Jushiro Ukitake - Hail to the king, baby. FINISHED

**Jushiro Ukitake** Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:05 am

Back to Basics//

Name: Jushiro Ukitake.

Aliases: None (Many, but he is unaware of them).

Age: Over 1900 - slightly younger than his friend Shunsui. He became a Captain 210 years before the beginning of Bleach's plotline. However, he appears to be in his mid-twenties.

Gender: Male.

Affiliation: Jushiro is the Captain of the 13th Squad. His loyalty is towards two people: Shunsui Ukitake and Genryusei Yamamoto - more so with the former, as Ukitake has been seen willing to fight with the latter for what he believes is right.

Appearance//

Hair & Eye Colour: Ukitake has crystalline green eyes and white hair, the latter due to his tuberculosis.

Description: Ukitake stands just above average human height, with thin cheekbones, a bony chin, and a complexion that variates between two positions: Good-natured and utterly serious.
He is muscled, but not extravagantly so - they show only slightly through his robe, but are lethally potent in battle. Jushiro has very little body hair, and keeps himself preened to perfection as is expected of a Captain.
Crowning Ukitake lies a long, streaming hairstyle, unrestrained but nevertheless reaching down to the crook of his back.
The Captain walks with a gait that hints of a regal yet humble man, yet slightly weak in some sense, as if he is constantly awaiting the next unpleasant bout of his illness.

Jushiro dons upon him the traditional Captain's Haori, but chooses not to wear the insignia that would usually go with such a dress - all in Soul Society know of him, so he doesn't see the need (Ukitake doesn't enjoy being ostentatious). Beneath his haori lies a black Shinigami robe, tied against him by a thick white belt. As is traditional, he is shod with a pair of sandles.
Ukitake's obi - his scabbard - lies inside his outer robe, strapped to his left hip.

Under the Skin//

Likes:

Candy - particularly sticks of pocky.
The presence of his friends - ie, everyone in Soul Society.
Children (No. Not in that way. Pervert.) - Children are the most carefree people in the world; they adopt an attitude which Ukitake himself thinks is a great policy for life.
Poetry - Any artistic expression, in Jushiro's mind, is a good thing; he enjoys deciphering the author's mood when they wrote it.
Literature - see above.

Dislikes:

Fighting.
People who use brute force to get what they want - These people damage the happiness of other people.
Being restrained by unfair laws - Jushiro acts upon what is right, and not what the laws say is right.
Children trained to fight - a child trained to fight is a child who has had their childhood wrenched away from them.

Personality: Ukitake, at first, appears good-mannered and approachable, trying to make friends with everyone that he meets and being all too happy to give advice. He is fairly humble, and treats even the lowest ranks of Shinigami as equals. Even when his 'friends' betray him (ie, Sosuke Aizen), he is unwilling to hate said people, and instead hopes desperately that they return to the right path. He will, however, fight such people if the need arises.
Adding to this persona, Jushiro seems unwilling to battle with anyone (except in light-hearted training sessions) and would much prefer to hold a lengthy conversation with them about either of their likes and dislikes. His policy, it would appear, states that every stranger is a potential friend.

When the need for battle does arise, however, Ukitake will fight with little complaint, and will no doubt show everyone his uncharacteristic grace in the field of combat; his eagle eyes will carefully observe for weaknesses, and strike them hard.
Preferably, Ukitake will incapacitate his enemies rather than kill them - that way, they will have the chance for future redemption. When under orders, or when the target persists, he will not hesitate to use lethal force.

In social situations, Jushiro can appear a bit of an oddball, taking a liking to certain people because of the sound of their name, or a certain trinket they may be wearing - it all depends on his mood; a one-minute solemn Ukitake can easily become outspeaking and humourous the next.
The Captain, oddly, has a habit of giving people unwanted gifts, such as piles of candy or strange items that remind him of them in colour or simple shape: for instance, he would absentmindedly gift an hourglass to Rangiku Matsumoto without even thinking of the implications.

He doesn't take his Captain position lightly, but doesn't abuse his powers either - in his mind, the position he sits in is simply a way he can better the lives of everyone else.

Jushiro Ukitake, at some point in the past, contracted tuberculosis. During bouts of this sickness, he will become secluded and quiet, trying to avoid the public eye and preferring to sit in his own private garden with a basket full of hand-picked grapes and a book (these can range from any topic: The Art of War by Sun Tzu and Stephen King's 'Carrie' are both within his reading prospectus).

Biography//
Currently, I'm writing a novel, and have no time for a fully-detailed Biography. Therefore, I'll give you the short version:

Ukitake was born into a fairly low-key family, with five brothers and two sisters. He was always the bonding link of the group, keeping his kin together even through rough times.
When the Gotei 13 was established, some 1000 years ago, Ukitake was among the first to enrol and among the first to become a Captain (along with Shunsui Kyoraku and Retsu Unohana). This was, notably, an 800-year-long process, and at the current time he has been Captain for 210 years (more or less).

During Aizen's betrayal, Ukitake played quite a large role in preventing death and other troubles: He held Byakuya back from killing Hanatarou, and even faced off with his own Captain-Commander (and mentor), Genryusei Yamamoto in order to prevent further killings.
Since then, Jushiro played a part in the war over False Karakura Town, battling mightily with Coyote Starrk when Shunsui was injured, and has since Aizen's downfall been helping with the reconstruction of civility to Seireitei and its surroundings, mostly via writing about the problems to his many activist fans. Around the many areas of Soul Society, Jushiro Aid groups have been set up to help rebuild the homes destroyed by Arrancar forces.
More recently, Ukitake took special note of his Seated Officer, Rukia Kuchiki, and offered her a place as his third Lieutenant - a position which the young Shinigami did not refuse.

Zanpakutō//A power within

Sealed Form: Sogyo No Kotowari takes the form of a simple katana, of average length with a bronze crossguard and red grip. Still, it is sharpened beyond a razor edge, and hums even with a light swing.

Name: Sogyo No Kotowari (The Truth of Pisces).
Spirit Appearance: As a rarity, Jushiro has two Zanpakuto spirits: a pair of young, ponytailed boys dressed in blue sleeping caps and robes of the same colour. Each of them holds a yellow fan.
Spirit Personality: Sogyo No Kotowari enjoys nothing more than childrens' games, frequently teasing Jushiro in his meditation to play Hide and Seek in the spirit world or The Floor Is Made of Lava. On good days, the friendly Captain obliges them.
Inner World: Ukitake's spiritual inner world consists of a small-looking childrens' playground, consisting of a decrepit-looking swingset and a partially rusted slide. It is always sunny here, and a cityscape on the horizon creates quite a pleasant atmosphere.

Shikai Release Phrase: "All waves, rise now and become my shield; Lightning, strike now and become my blade."
Shikai Abilities: Sogyo No Kotowari, essentially, absorbs reiatsu-based attacks and fires them back with a heightened speed and power. There has been no limit set for the absorbing, but Ukitake seemed uneased when Coyote Starrk suggested he couldn't deflect 1000 Ceros at once.
Shikai Appearance: Sogyo No Kotowari becomes two, much smaller wakizashis, with small metal outlets that double back on the inside of the blades, almost touching the crossguards. From the pommels of each trail a long red length of (seemingly) velvet, attaching the two blades to each other. Adorning the length are rectangular symbols of metal, five of them dangling from the velvet. When the Zanpakuto's ability is in use, the symbols will light up (progressing from the far left) impossibly quickly, transferring the absorbed energy to the right blade, ready for redirecting and firing.

Shikai Techniques: -

Technique Name: Dos Fortilasa.
Technique Effect: Rather than redirecting the enemy's attack in one continuous stream, Ukitake will release it in a pair of streams which will form a pincer attack around the target, each carrying half the power of a singular blast.

Technique Name: Hokan.
Technique Effect: Instead of firing back a reiatsu-based attack, Ukitake will extract the reiatsu from the captured attack and add it to his own reiatsu storage, allowing him to quickly replenish any he has lost.

RP Sample//
The barracks were lovely this time of year: new wallpaper was put up - sea blue, to match the season - and the men were full of energy, forever submitting their poems and short stories to the 13th Division magazine that they themselves published.
Not that Jushiro needed a barracks, of course; fighting was left to Zaraki-kun's Division, and to a lesser extent Kuchiki-sama's. No, the 13th Division wasn't composed of fighters, but lovers, as Jushiro Ukitake would be the first to boast.
The gardens were even nicer, for the simple reason that it was outside, exposed to summer.

Ukitake coughed lightly, bringing himself back from reminiscance. He glanced warily at his palm, and worry swelled in his heart when he saw the flecks of red that had gathered there. A little angrily, he flicked the blood droplets off and flicked his Captain Haori into a more comfortable position, allowing him to stand up from his cross-legged state.
Ahead of him, next to the ornamental bridge of Ukitake's gardens, a trio of koi fish surfaced, splished happily around, and submerged themselves again. At Jushiro's feet, two small paper sheets lay: one piled with bread crumbs, one with fish food; for the sparrows and fish, respectively. Now, he wrapped them up and left the bundles there before strolling up onto the bridge, admiring the click of his sandals against the wood, its acoustics built perfectly for the pleasant noise.
Further ahead than the bridge, a couple of wide-eyed apprentices watched the Captain, glancing excitedly between one-another at his movement. Ukitake waved pleasantly to them, inwardly wary of the painting canvas one was holding - they tended to exaggerate certain features, when drawing for the magazine.