Post by harmony on Oct 16, 2007 21:50:27 GMT -5
8th Division Captain
Name: Takahashi, Masaru
Alias: N/A
Age: 172
Gender: Male
Faction: Shinigami
Rank: Central 46 member
Description:
Ten years ago:
(I don't really have an up-to-date image drawn for him yet. I'm going to try to have one up over the next few days, but this first drawing of mine gives a good basis)
As a captain, Masaru has his own variation of the given uniform: His white Haori is cut short, only reaching his waist. He has removed the sleeves, and leaves his chest bare and open. The activation for his Bankai is unique, and if he were to use the traditional uniform, he'd have to constantly have it repaired.
A vertical scar can be seen clearly on his exposed abdomen, and most often it actually appears to be a fresh wound. His body is also covered in scars caused by burns.
Personality: Masaru once was a very jovial and carefree individual. Even as a vice captain, Masaru had possessed a very friendly attitude, but his personality has changed dramatically over the course of 10 short years, leaving him in a rather irritable state. He feels as though he no longer knows himself, and he buries the terrors of his past away in his work and training. All he seems to care about is to get stronger, to banish the weaknesses he once had. He is very hard on himself, and often attempts to carry the weight of the world on his own shoulders. He often expects nothing from his subordinates, but rather carries all responsibility himself.
He leads a rather solitary life, often escaping his Captain duties by visiting the real world in secret, where he attempts to quench his empty heart by killing hollows. During the day he often appears exhausted, but he never allows it to hinder him.
Despite how harsh Masaru can appear to be, he is often a helpful individual to those around him. He does very often hunger for companionship, but he no longer possesses the will to seek it out for himself. He instead allows others to come to him.
Masaru does not like to share his burdens with others, and is known to lie about his past to others when confronted about it. He himself does not yet know how to deal with his problems.
His past has transformed him into a very proud individual. He takes pride in his own strength, in his division, and in Seireitei. He has been known to brag about his subordinates to others, and it is not uncommon for him to stretch the truth about other's abilities.
When in battle, Masaru hesitates to use Bankai. As stated before, he despises weakness in himself, and he does everything in his power to prove to himself that he is not weak. To use Bankai is a failure within itself. Failure is worse than death.
Family: Deceased. Whereabouts in Rukongai Unknown
Stats
Reiatsu: 90
Attack: 150
Speed: 100
Weapon Skill: 65
Experience
Skill points
History:
Takahashi grew up in Karakura. He was born in the living world with a loving family. As a child, he was constantly on the move, always curious, always exploring. It was this trait that changed his future. One summer day when he was 3 years old, he crawled into a thicket behind his house. It was here that he saw his first snake. It was black as night and was sliding slowly in the leaves on the ground. Eyes wide with awe, Masaru reached his little hand out, wrapping his fingers about the snakes tail. In less than a second, the snake spun it's diamond-shaped head around and struck Masaru on the shoulder. Deadly venom spread throughout his body. Masaru screamed and released the snake. His parents ran out and brought him to a hospital where he was saved... but barely. Because of his near-death experience, Masaru began to see sprirts. Lots of them. As a child, he could not tell the difference from spirits and living souls and he often got himself into trouble.
One day a hollow attacked his town. He saw it clearly, but did not run away. He was so afraid that he was rooted to the spot. He would have been killed had a Shinigami not come to defeat the hollow. Masaru quickly tried to thank the Shinigami, who was surprised by the boy's ability to see him.
On the day Masaru turned 6, he was killed in a car accident. His parents survived and he tried to stay near them, thinking they would see him. They never did. He tried for weeks to get their attention but failed every time. When a Shinigami came to send him to Soul Society, Masaru had been changed. He was quiet and scared. He was sent to district 63 in Rukongai. This was a dangerous district. He was constantly taken advantage of, and no family adopted him. He knew he had to change things so he wandered into district 62. Things were better here, but only by a little. He was 8 then. He discovered that he was a very small child in comparison to his peers, and it was easy for them to take things from him. He never had anyone to defend him. That is, until Otanashi came into his life. He was 10. Otanashi was 16. They met when a group of kids were hurting Masaru. He was beaten for a long time, and almost blacked-out when a strong voice stopped them. The group of kids turned on the stranger, Otanashi, and attempted to bring him down, but Otanashi was too strong. He saved Takahashi that day, and after that, Masaru never left his side. They were fast friends and Masaru matured quickly in Otanashi's company. They grew up together and protected one another. When they grew up, they decided to go the the academy for Shinigami to escape their difficult life.
At this time Masaru was 21 and Otanashi was 27. They both passed in 6 years. Their school years were eventful, and the memories gained here are Takahashi's favorites. Takahashi had gained a monumental growth spurt and soon towered over almost everyone. He became extremely outgoing and because of this he gained many friends. Popularity surrounded him, but he never left Otanashi behind. The two graduated together and were placed in Division 7. It was simple for them to gain a ranking; both had become skilled Shinigami. Takahashi soon gained 18th seat, and Otanashi gained 16th. Though Otanashi was two ranks above Takahashi, he never minded. He knew both of them had great potential. As the years passed, They became well known in their Division, and were soon moved to other Divisions to become Vice-Captains. Takahashi was moved to Division 8, and Otanashi was moved to Division 11.
During his time spent as a lieutenant, Masaru was greatly influenced by Gahrok Naresh, his Captain. Though Gahrok was not easy to get along with, Masaru over time befriended him, and the two faced a great deal of hardships together. Their unspoken bond was strengthened through adversity, and Masaru was fiercely loyal to him.
In the later years of Masaru's career as a Vice-Captain, Otanashi lost his powers as a shinigami and fled to Runkungai to escape ostracism. Masaru was greatly affected by this, and perhaps his personality began to shift in a negative way because of that. He never shared his concerns with another individual, and for the most part, Masaru managed to bury his stress and sadness at the loss of his dearest friend. Even his Captain was unaware in the change occurring in Masaru at that time.
Masaru began training to achieve Bankai, but he faced great difficulties during this part of his life. He did not understand how to activate it, and most training sessions ended in utter exhaustion and frustration. He did manage in the end however to gain this second release, though at the time he was greatly lacking in control over it.
One day in the fall, Masaru was informed that he would be made to switch to another division. He opposed this greatly at first, but later gave in. He was too tired to fight orders that he could not hope to change. His apparent shift in loyalty however earned him the disrespect of his remaining friend and Captain, Gahrok, who left Soul Society shortly after. Masaru never heard of his former Captain again. He claimed the position of 8th Captain in Gahrok's stead after passing the proficiency exam. Many of his fellow captain's however were rather skeptical of his skill level at the time, having only just recently acquired Bankai.
He took the new responsibilities as a captain with difficulty, often finding himself overwhelmed and overworked. He knew by the way others treated him that he did not have their respect or trust, and he took this rather personally. Because of this, Masaru began to travel to the living world often.
In his trips to the living world, Masaru met a human girl that he took an immediate interest in. He had never really been interested in having a relationship with someone before, and he visited her often. She had no ounce of reiatsu, and could not see him in his shinigami form. He used his Gigai around her, and never told her about Soul Society or Hollows, though he longed to share with her the truth about his life desperately. During this time, Masaru was known to abandon his own duties as a captain. His love for the human girl had him acting rather carelessly and irresponsibly.
Because of the time spent with him, the girl soon began to be able to see spirits, and she shared this with Masaru. He saw that she was scared and confused, and so he sat down with her to explain to her what he could. She learned of his secret life then, and felt rather betrayed by him. The trust however was repaired with time, and their relationship blossomed. He had never felt so alive.
(history continued in next post)
