“A steady mind is a weapon unto itself.”
“Wield your blade, not before yourself, but as though it were your own body.”
“The spirit of battle is found only when you fight to protect what you hold most precious.”
“Humility and temperance are essential for true strength.”
Character Name: 長弘くるる (Nagahiro Kururu)
Nickname: 鉄姫 (Tetsuhime – Iron Princess); おばさん (Obasan - Auntie)
Actual Age: 1055
Physical Age: 48
Race: Soul Born
Birthday: March 7
Gender:
Female
Height: 220cm
Weight: 100kg
Blood Type: B+
Affiliation: Gotei 13
Profession: Shinigami
Title: NPC (Current)
Seventh Seat (Previously)
Third Seat (Previously)
Tenth Seat (Previously)
Position:
Instructor / Assistant to the Captain.
Formerly: Chief Kidō / Kaidō Instructor
Formerly: Chief Zanjutsu Instructor
Division: Third Division
Previous Division: None
Partner(s): Other Shin'ō Academy instructors; Asahi Kajiyashiki
Previous Partner(s): Jinnosuke Uekū
Base of Operations: Shin'ō Academy
Notable Features: She is an extremely tall woman who wears a complete Shinigami outfit with major alterations to appear more like a shrine priestess (miko).
Kururu wears a black hakui (robe) with white sode-kukuri (cords) through the sleeves and open shoulders. Strings called muna-himo are attached to each lapel and tied in front to keep the garment closed. Her kosode would be very much like a modern Kendo or Naginata Keikogi, with the sleeve-fitting somewhat closely like a modern loose shirt and extending slightly past the wrist. The slits on the side of her hakama, and the openings at the sleeves and shoulders of her hitoe (jacket) showed the black kosode she sports. This is a deliberate fashion effect. She wears a bright red nagabakama (a very long hakama). The rest of the outfit remains unchanged.
She wears a small fascinator which is purely for ornamental purposes. She has purple eyes, medium-length white hair, and a lithe but well-toned body. She will keep in pristine condition and is always as well maintained as possible.
Personality: Kururu is a calm and collected woman, consummately professional and honourable Shinigami. She is primarily a serious person and has an incredible work ethic. Training and discipline are top priorities for her, so maintaining a sharp mind, spirit, and body are essential. However, she isn't stoic and will display deep compassion and empathy for whoever she feels deserves it and fury toward those who incur her wrath.
She is fastidious and will not take shortcuts, completing every task with exhaustive effort. Whether that's laying a trap, studying Kidō, or performing a Soul Burial. She will do it with 100% of her spirit behind it and takes no pride in laziness or half-hearted efforts. Anything she does is of outstanding quality, particularly in art or technique
She believes in self-sacrifice and that the duty of all is to fight with utmost passion to defend all that is precious to them.
One thing that remains absolute is her affection toward her students and anyone that used to be her student, or even any young Shinigami in general. She remembers all of their names, and will check up on them regularly. She takes an active interest in their development as Shinigami. Whatever she can do to become a better mentor and teacher is something she always aspires to do. For her to be the lighthouse that all of the Seireitei can rely upon is essential.
Kururu is perceived as a workaholic, and many are afraid of being pushed too hard. Others enjoy the fact that she holds her subordinates to such high standards.
She is always hopeful for the future and wishes to instil inspiration into her subordinates and even those that are her equals. She is unpretentious even if she first appears that way, and does not condescend to anybody. She can see the value and merit in anything.
She fears being unable to protect her friends and allies.
Relatives: One grandaunt, aunt, uncle, and two nephews. All live within the Rukongai District 4.
Reiryoku Level:
Vast Spiritual Power - Reiryoku Control:
Mastered Control
Kururu is a true wellspring of reiyoku and its enormity of it is nearly beyond measure. She never felt the need to find ways to increase her reiyoku as she was scarcely tired at any task, particularly when utilising her reiryoku. She was constantly targeted by strong souls in the Rukongai, even some who would come as far as the Eighties Districts just to get a taste of the woman who had such tremendous power. During her academy days, her instructors would always push her farther than anyone else and she would do so. She hit harder, her Kidō was flashier, bigger, faster, and more explosive than the rest. Throughout her career, she kept up with Shinigami at much higher ranks than her in sparring, training, and tests.
Before she learned how to properly control her reiyoku, she would frequently find whole buildings demolished from a simple bad dream. The first time she activated her Shikai she flooded the whole of Shino'ō Academy and cleft it in twain. Her mentors stressed the pivotal importance of her keeping her power under control and ensuring that it doesn't cause collateral damage.
Anyone that knows Kururu will almost certainly question why she isn't a member of a combat-oriented Division with the neigh-limitless and overwhelming reiyoku she possesses.
As a result of her virtually limitless reiyoku, she has found it absolutely essential to keep it under control. Once volatile and prone to disaster, she now is able to even fill a thimble with water from her reiyoku. While it isn't impossible for her to truly mask her reiryoku, she doesn't bother with keeping hidden in the first place instead, she rather sprawl out and magnify her presence so that she can both inspire allies with her arrival and draw enemies toward her and away from her comrades. She has spent countless days meditating to keep her powers under control and now it breathes when she breaths. She can manifest it with her reiatsu in the form of rain which differs depending on her mood.
Her reiryoku is a crucial element of her abilities and as such, it demands her complete mastery to manipulate properly. From the slightest droplet of water to the force of a tidal wave, or the pressure of a steel cutting machine and beyond - to shape and affect water in the way she does is simple for her, but requires the ability to control what is normally an uncontrollable force of nature. She can take a Kidō and render it almost harmless or make something like Shō devastate buildings.
Sensing Reiryoku:
Master
Kururu wholeheartedly believes in the ability to defend her allies as much as the necessity to identify the strengths and weaknesses in her pupils. Moreover, she found it crucial to be able to discern everything about an enemy from the slightest glance as she knew a true warrior would have no time to prepare for most battles and if she were to be a true protector of anything she must be able to determine what, where, and how an assailant would fight at any given moment.
She is able to draw upon her monumental reiyoku into her own senses, but beyond that Kururu has trained for almost one millennium to hone her sensing abilities to be as sharp as inhumanly possible. She began with the basics - sensing someone just in front of her with her eyes closed - and she would practice that until she could do such even literally in her sleep. Never one to stop climbing the mountain she forced herself to greater challenges on a continuous basis.
On missions to the World of the Living, this was essential as she was often in charge of groups of unrefined students or unseated Shinigami and she always needed to be aware of her surroundings. Ever vigilant over her charge, she would often detect Hollows in other cities, or before anyone else did.
Throughout her centuries of going onto field trips, travelling the realms, the occasional battle and general exploration, she has been exposed to Quincies, Arrancar, Fullbringers, and Visored. She has since been able to determine the subtle differences between the reiryoku of each.
Reiatsu:
Master
With her genuinely massive reiryoku comes with it unbearably dense reiatsu. Her unbeatable drive to protect others and crush those that would harm her friends and allies led her to have a monstrous spiritual pressure. She can even annihilate lesser Hollow by standing near them. She easily manifests her pressure when she's serious about something, and will often do so to avoid a fight. When she was young, she would constantly practice fine-tuning her reiatsu; she had to figure out a way to exert her spiritual pressure at extremely specific levels so as to not accidentally harm her allies nearby or cause collateral damage. But when she has nothing to worry about she is easily able to crush even advanced Bakudō, or level whole towns. If she flexes her reiatsu, one can feel it from any single point along with the Seireitei itself.
Kururu's reiatsu feels as though one is being enveloped by the sea itself. Its waves caress the body when she is calm and happy, like one sitting on the beach or putting one's feet in a quiet stream. But when she is angered and begins to show a desire to kill to protect her friends, it is as though a typhoon is erupting from her body - wild disaster striking from her body zealously smashing anything it encounters and drawing in anything that gets close and repulsing anything far away, everything that it cannot affect being battered by the storm until it gives in and is swept away.
If an opponent is not of particular physical strength they will find themselves in a precarious position.
Reiatsu Colour:
White
Reiatsu Effect(s):
Hope and Rain.
Allies fighting with her will feel their spirits lifted into levels of stalwart ferocity never seen before. With her reiatsu, nothing is impossible, no battle unwinnable, no death unwelcome, nothing that they will stop for. The more ferocity that she fights with instils in her allies their own sense of power. As her reiatsu flows throughout the battlefield, so too does it rain. Beginning with a gentle sunshower, her reiatsu will gain in power particularly if she is enranged where it can become a veritable monsoon storm. It has been known to rain if she is sad as well.
Reiatsu Type:
Element Type - Water.
Her reiatsu has the look and feel of water which can be both still and silent, or coursing and rushing like a waterfall or a tsunami, or somewhere in between. It depends on her intent and emotional state.
Zanjutsu Level:
Master Swordsman
Kururu has taught Zanjutsu to thousands of Shinigami, many of whom were talented fighters who would become respected warriors in their own right. She instructed
Nao Murakami;
Sanya Komamura;
Shusuke Kiyoshi; and
Shizuka Hyozoku. Nurturing young Shinigami in the art of the sword is one thing, however, she knew how to wield her blade with both indisputable strength and surgical precision.
She most frequently fought in the World of the Living, or with large teams of inexperienced Shinigami that did not have strong unit tactics. As such, she always had to be very careful how she used her weapons, especially as her ōdachi was much longer than any other Zanpakutō. But she also needed to be able to wield such a large weapon with devastating force.
Through her centuries of training, she has sparred with Shinigami of great strength, reflex, and even genius, but also tens of thousands of different Hollow and Quincy. Being the person that she is, Kururu never permitted even one scratch on any of her students and always rushed to their guard to fight anything that would threaten them. She would almost invariably be beset on all sides and outnumbered, forcing her to be very creative and deft with her blades. Whether it's a Quincy's swift ranged attacks a Hollow's enormous fangs, or another Zanpakutō, she had to be ready to deal with them all.
She practised and trained constantly with her blades, ensuring that she had utter mastery over both a dual-wield style and two-handed weapon styles. She trained until she could carve portraits into flowers and bisect Hollow with the flick of her wrist.
She did not simply seek out anyone who would give her the time of day as a mentor, but Shinigami who were the embodiment of Zanjutsu. She even returned to some of her former students as they grew in strength and skill to reverse roles because she understood humility and never thought of anyone as lesser than her regardless of age, status, or race.
Her tantō was usually used defensively, but she also used it for fast and close-ranged attacks, or sometimes just to embarrass a particular student or enemy by defeating them with what is essentially a pocket knife to her. Wielding her ōdachi is as easy for her as blinking, and its tremendous size and weight is something she knows with every fibre of her being. Although she prefers to only brandish both blades when prepared to slay an enemy, she does not hesitate to fight at full force when necessary. She makes it be known to her students that they can only pass her Zanjutsu courses if they can land a hit on her while she has both blades brandished. This high standard ensures she produces only the finest quality of graduates even if they're few in number.
Every day she would commune with her Zanpakutō spirit to ensure that she was deeply attuned to its needs and demands. Seeking out its wisdom and guidance at every turn with regard to using it as efficiently as possible. She tried everything - fighting blindfolded, with cups of sake on her blades, falling in the air, and she even tried using her feet. Most of all, she grew accustomed to fighting underwater, and above ground with unbelievable weight.
Known Techniques: Kendo – she is a master in the art of Kendo and teaches it to anyone who is willing to learn.
Agitowari – Jaw splitting; Suikawari – Watermelon splitting; Ryōdan – Bisection; Senmaioroshi – Thousand-Page Wholesale; Onibi – Oni Fire; Daiichikai: Nadegiri – The First: Killing Stroke; Dainikai: Fushi dageki – The Second: Immortality Crush - Daisankai: Tenken – The Third: Heavenly Sword
Hohō Level: No Shunpo- She has not learned to Flash Step and does not focus her efforts on it. She would rather stand and fight even insurmountable odds than run away, and she has no reason to try to be stealthy. She instead has incredible reflexes to compensate.
When all of her Spirit Weights are removed, it will appear as though she can move with the speed of a Shunpo Expert, but a true Shunpo will still be faster and far better controlled. This also does not last very long as he body and opponent adjusts to the lighter weight.
Hakuda Level:
Expert Combatant
Kururu is a swordswoman first and foremost. She understands, however, the importance of being capable of combat without weapons, and how vital the body is in combat. Complete control over one's body is essential to becoming a legendary master of the blade, and she recognises the many instances where using a Zanpakutō may be impractical or even impossible. She prefers fighting with Hakuda as she believes it has less killing intent behind it and she can more easily avoid hurting others. It's also great for discipline.
She isn't the pinnacle of martial arts prowess, but she is entirely comfortable with it. She has toned her body over centuries and practised with the best Hakuda fighters in the Seireitei. In addition, she knows how to move her huge and cumbersome body in a surprisingly deft fashion; she uses the underestimation of her sheer skill and nimbleness to her advantage to overwhelm opponents with amazingly powerful kicks, punches, throws, slams, flurries, and more. She prefers a more defensive fighting style.
She has exercised her Hakuda thousands of times in battle - she can easily toss a Menos Grande and can take on a dozen combatants without as much as a glancing blow against her.
She can crush stone with ease just by crushing the air with her fist nearby, can chop trees down like paper with her hands, and she can even determine to a slight extent what an opponent's body is going to do prior to them taking action.
She break a wooden practice sword against her neck or even fight blindfolded. She has accomplished this through so much rigorous body training and honing her skill with strong masters, but also by throwing herself into the fray to protect humans or her squadmates. She also grew up being almost constantly fought and duelled because of the enormity of her size; even in the peaceful 4th Rukon District, she found herself challenged, in the Academy the other students wanted to test their mettle or just try to pick on her. Even as a Shinigami she had members of the 11th wanting to see what the giant lady could do. She was forced to practice Hakuda on a constant basis because of this.
She frequently teaches Hakuda to the likes of the Komamura clan with the most recent pupil being
Sanya Komamura.
As she essentially lives with thousands of kilograms of weight on her body, she is supremely accustomed to her normally heavy body and if those weights were removed she'd be able to keep up with even masters of Hakuda.
She has mastery in Judo, Kyudo, Sumo, and Taekwondo.
Known Techniques: Raiōken - Thunder King Fist; Kazaguruma – Windmill; Taketonbo – Bamboo Dragonfly; Mizu Ryūjin – Water Dragon God;
Kido Skill Level:
Kidō Master
The Demon Arts. The most feared skill she had to learn as a Shinigami. For her, even the most mundane of Kidō is capable of massive destructive force. It's for that reason that she prefers Bakudō and barrier spells, but she as is her comprehensive approach to learning any technique, she is capable of a wide array of Kidō. While she is not a member of the Kidō Corps, she had to become one of the premier practitioners of Kidō for three reasons: to best conquer and utilise her immense reiryoku, and to become a Shinigami so that all of her allies could truly rely on her to lend aid, and because she wanted to ensure she could teach anyone as much Kidō as possible. Her scholarly nature ensured she would never be content with simply understanding how Kidō worked instead, she certainly had to comprehend it at a fundamental and all-encompassing level, but her innate power made it much easier for her to attain mastery.
She would practice with Kidō over and over to allow it to flow as naturally from her as her own breath. She would practice until she could spark even a fraction of its power or increase it beyond what it was ever designed to do. She would often think about what it would take to destroy a particular object and what is the most ideal to do so, she would see what is the minimum reiryoku necessary to accomplish that task. Seeing what interacted with lighting Hadō or fire Hadō and how to exercise them in ideal environments was another factor she would experiment in.
Using her outstanding reiryoku control she is able to form Kidō that is faster, more precise, wider-reaching, longer-lasting, and more devastating than any ordinary practitioners and upstages most that are considered experts in the Art. A simple Shō is enough to obliterate an entire building for her. But to become a true master, she had to be able to affect granular control over Kidō as well. She can utilise a fraction of a Kidō's power, taking even a Raikōhō and turning it into a minor jolt or being able to power a lightbulb with it. She understands the meaning and intent behind every incantation and has memorised each and everyone she encountered.
She never wished to have anyone get caught up in her spells accidentally so she'd almost exclusively practice alone with special target dummies powered by developed by the Twelfth Division
Only in battle could she go all-out. She would be forced to fight a wide range of enemies, from Adjuchas to high-ranking Quincies and had to be prepared for anything they threw at her.
Kururu has become so comfortable with Kidō that she can wield it without incantation and can cast an incantation post-hoc.
Known Spells:
Skills and Abilities:
Diligent Scholar
As somebody who leaves no stone unturned and an instructor at the Academy, Kururu has an encyclopaedic knowledge of many subjects including Shinigami history, the World of the Living, Demon Arts, tradition, religion, and more. There are very few things left unknown to her and the thirst to uncover more motivates her regularly.
She will attempt every angle and exhaust any theory or hypothesis until she finds a satisfactory answer. She does give her 100% effort into everything she does, and that includes the pursuit of knowledge. She is very long-lived which has given her a great deal of time to acquire vast amounts of information.
Immense Durability and Strength
Although not as obscenely muscular as some of her colleagues, she is monstrously stronger and more durable than she looks. A careful, diligent and hourly regimen of micro-exercise, diet, and mental fortification and wearing specially-made spirit weights, has given her a slim but unbelievably dense physique. Even her shihakushō is a thousand times heavier than normal. As she fights and her weight decreases, she becomes swifter and when her spirit weights are removed she is able to move at significant speeds. In order to properly wield her Bankai, she requires unfathomable strength to adequately wield such a huge weapon which she can do so with relative ease. The Zanpakutō in bankai is so heavy it can smash stone simply from a gentle tap. She attacks usually with one-handed techniques because if she were to place both hands on the handle, she would obliterate almost anything that stands before her, and that's before applying Kendo. She has been seen lifting Menos Grande with ease and throwing them a hundred feet into the air and not even breaking a sweat.
She can easily stop almost any blade with a single finger, and will often disarm her opponent by grabbing the blade directly and ripping it from them.
Although she certainly feels pain, her threshold is leagues beyond what a sane Shinigami would endure. Broken bones, torn ligaments, lost limbs and the like are inconveniences to her. The nickname 'Iron Princess' was given to her after she survived a Cero from a Vasto Lorde.
Equipment:
Spirit Weights (四肢重封印 Shishi Jūfūin) - designed by the Department of Research and Development. One on each limb and one around her waist. Threads of this material have been woven into her outfit, creating clothes that weigh tremendously. She originally started with small weights until she grew stronger, starting from 50kg to 3000 kilograms.
Denreishinki - As Kururu is an old soul, her Soul Pager is hopelessly outdated. Instead of the usual new smartphones, she still uses the flip phone version from many years prior.
Inventions:
Dainikai: Fushi dageki
A technique that can only be used after the First; once the blade has returned to its sheath, a second iaijutsu strike is performed by spinning the body around at such a speed that it requires a very strong body lest one’s spine snaps from the sheer force of the spin. Everything within a 20-metre radius is cleft in twain horizontally and is about twice as powerful as the First.
Daisankai: Tenken
This technique can only be used after the Second; the wielder positions themselves in a wide stance with their feet spread apart, toes facing each other, and the sword reversed with both hands holding on and pointed upwards behind themselves, the tip as high as it will go. A deep and focused exhale to focus the mind is required, then a sharp inhale to force as much reiatsu into the muscles as possible for the upstroke which is guaranteed to tear some muscles in even extremely strong individuals. The resulting attack is so powerful that a shockwave is sent forward, annihilating anything in its path up to one kilometre away and reaching a height of 100 metres and a depth of 100 metres vertically. The user cannot repeat even either one in this series (First, Second, or Third) for at least a week after this due to the trauma in their body.
Mizu Ryūjin
One of the most powerful martial techniques known to Kururu. The user must perform this while the target is above themselves with the user on the ground, focusing all of their physical strength and their reiatsu into their legs and arms at this exact moment, they are able to thrust their hands open-palm into the torso of their target with such explosive force that the ground beneath them will crater and all of that energy gets released into the target's body such that if they are not durable enough it will positively shatter the majority of their skeleton and rupture many organs. Even in an extremely hardened body, it will at the very minimum wound and wind the target. The exact power is determined by the strength of the user minus the durability of the target. If the user is standing on an indestructible surface then this effect is amplified as the excess energy has nowhere to go, but as a downside, the user is also likely to suffer damage.
Zanpakuto Name:
海洋神 オルカ Kaiyōshin Oruka - Ocean God Orca
Zanpakuto Appearance:
The Zanpakutō is split into two swords. One is a tantō with no handguard, affixed to the left side of the inside of her robe at about chest height with the handle leaning just outside. The blade itself has a shark fin aesthetic and reaches from the handle to the blade tip (creating a triangle shape) and small holes running along the side of the blade edge. The other is an ōdachi at 100cm in length but carried in her obi, and its sheath has an extra long openinig from the top end to allow her to pull out the enormous blade, so it ends up resembling more of a pistol holster than a typical sheath. The blade itself is typical of other Zanpakutō. . The handguard is in the shape of the Pisces symbol.
Zanpakuto Spirit:
A man of indomitable will and immutable presence, Kaiyōshin Oruka is one who believes in perseverance, courage, and willpower above all else. He demands honour among his followers and expects his wielder to behave with dignity and compassion. However, he also does not allow that to become a weakness. An honourable ruler is nothing without the strength to rule as well. As such, he is a relentless force of passion and fervour, driving forward without looking back. Everything deserves your 100% effort. As she never gives up on her students and her comrades, he too will always have faith in Kururu, each having their own immutable conviction. He demands of her the same as any noble leader: Her sheer presence should be enough to stir her men into action even if they were lying in their own blood, and if she were to have to use her very bones to fight then she shall do so but only if it is in service to her men and her realm. Otherwise, he does not see her fit to fight at all. This is particularly why she has taken other forms of combat as he refuses to be called out if he does not believe in the fight. No point in going even 99%, so he will not fight at all. Only by putting one's life before others do you fight at 100%.
Kaiyōshin Oruka is a huge man of about 300 centimetres tall and is half-Orca-half-man, but appears as though he were some kind of god-king with the opulence it deserves. He doesn't have an ego about it, merely having earned the respect through hard work and honed skill. He rules the ocean, and Kururu will do the same.
Inner World: Sealed state: A limitless ocean teeming with life, peaceful and serene. A tiny island floats above where she can speak to her Zanpakutō spirit.
Bankai: A cyclone whirlpool of natural destructive force. Only those with an unstoppable will survive here, the orcas, sharks, whales, and the like. The spirit stands at the epicentre of the whirlpool enjoying the carnage as he knows his kingdom is safe and his subjects are fighting along with him.
Release Phrase:
溺れる Oboreru – Drown.
The two blades are smashed together at the hilt and activate their Shikai form. She can also release with “ほとんど溺” (Hotondo Obore) Almost Drowning as long as she has only one of the two swords brandished. Although it annoys her Zanpakutō spirit, he obliges her so long as he believes in what she is doing (and profusely apologises later). This allows for a partial release that is either the sword or the shield at a slightly weakened state.
Shikai:
The ōdachi turns into blade of water experiencing laminar flow. It's very difficult to determine the shape and size as the water is translucent when undisturbed. The tantō remains in its regular state but the holes now produce a current of water that immediately takes the shape of a kite shield made of water with a similar laminar flow effect.
Shikai Special Ability:
ベールを貫く - Bēru o tsuranuku, Pierce the Veil.
The defensive capability of her shield and the offensive capability of her sword entirely depends on how much reiatsu she applies to each item. She can give as much to one side as she wants but generally keeps it even on each side.
The ōdachi is in fact, it is highly pressurised water that can shift its dimensions (length, width, thickness) considerably. It has the power to cut through anything if given enough reiatsu. The shield behaves as though one is striking the ocean itself - it will sink in and look as though it has been lost to sea if looking within. It can even absorb an unlimited amount of other water. It is possible to absorb whole bodies with this if they're not recovered in time (it takes several seconds to consume something that large) and to retrieve anything that has been left in this water dimension although they can still succumb to drowning/decay.
Bankai:
地球から溢れ出る海 - Chikyū kara afure deru umi - Oceans overflowing from the Earth.
A massive (430cm) double-sided gunlance that is similar to a swordfish made of ivory. Through the lance is a mechanism to compress her reishi by factors of tens of thousands and fire it outward with either vast pressure per square inch or tremendous force and size. The lance is vastly hefty, although nobody but her knows just how much it weighs. The piercing power alone is enough to smash through stone with the slightest stab. She also is enveloped by armour that looks like an aquatic hydra with thick scales covering her body, a helmet that appears to be the head of a water elemental dragon, heavy thigh-length greaves, thick pauldrons, heavy gauntlets, and scale plate mail. Her only exposed areas are her inner thighs, face, and her palms. The colour scheme is a pearlescent aquamarine. The lance is covered in 鮫肌 – Sharkskin, making hundreds of small cuts if brushed against and making it difficult to deliver glancing blows due to the repelling nature of the skin. Reiatsu can be pumped into this sharkskin to make it more deadly if needed.
She can manipulate her insurmountable reishi and reiryoku to ebb and flow between offence and defence.
When she is not attacking anything her armour will take on the form of the vastness of the ocean itself; peering into it is as though one peers into the depths where only darkness thrives. Nothing can escape its grasp -anything that touches her armour will be quickly pulled into its nightmare abyss and progressively crushed under the immeasurable atmospheres worth of water pressure
Kururu will carry the literal weight of the ocean with her every step, causing even the mightiest steel to crumple with her movements. As she has the vastness of the ocean enveloping her, it becomes almost impossible for her to be directly affected by the elements as the ocean cannot be frozen, boiled, blown away, or any such thing. Even electricity will find it impossible to reach her. The only way for her to be affected is by reaching her unprotected skin or getting her to shift her reiatsu to offense.
Even in its base form, her armour is remarkably strong - comparable to any above-average hierro.
Although she cannot move quite as fast as her ordinary form, she is still remarkably agile and can react to Shunpo provided she is stationary. Her speed increases and decreases as she shifts from offensive to defensive stances.
As she is a being that commands water, she is unaffected by liquid-based abilities with her aquatic armour active and can swim or skim over any liquid at speeds hundreds of times her ordinary movement capacity.
Bankai Special Ability:
霧雲を隠す -Kirigumo o kakusu - Hidden by the Fog
Kururu spits out an ultra-dense cloud of reiatsu fog which muffles all sounds to almost zero decibels and reduces visibility to 20 centimetres. Anything outside of the fog cannot be heard from within, and vice versa. Detecting anything with spiritual sensing is ten times as difficult, as such only those with extremely attuned senses could function easily. This also enhances her water-based abilities and dampens flame based-abilities. Simple wind is not enough to move the dense fog, and strong 90's level or higher wind-based Kidō or something similar must be used.
爆発的間欠泉 - Bakuhatsu-teki kanketsusen - Explosive Geyser – Her reiatsu is channelled and concentrated into the tip of her lance and shot out. The pressure and current are determined at a whim, so it can either be a tsunami of millions of tonnes of force, a laser-sharp cutter of millions of PSI, or somewhere in between. She will often use this to fill a given area with water.
Personal Relationships:
Jinnosuke Uekū - Her closest and oldest friend, a man she may have even loved.
Asahi Kajiyashiki - Her most familiar comrade; they're good friends. He is probably the only one that knows Kururu's true capabilities.
Likes: Swimming; reading; tai-chi;
Dislikes: Deserts; the cold; fighting for no reason
Hobbies: Practising the arts (calligraphy, pottery, painting, poetry, origami, etc), meditation, yoga, and bird watching.
Favourite Food(s): Sashimi/sushi.
Seretei Communication Column: Workout techniques and dieting. Overall physical health.
Theme Song: Rise - Yoko Kanno and Origa
Battle Song: Show Me What You Got - Powerman 5000 / Fallback - Spineshank
Voice Actress: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Eng); Megumi Ogata (JP)
Biography:
Kururu was ‘born’ in the 4th Rukon District as a Plus to a small family who took her in. She lived a happy life full of wealth and luxury. She would find herself exposed to many interesting people many of whom were artists, artisans, craftsmen, and other ‘high-class’ folk. Whenever she had any free time she would hang around these people and learn, eventually trying all sorts of activities for herself. As the 4th was considered a peaceful and opulent area of the Rukongai, it was easy to find people who had ample free time and interest in not only traditional arts, but martial arts too. She would practice with other children in various games and competitions - whatever it was she was eager to try it out and master it as best as she could. She did not always win or set any records, but she would always go farther and push harder than anyone else.
But it was certainly not a stress-free life. The Nagahiro family was not a noble family by any means but were of minor fame thanks in part to their pedigree in keeping a quasi-rule over the district in which they resided. They were remarkable leaders in commerce and entertainment and there were scarce parts of the 4th that they didn’t get involved in helping build and manage. Kururu grew up accustomed to having responsibility and the pressure to keep things moving smoothly, managing deadlines and keeping up with appearances. Even at a young age, it looked as though she were quite capable if it weren’t for one thing: when she lost her temper, anyone around her would find wanton destruction.
Kururu had an incredible spiritual pressure from the very beginning and it was very challenging for her to suppress. She would have to concentrate continuously on remaining level-headed or else her reiatsu would grow out of control. But during stressful times or when dealing with a particularly conniving trader, she would find her grip loosening and whenever she did anyone without a reiryoku of their own would faint or even sometimes get hurt. It all came to a head one day when vagabonds from the 66th District arrived looking to pilfer the coffers of the fat establishments found therein where Kururu snapped. She tried to reason with the bandits but they viciously beat her for trying to stand up for her friends. It was only when one of the miscreants tried to harm her family did she blackout and flexed the full force of her spiritual pressure which resulted in the ne’er do-wells being utterly demolished and turned into reishi.
At that point, both fearing for the safety of the 4th, and all-too impressed with the goliath reiatsu the 7th Division patrols were feeling over time, they had eventually launched a full investigation to determine the source. Once they learned that the young Kururu was the culprit, they took her into custody with her non-noble family being unable to protest, and conscripted her into Shino'ō Academy.
Her six years at Shin’ō academy were similar to the hundreds of thousands before her as it was filled with many sleepless nights, cram sessions and an unfathomable quantity of coffee. Her days were somewhat different - she did not simply seek to pass, she sought to enrich herself at every possible moment. She would partake in every extracurricular activity, workshop, and as many private lessons as she could. Every page of each book in the library was scoured. She wasted not one single moment of her Academy days not being able to practice and learn, sparring with everyone that would have her and generally honing her skills and abilities. Most prudent of all was her determination to steady her mind and spirit. Constant vigilance to not lose control once more was paramount to her and she would partake in anything she felt would help quell her vivid emotions and contain her nearly limitless spiritual power. She had to be given special classes as she would destroy the target range for Hadō, throw her opponent through the walls during Hakuda practice, and break the wooden swords for Zanjutsu class. Kururu was not a prodigy or even a genius. She simply knew she had to go beyond, break herself so she could break only her enemies and nothing else, to break all barriers. She had to give her 100% effort at all times.
Her instructors took note of her innate ability to tackle any challenge and surpass all expectations. It was obvious she was meant to be more than just a student and, naturally, an unseated position was beneath her. They also decided to use her incredible commitment to her studies to good use and had her become a junior instructor. While only a student she would already find herself tutoring talented kohai many of whom would go on to later work with her in the Third Division or move on to other Divisions with their skills praised as being well-developed thanks to her rigorous training regimen.
Her final year was a momentous occasion for her as she was able to imprint upon her asauchi successfully and drew the awe of her classmates at its dual Zanpakutō appearance. Her comrade for eternity and her closest confidant, the Ocean God, his ego was even larger than his wielder, but his sense of honour and selflessness was above reproach.
She was offered to graduate a year early and she happily accepted as she had achieved all she could as a student.
Kururu would graduate at last with a significant gulf between herself in the first place and the second-place student. She humbly admits she was lucky there were no true prodigies in her year or she probably would have had to work even harder to reach the top spot if she could have achieved it at all. But her grades were record-breaking, through the sheer effort she exuded she managed to make it into the top ten graduates of all time. Her lack of Hohō was not a problem as she made up for it in every other way. Almost any Division would try to woo her to their team with the notable exception of the Second and the Fourth. Ultimately she would join the Third Division as a 10th seat where she would remain for the vast majority of her career. She was offered a 5th seat position but she declined, as she believed other Shinigami should be able to reach such a high seat and she felt it unfair for her to occupy such a space, she would rather help her Division prosper in the background and support them quietly while on missions. It also meant she would have more time to continue to hone her own skill and not be bothered too much by her duties which she tried to balance as best as she could.
Ever since she was young she wanted to be someone that other Shinigami could look up to. She cared deeply about their lives and always hoped for the brightest future for her comrades and the Seireitei as a whole.
Her life as a seated officer was eventful and rife with trials and tribulations. An instructor is nothing without experience and wisdom, and so as much as she deigned to do without bloodshed, she ushered herself to every mission to the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and elsewhere that she had time for. The Third Division, under former Captain Jury, was different in her youth, and had much more involvement with combat and supporting the other Divisions, teaching as part of the core ethos was not to be for many centuries more. Instead of standing behind a lectern with a class, she would find the time to teach the greenhorn Shinigami as part of field classes, with lessons that would often get deadly. She saw no compromise when it came to the calibre of comrades she wished to see in the Third, and Captain Jury was no different in that regard. Regular outings to the Menos Forest, and even to Hell were part and parcel for whoever was under her tutelage. Each and every time, however, Kururu would ensure the safety of the younger Soul Reapers. Her incredible strength and spiritual pressure kept everyone else away from harm and the Captain never felt as though the 10th seat could not handle herself, often being assigned to Lieutenant-class missions. She typically refused to work alone and wanted every opportunity to help her fellow Division colleagues grow and prosper. She frequently would find an especially skilled protégé that would surpass her in rank much to her joy as it meant she was doing a good job.
In all her years, she had only drawn her Zanpakutō to defend her allies and she did so without hesitation. If she needed to fight or defend herself, she would find Hakuda or Bakudō to fight with. Occasionally, she would call upon her Shikai with a partial name so she could still perform in combat to help protect her friends and allies while getting them away from danger and so that she didn't use her full strength near them.
Any time she would need to train at full strength was where she'd travel to the far frontier of the Rukongai. There are stories of young souls of brilliant explosions, mysterious rainfalls, and even tsunamis appearing in the horizon beyond the final Rukon District. Whether it was Kururu or not is a myth to remain as such, but intrepid children have sworn that they could see her imposing figure walking from such ruckus.
Sometime before the Shattered Dimensions event, Kururu’s luck with bringing her Division into the fold on risky missions would run out. She was dispatched to Hueco Mundo with a select group of senior unseated officers from the Third Division as part of an advanced training mission along with the a few unseated Eleventh Division officers and the 7th and 6th seat of Division Eleven to keep the group safe. The mission was to rescue a large group of humans kidnapped by Adjuchas. Little did she know that it was a trap set by a cunning Vasto Lorde for them to feast on much stronger souls.
A long battle ensued with the result being that the Eleventh and Third Division’s advance troops overwhelmed the Adjuchas. Left with little other option, the Vasto Lorde decided to kill its prey instead of devouring them and launched a full-powered Cero to the group, where Kururu rushed into the path without hesitation and faced the Cero head-on, bracing herself and steeling her spiritual pressure. She bore the complete force of the Cero with only her arms to protect herself and used her spiritual pressure to ensure her allies were unharmed by collateral damage.
Her shihakushō was in tatters, but her friends and the humans all survived. The battle was not over so she released her Shikai and poured all of her power into her blade in order to rend the Vasto Lorde in half.
Her popularity soared. She found that almost everyone wanted her tutelage and so she had to build a clubhouse just for her various lessons. She would be appointed the Chief Zanjutsu Instructor of the entire Shin’ō Academy at this point and has proven herself as a supremely talented and committed scholar and instructor who had the ability to profoundly influence those around her to do better and go beyond.
A few years would pass until the fateful day. The Shattered Dimensions. Her Captain was one of the few chosen to enter the gates of Hell only to never return. Her relationship with Captain Jury was warm and respectful. As a 10th seat, she never was that close with him nor did she spend much time with him. Instead, she was more familiar with the 3rd and 4th seats as they more directly dealt with her. Nevertheless, she deeply respected her Captain and saw that Jury could see the true potential that lies behind her eyes. She was ever grateful that her Captain allowed her to flourish as a mentor.
When Kururu discovered that her Captain was no more, she was crestfallen. Sure, she was not close, but to lose him so suddenly and without even being able to lend aid? Perhaps the inability to take action was truly crushing for her. As a 10th seat, any special investigations were left beyond her reach and the Third Division Lieutenant would be assigned such matters. She begged her Lieutenant, and even the Central 46 to allow her to go to Hell directly to settle this matter, she was willing to find a way to open those doors.
Denied. She was not to act on the matter to any measure. She had to just move on as if the whole Soul Society should just shrug it off and turn their cheek.
She now had to deal with the cleanup - keeping morale up and trying to rebuild. The new Head Captain was ambitious and uncompromising. The Captain of the Third Division would become vacant. Ever since that day, she would seek out answers. Who did this, and why? How did they get away with it? She left no book unread, no scroll untouched, no corner unchecked. In her quest for a conclusion, she would learn many things and secrets. It was clear to her that if she wanted the true answers, she would have to break open those doors herself. But as she was, she was not ready, nor was the Soul Society. Her absolute goal from that day forth was to become the Shinigami that opened Hell and brought her comrades back even if it took a thousand years.
She saw a gap in leadership. With no Lieutenant and no Captain, it was up to her and the other seated officers to keep a hold of things. She stepped up at every chance she could, keeping reports flowing, training sessons scheduled, classes booked, and missions assigned. She also did her best to ensure that the Third wouldn't bleed membership, as many young Shinigami would see the Third as weak without senior leadership.
Kururu would grow tremendously during the century between big events. Learning more Kidō, honing her Hakudō, sharpening her mind, and even developing some techniques of her own, Her already rigorous training regimen would be exponentially improved. Her weights increased, her sparring sessions doubled, and her visits to the archives were more frequent. Her standards for her pupils were even greater too as she wanted to secure the future of the soul society.
She remembers the day that the Tyrant was sent back to the Muken. Was it truly justice? She saw a fellow Shinigami unable to repent, a powerful ally unable to lend aid, and victims unable to attempt vengeance. All of which she saw as truly unfortunate. He had slain so many for such an unknowable purpose. But more importantly: why had he remained unwilling or unable to take action and try and find all of those missing in Hell? If he was truly so great, he would have done so, or so she thought. But now it was over and the reign of a new Head Captain, once again, has begun. And she was still without a Captain. She tried to investigate on her own once more and uncovered little else that the other Divisions did not already learn. The Soul Society must heal from this, and she would work even harder for it.
She was fond of the new Head Captain; she remembered his days in the Academy and saw the enormity of his presence, gusto, and skill. Truly, he alone was fit to lead all Shinigami. She hoped still that he would be the one to find an answer to the Shattered Dimensions.
That time would be delayed even further as the Soul Society and the World of the Living would become under assault. Her efforts were entirely focused on trying to evacuate the 77th District and protect anyone she should from harm. Using her Shikai she would manage to deflect the massive destructive force that was the explosion from the Garganta.
The incident would come to pass and the Soul Society would heal once more. The Kenpachi Games was a cruel joke that the Head Captain concocted she thought. She felt no reason to participate even if it meant becoming a Captain herself. Sure, the thought was tantalising, but to do so through meaningless violence was repugnant. She would wear a haori on her own terms.
She was familiar with everyone participating and, in fact, was happy that Captain Hageshi was there too as she truly saw hope for the future of the Seireitei in her hands. Perhaps more than anyone, she admired Captain Hageshi’s tenacity and willingness to force her way through any obstacle. She had heard of her exploits for centuries and always wondered how long it would be until she became the next Kenpachi. She still had no Captain of her own, but if she did become one it would certainly not be for some other Division.
Kururu was one with the Third. She was to keep it running for the remainder of her days, and to switch Divisions is unthinkable to her. She will realise her passion of becoming one of the best with the blade and with Kidō and a woman that everyone could see as a mother figure and a mentor. She always considers the future of the Soul Society.
Kururu has, over the past several centuries, learned the inner secrets of her closest companion, the Ocean God. She had achieved bankai for quite some time already, and she was confident she was ready. Anyone that knew her had always encouraged her to climb the ranks and she decided that it was time to herald a new era for the Third, and for the Gotei 13.
This is the only tribute to his legacy. Every week she pours a cup of sake for him and toasts to his honour.
