Kairi Nakamura

~Character Information~
Name: Kairi Nakamura
Nickname/Alias: Kai (Only close friends call her this)
Gender: Female
Height: 5’7
Weight: 136 lbs
Age: Appears to be 16 or 17, but is truly 167 years old

Appearance:

Spoiler:

Kairi is a little on the tall side, exceeding the average height by one or two feet, and although she towers above some of her comrades, it isn’t uncommon for others to overshadow her in terms of height. She has a fairly slender frame, but does not have much of an hourglass figure, although this fact doesn’t seem to bother the Shinigami in the slightest. Kairi had always boasted strength superior to those of her peers even during her time in the World of the Living, and her power has only increased over the years she has served as a Shinigami. A strict training regime has helped to tone her muscles to the point where she is quite capable of beating certain levels of hollow with her bare hands. Unfortunately, her power isn’t quite on par with that of an Onmitsukido member or a higher ranked officer in the Eleventh Division.

High cheekbones frame narrow, almond shaped eyes. The base colour of her irises are dark brown, but there are numerous flecks of dark and light brown, along with amber and gold. Her brows are furrowed more often than not, and coupled with her smaller irises, she usually has a mildly angry or disappointed expression, even if her mood does not match. This hostile appearance has driven away many on the assumption that Kairi is an aggressive and violent individual, which is not entirely true. While she certainly will resort to physical violence earlier than most, she isn’t inclined to pound someone’s face in for no reason.

Kairi has never been one to care much for her outward appearance, mainly due to her belief that a person’s character cannot be judged by looks, but rather by the heart. As such, she pays very little attention to her hair, which is a little unruly. The silver locks are never arranged in a specific way, and are generally just left to grow as they please. Her bangs sweep down in front of her eyes, the longest strands passing the bridge of her nose. The longest her hair has ever been was just below her shoulder blades, although that was a very short lived period due to Kairi’s general dislike of having long hair. She keeps it at a more comfortable length, allowing it to grow out to her shoulders before cutting it off.

Clothing: As with all Shinigami, Kairi dons the traditional black shihakusho with the regular, white underlying garments. She hasn’t made any move to modify it at all, and chooses to wear the long sleeved version of the uniform. To mark her status as a Lieutenant, she dons the traditional wooden armband. She also neglects to wear the white socks that go with the sandals, and if she can get away with it, she’ll lose the sandals too, preferring to feel the ground beneath her feet as opposed to feeling rough cloth or sandal.

When in the World of the Living, Kairi prefers to wear comfortable, loose clothing. She spend a lot of time wearing Gi and Hakama both alive and dead, so she has an intense dislike for fabrics that restrict her movements. Oftentimes she’ll don a loose, plain t-shirt and baggy, worn jeans. Kairi absolutely despises closed toe shoes, and will wear sandals even during the winter months. However, no matter what time of the year, she refuses to walk around the World of the Living in bare feet unless she’s in a field or forest, claiming that the streets are dirtier than a cat’s mouth.

Personality: Kairi is an incredibly competitive and spirited individual, something that stems from her somewhat childish nature. She loves to participate in challenges against other people, and often makes things into a competition even if it goes against the other person’s wishes. She even views battles as a contest, regardless of the weight of the current situation. This trait has gotten her into trouble with her peers and superiors time and time again, although her mindset doesn’t seem to have changed much. Despite it’s obvious flaws, this type of mindset does have it’s perks. Kairi is always looking to better her skills in order to become stronger, and her hate of losing only drives her harder. In the end, she hopes to move up from being a Lieutenant to being a Captain.

Kairi also has a tomboyish nature, mostly due to growing up in a family of boys. Her speech patterns are often aggressive and incorporate foul language on certain occasions, usually when she’s trying to motivate someone into doing something (which only serves to make things worse most of the time). She doesn’t have the best of social skills, and can’t always read a person’s expression, so it’s not uncommon for her to misinterpret something a person has said or done. This explains her hate of being teased, for she can never tell if the person is doing it in good nature or if it truly is an insult.

Despite her habit of foul mouthing her comrades when they mess up (usually calling them a ‘twit’, ‘moron’ or ‘idiot’), Kairi has proven to be incredibly loyal to the Gotei in general. While she may not be overly fond of some of the people she has to work with, she does her best to complete the tasks at hand to her full capabilities. She is also dedicated to what few friends she has, and will beat the snot out of anyone who threatens or harms them.

~Abilities and Skills~
Specialty:
Zanjutsu/Swordsmanship: Kairi had always had a natural talent with a blade, and she has spent many years improving her technique. Her competitive personality has only enabled her to further her abilities, and she tries not to release her zanpakuto for as long as possible during fights in an attempt to better her skill. Her fighting style bears a surprising resemblance to that of the style often seen in Kendo, which stems from her past history with the sport.

Other Abilities:
Improvement in a Short Period: Due to her competitive nature, Kairi can improve upon her skill quite a bit in a short amount of time. This drive to do such a thing can be increased by a tenfold if she has lost a battle recently.

Quick to Adapt: While she certainly isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, Kairi has shown the ability to be able to adapt quickly in a combat situation. She has fought with numerous people in the past, and has learned a wide variety of tactics and fighting styles, and also how to beat them. She can usually adjust to the style of the opponent she is fighting in a fairly short period of time, unless the enemy is considerably more powerful.

Strengths

• Competitive in nature, and is able to improve her skills in a short period of time
  
• Can adapt to situations fairly quickly
  
• Skilled with a sword
  
• Spirited and dedicated
  
• While she can’t do any sort of hand to hand martial art like Karate, Aikido, Tae Kwon Doe, etc. to save her life, she can still put up a good fight with her fists, and her hand to hand style resembles a mix of street fighting and wrestling
  
• Her physical strength is well above average
  
• Boasts a Hachi-dan rank in Kendo (the highest rank)

Weaknesses

• Competitive, and often picks fights that she can’t win
  
• Boasts a short temper
  
• Can only perform up to Hado 51 and Bakudo 30 in Kido
  
• Her Shunpo is equal to that of a seated officer
  
• Isn’t efficient in any martial arts other than Kendo
  
• Doesn’t understand social ques, facial expressions, tone of voice and just people in general
  
• Isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer (she isn’t the dullest either though)
  
• Has a large appetite, and eats so much to the point where she will give herself a severe stomach ache

Rank: Lieutenant of the Tenth Division

~Character History~

Before Death Arc: Kairi was born on October 13, 1828 to your average-joe family. She was the youngest in the family, and had three older brothers. Growing up with the boys gave her a rather tomboyish nature, and it wasn’t long before she was alienated by the other girls her age. She wasn’t accepted by the boys either, due to her gender, and Kairi found herself alone all the time; a social outcast. The lack of human companionship continued on until Kairi got into middle school, where she discovered Kendo and girls who practised it. Realizing that this was really the only place where she belonged, Kairi begged her parents to allow her to join the club and begin practising the art of Kendo. Her parents finally agreed, and purchased the necessary equipment, sending Kairi out on the start of her journey following the way of the blade.

Upon joining, Kairi found quite a few females who were like herself, and they quickly formed a tight friendship while helping each other to improve their abilities. It was here that Kairi’s competitive nature completely revealed itself, and it aided her in moving up the ranks at an incredible speed. By the time she entered high school, Kairi and her friends had already achieved a Ni-dan rank in Kendo, which was amazing, and they were often referred to as the Kendoka prodigies. During her final year in high school, Kairi managed to climb to the next level; San-dan.

And that was when tragedy struck. One of the girls in the group of friends hadn’t progressed nearly as quickly as the others, and was still stuck at the Sho-dan rank, putting her two levels behind. Enraged by this and consumed with envy, she was determined to take the group out of the picture, and that was exactly what she did. While the girls were just leaving the afternoon practise, the traitor jumped the group and easily murdered them with her shinai*, putting an end to whatever dreams they had in store for the future. The date of that horrible incident was October 13, 1845; Kairi’s 17th birthday.

*A shinai is a type of bamboo blade that is used in Kendo. Hitting someone with a shinai when they don’t have their guards on can easily cause death.

After Death Arc: Kairi lingered on earth for quite some time after her death. She was terribly confused at first, and didn’t quite understand what had happened. It was only after she witnessed her and her friend’s funerals that Kairi realized that she was dead. The discovery of this fact put her in quite the rage, and most of this anger was directed at the girl who had killed them. This girl was not convicted for her crimes due to lack of evidence, and she had put on quite the convincing act that she was absolutely devastated about her ‘friends’ deaths. Filled with pure rage, Kairi found that girl and made her life as miserable as she possibly could for the next six months. She wasn’t actually too angry about her own death, but rather that the girl had taken the lives of her other friends. The fact that she betrayed them only made Kairi even angrier.

Spending six months consumed with rage and regret doesn’t do a plus soul any good, and Kairi had a very close call with the soul chain disappearing. She was saved in the nick of time by a passing Shinigami, and sent on to the Soul Society (against her wishes. She wanted to beat the snot out of the traitor so badly).

Upon entering the Soul Society, Kairi found herself in the thirteenth Rukon district. This time she didn’t wait for answers to come to her, and began digging up dirt on the place she was in. While doing so, she discovered the existence of the Shino Academy. Figuring that she didn’t have anything better to do, she went and joined, and actually managed to get by the entrance exam on her first try. Beginners luck.

Kairi managed to graduate from the academy in four years instead of the usual six, mainly because of her incredible drive. In the academy, everything was a competition, and even though she had a rough time with Kido, she still managed to get out of there earlier than the norm, which surprised most of the teachers considering her average intelligence.

Shinigami Arc: When Kairi was inducted into the Gotei 13, she was placed in the Sixth Division for no particular reason, and she certainly didn’t fit the bill for any of the specialist squads. For the first little while, she remained at the bottom of the food chain, until a group of the lower ranked officers made it a contest to see who could become a seated officer first. Kairi being Kairi jumped at the challenge, and ground her fingers to the bone in order to beat her fellow unseated officers. Unfortunately, she ended up with the bitter taste of defeat in her mouth, although this only proved as a motivation to get stronger in the end. Kairi began pushing herself further and further, never quite satisfied with where she stood in the world.

The only time Kairi was mildly pleased with herself was when she achieved Shikai, but that satisfaction was short lived, and it wasn’t long before she continued to push her limits once more. She slowly climbed through the ranks, and managed to attain the position of Lieutenant not too long ago. She has just recently achieved Bankai, and although she isn’t very good at controlling it quite yet, Kairi does seem to have a fairly good grasp on how it works.

RP Sample:
The barracks of the Sixth Division were generally a peaceable, quiet place during the later hours of the night. Most of the officers had retired to their rooms or gone home to prepare for the next day, for you never knew when you’d be called upon to complete a mission. It was necessary to be on alert for a good portion of the time, lest you were caught off guard, and that would perhaps tarnish one’s reputation forever, if not for a long time. One of the hazards of living for hundreds of years; your mistakes weren’t often forgotten as quickly.

Despite this, Kairi was not in her quarters sleeping like most. She was particularly restless this night, and simple tricks such as counting zanpakuto could not calm her agitated mind, which, for some reason was fixated on the past events that she had gone through so many years ago. Only one thing could soothe her thoughts when they were like this. As such, she had gathered her zanpakuto and made way to the courtyard, which was where she was now.

The soft swish of the blade as it sliced through the air was paced and spread out evenly, unlike the jarring whoosh of a sword about to cut through the enemy. If one listened closely, they would hear the soft rustle of robes as her body moved, and the quiet protest of the grass as her bare feet slid forward and back. It was truly a simple exercise, and one would learn it shortly after they began to learn the ways of Kendo. Although it certainly appeared to be easy, there were other parts of it that one had to grow accustomed to; the force of the swing, keeping your left heel off the ground by an inch and a half. There were so many things to keep in mind whilst doing this, yet Kairi needed not to think about it. She had done this simple act ever since she began Kendo; one hundred and fifty years, give or take.

Her strikes faltered for a moment at that thought, but she quickly shook those hindering fragments of the past away. Kairi intended to clear her mind with this exercise, not clutter it. She tightened her grip, refocused, and swung with more intent. Her movements became even sharper, and more fluid than before as her mind went blank, yet her senses alert. She continued to step forward into the swing, then pull back as the blade was brought up, the tip pointed on an angle to towards the sky. This simple pattern continued, and when Kairi finally ceased her strikes, she could not recall the time.

“Dang…” She yawned, and stretched. “I stayed out way longer than I meant to.” She muttered, but wasn’t particularly disgruntled. A grin was present on her face as she sheathed her blade, and headed back for her quarters. The exercise had worked to perfection, and now all Kairi needed was a good long nap.

~Zanpakuto Information~

Name: Yukihyo (Snow Leopard)
Appearance:

Yukihyo is a fairly ordinary looking weapon. Nothing is attached to the pommel, and the hilt is wrapped with black fabric in the traditional way, leaving a white diamond pattern going up the broader sides of the hilt. The guard is rectangular shaped, and bears no intricate markings or details. It is the blade itself that sets Yukihyo apart from other zanpakuto. Instead of bearing that delicate curve that most katana do, the metal is straight and bears no hint of a curve whatsoever. Engraved in the wicked steel near the base of the blade on the right side is a snow leopard, posed as if it’s about to burst through the metal, claws outstretched. The zanpakuto is kept in a black hilt, which is kept on Kairi’s left hip at all times.

~Shikai Information~
Release Command: Roar and strike, Yukihyo!
Appearance: Unlike most zanpakuto, Yukihyo’s appearance does not change when it goes into it’s Shikai state. That being said, it isn’t in permanent Shikai either.

Abilities:

Passive:
Snow and Ice Generation: Yukihyo has only one passive ability; generating snow and ice from reiatsu. Essentially, Yukihyo takes however much reiatsu Kairi’s willing to offer, and generates snow inside of itself or ice on the outside. There is a limit to how much snow can be produced, although the cap is a lot larger than one would think. This also tires Kairi out, as she has to put double the effort into the fight. This is partly why she prefers not to use Shikai, and when she does, she tries to avoid using special attacks.

Active:

Ability Name: Hyo no Seishin (Spirit of the Leopard)
Type: Elemental
Range: Long
Duration: 6 posts
Hyo no Seishin is a little different compared to the other Shikai abilities. Upon activation, it creates a snow leopard made completely of ice. The leopard shares a mental link with Kairi and follows her commands, although it can act of it’s own accord as well. The ice cat has to remain in a ten kilometre radius of Kairi, and it can be shattered or melted by powerful blunt force attacks or intense heat.

Ability Name: Kori no Kobushi (Ice Fist)
Type: Elemental
Range: Close
Duration: Not applicable
A fist made of ice is produced, and takes a swing at the opponent while the blade is striking. The ice is much more durable than normal ice, so it’s a little more difficult to break or melt it. This attack is used mainly when the opponent and Kairi’s blades are locked, as it’s more difficult for the opponent to get away.



~Bankai Information~
Name: Sodaina Yukihyo (Grand Snow Leopard)
Appearance: Unlike it’s Shikai form, Sodaina Yukihyo puts more emphasis on defence than attack. When released, it takes the form of a shinai, although it does have some differences as opposed to a regular shinai. The exact material of the blade is unknown, but it certainly isn’t bamboo or carbon graphite. It’s white and just as durable as steel, if not more. The tsuka (hilt), tsuru (string), Naka-yui (leather tie), Saki-Gawa (the leather tip) and the Kensen (the tip of the leather tip) are all coloured black. The Saki-Gawa and Kensen have the same properties as any type of metal, and are quite capable of causing severe blunt force trauma. The entire blade itself is deathly cold, which hints at how it generates the snow for it’s attacks.

Then there’s the bogu. A black men helmet covers Kairi’s head and protects her throat, while a black dou chest plate is tightly fastened around the upper torso. The kote (hand guards) are also black, although there is a brown spot on the inside of the gloves.

While Sodaina Yukihyo does have high defensive and offensive capabilities, it can be incredibly difficult to use in fights given it’s nature. It’s an incredibly unpractical weapon unless you’re facing off in a Kendo match, or you’re fighting a slower enemy. This is one of the main reasons Kairi dislikes using her Bankai.

Abilities:
Snow and Ice Generation: Sodaina Yukihyo has only one passive ability; generating snow and ice from reiatsu. Essentially, it takes however much reiatsu Kairi’s willing to offer, and generates snow inside of itself or ice on the outside. There is a limit to how much snow can be produced, although the cap is a lot larger than one would think. This also tires Kairi out, as she has to put double the effort into the fight. This is partly why she prefers not to use Bankai, and when she does, she tries to avoid using special attacks.

Active:
Something to keep in mind about the first three attacks (Nadare, Kori no Kiba and Hyo no Tsume). These moves are rather risky to use if there is no guaranteed hit because the ice will melt off of the blade and the snow will be unusable after it’s left the blade. Due to the amount of reiatsu it takes to get Sodaina Yukihyo to generate ice and snow, it can be a gamble in certain situations if it isn’t clear whether she’ll get a hit in or not.

Ability Name: Nadare (Avalanche)
Type: Elemental
Range: Long
Duration: Not applicable
This attack can only be used when Kairi is performing a Men strike (a downward blow to the center of the head). Upon activation, a large amount of snow seems to burst out of the tip and lower half of the shinai, and heads towards the enemy with a crushing force. Depending on the amount of reiatsu put into the shinai, more or less snow will be generated.

Ability Name: Kori no Kiba (Ice Fang)
Type: Elemental/Melee
Range: Close
Duration: Not applicable
As with Nadare, Kori no Kiba can only be performed when the kote strike is utilized. Ice forms over the shinai, and as the blade is swung down the ice forms into a shape that greatly resembles the maw of a snow leopard. If the strike makes contact with the wrist area, the ice will clamp down on the skin and not let go. When the shinai is brought up again, the ice rips through the skin, creating gashes around the opponent’s wrist area. The intensity of the damage depends on the composition and size of the ice, which is dependent on how much reiatsu Kairi pumps into the blade at the start of the attack.

Ability Name: Hyo no Tsume (Claw of the Leopard)
Type: Elemental/Melee
Range: Close
Duration: Not applicable
Hyo no Tsume can only be used when performing a dou strike (a hit to the torso area). Ice spikes form all around the outside of the shinai, and will cause puncture damage upon impact. As with Kori no Kiba, the composition and length of the ice spikes depends on how much reiatsu Kairi is willing to sacrifice. This attack is arguably the most deadly, as it targets the area where most of the major organs are located.

Ability Name: Hyo no Jishi Keitai (Embodiments of the Leopard)
Type: Elemental
Range: Long
Duration: 4 posts
Hyo no Jishi Ketai is the only ability that does not relate to Kendo in any way, making it the odd one out in terms of attacks. Regardless, it’s fairly similar to the Shikai ability Hyo no Seishin, except two leopards are generated from the ice, as opposed to one. They are also larger and much more powerful, although they cannot be maintained as long because of it. This attack puts an incredible strain on both Kairi’s mind and body, and is only used as a last resort.

~Spirit Information~
Appearance:

Given her name, it’s unsurprising that Yukihyo would take the form of a snow leopard. She weighs around 110 lbs, and her body measures 110 cm in length, and 200 cm when you add the measurement of the tail. If one were to measure from the ground to her shoulder, the distance would be around 60 cm. In terms of your average snow leopard, Yukihyo is one of the larger specimens.

Personality: Unlike her Shinigami counterpart, Yukihyo is incredibly lazy and unmotivated, and she would much rather sleep the day away than work hard. The big cat is quite friendly as well, and seems to be generally unconcerned with day to day life. Her species may be that of a feral cat, but in reality her mindset more resembles that of a (lazy, fat) domestic cat. She isn’t very quick to attack, preferring to wait it out and see if someone else will come along and take care of the problem for her.

However, there are times when Yukihyo will become serious, and once she does she can be quite the asset to the team. She’s much more knowledgeable and wise than Kairi, and will offer useful information to be used during battles (often when Bankai is active). She has displayed murderous intent a few times before, although it is quite rare for the cat to do so.

Inner World:

Training Speciality: Yukihyo cannot teach Kairi anything that she could not achieve in the outside world. However, she has been the only one who has successfully taught Kairi a little patience, and likes to the think that she helps Kairi’s mental ability on a day to day basis. Whether this is true or not can’t really be confirmed.

Seems fine.....I take it you will be trying to beat Ito's lieutenant's head in quite a lot if not Ito himself. Still its very well done I like it.


(History Lesson)
For those who don't know a Shinai is commonly a hardwood sword shaped piece of wood, In Japan they are made from layered and sealed hardened Bamboo or thick single piece of Japanese Oak. A Bokken is a bamboo strip weapon held together with a plastic cup tip and tightly woven bamboo strips at the center with cloth tightly wound around the grip area. A bokken is traditionally used in kendo for saftey purposes however in competition and the original art the shinai was used exclusively as a alternative to a real blade but if used with enough force could still kill quite easily. A style made to incapacitate rather than outright kill.

Very Nice

Temp-
APPROVED

Rank toppic who would you like?

Can I fight Uxinta or Mizu please? Whichever is more convenient for you.

uxinta it is then. clear it with her and someone will make ya a OOC toppic shortly

I cleared it with her, and it's all good.