Rika Nagakura

Rika Nagakura (リカ長倉, Nagakura Rika) is an average residing in Horiwari Village, currently undergoing spiritual training for her powers at the Yuengiri Academy. She is the youngest sibling of Shin, Yukimura and Riki Nagakura, being the latter's twin. Due to the powers she has exhibited in the last few years, Ino Hiroshi holds great believe that she will make one of the greatest healers the Ryū Order has ever known. Due to this, she receives personalized instruction and is openly regarded as a member of the Order, despite her continued tutelage. It is known that Kusaka Kori and Kireina Shiba act as her Godparents and guardians while Shin is in the. It has been speculated she holds the potential to become a Shinigami, though she has shown no interest and simply wants to remain as she is.

Rika is currently within Kōhai Tochi, much to her twin brothers annoyance, aiding in the rescue of Akiye by offering her superb healing skills to the effort.

Appearance
Rika appears as a relatively tall young woman with a thin figure that causes her to stand only slighter shorter than her twin in height, much to his annoyance. Like her brother, she appears more mature than her young age would otherwise suggest; a trait reinforced by her knowledge regarding the world around her, the dark twists of several areas, and her intellect regarding current and historical events. She has the same brown eyes as her twin, which have been described by many of those within the Order to hold wisdom and knowledge well beyond her years, again fitting with her mature air. Rika wears her blond-colored hair in two pigtails with small red ribbons holding the style in place, that Riki commonly pokes fun at for being childish in his letters, which usually billow freely in any relatively strong breeze or wind when she is outside. Due to the tight reign she has over her emotions, Rika rarely allows them to show through in her expression; even though she is known to smile more often than not.

While studying in the Yuengiri Academy with Ino Hiroshi, or during her trip to Kōhai Tochi, Rika wears an average Shihakushō (死覇装, Garment of Dead Souls) only slightly modified to better fit her tastes like the vast majority of recruits the Order trains. It consists of a black kosode that bears a floral pattern on the white lapels, a pink shitagi worn beneath; average black hakama with a skirt hanging down to her knees over the top that disguised and hid various bottles from view, white tabi and a pair of wooden geta with a red strap over her foot to hold them in place.

When traveling the with Ino as part of her studies and lessons, she commonly wears a very different outfit befitting a modern day school girl. Her clothing consists of a white shirt with a red-colored V neck that shows the majority of her neck. Her lower attire is a simple red skirt with white socks that end just a little short of her knee, completed with a pair of white sports trainers with a waterproof sole. Usually draping her shoulders is the pink rain coat she wears.

Personality
Rika has shown herself to be quit calm in regards to most situations, either it be in training or more serious altercations. She rarely loses her cool as she stood up to her twin brother without becoming angry or throwing a strop; even in light of Riki's constant arguments about her presence amongst the team and the potential for harm involved in the mission. This also belies a tremendous will, as Rika was more than willing to accompany her twin into danger even though her own skills were nothing spectacular when it came to defending herself.

She has also been hinted at not liking having to dump her worries or problems on others, shown when the effects of the incident which allowed the to seep into Kōhai Tochi centuries ago made it more difficult for her to walk. She never complained once, nor did she give up, but didn't mention anything but thanks when Ashni relieved the pressure through a personalized Kidō barrier.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Equipment
Kidō Mayoke: A circular amulet that Rika wears around her neck, both because it was a gift from her departed mother and because the red jewel in its center reacts with Rika's unique spiritual signature, which allows her to utilize powers of rejection to erase phenomena. Shin explains that the amulet has been passed down from one family head to another since the Nagakura Family founding generations before, though because he couldn't use, nor could any of his other siblings; Rika inherited it from Shin as a gift and told of its ancient history even if it did break the Clans tradition. The amulet is cold to the touch and seemingly crafted from silver, though even Kenji with his skill in forgery and Ino with her skill in Kidō couldn't fully understand the mechanics behind its intricate workings or forging process. At the expense of the users spiritual energy as fuel, the user can reject phenomenon, such as injuries and certain events from existence.

Techniques
The amulet offers various techniques that allows Rika to reject phenomenon within a small radius of her person, making it extremely useful for defending herself against attacks and for healing people she decides is worth the trouble. She can reach the levels of emotional control and concentration required by using the Yuengiri teaching of severing emotions to increase perceptual abilities and prevent emotional outbursts.

Buresudo Shudō: (ブレスド手動, Japanese for Blessed Hand) A rejection technique granted under the power of Rika's amulet. By controlling her spiritual energy and directing it into the jewel lining the amulets center, Rika's body glows with a golden aura that suffuses her body in the same manner her spiritual energy does normally. This aura is then concentrated mainly around the area of her cupped hands, allowing Rika to "heal" injuries by erasing them from existence, leaving not a blemish nor a scar behind on the patient. The only downside is that the technique constantly drains spiritual energy and requires quite a degree of concentration to perform; as well as steady emotional control. If all the aforementioned fields are not met, Rika's powers simply do not work until she calms down or refocuses herself. The results do however take time, as well as precision. The erasing power is even more powerful than most forms of traditional healing Kidō as Rika could heal the wounds inflicted upon her twin by Rutilus Maculosus Lupus, including the horrible skin blemishes he caused as well as the severe burns Riki suffered shielding Ashni. It was later used to heal Ashni of the same injuries. On both accounts not a single scar was left behind nor was there any trace of what it was that caused the injuries, though Rika slept for three days afterwards due to exhaustion.

Shudō te Kainyū: (手動て介入, Japanese for Intervening Hand) A rejection technique granted under the power of Rika's amulet. By controlling her spiritual energy and directing it into the jewel lining the amulets center, Rika's body glows with a golden aura that suffuses her body in the same manner her spiritual energy does normally. Like the name suggests, Rika forms the auras energy into the shape of a hand that appears before her like a shield. The hand is raised as though signaling stop, and when an energy attack like a enters its domain, it is broken down immediately and erased. Like the healing variant, it requires intense concentration that Rika can only usually reach by severing her emotions with her small skill in the Yuengiri styles. Kenji compared the breaking down of the energy to his Bankai's aura which performs a similar function, though admitted Rika's amulet performed it much quicker and without the fear of backlash, like his own Bankai did.

Shudō Kagayaku: (手動輝く, Japanese for Shining Hand) A rejection technique granted under the power of Rika's amulet. By controlling her spiritual energy and directing it into the jewel lining the amulets center, Rika's body glows with a golden aura that suffuses her body in the same manner her spiritual energy does normally. This is a full body technique that rejects any recent damage, injury or disturbance upon Rika's own body and with some minor tweaking to the initial energy spreading outward, people in her immediate vicinity as well. By allowing her anger to guide the technique, she can also direct the sphere of influence that surrounds her to shoot outwards to erase an opponents existence as well, though the field moves quite slowly in this event and can easily be evaded.

Powers and Abilities
Her spiritual energy is noted to be quite unique among others, as she is one of the few individuals alive who can use the amulet passed down through the Nagakura household; as none of her siblings or close relatives can make use of its rejection powers. Unlike her twin whose powers are linked to his emotions and fluctuate as they rise and fall, Rika has almost masterful control over her powers; mainly due to the extensive training received in that particular field from Ino and the Yuengiri Academy. When exerted, a thin aura has been noted to encircle her body and suffuse her limbs, which can also be projected from her person as though it were an actual extension of her body. This allows her to use the projection as though it were an illusion to unbalance people around her and to protect herself.

Kidō Expert: Having learned directly from Ino Hiroshi, Rika has a high mastery in the field of Kidō usage and manipulation, to the point many within the Order consider her a Kidō prodigy seen once a generation. She quickly learns and grasps advanced Kidō applications after only one or two demonstrations from others, though her talents lean more towards healing and binding than destruction, even though shes widely versed in the field. With more training in more specialized fields, Ino believes that Rika's skill could very well match her own skills in the coming years.

Yuengiri Practitioner: While her skill in the individual skills are almost non-existent, Rika has trained herself hard to learn the skill of severing her emotions in order to increase her perceptual abilities - all to aid her mastery of the amulet Shin gave her, as each of them require varying degrees of emotional control and concentration.

Twin Telepathy: Rika and Riki have shared a mild form of twin telepathy since they were young. They are aware of one another's physical and mental state, can tell immediately when the other is in danger and give an indication of location depending on how close they are; though Rika excels at this particular trait and can pinpoint Riki's location even if they happen to be in seperate spiritual realms.

Behind the Scenes
Rika's appearance is based on the character Sawachika Eri, from the series School Rumble. The concept of her amulet was originally inspired by the usage and portrayal of Ter'angreal, which appear in various forms and serve several functions in the Wheel of Time series of novels written by the late Robert Jordan and published by Tor Books. The particular item which originally inspired it as her primary piece of equipment, over even a weapon, was Matrim Cauthon's Foxhead Medallion.