Ahatake Noriko Kurosaki

Stubborn to the point of foolishness.." - Darknesslover5000

"Why do you live?"

''"Because killing you is something worth living for."

- Hiraishin questioning Ahatake

Ahatake "Noriko" Kurosaki (紀子、黒崎をアハー, Kurosaki Ahataki-Noriko) is a Fanon character of the Bleach series by Tite Kubo. He is a Human who gained Shinigami powers through an encounter with a Hollow. He is a main character in all of Darknesslover5000's stories.

Appearance
At first appearance, Ahatake possesses tanned skin and golden eyes, with dark black hair. As a human though, his eyes were blue. Ahatake generally wears a white shirt and black pants, but alternates between that and a Shihakusho. He has messy black hair and his eyes have dark lines around them, giving him the appearance of one who needs some serious sleep. He appears to be at least 19, though his actual age can be assumed to be over 100 at least. He grew it hair out long, but eventually cut in early in the Yuurei Arc to a spiky style with one long bang over his face, covering his left eye. For the majority of this arc, he wears a high-school suit-esque for his job.

Personality
Ahatake, personality-wise, is hyperactive and rambunctious; he is typically exuberant, easily excitable, impulsive, and tends to be an embodiment of short attention span. Furthermore, he is obviously identified as an easily-angered man. He tends to develop annoyance for those who serve no use to him, and refuses to change the way he operates. According to Hikaru, Ahatake is someone who learns through his body. Seireitou also identifies Ahatake's personality type and fighting style as being a power type (types that are best suited to charging straight in) and are best effective in battle when sent in first, in the front to clear a path through the enemy's defensive line, making a way in after them for the rest of the team. While raw power is one of his strengths, Ahatake has begun to learn in recent chapters of his training that it is something that he needs to temper with focus in order for it to become truly effective.

As an extension of his naivety, Ahatake has a number of childish traits. In many cases, one can almost say that Ahatake is more child than man. Seireitou has compared Ahatake and his son, Suzaku Kawahiru, to be very similar in terms of arrogance.

History
Ahatake Kurosaki grew up as a ordinary boy, or as ordinary as anyone who could see spirits. he'd been able to see them for as long as he could remember. But one day it went to far with his seeing a Hollow. His father turned into a Shinigami but was eaten by the Hollow. Then it knocked Ahatake's Soul out of his body, and breathed a gas on him that destroyed his chain of fate. Immediately he started to turn into a Hollow but the mask formed first like Ichigo's which showed his resitance. And the next thing he knew he was elsewhere and infront of him was a giant dragon burning with fierce fire. The dragon told him he had powers of a Shinigami like his father. Ahatake didn't understand but the dragon told him to find his powers or he would become a Hollow. And suddenly Ahatake was surrounded by ribbons and the dragon explained that one of these ribbons contained his powers. He just had to find it. And he thought he felt something odd and looked around and found a ribbon that was red not white like the others. He pulled but it wouldn't come loose. After pulling harder a black katana was pulled out. The dragon praised him and vanished and suddenly Ahatake knew where he was. There was the Hollow in front of him and Ahatake himself was wearing a Hollow mask. Ahatake ran at the Hollow and cut it straight across. Then he sent a blast of spirit energy that severed it and it vanished. He had killed his first hollow. Or so he thought.....

After gaining his shinigami/hollow powers he began training by himself to use them (of course he had to return to his body and still do High school stuff). He quickly became proficient with flash step to the point of being an expert, and has been able to use a cero while donning his hollow mask. He didn't have to fight his hollow to use the mask as his inner hollow isn't nearly as malicious or evil as Ichigo's (more like the Nine-Tailed Fox of Naruto fame) just lets Ahatake use hollow powers as he pleases. Even without guidance Ahatake seems to have a natural affinity with his Hollow powers using things like the Cero with great ease.

Although Ahatake lived in the Human World, he recently entered the Soul Society with his family and resides in the Eastern Region of Yuurei Oukoku.

No Arc
Ahatake made his debut in Training a Young Shinigami: Ahatake's Training. His inner Hollow was getting closer and closer to taking over his body completely, Ryan Getsueikirite appeared in the sky's out of the Senkaimon Gate. Ahatake immediately ran to him and demanding to know why he was exuding such powerful spiritual pressure. The man explained that he was, like Ahatake himself, a Vizard. The captain then began to explain the two states of a Zanpakuto to Ahatake, Shikai and Bankai. When asked if he knew his Zanpakuto's name, he was puzzled. Ryan said that he would teach Ahatake to communicate with his Zanpakuto, and his first etst was to cut two bells off of Ryan's belt with his sword. Donning his Hollow Mask, Ahatake quickly agreed. Ryan released his Zanpakuto, Butaimaru, as a demonstration to Ahatake, and explained that Ahatake could not communicate with his Zanpakuto because the boy was too Hollow-like. Cracking his mask, Ahatake tried to focus on his blade as the captain attack his again and again with bursts of water. A voice called to Ahatake from the blade, and Ahatake responded to it, calling out it's name, Hinote. Ryan, congratulating his student on achieving Shikai, then release his Bankai. Focusing on his Zanpakuto, it's spirit was revealed to be that of a flaming Dragon. He released his first named attack, the Enen Wangetsu, a mass of flaming energy. Before he could continue with his next move, however, his inner Hollow flashed across his mind and Ryan, in that instant, knocked him unconscious.

Ahatake awoke inside the Reiji Maigo, where Ryan told him he would be trained by Seireitou. The man sprung at Ahatake, firing a Cero at him, which Ahatake managed to deflect, thanks to his sword. He explained to Seireitou that to him, fighting is a game, calling it a "simple game of chess". Seireitou proceeded to ask Ahatake if Seireitou was to kill him right then and there, would he have lost a game, or his own life. Ahatake replied, saying it would depend on whether he went down having fun or not. Seireitou then shattered Ahatake's Zanpakuto, and stated people like Ahatake anger him and punched a hole through Ahatake's chest. The youth fell to the ground, blood seeping out of his chest. Seireitou proceeded to walk away, Ahatake's wound healed as his inner hollow proceeded to take over. Seireitou however, suppressed it with the Forbidden Kido: Horokyuusha. Restoring Ahatake's Zanpakuto to normal, he agreed to train the boy, assuming he had learned that life is not a game. Seireitou said that he was going to turn Ahatake into an Xiāochú, a special kind of Vizard who are able to fuse their Hollow and Zanpakuto spirits together. He instructed Ahatake to shatter his Zanpakuto, and stab his own heart with a decent fragment. Ahatake did as was instructed and his heart ceased to beat. However, a large pillar of black reiatsu soon rose from the corpse and Ahatake awoke, perfectly alive and with increased power. Seireitou instructed him to use Shikai, and said the release command would come to him. After the Shikai transformation, which donned his Hollow mask without his conscious thought, he entered the Bankai state, an usual state for him, as it made him look rather like an Arrancar.

Ahatake decided to test out his power against his teacher, and went all-out against him, but the silver-haired man was far stronger than Ahatake, which made his efforts useless. However, a new person appeared before the two.

The man was Hikaru "Shadow" Kurosaki, who volunteered to take Ahatake off of Sei's hands. Ahatake was becoming increasingly annoyed with the constant changes in his teachers, and his initial relationship with Kuro did not start out so well. Kuro constantly remarked on Ahatake's lack of focus, which did nothing to improve it, actually making it worse, as he goaded Ahatake into reckless attacks. His casual attitude only made it worse, however, in a fit of blind rage, Ahatake managed to land the hit he needed to pass the first test. After a resting period, Ahatake began to train to learn the Āoshǎn. It took a relatively short time to learn the Āoshǎn and then he learned the Wúpiào technique. Before completing Dàn however, Ahatake left in frustration, thus becoming an incomplete Xiāochú.

Yuurei Rebellion Arc
Ahatake's first appearance in this arc was in Uproot! Enter Yuurei! where he, along with the rest of his family, moved to the Yuurei Oukoku, at the request of his daughter. Upon their arrival, he got into an argument with the Yuurei Police Officers, due to a refusal to give up his Zanpakuto. He gave in however, along with the rest of his family. This was followed by yet another row with an officer over directions to his house. Upon making it to his house and retrieving his weapon (along with the rest of the family) he visited Ryuka, where they discussed Yuurei in general and the reasons they were there.

In Destined to Adapt, or Doomed to Despise?. Ahatake began to suspect that there were watching his family, a kind of omen he couldn't quite shake off. He talked to Taiki about it, who confirmed his suspicions.

In Yuurei: The Invalid Torture, Ahatake discussed job options with Tereya, worried his wife would be thrown into prison for lack of employment. It was a short argument however, as it ended in Tereya storming out. Later, Ahatake saw on the news reports of a massacre and he immediately knew who it was. Rushing to her aide, he met Suki, Ardish, and Damian Seken who demanded he hand over Tereya to be executed. Ahatake refused and quickly donned his Hollow mask, firing a cero at the man, only to have the officers repel it. Ahatake was quickly assailed by bullets and, unable to protect Tereya, she was shot by Damian using Suki's pistol. Before he could retaliate, the three vanished, along with Tereya's corpse and the remaining soldier. Ahatake let out a scream of fury attracted his son to the scene. His mask shattered as he explained to Taiki what happened. They went to Ryuuka Injiki's dwelling to tell Midoriko and Ryuka. Taiki blamed Ahatake for letting his love of battle get the better of him, and Ahatake punched his son in the face, fiercely stating that he should not blame him for Tereya's death. He let his son walk out and Ryuuka stated that Tereya may not be dead at all, since Ahatake was distracted being under fire. This lightened Ahatake mood considerably. He left the dwelling, his eyes shockingly still Hollowfied. It is unknown if this signifies anything.

Despite not appearing in the The Resistance! Underground Training! chapter, Ahatake was mentioned by Tereya, who described their history together.

In Grief: The Ultimate Change of Heart, Ahatake and the rest of the family, minus Taiki and Adela, are attending the funeral of Tereya, whom they believe to be dead. He was reflecting on his earlier discussion with Ryuka, who voice the scenario of Tereya still being alive. Ahatake was the last one to speak at Tereya's funeral, stating that he believed himself responsible for her death, as Taiki had mentioned previously. After the funeral, he discovered his hollowfied eyes, but merely made light of them. When Kyuui asked if he would help them find Taiki, he harshly refused, but was later revealed to have followed Aoi and Kyuui. After getting into a brief argument with his son, he left, only to be met with a blow to the face, as payback for the one he had given Taiki. Returning home, he told Kyuui he "ran into a pole" though she didn't believe him. Later he got into yet another argument with his son, due to his lack of trust in him, and Aoi and Kyuui stumbled upon Taiki stating that he wished his wife had died when he tried to kill her. Ahatake quickly ushered them out, and Ahatake stated that Taiki should tell him what the book he was reading was, for he could be planning to "kill them all" and after Taiki explained what the book was, Ahatake left.

Ahatake's role in The Mutual Ally: The Juushin Resistance was not major. Adela arrived to tell Ahatake how she had been questioned on Tereya's whereabouts and the possibility of Tereya being alive. Ahatake agreed, and when Taiki suggested they search, Ahatake said Tereya could have been in a building of Seiki Seiki, which would make finding her more difficult. After Aoi and Kyuui came back from fetching Midoriko, and told them family to follow them, as someone said he had Tereya. Ahatake, after Kyuui and Aoi, blew away an amount of soldiers fighting Juushin's army with a particularly large cero. After following Juushin down to meet Tereya, Ahatake stated he was feeling off, a feeling coming from his wife. This was later explained as slight fear at her new spiritual power. Ahatake then decided to have his family become allies of Juushin and his group.

In Reclaiming What Was Lost: Siblings Of The Sword, Ahatake, Tereya, Aoi and Kyuui went to visit Smirnov Seishou, due to Tereya missing her brother. Ahatake formed a garganta and created a pathway of dark, foul reishi for the rest to follow. When they arrived in the World of the Living, Ahatake noted that it was harder to breath in the World of the Living than it had been before, due to a lack of reishi in the air. When they arrived at Smirnov's, after Ahatake introduced Aoi and Kyuui to the man, Ahatake said that Tereya had been missing her brother which is why they visited. At dinner, Ahatake and Tereya had a "discussion", telling Smirnov about the events in the Yuurei Oukoku. When Mizuko Yumi commented on Ahatake's eyes and Hollow-like spirit energy, Ahatake remembered how difficult it was to breath in the World of the Living and concluded that he may be becoming more Hollow-like.

In Just Like Old Times: The Resistance's Confrontation!, Ahatake was shown using similar reishi control to Tereya's, though his was darker. He stated it was how he released pent up Hollow energy, though it did not work how he intended. Chidori later alerted both Ahatake and Tereya to the soldiers presence in the Yuurei Base. Tereya leaving ahead of them, Ahatake and the twins followed Chidori and consequently ran into soldiers. Ahatake demonstrated his Zanpakuto's power by using the Meidou Wangetsu on the soldiers, and the proceeded to enter the battle zone. When told Tereya was off battling Damian Seken, he rushed off, believing she needed his aide. When Damian continued to taunt Tereya, Ahatake denied none of what he said, and after Damian killed himself, Tereya, in a furious rage, told Ahatake their relationship was over.

During the events of Acceptance! Those Feelings, Ahatake played the part of the Resistance's main fighter. Before the battle he walked out for fresh air to contemplate Tereya'a departure, before being informed by Ryuka that the battle would soon commence and he would be needed. He quickly returned to the base to wait for nightfall, where he met up with Tereya, who had returned to help fight. When the battle started Ahatake quickly entered his Resurrección, and began destroying the oncoming missiles. He quickly turned to begin fighting soldiers, and despite superior power, the soldiers had numbers and armor and Ahatake was forced to utilize his least used technique, the Meidō Wanegtsu, and suck them into the Garganta. After defeating the waves of soldiers, his Resurrección breaking, and Juushin defeated the solidiers the King had pitted against them, Ahatake and Juushin burst into the throne room and engaged the King in battle. Despite their combined power, the King proved to be stronger than them both and they were forced to release their Shikai. The king released his own Shikai and created a new dimension within the castle. Ahatake noticed something that the man was hiding however, his Zanpakutō's ability to control time, as well as space. Ahatake formulated a plan of attack, using Juushin as a distraction, while he attacked Seiten from behind with a burst of flames. However, the king protected himself from this attack, and Juushin, forced to utilize a level 99 Kidō, had collapsed. Ahatake mustered up the last of his strength, combining the Sōkatsui Spell with his own Cero, obliterating the King. Encountering Tereya for a last time, Ahatake took Juushin outside of the castle where they were both healed by Jin Sei. He agreed later to the suggestion for Juushin to take the throne.

In, The Water Extinguishes Her Fire: Kiri and Kuro, Ahatake encountered Megami Kirisaki while on the beach. He started up a conversation with her, and before he left he asked he for a date, feeling something about her was right for him. When he returned home, he had a brief argument with Taiki, and told Aoi and Kyuui about his new "girlfriend", Kyuui was far from pleased, something that did not faze Ahatake too much. The next day, Ahatake woke up early and went to sit in the living room, and again had an argument with his son, concerning Taiki's attitude towards his wife and the rest of them, before he went to dress for the date. Ahatake left to meet up with Megami, and their date began with Ahatake taking them to a French Resturant, Les frères heureux. It was revealed here that Ahatake possesses minor knowledge of the French Language, enough to translate their menu and place his order in French. After dinner, he took Megami to meet his family, and then returned to the beach where they had met..

Powers & Abilities
Vast Spiritual Power: After training in Hueco Mundo for just one month, Ahatake's spiritual pressure has peaked to explosive amounts. Similar to the likes of Sōsuke Aizen, Ahatake can crush beings weaker than himself with his spiritual pressure and can cause them bodily pain, though this has to be forced and concentrated. As a Vizard, he possesses dual type part Shinigami and Part Hollow; but has since merged and become more stable upon becoming an Xiāochú. As Ahatake continues to train, his spiritual pressure only becomes stronger and it is colored orange in shikai, though blue in Bankai. As mentioned by a few and shown when manifesting a pathway inside a Garganta, Ahatake has very dark and evil spiritual pressure, akin to that of a Hollow or an Espada. Despite this, when it manifests, it appears as multicolored flame.

Flash Step Master: One of Ahatake's most notable traits is his speed. He can move quite fast, even being considered on par with that of Shunsui Kyōraku, a former Gotei 13 Captain and current Royal Guard Marshal. By using flash step and putting spirtual pressure into either his foot or fist he can create a fast and painful punch guaranteed to send an enemy flying.

Hand-to-Hand Skill: Ahatake has boxing and wrestling experience and has hand to hand combat ability to match the Punishment Force. Despite prefering his swordsmanship over martial battle, Ahatake continues to train in order to keep it as a fall-back should his sword break or prove useless.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist In battle, Ahatake's Zanpakuto are his main weapon. When he was younger, he wasn't as experienced as some Shinigami, thought he has gotten considerably better. As a child, he has had sword training as a child, being pressed by his father to learn; this indicates that he has enough experience to use a sword without harming himself. Ahatake is pretty experienced with his Zanpakutō, and seems to have some sort of a bond with it. When Seireitou broke it, he felt abandoned without it. After obtaining a second Zanpakuto, Ahatake became capable of wielding them both (in their sealed states) in either hand, hinting that he is ambidextrous. He typically fights using his wakizashi as a means of blocking an attack, and his kodachi for attacking due to it's longer reach.

Kidō Practitioner: Ahatake has limited use of Kidō as he isn't an official Shinigami, he never received formal lessons, but his sister has shown him how to use Kidō so he has a basic understanding. His skill leaves alot to be desired however. An interesting thing to note about Ahatake's Kidō prowess is that he cannot preform it wil through personal whim, but when fighting on pure instinct, his Kidō can end up doing massive damage. According to Seireitou, however, his skill is still crude. He has shown the ability to combine his Kidō with his Cero, creating a far stronger attack.

Keen Intellect: Despite his intelligence generally being downplayed throughout the series, Ahatake is shown to have good intuition, and is an expert at fighting despite receiving no formal training, being able to come up with plans in the midst of battle. He is also shown to be creative with his attacks, performing a Kidō-Cero combination at the least second to increase his attacks lethal potential.

Flame Manipulation: Even without his Zanpakutō, Ahatake is shown to have great affinity for flame control, being able use them in standard attacks, augument his physical blows, and was shown to create a shield of extremely dense black flames to use as a shield, though it seems to be tiring. He is also capable of a strange form of teleportation, which he calls Flaming (フレイミング Furemin). He is also capable of absorbing flames to heal himself and increase his spiritual energy.

Zanpakutō
''This Zanpakuto is in the making. To see the Zanpakuto Ahatake is currently using, go to the history and click August 7, 2010.''

Ryūseiga (竜牙, "Dragon Fang") is the name of Ahatake's Zanpakutō, which takes the form of a standard sized katana with a black handle and and blood-red sheath. The guard has two curved extensions from its long sides, which are designed with small Chinese Dragons. His Zanpakuto Spirit takes the form of well-endowed, bespectacled woman with short dark hair, piercing red eyes, who wields a katana similar to her sealed state. Ahatake described her personality as "very similar to Tereya". She constantly refers to Ahatake as bōya (坊や boy) when she speaks to him


 * Shikai: Released by the command Feel your body’s muscles, and its roar, Feel your heart beat as you soar and dive, Feel the control to work the magic, Feel the emotion, love and anger (あなたは不機嫌そうに、ダイビング、お気軽コントロールを魔法のように機能するフィールあなたの体の筋肉が、その轟音は、お気軽心ビートフィール感情、愛と怒り Anata wa fukigen-sō ni, daibingu, o kigaru kontorōru o mahō no yō ni kinō suru fīru anata no karada no kin'niku ga, sono gōon wa, o kigaru-shin bītofīru kanjō,-ai to ikari), Ryūseiga changes from a Katana to a jian, a Chinese straight sword. The blade takes on a black coloration, the handle turns red, and the guard resembles a Chinese Dragon more than before. The blade is very strong, able to cut through various metals with little to moderate effort.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Despite Ryūseiga's usefulness in standard melee combat, it possesses a few special abilities which revolve around energy.

Shōryūha (飛翔竜発破, Soaring Dragon Wave) The Shōryūha is one of Ryūseiga's most powerful attacks. When used, the normally black blade glows blue, and reishi is gathered in a manner so it starts to form into a blue dragon, similar to Hyōrinmaru in Shikai. The dragon is mentally controlled by Ahatake, and as enough power to destroy a Danku shield. When it connects with the victim, it will explode and envelop them as a normal blast would.

Hiryūri (飛散竜裏面 Dragon that flies back): When an opponent unleashes an energy attack, Ahatake can send a twister of energy from his sword, engulfing the opponent's attack and forcing it back at them.


 * Bankai: Tensuryūseiga Tensuryūseiga_Dragon.jpg(天鉄竜牙 Heaven's Iron Dragon Fang): In it's Bankai state, Tensuryūseiga retains it's jian state, but Ahatake's dons a long, scaled cloak, and it summons a large, menacing dragon, resembling a Chinese Dragon in most respects. The dragon has a mind of it's own, but it bends to Ahatake's will.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Ahatake's Bankai revolves around the use of his dragon, but it gain's additional attacks as well.


 * Dragon: Ahatake's Bankai summons a large menacing dragon, which Ahatake calls Ryū (竜 Dragon). The dragon has very durable hide, and has a mind of it's own, though it willingly obeys Ahatake's orders. The dragon constantly exude's vile spiritual pressure, which causes anyone in the vicinity to feel sick and experience fear, though Ahatake seems to be immune to it's effects.
 * Flame: The dragon is capable of letting loose bursts of flame from it's mouth. These flames are uniquely purple colored and can melt even rock.
 * Energy Blasts: The dragon can fire blasts of pure reishi from it's mouth, and they crackle like lightning. This is the dragon's strongest attack and it can be charged and it is difficult to redirect.


 * Ryūho Taihō (竜骨大砲 Dragon Bone Cannon): Tensuryūseiga's ultimate attack. Ahatake swings his blade down, and at the instance of the swing, Tensuryūseiga absorbs his spiritual energy and releases a large sphere of spiritual energy from the tip of the blade. Although it is slow moving, it is very powerful, and explodes upon contact with anything, even Ahatake himself.


 * Ryūnarahi (竜奈落火 Dragon's Hell Fire): Tensuryūseiga's true ultimate attack. However, the spirit of Tensuryūseiga seems unwilling to teach it to Ahatake, and therefore it is unusable.

Hollowfication
When in Vizard form, Ahatake proceeds to battle ruthlessly, caring less for his own injuries, and more on the battle, much like a berserker. However, Ahatake can still control himself to an extent, and even fine-tune his movements to supplement his attacks. His spiritual power increases drastically and gains access to the Cero Blast, the blast Vizards, Hollows, and Arrancar can use.

Ahatake's inner Hollow is not as malevolent as other Hollow's and is more like the Nine-Tailed Fox, because he lends Ahatake the ability to use his hollow mask without hesitation. But he has an evil, more sadistic side and has stated to Ahatake two things: 1) He will take over Ahatake's body when he's losing a battle and 2) All of Ahatake's power will be his eventually. It is unknown what has happened to him since Ahatake's become an Xiāochú, but it is implied that he still exists.


 * Cero: AhatakeFiringCero-1.jpg Ahatake is very proficient with the cero though his is different from most hollows. He creates a cero with both hands and charges and fires it just like a Kamehameha of Dragon ball fame. His cero is abnormally powerful and can easily level half a city, though only with enough spiritual pressure put into it, and after this he needs to rest a full five minutes before he can use it again. Ahatake soon changed his style however, firing a Cero from his fingertip in the manner similar to a young child pretending to fire a gun. Being a proponent of the Cero, Ahatake has forged the technique to several unique variations.
 * Taladrador Cero (ピアスゼロ, Spanish for Piercer Zero): A Cero fired from the finger tip. It can pierce through nearly anything (excluding Arrancar's Hierro), even being able to pierce through the heart of a target for an instant kill.
 * Espada Cero (ソードゼロ, Spanish for Sword Zero): This is a special Cero unique to Ahatake. It's name means "sword zero" or "zero sword", it's name obviously implying that it is a Cero with awesome cutting power. It's still an energy blast but cuts instead of blasting away.
 * Sangre Cero (血も, Spanish for Blood Zero): It is a special Cero made by Ahatake that uses his blood and energy for power making it stronger than an average cero and blood-red. It is very similar to that of the Espada's Gran Rey Cero.
 * Esfera Cero (球も, Spanish for Sphere Zero): It is another of the unique Cero created by Ahatake. It is a massive circular orb of Spiritual Energy and is fired like a projectile. When it makes contact with an opponent it makes a truly massive explosion. This technique is Ahatake's Hissatsu Waza or desperation move.


 * Enhanced Strength: When wearing the mask, his physical strength is enhcnaced immensely. Though not visibly seen, his power seems to be great enough to break the bones of opponents he faces in battle. However, the Espada remain as an exception to this.


 * Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Ahatake's hollow powers supplement his Shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed. The explanation for this is that since Hollows boost their natural abilities by obtaining spirit power around them, either by absorbing it in its ambient form or devouring it directly from another living being, Ahatake attains power from two separate sources: that from himself (drawn using his Shinigami powers), and that from his immediate environment (drawn with the help of his Hollow powers), allowing him to draw power from both sides. It could even be suggested that the Hollow mask allows Ahatake (like Ichigo) to recapture the energy he constantly leaks into the environment, making him more efficient.


 * Hollow Combat: When Ahatake fights with his mask on his fighting style becomes more instinctive than practiced. The hollow mask also makes Ahatake more ruthless, akin to the battle style of Hollow Ahatake. Throughout the duration the mask is in place, Ahatake has shown less concern for injuries to his person, even going so far as to ignore grievous wounds to continue fighting.
 * Hollow Control: Ahatake has the ability to control Hollows, ranging from Normal Hollows to Adjuchas level Menos. The control starts the moment Ahatake lets out a Hollow-like roar and from that moment on he can control any Hollow who hears that roar like a puppet. It is unknown exactly how he developed such an ability, but Ahatake thinks it is due to his affinity to his Hollow abilities.


 * Mask Shielding: Unlike Ichigo, who's mask shield happened usually against his will, Ahatake's can happen under the will of Hollow Ahatake or if Ahatake deliberately forms a mask and places it inside his Shinigami robes as a shield.


 * Garganta: The power that Hollow's and Arrancar use to go to and from Hueco Mundo. Ahatake has the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway. It was taught to him by his Arrancar equivalent.


 * Instant Regenerate: Ahatake can regenerate almost any part of his body that has been destroyed, minus vital organs such as the brain, heart, etc,

Quotes

 * "Sanity? I don't recall ever having anything like that!"
 * (To Juushin Igen) "It's finally time. I know I haven't been in this region for as long as you Juushin, or felt this King's oppression for as long, but I am feeling elated at being part of the help on the way to reform."
 * (Referring to his Zanpakutō) "I'm not sure why my Zanpakutō changed. Perhaps it's because I am not longer an Xiāochú."

Trivia

 * Ahatake is part German, and speaks the language rather fluently.
 * Ahatake has broken the fourth wall on occasion, most of the time acknowledging the writer's existence.