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Alysstrasza
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Posts : 1873
Location : With Rena
Age : 30
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Posts : 1873
Location : With Rena
Age : 30
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 - - THE ONCOMING STORM - - Name: Ketsu Altana Apparent Age: 23 True Age: 247 Sex: Male Personality: [ESTJ-A] - [The Executive] Neutral Good is known as the "Benefactor" alignment. A Neutral Good character is guided by his conscience and typically acts altruistically, without regard for or against Lawful precepts such as rules or tradition. A Neutral Good character has no problems with co-operating with lawful officials, but does not feel beholden to them. In the event that doing the right thing requires the bending or breaking of rules, they do not suffer the same inner conflict that a Lawful Good character would. Just like his hair being the first thing you'd notice about Ketsu's appearance, the first thing you'd notice about his personality is his glaring smile. There's little that can bring him down off his nearly constant high of happiness, and surrounding himself with friends and family only assists in that high. Ketsu doesn't like spending days pissed off or upset for any reason. Even as a shinigami, the number of days he has is limited, so there's no point spending them brooding. (Plus, it's easy to think this way when you spend an entire century doing exactly that.) The second thing you'd notice about Ketsu is that, for someone who loves fighting so much, he actually doesn't do all that much of it. He prefers to get to know people and judge their strength based off of confrontations with others, rather than a spar with Ketsu himself. It's too easy to judge how someone fights and what skill level their at if you're the one fighting them, but it's more satisfying to do it to two people at once. Ketsu looks at both men and women as though he's an older brother to them. He has his own insecurities about it, but for the most part tries his best to be there for anyone who needs him, no matter what he's doing. He has a bit a shorter temper with men, especially men who are clearly older than him, but he'll try his hardest to hold his tongue if he feels like lashing out. His chivalry with women is extreme, and while he's charming, he can't help but compare everyone to his own skill and make comments regarding it. People that are stronger than he is are treated with more respect, and they have earned that right. He does not talk back to them, usually, and will instead abide to their desire. Not always, but a majority of the time. Ketsu treats people who are stronger than he is as though they are rivals, and though he doesn't always do so, he will sometimes attempt to get even stronger than they are. He enjoys combat in any scenario, but he doesn't have a thirst for power; it takes someone of significant skill to drive him to become stronger than they are, and once he gets to that level, he will forever treat them as an equal, even if they get stronger than he is or weaker to any degree. They've earned that right. Equals are how he treats most people, male or female, be they stronger or weaker than him to a certain degree. People that fall under this category end up be treated with respect. Ketsu treats most equals not unlike he treats superiors to an extent; he still has the friendly rivaling with them, but spends less time bonding with them and more time trying to train them so they become more powerful and drive him to be better. People who are significantly weaker than Ketsu actually receive quite a bit of respect, even though he doesn't need to do so. They are treated much like a doctor treats his patients, with careful respect. Ketsu hopes that by treating them the way he does they'll look at him much in the same way he looks at someone superior to him, which causes them to work to get better than him. Even if they never do, Ketsu will still cause them to get stronger and stronger, which helps his squadron in the long run. To everyone, Ketsu is a very analytic person. He constantly analyzes everything he sees, even to the point of over-analysis. Everyone and everything he sees is categorized and labeled, thrown into its own little holding cell until its needed. His hyperactive logical reasoning annoys the crap out of him most of the time, but out of the three methods, he specializes in deduction, and has minor abilities in abduction and induction. Ketsu's ability to form relationships is almost uncanny. He has a natural knack for being able to pick the right thing to say in order to gain the affection of people, though not always in an emotional way. He's a very charismatic person, and for that reason is more than able to lead any group he needs to just by convincing others to work with him under some extent. Most people who he has work for him tend to stick around if only to see his true ideals when it comes to just about any aspect of light. Due to Ketsu's constant over-analyzing things, he ends up being oblivious to certain situations. While he is aware of the concept of love & attraction, he rarely feels them for anyone else, and is blatantly unaware of anyone's feelings for him in that matter. Whenever someone is acting odd in front of him, he just assumes they're having a bad day or something, and the fact that they may feel attraction towards him is almost never something he bothers thinking of. The analysis of things also causes him to hold grudges towards people rather well, simply because his memory is very good and he can't help but keep score of things that people do to him. He writes off when he's beaten in combat, and will give someone a clean slate if they do so, simply because they deserve it for having beaten him. All of this falls away when he's by himself. Ketsu constantly hears his inner demon literally screaming at him, forcing him to get stronger. He'll never admit it: he'll say he's getting stronger because he was challenged to, or someone was in danger; he'll never admit that he's in danger all the time of turning Hollow unless he continues to get stronger. Ketsu will never admit how much that terrifies him, so he'll continue hiding it away inside, and trying to be with other people so he can pretend he doesn't have to worry about it. Likes: • Ketsu is a fan of food of any sort. There are no food items Ketsu will not consume, and he can tell the ingredients in nearly anything by tasting it once. In fact, he may be a better eater than he is a fighter. • Ketsu prefers the day time to the night time, for two reasons. In the day time, he can see his opponents far more clearly than he can at night; and, in the day time, Ketsu can relax and soak in a bath of the sunlight comfortably. The moonlight does not offer the same comfort. • Ketsu is a chess master; not just chess, but anything that even remotely resembles chess, especially including war. He excels at impossible challenges, and prides himself on his ability to turn nearly any fight around to his side's favor. • Ketsu enjoys the thrill of combat. He doesn't like hurting anyone or being hurt, but he absolutely loves a fight were he can go all out and use everything at his disposal. It's not even that he wants to be stronger, he just really likes combat. • Having Rivals is one of Ketsu's favorite things. The strive to be better is enjoyable, but the knowledge that someone constantly thinks about him and uses him as their basis to get better, to get stronger, is satisfying. • Friends and family are also something that Ketsu very highly enjoys being around. It's nice to be able to relax from a difficult fight with people who care about you and want to make sure you're okay, and it's also very nice to have people worry about you. • Isolation is an awkward state of mind to which Ketsu has become comfortable with. His tendencies to prefer being alone are apparent especially with people who don't know him, and he's no longer warm and friendly to everyone. It's shoot first, ask questions later. • Ketsu has an intense respect for all shinigami: if they're stronger, equal to, or weaker than he is, he will respect them and help them to get better (or push them to stay past him, in the case of stronger than he is). He drives everyone around him to better themselves at all times. Dislikes, Fears: • His hubris was his downfall. While Ketsu was no stranger to sensing power level, he knew that Accelerator was stronger than he was, but only admitted he was of similar strength. He attempted to combat the non-hostile target, and lost in a very harsh way, ending in his death. Ketsu still feels pride for his actions, and still believes in his own strength, but he is now rather cautious in an attempt to make sure such actions do not happen once again. In this way, he is almost afraid of his own pride, and will attempt to subvert it in obscure ways, by distracting his own mind from observations he can't stop making, and will no longer attack first under any circumstance. • Ketsu can swim to a small extent, enough to keep himself from drowning, when he is in a completely relaxed state. He has a lot of difficulty swimming when focusing on other things, and his fear of water has progressed to the point where he cannot focus enough to solidify the air under his feet if he is less than Ten feet above the water at any time; if he is Ten feet or more, or not directly above the water, he is fine at it, though. • He strongly dislikes rain. Being in water voluntarily is one thing, but having it forced on you and everything you're carrying is just a huge annoyance to him. It doesn't terrify him like deep water does, but it does bother him. • Another thing which Ketsu dislikes are bitter drinks. Any drink that Ketsu has to add sugar to just to enjoy, he innately dislikes. He'll tolerate them in the presence of friends who had them prepared or have nothing else, but he does not enjoy drinking anything he adds sugar to; these include coffee, tea, and artificial juice. • He also doesn't care for music. There are some songs that he'll admit to enjoying, but he certainly won't go out of his way to listen to any sorts of music. Loud music is especially bothersome to him, as it can break his concentration on anything nearly instantly. He's even put down food and walked away because someone was playing music too loudly. • After having opened up and found a family with Kiyomi Altana, Ketsu was entirely happy and complacent. With her death at the hands of an unknown, Ketsu refuses to let himself get close to anyone or anything nowadays, staying a considerable distance away emotionally and physically from new relationships; even his own child doesn't get the attention they deserve, simply because he refuses to allow that sort of weakness into his soul a second time. • Ketsu despises being cold; snow irritates him, and it's just yet another reason to hate the rain. He's been known to use his shikai when it's cold, just so he doesn't have to suffer through it. He really dislikes the cold. • Surprisingly, while Ketsu absolutely loves to eat, he cannot stand cooking. He doesn't think it's beneath him like one might assume, he just doesn't enjoy cooking. It's never something he really cared for. Ambitions/Dreams/Goals: • Ketsu longs for a world where there is no war, where people can coexist peacefully and get along with each other, even going so far as to teach each other their abilities, even if it's across race. • A world free of the stain of non-human life. Fullbringers, Hollow, Quincy, Sinner, Arrancar... everything that isn't a full-blooded Human is an enemy unless given direct orders otherwise. Those who work for the Committee disgust Ketsu, but he won't attack them on sight. • Due to Ketsu's inability to perform Hadou of any level, or Kidou at all anymore, he no longer attains to master the Kidou; instead, he simply yearns for a way to even produce the most basic of them in his human body. • Kill Accelerator. Ketsu remembers his death vividly, and wants revenge for it. CHARACTER APPEARANCE Height: 5'8" [172cm] Weight: 151 lbs [68.5kg] Physical Traits: With how he wears his clothes and the way he normally stands, Ketsu usually looks about five foot eight or five foot nine depending on the given situation. With his height, he's completely proportional in every degree, having slightly longer and larger arms and legs, as well as broader shoulders. With a body-mass index of twenty-one and one tenth, Ketsu's weight of one-hundred-fifty-one pounds makes him perfectly fit. His weight is a combination of his fat and his muscle, although the muscle is more prominent by far. His body type is considered Mesomorphic; as such, he has well-defined muscles and large bones. The torso tapers to a relatively narrow and low waist. The bones and muscles of the head are prominent. Features of the face are clearly defined, such as cheek bones and a square, heavy jaw. The face is long and broad, and is cubicle in shape. Arms and legs are developed and even the digits of the hand are muscled. Ketsu's hair is a small phenomenon, naturally spiking upwards the way he normally wears it. Platinum blond in color, the hair compliments his oceanic blue eyes, which look gentle enough that he could literally force the ocean to do his bidding. When he's irritated or focused, the moisture in his eyes makes it almost look like they are glowing a much lighter blue than they are. His body is mostly free of any scars or marks, although there is a band of green thorns around his left bicep which he keeps covered by his sleeve. His skin is tanned gentle, having a balanced amount of pigmentation in it. At his arms, his muscles are somewhat averagely sized, but are more highly detailed and defined, clearly marking just where they are. Aside from the wolf head piercing in his left earlobe, his body is free of any visible piercings or anything to that effect. His neck is barren of any necklaces not because he doesn't like them, but instead because he has yet to find something that fits him. The wolf's head in his earring is symbolic towards him: he's a loner, sometimes feeling abandoned by those around him, but he works just as well in packs. Originally he was going to go with a lion's head for valor, but he felt it was too overplayed. His mood and facial expressions translate cleanly throughout his body: when he's angry, his muscles tense up and become a bit bulkier; and when he's relaxed or sad, his muscles open up too. The veins on his forehead pop out slightly when he's getting irritated, but do not do the same in any other context. Ketsu's body betrays most of his emotions, but when he's concentrating on something (for example, playing chess) he's a stoic robot where nothing gets through to him and nothing is emitted from him. He calls this his poker face, and it sort of is just because his eyes gloss over just enough and his hair reacts as if he's sad, laying flat on his head. With a massive sword nearly always on his back, he wears a white tanktop under a no-sleeve vest, which is always zipped up to his collarbone. He keeps his sword on his back, with the hilt to the right side of his head, so from his right shoulder down to his left hip is a belt he uses to keep the sword in place, while his left shoulder is covered in a single piece of armor, black leather to provide some resistance. His left arm is also covered by an oversized sleeve, which is attached to the vest and the leather mantle he wears to cover the arm. Both forearms are covered down to his fingers in long black gloves, which are doubled at the wrists. His waist is covered by two belts which hold the long strap in place, and also attach a long piece of cloth which acts almost like a sleeve for his left leg, keeping that covered as well. Both legs are, however, covered completely by a pair of baggy black jeans, which he prefers because they're more durable than his standard uniform but they're not too restrictive that he can't move comfortably. Finally, his feet are covered by steel-toed boots, which are clad in a thin layer of steel on top too, burned black by his own flames, just to offer a bit more protection. Also because they look cool. Casual: [When in Casual Situations], Ketsu wears a black t-shirt and leather jacket on his upper body, and keeps it unzipped. His jeans are still black denim, but while here they fit a lot better, and cover his legs just until they reach his black shoes, which have wheels in the back so he can roller blade while moving through the world. Fenrir: [While Riding Fenrir], Ketsu wears a straight leather outfit for protection in case of a crash. The outfit is solid black except for the shoulders which are silver, and goes up from his boots to his neck line. Likely due to the DareDevil aspect of it, Ketsu often goes without a helmet while riding Fenrir. Formal: [In case of Formal Occasions], Ketsu has one alternative outfit he can wear. Matching his normal color scheme thus far, the outfit seems to be similar to a black kimono with a long scarf, one sleeve covering his right arm, and fingerless gloves on each hand. This is the outfit Ketsu wears the least, due to both an avoidance of such formal occasions and because he feels exposed in it, lacking the weight his normal outfit carries. FIGHTING STYLE General Fighting Style: It's hard to quantify the fighting style of someone with the power of Space and Time. Well, almost- Ketsu can't manipulate them directly, but he can pull on them to assist him when fighting. He's primarily physical based, and only has a few options for dealing with true energy attacks, but uses his speed and reflexes to keep himself out of harm's way while he fights. Ketsu can draw on his experience as a Shinigami and can use that to his advantage in fights, allowing him to react to situations he's experienced before simply due to his history of battle. While he's no slouch at Swordplay, he's also skilled in Hand to Hand combat, effectively making him an expert in Close Quarters Combat that's very difficult to defeat. Strengths: Agility, Stamina (&& CQC) Weaknesses: Reiatsu, Endurance (&& Ranged) PRIMARY STAGE [Eta-Naru Kaitou] Ketsu recalls everything from when he was a Shinigami in his previous... life? That's weird to say. Anyway, he remembers everyone he knew, how he died, etc. His reiatsu (which is now Red instead of Blue) registers as human in all ways, and he has the ability to identify all creatures based on their reiatsu. While he cannot use Kidou or Shunpo, he is versed in them and can identify them based on his experience. Reiatsu Suppression Ketsu is naturally gifted at supressing his reiatsu signature, and can hide it from nearly anyone. This does not work while in combat, because he has to release it to use it. This does not make him entirely invisible, but it does disable gauging Ketsu's power level or tier, and it disables sensing him from more than 20ft away, from anyone without advanced sensing abilities. Ketsu inherited this technique from his mother, Kira de Grey. Pinyin Style A technical form of Shunko developed by someone who never truly understood it to begin with. By feeding energy back through the user's body, they are capable of increasing their Speed [Yin] or their Strength [Yang] by one level for two posts. This cannot be used for two posts after the effect wears off. Space-Time Hero Once per post, Ketsu automatically evades the first physical hit he would suffer. This cannot be turned off, drains no Reiryoku, and does not enable him to counter attack in any way. This does not function if Ketsu is currently attacking. Space-Time Tag Ketsu makes a single attack, cutting through the fabric of space and time. This attack cannot miss, but does not do any damage to the target; rather, it marks them, increasing all damage they take for 2 posts by 50%. This can be used once per post, but individual targets receive immunity to this effect for 3 posts after their Mark wears off. This drains no Reiryoku from Ketsu to use. Space-Time Hurricane Flash Ketsu possesses exactly 6 [throwing knives]. Each of these knives is as durable as Tungsten, making them extremely difficult to break and allowing Ketsu to use them in a pinch as regular knives. Ketsu can teleport to any of these knives once per post, but each knife shatters after being used in this way. This essentially gives Ketsu a total of 6 teleports per thread. Ketsu cannot attack immediately after teleporting, and cannot assassinate people with this skill. This drains no Reiryoku from Ketsu to use. Space-Time Spiral Flash Ketsu compresses the energies of space and time into the palm of his hand, creating a swirling sphere of energy. This sphere must be delivered manually to hit an enemy, but deals damage akin to a Cero upon contact. Ketsu can use this once every post. Boosts: 2x Agility, Stamina SECONDARY STAGE Space-Time Armor Ketsu focuses the energies of space and time around him to compress, covering his body in a bright yellow light. This armor lasts as long as he's in Secondary Stage, and reduces all damage Ketsu takes by 15%. Space-Time Barrage Ketsu attacks a target, then travels through space and time to attack them a total of 10 more times. Each hit only deals 20% damage of his normal attacks, but this refreshes the Mark from [Space-Time Tag]. This has a 4 post cooldown. If an enemy dodges or blocks the initial hit, or is otherwise unaffected by it, the rest of the attack is wasted and the ability goes on cooldown. Space-Time Reset Ketsu reduces all of his other cooldowns by 1 post. This drains Reiryoku equivalent to casting Hado 80, and has a 5 post cooldown. This ability is unaffected by its own power. Space-Time Hollow Spiral Flash Ketsu compresses the energies of space and time into the palm of his hand, creating a swirling sphere of energy. This sphere must be delivered manually to hit an enemy, but deals damage akin to a Gran Rey Cero upon contact. This has a 3 post cooldown. Boosts: 3x Agility, Stamina HYPER-MODE Embodiment of Space Time [Replaces Space-Time Armor] Ketsu focuses the energies of space and time around him to compress, covering his body in a bright yellow light. This armor lasts as long as he's in Hyper Mode, and reduces all damage Ketsu takes by 25%. Space-Time Migration Ketsu deletes any one non-final attack from existence. This drains energy equal to the ability it deleted, and gains a proportionate cooldown: Once per post cooldown for up to Hado 60, Three post cooldown for up to Hado 80, and Five post cooldown for up to Hado 100. Space-Time True Hollow Spiral Flash Ketsu compresses the energies of space and time into the palm of his hand, creating a swirling sphere of energy. This sphere can be thrown up to 10m before exploding, or delivered manually, and deals damage akin to a Forbidden Kidou upon contact. This has a 5 post cooldown. Space-Time Heaven [Passive] Ketsu locks the area within 500 meters around him upon enetering Hyper Mode. The moment Ketsu descends from Hyper Mode, willingly or unwillingly, the area that was locked resets to the status it was in when he locked it. Living creatures are not affected by this, but if they would be harmed by it are moved to safety inexplicably. Ketsu has no conscious control over this ability. Boosts: 4x Agility, Stamina EQUIPMENT Equipment Name: Caliburn [Picture Link] Caliburn is a massive cleaver-like sword six feet in length, with one foot being the handle. Ketsu keeps the blade on his back, wearing a thin metal harness so the blade's weight doesn't cause it to break while holding. The sword has definitely been used before, with scratches and chips clearly seen, but has generated metal plates over the larger nicks in it for reinforcement. This weapon is Ketsu's former Zanpakutou, and as such is also the vessel for Caliburn Itself, which Ketsu can commune with. This weapon is held with the handle towards Ketsu's right, so he can draw it with his right hand. MeteorainUpon use, Ketsu's and Caliburn's reiatsus fuse together and shoot up exactly 50ft, where they form a gate into Caliburn's realm, Ketsu's former Inner World. Upon the next swing of Ketsu's sword, the Gate will shoot exactly 6 small meteors (1m in diameter), one after another, at Cero speeds that will slowly home in towards Ketsu's intended target; this will happen regardless of whether it hits anything or not. The meteors explode for a ceros worth of damage to everything within 3m on impact, but if the same target is hit by all six of them, they take the same damage again from the final one, resulting in a total 12 ceros if hit by all of them. Caliburn needs at least 5 posts to recharge from this skill before it can be used again. Equipment Name: Solstice [Picture Link] Sharing the name of his former Inner Hollow, Solstice is actually a pseudo-Zanpakutou with the Hollow imbued in the blade. This makes the weapon weightless for Ketsu, and causes the weapon to emit heat when imbued with a marginal amount of reiatsu to 'awaken' it. At all times, the sword will cause first degree burns when it makes contact, and when awakened becoems ignited in flame, causing second degree burns instead, as well as setting firce to flammable materials except for anything on Ketsu's body or if he simply doesn't want it to catch fire. The longsword is 40in [101cm] in length with a 10in [26cm] handle. The blade itself is comprised of red steel with a sharpened white edge, a black leather-bound handle, and several grooves to allow for more aerodynamic attacks. Ketsu keeps Solstice on his right hip so it can be drawn with his left hand. Equipment Name: Kokuo [Picture Link] An ornate silver gun with a leather grip, Kokuo is the vessel for Ketsu's dead wife's inner spirit of the same name. Kokuo, as a gun, has 6 Ammo that it starts with in every thread. Ketsu can pull the trigger once per post, which unleases twin Ceros that spiral around each other where he was aiming and costs 2 Ammo. Ketsu can also charge his shot carefully for one post, causing the gun to light up with light blue reiatsu as opposed to Ketsu's normal red, and fire off a Forbidden Kido's worth of energy, which consumes all 6 Ammo simultaneously. Kokuo regenerates 1 Ammo every other post, but firing off the gun drains no energy from Ketsu at all. Ketsu keeps Kokuo in a holster on his left hip so he can draw and fire it with his right hand. Equipment Name: Fenrir [Picture Link] Fenrir is a Motorcycle capable of traveling to his location regardless of where he is, provided it can be walked or driven to. Fenrir is capable of traveling at up to 250 MPH (or 402 KM/H), and requires no gas to run as it is powered by atmospheric reishi. Fenrir only runs when Ketsu himself is driving it or it is coming towards Ketsu, the second of which controlled by a small button implanted into Ketsu's left wrist. Equipment Name: Pinyin Coat [Picture Link] Weighing around 10 lbs, this coat lowers Ketsu's speed by one stage while worn, but offers him protection similarly to a Hierro. It is laced with metal threads to offer protection against all forms of damage. BACK-DROP History is probably the most important aspect of any given person in the entire world: it determines who you are, what you’ve done. With a long and bountiful history you have made mistakes, but you’ve learned from them and moved on. With a short and rookie history, you haven’t made the mistakes others have and don’t know what you’ll do. For any aspect of history, you have to be able to understand the origins of a person, from earlier than birth. When it comes to being born and living your life, then good for you, you accomplished surviving. However, to truly be able to analyze the history of a person you need to be able to understand their origins, what type of family they came from. For Kaitou Eta-Naru, those origins reside in Seireitei, within two individuals whom both possess a latent knack of shinigami powers: Ketsu, of Division Eleven, and Kira, of Division Four. The two of them grew very close together, and eventually got married which led to having a child: Kaitou. Upon his birth, Kira resigned from the Gotei 13 in order to keep Kaitou safer by all but guaranteeing that he would always have at least one parent while growing up. She continued to live in Seireitei with Ketsu, but her worry proved to amount to something when Ketsu was killed in a Hollow attack in Soul Society. Forced to raise her newly born child alone, Kira didn't want to have anything to do with the Shinigami, and refused to train Kaitou in the ways of the sword, firmly believing he would only end up dead and she would be alone again. Kira decided to, instead, teach Kaitou everything she could about the human world so as to keep him uninterested in the Spiritual one they lived in. This ultimately proved to be a mistake, as during his free time Kaitou would end up whacking strangers with sticks, and trying to teach himself the techniques so he could join the Shinigami. Eventually, Kira caved. She taught him the base ways of the sword; how his body should react to being hit, how to avoid being hit and how to hit someone else correctly. These were the first things she was taught, and she wanted them to be in his head next to don't hit strangers with sticks, though admittedly the ways of the sword stuck in his head a bit faster. He spent years training for countless hours a day, looking forward to when he could enter Shinoreijutsuin, and on his one-hundredth birthday his mother finally gave him permission. The entrance exam was a peace of cake to Kaitou, who had his mother coaching him and teaching him the ways. He was assigned to the second class, and when he finally received his Asauchi, his pride could be felt by anyone who looked in even his general direction. Knowing he couldn't stop yet, he continued to train in his sword techniques, but found a passion in the ways of Kidō, especially Hadō. His time was mostly split between Hadō, Zanjutsu and Hoho, leaving little in the way of Bakudō or Hakuda. When he had completed the Academy's curriculum, Kaitou opted not to immediately apply to a division of the Gotei 13, nor join the Kidō Corps. Kaitou instead chose to continue his practice, not wanting to be in a division until he was satisfied with his own abilities. He continued his Bakudō and Hakuda training, finding them lackluster after the Academy, and spent long periods of time in Jinzen, meditating to communicate with his spirit. Eventually, the world he was in melted away and an eternal pool of lava was in every direction except the platform Kaitou was on, with a single skull throne facing inwards being the only other difference. Pillars rose from the ceiling and floor, meeting in some places and going all the way through in others. Screams could be heard faintly, and Kaitou finally heard a voice call out to him: He had met his Zanpakuto. What Kaitou could only describe as a demon called out to him, in a guttural growl that Kaitou felt immensely intimidated by. He held up his new Zanpakuto, which was much heavier than he expected it to be, and faced it towards the demon. It made a horrifying sound which Kaitou took to assume was laughing as it held the same sword back at him. Kaitou realized the demon itself was his Zanpakuto, and relaxed a bit. It launched itself at him, and Kaitou barely reacted fast enough to block the intial strike. The two of them fought for what felt like days, until it finally backed off, sat back in the throne, and placed the sword down. A searing sound ripped through his head as Kaitou communicated with the demon telepathically, straining himself to understand what it was telling him. Eventually, he figured out that it was screaming its name at him: Caliburn. The Jinzen finally ended, and in one day, Kaitou had gone from Asauchi to Shikai. He continued his practice, learning how to use his Shikai for another few years before he decided to apply to any division in the Gotei 13. His Kidō was at a level he was comfortable with, and his Hoho was as good as it was going to get for the time being. With just his Shikai and Hakuda left to train, Kaitou confronted his mother and asked her to spar with him. She accepted, feeling confident that her abilities would prevent any serious injury, but were also above Kaitou's and could help him get better. She was wrong. Kaitou's shikai took her completely by surprise; the intense flames that his Zanpakuto put out were too strong for Kira, and she was seriously injured in under ten seconds of the fight. Kaitou damned himself for going all out, and told himself he'd never use his full strength against an enemy he wasn't sure could handle it again. Kira recovered slowly, but once she was fine, she told him to spar with her again and not hold back. Kaitou chose not to argue with never recovered from the damages, and Kaitou blamed himself for years. He fled Seireitei and went into Rukongai, where he tried to simply live his life as a normal soul, intending to never again use his Zanpakuto. An entire century passed before Kaitou would have anything significant happen to him. He felt a burning call from his soul, and decided to see what Caliburn wanted by going into Jinzen. When he went to confront Caliburn and see what the hell he wanted, Kaitou instead found something... different, waiting for him. A being which looked similar to Caliburn, yet especially different. The other demon called out, screaming in the same guttural sound that Caliburn spoke through. It launched itself at Kaitou, wielding no weapon, who defended himself easily. The new demon also spoke to Kaitou telepathically, though it didn't hurt this time as much as it did the first with Caliburn, where he learned that this demon was as much a part of him as Caliburn was, but he wouldn't hesitate to kill Kaitou and be the dominant part of the soul if Kaitou didn't return to the Gotei 13 and become a stronger fighter. Kaitou didn't understand what this part of his soul was; and, with both of his parents dead, he couldn't figure out what that meant. Having passed the Academy, Kaitou knew that there was at least one Shinigami who was old enough to know nearly anything about the Soul Society, and who could likely help him: Okami Shiba. He returned to Seireitei and found Okami, where he talked to him in private, and told him everything that had happened. The surprisingly young-looking old man was calm about it, and explained that his mother was a purified hollow who had managed to keep some of her hollow reiatsu, which was passed down to Kaitou though birth. The other soul inside of him was a Hollow, and to keep Kaitou from becoming one, he should do as the Hollow says and rejoin the Gotei 13. Kaitou did so, and after just a few months in the Gotei 13 remembered why he loved battle so much. The exhilerating thrill of combat was enough to make him remember why he wanted to be a Captain. Caliburn and his Hollow were still very much a part of him, making him crave the power of Bankai. [Moonless Night] | Unfortunately for him, he got that. Due to a tear in the fabric of time and space, Kaitou found himself in the white desert of Hueco Mundo, where he encountered the Primera Espada, Graven Fel. Acting almost like a teacher to a man who didn't know what he was doing, Graven taught Kaitou how to use his Bankai almost correctly, but Solstice took over his body and got him stabbed in the stomach. Sneaking him back into Seireitei, Kaitou began to recover in the Fourth Division from his injuries. [Moonlight Ever After] | Although he knew it would get him literally dropkicked, Kaitou snuck out of the Division and confronted Okami Shiba. At the time, the Third Seat of the First Division was reknowned for his offensive capabilities. The two sparred in the moonlight while discussing Kaitou's report of the incident, and Okami warned him about Graven; the ruthless Primera was in his position of power for a reason, after all. Solstice took control again during the fight, and Okami swiftly dealt with that, bringing Caliburn back into the picture and refeuling Kaitou's resolve. [20,000 Leagues Under the Sand] | Kaitou confronted Graven once again, with only a month remaining until his Captain's Exam. The Primera had taken a liking to the young Shinigami, and continued to tutor him in using his body the correct way. Kaitou learned that he needed to trust his instincts to an extent, and while Solstice was still a Hollow, due to them sharing a body Solstice wasn't going to want severe harm to come to him. Kaitou began to understand that he needed to let all three spirits do their fair share, with himself being one of them, and thanked Graven for the training. [Defensive Operations: Counter Strike] | Luke Yasenha was the proprietor of Kaitou's captain exam. He had passed the Captain's Proficiency Test, but this was a way to see how Kaitou reacted in a real operation; given that he was going to be Captain of Division Eight, which was in charge of Defensive Operations, the Captain-Commander had wanted to see how Kaitou would handle a situation that he could show off his skills. The mission was a resounding success, and Kaitou became Captain of Division Eight . . . for a little while, anyway. [Under the Apple Tree] | Rena Lisola, newly appointed Captain-Commander, decides to judge Kaitou for herself. He holds back at first solely due to memories of his mother, but under guidance (and a very demanding voice), he gives in and unleashes everything he's got. Despite the fact that he passes out from the encounter, Rena instead makes him Captain of Division 6; while his brain was helpful in Defensive Operations, she felt he was better at Offense. [Waltz of Wind and Fire] | Since Rena herself was busy, Kaitou was chosen to take care of the exam for his replacement of Division Eight. Noziel Aran was a decent fighter, and although Kaitou won the spar, Noziel was appointed as Captain due to it. Kaitou can't know for sure, but he'd like to believe he made a difference in Noziel's life and fighting abilities. Hopefully. [The Inner Light] | It had been a long time, and now that he was Captain of a Division where he fit in better than he ever thought possible, Kaitou wanted to revisit his... friend... Graven Fel. The two had a discussion about their past times together, but although Kaitou felt guilty, he told Graven that this would be their last encounter; he couldn't bee seen being friends with a Hollow, let alone an Arrancar who was thousands of years old. It pained him, but he would not be permitted to see his friend again, and they both understood. [Lightning Speed] | A strange encounter in the Human World leads Kaitou to a man known only as Accelerator. The two fight, due to Kaitou's own arrogance, but Accelerator proves too much for Kaitou and, in a sick and twisted display, leaves his corpse battered and cut up on the doorstep of the Gotei, taking Kaitou's Zanpakutou with him as a souvenir of the encounter. Caliburn is missing, Kaitou is dead, and Solstice... [Mors Solum Initium Est] | Three months after Kaitou's death, Solstice (who isn't sure how he was freed) finds his way to Los Noches, to speak with Graven Fel directly. The two had only met once, when Solstice had taken over Kaitou's body, but that was enough for Solstice to know how important Graven was to the man; Graven was Kaitou's first true friend, and as Solstice was the only remaining thing of Kaitou on the planet, it made sense that he wanted to visit Graven directly. Solstice told Graven everything of the encounter, and when he was done... Graven gave him an honorable death.... or so we thought. Well, we thought that was where the story would end. Turns out, it's not even remotely. Although Caliburn was still missing and Solstice was dead, Kaitou's soul wasn't purified correctly. Due to Accelerator's vivid sadism and bloodlust, Kaitou's soul was actually sent into the Dangai rather than purified correctly, and due to time and space shenanigans, his soul was sent twenty years into the past. They say a soul enters a baby upon their first breath... but that's a lie. A soul enters a body from before they're even conceived, latching onto a woman and staying with her until she becomes pregnant. If the baby comes to term and is born, they are that baby in every way. This was how Kaitou was reborn. Due to the manner in which he was reborn, Ketsu recalls all of his previous memories, but no longer consider himself who he once was. His birth name was Jared Altana, but he goes by his father's name of Ketsu. His abilities first manifested at the age of 3: he accidentally started a fire in his father's room, and though no one was seriously injured, his parents realized that he was unique. When he was 5, he began to tell them stories of his life as a Shinigami; they thought he was simply being cute and creative, unaware of everything he was saying being true, and though he tried to convince them otherwise they thought it was just very vivid. At 7, Ketsu Altana protected his parents from a Hollow; though they couldn't see the beast, he knew what he was doing enough to kill the fucker, and saved his parents' lives. Since they couldn't see the Hollow, they didn't understand why he was using his special powers that they wanted him to keep hidden, but believed him to an extent when he tried to explain there was a reason. At 9 years old, both of his parents could suddenly see spirits. Whether it was due to his reiatsu influencing them or some other unknown, Ketsu didn't know or care about; he was simply glad that they could finally see that he was telling the truth, and allowed him to work on learning and practicing his abilities. They were extremely different from his ones as a Shinigami, but at the same time they were also vaguely similar. At 11 years old, Ketsu realized he could not use Kidou anymore, and cursed the Soul King under his breath for it; when his parents overheard him mention the Soul King, he explained how the Soul Cycle actually works. Though they weren't sure they believed him, when his Mother Died in a car accident and they found the Chain of Fate, they finally believed everything he said. At 13 years old, Ketsu dropped out of school; since he still remembered everything from his time as a Shinigami, he didn't feel he needed to go to school to learn things he already knew how to do. His father allowed this, and the two began to travel the world together since there was nothing else for either of them to do. At 17 years old, Ketsu's father got sick and they needed to settle down. They chose New York, home of the Committee, as a place where he could rest easy knowing nothing would happen that wasn't going to be taken care of. Ketsu stayed with his father, taking care of him and playing internet games until he passed away. At 19 years old, shortly after Ketsu's father passed away, Ketsu decided he was going to choose his own path; no longer would he be subject to the whims of his elders or thousand-year-old rules. This was his story, the introduction was finally over, the stage was set... it was time for Chapter One. Where to go from here, though? [Getting Acquainted With the World] | Ketsu met Naruko on a trip to Denver, where he was simply relaxing under a tree when she literally stepped on him. The two went to lunch on Naruko's dime, where she was attacked by Hollows. Ketsu killed them off, Naruko had an eye transplant, and Ketsu decided to join the Committee. It was time, and he needed to learn to control his powers. [Human Emotion] | Arriving in New York, Ketsu and Naruko first go to the park where they find something strange with Naruko's new eyes and have an intense discussion. Naruko reveals her power stems from an ancient creature sealed inside of her, and Ketsu reveals that he used to be a Shinigami and is now a human. Each having shared something, they head off to the Committee where they take their entrance exam together. Both pass, but Ketsu held back for fear of hurting her since he couldn't control his abilities perfectly yet. With Kiyomi's death, Ketsu has set aside his inhibitions and his own self preservation. The only thing that matters is the death of all those who threaten the world. His abilities will continue to grow as he hones them, and he will never stop putting Hollows, Shinigami, Sinners, and anything else that dares to threaten Earth as a whole. His allegiance to the Committee is strained as well, and a single incident could spark his rebellion against them as a whole. Nothing can or will hold Ketsu back any longer. SIDE-NOTES • Ketsu Altana is a reincarnation of [Kaitou Eta-Naru]  Alexis Nicole Grey |
