Name: Sakura (probably taken, but more of a placeholder for now)
Gender: Female
Height: 6'1"
Weight: -
Affiliation: Shinigami
Rank: Candidate for Third Squad Captain
Appearance: Sakura is a woman who appears to be in her mid thirties. She is mature and dignified with whitish yellow hair in a tall bun and a pair of thin framed glasses. She has deep brown eyes and her thin face is almost always in a look of calm reserve.
She wears a white priestess' uniform, though it doesn't restrict her movement when she needs to be agile and fast.
Personality: Quiet and very mellow in her actions and emotions, she is almost always contemplative and thoughtful. She never speaks without weighing her words carefully and is very slow to extreme emotions such as anger or passion. She moves with a fluid and measured grace, never making a move that does not seem 100% certain in its intent. She is known for her wisdom and spiritual nature.
As a Captain she is known for her strict adherence to the rules and traditions of the Gotei 13. She is not a lenient Captain and holds her subordinates to a very high standard, both in ability and behavior. She has been known to demote seated officers on the spot for even somewhat inconsequential breaches in conduct. However, those in her squad hold her in very high respects, finder her manner not cold but affectionate and caring in its own way. Despite her strict treatment of her squad, it is not doubted that she would give her life to save any one of them if it came down to it.
Background: Sakura's history with the Seireitei is a long one, dating back nearly 500 years with her appointment to Captaincy following the death of her predecessor. She has served admirably since her taking over the role and was key in the restoration of the execution grounds. Before being a Captain she was a skilled Vice Captain and before that a notable officer in the 13th squad.
Execution grounds: Under Sakura's instructions a temple was build on the large hill at the center of the Seireitei. The grounds, which are several hundred feet long and half as wide, are situated at the highest point on the hill, on a wide, level area.
At one end is a stunningly ornate pagoda with seven tiers. It rises high above the hill and is visible from almost anywhere in the Seireitei. Its peak is crowned in gold and catches the light like a beacon during the day.
At the far end, opposite the pagoda, is a large, raised circular platform carved from marble and engraved with intricate carvings that form a complex web of symbols and patterns throughout. At the center of the platform is another raised circle cut from the stone, on which rests a small shrine. Within the shrine is a plain looking ceremonial sword, resting on a raised dais and shielded by thin veils on all sides.
Running the length of the grounds between the pagoda and the shrine is a path of cut marble and granite. The workmanship of the pathway is exquisite and unmatched. Lining the path on both sides are twelve cherry trees that are in blossom year round.
Standing on the outer side of the raised platform is a towering oak tree which nearly dwarfs the Pagoda on the far end of the grounds. The tree, like the others, is covered with leafs all year round. It's trunk it thick and ancient and it exudes its own spiritual presence.
Stationed around the grounds are 13 guards, 4 guard the pagoda, 4 the pathway, 4 the circumference of the platform, and 1 the shrine itself. They all wear elegant ceremonial uniforms and their faces are masked behind thickly veiled headgear and remain perfectly motionless throughout their shifts. Each wields a decorative, but also practical, lance and are trained to fight anyone who endangers the sanctity of the grounds. Though visitation is allowed, absolute silence is enforced on the grounds with violators being forcefully removed by the guards.
During actual executions only the soon to be executed and Sakura are permitted to speak. The blade, though simple and modest in appearance, serves the role of sending criminals off to the mortal world to be reborn. The ceremony is somewhat complex and a rather solemn event.
The entire area has been underlain with sekiseki, allowing even powerful criminals to be brought and punished there without exceptional risk.
Inner world: Sakura's inner world is a vast featureless wasteland filled with an almost continuous wailing in the distance.
Zanpaktou Spirit: Sakura's Zanpaktou spirit appears in the form of a pale woman in priestess robes with six arms, each holding a mote of fire. Her eyes are sewn shut and a band of alive branches rests on her head. Tightly coiled around her arms and legs are thirteen snakes of varying colors.
Zanpaktou: Name: Diamond Star (translation would be very muchly appreciated :smallredface: )
When sealed her blade appears as a normal zanpaktou but with a red tassel attached to the hilt.
Shikai: "Shine your divine light, Diamond Star!"
Upon release, Diamond Star retains the shape of a normal zanpaktou but its blade is transformed into pure diamond, stunningly beautiful and nearly unbreakable. In addition, the blade is able to cut through all but the most resilient materials. Despite it's ability to cut almost anything cleanly, none of its shikai abilities deal physical damage.
Three Strikes: Sakura attempts deals three consecutive blows to her opponent. If she manages to land all three then her opponent looses one sense for the duration of Diamond Star being released. For each subsequent use of the attack she seals another of their senses (providing she successfully lands all three attacks again). If she she fails to accomplish it, however, the sealed senses are restored. The order that the senses are sealed goes in order:
- Taste
- Smell
- Hearing
- Feeling
- Sight
- Reaistu detection
Seven Strikes: Diamond Star's Seven Strikes allows Sakura to hit her opponent with seven simultaneous hits, striking and sealing seven specific spiritual pressure points, sealing their spiritual power as well as her own for as long as her weapon is released, forcing the two of them to fight with only their physical abilities.
Forty-Three Strikes: Sakura's reaistu flares and she launches a volley of 43 nearly instantaneous blows against her target. A hollow hit with this attack has its ability to devour souls completely sealed, along with the mouth on its mask.
Bankai: Diamond Star vanishes in a cloud of fine diamond powder that fills the air and refracts rainbows throughout the battle area in a stunningly beautiful effect. Starting at the moment of the release, Sakura must remain withing three hundred feet of her opponent, unarmed, for a set amount of time. As she stays within proximity of her foe the diamond dust starts to collect on their body, coating them in ever thicker crystal platelets until, at the end of the time limit, they become encased in diamond permanently, sealed within an unbreakable prison. After this happens Sakura must wait months for her zanpaktou to regenerate, piece by piece. Should her opponent manage to get far enough away, the diamond dust falls off at a rate slightly faster than at which is collected.
The Third Squad
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The 3rd Division
The 3rd division has long been seen as the darker side of the Soul Society. The squads very existence and duties is a constant reminder that even shinigami are capable of horrendous deeds. Though the squad has always served the same purpose within the seireitei, it's implementation of them has always been in a state of flux based on the style and beliefs of the captain at the time. Throughout its various incarnations, the 3rd squad and its members have always been viewed by the other squads with a level of mixed respect and distaste and its members have always been treated with a distance by the other shinigami they serve with.
Sakura's promotion to captaincy marked the latest shift in practices, away from a more brutal method held by her predecessor and towards a heavy focus on the spirituality of their duties. The new practices she instituted has left the squad much smaller than it previously was and unfortunately further distanced itself from the rest of the seireitei.
Number: 100
Flower: The flower for the 3rd Division is the Lotus bloom. It is a symbol of birth and rebirth, the endless cycle which powers the Soul Society as well as the primary purpose of the 3rd squad: to usher those who have sinned in this life across the barrier into rebirth, cleansing them and giving them a new life and redemption through it.
Motto: “Life, Death, and Rebirth.”
Duties
Execution: The primary duty of the 3rd squad has been, and remains, the carrying out of executions of those deemed worthy of such a punishment by the Soul Society. In the past, executions were often a bloody affair, at times seen as a spectacle, with executions being public events in which the condemned were paraded through the streets, their crimes read out loud to all present before their end was met.
Over the years the squad has drifted from these practices, treating the executions with more respect and dignity and solemness. From public executions the act was moved to private affairs, with only captains present to oversee it. Eventually executions were made entirely private, with only the accused and the 3rd squad being allowed. Under Sakura's captaincy, however, they have been made semi-public once again, with captains and vice captains permitted, and encouraged, to attend.
The act itself has been changed from a simply killing to a very ceremonial event. Sakura herself performs each execution herself, leading the prayers and being the one to wield the blade that sends them off into to cycle of rebirth in the mortal world.
Skills required:
All members of the squad must be dedicated and have strong conviction for what they do. They must be strong and fast, as with all shinigami, but a high level of mental and spiritual fortitude is also required. Any squad member that is unable to maintain their respect for their positions and conduct themselves with the utmost dignity is immediately dismissed from duty. The rowdiness and competition seen amongst other squads is notably absent within the ranks of the 3rd squad. To this end, the organization of the squad is somewhat different from the others within the Seieitei.
While combat ability is certainly required in the squad, it is far from the most important factor in its members. All members are encouraged to achieve shikai and eventually Ban Kai, as it is seen as an important part of mastering one's own spirituality, but it is an unwritten rule that should a member desire a more combat heavy role in the Seireitei they are permitted to transfer to another squad with Sakura's recommendation. Even still, there are many within the squad of exceptional combat prowess, which comes in handy with the guard duties as well as handling dangerous criminals leading up to executions.
Captaincy, Promotion, and Ranking:
The third squad consists of a captain, vice captain, 10 seated officers, and 88 unseated members. Each seated officer is viewed within the squad as being equal in rank, each commanding a squad of unseated. Seated members are chosen, often at random, by the vice captain and captain when needed and generally only exist to make delegation of duties easier for the leadership of the squad.
Vice Captain are traditionally selected by the Captain. In the past, the Captain of the 3rd squad has almost always been the Vice Captain under the previous Captain and are promoted into the position when the Captain either dies or otherwise is removed from the positions. Sakura was promoted to Captain in this way, following the death of her predecessor at the hands of an escaped criminal.
Previous Captains
Though there have been many captains to hold the position of running the 3rd squad, the most notable was the last one: Grindilaw Narro.
Narro was a force of nature in and of himself, leading the squad with a brutal efficiency that gained it the nickname "The Black Wave." Narro would often execute prisoners within their cells with no ceremony beyond reading them the charges they had been convicted of and informing them of their sentence moments before carrying it out. A small number of squad members belonged to a Shadow Squad, which served as interrogators and assassins, taking out targets who had been deemed guilty of horrendous crimes but could not be captured. For centuries the 3rd squad was held with a mixture of respect and contempt, seen as both cleaning up the most heinous criminals and being uncontrolled attack dogs.
Narro met his end during the execution of a dangerous criminal who broke free and killed many of the squad members present before Narro restrained him. The criminal struck out, dealing a killing blow against Narro, and was killed himself by Sakura, who was promoted immediately to Captain.
Following Narro's death, Sakura began what she saw as a crucial restructuring of the squad in an attempt to redeem them and restore the squad to its original role. The Shadow Squad was disbanded and many of the members quit the 3rd to join other squads.