Post by Suigintou on Nov 22, 2008 4:20:42 GMT -5
NAME: Kouyama Riku
AGE: Physically 16, closer to 40
GENDER: Male
RACE: Shinigami
RANK: Hachibantai ninth seat
APPEARANCE: Relatively short, Riku stands at about 5'8", and virtually incapable of building any muscle tone, his build is closer to an athlete's than a warrior's. His black hair lands in choppy layers around his face, framing warm-toned brown eyes, and the darkness of it coupled with his clothing makes his peach-toned skin appear paler than it actually is. There are no unusual modifications or peculiarities to his shihakusho or the way he wears it, and the only accessories to be found on him are a pair of silver earrings, making his appearance rather unremarkable among shinigami.
PERSONALITY: Quiet and reserved, Riku much prefers solitude to company. He customarily distances himself from other people, both physically and emotionally, a trait which often makes him come across as cold. This isn't entirely true, however; though few know him well enough to be aware of it, he has a strong sense of justice and an instinctive need to protect those who do get close to him.
Perhaps his greatest fault is his pride and his tendency to take on too much responsibility. Failure of any kind troubles him greatly, and he perceives it as a mark of his own weakness regardless of the circumstances.
WEAPON: Nakukari, a standard katana with grey wrapping around the hilt and a rectangular tsuba
ABILITIES:
Shikai: "Cry, Nakukari"
Nakukari becomes a set of eight identical knives, which Riku controls with his will to throw them at his opponents.
HISTORY: As a human, Riku lived a rather contented life, sharing a home with his parents and his older brother Haruka. He was particularly close to his brother; despite their occasional little arguments, they were nearly always together, until, when Riku was sixteen and Haruka eighteen, they were caught in the middle of a robbery and died together.
Not knowing how to handle the abrupt and violent end to everything he considered familiar, he began to depend on Haruka more than ever, the one remnant he still had of the life that had been taken from him. Together, they made their way in a Karakura that he barely recognized, adapting the best they could to an existence neither of them understood.
And then a hollow attacked, and that last piece of familiarity was shattered.
Riku was separated from his brother and chased until he couldn't run anymore. Fear and despair began to set in, but before the hollow could claim its prey, a shinigami appeared and dispatched it, and Riku learned for the first time of Soul Society and the things that existed within. Sent to South Rukongai's district 27, he made a new life for himself for a time, waiting patiently for Haruka's arrival, confident that his brother had followed shortly after. For several years, he searched for him, but as his efforts continued to fail, he began to look toward a new means of looking - Seireitei and the ranks of the Gotei 13.
He graduated the Academy with fairly good recommendations, received his zanpakutou, and was placed in Hachibantai under the command of Kyouraku Shunsui. Adjusting to the warrior's lifestyle didn't take him long; before long, dispatching hollows had become routine, and he found himself with much more freedom to explore Rukongai in depth, his search never forgotten.
It didn't take long for Riku to adjust to the routine of his new life, with a sense of familiarity settling in that lasted for quite some time. Gradually, he ascended the ranks of Hachibantai until he took up the position of tenth seat, an honor which afforded him the chance, for the first time, to take on the leadership of the missions he was sent on. Efficient at command, he assumed this role with only a little hesitance, taking down gradually stronger hollows with the small shinigami teams assigned to him.
This sudden sense of responsibility was new, but not unwelcome. Though he did little to express it, Riku was grateful for the opportunity to prove himself. He traveled with more frequency between Soul Society and the living world, and more and more often found himself in Rukongai for a completely different purpose than that which had driven him since his arrival. On one of these missions, reports of the sudden appearance of several low-level hollow had come in from far out in East Rukongai; due to their weak nature, the Gotei 13 considered them little threat, and Riku was sent with a handful of lower-seated shinigami to investigate.
Upon their arrival, it seemed nothing was out of the ordinary. Weak hollows sometimes congregated, seeking perhaps strength in numbers or the reassurance of their gathered reiatsu. With little resistance, the creatures fell to blade and bakudou, filling the air with their cries and the mist of their dissipating forms. It was a simple mission, completely routine for Riku, with the experience he'd accumulated in his years as a shinigami.
And then, one by one, his subordinates began to turn into hollows themselves.
Routine turned to nightmare. Too late, he realized the source of it - another hollow, more powerful and far more intelligent, could change spiritual bodies into more of its kind. There was nothing they could do against it, and finally Riku felt the beginnings of that change himself. He vaguely remembered it - screaming, that sense of absolute horror, blackness - before the hollow fell to his taichou's blade and its power over him broke.
Riku was shaken to the core. He withdrew into his preference for solitude, throwing himself into an almost consuming desire to grow stronger. These emerging aspects came to define him, after a while, and finally he was given his ninth seat rank, where he settled in with little drive to aim higher. He spoke to no one about the incident in Rukongai, a secret he continues to keep, known only to himself and Kyouraku-taichou. His search for Haruka, however, was not forgotten, remaining his highest priority beside his duties as a shinigami.
OTHER: Riku has a strong aversion to being touched.
