Rakuto

The Rakuto (落兎, "Fallen Rabbit") are a tribe of anomalies that are believed to have been born several thousands of years ago, having originated from a peculiar form of. Their history is one bathed in bloodshed as a result of their battle-hungry nature and extreme survival instinct. It is said that their name is a reference to the shape of a rabbit on the moon, in that they are strange beings that have descended from an unknown region.

History
Every so often, there are rare and unique forms of dimensions which open up in the  space. In one such case, a long time ago, a certain Kyōgoku had formed that was incredibly dense with. So dense, in fact, that it was capable of influencing the traffic of souls by actually pulling souls away from the reincarnation process and causing them to materialize within that Kyōgoku. It wasn't drastic enough that the Soul Society picked up on it at the time, though that may have been due to the fact that their ability to detect such a disturbance at the time was minuscule, if not nonexistent. The souls that were pulled toward the Kyōgoku had essentially colonized that land and eventually a tribe was formed, which would become the Rakuto, but they would find it a difficult place to live. It was a world that contained harsh and extreme climates, with very little space available for reasonable living accommodations. Beyond that, the immense density of the Kyōgoku was such that it was a dying world, and eventually, it was doomed to collapse under the weight of its own dense reishi. Though initially ignorant of the problem, the self-aware ones among the Rakuto tribe eventually came to the realization that they would need to leave this realm and find a new place to live. And it is from here that the ones known as the fallen rabbits would pursue a new home, which would become the.

Overview
What makes the Rakuto so different from normal souls is that the original members of the tribe were mutated by the Kyōgoku that pulled them off of the path of reincarnation from the to the. As a result, they are born with phenomenal degrees of physical strength and durability, to the point where even a small child could possess more raw strength than a normal human adult. This became a permanent part of their genetic code and essentially brought about a new subspecies within these souls, which took up the name of Rakuto. They still maintain a humanoid form and it is generally impossible to differentiate their appearance from any other human being. However, they are noted as having remarkably fair and smooth skin, and that it is common among them to grow their hair out.

As a result of the environment from which the Rakuto were born into, the need for survival and a subsequent drive of competition for resources was etched onto their instincts and is passed down to all future generations of Rakuto. They are drawn to battle and consider themselves a warrior race. What was originally an extreme survival instinct translated into a lust for battle and war. Even if it meant transversing the dangerous regions of the realm they resided in, they continued to seek out fights, even among their own kind. Within them is a drive to continuously seek out challenges and push themselves further, if only to give them the greatest chances of survival in the worst case scenarios. It is a shared instinct among many of the Rakuto that the only way to ensure absolute survival is to reach complete supremacy, which drives them toward the path of conquest.

Rakuto are known to have massive appetites and require far more sustenance than the average individual. Because of where they were first born, they find it uncomfortable to remain in areas with low reishi concentration, even to the point of feeling dizzy or lightheaded in a space such as the human world. In some cases, in order to procure reishi, some Rakuto are not above even consuming the flesh of beings with high spiritual power for their reishi. Allowing hunger to rise in them can even lead to psychosis and can induce an uncontrollable rage in which they will kill any living being around them, be they even family or friend.

Attributes
Rakuto possess tremendous strength and durability, with children of the tribe easily outmatching the combined strength of fifty adults with considerable strength apiece. Their otherworldly degree of tolerance allows them to take life-threatening injuries with little change in their demeanor nor in their actions. They possess a natural aptitude toward battle, which allows them not only to adapt to the fighting style and movements of their opponents with little effort but also allows them to master advanced fighting techniques without needing thorough training. They ideally have limitless potential toward combat. This is exemplified by their ability to instantly develop competency with any sort of tool or weapon they manage to get their hands on, even in the midst of battle, allowing them to even overwhelm seasoned practitioners of those very same weapons.

Perhaps their most unique trait is that the body of a Rakuto passively draws in from their surroundings. It is assumed that their bodies developed this when they mutated from normal souls in order for their souls to avoid being crushed by the immense density of the Kyōgoku's reishi. Because of this ability, they are capable of fighting for long periods of time and are capable of developing physical strength to beyond superhuman levels, as their bodies will attempt to passively refuel their energy supplies with reishi from the surroundings. However, even though Rakuto are able to train this attribute and perhaps even enhance its effectiveness, it does not allow them to manipulate reishi in the same manner as can. While this ability to absorb reishi translates as a weakness when they are in areas of low reishi concentration, such as the human world, it also becomes a great strength as they function relatively well in regions such as the Soul Society.

They are also capable of moving between dimensions naturally, which is how they came to eventually leave their home dimension and migrate toward the Soul Society.

Behind the Scenes
This article was inspired by the Yato Tribe from the anime and manga series, Gintama, while also having some subtle similarities from the Saiyan race from the anime and manga series, Dragon Ball. Despite bearing similar namesakes, the Yato were likened to rabbits for a physiological similarity, whereas the Rakuto bear the name of rabbit on a philosophical basis.