Ranmaru Shibata XII

Ranmaru Shibata (蘭丸柴田, Shibata Ranmaru) is a of Heisekian descent and a member of Minamoto "Hikaru" Kazuhira's crew on-board The Serenity. Ranmaru is the son of Ranmaru Shibata Sr. and is also known as the Graceful Glider (やさしいかっくうき, Yasashī Kakkūki).

Appearance
While a muscular young man Ranmaru Jr. actually takes more after his mother than he does his father. He has her blond-colored hair and blue eyes, and doesn't even come close to being as intimidating as his father is in comparison. Regardless, Ranmaru is an athletic man with a lean-fashioned build. He keeps his hair fashioned into sideways combed spikes which keeps his forehead visible, unlike his father who keeps his own hair rather unruly. He also seems incapable of growing any facial hair. In addition he wears a pendant around his neck which is the same design as the tattoo his father has emblazoned on his chest, which is the insignia of the Shibata family.

Ranmaru is generally seen wearing a torn pair of black overalls with a torn and ragged yellow-hooded shirt with the left sleeve torn completely off. Instead of the sleeve he covers his arm with a dark blue pauldron and a gauntlet. The gauntlet is also clawed and can be used to block attacks, increase the damage he causes with Hakuda strikes, and as a means of grabbing obstacles at speed to redirect himself during a jump. When he knows he's going to be going into battle however he shows that he is indeed his father's son and forgoes the yellow hooded shirt to go bare-chest, leaving only the protective gauntlet on his left arm. This reveals that he, like his father, wears lengths of red bandages entwining his right arm under his black leather gloves.

Personality
Ranmaru is a spirited individual as he is lively, animated and in possession of great courage -- even though he recognizes that many others are stronger than he is. He isn't scared to live his life the way he wants to, and is openly bisexual. His father has remarked that he is often too spirited, and that someone needs to take his son firmly in-hand to sort him out. Always quick for a laugh, Ranmaru can often be found cracking jokes with Hikaru, or simply running along beside the ship when out at sea. He loves nothing more than the wind on his chest. He hardly ever gives much thought to the past or future, and prefers living in the "here and now where he belongs". Ranmaru Sr. reckons this is how his son got involved in piracy in the first-place, though Ranmaru Jr. maintains he simply enjoys the lifestyle -- "The wind on your chest everyday, the thrill of the hunt, and the salty-sweet smell of the sea. And all the fish you can eat! What isn't there to enjoy!?".

He and his father have been at odds ever since Ranmaru joined Hikaru's crew. Ranmaru Sr. is a law-abiding citizen and one of the twelve Captain-Generals of the Shuuten, while Ranmaru Jr. is a pirate of some renown; which irks his father to no end. Their conflicting occupations in life cause them to butt heads near constantly, which has soured their relationship considerably. Though one thing father and son refuse to do is battle one another, with Ranmaru Jr. outright refusing to even face such a possibility. Because regardless of the the paths they've taken in life, Ranmaru believes that you can't "change your old-man, nor can you stop him loving you, or me loving him". This love is seen whenever Ranmaru hears others bad-mouthing his father, for he is always the first to jump to his defense, behavior which his father reciprocates.

Much to the annoyance of his crewman and a few others for by, Ranmaru is obsessed with Mariko Kori, and has been since he first seen her in the Leaping Lion. Kenshiro says that she is what he mostly talks about now, and that he'd happily drop whatever he was doing to help her if she needed it. He is constantly thinking about how to win her heart, and openly flirts with her, not realizing that its that what makes her dislike him. He is, however, fanatically loyal.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Dragonforce arc Part I

 * Winds of Freedom

Dragonforce arc Part II

 * Machinations of an Informer
 * Annoying things Walls
 * Eventual Breakthrough
 * Face to Face at Last
 * Reunion and Ambition

Interquel Chapters

 * Whiskey in the Jar

Powers and Abilities
Shunpo Master: Easily Ranmaru's greatest claim-to-fame and the reason which led to his title, Graceful Glider, in the first place. His father maintains that Ranmaru's speed is quite close to that of Erina Ayaka, one of the foremost specialist in the art of Shunpo within Heisekai. When out at sea he is fit to swim at incredible speeds, run on water (which earned him his title), and run rings 'round most opposition. On land he is still fast, but nowhere near the speed he displays on water. Captain Hikaru has said that facing Ranmaru on the water is "a gid way to kiss you ass goodbye". His reflexes and base instincts are particularly highlighted by his method of combat, as Ranmaru can react to most attacks without warning.

He has also been noted to have the potential to be the equal of his father. A testament to his strength is when he withstood the spiritual power of Gengetsu.

Seidōshin (青銅神, Bronzed God): Not yet Revealed.

Amazing Accuracy: When he unleashes his Shikai, Ranmaru gains access to a spherical ball which allows him to fight at mid-to-long range easily. His accuracy is particularly noteworthy, as Ranmaru rarely misses something he sets his eyes on. Coupled with his amazing speed, Ranmaru can terrorize his enemies at any range.

Hybrid Zanjutsu Hakuda Style: Ranmaru employs a hybrid style that mixes swift sword strikes with graceful aerial Hakuda, which he then furthers by interlacing it with the ball he gains in Shikai. As such he employs a fast-paced style of combat that places emphasis on linked movement, followed up by a speedy assault that pushes his Shunpo skills to their utmost in battle. Resulting from this is a great understanding of close-quarters combat, which his reflexes and base instincts serve to strengthen. His style was effective enough to combat master Hakuda specialist, Gengetsu, and ultimately defeat him.

Acute Awareness: Ranmaru has repeatedly shown to have a good grasp on his surroundings, which benefited both Kenshiro and Mariko during their information gathering missions.

Zanpakutō
Suiwa (水和, Hydration). Ranmaru's Suiwa has a rather unique sealed form. Instead of a traditional he takes the form of a  with an ocean-blue coloration, a jagged hook near the tip, and the head of a sea-serpent forming half its guard. The blade has various water-effects, including bubbles which surround the blade, and when swung, it makes a sound reminiscent of crashing waves. Ranmaru doesn't carry Suiwa on his person and instead summons it for battle by holding his hand out, where he then closes his fist around the forming bandaged-wrapped hilt. Suiwa always appears when summoned in this manner amidst a gathering of bubbles.


 * Sealed Ability: Even whilst he is sealed, Suiwa can access some of its special abilities.


 * Kihō (気泡, Bubbles): this comes in the form of the bubbles which are always present, which Ranmaru can use as a means of teleportation -- in much the same way he summons his zanpakutō for battle. He often refers to it as "jumping". He can shroud an object in bubbles and then re-locate it anywhere he so desires, though the range is not large, and is usually limited to thirty meters in every direction; the only exception being Suiwa himself. When used in Shikai Ranmaru can clear much larger distances as he jumped from the sight of his battle with Gengetsu and Anko to the Shuuten barracks on Boon Island, while only needing one jump.


 * : Suiwa is released with the phrase "Chill Out, what's the Rush?" In addition to his sealed zanpakutō, Ranmaru gains access to a blue sphere dotted with slashes of white, which he uses like a football for long-range combat.


 * Shikai Special Ability: When released Ranmaru's spiritual body undergoes a remarkable alteration. Suiwa turns him into a being composed almost entirely of water, which makes forceful impacts and brunt-force attacks all but useless against him. Physical attacks pass right through his liquefied body, including the blades of other zanpakutō, while flattening impacts serve simply to reduce him to a liquid form. The only way to harm Ranmaru when Suiwa is released is to use techniques which don't rely on the physical, such as Kidō. Lightning spells, such as , are particularly effective.


 * Liquid Form: Through mere thought or through certain attacks against him, Ranmaru can reduce himself to a liquid state and attack in that manner. He can then return to his previous state, which he usually does to ensnare weaponry. However, the downside is that he becomes much more vulnerable against lightning and fire, as he conducts the former and gets turned to steam by the latter, which he describes as incredibly painful. He does, however, seem to resist being frozen. Another downside is that he becomes much more susceptible to poisons.


 * : Not yet Achieved.

Notable Relationships
The Serenity:

Ranmaru Shibata Sr.: The relationship between father and son is strained quite heavily; Ranmaru Sr. is a law-abiding citizen and one of the twelve Captain-Generals of the Shuuten, while Ranmaru Jr. is a pirate of some renown. Their conflicting occupations in life cause them to but heads near constantly, which has soured their relationship considerably. Ranmaru Jr. thinks his father is too up-tight, while Ranmaru Sr. holds the view that his son is too spirited and needs someone to take him firmly in-hand to calm him down. They rarely have a nice word to say about one another, but are quick to jump to the others defense when someone else has something to say, which indicates that the two do still love one another; even if their seperate paths in life makes that difficult.

Trivia

 * There a number of notable allusions to Final Fantasy X main protagonist, Tidus, and his Dissidia counterpart. Credit for these allusions go to the respective creators.