Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A

by GentleBreeze Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:07 pm

S H I N I G A M I
MAZRA FUCHI AKROS
The Librarian

B A S I C S //

Laying down the bricks //

ABILITIES //
Proof of who I am //

Zanpakutou

• Zanpakutou Spirit | Ikusenkai
Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A 1zzhu02

Ikusenkai takes the form of a large snowy white owl that is roughly half the height of Mazra at 3'5". Ikusenkai has a rather deep and dry voice and constantly talks to Mazra in an attempt to educate him and enlighten him. The owl has a penchant for perching itself on Mazra's head when he chooses to enter his Zanpaktou, otherwise Ikusenkai likes to perch himself on the stand in his Inner World. Ikusenkai has bright white feathers that are tipped in an ashy gray that offset and contrasts with the rest of his feathers. Ikusenkai's eyes are much different from that of a normal owl in that they like any irises, in fact the only part of Ikusenkai's eyes that are visible are the abnormally large pupils.

• Zanpakutou Personality |

Caustic
Ikusenkai is a very blunt creature. He doesn’t care about your feelings or what you want; it all revolves around him, and sometimes Mazra. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind about things and is constantly providing his opinions on everything that Mazra is doing. In fact Ikusenkai is the cause of the majority of Mazra’s headaches.

Know-it-all
Despite evidence to the contrary Ikusenkai is under the false pretense that he knows everything in the world. Because of this he has a very snooty attitude towards everyone and is especially snooty towards Mazra, but that's just out of love. While his snootiness is annoying and he doesn’t know everything, Ikusenkai is still a great resource for Mazra because he does know quite a lot, remembering everything that Mazra has ever read or seen. However, just because he knows something doesn’t mean he is willing to tell you if you want to know. This is the source of many arguments between Mazra and Ikusenkai.

Disdain
Ikusenkai has an immense disdain for anything he deems childish or stupid. This includes just about everything but learning and reading. He spends the majority of his time trying to convince Mazra to read rather than pursuing whatever he is doing at that moment. Ikusenkai also is not quite about his disdain for things, and will often go on and on about how childish and stupid this is. It is in this manner that he gets Mazra to do what he wants.

• Inner World |
Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A 33jhm5z

Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A 33jhm5z

Mazra’s inner world takes the appearance of a large European style library with thousands of shelves filled with books. The library is divided in to two floors with a spiral staircase at the entrance and the back of the library. It appears that the library only has a certain number of shelves but in truth you could walk down the central corridor forever and never reach the back of library. The library itself is in the shape of a circle and the upper floor is two half crescents with a space in-between them. There are nine smaller circles within the library where shelves meet each at one of the cardinal points with an extra one in the middle circle. In the center of each circle, painted on the floor, is a compass rose that has one of the arrows painted red. At the back of the library is the circulation desk and a stand on which sits Ikusenkai.

• Sealed state |
In its sealed form Mazra’s Zanpaktou takes the form of a katana. The blade is constantly polished so as to act as a mirror if so desired and is also kept sharpened to a honed edge so as to be ready for battle. The sheath of the Zanpaktou is made of lacquered cherry wood that is polished until it gleams. The cross guard of the sword is in the form of a circle with the inner design that of a lotus blossom. The hilt is black and wrapped in a ruby red cloth that matches Mazra’s hair and earring.

Shikai
• Overall Ability |
At it's core, Mazra's Shikai ability is merely that of paper manipulation. Upon the release of his Shikai, Mazra's zanapaktou transforms into a could of pieces of paper that Mazra can than control and manipulate at will.

• Release phrase |
Rinban sono Kyuuji, Ikusenkai

• Shikai Appearance |
When Mazra releases his Shikai, he sheaths his sword then says the release phrase. After which he draws the sword and makes a horizontal slash at the end of which he lets go of the hilt. However, instead of the blade coming out of the sheath a cloud of eight by eleven paper, which has an aged yellow look about it, burst forward while the hilt remains. The paper doesn’t just get blown away by the wind instead it forms a U shaped configuration that starts at his left hand and wraps around to his right allowing quick access to his Shikai. The paper dances in the air off the ground as if held aloft by a wind that is not there while maintaining the U formation. The paper floats around him keeping up with his movements. It is also important to note that this is paper is reishi paper formed by Mazra's reiatsu and as such is significantly more durable and flame retardant than ordinary paper.

Bankai
• Overall Ability | (DO NOT USE)
• Release phrase | (DO NOT USE)
• Bankai Appearance | (DO NOT USE) [IMG*]image url (if there is an image)[/IMG]

APPEARANCE //
Further than just the skin //

Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A Jpcxfo

Mazra is approximately five foot six, with a lithe frame enveloped in corded muscle that came from years of hard cleaning and specialized work. His skin is the color of the moon, he obtained this color from the fact he don't often see the light of day. Mazra's face is framed by charcoal black hair that he has highlighted with ruby dye. In order to keep his hair out of his face he keeps it tied back in a ponytail, only his hair isn't quite long enough to make a real ponytail so he has a little spiky bulb at the back of his head. Mazra has eyes the color of cold steel but filled with a soul warming fire. Due to his horrible eyesight Mazra is forced to wear a pair of crimson half-rimmed glasses, he absolutely hates the things but can't tell up from down without them. He also has a pierced ear from which hangs a small red rectangle about an inch long, to Mazra this is the most precious thing he posses so he never takes it off. For garb Mazra wear the standard shinigami uniform. He generally doesn't wear any shoes. Mazra can often be seen smoking a silver kiseru which he stores with his tobacco pouch in the left sleeve of his kosode where he made a little pocket. Another aspect of his appearance is the full body tribal tattoos that cross his flesh. The majority of them are unseen due to the fact he isn't a nudist, but his facial tattoos are glaringly obvious. They are ruby red, the same color of his highlights, and are found trailing up the back of his neck before branching off in two directions. They follow his jaw line and curve up his cheeks where they go onto his forehead and form a diamond in the middle. In the center of the diamond is an eight pointed star.

PERSONALITY //
Understand the invisible //

• Positive Traits |

Mazra tends to see the glass as half full and is an eternal optimist trying to never let the world get the best of him.
After reading a multitude of books from the library in the Seiratei, Mazra has naturally become rather book smart and have a vast store of, rather useless, knowledge.
Having never had much growing up Mazra tends to take excessive care of his belongings and the belongings of other. In fact, he takes it to such a degree that Mazra tends to personify inanimate objects and can often be found talking to a pen or some other superfluous item.

• Negative Traits |

Despite his rather firm sense of loyalty and his adamant refusal to be someone's doormat, Mazra can be very gullible and conned into doing things for others that might do things to hurt the ones he is trying to protect. While he is book smart, it has been many years since Mazra was forced to rely on guile and cunning to survive in the world.
Both a negative and positive trait, Mazra sees his job as a healer as one that ignores the line between what is right and wrong. Mazra perceives the world with less black and white and more grey, this means that Mazra will heal an enemy to prevent them from dying even at the cost of his own life. To Mazra each existence is precious and should be preserved to the utmost of our ability.
Another negative trait of Mazra's is his lack of money sense. Mazra always spends all of his money on books, not even good books most of the time, and so when it comes to food and other necessities of a spiritually powerful being. This means that Mazra often is forced to work extra shifts in the clinic and that he is always tired which leads to some rather poor decision making.

• Habits |

Mazra has one very nasty habit that, as a healer, he should know is more than against the rules, and that habit is smoking. Always with a silver kiseru on his person Mazra is constantly smoking a noxious weed that gives off a toxic purple smoke that no one but Mazra can stand.
Another habit of Mazra's is that he likes to read books at inopportune times, like, for instance, during briefings during which his Captain gives him orders. Another rather poor time he likes to read is when talking to a patient and they begin to tell him what exactly is wrong with them. It's not that he isn't listening, he just . . . finds his books to be more interesting sometimes. That said he does occasionally get whats in his books confused with what's happening around him.

• Fears |
Mazra has one overwhelming fear that drives him every time he steps on the battle field or the clinic, and that dear is that he will fail his patients. Mazra constantly fears that one day a patient of his will die because something Mazra did or didn't do. For this reason Mazra is constantly reading new medicine journals and trying to develop more techniques to help heal other.
• Goals |
Mazra's main goal in his after-life is to one day it on the Council of the Captains and become known as the greatest healer in the history of the Seireitai.
• Overall Personality |

Hey let's go get some sake!!!!

Mazra tends to be a relatively happy and relaxed person. He is most comfortable in small groups of four or five people due to the fact he suffers from a mild form of enochlophobia, the fear of crowds. This fear is due partially to his background as a street child and partially his training in the okiya. While he does enjoy being around people; Mazra also needs alone time. When Mazra is by himself he likes to read or meditate to clear his thoughts and work through various problems he has faced throughout the day.

Caged Heart

Mazra also tends to be very distrustful of everyone around him, but not in the way he suspects that they are all trying to kill him; more of the fact he doesn't show his feelings as easily as other. The reason for this is that Mazra perceives the world around him as a dog eat dog existence, and the less people know about him the harder it will be for them to betray him. However this is not to say Mazra isn't a friendly person, on the contrary he will go out of his way to say hello to you and cheer you up if you're feeling a little blue.

I am NOT your doormat

While he is generally a congenial person Mazra will not stand for it when people attempt to walk over himself or others. He knows what he believes in and will fight tooth and nail to defend it. The one thing that actually has the ability to make him angry is when people disrespect others; due to this he has a slight problem with authority. If Mazra thinks that you're a good leader who cares about those that follow you and seeks the benefits of the whole and not the individual he will follow you to the afterlife and back, metaphorically of course. On the other hand if you’re a tyrant Mazra will fight you in everything you do and attempt to sabotage all of your selfish endeavors.

Books, books everywhere and nothing to read!!!

To sum up Mazra in one, or two words, Bookworm . . . or Book-Worm. He absolutely loves reading, all books everywhere at anytime no matter the subject or content. Due to this he also loves learning, and his favorite way to do that is by listening to the stories of his elders. Mazra believes that books are the epitome of human achievement and therefore any violent movement towards a book is perceived by him to be an attack on his own child. Oh, and he classifies “violent acts” as everything.

HISTORY //
Tell me a tale... //

• Birthplace | Tokyo
• Mother | N/A
• Father | N/A
• Siblings | N/A
• Other Relations | N/A
• Companion | N/A
• Overall history |

Life

The filthy boy leapt off the fence and landed silently in the courtyard. It was a bright clear near with the Moon at its zenith of full. The courtyard was lit with the pale ghostly light of the moon. The house that enclosed the courtyard appeared to be that of a wealthy merchant, a very wealthy merchant from the amount of detail that went into the design of the courtyard. To the boy, however, the place symbolized but one thing; food. With silent footsteps the boy padded over to one of the screen doors and slid it aside being as quiet as possible. He crossed the threshold and turned to quietly slide the door close once again. The boy turned back to the corridor and was confronted with a choice, whether he should go left or right. After a moment of hesitation he turned and went right, following the corridor and hoping against hope that the room he entered would be that of the kitchen and not a bed room. Suddenly there was a loud thump from one of the rooms to his left and the boy froze panicking. You see while the boy was an adept thief, he normally stole from people on the road or stands and this was his first time ever breaking into a house before. Quite frankly the boy was terrified. He swallowed, his throat making an audible gulp and waited. After waiting for a moment and hearing no more sound from the room he carefully put one foot foreword, the second his foot touch the wooden planks they protested and gave a loud screech. The door from which he had heard the thump was thrown open and the boy was faced with a middle aged man. The man lunged for the boy but he tore off down the hallway in an effort to escape; his heart pounding in his chest and terror racing through his veins.
"INTRUDER," the man bellowed, "THERE IS SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE!"

The boy took notice as the man climbed to his feet and heard several other doors in the house slam open. Soon the pounding of his feet against the floor was joined by that of at least three others. The boy rounded a corner and threw a glance over his shoulder; the man and his two sons were hurdling down the corridor after him. In act of wild desperation the boy threw open a random door and hurtled through it. He flew through the air and landed on his feet before tripping. The boy curled into a ball, and by the will of the gods, rolled to his feet and kept running. When his lungs inhaled the sharp cold of the night he realized that in his desperate running he had somehow ended up back outside. The boy's eye caught the place from which he entered the courtyard and ran full tilt at it, with what sounded like an army of demons behind him. He bunched his legs and bound into the air, his arms wrapped around the top of the wall which was a good six feet from the ground. As he rolled over the top of the wall he felt a hand grasp for him but miss and rip a piece of his garb. The boy fell from the wall and twisted trying to land on his feet, but he landed the wrong way and felt a sharp twist then a snap. With the power of a tidal pain pulsed through his body and almost knocked him out. With all of his will he fought off the ensuing darkness knowing that to succumb to it would be to fall into the hands of the man. So with the last of his strength he pulled himself across the ground and into a dark alley way where he fell back and embraced the darkness. However, before he fell into that never-ending night, he heard a voice.
"Saki come here, I think someone is hurt!"
"Nonsense. Come Sakura, if we are late the mistre . . . oh my god!!!”
“Hurry and help me pick him up,” the darkness impeded his vision and he saw only a pale face lean over him.
“We . . . to take . . .the mistress.”
With that the boy passed out and knew no more.

When next the boy awoke, he was lying in a lavish bed with silk cover wrapped around his body and a feather pillow cradling his head. The room he was lying covered in decorations, there were vases filled with flowers on various places around the room. The walls were red with gold dragons wrapping around each other inn a dance on the wall. In the center of the room was a small table upon which sat a calligraphy set. There was also an amour in the corner of the room made of cherry wood; polished till it shone. To the left of it was a vanity filled with makeup all put away and awaiting its mistress to return .The boy sat up and realized that his clothes had been taken away from him and replaced with another garb, a long shirt made of white cotton that reached down to his knees. The boy was wary of this new place and a little frightened, Where am I, What am I doing here? He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. The instant he did so pain raced through his legs and he collapsed to the floor with an audible oomph. He heard the padding of feet race down the hallway and the door burst open. There stood a woman roughly eighteen years old clad in perhaps the most beautiful kimono that the boy had ever seen. His eyes went to her faced and for a moment thought that she was a demon, for her face was halfway covered in white.
She stood there for a moment and stared at the boy collapsed on the floor before turning over her shoulder and yelling, “MISTESS THE BOY IS AWAKE.”

With that she turn and fled down the hallway. Panic slowly began to fill up the boy. Who is the mistress and what does she want with me. He pulled himself to his knees and began to crawl towards the door, his fear giving him strength. Right as he was about to cross the threshold a pair of feet clad in a pair of black tabi entered his vision. The boy swallowed and raised his head. Standing in the doorway was a women clad in a sable black kimono with a haori of the same color thrown over her shoulders. The woman’s face was sagging with the weight of years and wrinkles crossed. Her eyes were coal black and cold as ice. Her lips were pursed so as giving her a look of displeasure and from them hung a silver kiseru with purple smoke ensuing from the bowl. Her iron gray hair was twirled into a bun that sat on the top of her head.
She bent over and looked into the boy’s eyes and asked with a voice as strong as steel, “Where do you think you are going?” She straightened up and snapped her fingers. Instantly two men ran into the room and picked up the boy then carried him back to the bed. After that they retreated to the doorway and stood waiting for more orders. The women waved her hand in a dismissing gesture and the two men bowed and left the room, closing the door behind them. The women walked over to the vanity and pulled out the bench and sat upon it, all the while her eyes never leaving that of the boy. They sat and stared at each for what seemed like hours to the boy was in fact merely seconds.
“So,” the women asked, “do you want to tell me why my girls found you passed out in a dark alleyway with a broken leg?”
The boy did nothing but stare at her for a minute before he rasped, “What do you want with me?”
The woman’s face contorted in disgust and displeasure, “Foolish child, do not answer a question with a question. Now I will ask once again, why were in an alley with a broken leg. You WILL give me an answer this time or I will hand you over to the constables.” At this remark the child’s eyes widen in fear and he cowered beneath her gaze. “Humph, I thought that would get your attention.” She gave the boy a sly smile that sent chills up his back.
After taking a moment to regain his courage he finally answered, “I broke into a merchant’s house to look for food. He woke up and caught me. . . I was running away when I jumped a fenced and fell.”
The woman pursed her lips again and her eyes took on a look of thoughtfulness, “How old are you child?”
“I don't know.”
“What is your name?”
“I don't know.”
“Where are your parents?”
“I don't have any.”
“Where do you live?”
“On the streets.”
“Well then there is nothing to be done about it.”
The woman stared to rise and the boy panicked, “What do you mean?”
The woman gave him another icy look, “I paid for a doctor to take care of you. I was hoping that I might be able to get reimbursed by your parents, then when you said you didn’t have any I thought I could take something of value from you but it appears you have nothing of value. So in order to get my money back you will stay here and work for me until you have paid off your debt.” She pushed the bench back underneath the vanity and walked to the door. She hit it once with her knuckle and it was opened by the two men who had accompanied her in the room, “When your leg has healed you will be moved to the servant rooms. When that is finished you will begin you duties.”
She left the room but before she could walk to far away the boy shout after her, “Wait!!”
The woman turned and looked at the boy, “What is it now?”
He swallowed, “What is this place and who are you.”
The elderly woman gave him a smile, “This is an okiya by the name of the Garden of the Golden Lotus in the Gion hanamachi and I am the owner of this place. My name is Madame Iwasaki, but you will call me Mistress.” With that she turned and left the boy alone sitting on the lavish bed. When a few minutes had passed two heads poked around the door before quickly disappearing again.

After another minute or so the appeared again, “Psst,” one of them hissed, “hey kid.”
The boy lifted his head and fear flitted across his face for one of the women was then demon he saw earlier, “What?”
The two women straightened and walked into the room. They were both wearing extravagant silk kimonos each depicting a lavish scene of decadence and beauty, “So,” the one with the half painted face asked, “What did the old crone say.”
The other woman hit the other playfully on the shoulder, “Hush Sakura, if she hears that we will be in trouble all over again.”
Sakura gave the other woman a look of disgust, “Grow up Saki, you can’t live in fear of that old bat forever. Sooner or later we will be Geisha and we need to start showing the confidence and poise that old bat beats into us.”
The boy watched the exchange between the two with an expression of fear and confusion mixed upon his face, “Who are you?”
The two women turned and looked at him for a moment with a look that said they had forgotten all about him.
Saki immediately bowed the boy but at the last moment Sakura grabbed her by the back of her kimono and pulled her back up, “I am Sakura,” she pointed at her friend, “and this is Saki. We’re both maiko here.” Sakura gave the boy and up and down look examining him, “So what is your name and what did the crone want.”
The boy looked up at Sakura with a wary look in his eyes unsure if whether he should tell her, “I don’t have a name and the Mistress said I am to work here until I pay off my debts.”
Sakura snorted in derision, “The woman only cares about money.”
Saki ran over to the boy, “You don’t have a name, what did your parents call you.”
Sakura snorted again, “Isn’t obvious Saki, the boy is a street rat. He probably doesn’t have any parents.”
Saki suddenly leaned toward the boy and embraced him in a hug. Fear suddenly flickered across the boy’s face. Seeing the look Sakura grabbed her and pulled her off of him, “Calm down Saki, your scaring the boy.” Saki looked at his face and immediately bowed over and started to apologize, but before she could begin Sakura put her foot on her rump and pushed sending Saki sprawling across the floor. With her foot still on her rump Sakura began tapping her face with her fingers in thought, “Hmmmm, we can’t just call you boy. You need a name¬.” She was silent for a moment then he face lit up with and idea, “I know what your name shall be, you shall be called Mazra Fuchi Akros.”
Saki wiggled out from beneath her friends foot and glared at her, “That’s a terrib . . .”
Mazra smiled and interrupted her, “I like it.”
Sakura and Saki smiled at him for a moment then Saki spoke, “Welcome Mazra to the Garden of the Golden Lotus.” When those words were spoken Mazra had a sense that here he was welcome, here he could be useful, and that here he could finally find a place called home.

So the years past and Mazra grew up in the Garden of the Golden Lotus. The Geisha and the ones in training took him in and made Mazra their little brother. The household took it upon themselves to teach him all they knew. Through his new family Mazra learned everything from how to tie an obi belt and apply makeup from the geisha to sword fighting and judo from the guards to accounting from the head of the house. Mazra’s life was filled with bliss and peace. Here he was loved and adored, valued and important. As he aged he was given duties that belonged to men, he began helping the accountant with his work were he discovered not only how to do math and read but the fact he needed glasses, he began repairing the Geisha’s instrument and clothes in addition to helping them with their makeup, he also started escorting the girls to and from the appointments so as to give them protection when the other two guards were busy. However, despite the blessing the gods had showered upon him Mazra still kept his heart secluded from others, and he never forgot the rules of the street.

It was five years since Mazra had been discovered by Saki and Sakura in the alleyway, and he had changed greatly. He was now at least a foot taller than he had been all those years ago. Mazra had let his hair grow out and colored it with red dye; he now wore it in a ponytail. The only problem with that was that his wasn’t quite long enough to be made into one so it was more of a spiky bulb on the back of his head. Due to all the training and chores he had endured over the years his body and become wrapped in corded muscle. He looked like a healthy teenage boy. The day was the fifth anniversary since Saki and Sakura had found it and he household had taken it upon themselves to make the date his birthday. Unknowing to all, even Mazra, it was a week past the day of his real birthday and Mazra was now fifteen years old. Earlier in the day the household had given him a small party where they had a lavish meal and given him some presents. From Sakura and Saki he received a small bamboo flute, Suguwara and Usami, the bodyguards who had taught Mazra how to swordfight and basic judo, gave him a new sword, and even the Mistress gave his a present. Her gift to him was an earring, it was a small ruby red rectangle made of colored bamboo. Mazra cherished each gift greatly and immediately stowed them away. The flute he put on the inside of his kosode close to his heart, the sword went around his waist and rested on his hip, and the earring went into his ear which had gotten pierced earlier in the week. So the day passed and the Geisha left to their various appointments taking Suguwara and Usami with them leaving Mazra alone with the Mistress who had retired to her rooms.

As dusk fell Saki and Sakura returned from their appointments, they had been hired to perform a dance at a local tea house.
“Hey Mazra,” Saki smiled at him.
“Hey Saki, hey Sakura.”
Sakura turned and glared at him, “I don’t suppose that Suguwara or Usami are here.”
“Nope, they left about an hour after you did with the Kikimon party.”
Sakura snorted in derision, “Figures those slackers wouldn’t be back yet.”
“Why do you need them?”
Saki spoke up, “We have another appointment in an hour and we wanted them to escort us.”
Mazra blinked for a moment, “Why don’t I just escort you.”
Saki turned and looked at Sakura who sighed, “Why not they won’t be back anytime soon.”
Mazra ran to his room where he grabbed his haori and sword then ran back into to the girls. Saki smiled at him as Mazra attached the sword to his hip while Sakura stood by the door tapping her foot anxiously, “Hurry up,” she barked at them, “If we don’t leave now we’ll be late.”
Mazra scowled at her and threw the haori over his shoulders, “Alright lets go.”
With that they departed into the night air.

On the way there they laughed and joked with each other, each of them struck with nostalgia. Their appointment ended up being a gaming house in another district, so while the girls went in to perform and due their job Mazra sat on a bench outside the gaming house and slept. When the next he opened his eyes, Mazra was shook awake by Saki and the sun had fallen enclosing the deserted street in darkness except for the little light given off by lanterns hung on the street corners.

Saki giggled, “You fell asleep.”
Sakura hit her with the fan she clasped in her hand, “You don’t have to tell him, he was the one asleep so he obviously knows that.” She then turned her fan and wacked him on the side of his head, “Hurry up, I’m tired and want to go home.”
“Alright, Alright,” Mazra stood and stretched, “come on follow me.” With that he turned and began walking down the street. After a few moments Mazra noticed that there was one more set of footsteps and looked over his shoulder. Behind them a few houses down a man was following them. Mazra turned foreword again and sped up the pace.
“Mazra stop going so fast,” Saki whined.
Without turning his head Mazra whispered forcefully, “Shut up, someone is following us.” At that moment someone stepped from around then corner at the end of the street. Mazra stopped in his tracks and waited for the man to do something but all he did was stand and stare. With his heart pounding in his chest Mazra grabbed the sleeves of the girls Kimonos’ and pulled them into an alleyway. When they were about halfway through it a man stepped out and blocked the exit.
“Shit,” Mazra cursed and quickly turned around to try and escape only to be met with two more men blocking the exit, “stay behind me.” With those words he reached to his waste and pulled out his sword.
One of the men gave a chuckle and smiled, “Come on boy put away the sword. All we want to do is talk.”
Mazra glared at the one who had spoken, “Over my dead body.”
The man’s smile quickly turned into a grimace, “That can be arranged.”
Mazra swallowed when he heard all three men draw their swords at once. They slowly began to walk down the alley approaching Mazra and the girls. Mazra held the sword in front of him and kept on looking back and forth between the man who had spoken and his two friends. Then, without a moment notice, the man raised his sword and charged at Mazra, attempting to cut him in two with a downward slash. In the nick of time he raised his sword and blocked the strike. As soon as the blades struck each other and ear shattering screech exploded from the lungs of Saki. The next thing Mazra knew there was a pain in his chest, he looked down and saw the tips of two swords protruding from his chest. His sword fell to the ground with a clang and the swords withdrew from Mazra’s body. He felt numbness spread through his body and fell to the ground where a pool of blood began to spread. Saki still screaming grasped herself in terror then her scream suddenly halted. The man who had spoken took his sword and slashed Saki throat. Blood sprayed from the wound painting the other side of the alley a morbid red. Mazra raised one shaking hand and reached toward Saki’s body where it had fallen a few feet from his own. His strength left him and Mazra’s hand fell to the ground. Then darkness began to infringe on his sight and the numbness claimed him. He heard voices but was unable to make out what they said, the last thing Mazra saw before he died was Sakura staring at him and Saki with tears streaming down here face.

Konso

When next Mazra opened his eyes he was still lying in the alley with blood pooled around him. He slowly climbed to his feet and looked at the scene around him. There was Saki, throat slashed and lying in her own blood. Next to her was Sakura with a sword sticking out of her chest, dead. While the scene was horrifying Mazra felt nothing, it was as if all the color had left the world. Mazra turned slowly, knowing what was lying behind him. He stood and stared at his body for what seemed like hours, but in truth was only a minute. Mazra was broken out of his trance by a smooth feminine voice, “Oh you poor thing.”

He spun on his heel and turned to face the one who had spoken. It was a woman with long red hair; clothed in a black kosode and hakama from which a sword hung. Her face was obscured by the shadows in the alley. “Who are you?” Mazra croaked at the women as he slowly backed away.

“I’m here to help you, just come here and I can send you on your way.” The women extended her hand to the blood covered Mazra, “I won’t hurt you.”

Mazra, still in shock at his death and the scene around him, hesitated at first, but something about the women comforted him; she brought with her a spirit of peace. So, with a shaking hand, he stepped forward and took her hand in his own. The woman slowly drew her sword and Mazra felt fear flash through him, “Shhhh child, it’s alright. I shall not be cutting you with this.”

She then turned the sword and placed the tip of the hilt on his forehead. Mazra immediately felt a sense of relief, the terror and horror at the death of his closest friends and himself was gone. In its stead was a sense of peace, belonging, a promise of a better existence. As the light engulfed him, Mazra heard the woman speak one more time, “May the next life treat you better than this one.” With those words ringing in his ears Mazra passed from the Human world and onto the Soul Society.

Afterlife

Mazra sprinted down the street a sweet bun clasped to his chest; he looked over his shoulder and shouted over his shoulder, “YOU’LL NEVER CATCH ME.”

He ran around a corner and took a sharp left then he ran into an alleyway where he leaned against the wall and caught his breath. It had been many years since that night when Mazra died and he had aged considerably. If you were to look at him you guess him to be around twenty two for that was how old he looked but in truth it had been one hundred and thirty some odd years since Mazra had died, and in that time he had reverted back to a life on the streets. Mazra had begun stealing again and hiding where he could, taking what he wanted and occasionally giving to those less fortunate. There was a time, about fifty years back, that he got entangled with a gang that wanted to oust the shinigami, but after a close call with a shinigami they decided to disband and he went back to the streets. Besides the fact he had filled out more and grown a few more inches he resembled the same boy who worked in the okiya all those years ago.

He poked his head around the corner and saw that his pursuer had given up as he was no longer in sight. Mazra settle down and began to eat the sweet bun with a self satisfied smile on his face.
“Now would care to explain what that was about?”
Mazra jumped up and dropped the sweet bun. “Who said that?” A people fell down and hit Mazra on the head. His gaze shot up and saw that a Shinigami was crouching on the top of the roof. “Shit,” Mazra cursed. He turned and ran to the end of the alleyway only to have the Shinigami drop down in front of him.
“Now wait a minute I just want to ask you a question.”
Mazra’s eyes darted back and forth before he realized that there was no where to go. He sighed and his shoulders sagged in defeat, “Alright, what is it?”
The shinigami smiled at him before bending over and picking up the dirt coved sweet bun, “Do you feel hunger?”
Mazra gave him a look akin to what one would wear if the had just been hit with a brick, “Of course, doesn’t everybody?”
The shinigami tapped his face with the sweet bun for a moment while studying Mazra, “Actually they don’t. It part of the Soul Society that those who reside here never feel hunger. Well that is except for Shinigami. The high level of Reiatsu found in our bodies causes a hunger in us when it is depleted. We use food and rest to resupply it.”
At these statements Mazra paled, “Does that mean I’m a Shinigami?”
The Shinigami blinked at him like a deer caught in headlights, “Dear Heavens, no. In order to be a Shinigami you have to graduate from the Academy and take the exam. After that, if you’re lucky, you will be accepted to the Gotei 13.”
Mazra stared at him for a moment processing his statements, “So I’m not a Shinigami and don’t have to be one if I don’t want to.”
The man blinked, “Of course, but why wouldn’t you want to?”
At these words Mazra’s face contorted into disgust, “Join you all, after the way you walk over everyone and watch them in their misery. You all do nothing to try and improve this place. You seek only to dominate it.”
At this the Shinigami’s face fell, “I will admit that we do not do as much for those who reside with the Rukongai as we could and there are those among us who believe that we are superior to them. However this is the truth, it is not our job to take care of those in the Rukongai. It is however our job to protect them, and we do more than that.”
Mazra sneered at him, “Like what?”
“Walk with me and I will tell you.”

The man turned and strode out of the alley with Mazra following him on his heels. The Shinigami turned and looked over his shoulder to make sure that Mazra was following him and cleared his throat, “Among the protection of the Soul Society it is also our duty to escort lost souls here. In order to do this we travel to Earth and search for those who have died, and for some reason or another, have yet to move one. When we encounter one of these souls, called a plus, we purify it with our Zanpaktous.” At this point he tapped the hilt of the sword attached to his waste. “We also have one other duty and that is to fight hollows. Hollows are monsters that are formed when a plus stays on Earth to long. We fight Hollows to prevent them from hurting the living and devouring other souls. In order to do this we use our Zanpaktous. When we deliver the finishing blow to a Hollow the creature is purified allowing it to turn back into a plus and move on to the Soul Society. There are, of course, cases in which the souls we are sent to guide and the Hollows we are sent to purify are bad. When this happens they are taken to Hades instead of the Soul Society.”
While al of this was being said Mazra was warily staring at the Shinigami waiting for him to so something that would prove his prejudices correct. “So what you are saying is that as Shinigami you help people.”
“Correct.”
Mazra followed the Shinigami and stared at his feet, wrapped in deep thought. So when the Shinigami stopped Mazra ran right into him. They became tangled in each other and both collapsed to the ground, “Sorry bout that.” Mazra climbed to his feet and proffered a hand to the Shinigami, “Where are we?”
The shinigami accepted the help and came to his feet, face covered in a smile, he reached over his shoulder and pointed to a giant white building, “This is the Academy.”
Mazra instantly took a few steps back from the Shinigami and the giant white building, “I’m not going into there and you can’t force me.”
The Shinigami pursed his lips in a fashion that reminded Mazra of the way the Mistress looked when he did something incredibly stupid, “You sound like a ten year old and I never intended to force you. This is a decision only you can make, I merely showed you where the building was and gave the truth about Shinigami.”

With these words the Shinigami turned and walked away with a final wave over his shoulder. When the man departed Mazra stood and looked at the building with a glare on his face that said he blamed all of this on it. He tucked one of his arms under his shoulder and with the other reached up and began to twist the ruby red rectangle in his ear. This was a tic he preformed when he was deep in thought about a particular subject or puzzle. He stood there twisting the earring until the sun began to slip below the horizon. Finally his face hardened and with a slight grimace on his face he turned and entered the academy.

Graduation

So Mazra entered the Academy and his life, or afterlife, changed dramatically. He went from fighting for food and sleeping on the streets to fighting for training and having three meals a day then collapsing in a bed at night. Mazra’s stay at the academy was one of averageness in the extreme. He was a slightly above par swordfighter, he perfected what little judo he knew, and he discovered that he was quite good at Kido, being average at Hado and a little better at Bakudo. He studied and did fairly well with his grades never failing a course or assignment. Mazra had a few friends, none of them close enough to really know him. His life at the academy was merely that, life. There was one thing that he did discover during his stay at the academy and that was books. When he was shown the library on his first day he didn’t believe that that many books existed in the world and he lost no time in attempting to read them all. So the years went by and Mazra graduated to the next level and the next until he was at his last year in the academy. He sat through his exams on his last day waiting for the part he was truly excited for, the field examination.

Before he knew it the night had come. Mazra was taking this par of the examination with nine others of his classmates under the supervision of their teacher and the Headmaster who were there to asses the students and step in if anything got out of hand. The mission was simple. They were to enter the human world in an area where three hollows had been sighted. They where divided into teams of three and where to, along with their teammates, fight and destroy a Hollow. The teams were color coded with strips of cloth the same color wrapped around their upper arm. The color of the teams where Yellow, Blue, and Red. Mazra was in the Blue team and paired with two of his classmates whom he didn't know that well and was taking time to get to know them. There was a short mousy boy, called Tomoaki, who was the top Kido user in the class and another boy who looked to be the same age as Mazra who was the third best swordsman in the class, his name was Dayu.

“Attention Students,” their teacher intoned in his deep bass voice, “I am going to review the rules of this exam quickly before we cross over. Now the area we are entering is sealed off by Shinigami who went through earlier to secure the area. Each of your teams has been assigned a Hollow and it is your job to destroy it. You will be graded and the efficiency with which you destroy the Hollow, teamwork, and how you utilize each of your strengths. The Headmaster and myself will be overseeing this examination and in the event that your team in unable to deal with the threat we will step in and neutralize it. Understood?”
“SIR, YES SIR” the students called back.
“Excellent, follow me.” With that he turned and entered the portal to Earth. The students were quick to follow, each of them anxious to get the examination over. Mazra's team was the last through the gate before it closed. When they crossed through the gate to the other side Mazra felt a wave of dizziness and experienced vertigo. The world spun for a moment before finally righting. The first thing he did was stare at the gigantic buildings all around them, he had read that the world was changed greatly from when he was alive but in truth he didn't quite believe it.
“Alright line up and get ready on my mark.” The students assemble in a line in front of their teacher, “Ready and GO” With those words each of the teams shot off in a different direction each intending to be the first to defeat their Hollow.

Dayu turned and looked at Tomoaki, “Which direction and how far.”
Tomoaki closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them before speaking, “.63 miles, and Northwest.”
Dayu nodded and the three changed their course according to Tomoaki's directions.
After a few minutes moving in the right direction Tomoaki suddenly yelled, “STOP.” Dayu and Mazra came to a halt a few feet away from him.
“What is it?” asked Dayu.
“We're here.”
Dayu looked around in confusion as Mazra looked into the shadows trying to detect movement, “Then where is it?”
“I don't know but its here. I can feel it.” At those words a shadow leapt from the walls of one of the towering buildings.
“BEHIND YOU,” screeched Mazra. His warning came too late and the monstrous creature swatted Tomoaki and sent him hurtling into a wall where he collapsed into a still heap.
“Ha Ha Ha,” the creature took a few steps foreword into the light cast by a street lamp. The Hollow looked like a giant gorilla covered in purple fur, towered over Dayu and Mazra at somewhere around eight feet tall but the most terrifying thing wasn't its stature but the mask that marked it as a hollow. It had a simple design with two vertical red slashes going through each eye. One of the slashes curved inward and met in the middle of the mask forming a U while the other followed the length of the mask where is past through the mouth before crossing right below it making an X.
“Poor little Shinigami all lost and alone at night. Here let me help you.” Mazra drew his sword and charged at the beast letting loose a fierce battle cry.

The Hollow gave a chuckle and snatched Mazra up in his fist, “Ha Ha Ha, you need to do better than that to kill me.” The creature opened its mouth and began to lower Mazra into it. He struggled against the immense strength of the Hollow but his arm would not budge and his kicks were having no effect against the creature. Right before the Hollow was about to drop him into its gullet it let out a roar of pain and threw Mazra, where the impact knocked the wind out him and sent his sword hurtling out of his hand, to the ground so as to turn and face it next opponent.
“NO, I won’t let you eat him,” Dayu growled at the Hollow.
“AAAAAAAAARGH, that hurt you little pest.” The Hollow swung its hand down to try and crush Dayu. He quickly jumped out of the way and slashed at the Hollow's wrist. The monster howled in pain and quickly withdrew its hand swung its other fist at Dayu who ducked under the attack and rolled through its legs, slicing the back of its legs. The Hollow fell to its knees it knees grasping its injured hand to its chest. Dayu leapt into the air to deliver the final strike when the Hollow back handed him with its good hand. Dayu went flying through the air and hit the ground where he didn't stir.
The Hollow chuckled, “Showed you didn't I.” The Hollow climbed to his feet, “Now back to my meal.” The monster limped over to where Mazra was still on the ground and grabbed him by his ankle, then lifted him into the air. As Mazra stared into the black abyss of the Hollows mouth he closed his eyes and a single over powering thought rent through him, I DON’T WANT TO DIE. Then the world was suddenly filled with light and vanished.

When next Mazra opened his eyes he was standing in darkness so thick it could almost be felt. Took you long enough. With those words light suddenly flooded the darkness, chasing it away allowing Mazra to look at the place he was in. What he saw stunned him. Books everywhere, high and low, shelf upon shelf upon shelf, it's was as if Mazra had died and gone to heaven. It was a giant library with thousands of shelves and millions of books. Out of nowhere came the flap of wings and a giant white owl settled atop one of bookcase next to Mazra. Mazra, still overwhelmed by the sheer size of this building, did nothing but stand there and stare at it. After a few minutes of looking at the creature a voice spoke in his mind. Are you just going to stand and stare all day or are you going to look? It was a deep sonorous voice the bespoke wisdom and knowledge far beyond Mazra's understanding. Well?
Broken out of his trance by the voice Mazra finally spoke, “Are you the one talking in my head?”
The bird ruffled its feather, Wonderful, you finally talk and the first thing you say is an asinine question. Of course I'm the one talking in your head.
Mazra could do nothing but look at the bird and blink, “Who are you?”
The bird looked at Mazra, and while it couldn't express any emotion on its face he got the distinct impression that it was looking at him like he was an idiot. I'm your Inner Spirit. The soul of your sword, that is if you are ever smart enough to learn my name.
Now fully adjusted to the absurdity of a talking bird and the enormity of the library Mazra felt a little indigent that this bird kept on treating him like an idiot, “Then, O Great and Powerful Spirit, what is your name.”
Again the bird gave him that same look, I can't tell you, you have to discover that on your own.
“And how do I do that?”
Read. Oh, and by the way sarcasm is the lowest form of wit , With that the bird took flight and disappeared over the top of the bookcases.

With an annoyed look thrown in the direction of the departed bird, Mazra stared walking down one of the numerous alleys and randomly pulled a book from the shelf. He absentmindedly flipped through it, noticing that the book seemed to be a collection of short stories. A thousand short stories according to the table of contents. “Never really been a fan of short stories.” Mazra mumbled to himself as he placed the book back where he found it. This continued for about an hour. Every single book he pulled from the selves was always a collection of short stories and there was always a thousand. "ARG" Mazra chucked the book he was holding and it slid across the tiled floor coming to stop at the feet of the white owl.
So, I don't suppose you know my name yet do you?
Mazra glared at the bird, frustration evident on his face, “All there is are short stories. Again and again, book after book”
Of course
When the bird said that Mazra froze, “What do you mean?” The owl did nothing but stare at him. “Your name must be connected to these books, correct?” Still the owl did nothing, “So if I ask myself what do these books all have in common the answer is the number of stories found in each book.”
The owl took flight and hovered in front of Mazra's face, eyes locked on his, Which means?
He gave the bird a grin of triumph, “It means that your name is Ikusenkai.”
The bird stared at him, and Mazra felt a sense of approval behind those golden eyes, Correct. It seems that you are not quite as stupid as I originally thought. I will lend you my power, for now. Make sure that you use it correctly. With those parting words light filled the space again and the library fell from existence.

Mazra opened his eyes and saw the gaping maw of the Hollow below him; fear coursed through his veins again. However, something was different this time. There was a weight, a power that Mazra felt was within his reach. His hand flew to his hip where his sword had been kept and he felt the hilt of another sword there instead. Given no time to examine this new blade Mazra followed his instincts, “Rinban sono Kyuuji, Ikusenkai!” He drew his sword in a flash and paper rained down upon the hollow. Distracted by the sudden appearance of paper in its face the Hollow dropped Mazra to the ground and swatted away the paper; attempting to clear its vision. As Mazra climbed to his feet the paper swarmed around him and created a U shaped form around him. With the sudden disappeance of paper the Hollow was able to see what had happen. As it took in the site of Mazra and the swarm of paper behind him its face contorted in displeasure, “I thought I had finished you.”

Mazra smiled at the beast, “Not quite,” he lifted his hand and formed a triangle with his finger tips, “Bakudo 30: Shitotsu Sansen” Three beams of light shot from his finger tips and slammed into the Hollow, pinning it against the wall of a building. As soon as the Kido was released Mazra charged at the Hollow while at the same time running his hands through the paper mass. As the paper touched his hands he began to shape it, merge it with other paper and from it he created a spear. Mazra jumped into the air and plunged the spear into the center of the Hollow's mask. The beast let out a roar of rage and pain, breaking free from the Kido with its final strength it smacked Mazra, knocking him unconscious, and sent him flying through the air. As the hollow disintegrated Mazra's Shikai reverted to it sealed form and lay beside him.

After the Hollow was destroyed the Teacher and Headmaster swooped down and collected the students. They then opened a portal back to the soul society where they were treated for their wounds. None of them were fatal the worst wound being a few cracked ribs and a broken bone. In an event that startled the members of Blue team each of them graduated with flying colors. The reasons given were that Tomoaki showed his mastery of Kido and the power of his Reaitsu sensing ability, Dayu for showing bravery in the face of danger, concern for his teammates and his swordsmanship ability, Mazra for his courageous actions against the Hollow and unlocking his Shikai. That was last time Mazra ever saw Tomoaki and Dayu though he will never forget them. With his graduation Mazra was accepted into the Gotei 13 where hopes to join one of the illustrious squads.

by **Joachim Armster** Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:20 pm

Approved! Moving on to tryouts.

Click Here to see your try-out thread!

Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A

Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A

Re: Mazra Fuchi Akros - Shinigami - R.A