon arts. Perhaps this dislike influenced the development of the spirit of his Zanpakuto…but eventually, after half a century as a shinigami, having moved up to become the Fourth Seat of the Eighth Division, Kirani finally began to communicate with his Zanpakuto – Aikoku. Walking for the first time in his inner world, Kirani was rather stunned…and by the time he walked out, Kirani knew the name of his Zanpakuto. That day, Kirani spoke it, and unlocked his Shikai. More years were spent practicing with this new sword, and during those years, Kirani learnt the power of the Shikai, the mighty beam of Akari Tenrai. It was with this knowledge that Kirani was promoted to Vice Captain.

As well as being the Vice Captain, however, Kirani also acted as a teacher in the Academy, helping to train the next generation of shinigami. He became rather well known – his training was invaluable, and he saved many lives through his official duty as the Vice Captain. No lone hollow could stand against him, his golden sword a flash in the air, and indeed, he even encountered one or two arrancar, if some of the weaker ones – it would be some time yet before Kirani would see a true arrancar release. This Kirani killed them all – the hollows were enemies, villains, monsters, and the arrancar little better. What few memories remained of his previous life made Kirani dislike the hollows as a race, and he was all too willing to strike them all down.

As well as all this, Kirani sent a certain request out, an order in Rukongai; he had a few select pieces of golden armour forged, as well as a golden dagger. The dagger was to act as another weapon, just in case – on Earth, he had fought for a long time with a two blade style…but now, he had only one Zanpakuto. He could fight with a one handed style, and two handed style, or fight one handed together with the dagger. The armour – gauntlets and spaulders – were not merely gilded…no, they were proper gold, designed so that the weight would never let him forget what was lost when he fought as a human…the prices that were paid. He would never forget his failures, for a weight would always remain on his shoulders so long as he wore the decorative armour.

Fifty years passed, and in all this time, Kirani never fought a more skilled swordsman than he – his spars against the other Vice Captains ended quickly, and his one spar with his Captain, at the end of those fifty years since becoming a Vice Captain, revealed that Kirani was more skilled, but for now, the Captain was more powerful, and it would be some time yet before Kirani would take his place. Kirani was growing steadily stronger, however, and his Captain had even stated, with a smile, that Kirani would certainly become his successor one day. Due to this belief, the Captain assisted Kirani with training for Bankai, something that he believed Kirani would definitely be able to achieve, something Kirani deserved to achieve. After a year, Kirani managed to manifest his spirit in the physical plain, and was challenged to one simple test to earn Bankai – he had just to strike to the spirit once, before the spirit could strike him. The spirit carried the golden pearl-like sword, as did Kirani…identical weapons. For another year of on and all training, Kirani did not once manage to strike Aikoku – the spirit was far more skilled than he. But eventually, as time passed and Kirani became better, he came closer and closer…until eventually, Kirani succeeded, and the secret of Bankai was unlocked. However, it would be quite some time before Kirani used the Bankai in combat.

At that time, there were thirteen Captains, and thus Kirani was free to remain the Vice Captain of the Eighth Division…but things were not to remain this way for long. A seemingly standard request for help came through from Earth, from a team from the Twelfth Division on a simple research mission, their reiatsu cloaked to prevent anything major from approaching and ruining the mission…apparently something had gone wrong. Worse, the request was rather…distressed – usually, a few lower seated individuals would have been sent, but the request had come through to Kirani, and so it was his decision. Having a terrible feeling, Kirani decided to go personally – getting clearance from the Thirteenth Division did not take very long.

When Kirani arrived, the whole team was mostly still alive, with one or two dead, and standing there, with a huge golden sword washed in blood, was an armoured giant with hellfire burning in his eyes. Obviously an arrancar…and one that had apparently known that the call had been sent to Soul Society, and had gone as far as to wait for assistance to arrive. Without mercy, Kirani struck, a flurry of slashes with his Zanpakuto…and stunningly, the armoured giant blocked each and every strike with his great sword, holding it in one hand. The counterattack was brutal; the giant proved just as fast as Kirani, but his blows were far more powerful…Kirani was hard pressed to turn aside the mighty strikes, unable to fully block them, and even then, his whole body began to ache under the stress. Even using both hands, the single handed strikes of this enemy were stronger.

Yet, as the battle continued, Kirani somehow holding his ground, the edge, at least in terms of skill, seemed to lie with him – whilst he parried, deftly deflected each incoming strike from the giant, the opponent merely blocked Kirani’s strikes with horrible ease…but in that, Kirani finally found an opening; a single cut managed to pierce through the defences of the giant, catching his face, cutting through masked helm and, even though Kirani could not see the damage done, he was sure the face of the giant was now permanently damaged. The strike should have cut through further and brought an end to the fight, but the giant was swift enough to avoid the worst of the cut.

However, this didn’t even make the giant flinch…Kirani could not bring his guard up swiftly enough to deflect the next attack, and the great sword of the opponent cut up diagonally across Kirani’s chest. For perhaps the first time, Kirani stumbled back, knowing well that the damage would possibly be fatal if he didn’t end this quickly…yet this opponent was an arrancar. It could release…and if it was all about brute strength, then his Bankai would be useless. Kirani was prepared to die, but the researchers communicated with Soul Society again, sending an even more dire call for aid as the Vice Captain returned to the battle.

Once again, every attack was blocked by the opponent, but this time, Kirani was slower. Despite his famed ability to fight on and on, his injury and exhaustion were taking their toll, and victory now seemed impossible, even if he used Shikai. Resigned to defeat, understanding now that there were definitely individuals better than he, Kirani simply made a goal of surviving as long as possible. The giant seemed to understand this…and it placed both hands on its Zanpakuto, making a mighty swing that shattered Kirani’s sealed sword and made another deep cut across his chest. The shinigami was hurled back and fell into unconsciousness.

But surprisingly, he woke up again. Finding himself in the Fourth Division, wrapped in bandages, Kirani quickly learnt of how the situation had been resolved; his Captain had heard the distress call and had joined the battle, and had managed to force back the arrancar by using his Bankai. However, the battle had left his Captain wounded…and he had used the last of his strength to bring Kirani and the wounded researchers back to Soul Society. The news hit Kirani like a hammer blow…yet another loss, yet another good man dead. The Eighth Division Captain, his mentor and friend for years, was now gone…and there was no way of him seeking vengeance; the arrancar lived, but it had faded away, fallen back into the desert of the Hueco Mundo. Kirani’s dislike of the hollows and arrancar became hatred, and the once kind and caring Kirani became cold, a beacon of danger. Where once one could be near him and rejoice, being near Kirani could only remind one of their own weakness and mortality.

On that day, Kirani swore vengeance against the arrancar that killed his Captain. This would be a vow that would almost destroy Kirani Juujisei…but would, in turn, restore him, remake him.

Once recovered from his injuries, Kirani accepted the role as new Captain of the Eighth Division, giving up his role as a teacher in the Academy at the same time. Even then, with his body back at full strength, he was not the perfect replacement for his former master – he was simply not as powerful yet, and that was clear in how his Captain had managed to fend off an enemy that had utterly crushed him. Kirani did his duties as a Captain, but a fire now filled him – a fire to grow stronger, to become better – to not just fill the role that his Captain had, but to become even greater than he had been. The scars that Kirani now bore spoke of his failures, but they reminded him well. He had failed and nearly died, and he wouldn’t allow that to happen again if he could. No…nothing would stop him from achieving his goals now.

Years went on, and Kirani found himself becoming an older figure in Soul Society. The beings he had once looked up at as Captains were now his peers, and he saw that although they were the best Soul Society had to offer, they were all still mortal. Spirits, yet mortal - they could die. And they, of all people, found themselves fighting the most powerful enemies, putting them in the most dangerous positions. Captains didn’t often last more than one hundred years, and yet Kirani held his position for a century…and then another, and another after that, watching on as Captains retired, having suffered wounds too great for even the Fourth to heal, or as they died despite the best efforts of the Fourth and himself. Kirani found himself in battle after battle alongside his fellow shinigami, and always, the Eighth Division persevered.

But he tried to keep others alive. That was his role, and for all his anger and hate, Kirani was not so changed that he would stop saving those he considered allies, companions…friends. As a Captain, he assigned the duty of helping other shinigami to the rest of those in his division, for few situations required his direct intervention, but when things got completely out of hand, it still fell on his shoulders to arrive and support. He was involved in more than one minor battle over the years, called in to support and end a fight that was small before it became large, but it was only after one hundred years spent as a Captain that Kirani was called out on a major confrontation, a large scale battle between shinigami and arrancar…and this proved to be his first time using his Bankai in a combat situation.

Against the unprepared, heavily ranged arrancar involved in the battle, the results were messy. A massacre. With one stroke, Kirani was able to turn the tide of the battle, and with the aid of other shinigami, Kirani was able to shut down many of the options that the arrancar possessed. In the end, it was a crushing victory, and Kirani returned to Soul Society having earned even more respect than he had possessed before. After using his Bankai in battle, after revealing the full extent of his powers, all could see that Kirani had finally done it – he had surpassed his predecessor, and he truly deserved the title of Captain of the Eighth Division. He had saved many lives that day, and killed many arrancar…but such a victory did nothing for Kirani. He still disliked fighting. He gained no pleasure from killing his enemies, but he was driven to do so. This drove Kirani into an even darker mood than before, and his contact with all save the higher ranked shinigami of his division began to dwindle.

Yet time became more relaxed. After such a great battle, no arrancar, no shinigami, particularly wanted to risk something so great for some time, leaving both races to lick their wounds and rebuild themselves. Even so, despite the flames of war cooling down to embers for now, the inner politics of Seireitei claimed the lives of shinigami – still the shifting of power occurred, and Kirani saw old friends vanish and new people take their place. He had long since accepted that that was the way…and he knew the newcomers were not evil, not malicious, for the most part. It was a sad reality, but it was reality, and it was the way. So much of Soul Society worked; Kirani would not bring himself to challenge the system, ever. Such was a decision he made. Part of him resented it. Part of him knew that it was the right decision to make. With the war against the arrancar, they needed order, not chaos, and the last thing he wanted was the blood of shinigami on his hands.

Despite this, Kirani would find blood on his hands. People knew him as the Captain who had ruled for three hundred years – how many others could claim that? He was old, powerful, with such a dark aura of anger and tragedy mixed with that original desire to help, to care, to protect. People began to get their own views and opinions of the Captain they rarely saw – no one could call him coward, for they owed his division far too much. But…eventually, someone misjudged Kirani catastrophically and it proved to be their undoing. However much his loss against the arrancar years ago had changed him, he was fundamentally still a shinigami that the good could trust, and the villainous should beware. But a fellow Captain, unhappy with Seireitei, unhappy with so much, mistook Kirani’s darkness for something more, and tried to enlist his help in…changing Soul Society. In establishing a new leadership.

Kirani’s first strike, surprising as it was to the man, failed to take his head. The Eighth Division Captain spoke no word – no word was needed for treason. But although the initial blow did not kill his enemy, the traitor, it cut deep, leaving one arm hanging by a thread. Subsequent attacks disarmed the Captain, crippled him, and left him immobile, bleeding and helpless on the ground before Kirani. The Captain had barely even been thinking as he attacked – all that had passed through his mind were thoughts of confusion, of disgust…how could he be mistaken as a traitor? He had barely even noticed that the other Captain had not fallen peacefully – he had scored a few hits against Kirani, and were Kirani anyone but himself, were he just another shinigami, he too might have died. But he ignored his injuries, and brought the fallen Captain before the others to receive justice. And when that justice was served, Kirani was there to watch.

It was after this, after watching a Captain die for breaking the laws, Kirani was thrown into what would be the greatest battle of his life so far. It was like the past was repeating itself – a call for aid from a research time on Earth, with Kirani arranging both passage and limit removal for himself before going down to meet up with the team. As if fate itself had decreed it, Kirani was brought back to face the arrancar that had bested him before, the arrancar that had killed his Captain, the arrancar of fire and steel.

No force in the universe could have turned aside Kirani’s blade now. His hatred of combat was nothing against the need he felt to end the life of the being in front of him. This fight was his. Memories of their last encounter had plagued Kirani. Yet Aikoku cried for Kirani not to face the arrancar alone, remembering the last encounter yet remember how close Kirani had come to death, rather than the pain and anger that Kirani now felt, but for the first time, Kirani completely disregarded the advice of the spirit. The spirit could see only one conclusion in this fight, and it would be Kirani’s hatred of the arrancar consuming him. If he lost, then he would die a mere shadow of the man he once was. If he won…then what would he become?

And so began the fight.

It was not like before…now, the two were evenly matched, and they fought at first with their Zanpakuto, Kirani eventually releasing his shikai and forcing the arrancar into his release…forcing Kirani to go into his Bankai. The fight raged on – the arrancar had more energy attacks than Kirani had expected – and the two gave each other great wounds. The end seemingly came when Kirani directed the stored power of his Bankai into one of the mighty blasts of the arrancar, causing an explosion that engulfed both warriors.

When the smoke cleared…both still stood. Yet both were returned to their base states, and both had found a respect for the other beyond the respect necessary between Captains and powerful arrancar. Kirani still hated the being before him, but he could see that they were equals. He could see why their last fight had gone as it had, and why his Captain had died fighting this beast. The rest of the shinigami had all escaped, and there was absolutely nothing stopping Kirani from leaving…aside from his own desires. Kirani raised Aikoku, assuming a defensive stance…and the arrancar picked up his blade, looked at the sealed sword with disgust…and snapped the mighty sword in two, to Kirani’s shock.

At once, the sealed blade of Aikoku cracked and most the sword crumbled away in the air, leaving only a broken blade attached to the hilt. And Aikoku spoke to Kirani – the spirit told him that this fight was one that Kirani had chosen, that it was the only fight that Kirani had ever wanted, and that to finish it all, to fix things and abandon the memory, it was one that Kirani would have to win or lose alone. For Aikoku had seen an answer, the only answer – with Aikoku in hand, Kirani would be able to defeat the proud being in front of him, defeat it easily, but that would do nothing. Without Aikoku…life and death would blend together. Aikoku had always sought to protect Kirani, just as he sought to protect others…and in this, Aikoku sought to protect the true Kirani. Even if that meant putting Kirani’s body and soul at risk. Understanding only partly the motives of the spirit, Kirani dropped the blade and fought the arrancar again, the pair now reduced to hand to hand combat. In this, the arrancar was stronger, but his hierro was weakened from his loss of energy, and Kirani understood the mechanics of hand of hand combat better, relying less on brute force. But that was a fight that could have continued for an age – they inflicted pain more than damage on each other, and so, to finish it, they both placed all their remaining power into one, final strike.

The giant arrancar struck first…and Kirani let him. Kirani invited the attack, barely moving enough in time to take the blow on his left shoulder, bone crumpling under the attack and lancing pain through his body, but Kirani’s attack struck right back and caught the arrancar in the chest, and although Kirani felt all the bones in his right hand give way, he also knew that the force of his attack had sundered the innards of the arrancar. Coughing blood, the arrancar collapsed…and a moment later, Kirani fell to his knees, alive but wrecked. It was there that Kirani heard the dying words of the arrancar.

The arrancar had lost everything. It had sought out one final battle, for it had defied Las Noches, lived together with its own group, seeking to carve its own life. Such willpower, such might that allowed it to do so left it as the only survivor when Las Noches sent its forces after him, killing all those who refused to join their ranks. Alone, with its life left in ashes, the arrancar sought to end it all in the only way it knew how. And it was in this moment that all the pain and anger Kirani had felt since his Captain died faded away. It was in this moment that Kirani was forged into the man he is today – he now, at last, understood the tragedy of the Hueco Mundo, of the race that was the hollows and the arrancar. They were monsters, and often evil, but the hollows had no will, and the arrancar had no choice. The arrancar had the potential to be something better…and they could command the hollows.

Killing them…hating them…the former might have been necessary, but only because of the war. Kirani made a decision, his heart transformed. If he could give the arrancar a second chance, then he would. They deserved that much. Only those who sought death, who refused to turn away, would die at his hands.

The last request of the arrancar was death by Zanpakuto. When Kirani reached back for Aikoku, the blade had returned, and the spirit within radiated a sense of…contentment. It approved that Kirani had given up on the emotions he had felt for so long – now, even if someone close to him died again, he would not allow it to change who he was. He was a better person. He was the protector that he had always sought to be now. Kirani gave the sword to the dying arrancar and it delivered the final blow upon itself, and as the beast…no, as the man dissolved away, Kirani watched silently, waiting for it all to end before calling for aid and collapsing.

Since then, the darkness cleared. Kirani is a man of peace and kindness, warm hearted. He is a dangerous man, no doubt, but there are few who can truly provoke him into unleashing that danger. Kirani rebuilt his reputation, aided in training more than one generation of shinigami, saved the lives of many more, and now stands as one of the elders within Seireitei.

RP Sample: (One of my old posts as Saelien)

Well, wasn't that unfortunate. Here he was, enjoying a little trip away from the darkness, away from the ever present gloom of the Hueco Mundo - escaping the synthetic light of Las Noches in favour of more natural light - only to find that fate, it seemed, had other plans for the day, and those plans did not include Saelien having a peaceful time on Earth. He found that almost depressing - one moment away, a chance to walk around and, ideally, avoid other spirits completely, be they arrancar, shinigami or hollow, all denied through a (whilst not entirely unforeseeable, but still unlikely) chance. He should have been the last one to be spotted by a stray shinigami, for even if they were weak, he should have been able to sense their reiatsu, whilst they couldn't do the same with him. Avoiding shinigami was a terribly easy task for one such as him once that was considered, because when they only had their eyes to rely on, well, what chance did they have, really?

Unfortunately, one could not so easily detect the reiatsu of a shinigami when they were wearing a gigai. On the other hand, if one could see Saelien, then they would find him quite strikingly not a human, and act appropriately. Now, he understood that it was in fact the rare shinigami that wandered around Earth in a gigai, on patrol, and there was usually only one per town, perhaps a few per city. What were the odds? Well, no matter how slim they were on paper, that was the reality for today. He had been merely sitting on a rooftop, under the rays of the sun - contrary to what some might have thought, he wasn't adverse to heat or sunlight, because in the end, he would always end up cool anywhere on Earth, being the Cold Lord - alternating between idly watching human activity nearby and reading a book. Not exciting, but not everything had to be so...and it was far more entertaining than the Hueco Mundo had been as of late - Espada being Espada, arrancar…being arrancar.

Alas, curious eyes had spotted him, and suddenly the spiritual pressures of shinigami had appeared, and behold! Two figures standing in the air before him. He could have run, of course. Sadly for the shinigami, he didn't feel much like running, and neither did they. However, they were but mere unseated officers, and he was, of course, Saelien. It was no contest.

Thus, Saelien had ended up standing in an alley - surprisingly clean, but an alley nonetheless, and quite devoid of life and inquisitive eyes alike - with two bodies lying against a wall, both breathing shallowly, both heavily wounded, and both staring up at Saelien with undisguised hatred and fury in their expressions. In stark comparison, Saelien had a somewhat disappointed look on his face - he was disappointed that he had been found, and equally disappointed that he had to act. A quick action, true, and he doubted the pair really understood what had happened before the blood started spraying. Not a drop touched Saelien's clothes, and the shinigami probably didn't feel pain. Better yet, their wounds were rather neat, precise...why, were it not for the blood, one would hardly tell the shinigami had been cut at all. But how often had this scene played out before? Arrancar being suddenly attacked by shinigami and defending themselves?

Not often. Shinigami were often refined, reserved beings, whilst arrancar were battle loving brutes. Sad but true. Truth be told, he had not really been attacked - the pair didn't have time for that. They knew he wasn't a shinigami, but they couldn't sense his reiatsu. Thus, confirming what he was wasn't so easy. They started off more curious than anything, but curiosity could be fatal, and Saelien didn't really want to answer their questions before being forced to kill them. Two shinigami like this were hardly high on his list of things to kill; they were not really on the list at all. However, as it was, it looked like they would die from exsanguination. Both had been cut at around waist level, but it was a deep cut, stretching from the side to near the spine, and importantly, it was a cut straight through their bodies. A human would already be dead, and even a shinigami would pass away within a few more minutes at best.

So why had he not left, leaving them to die? Leaving before more shinigami arrived, and he was potentially forced to take further action? Ah, this wasn't his style at all, killing people so directly, so...unnecessarily. Too easily noticed, and too much effort for him, really. Although it was fitting that the pair would die here - out of sight, away from both humans and spirits, unknown and left with only each other for company as they died. Such a sad story indeed. He was probably needed back in the Hueco Mundo anyway; he couldn't be gone for too long, after all. If he left others to their own devices, he dreaded to think what he would return to. Questions, most likely. Being the Fraccion to the Primera had its advantages, but the questions could have vanished and Saelien would not have complained.

But for some reason, he decided to stay. There was a certain look in his eyes that dared the pair to speak up, to damn him through words, but they didn't even try. Just glares filled with venom. He decided that if any other shinigami were going to arrive, it would be around about now - he knew they had systems in place to track the shinigami on Earth. As it happened, there was a...certain reason why he remained. There was an opportunity here, no matter how minor. If it wasn't worth his time, and shinigami arrived and merely attacked, he would just leave a few more bodies in the alley before leaving, but if not...well, maybe the day could become slightly better than being spent reading a book.

No matter how fine a book it was.

Final Acceptance: Done.

[ProtossPenguin]

Alright. Let's take a look shall we?

*I like the details in the appearance section, especially the fact that he's got some noticeable scarring...as most people who have seen a lot of battle should. Only two minor glitches I see.

1st is the Armor. As long as it's purely ornamental, I don't really have a problem with it...but if it's strong enough to afford him additional protection, I'm going to have to say "no" on that one. 2nd is similar to the first. I'm not a fan of the dagger. Making it strong enough to trade blows with a Zanpakuto is something we haven't seen in the canon, and quite frankly is giving your character an edge that others don't have...and it's not an ability. I don't mind if you have a single knife that might be able to hurt someone...but it shouldn't be able to parry an attack from another Shinigami's Zanpakuto.

*The dagger is mentioned again in the strengths section. Just wanted to point out again that while I don't mind the dagger itself being used as a holdout weapon; it wouldn't have any destructive force behind it, and it wouldn't be able to fight on par with a Zanpakuto; or even parry one. It would only likely be useful for one good attack, and even then only if it was a surprise.

*A five in a category represents that he is crippled in that category, and anything below 10 goes beyond an exploitable weakness. Even as a Captain, any score below a 10 only grants you access to the first 38 kido in that category...and likely an inability to use most of those effectively. Thus you wouldn't even be able to use "most of the spells expected of an individual of his rank." 15 would be "Average", so even a 10 would be Sub-Par. Just something I noticed in the wording for your Weaknesses section; honestly not really a big deal as long as you understand your own limitations.

*The crystals have the ability to absorb reiatsu based attacks? That sounds like a very defensive ability to me. An extremely potent defensive ability at that. An ability cannot be both offensive and defensive, thus "Tenbatsu" is really two abilities in one.

Additionally, the fact that you can both block energy attacks with your bankai AND fire them back essentially gives you complete dominion over the battlefield. This prevents your opponent from using a vast majority of their ranged attacks while still allowing you full use of yours in addition to the fact that you're using their energy against them. Combine that with the fact that your character is focused in melee combat, and your character is ridiculously hard to defeat, as the Zanpakuto negates the fact that your character has no real ranged attacks; leaving you with no real weaknesses and potentially taking away a huge portion of the other character's strengths. I think this Bankai needs to be reworked a bit.

*A human with no supernatural abilities or training cut down a hollow? Even a basic hollow can take on more than one fledgling Shinigami in an even fight...I sincerely doubt that a lone human without a Fullbring or a Quincy's Bow would be able to defeat one. Kirani didn't do this once but 23 times? Defeating 20 hollows at once is something I would expect would be difficult even for a seated officer of the Gotei.

*Even if Kirani practiced swordplay for his entire human life...teachers at the academy have been doing it for hundreds of years. They've had a lot more practice, and while I could believe you might be able to beat one who wasn't as focused on Zanjutsu if you were a sword-prodigy...beating the teachers more often than not is pretty ridiculous.

*I'm pretty sure someone can't be a seated officer, at least one that high, without having achieved Shikai...let alone allowing a Vice-Captain with no Kidou to speak of to not have achieved one.

*I'm assuming these were fairly low level Arrancar that he had beaten; as even Captains need to release their limits to fight an Arrancar. Even then, I would expect the fight to be very close, not a one sided domination.

Overall a good read. Just seems like he's a little too powerful in some places in the history. You want your character to be unique, true, but you don't want him to be so unique that even his peers gawk at him. That's what main characters are for.

[Kirani Juujisei]

Armour is purely ornamental - if it wasn't, it would be stated.

Dagger isn't something unique. In the canon we have seen concealed weapons treated as dangerous i.e. valid weapons containing reiatsu and capable of cutting stuff and blocking shit (Soifon), we have seen Zanpakuto sheaths being valid parrying tools (Ikkaku), we have seen swords that are not even Zanpakuto being used as weapons (Stark). It isn't unreasonable for a dagger to be fashioned with more durability than paper - I'm not saying it has Zanpakuto level durability, but it should be moderately useful against sealed Zanpakuto.

Well the wording might be a bit off, but yeah, Kirani isn't very good at Kidou. I'm well aware of this and intend to RP it this way.

As for the Bankai, I don't have complete control - it lacks the instant reactive nature that, say, Ukitake's Zanpakuto possesses and instead relies on punishing slow techniques, techniques that have been read, or doing something creative. Against something fast or something close, the Bankai simply isn't fast enough - Kirani wouldn't be able to throw up a shield of sufficient size and prep it to absorb the attack. Furthermore, it isn't much good against attacks containing a physical aspect even if they are ranged (such as Quincy arrows, or techniques like Byakuya's Senbonsakura). It remains strong against ranged attackers, but it doesn't shut them down completely, and likely puts Kirani at a disadvantage if the opponent is close ranged (since their boosts WILL be more than the spear Kirani possesses).

As for the history, well, I can change some of that - it is a relic of an older age. I'd point out that VC's defeating arrancar isn't even slightly out of the ordinary, though - Shuuhei and Kira completely curbstomped their foes in the manga. It really depends on the strength of the arrancar in question.

[ProtossPenguin]

*Soi-Fon's hidden knife was never shown to be able to parry Zanpakuto; though it was treated as dangerous. That's why I stated I didn't have a problem with it being used as a weapon, it simply cannot be used as an added defense as well. As to Ikkaku's sheath, it is arguably a part of his Zanpakuto, since he must connect it to the back of his sword in order to release his Shikai, and thus it makes since that it would be able to block other weapons. Stark's Zanpakuto is also a part of his released form, as is Lilynette's as they both vanish upon release. They even make a point of showing Lilynette's Zanpakuto getting absorbed from where it was sitting on the building.

I still hold my original position. The dagger can be used as a weapon-which is by no means useless-but it cannot give you an extra means to block an attack. Another staff member could overrule me on this, of course.

*I would say that you need to be more specific about how much energy a crystal construct can absorb, and how many times you can do it; as well as how much energy a certain amount of crystal can absorb. As it is worded right now, there is nothing to prevent you from blocking every Kido that is thrown at you simply by claiming it wasn't accurate or fast enough, and then throwing the power back in their face. I'm fairly uncomfortable with absorption abilities to start out with...so it would have to be pretty well worded and obviously limited in order for me to consider it a valid ability. I realize that it's a Bankai, and is meant to be powerful, but as you haven't stated an upward limit to its ability to absorb attacks; I have no way of knowing that it can't nullify another person's means of attack, including their Bankai. Really at this point, I just need more information.

*I agree that an Arrancar can be defeated by a Vice-Captain completely; but that was with their limits released, and there are also examples of them getting the crap beaten out of them. I was simply making sure that these weren't particularly powerful Arrancar. I didn't really have much of a problem with that particular point, just making a note.

[Kirani Juujisei]

But weapons that are dangerous to shinigami/arrancar are, by the very laws that govern Bleach, capable of acting as some form of defence. If it has enough reiatsu to be viable as a weapon against Captain level shinigami (and looking at the manga, Soifon/Yoruichi's concealed weapons were clearly judged so), then it should have enough reiatsu to parry a sealed Zanpakuto - hell, Ichigo initially couldn't cut Kenpachi with his sword, but he could still block his attacks until he relaxed his reiatsu. All comes down to reiatsu. If the dagger has enough reiatsu to be a weapon, then it should have enough to act as a defence, but only really against sealed blades.

As for the Bankai, I've covered most of the points regarding it above - I'll simply state that, if Kirani is in a position where he can just about dodge, his Bankai is useless. If he is in a position where he can SEE an attack coming at reasonable speed from long distance/see it being charged, he can do something. The crystal upper limit isn't important - on the other hand, it can only absorb what touches it, and so if the crystal isn't large enough to take the full spread of an attack, part of the attack can move on by it. It cannot affect Bankai/techniques/releases that have a solid form - for this reason it doesn't even work on all kidou. There are pretty significant gaps in this Bankai for people to exploit and it is very much situational - it would be super effective against someone who heavily specialised in uber energy attacks, but against everyone else who tends to be more mixed? Not that special. Against straight up physical attackers? Worthless as a defensive construct.

[ProtossPenguin]

*The hidden knife Soifon used is really the only example of that we've seen, and for all I know, it wouldn't have even cut her and she dodged it on reflex. I'm just assuming there's enough power in it to be dangerous, but enough power to cut doesn't mean enough power to block. Most Shinigami have more power in their blade (as the blade is their power focused into a cutting edge) than floating in the air around him. Zaraki is a terrible example, as he has a unique amount of defensive power in comparison to any other Shinigami. Additionally, Zaraki wasn't trying to cut Ichigo in the instance you were referring to. When Ichigo first *Did* manage to cut Zaraki, he cut through Ichigo's blade like it was butter. Ichigo was able to parry because Zaraki was allowing him to do so; and that's Zanpakuto .vs. Zanpakuto which also does not defend the usability of other weapons against them.

Zanpakuto can oftentimes be stopped by the hierro of an Arrancar, so there's no way a dagger would be able to do it. As I said before, I am willing to grant that it can-when used in the right situation, against the right opponent-be used as a weapon. I am not, however, willing to consider a piece of your character's equipment outside of his abilities able to defend against a Zanpakuto. It is made up of reishi, yes, as is everything in the Soul Society, but it isn't focused to the proper level to defend against a blade that is made up of a large portion of a Shinigami's power.

*I disagree. The upper limit of the crystal is very important. If another person's Bankai has a small, thin attack that focuses a ton of power into it, you shouldn't be able to block that and fire it back with your Bankai, as your Bankai's should have roughly equal power. Additionally, as you don't describe how quickly you can put crystals together, I have no way of knowing you can't just form a crystal the size of your body in front of you every time; making the bleed around the crystal irrelevant.

Additionally, as your character is heavily focused in melee combat, what your Bankai forces the other person to do is engage you at a reasonably close range, while nullifying the majority of distance attacks. So while your bankai won't completely shut down someone who is well balanced, it will force them into a range where you can shut them down, as your character is more heavily focused on melee. Even then, I see nothing to prevent you from avoiding them and setting up orbs all over the battlefield, and then reflecting your ranged attacks around until they are ridiculously difficult to dodge.

A Bankai is not supposed to overcome your character's weaknesses, it is supposed to complement their talents. The way it is now, once you release your Bankai, your character is simply too powerful.

I need a lot more information, and some major limitations if you want me to consider this Bankai. As it is written right now, I cannot accept it. Another staff member is free to overrule me on this, but in all honesty, as it is right now I don't think they will.

[Kirani Juujisei]

I still disagree with the point of the dagger, but it is such a small point that it matters not.

High powered, thin beam attacks would be countered by the Bankai...but those have problems in and of themselves. The example you just gave would be an easy attack to avoid, nevermind absorb, unless the beam could explode on contact with objects...in which case, I'd get one counter against the opponent and then they just aim for the ground below Kirani, or to the side, for splash. Easy. As for the speed, I cannot exactly quantify it with numbers (how does one quantify speed in a manga where one cannot even put an accurate label on the speed of the characters?) Suffice to say that most constructs Kirani has time to make without having loads to spare would not cover his whole body - maybe an area equivalent to his chest, but that still leaves a hell of a lot of openings.

However, on re-reading the technique description, I realise that I must have copied an older version of the technique, because Kirani isn't able to throw up active crystals all over the battlefield. He is limited to three at any one point, and I'll edit that in now. So yeah, there is plenty to prevent Kirani from setting up everywhere.

As for forcing people into Melee...as I've said before, few releases are going to give people pure energy attacks and nothing else - these, I counter. Releases that give other boosts can use those boosts as they will, and if those boosts are close-combat oriented then bam, I'm at a disadvantage.

[ProtossPenguin]

*That's the kind of information I need. I didn't mean that I needed exact numbers, but the size of the crystal he creates in the average amount of time it takes to fire off an attack is important.

*Most people will not have purely energy based Bankai, but it's not solely the Bankai's that are the problem. Many people do not give heavy focus on their swords, and the way it is worded right now allows it to shut down Kido as well as Cero which are both mainstays of non-melee oriented characters. Now the ability to only have three active crystals at a time makes it much more feasible than it was previously; however I still see some problems.

~First, I notice that it says a shattered crystal still contains the energy, albeit in an amount that is proportional to the size of the fragment of the crystal. What's to stop you from shattering this crystal and firing off a number of projectiles that would be ridiculously hard to dodge?

~Second, I notice that you say you can reabsorb fired energy from one crystal to another...and here's the problem I have with that. Say your opponent fires a Cero, and you absorb it in a crystal that's by you at the time. What's to stop you from simply firing your attack at him, and reabsorbing it into a crystal at the other side if you miss, re-firing it and reabsorbing it again. I don't really have much of a problem with you doing it once as it takes a certain amount of strategy to move them between them...but the ability to reabsorb the attacks multiple times and bouncing them around would get crazy very fast.

~My third issue is another reason why I need to have a limit on absorption. It doesn't say a crystal cannot continue to absorb power after it's been activated. This would give you the ability to use these crystals as cover from ranged attacks without limit. Your focus on sword defense is very limited, and absorption is quite literally the most powerful defensive ability there is.

[Kirani Juujisei]

It can certainly shut down some kidou - if it didn't, it wouldn't be very effective. It cannot shut down them all - against bakudou especially it is lacking (because bakudou tend to form around targets), and bakudou are the more dangerous of the two kidou types.

Two reasons stop me from firing off energy from shattered crystals and really, this is the reason why I have the ability to catch the energy again in another crystal. Shattered crystal attacks will, obviously, be much weaker, but more importantly, will not be too hard to dodge since all beams must converge on a single point when fired due to the rules of the Bankai.

I cannot fire projectiles back and forth without setting up the crystals already - Kirani has to form the crystal first, and then he has to touch it to activate the absorption property. If he has crystals already set up, it can be done, but then people would have to be in their path, and Kirani cannot move around active crystals, so...yeah, that doesn't really work.

They can keep on absorbing, but they are static, must be set up by Kirani, are of set size once created...I cannot really use them as perma cover unless the opponent lets me. And if the opponent is doing that, they might as well kill themselves and be done with it, because it is on the same level of stupidity.

[Darake Kitoushi [Old]]

First off, great work as always Esper. Looks like our characters will have a great synergy. I can already see an epic tag team between us. Lets get him approved so we can get to role-playin'.

• Your first paragraph of your strengths is basically devoted to solely extolling his intelligence. Seems like the way you describe his intelligence, being somewhat a tactician, strategist, and a former teacher would mean his training focus would be more than average in his intelligence stat. The same goes for his swordsmanship, this seems to be the most prominent point of the character. It seems he goes above and beyond in his focus of swordsmanship, more than a 20 which is only above average.

• Well the form of your shikai is a bit of a problem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a kido type sacrifices the efficiency of the weapon for the advantage of the techniques. Going through all the canon kido types, they all seem to basically be a blade. Hinamori, Urahara, Yumichika, Kyouraku, Ukitake, Kira, ect. A spear is no doubt an efficent weapon, specially the Spetum. (Badass by the way, my favorite.) Thus it should probably be changed to a sword or change the type, but I assume you wanna keep the kido type. Shouldn't really be an issue since a blade fits your character well anyway.

• On to the bankai. A very minor point, but you say that when the crystals are destroyed they are replaced. I figure this should tax you to some extent as I imagine the material must come from somewhere. Thus against a very specific type of opponent, say one who could inhale the crystals or disintegrate them somehow, could tax you into exhaustion. Surely a rare case, but just a thought to add an interesting weakness.

• Once again I could be incorrect, but I don't think anyone can just create constructs at will without it being an actual technique. That would mean each type of item you intend to create would need to be a technique. Not a problem considering you only have one currently.

• "Kirani could form a large sphere of crystal very quickly..."
Sounds like one such example that should be a technique. Also this conjures a problematic image in my mind. Someone is about to fire a beam and you preemptively make this. Now your guarded on all sides with a perfect barrier versus energy. This is something I would only expect of someone with the highest defensive stat possible. Am I overestimating the speed here? I figure this is likely an issue with the wording.

• The bankai seems to be based far more around defensive maneuvers than offense. A nearly complete defense against energy projectiles sounds very potent and more deserving than an average stat in zanjutsu defense. Perhaps rethink the stat allocation?

• I had thought the same thing about bakudou, that most appear around the enemy. However this caused me to go through the list and find it is a rare few that do it and even then it is still somewhat a distance from them before closing in. I don't think your bankai should be eligible on any bakudou.

• You killed twenty hollows as a human? I had thought it was an important distinction that a shinigami's blade allowed them to cut a hollow. I don't think a normal blade is capable of this, much less a human actually able to fight hollows which would chop up academy students. This is even beyond Ichigo level hax no?

• A zanpakuto immediately among being in Soul Society? That seems far beyond even the most talents of shinigami and our examples in canon. Beating instructors? Guys who've had lifetimes of experience in swordplay?

• Were not going to have allowed shinigami to infiltrate Hueco Mundo so far within our history, we want that to be a plot point in the future. So if you could just change that to somewhere in the human world there would be no issue.

• The history is certainly serviceable as is, but for such an old individual I would kinda expect some more defining moments in his service that helped make him the man he is today. As is you only have the death of his captain. Nothing about after he became a captain which you seem to indicate has been quite some time. Nor any instance like say, the first time he used his bankai in battle, etc. It's not particularly needed, your choice.

[Kirani Juujisei]

I'd agree with most of that, Kit. There are a few instances of...dodgy wording, and a few older quirks like felling twenty hollows. More specifically...

• Yeah, I'm gonna play around with the stats a bit more, they still don't accurately reflect everything about the character.
  
  
• A fair point about the kidou types...I'd never thought about it in those terms but that seems pretty reasonable. I'd actually sooner take the spear over the kidou type Zanpakuto (and I've plans to fix the history a bit to make that more suitable).
  
  
• Well the idea of the crystals is that, when they are not part of an active crystal, they are supposed to look cool but be otherwise meaningless - no danger, no defence, unobtrusive. I mean, I could add that weakness, but it would make Kirani really vulnerable to people with anything that can destroy large amounts of defenceless crystals at a time...most people have some kind of explosion technique. I think it would be a little bit crippling to the Bankai rather than a cool and clever weakness.
  
  
• I can just state that Kirani makes orbs or something similar, have not decided on the exact shape. But yeah, whatever I decide on, active crystals will take a specific shape, if not specific size.
  
  
• Aye, the large crystal bit is a wording issue which I'll fix. He cannot form them quite that fast...and his crystals are solid, so he couldn't form a single crystal to protect all sides.
  
  
• In my head, I gave the Bankai 15 for defence because, although it does have awesome defences, they are conditional, very restricted, and only operate against certain attacks. The Bankai is worthless vs physical attacks and worthless against reiatsu attacks that are too speedy (i.e. bala)...in my mind, a really high defence would be like Nnoitra's hierro, which blocks...most things, or super regen like Wanderweiss. If you disagree with that view, though, I can change around the stat allocation.
  
  
• I had a look at the Bakudou list too...many Bakudou are shield/medical/other defensive in nature, and the static nature of my Bankai makes it ineffective against those. Some still form around the opponent (like the infamous six rods light prison), and some are solid and thus outside the power of my Bankai (e.g. Gōchūtekkan). For the relatively small number of Bakudou my Bankai can block, shouldn't it be allowed to, since they fall within the rules of the Bankai?
  
  
• Yeah, I'm changing the hollow bit. And the bit about the teachers and Zanpakuto.
  
  
• No problem there, I plan on expanding on that piece anyway.
  
  
• I'll add to the history. I like Kirani's app and the history is just a bit...lacking.
  

[Darake Kitoushi [Old]]

• Okay so if you wanna keep the spear that's fine. Just give us the heads up when the changes are made. So you intend to no longer have the kidou type shikai, but keep the bankai as is? Doesn't that seem a bit odd considering the bankai seems fairly grounded in kidou type and both releases should mesh somehow?

• Sorry, I didn't realize that the crystals wouldn't work against most bakudou like the shields. There are only like four bakudou that are fired, so I'd have no problem with you being able to deal with those.

• As for recreating the crystals, we could merely say that explosions wouldn't destroy them. I imagine they would merely push them around. It was just the thought of creating something out of nothing being a bit troublesome. It doesn't need to be terribly draining and it would need to be a very specific situation for it to even come up.

• No doubt your bankai defense is conditional, but in that condition it is very good. I'd say that would be a 20 alone. Add in the fact that you have expert swordsmanship skills to deal with physical attacks and I think you should have a 25. Does that make sense?

[Kirani Juujisei]

I'll put some thought into linking the spear shikai with the Bankai with the kidou type being dropped. As for the rest, I'll get to work on that ASAP. I'll let you know once all the changes are done.

[Darake Kitoushi]

Moving to WIP till you are done, my dear! Take your time *hugs*

[Kirani Juujisei]

Ok, changes are done.

---Ended up keeping kidou type and having a sword.

---All edits are done to the Bankai.

---Stats have been reworked.

---History is edited with a fair amount added since his ascension to Captain.

[Darake Kitoushi [Old]]

Very nearly done.

• The shikai range should just be the reach of the blade itself.

• The difference in a jab and slash in Akari Tenrai would then be two techniques as it makes two different projectiles.

• The bankai collecting the crystals into a shield formation should be a technique.

• Defeating the Captian in your history sounded far to simple. Shouldn't a fight between two captains be a monumental struggle?

[Kirani Juujisei]

---Fixed.

---Just removed the blade variant...don't really see the point in taking up a technique slot with it.

---Fixed.

---If its alright, this is something I'm gonna be fleshing out more through TBTP, along with several of the other major fights in Kirani's history.

[Darake Kitoushi [Old]]

That's great you wanna flesh it out in TBTP. Please just make it not sound so easy in your history, sounds like neither of you even released and it was a rather quick affair that you did with any effort.

About the crystal shield technique, you understand that ceros have a tendency to be rather large yes? One meter likely wouldn't even begin to be large enough to block a cero if I'm not mistaken.

[Darake Kitoushi]

Moving this back to WIP for whenever you find the time to fix the couple sentences in your history. Take your time, my dear.