Angelus "Angel" Rodriguez

"Sword and shield of the people." - Tite Kubo.. not really.

Angelus "Angel" Rodriguez (お告げの祈り「天使」ロドリゲス, Rodorigesu “Enjieru” Anjierasu) is the lieutenant of the 13th Division in the Gotei 13. His captain is Jūshirō Ukitake.

Appearance
He looks 25. Hispanic background. Brown skin. 6"4' / 190 lbs. Athletic build, toned but not bulky. Golden-brown eyes, with black bags underneath, indicating sleep deprivation He has gold-blonde hair that sweeps kind of up and back in messy waves with a bit of a left-side part. He wears the standard Shihakusho, and carries his Zanpakuto on his left hip, tucked into this obi sash.

Personality
Because of his uncharacteristic golden hair others in the Seireitei like to call him Goldilocks behind his back. Ikkaku likes to call him that ALL the time, this makes him lose his temper in a goofy and exaggerated comical style, and he throws out a "What did you call me baldy!" and then they have a death-stare-off with lightning between their eyes. He has even been known to snap at Captains when they catch him off guard and made an off-handed remark, but he quickly realises what he’s done and apologizes. Other than that he’s a pretty laid back guy, humble and very nonchalant, seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent about most things. He just goes with the flow. Sometimes he yawns while talking to people, making it appear he's not paying attention, or he doesn't care. He has a deep voice with an Hispanic accent. Nothing heavy or comical, he randomly uses Spanish words in regular conversations (ie. "You causing trouble, Hombre?"), says things like "ches" instead of "yes" and rolls his Rrrrrs a little.

He’s often found taking a siesta in odd places, and when he’s questioned about why he isn’t doing something useful, he remarks that it is his “right as a child of the homeland” to take siestas whenever he feels the need. Often the ‘odd places’ in which he’s napping are close to the action whenever there is trouble. Ichigo asked him why this is and he said that he’s “always been a magnet for trouble” but it is implied that he positions himself where he can make sure nothing goes wrong and so he can help anyone in need, but he denies it. Also, he seems to always know more that he should, he says this is due to “unintentionally” eavesdropping on other people while napping. He spends a lot of time napping by himself, but he is considerate and respectful when dealing with others and has been wrangled into many a situation with all the other Lieutenants and some Captains and is accepted by most, if not all. The Shinigami Women’s Association found out that he is a very good cook and he agreed to cook them a feast for one of their meetings, saying “I could never say no to 10 beautiful women.. Who could all kick my arse”. He is respectful but somewhat uncomfortable around women and adopts a nervous persona rather than his usual nonsalant-ness. Especially women like Matsumoto who have very outgoing personalities. He also likes a drink on occasion, seen out with some of the boys enjoying a bottle of sake.. Or 4.

His recent appointment as Lieutenant of Squad 13 has done little to change his laid back lifestyle. He leaves most of the work to the No.3 seats, as they have been doing it for so long already; he says that it would be a mistake to change it now. But this is really so he has more time to do what he wants, when he wants. The 3rd seats like this because they were worried that they would be forgotten when a new lieutenant was appointed. His leadership style is relaxed but firm, he expects the orders he gives to be followed, but is not unkind towards his subordinates, he is open to their ideas and shows them respect. They are grateful for this and soon they show great loyalty toward him. They colloquially call him ‘Lieutenant Angel’, but when other Lieutenants or Captains are around they call him ‘Lieutenant Rodriguez’ but he always nonchalantly tells them to call him Angel even in front of a Captain, they never do.

Captain Ukitake was concerned about Angel’s attitude towards his new position and asked Captain Kyōraku to talk to him as he reasoned that they had things in common. Shunsui turned up to where Angel was napping and asked if he could join. Angel was very nonchalant and said ok. After a short while a small scuffle broke out nearby between some of the lower members of a random squad. Shunsui noticed that Angel shifted his position ever so slightly so that he was in a better position to both see what was happening and make it easier for him to get up if needed, even though it still looked like he was sleeping. After a little while Kyōraku suggested that they go for a drink, Angel agreed. On their way to a bar they were stopped by Nanao, and Angel felt uncomfortable about the way the Captain acted towards her. Later at the bar, after a few drinks, Shunsui was able to open Angel up a bit and learn a lot about him by subtle things in his words. Also, a few members from Squad 13 were also in the bar and Kyōraku got to see how Angel interacted with his Squad and how they acted towards him. Eventually, the Captain had a bit too much to drink and Angel had to carry him back to his barracks where Captain Ukitake was waiting. Angel didn’t stick around for long, and when Shunsui came to he told Ukitake that he had nothing to worry about, that Angel was the right man for the job.

Ichigo later finds out that he takes siestas during the day because he is either patrolling the Rukongai or training in secret at night. Ichigo and Angel run into each other while chasing down the same group of Hollows beyond the Seireitei. And during the ensuing adventure to find and kill said Hollows, it is revealed that Angel has an immense love for the Seireitei and all who dwell in and around it, and that he trains every night to ensure he is ready for ANY enemy that strikes at the people he has sworn to protect. Ichigo made a joke that he was like the Seireitei’s personal “guardian Angel”.. *cough*

History
Angel grew up in the Rukongai, nearly 450 years before the main story line, in the district of Kusajishi, the North Alley of Loitering Spirits (The same district where future-Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, found his future-Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi); it is a tough district to be a child in, full of robbery and murder and with frequent Hollow attacks. So he and a group of friends formed a gang to keep each other safe. Angel was one of the oldest and loved the other children who he considered to be his family. He was a happy-go-lucky kid who took a lot of chances to steal food and provisions for the other kids. He was fast and stealthy but was often hurt by making risky escapes or when caught by the person he stole from and was beaten up. He looked up to the oldest boy, their leader, who he considered to be strong and wise. ‘The leader’ often lectured Angel about taking stupid risks, saying that “It would be better to be cold and hungry than see you [Angel] die.”

During one of the frequent Hollow attacks on the district, his group was caught by two large Hollows. The leader stood between the two Hollows and the gang in an attempt to protect them but was quickly knocked to the side by one Hollow, while the other launched itself at the group devouring most of the kids easily, only leaving one other boy, the leader and Angel left alive. Seeing his family eaten by the Hollows infuriated and terrified Angel, and with two large Hollows bearing down on him he stood in front of the other boy determined to save him from the same fate as the rest of the group. The first Hollow grabbed him and the second grabbed the boy who was torn apart with ease. The Hollow holding Angel started to squeeze him and nearly killed him, when Angel felt like the pain was going to overwhelm him his life flashed before his eyes, and remembering the faces and deaths of his friends triggered something within him, and a large surge of Spiritual Pressure burst forth from Angel like a gale force wind and killed the Hollow that was holding him. The other, bigger Hollow was thrown backwards but survived, and was surprised by the death of his partner. The surge of Spiritual Pressure was uncontrolled and nearly killed Angel, draining his energy to the point of near-unconsciousness. As he lay on the ground, unable to move, watching through half closed eyes as the winded Hollow got up and moved towards him, a large black figure moved into his line of sight. Angel watched as the Shinigami killed the Hollow with a single sweep of his sword, before losing consciousness.

Angel awoke in the 4th division barracks after being treated for his wounds and exhaustion. He was informed that he was brought here with the leader by a random Shinigami. Later, he was tested and it was discovered that he had an above average level of Spiritual Energy, so he was accepted into the Shinōreijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy). Angel was reluctant to admit that he was impressed by the power of the Shinigami and felt an almost overpowering guilt that he wasn’t strong enough to save anyone from the Hollows, but at first he refused the offer because the leader was also tested, but did not meet the requirements. The leader took him aside and told him to not be so stupid, that this was a chance at a better life, away from the Kusajishi District. He told Angel not to worry about him, that he would be alright, but to promise him that he would do his best and train hard so next time he can protect the ones he cares about. So, with new found determination, he accepted the position at the academy.

Angel attended the Shinōreijutsuin, and trained in the Spiritual Arts. He never tired of learning new skills and absorbed each day’s training with a savage curiosity. His Masters saw his potential but often scorned him for taking great personal risks in order to protect others or complete missions, but he never risked anyone other than himself. It was also noted that he would often turn up to training with injuries unrelated to the previous days training. An inquiry was made but nothing was ever uncovered. This indicates that, even early on at the academy, he was already spending his nights outside the Seireitei training and hunting Hollows. After the 6 years in the academy he was an extremely capable fighter and found to have great proficiency in stealth, tracking, espionage (intelligence gathering) and the ability to almost completely suppress his Spiritual Energy. All of this was probably due to his “extra-curricular activities”.

So after the academy he was accepted into Squad 2, the Onmitsukidō (Stealth force), and like all members, trained in Hakuda: A unarmed fighting technique that makes use of one’s own body in a fight, Hohō: high-speed fighting movements based on Shunpo and Covert Ops. He was put into the Patrol Corps, and used to gather data on uprisings, tracking and apprehending criminals, and generally patrolling the various lands and dimensions under the protection of the Gotei 13. As time went on, he rose through the ranks, becoming a team leader. He was given hundreds of team and personal missions. He was even used by other Squads in missions requiring his particular skill set. Angel was eventually brought before Captain Suì-Fēng and told that he had been chosen as the new Lieutenant for Squad 13 after a strong recommendation from several sources, most notably, a “glowing” recommendation from his immediate superior Lieutenant Ōmaeda.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: As his Zanpakuto is a melee type, Angel is a master of close combat Zanjutsu. He is also able to launch long range attacks at will, in his shikai state. He uses both the sword and sheath when fighting with it's sealed form. Feeling more comfortable with the balance of two swords. Expert in the art of stealth: As a former member of the Onmitsukidō, Angel has great proficiency in stealth, tracking, espionage (intelligence gathering), assassination, and the ability to almost completely suppress his Spiritual Energy. Using Shunpo, he can disable average opponents without them being able to see him.
 * Kusarigamajutsu Practitioner: While prefering close combat, Angel has shown to be somewhat proficient in a variation of Kusarigamajutsu (which features fighting at a distance with substantial usage of the chains to ensnare opponents, as well as using his Zanpakutō as a long-ranged, throwing weapon). This allows Angel to fight using a variety of attack angles and styles

Hakuda & Shunpo Expert: His Hakuda (An unarmed fighting technique that makes use of one's own body in a fight) and Hohō(high-speed fighting movements based on Shunpo) are above average due to his training in the Stealth Force, showing himself to be a highly proficient fighter even when unarmed. In battle, he can be tremendously agile and is able to attack from various angles with great dexterity. Angel is skillful enough in Shunpo to keep up with lieutenant-level Shinigami. He can temporarily gain the same level of ability in Shunpo as a master of the art, by using his Shikai and Bankai's abilities.

Perceptive & Insightful: While intelligent, but no genius, Angel is more adept at reading peoples body language and tone of voice to understand their intentions. This ability give him great advantage when patroling within the Seireitai and the Rukongai, looking for suspicious characters. It also helps him in battle; By reading his opponents, he may be able to discern their next action and gain an upper hand.

Kidō Practitioner: As a lieutenant, Angel has enough of an understanding of Kidō spells to cast at least a Level 21 Kidō without its incantation. However, he admittes that he neglected his Kidō training at the academy.

High Spiritual Power: Being a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Angel also boasts a great spiritual energy. It manifests as a swirling wind around his body.

Zanpakutō
 Aliento del Cielo (English: Heaven's Breath, Romaji: Tengoku No Buresu): In it's sealed state, it takes the form of a normal length katana. The tsuba is a full circle with an inlaid angel-wing pattern. The tsuba and hilt are the normal bronze, with white cloth. The bronze underlay and white cloth extend past the guard onto the sheath for about 15cm, making it look like the hilt extends past the tsuba. The main body of the sheath is white with a small bronze cap at the end.


 * Skikai: Triggererd by the command "Exhale! Aliento del Cielio." The whole Zanpakuto splits in two. The blades shorten by a third, but stay the same width. The hilts shorten to a one hand length, and a second hilt grows upwards at a 90' angle to the main-hilt, at the tsuba end on the back-edge of the blade. The guards become rectangles, shorten to almost nothing on the back edge of the blade, so as not to block the top-hilt, and change from wings to a 'Japanese cloud' inlay. A silver chain grows from the end of each main-hilt which connects the two swords. Also the colour of the hilt and tsuba changes from bronze to silver. The cloth stays white. This Zanpakuto can be used in a variety of ways, but predominately they are used as close combat weapons. Being Tonfa-blades, they are held by the top-hilt with the back edge of the blades against the forearms. The blades are also used in the regular sword like way, and held like daggers for stabbing attacks, but not as frequently. Also, they can be used as long range weapons. The chain that connects the two blades can extend and retract at Angel's will. So each blade can be thrown to attack enemies at a long range. The down-side is Angel has VERY limited control over the trajectory once the blade has been thrown. Also the chain's extension-retraction speed isn't the fastest. It would not be fast enough to strike speedy enemies and would leave Angel somewhat open for a few seconds during retraction.
 * Shikai Special Ability:


 * De Corte del Viento (Romaji: Yatsuzaki Kaze, roughly translates to "Wind that cut's [a person] to pieces") Angel infuses the air around the blades of his Zanpakutos with Spiritual Energy and it becomes an extension of the blades themselves. The air moves at an extremely fast pace and is made up of thousands of small currents of air in constant motion. These "air-blades" can slice an opponent like a normal blade. Often the currents of air move away from the blades but quickly lose the ability to cut things. Only the air in the direct vicinity of the blades is infused with Angel's Spiritual Energy. The enemy cannot see this wind; however, the things near the blades are ruffled by the wind as it moves away from the blades and dissipates, such as a Shinigami's clothing. So a perceptive opponent would deduce what was happening from this phenomenon.
 * The air-blades are not as powerful as a direct slash from the actual blades themselves but can still do damage enough to hurt. Also if an enemy takes a direct hit from the blades, the wound would be made wider and deeper by the air-blades. The air-blades do not affect other Zanpakutos; they cannot block blows by other weapons. They can only cut flesh and armour. Also, the air-blades can be increased in size from a few inches to about 100 meters, but since the blades are formed by a constant exertion of Spiritual Energy the bigger the blades are made the quicker Angel will tire (He'd practically die in a few seconds at 100 meters). Therefore he usually keeps them at about 15 - 30cm during most battles. Maybe taking it to a meter at most, if the situation calls for it.
 * The air-blades can also be used as a blunt force instrument by exerting a large amount of Spiritual Pressure in an instant, with the blades as a focal point. This is used to push an opponent back, if they're up in his face with their Zanpakuto's locked together in a power struggle, or even to knock them to the ground with tremendous force.
 * And speaking of tremendous.. speed; using his air manipulation skills he is able to create a frictionless kind of barrier around his body to aid his shunpo, of which he is an expert but not a master. He's not the fastest person in the Seireitei but by using his air-blade technique he is able to increase his speed to rival even that of a captain in their Shikai state.
 * Bankai: Furia del Cielo (English: Heaven's Fury, Romaji: Tengoku No Densetsu) "Sweep away all existence, Furia del Cielo!"; As the command is said, one of the two Shikai Zanpakutos completely dissolves and the other only dissolves to the tsuba. The hilt and tsuba are all that is left and they revert back to their sealed shape and length, the white cloth disappears, the colour becomes a bright gold, as if it is lit from within, and it gets a diagonal line pattern along its length. The actual "blade" of Angel's Bankai is made up of thousands of feather shaped blades which form together in the shape of 6 wings at Angel's back, all coming from a singular point between his shoulder blades. The colour of Angel's Spiritual Energy is pure white so the feathers (being made of S.E) are a shining white colour, but not overpoweringly bright.
 * Bankai Special Ablility:


 * The first, and most used, ability of Angel's Bankai is when the feather-blades are in wing formation. It is immediately activated once Bankai is released. The feathers can be used for both attack and defence, using only a few at a time or all of them at once. The feathers seem to move of their own accord, but in reality, Angel is controlling them with his mind. Not having to use physical movements to control the path of the feathers reduces their reaction time and increases their defensive capabilities. Also, the speed and power of the feathers depends on how many are being used to attack as it takes more concentration to move a larger number of feathers at one time. For example, if only using one feather to attack, it would move faster than the eye could see but be a relatively weak attack, but using all of them at once would dramatically increase the power but reduce their speed and be easily dodged by higher level enemies. The blades in their wing-form can also be used to increase Angel's running and flight speed exponentially. He becomes as fast as a master of shunpo, but is still not classed as one due to it not being his natural skill.
 * The second ability is called 'Shattering Vortex'. When this ability is activated the wings on Angel's back start to flap, which produces an extremely strong current of air that traps the enemy within a tornado-like-vortex. As the wings are creating this vortex, the feather-blades are detaching from the wings in a constant stream, flowing down the current and merging with the vortex until no feathers remain at Angel's back. The air infused with the blades attacks the enemy from all sides until they are able to break free or die.
 * The third, and final, ability of this Bankai is called 'Choir of Redemption'. Angel draws the golden hilt of his Zanpakuto and raises it with both hands above his head. All the feather-blades group together above the hilt, making a huge blade of shining white energy, that kind of looks like an upside-down T but with more sticky-outy bits at the bottom. With this technique Angel can do devastating damage to an enemy easily with one strike. The problem is, with Angel needing two hands to hold this weapon aloft, and the size of the blade hindering its manoeuvrability, it leaves Angel somewhat defenceless. Thrusting forward with the blade practically slices through the fabric of space and allows Angel to move from one point to another in the blink of an eye cutting down whatever he moves through. Unfortunately, Angel cannot change his trajectory once he starts moving, and moving at that speed, it is difficult to stop quickly. So if he misses his target, and he rarely does, he will keep moving forward exposing his back to counterattack before he can stop. The reason this ability is called CHOIR of Redemption is because all the feather-blades being forced together in this blade form are continuously striking one another, and when the smaller blades make contact they release a pure note of sound. With thousands of blades striking together thousands of times it creates the illusion of music coming from the larger blade.