Yukio Hoshimitsu

"So it came to this...? I should've known something was up; there was always that light in your eyes."

- to Shuten Tamane

 (雪男星, Hoshimitsu Yukio) was the 6th Seated Officer of the in the  and served under Captain Kousetsu Tora.

She was formerly regarded as one of the minor characters in Bleach: Tribulations, first brought in during Introduction Arc and ultimately dying at Shuten's hands. Yukio would later make a return in Part I: Reemergence of an Old Friend Arc through unknown means, acting as one of the antagonists for a short time. It is unknown if she would appear in future installments but is under consideration if the demand is high enough.

Personality
From previous interactions with various Shinigami, Yukio appeared to be a cold and calculating individual.

Introduction Arc
Hoshimitsu was first introduced when the Ninth Division Captain, Kousetsu Tora, called for a meeting

Powers and Abilities
''Due to Yukio's untimely death, her complete powers and abilities were unable to be fully documented, only information that was previously known. The abilities detailed below were a mixture of Yukio's and her Regai/Clone and may not be completely accurate.''

Modified Spiritual Power: As the 5th Seated Officer of a Division, it would be expected that Yukio would have a considerable amount of spiritual power to attain and keep the position.

Capable-Expert Swordmanship Specialist: As a 5th Seat Officer of the Gotei 13, Yukio possessed moderate skills in the use of swords during combat and knowledge of swordsmanship.
 * Expert Sojutsu Practitioner:

Shunpo Expert:

Keen Intellect:

Hakuda Combatant: Due to Yukio's apparently weak stature and insecurities about her strength, she hardly practiced Hakuda and was sorely lacking. However, she did possess enough knowledge to deal with basic opponents but was unable to contend with Experts and Masters at all. In order to make up for Yukio's lack of direct hand-to-hand combat, she instead studied the very techniques themselves in order to exploit inherent flaws and develop countermeasures to easily avoid or negate them. As a result, she developed a strong defensive mindset. It was strange to note that although she was resurrected, Shuten neglected to improve her Hakuda skills, even though he improved other aspects of Yukio's abilities.

Zanpakutō
''Due to Yukio's untimely death, her Zanpakutō's abilities were unable to be shown to its full extent. The abilities detailed below were used by her Regai/Clone and may not be completely accurate.'' Bakuha (爆破, Explosion) was the name of 's Zanpakutō and was usually referred to as Kidō-type by its owner. In its sealed state, the Zanpakutō took on the appearance of a standard katana, albeit somewhat shorter than the typical norm and had a curved edge. The handle was colored scarlet red while the tsuba had a flower design on its base. Bakuha's sheathe was the same color as its handle but with one key difference: there was one thick golden line etched right onto the middle. From Kei's memories, Yukio described Bakuha as a "gentleman" and a "worrywart", similar to that of a wizened butler. As seen through her interactions and use of Bakuha's abilities, it was inferred that Yukio was finely tuned to her Zanpakutō, possibly having attained complete synchronization through unknown means. Yukio was said to had carried her weapon underneath her obi for easy transportation and usage.

Shikai: Yukio release Bakuha with the command Billow (大波, Oonami). Upon the utterance of the word, a mysterious wind would start to blow around Yukio. Almost immediately, Bakuha would start to glow an ominous scarlet and crackle with violent red energy while retaining its original appearance. No noticeable changes appeared on the Zanpakutō other than being covered with a reddish hue.

Shikai Special Ability: The reddish hue that covered the base of the katana gave Bakuha the ability to passively or actively absorb existing atmospheric/attack-based reishi and use that energy to release a variety of ranged attacks composed of many different shapes or sizes to fulfill a multitude of offensive and defensive roles. By uttering Billow Again (大波又, Oonamimata) and slamming the butt of the Zanpakutō into her palms, the reddish hue may extend and cover Yukio's entire body, which essentially made the woman into a living weapon platform, allowing her to generate blasts through weapons, tools or any part of her body as long as the hue existed. Yukio's use of her Zanpakutō's ability was described as extremely creative and unconventional; she typically placed herself in harms way to achieve satisfactory results and use it at unpredictable times. Many theorized that Bakuha bore a tremendous amount of potential due its sheer versatility and utility and if it weren't for her untimely death, Yukio could had been nominated for Captaincy.

Taiden (帯電, Electrification): Yukio quickly energizes the red energy around her Zanpakutō blade and quickly manipulates it to cover the woman's entire body for a short period of time. Any bodily contact with her will overload the body's nerve and pain receptors. This will momentarily paralyze the opponent. It is unknown how long the effect will last.

Kousen Taiden (光線帯電, Electrification Beam): By condensing ambient reishi into one focal point, namely the tip or edge of her Zanpakutō or index finger, Yukio could discharge an electrified laser-red energy at an extremely fast rate towards a target of her own choosing. Firing Kousen Taiden was known to be instantaneous. Therefore, one should not rely on vision to determine the speed of the attack and must remain cautious at all times. Other times, it could be kept constant, which allowed for a continuous stream of fire. It was typically fired in a barrel-like fashion, meant to increase its speed and provide greater piercing damage. Although relatively small, Yukio could increase the size to varying degrees at her own discretion, which added a touch of unpredictability into the mix. Once the reddish hue covered her body, Yukio may use it at her own choosing and fire from any point.
 * Unsan Kousen Taiden (雲散光線帯電, Scatter Electrification Beam): An enhanced version of Kousen, it required Yukio to lean forward and point all of her fingers at the target. Reishi were charged at the fingertips and could be discharged towards an opponent at a quickened rate. If Yukio chose to do so, she can utilize a gatling method, used for cover fire or suppression. Unsan Kousen had the potential to deal a tremendous amount of damage as Yukio had the capability to imbue each blast with additional amount of reiatsu to potentially increase its power.

Happa Taiden (発破帯電, Explosive Electrification Blast): Yukio concentrates to attract ambient electricity and gaseous chemicals around the base of her palms. By adding the violent red energy to the mix, she manipulated it to form an orb of crackling energy with a special center. The center is said to be an unstable charge of additional red energy and upon detonation, reacts violently to anything it comes into contact with, especially foreign spiritual matter. Theoretically, the type of explosion could range from a small distraction to one nearly the size of a mountain. Yukio could detonate Happa Taiden through contact or after a specific time. Advanced applications included the amount of time before its detonation or the force of its output as well as mental detonation. Once the reddish hue covered her body, Yukio may use it at her own choosing and fire from any point.

Nageyari Taiden (投げ槍帯電, Electrification Lance): Gathers the violent red energy and manipulates it to generate a lance-shaped construct. It served as a ranged weapon and could be easily used for close quarters combat. Nageyari Taiden bore the additional capability to change its shape to meet the situation, such as a pole arm and trident respectively. When thrown, it could detonate in mid-air, releasing dozens of Kousen Taidens until the lance was entirely extinguished of its energy supply. Upon impact, it produced an immense discharge of reactive energy that expanded outwards, excessively electrocuting anything caught in the blast radius. Although Nageyari Taiden could be produced and fired in quick succession, Yukio had trouble being accurate. Each subsequent lance thrown suffered from reduced damage; Yukio did not have enough time to fully charge the attack. During melee combat, Yukio had a preference to aim for the head; it produced the same effect as it did when thrown. Once the reddish hue covered her body, Yukio may use it at her own choosing and fire from any point.

Kabe Taiden (帯電壁, Electrification Wall):

Boruto Taiden (ボルト帯電, Electrification Bolt): Noted to be somewhat similar to an 's, Yukio could harden any existing reishi and release it as bullet-like projectiles towards the opposition. The amount of damage could be purposely controlled by Yukio, meant to add a level of unpredictability and trick the opponent(s)' perception. Upon impact, Boruto Taiden released a blast of electrified red energy on the target's body as well as kinetic damage. Boruto Taiden was noted to be extremely precise in combat, able to hit specific locations or vital body parts. Once the reddish hue covered her body, Yukio may use it at her own choosing and fire from any point.

Noba Taiden (ノバ帯電, Electrification Nova): Considered the greatest technique in Yukio's Shikai arsenal, it involved the generation of a tiny spark in the palm of her hands. The spark in question then starts to gather spiritual particles from the environment while it also mixed in Bakuha's own energy into the latter. It continued to grow until Noba Taiden reached a satisfactory size. After it was thrown, Noba Taiden will continue to grow in size due to its continual absorption of energy. Upon impact, it released a relatively small explosion that seemingly shook the ground. But it didn't end there. After a few seconds passed, it was quickly followed up with an electromagnetic pulse meant to disorient the target's senses. Afterwards, an additional explosion of greater proportions would take place. Once the reddish hue covered her body, Yukio may use it at her own choosing and fire from any point.
 * Noba Taiden Tokkan (ノバ帯電突貫, Electrification Nova Charge): Simply put, Yukio generates multiple minature Noba Taidens and fires them in rapid succession. Although each subsequent Noba was weaker, it still had enough power easily comparable to a missile detonation. Usage of the technique cost a substantial amount of spiritual energy and may cause Yukio's reddish hue to dissipate, even though she theoretically had an infinite amount of resources at her disposal.

''The Bankai below is purely conceptual and was merely created for the writer's and reader's enjoyment. It is up to debate whether or not it will be included.''

Bankai: Ourumaiteii Bakuha (オールマイティー爆破, Almighty Explosion): Was essentially a significantly enhanced version of Bakuha's base abilities. In order to initiate Bankai, Yukio needed to merely sheathe her Zanpakutō and clap her hands together and utter the common release phrase.

Bankai Special Ability:

Enhanced Shikai Abilities:

Dagekihou Taiden (打撃砲帯電, Electrified Artillery Strike)

Houraku Taiden (帯電崩落, Electrified Collapse/Cave-In): Considered to be a sub technique of Kabe Taiden, Yukio encased her target with an impenetrable cage of electrified reddish energy, subseqently immobilizing them for the time being. Afterwards, she could choose to electrocute them or prepare for another method. That singular method involved instituting a reactionary response in her reddish hue, by overwhelming the spiritual wavelengths with an immense amount of energy. Yukio will then cause cage to close its walls

Saigo Houben Taiden (最後放免帯電, Last Electrification Release)

Quotes

 * (To Ninth Division War Games Team) "I'm obviously one of the weakest links here along with Nerine. Why would Captain Kousetsu have me be part of this group?"
 * (To Kei Yume) ''"I don't remember what happened Kei. I only remember Shuten striking me and everything going blank. When I woke up, I found myself outside our old barracks. But the people there, they're all different!"
 * (To Kei and Company) "I don't know how to explain it. But everytime I'm around you three, my body gets this strange tingling sensation. And then I hear this voice whisper in my ear, its so disheartening and terrifying at the same time! I just can't bear it anymore!"

Trivia

 * It was revealed in later arcs that after Shuten Tamane had murdered Yukio, he preceded to assimilate her and the abilities associated with the woman's Shikai. An unforeseen side effect was he also absorbed her memories.

Behind the Scenes

 * The writer would like to accredit Illuminate Void with introducing the Weakness concept for abilities.
 * Chronologically speaking, was the first character to die in Bleach: Tribulations and the first death Another Poetic Spartan actually portrayed on the site.
 * Yukio could be the first attempt by the writer to make a minor character into a supporting/antagonist.
 * Another Poetic Spartan liked Yukio's Character Design and Abilities so much he decided to resurrect the woman into a Regai/Clone to give her another lease on life.
 * Another Poetic Spartan gave the unofficial title of Artillery Girl.
 * Several of 's abilities were inspired by several of Frieza's famous attacks, a major antagonist in one of Dragon Ball Z's earlier arcs. This included Death Beam and Death Ball.
 * Yukio's Happa Taiden was influenced by Jubilee's Pyrotechnic Projection. She was well known as a member of the famous X-Men.

Literature References

 * An Unwanted Truth (Canon)