Seiryuu, Sasuga

SHIRYUU NO MAI the dead dragon’s dance

The Dead Dragon’s Dance is the ultimate forbidden technique of the Seiryuu clan, and part of the reason they survived the destruction of the Seireitei one thousand years ago. It has since been forgotten about by the majority of the clan, and is not spoken of even in the highest brass. The Central 46 ruled that this technique was forbidden due to what it does to the shinigami that utilizes it, as well as the power boost that comes. Sasuga learned this technique from his great granduncle, who was in turn sanctioned by the Central 46.

In reality, to call the Dead Dragon’s Dance a technique is erroneous. It is better considered to be a ritual and a state of being. It essence, it kills the user. This is done by performing a ritual in which a kidou seal is placed over the soul sleep and soul chain of the Seiryuu in question. The heat of their body is then removed and sealed within. Without this heat, the body naturally dies, however the kidou seals keep the soul attached to the spiritual body. This renders the user lame, blind, mute, and deaf. From there, the user must learn to regain their senses and to move their body through manipulating the reishi and reiryoku.

After performing this ritual, the Seiryuu is drastically changed. Their blood, skin, and breath is all cold. No molecular process go on, and thus any poison, virus, toxin, etc does not work on them. Illusions fail, as the senses do not exist in the traditional sense. Their senses, with the exception of the sixth, can be turned off or enhanced at will. Lastly, freezing the body does little to stop them.

The two seals which contain the heat can be accessed to draw the heat out. This allows the Seiryuu to manipulate the heat to perform feats such as breathing fire, wrapping their limbs in flame, or melting metal with a touch. This heat is constantly absorbed from the spiritual body, and thus never runs out; however, using it too much weakens the seals. As a result, if the Seiryuu uses their heat manipulation abilities excessively in a single fight, their body is returned to life. The shock of sudden heat and life flooding the body sends the Seiryuu into a comatose state. Attempting to perform the Dead Dragon’s Dance afterwards is impossible, as the soul cannot handle the shock of it a second time. Thus, the Seiryuu would die.

Lastly, any wounds suffered by the Seiryuu cannot be healed by any type of medicine, surgery, or kaidou. The only means of restoring damage to add heat to the destroyed area, which brings the cells back to life. As a result, the Seiryuu who uses the Dead Dragon’s Dance achieves an ability similar to high-speed regeneration. In this aspect it exceeds the hollow ability, as it is able to heal any wound, even damage to the organs and the brain. The only way to kill a Seiryuu who has performed the Dead Dragon’s Dance is to drain the totality of their spiritual power, complete disintegration, breaking the kidou seals, or the destruction of the soul chain and soul sleep. Any other wound, even decapitation, is not fatal.

HIGH SPIRITUAL PRESSURE| As a member of the Seiryuu noble family, Sasuga has abnormally high spiritual pressure. Though not nearly as absurd as his father’s, it is capable of out matching most seated officers and even hitting the highs of a lieutenant’s own at its peak. When manifested, Sasuga’s eyes turn a dark teal, and the blue splicing of his hair becomes even more apparent. Additionally, his aura is that of a blue dragon head, roaring when summoned. 

EXPERT SWORDSMENSHIP| Trained by the best and the brightest, Sasuga is an expert swordsmen. He is well-versed in blocking, parrying, dashing, and striking. Additionally, he has been trained to be ambidextrious. Sasuga likes to fight using his left hand as a primary hand, as that often makes others see him as a weaker opponent. The sole reason he does this is to crush their pride in their own skills, and to prove the power of the Seiryuu. 

HAND-TO-HAND PRACTITIONER| As of yet, Sasuga has only been taught the basics of martial arts. He has an intense focus on karate and jujutsu, though he has yet to master either. Though adept in both, his lack of real world experience has left him wanting when it comes to combat without a sword. 

EXPERT SPIRITUAL CONTROL| Sasuga is skilled in the art of controlling his spiritual power. Though he has not mastered every facet of his soul, he is capable of masking himself and managing his spiritual reserves fairly well. 

KIDOU EXPERT| Kidou, so far, has proven to be the field Sasuga is most skilled at. He has a natural talent at learning spells and mastering them, and has been able to learn how to double up on incantations, and how to perform many spells without incantation.

HADO NO.31 SHAKKAHOU| Red Flame Cannon is a basic fire spell created by the Seiryuu clan and distributed widely via the Shintou Academy. After saying the incantation, the shinigami releases a brilliant fireball from their hand. Having high spiritual power, Sasuga is able to inflict high amounts of damage on targets with this, often causing widespread burns of the first and second degrees. 

HADO NO.32 OKASEN| Yellow Firefly Flash is a spell created by the Seiryuu clan and mastered by them. Unlike its brother two spells, Okasen is weaker in strength, only able to generally inflict first-degree burns and dealing blunt trauma; however, it is multiple times faster than both spells, as well as multiple times wider. Masters of this spiritual control often use it to clear out hordes of enemies.

HADO NO.33: SOUKATSUI| Soukatsui is a spell created by the Seiryuu clan and mastered by them. After the incantation, the shinigami will outstretch a hand or finger and expel a massive blast of blue fire. Masters of kidou and spiritual control are able to birth enough flames to overwhelm massive buildings and towers. Sasuga has yet to hit this level, but being hit by his soukatsui is akin to be smashed by a hollow’s cero. 

HADO NO.39: ENKOSEN| Enkosen is a shielding spell performed by spinning one’s zanpakutou around their hand in a circle. This creates a rotating shield. due to the rotation of the shield, even exceptionally strong attacks can be deflected. Generally, a single strike breaks the shield. 

HADO NO. 63: SOREN SOUKATSUI| Soren Soukatsui is one of the most advanced techniques created by the Seiryuu clan. After performing the incantation, the shinigami will pull their hands back. Upon doing this, a torrent of blue flame and reiryoku gathers in their palms. They then thrust outwards, releasing a gargantuan inferno. This inferno is capable of melting stone with the heat and shattering large boulders. Even captain-class opponents can take a significant amount of damage if directly hit by this.

PRACTITIONER AGILITY| By no means is Sasuga a master when it comes to acrobatics. He is fast, but not the fastest, and limber, but not the most limber. Most notably, his shunpo speed is above average, able to keep up with lieutenants and surpass that of many sanseki.

PRACTITIONER PERCEPTION| Due to his relatively low amount of combat experience, Sasuga doesn't have the highest battle sense. While he is able to sense hidden targets extremely well, he is incapable of reading what an opponent may do spiritually, and must rely on his opponent's physical queues in battle most of the time.

Zanpakutou 

ZANPAKUTOU NAME: Kyoutoryuu (凶徒竜; lit. Outlaw Dragon) 

ZANPAKUTOU FORM: Like most zanpakutou, Kyoutoryuu takes the form a katana. It is of average proportions. The handguard, notably, is a gleaming silver and engraved with dragons spinning around one another. His hilt is wrapped in black silk, soft to the touch. The pommel is of the same silver as the guard. 

ZANPAKUTOU SPIRIT FORM: Kyoutoryuu takes the form of a black, serpentine dragon. He lives in a world of permanent night, hidden beneath a lake of molten obsidian. There are no stars or moon in the night sky, and the only light comes from his golden eyes when he is visible. He only rises when he has something important to say, and he rarely speaks with Sasuga. Both shinigami and zanpakutou rely on each other, though only when it comes to combat. Neither believes the other to be a good conversationalist, and so the term “friends” doesn’t hold any meaning when used with these two. 

SHIKAI RELEASE PHRASE: “Make their doom, Kyoutoryuu!” 

SHIKAI FORM: In order to release shikai, Sasuga will raise Kyoutoryuu into the air and slash him down while saying the release phrase. This will cause the guard to turn into molten silver, which then covers the blade. Kyoutoryuu’s curve is not straight, and the soul-forged steel is now composed of what looks to be sterling silver. 

ABILITIES: 

UNNAMED MERCURY BLADE TECHNIQUE| Kyoutoryuu only has one ability that Sasuga knows about. Whenever it strikes anything that isn’t organic, such as trees, flesh, or even hair, the blade will melt over it and reform beyond the defense. For example, if it clashed with another zanpakutou, the blade would simply move past and reform as if it had never hit anything. Obviously if the defense is bigger than the blade, Kyoutoryuu cannot melt past. This makes Sasuga a nightmare to fight in weapon combat.