Zaraki Kenpachi (Bleach) - App for gargleblasted

[up_to_eleventh]

Character name: Zaraki Kenpachi (Surname, Personal Name)
Fandom: Bleach
Timeline: 423, ie. after the shinigami return to Soul Society.
Age: It's not specified, but headcanon'd to be 300~400 years old.

~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths:

Shinigami (死神, "death god(s)"; Viz "Soul Reaper(s)") are souls with a high level of spiritual energy (ie. spiritual sensitivity and willpower) whose task it is to guide souls from the newly/recently dead into the afterlife. Some of these souls are malevolent due to being corrupted and are known as Hollows; both neutral and malevolent souls are sent to soul society via swords known as Zanpakutou. These swords are the physical manifestation of the force of a Shinigami's soul in the form of a blade and are supposed to have their own personalities and names. A sword's name is the gateway to it's released form (shikai) which is stronger than the original form.

...yeah, we don't know Kenpachi's sword's name, neither does Kenpachi.

Zanpakutou, or 'soul cutters', are also supposed to have not only a released form but a final release form (known as bankai) which further unleashes a ridiculous amount of badassery and new attacks.

...yeah, Kenpachi doesn't have *that* either. He is, in fact, the only captain of the Gotei 13, the primary military branch of Soul Society, to not have bankai.

Instead, Kenpachi uses both hands.

(And a kendo stance, but who's counting?).

Granted, partially because of Kenpachi's ridiculous amount of spiritual energy, his sword is in constant released form, similar to Kurosaki Ichigo's zanpakutou. And because of that same vast energy, the damage he takes is decreased because the energy acts as a sort of armor, he can use his spiritual energy as a shock wave, and he can still fight toe-to-toe with two captain-level fighters (using bankai) even while suppressing his energy using his eyepatch. The eyepatch itself is less a piece of cloth than it is a monster designed to eat spiritual energy since Kenpachi's spiritual energy can cause the vapors for souls even miles away... and because it makes fights less interesting.

Mostly, because it makes fights less interesting. (More on this later.)

Kenpachi's strengths are in his strength; he doesn't use kidou (ie. demon arts, magic spells) and rarely uses techniques to enhance his movement. Instead he has sheer power and endurance, being able to leap tall buildings in a single— stop a sword swing or energy attack with one hand, and kick people through buildings. His arm strength is great enough to normally wield his sword (what appears to be a 5ft long nodachi or japanese long sword) with only one hand. And despite not using speed techniques called shunpo, his leg strength is enough to even the field and has, on one occasion, been shown to allow Kenpachi to match the speed of a bullet train. In other quantifiers of strength, Kenpachi has also been shown to be able to endure many battle injuries and copious bleeding ('tis a flesh wound!') as well as being purely difficult to even cut (in his first battle with Ichigo, Kenpachi offered Ichigo a first strike, but Ichigo wasn't able to cut him and in fact injured his own hands in the attempt).

His swordsmanship is on a master's level, a specialty not only of his division but of Kenpachi himself, though it usually doesn't come into play much on the offensive end as his battles tend to be won by through the copious application of overwhelming force.

And while Kenpachi has a self-professed aversion towards thinking while fighting, he has been shown to be able to quickly analyze an opponent's weaknesses even in situations where he is severely handicapped. In the battle with Tousen Kaname (another captain of the Gotei 13 who turned traitor), Kenpachi was rendered blind and deaf due to Tousen's bankai, but managed to defeat his opponent through a combination of reflexes and being able to parse where Tousen is in space via his attacks. Tousen reacted as if, despite all the high-powered fights he would have had as a captain, that Kenpachi was the first one to figure out a way around his bankai.

So perhaps in the end it's a good thing that Kenpachi himself hasn't reached bankai, because surely the result of the power upgrade would form such a condensed node of redonkulous energy and ability as to collapse upon itself and form a black hole.

And I don't think the Thor can survive the trip back to LJ.

How would they use their abilities?:

Doing missions, increasing his strength (via picking fights), killing things that needs killing. Uh, there might be quite a bit of collateral damage in his fights, especially if a something comes up where he knows no one would give a fuck so long as the situation is contained (see: Soul Society arc, where Ichigo and company storm the tower the capital city Seireitei to rescue Rukia from her execution. Not only were these intruders causing a ruckus in the capital, but they were presumed to have had a hand in the death of a captain of the Gotei 13. And thus buildings are cut in half to prove a point.)

Appearance:

Kenpachi towers over most other characters at 6'7½" (202 cm), though for all that he is very muscled, he appears on the thin side (198 lbs/90 kg). His face when neutral appears angry and when very happy appears insane (not helped by the fact that he's usually attempting to kill/maim someone at the same time). There is a scar on the left side of his face from his hairline to his chin, and he wears an eyepatch over his right eye (it eats energy). His hair is, at this canonpoint, still made up in spikes with a bell attached to each tip. He has a very angular face and sharp cheekbones, and what appears to be very sharp teeth.

The edges of his clothes (black shinigami uniform with a captain's haori, 11th division) are ragged because he doesn't give a shit, and it's not like they're falling apart.

Is frequently accessorized on one shoulder by a pink-haired adopted daughter and second-in-command.

Itemized History, Past to Current (generally no dates are given/available):

Sometime more than 100 years ago:

- Wandered District #80, North Alley of Rukongai, named Zaraki. Kicking ass, getting ass kicked, learning swordsmanship

- Wandered out of District #80, fought, and met, named, adopted Kusajishi Yachiru in District #79, Kusajishi, named himself in the process.

- Met Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika, fought Ikkaku and refused to kill him

Sometime less than 100 years ago:

- Makes his way into Seieritei, kills Kiganjou Kenpachi, captain of the 11th division and becomes the new captain

- Is forced to learn kendo from Yamamoto

In recent history:

- Agent of the Shinigami arc: Is introduced, teasing Kuchiki Byakuya about Kuchiki Rukia.

- Soul Society arc: Learns of Ichigo through Ikkaku, and fights Ichigo to a loss. Resolves to get stronger.

- Soul Society arc: Meets Orihime, breaks out the invading Ryoka to help out Ichigo, and gets into fight with Tousen Kaname and Komamura Sajin. Defeats Tousen (with Tousen using bankai), did not complete fight with Komamura (also using bankai)

- Hueco Mundo arc: Kenpachi arrives with Byakuya, Mayuri, and Unohana in Las Noches. Kills Arrancar (demasked, more powerful Hollow) Tesra, saving Ichigo. Battles Nnoitra, who forces Kenpachi to kill him after his defeat.

- Fake Karakura Town arc: Kenpachi and Byakuya fight Yammy, bickering is had, haori's are lost, injuries are acquired. Yammy was a simple fight, also boring.

- The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc : Kenpachi battles Ginjou. "Fucking boring."

Background/Personality:

誇りを一つ捨てるたび 
hokori o hitotsu suteru tabi  | Any one time we throw away pride

我らは獣に一歩近付く 
warera wa kemono ni ippo chikazuku | we take a step closer to becoming beasts.

心を一つ殺すたび 
kokoro o hitotsu korosu tabi | Any one time we kill an emotion

我らは獣から一歩遠退く 
warera wa kemono kara ippo toonoku | we take a step back from becoming beasts.
- Tite Kubo

This is the character poem used in 'Volume 13. THE UNDEAD' for Kenpachi. An appropriate poem when one considers that he does not mind being called a beast or a monster; the pride of normal people for manners/rank/appearances hold no meaning for him, and neither does he shy away from his emotions, most markedly being that of his joy in battle.

The title of beast or monster is easily applied to Kenpachi; he looms over most people for the most part unsmilingly, seems like a thug, and his face at rest is made ferocious by his scar and eyepatch. He will not strike anyone at first glance as gentle or kind or soft and doesn't make attempts to ameliorate the impression that he is simple, bloodthirsty, and vicious.

This impression is mostly true... except when it really isn't.


"I don't care what happens to this body, I'll do whatever it takes to fight you. And if I die fighting, I'll die laughing."
- Zaraki Kenpachi

Kenpachi cannot be discussed without discussing strength. Literally. He took the name 'Kenpachi' because it is the title of the strongest Shinigami in every generation, Zaraki being the name of the district that he was from, and killed the previous Kenpachi of the 11th division to take his place as its captain. The goal of strength and the high value placed on strength is touched on again and again in dialogues from the 11th division itself, a direct-combat division, and Kenpachi in particular. ("11th division - the faces in Team Zaraki - the love for fighting to them is like the need for three meals a day!" - Tite Kubo)

Strength, fighting, and the act of living are all inextricably tied up in the thoughts and philosophy of the 11th division; you live the most thoroughly in/through the act of fighting, and it's in the midst of fighting that you're strongest. Kenpachi values and seeks strength. Wound through the words of Kenpachi and his division is the belief that you grow strong by being pushed to your limits, and that you can't truly be pushed to the limits except in a fight. In other words, you don't fight to prove your strength, but to gain it; that you can't truly live without trying to grow stronger, without seeking the fight.

It's here that Kenpachi, who can be thought of as the epitome of the 11th division that he leads, might be described as bloodthirsty; he is eager for the fight above all else, and seems to seek the blood and violence and pain. But this description would be only half-true.

Implied in the description of 'bloodthirsty' is a love of blood for itself, of violence for itself, and of killing for itself, however these are not the end goals for Kenpachi; they seem to him, instead, as the the incidental side-effects of fighting and the path to strength.

In fact, in two separate incidents when his opponents asked for death, Madarame Ikkaku (who eventually became 3rd in rank in his division) and Gilga Nnoitra, Kenpachi refuses to finish them off.


"If you like fighting, then quit bitching about not being killed! Don't just accept defeat and beg for death! Accept it after you're dead! If you lose without dying, it means luck was on your side. When that happens, focus on surviving. Survive and kill the person who couldn't kill you!"
- Zaraki Kenpachi to Madarame Ikkaku

For someone that might be labeled as bloodthirsty and vicious, Kenpachi refuses to finish off his opponents quite often. Of most of the fights that have been shown or mentioned in the manga, ie. with Ichigo, Ikkaku, Nnoitra, and Yammy, Kenpachi refused to finish off his opponents when they were in a state where causing death would be a simple matter. He repeatedly states that it would be 'boring' to kill "weaklings who can't fight anymore; nor is he obligated to deal a death blow to anyone who isn't capable of fighting any longer," and would prefer for his opponent to come back stronger. He in fact handicaps himself in various ways (such as the bells in his hair, his eyepatch, and his refusal to use a two-handed grip on his sword) to make himself work harder and the fight to last longer.

Which is not to say that Kenpachi shies away from killing. When Nnoitra would not back down, Kenpachi had no compunction against killing him. When faced with Giriko (a spiritually aware human who is born with an ability known as Fullbring, ie. a Fullbringer), whose powers were based on Time, Kenpachi wasted no (heh) time in simply cleaving the Fullbringer in half (and further calling it "fucking boring"). Given Kenpachi's repeated refusals to kill weaklings and/or defeated opponents, one would have to assume that he had not only found Giriko to be not weak, but had analyzed him quickly enough to understand both this lack of weakness, and either the difficulty of battling Time itself or Giriko's refusal to back down with anything less than death.

Like he does not shy from killing, Kenpachi doesn't shy from his own death, or from injury and blood. In his first battle with Ichigo he in fact invites Ichigo to strike at him first as a 'handicap' so that the fight might last longer; ie. so that Kenpachi would have to try harder. I headcanon that this same concept leads to the generalized scoffing at the use of kidou (ie. magic techniques) and other such distance techniques, because most distance techniques minimize personal injury. Since, in the philosophy of the 11th, injury and riding the limit of death is what causes growth, to avoid injury is to avoid growth and is thus making the choice of keeping yourself weak.

These aspects of Kenpachi's character have remained fairly consistent throughout most of the series with the exception of two major events that have catalyzed his strength in ways both deeper and broader: Meeting Kusajishi Yachiru and the fight with Kurosaki Ichigo.


"It's been so long that I forgot the pain of not having a name. Everyone had a name that friends use to call them, but I didn't.
- Zaraki Kenpachi

It has been previously stated that Kenpachi gave himself his name; for whatever reason that he forgot his name, he had spent years (possibly several centuries pre-series) wandering around and fighting through the most lawless region of Rukongai, Zaraki - District #80. When he started traveling outside of it, in District #79 (ie. Kusajishi) he found a small pink-haired girl who showed no fear of his sword, and laughed at the blood. When he asked her her name, he saw that she also had none or at least did not know it.

The naming of things gives power to them, in Bleach sometimes becoming a literal fact. Kenpachi, in his quote, recalls the powerlessness of being nameless and perhaps the powerlessness of being that blood-covered friendless monster that he is so easily seen as, until a little girl came up to him with no fear. He named her Yachiru, in honor of the only person he ever admired and the strongest person he knew, and took the title Kenpachi for his own name. In that act, Kenpachi gives her power, companionship, and protection; he chooses her as his own, and she becomes like a daughter to him. They have, on at least one occasion, promised each other to "become stronger together."

They are in fact rarely found apart, with the exception of certain battles and when Kenpachi takes a nap during the day, and Kenpachi generally regards her with an indulgent paternal air, even if at times highly exasperated. Especially when she gets him lost. Or is on a sugar high. Or digs tunnels where no tunnels should be — (no I lie, pranking Byakuya is definitely on Kenpachi's Highly Approved Activities list. Below fighting but slightly above sleeping.)

I headcanon that part of the reason Kenpachi struggles through the paperwork needed to run a division is for her sake; which, unlike the previous Kenpachi, actually gets filed. His quote after the battle with Ichigo indicates that it actually had been some time since he'd really had a fight that challenged him, despite theoretically working amongst strong fighters in the Gotei 13, "I've finally found a worthy opponent. I can get stronger. I want to fight. I want to get stronger. It sure has been a while. To feel this desire again."

The main concept that was driven home after the battle with Ichigo was the realization that Kenpachi should try to connect with his sword more, to work with a partner in the midst of battle and perhaps not discount other battle styles, and in this way becoming stronger. One example of this would be late in the battle with Nnoitra, Kenpachi fell back to using kendo despite disliking it, saying that Yamamoto (1st division captain and Captain-Commander of the entire Gotei 13) forced him to learn it shortly after joining the Gotei 13. So in theory he would have known kendo during his previous battle with Ichigo, he simply didn't use it because he disliked it; thus would have only used it on Nnoitra due to Ichigo. I also headcanon that this is when Kenpachi started trying to improve his control on his spiritual energy (and the cutting aspect of it), because in his battle with Nnoitra he expressed having to "get used to" Nnoitra's Hierro's (spiritual energy shield) strength; ie. he was personally holding back instead of has he'd previously done just allowing his eyepatch to hold his energy back for him. But whatever the actual consequences of their battle, indirect though they may be, at a point where Kenpachi had the captain's seat of the 11th division and the title of strongest shinigami of his generation and where he'd probably plateau'd awhile, Ichigo made him realize there are still heights to achieve.

And that ability to grow is a vital and necessary part of who Kenpachi is and what he values; because the process of striving for strength is a strength in itself. It doesn't matter if you're a woman named Yachiru (who most likely is dead at this point), it doesn't matter if you're simply a baby, it doesn't matter if Kenpachi beats you even with all of his handicaps in place; because being more than you ought to be, getting farther than you 'ought' to go, getting up again to get even stronger and then to attack him again, well, that is strength and deserves his respect. And that which gains his respect, like his adopted daughter, like the men of his division, like Kurosaki Ichigo, gain his aid and his protection, and he would stand up for them even against the combined strength and condemnation of the most powerful of Soul Society with nary a second thought.

Because if you're Zaraki Kenpachi, you live life up to eleven. Unrelentingly unapologetic. 'Throwing away pride' and 'living the emotions.' And if that makes you a beast?

Well then, that's just a good excuse for a cat nap.

Why should that character be in this game: N/A

Why do you want to continue their history here: N/A

For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play: N/A

Have you read up on how the game works?: FlamingFerret is the network/communication system. Kenpachi can take various strength-based/fighting-based/(cough)haircare-based(cough) missions/jobs; no seriously his strength is ridiculous and his speed is ridiculous and if there's anything at all related to fighting he is so There. And his hair gets ridiculously silky when taken care of and is freaking long when it's down. And though he'd probably gotten money in Rukongai from the bodies of the dead that fought him, he'd cut that out once he'd gotten in as captain of the 11th division because of potential access to more interesting fights (with hollows, other captains, or what have you) and because it would mean a more stable living situation for Yachiru.

1st person sample:

[ Video turns on. It's wobbly for a moment, teetering to the image of black spikes, then is blacked by the image of a large palm engulfing and adjusting the camera. It shifts away to reveal a broad shoulder dressed in black and white... before shifting up that shoulder to reveal a face that looks anything but pleased. ]

Oi, Yachiru! Where ya at?

[ Paperwork sucks, like it always sucks, but if anything the crap that he was put through as 11th divisions's captain allowed him to skim through bullshit and figure out where to sign his name and whathaveyou, with enough of a knack of interpreting legalese that let him do so without signing anything that might cause the roof to fall around his ears. Much. Tch, paperwork minions were frisky sometimes. Even if they folded quick once he glared at them.

Though these Vogons? Kenpachi had taken stock of them as he'd finished up the documents for his stay on the Thor, and figured not only where they dull and generally lifeless, but would make a fuckin' pitiful fight. Not even worth the effort of a confrontation.

The only reason he even bothers is that the energy he could feel in the village just beyond makes him fairly leer in the anticipation of the battles he might have.

And the possibility that Yachiru didn't make it?

Che, he'll destroy that bridge when he comes to it. But Yachiru'd a habit of being where she wanted to be, even if no one expects her to be able to get in, and both she, Ikkaku, and Yumichika seemed always bound and determined to follow him. (Handy, their bloodhound senses, because damned if Kenpachi could find them in this place.)

In any case, he eyeballs the camera; shoulder feeling oddly lopsided, but at least he had his zanpaktou. ]

Eleventh division, if any of ya bastards made it here too, report.

3rd person sample:

"Next time you walk through me, I'll cut your arms into 42 pieces and feed it to you with some nice creme fraiche! Fuck you very much~!"

Kenpachi paused and lifted his chin to stare at the door, with a bit of interest. Even though this place was freakin' odd, it was maybe no more or less strange than the human world. Even there, most structures prove themselves to be very little threat; even when attempting to fall on him it was simple enough to flare his reiatsu enough to slide it right off.

Provided the structure wasn't, say, possessed. Then they might actually be getting somewhere; maybe it was a new sorta Hollow.

"Is that so?" He encouraged with a toothy grin.

The door remained silent, and still, and stayed that way even when Kenpachi stepped into the opening again.

Feh.

His face went flat with what, on anyone else, would be disappointment. On Kenpachi, it rather looked like a massacre was about to be delivered in two seconds and counting. Bah, like too many things, the door was all talk and no bite, unable to live up to its boasts.

"Che, coward."

Which is of course when doors slammed closed.

...or tried to.

Kenpachi caught the movement from the corner of his eye and set his stance, bringing his hands up, and it was with a screaming *crunch* that Immovable Object met Unstoppable Force.

There were sparks. And a the groaning that came from the the metal which was, even as it dented and crumbled under his grip, was regenerating and fighting to keep up. With each new growth pushing at the shinigami, as if the building itself was tryin' to kill him, Kenpachi found his grin growing wider and wider. Until he barked out a laugh, teeth shining with a serrated edge.

"Good! Been needin' a bit of a workout!"

The metal screamed in rage.

Questions?: Nope.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: Yes.