JULY 9, 2014.
Post by YAGYU on Jan 21, 2014 21:37:03 GMT -5
NAME: Yamako Yagyu.[/a]
ALIAS: Only goes by her last name Yagyu.
AGE: 455, looks in her 20s.
APPEARANCE: Minus the guns, Yagyu is shown here, coat optional. For specific appearance details, just throw her into a Shinigami uniform extremely similar to Soi Fon's sleeveless attire with the attire in the picture being her gigai appearance. Instead of the typical Lieutenant's badge, Yagyu has a tattoo of her division's insignia on her right upper arm and the proper number on her left.
Additional pictures: X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X
PERSONALITY:One of Yagyu's biggest personality traits has to be insecurity surrounding her gender. Born in an era where women were thought to be lesser than men, Yagyu has always wanted nothing more than an opportunity to prove she is just as good as any man before her. This has extended toward a slight bit of sexism toward her male adversaries or allies, acting much colder to them than she does the females in her life. This attaches to another of her larger personality traits: her swordsmanship. Boasting the last name of a famous sword wielding family, Yagyu has taken her last name as her own name claiming that the name she was born with is unimportant by comparison. She is extremely proud of her abilities with a sword and, as such, boasts herself as one of the best Zanjutsu users in Soul Society. An onna-bugeisha, usually construed as a 'female samurai' though that is an oversimplification of the term, that follows her strict Bushido attached to her during life and even moreso followed tightly in the afterlife: frugality, loyalty, mastery of martial arts, and honor to the death. Yagyu follows the Seven Virtues of Bushido, which are as follows:
2. Courage
3. Benevolence
4. Respect
5. Honesty
6. Honour
7. Loyalty[/ul]
Aside from the Samurai traits, Yagyu believes that those who dare to disrupt the balance of souls are to be punished only by death. These villains do not deserve the option of seppuku and will be cut down as Yagyu deems necessary. This may, at times, coincide with the wishes of the Gotei 13 and cause her to butt heads with her fellow members. One final thing to note is that Yagyu treats the allies within her division like a family as well as her varying students, willing to lose her life if it means their safety. This puts her at odds with those who believe the mission comes before the lives of the Shinigami, though she is a practitioner of tolerance who is nigh unbreakable in her determination/will and tolerance. Yagyu, most of the time, comes off as a calm and cool soldier not above smiling but always keeping a serious and somewhat intimidating presence about her.[/div]
ALLIANCE: Gotei 13, though her personal Bushido always comes first.
HISTORY:
Yagyu was born Yamako Yagyu to a man by the name of Munetoshi Yagyu when he was of the age of 46 on October 21st, 1575. While strict in her teachings by the sword, Munetoshi refused to allow Yamako to participate in combat with others or to associate herself with many other girls of her age. Yamako was brought up in a very sexist world, where she was expected to do everything for her father and was constantly berated wherever she failed. She grew stern and tough, with a hardened mind and body akin to steel. For all intents and purposes, Munetoshi had only taught Yamako under the condition that she would be known to all as Yamago, and a man. The years were uneventful in Yamako's life, for she had been concealed for much of it and was unaware of the way the world worked. Deciding that she was going to prove herself as a legendary warrior, Yamako defected from Yagyu Village and ran away on her own. It was at this point in time, armed with a katana and wakizashi stolen from her father, that Yamako traveled the lands under the alias of Sekigahara, taken from the town she frequented in her travels. Due to being a spiritually aware human, Yamako would come across a black clothed male by the name of Mashiie. Nicknamed Shi, Yamako would spend the next few years alongside the man, training and learning of the ways of the Shinigami and the black beasts that she had fought, now properly named as Hollow.
Tragedy would befall Yamako's life at the age of 20, where herself and Shi would come across a new, powerful being who held a distinct hatred for Shi's kind. He called himself an Arrancar, a perfect being and the superior race. Despite a hard fight, a human such as Yamako and a low level Shinigami such as Shi were unable to fend the Arrancar off. Shi lost his life that day and Yamako, unsure of what to do with her katana shattered, picked up Shi's Zanpakutou as a token of the man she had lost. She had been in love with him, even if he did not return her feelings, and was only left alive due to the Arrancar claiming that he had no qualms with humans. As well, he didn't feel right murdering an "innocent woman." Understanding the balance of souls and how she would no longer be taking lives but purifying them, Yamako utilized Shi's Zanpakutou to cut down her enemies in the next few years. Due to a desire to reclaim the Zanpakutou, as well as not leave a human with their hands on it due to a potential imbalance that could occur, Shinigami were sent after Yamako to reclaim the weapon. Each was cut down in the ensuing four years, and it all came to a head as an old ally of the Yagyu family, Ieyasu Tokugawa, approached Yamako and enlisted her in the coming battle. The Battle of Sekigahara on October 21st, 1600, Yamako's birthday. This battle would prove fatal as the Zanpakutou belonging to Shi was destroyed by a powerful Shinigami's Shikai who had joined in the war opposite the Tokugawa family simply to go after Yamako. Broken internally and outwardly, Yamako committed Seppuku with her usable wakizashi and died, listed as a casualty of the war. When news reached Munetoshi of his deceased daughter, he wept.
As for Yamako's soul, it ended up reincarnated in the Rukongai. Memories of the Battle of Sekigahara as well as her lifetime with Shi reminded her of where she was, and for the many years to come Yamako only went by her last name of Yagyu, which became her permanent alias. She utilized her martial arts skills taught by her father to protect herself and made a decent living, until she was approached by a member of the 13th Division one hundred years later. He claimed his name was Munetoshi Yagyu, father to Yamako, and she was stunned. He had died some time ago and had become a powerful Shinigami, offering to teach the ways of Zanjutsu and the Shinigami to his daughter. Strings were pulled and the incident involving Shi's Zanpakutou was stricken from the record, allowing Yamako to enter the Shinigami Academy when she was prepared. Her area of expertise became Zanjutsu, though her weakest area was Kidou, with all other areas evening out in skill. Through request, Yamako (now Yagyu) would join the Thirteenth Division alongside her father. The rest of her years were spent training, eventually meeting her Zanpakutou spirit over a cup of tea and bonding. Eventually Yagyu fell in love with her Zanpakutou spirit, deciding to tell her father all about it. ...That was a very bad decision, her father proclaiming that the love shared between the two was hardly familial. Naturally, Yagyu was creeped out by this and engaged in a honorable duel with her father scheduled prior. He was cut down, symbolically signifying that Yagyu had shed all ties with her past life and gripped even tighter onto the Bushido she had during life.
Yagyu was extremely loyal to the Thirteenth Division Captain during her stay, heartbroken when a man by the name of Seijirou Seta came back from a mission with the Captain with the Captain slain. Yagyu wished to find someone to blame and failed, consulting her Zanpakutou spirit shortly after. It was during this time that a final trial was given by the spirit and Yagyu gained her final Shikai ability, finding a new clarity within it. At odds with the laziness of the Division's new Captain, Yagyu publicly called Seijirou out to see if he had the power worthy of being Captain. Boasting a sword skill that had been passed down through the years of the Yagyu family, she was defeated with minimal difficulty from her Captain. Stunned and refusing to continue living with that level of shame, Yagyu prepared herself to commit Seppuku a second time in her life. Stopped by her Captain, her skill was respectfully recognized and she was promoted to the coveted position of the Lieutenant's spot. Indebted to her Captain for not only "saving her life" but reinstating her honour and respecting her skill despite her being a woman, something she was definitely not used to, Yagyu gives her all for the Gotei 13 and Seijirou, harboring an infatuation that may be branching out into romantic interest. Though she frequently approaches Seijirou's laziness with a tsundere-esque attitude, the relationship between this Captain and Lieutenant just might be one of the stronger in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Some time after her instatement as a Lieutenant, Yagyu decided to spend most of her free time overseeing the construction of a dojo in the Rukongai, taking all comers who wish to learn swordplay... for the right reasons. The school is called the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryuu, or Yagyu New Shadow School.
Tragedy would befall Yamako's life at the age of 20, where herself and Shi would come across a new, powerful being who held a distinct hatred for Shi's kind. He called himself an Arrancar, a perfect being and the superior race. Despite a hard fight, a human such as Yamako and a low level Shinigami such as Shi were unable to fend the Arrancar off. Shi lost his life that day and Yamako, unsure of what to do with her katana shattered, picked up Shi's Zanpakutou as a token of the man she had lost. She had been in love with him, even if he did not return her feelings, and was only left alive due to the Arrancar claiming that he had no qualms with humans. As well, he didn't feel right murdering an "innocent woman." Understanding the balance of souls and how she would no longer be taking lives but purifying them, Yamako utilized Shi's Zanpakutou to cut down her enemies in the next few years. Due to a desire to reclaim the Zanpakutou, as well as not leave a human with their hands on it due to a potential imbalance that could occur, Shinigami were sent after Yamako to reclaim the weapon. Each was cut down in the ensuing four years, and it all came to a head as an old ally of the Yagyu family, Ieyasu Tokugawa, approached Yamako and enlisted her in the coming battle. The Battle of Sekigahara on October 21st, 1600, Yamako's birthday. This battle would prove fatal as the Zanpakutou belonging to Shi was destroyed by a powerful Shinigami's Shikai who had joined in the war opposite the Tokugawa family simply to go after Yamako. Broken internally and outwardly, Yamako committed Seppuku with her usable wakizashi and died, listed as a casualty of the war. When news reached Munetoshi of his deceased daughter, he wept.
As for Yamako's soul, it ended up reincarnated in the Rukongai. Memories of the Battle of Sekigahara as well as her lifetime with Shi reminded her of where she was, and for the many years to come Yamako only went by her last name of Yagyu, which became her permanent alias. She utilized her martial arts skills taught by her father to protect herself and made a decent living, until she was approached by a member of the 13th Division one hundred years later. He claimed his name was Munetoshi Yagyu, father to Yamako, and she was stunned. He had died some time ago and had become a powerful Shinigami, offering to teach the ways of Zanjutsu and the Shinigami to his daughter. Strings were pulled and the incident involving Shi's Zanpakutou was stricken from the record, allowing Yamako to enter the Shinigami Academy when she was prepared. Her area of expertise became Zanjutsu, though her weakest area was Kidou, with all other areas evening out in skill. Through request, Yamako (now Yagyu) would join the Thirteenth Division alongside her father. The rest of her years were spent training, eventually meeting her Zanpakutou spirit over a cup of tea and bonding. Eventually Yagyu fell in love with her Zanpakutou spirit, deciding to tell her father all about it. ...That was a very bad decision, her father proclaiming that the love shared between the two was hardly familial. Naturally, Yagyu was creeped out by this and engaged in a honorable duel with her father scheduled prior. He was cut down, symbolically signifying that Yagyu had shed all ties with her past life and gripped even tighter onto the Bushido she had during life.
Yagyu was extremely loyal to the Thirteenth Division Captain during her stay, heartbroken when a man by the name of Seijirou Seta came back from a mission with the Captain with the Captain slain. Yagyu wished to find someone to blame and failed, consulting her Zanpakutou spirit shortly after. It was during this time that a final trial was given by the spirit and Yagyu gained her final Shikai ability, finding a new clarity within it. At odds with the laziness of the Division's new Captain, Yagyu publicly called Seijirou out to see if he had the power worthy of being Captain. Boasting a sword skill that had been passed down through the years of the Yagyu family, she was defeated with minimal difficulty from her Captain. Stunned and refusing to continue living with that level of shame, Yagyu prepared herself to commit Seppuku a second time in her life. Stopped by her Captain, her skill was respectfully recognized and she was promoted to the coveted position of the Lieutenant's spot. Indebted to her Captain for not only "saving her life" but reinstating her honour and respecting her skill despite her being a woman, something she was definitely not used to, Yagyu gives her all for the Gotei 13 and Seijirou, harboring an infatuation that may be branching out into romantic interest. Though she frequently approaches Seijirou's laziness with a tsundere-esque attitude, the relationship between this Captain and Lieutenant just might be one of the stronger in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Some time after her instatement as a Lieutenant, Yagyu decided to spend most of her free time overseeing the construction of a dojo in the Rukongai, taking all comers who wish to learn swordplay... for the right reasons. The school is called the Yagyu Shinkage-Ryuu, or Yagyu New Shadow School.
DIFFICULTY: Hard.
OOC NAME: Tesla.
FACE CLAIM: Burst Angel - Jo[/blockquote]
