Izuru Kira (Dazz)

Izuru Kira (吉良 イヅル, Kira Izuru) is the former Lieutenant of the 3rd Division in the Gotei 13. He is now the captain of that very same division, replacing Gin Ichimaru, who took over operation of the Ninth Division.

Appearance
Izuru has blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair that is combed into three points, with two in the back of his head and a third combed to cover his left eye. He also wears the standard Shinigami robes and the 3rd Division's lieutenant armband on his left arm. When he was a student at the Shinigami Academy, his hair was shorter and shaggier, and he wore the standard blue uniform for the males. As a captain, not much changes in his appearance other than him now donning the haori of a Captain of the Gotei 13.

Personality
Izuru is a gloomy and introspective person, not easily given to socializing with others. He generally appears weak and indifferent, leading many to believe he lacks ability as a leader. As an officer, he does not tend to inspire confidence or boost morale the way other lieutenants do. It should be noted that Izuru's current personality greatly differs from his days in the academy where he was shown to be much happier and slightly mischievous after noting that Shūhei Hisagi had failed his entrance exam twice, whereas Izuru passed at the top of his class, giving him the idea that, in a sense, his talent was greater.

His personality flaws are also assets: his introspection coupled with his tendency to worry makes him indecisive, but it also makes him sensitive to unusual behavior. His loyalty to his comrades inspires him to great efforts in their defense, as seen when Momo Hinamori attacks Gin Ichimaru and again in the anime when Makoto Kibune's attacks endanger other members of the 3rd Division.

Izuru is loyal to both his friends and his duties, perhaps to a fault. Despite the close friendship he shares with Momo Hinamori, Izuru shows that his loyalty knows no boundaries when he defends his captain while she is in a grief-induced rage from her own captain's apparent death. Despite this, he calls himself a "monster" afterwards for raising his sword against her.

During his fight with Avirama Redder, it is revealed that Izuru considers the essence of war to be despair, as exemplified by the symbol of his division, the marigold. He also hates to fight unless prompted or given orders. However, in combat he shows ruthless determination. Izuru has shown himself remorseless with this, beheading Avirama Redder that was pleading for mercy.

It is known that he likes to write haiku, and he was also awarded for one of his pieces by Seireitei Communication, which is as follows: "The persimmon tree bears fruit. Aaah, the persimmon tree bears fruit again this year." His dislike for dried persimmon (a huge difference between him and his former captain) sheds some light on the background of the poem. He likes agar-agar instead. He also writes a serial novel titled "I Want to Apologize to You." It runs in Seireitei Communication and every new chapter begins with a haiku piece. He is on good terms with fellow author Shūhei Hisagi, and in their free time, they participate on gatherings of haiku lovers. Izuru also gives a special lecture of poetry on the Shinigami Academy. It is also known that he is skilled in playing cat's cradle.

History
Izuru Kira was born into a family of lesser nobility, his parents having been dead since he was young. On the day he first entered into the Shinigami Academy he visited his parent's grave. It is there that he met fellow student Renji Abarai when he fell out a tree onto his parent's burial marker. Renji was scolded by his friend Rukia Kuchiki for falling asleep in the tree. Upon entrance into the academy Izuru was placed in the special accelerated class alongside Renji and Momo Hinamori. Later that day the students engaged in using Hadō in their Kidō class, with Izuru excelling over the rest of his class. However, he was only able to defend against the aggressive nature and fighting style of Renji in their swordsmanship class. While the two were resting underneath a tree Renji and Izuru introduced themselves and struck up a friendship with each other; it was also on this day that 5th Division captain Sōsuke Aizen and his lieutenant Gin Ichimaru came to the academy to inspect the freshman class.

Two months later the class was given leave to go to the world of the living for a training session in Konsō. The training session was to be lead by 6th year student Shūhei Hisagi and two of his classmates, Kanisawa and Aoga. The fact that Hisagi was leading the mission caused a ruckus which prompted Izuru to explain to Renji why Hisagi was so famous. Izuru then noted that he himself, as that year's top student, probably had more talent than Hisagi. The various students were then placed into three-person teams, Izuru and Renji were placed with Momo. The class then set out for the world of the living to begin their training mission.

As the training session was coming to a close, the class was surprised when a Hollow attacked them and killed Kanisawa. When Aoga saw this he went to fight the Hollow, but was also killed. Hisagi then called for all the students to fall back and run for their lives, while he held the Hollow off. When Momo stopped running Izuru asked her why, to which she responded that she didn't understand why they were fleeing, despite Izuru and Renji trying to reason with her she went back to attack the Hollow and save Hisagi. Realizing there was no getting through to her, Izuru and Renji decided that they had to try and help her. Much to the surprise of Hisagi the three of them appeared just in time to block the attacks of the Hollow. Izuru asked for forgiveness in not following Hisagi's orders and then congratulated Momo when she used Hadō #31 Shakkahō. But to their surprise the small victory was cut short by the arrival of many more Hollows. They were then saved by the timely arrival of captain Sōsuke Aizen and lieutenant Gin Ichimaru, who effortlessly took out all the hollows, while the three students stood amazed.

After graduation, Izuru, along with Renji and Momo, was sent to the 5th Division, where he stayed until Gin Ichimaru became captain of the 3rd Division. It is known that Izuru spent some time in the 4th Division, as noted by Shūhei, and the fact that he carries medical implements like shinten, a trait virtually exclusive to members of the 4th Division.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Izuru is shown to be highly proficient in the wielding of his Zanpakutō. Mixing his mastery of his sword's unique shape with the special ability it has, he is coldly proficient during its use and application.

Expert Tactician: He is highly conscious of his weaknesses and strengths, commonly devising methods which take advantage of his Zanpakutō's special ability, even in situations when the odds are against him.

Kidō Master: He has great talent for Kidō, even back at the Shinigami Academy, and he is often seen applying Kidō spells during fights. He is even skilled enough to use a level 58 destructive spell and a level 73 binding spell without the incantation and with relative ease, as well as being proficient in healing Kidō due to his time spent as a member of the 4th Division. It was noted by Hisagi that Izuru was once part of the 4th Division, and therefore, knows healing-type Kidō and techniques. Though he is considerably out of practice, he is still shown able to quickly determine a person's ailments from a single glance, as shown from his quick analysis of Rangiku's and Momo's condition after they fell against Ayon and heal the otherwise fatal injuries. He has a number of medical supplies that he carries with him (like the paralyzing agent he used on Yumichika), supposedly from his time in the 4th Division.

Flash Steps: Izuru is proficient in the use of flash steps, allowing him to keep up with at least other lieutenant-level Shinigami. His skill in flash step was shown great enough to appear behind Avirama, surprising the Arrancar.

High Spiritual Energy: Being a former lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Izuru boasts a high spiritual energy. Having become a Captain, his spiritual energy has tremendously increased, though to what extent is not yet known.

Zanpakutō
Wabisuke (侘助, the Wretched One): Wabisuke is very simple and plain in design. Its normal form is indistinguishable from a plain katana. The cross guard is a normal rectangular one, with only an omega design on the top and bottom half.




 * Shikai: Its Shikai command is "Raise Your Head" (面を上げろ, omote o agero). When activated, the blade loses its curve and straightens, and where a normal katana would end, Wabisuke's blade makes two 90 degree angles, forming three sides of a square reminiscent of a hook. Even more interestingly, the cutting edge of the blade is on the inside of the angles, not the outside.
 * Shikai Special Ability: In this form, Wabisuke doubles the weight of any object it strikes. The ability can affect both inanimate objects and living beings, and is cumulative. For example, the first strike on an opponent wielding a 10 lb sword doubles the opposing sword's weight to 20 lbs. If Izuru strikes the sword a second time, the weight of the sword doubles to 40 lbs. Izuru can continue doubling the weight of his opponent's sword indefinitely. After about eight or nine strikes, most opponents would be unable to lift their swords and are brought down to their knees by the weight of their own weapon. Though the potential of this ability is limitless, a small number of strikes to an opponent's blade is usually all that is needed to render them immobile. Its ability makes it look like he is forcing his opponents to bow their heads in apology for a past decision since it brings his opponents to their knees before him. With them immobile, the hook end of his blade can now show its gruesome function: Izuru can decapitate a fallen opponent by holding the square hook beneath his opponent's neck and lifting, like a reverse guillotine.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed.