Ichigo Kurosaki (Zanpakuto-Leader)

Ichigo Kurosaki (黒崎 一護 Kurosaki Ichigo) is the son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki, and older brother to Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki. He possesses Shinigami powers, and is the Shinigami protector of Karakura Town. This Ichigo is an alternate universe counerpart to canon Ichigo, is part of a Universe where He remained with Shinigai powers influenced by Rukia Kuchiki. As such, the events of his life (with the exception of certain events in the beginning) will be different than from the story established by Tite Kubo.

Appearance
Ichigo looks like a normal teenage boy; the one exception to that is his spiky long orange hair that reaches down to his neck, a trait that he has been ridiculed about for years. He is a fairly tall, lean-built person with peach skin and brown eyes. He has a tendency to wear shirts patterned with the number 15, because his name is a homonym for the number. Since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin. When in his spiritual form, Ichigo wears standard Shinigami attire with the addition of a strap across his chest. When sealed, it is a thick brown belt to hold his Zanpakutō sheathe, but when released becomes a red rosary-like strap. The shape of them is a kite with a flat top and bottom. Ichigo's appearance has caused several people, to notice a similarity to Kaien Shiba; the former lieutenant of the 13th Division and Dyan Arashi, the 3rd seated officer of the 11th Division.

Personality
When he was young, Ichigo considered his mother to be the center of his world. Ichigo always smiled whenever he was with Masaki and he was regularly at her side, holding her hand. Despite crying whenever he lost in a match at the dojo he attended, Ichigo started to smile again as soon as he saw Masaki when she came to pick him up. At a very young age, Ichigo heard his father saying that his name means "to protect one thing", which instilled in him a desire to protect his mother. When his sisters were born he began attending a dojo for the sake of protecting them, since then the number of people he wished to protect has continued to grow, causing Ichigo to risk his life to protect both his family and strangers.

As a Human teenager, Ichigo's personality is much more complex. Stubborn, short-tempered, strong-willed and impulsive, he attempts to maintain a detached and "cool" image, despite claiming not to care about what other people think about him. He generally keeps his face set in a permanent scowl, with his eyebrows drawn together. His outspoken, hot-headed demeanor is a trait Ichigo himself acknowledged, and that if somebody picks a fight with him, he cannot help fighting back. He coldly refers to his teachers as “instructors”. He is shown to be genuinely compassionate and empathetic about others, as seen by him promising to bring a Plus flowers and a toy plane or soothing others when they become upset. Ichigo is also a capable student, ranked 23rd in his high school. He studies regularly and does not neglect his schoolwork, claiming that he has "nothing better to do at home", though he actually works as hard as he does simply to overcome the misconceptions many have about him, which are based on his hair color and fighting. Ichigo hates fortune telling, horoscopes, feng shui, psychics and anyone whose trade involves taking money from people for things that they cannot see. He has difficulty remembering people's faces and names. Ichigo becomes extremely shy and uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women. Ichigo has some trouble with authority and traditional respect, often quite rude and disrespectful when talking to those older than himself.

When it comes to fighting, Ichigo has a complex sense of honor; he regularly seeks to exact revenge for the actions of his opponent, such as instilling the fear of being murdered in Shrieker. He would often taunt and belittle his opponents when fighting, sometimes even attacking without warning. Ichigo has a strong desire to win his fights and to win them in what he views as a legitimate manner.

Despite Ichigo's strong sense of honor, his will to win can waver at times, which directly affects his overall energy levels and fighting abilities. His absolute resolve is depicted by his eyes glowing bright blue and his body being engulfed in a bright blue aura.

History
For Ichigo's history, please see here Ichigo Kurosaki#History

Plot

 * Death and the Strawberry 3

Natural Powers and Abilities
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when he is not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child both professionally and by his father. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo has also shown proficiency in counterattacks, takedowns, and body locks. He has repeatedly been able to catch an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand. He also regularly defeats multiple bullies and gangsters, and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, who is ranked the second-strongest girl in all of Japan despite her fighting with a broken arm in the last few matches of the competition. While he stopped training officially after defeating her, his constant attacks from bullies and his father help keep his skills fresh.

Enhanced Strength: Even without his Shinigami powers, Ichigo has shown himself to be deceptively strong, as shown from his ability to smash a man's head through a concrete floor.

Enhanced Speed & Reflexes: Even before learning Flash Step, Ichigo has repeatedly shown himself to be a very agile fighter. Ichigo has demonstrated great reflexes in battle, able to quickly dodge a strike with no wasted effort and he can instantly counterattack right after. He is able to strike quickly without warning and in rapid succession. His speed also allows him to follow the movements of faster opponents to better analyze their movements or blocking difficult and otherwise fatal strikes.

Enhanced Durability: While only a teenage Human, Ichigo has shown himself to be a highly resilient man, as shown from his ability to safely break free from a binding spell (albeit a low-level one) and withstand an assault from a large Hollow.

Advanced Growth Rate: According to Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate: he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it would take several years for even the most gifted Shinigami. Shortly after getting Shinigami powers and with no previous training, began learning advanced spiritual energy sensing techniques by sheer instinct, as he proved he can use a spirit ribbon to find Yūichi Shibata (in bird form). He grasps many of the techniques Rukia teaches him in days while it should take weeks or even months, and sometimes is able to perform a technique purely on instinct.

Keen Intellect: Despite his somewhat punkish attitude, Ichigo has shown himself to be analytical, perceptive, and deductive. In his high school, Ichigo's grades are almost always near the top, despite his work as a substitute Shinigami. Aside from that, Ichigo appears to be able to determine the pattern of his opponent's battle methods and correctly deduce a proper counter-strategy to defeat his opponent's attacks.

Shinigami Powers and Abilities
Kidō Practitioner: Although having no formal training of his own, Rukia has consented to teaching Ichigo the basics of Kidō. Because he is unable to quickly grasp concepts such as these, his current skill is less than desired. Rukia has mention that Ichigo only understood Hadō and never bothered with Healing and Bakudō, since normally Ichigo is more of a combat person that a healer or a binder. Also Ichigo mentioned that he only knows few Hadō spells but can invocate them with their incantation. He said so himself that he only knows Hado 1 to 33.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: In terms of fighting style while in his Shinigami form, Ichigo relies mainly on swordplay, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. He is basically on a "learn as you go" training regimen thus his skill has developed by fighting rather than formal instruction, becoming even more capable with every fight. While usually performing right-handed, Ichigo appears to be ambidextrous as he has shown proficient skill wielding Zangetsu in his left.

Shunpo Expert: Though not particularly versed in its various techniques, Ichigo has become proficient enough of the technique itself to keep up and even surprise high-level Shinigami with his speed. He was taught by Rukia, who is noted to be very effective due to her high speed.

Enhanced Strength: When he is in his Shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. His overall abilities are great enough that he was able to fend off three Shinigami lieutenants with a single punch each; one of which shattered one of their Zanpakutō at the same time.

Immense Durability: When in his Shinigami form, Ichigo's physical durability is strengthened to the point he can continue fighting effectively even after receiving many injuries and can survive attacks that would easily kill normal Humans effortlessly. It was stated by Rukia that a Shinigami's life force is their spiritual power. As such, Ichigo is able to withstand attacks that would be fatal to most Shinigami. It's been stated that Ichigo was a monster in this regard.

Vast Spiritual Power: Ichigo has been noted on several occasions to have tremendously vast levels of spiritual energy well beyond other Shinigami. Even at less than half strength, his spiritual energy is still comparable to a Captain-level fighter. His spiritual power is noted to be heavy. Ichigo constantly gives off reiatsu at the level of a captain (despite being only Lieutenant-level in his skills). It is so overwhelming that even when worn-out in battle, he can continue fighting effectively while still capable of unleashing Getsuga Tenshō. Because Ichigo's spiritual energy constantly being so high even at its base level without him consciously being aware of it, he rarely becomes exhausted in battle, thereby meaning the sheer resilience and amounts of energy Ichigo has is monstrous. Due to this and that he has far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware beings. However, he has learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks or act as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely.

Zanpakutō
Zangetsu (斬月, Slaying Moon): When sealed, Zangetsu takes the form of a standard-looking katana, but oversized with an equally-oversized brown sheathe hung by a strap over his right shoulder. The sheathe itself seems too large for Ichigo to draw the blade from normally, but there is a "slot" on the side allowing Ichigo to slide Zangetsu out. It has a rectangular bronze hand guard with gently inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short ones. The handle is red with two light blue tassels on the end of the handle. This Zanpakutō was originally gained from the Shinigami powers Rukia Kuchiki transferred to Ichigo. The powers were originally temporary, but continued use of Rukia's Shinigami powers awakened Ichigo's own, which proceeded to merge with the transferred powers, giving Ichigo permanent stable Shinigami powers of his own. Shikai Ability: Though not much is known about Zangetsu's ability, Zangetsu's Shikai appears to be used largely for melee combat but possesses one known special ability.
 * Shikai: The Release command for Zangetsu is possibly one of the longest commands a Zanpakutō has had, rivaling Kaiten Kyokotsu and Sogyo no Kotowari. It is as follows: "Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate. Shout, Zangetsu!" (あなたの恐れを放棄する. 楽しみにしています. 前方に移動し、停止することはありません. あなたが戻って引っ張る場合には年齢でしょう. あなたが躊躇する場合には死ぬでしょう. 、斬月を叫ぶ！ Anata no osore o hōki suru. Tanoshimi ni shite imasu. Zenpō ni idō shi, teishi suru koto wa arimasen. Anata ga modotte hipparu baai ni wa nenreideshou. Anata ga chūcho suru baai ni wa shinudeshou., Zangetsu o sakebu!). Like when sealed, Zangetsu Shikai is large, taking a form similar to an oversized cleaver rather than a fKurosaki_Ichigo_AU_Shikai_Colored_1.jpg "katana". The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.75 meters, and has a silver blade with a black edge. It has no tsuba, but it does have a hilt similar to it's sealed state. Ichigo also Zangetsu's wide blade can be used as a shield from incoming attacks. Unlike Ichigo from the canon, this Ichigo has more control over his spiritual energy and is able to revert Zangetsu back into it's sealed state. He also has four black vertical lines on his forearms and black bands with white ends crossing over his wrists, and ankles.
 * Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer): At the instant of the slash, Zangetsu absorbs his spiritual energy and releases highly condensed spiritual energy at the tip of the blade, magnifying the slash attack and then flies forward.

Bankai: Not yet achieved

Trivia

 * The lineart for the image of Ichigo's Shikai was done by Zanpakuto-Leader himself, while it was coloured by Mira Namikaze from DeviantART.