Kakyoku Kawakaze

Kakyoku Kawakaze (歌曲 川風, Japanese for "Melodic Breeze") is the current Captain of the 4th Division of the Gotei 13. She specializes in healing as she was tutored by none other than Retsu Unohana herself. Kakyoku is one of the youngest Shinigami to ever obtain the rank of Captain due to her innate capacity for learning and caring for others. Despite her personality, she has become close friends with both Tadashi Kori and Izaya Masaharu, with the latter saving her during The Collapse.

Appearance
Kakyoku takes the appearance of a young and cute girl. She has long silvery-white hair that sometimes takes on a blonde appearance and gold-yellow eyes. She is of average height and weight for her apparant age as she possesses features of a young middle school student.

Unlike most captains that enjoy wearing their haori's, she only wears her haori when she knows that she is going into battle and instead wears a uniform which is beige in color along with white knee-high socks, brown loafers and a pale blue barrette on the back of her hair. Her skirt is shorter than the others. In fact, this attire is the standard clothing for those in the Fourth Division, with the men wearing a variation.

Personality
Captain Kawakaze normally has a look of neutrality on her face at all times but, someone can tell how she truly feels simply by listening to the tone of her voice. Kakyoku has a voice that is equally beautiful to her looks and when the tone shifts in her voice, one can definitely sense a change. To put it simply, Kakyoku is a dice with many faces so to speak; most of the time she is a very stern, but well-mannered woman that is normally concerned with her own work than anything that has to do with others.

Kakyoku also has a rather serious side to her, in that she uses unemotional words rather than telltale body movements. Since she is small of stature and has doll-like qualities, she is used to both men and women alike staring at her as though she is some toy for them to play with, something that annoys her to no end. However, rather than loosing her cool, she typically responds with a powerful axe-kick to the head; a move that renders the perpetrator unconcious. Kakyoku is not without her faults as her whole demeano will change with a little alcohol. Kakyoku has been known to avoid alcohol for the most part, but the fact she has many hard-drinking shinigami in her division as well as her new friends does not help very much, if at all. Just the smallest swig of alcohol for Kakyoku can result in her turning into a complete caricature of her normal self. She pesters those around her with jokes, laughs at seemingly mundane things, and even becomes very sexyal. Kakyoku becomes the sort who will do absoultely anything that she is told and even starts believing blatant lies told straight to her face. However, she typically does not remember any of the previous night's events, often blushing angrily in denial.

Synopsis
Soul Society arc
 * To The 4th Division
 * A Fearful Hunt

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Energy: As a Captain of the Gotei, and a young one at that, Kakyoku is capable of releasing an immense amount of spiritual power. Despite her not directly focusing on increasing her offensive skills, she is able to use her spiritual power for other purposes, such as inserting her own spiritual power into another person in order to heal them.
 * Kidobarrier.pngDistortion: Using her spiritual energy, Kakyoku is able to deflect reishi-based projectiles away from her position by erecting a large wall. This shield is able to deflect even the largest of projectiles, which is one of the reasons why she was able to help push back the Engelhaft Gewitter during their invasion of the Sereitei. By lowering the reflective properties of the shield, Kakyoku is able to absorb the reishi-based projectiles instead, resulting in an increase in her own spiritual reserves. However, in order to keep this shield up, she must remain stationary. Which means, should she want to attack, Kakyoku has to loose her guard.
 * Kakwings.gifReishi Wings: Due to her fine control over her spiritual energy, Kakyoku is able to form a pair of wings from her spine. These wings grant her a degree of flight at high speeds, moving about entire battlefields in moments. She typically uses these wings as a means to survey damage and investigate the enemy as a scout, despite being a major healing entity. Her wings are said to be so captivatingly beautiful, that it causes many suitors to vie for her affections in hopes of seeing her wings once more.

Hidden Blade Expert: Since she is the Captain of the Fourth Division, Kakyoku is often thrusted into the field of combat should the need call for it. Instead of using her Zanpakuto too fight off potential attackers, Kakyoku wields two hidden swords  that are mounted on metal bracers in her sleeves. To activate them, she just forms a fist, which pushes down on a button in her right hand causing the blades to shoot forth. She wields these with great skill as she uses them more than she does her actual Zanpakuto in combat and often surprises opponents in battle as they don't expect it.

Master Healer: Being the captain of the 4th division, Kakyoku is highly proficient in healing. She is by far the most knowledgeable in the art of healing out of the whole Soul Society, surpassing even her master and the previous captain, Unohana. She is able to heal races other then Shinigami, as shown when she healed Riiko, a Reikon Kyuuban and Shirokyu, a half demon.

Expert Flash Step User: With her skill in flash steps she is able to create an after-image for close range. It is effective in dodging melee attacks by confusing the enemy into attacking elsewhere. However, when struck the clone disperses into a cloud of data like objects. When these objects come into contact with an opponent, they analyze both the physical and spiritual composition of the individual and then flood back into Kakyoku, granting her intimate knowledge of her opponent. Her speed may not be her bes quality, but it certainly is capable of getting the job done.


 * Doppleganger: Kakyoku is even capble of making clones of herself except the clones all have blood-red eyes. Clones created through this ability have their own consciousness and have all the abilities of the original Kakyoku - including the creation of more clones. The drawback to this ability is that if she loses focus, these clones can turn on and potentially kill her.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Kakyoku has shown herself to be incredibly skilled with the sword, unlike former captains of the fourth Division. As shown when she was seen cutting down several Menos using her sword, she has proven herself to be a competent warriror. Even using the hidden blades that she wears on her person, Kakyoku has displayed the skill to be cable of knocking away several arrows launched at her by invading members of the Engelhaft Gewitter, amazing many of the Shinigami that were nearby with her display.

Zanpakuto
Jiyū Ren'ai (自由恋愛, Japanese for "Free Love") is the name of Kakyoku's Zanpakuto. When sealed, it takes the form of a tamahagane tantō in which the handle is wrapped with bandages.

Shikai: Jiyū Ren'ai is released by the command, "My Love Is Like The Ocean". when released, it retains its appearance as a tamahagane tantō except that the bandaged part has turned to a loose cloth with the word, love, on it. When releasing her Zanpakuto, she holds her tantō in both her hands, the edge pointing up to the sky before declaring the release command.

Shikai Special Ability: Jiyū Ren'ai is capable of defending as well as healing. When Kakyoku wants her Zanpakuto to defend her, she just has to think about it and her Zanapkuto will respond to her intentions by using the cloth that wraps her blade. This cloth can grow to great lengths and is nigh indestructible as it wraps itself around whatever or whomever Kakyoku wishes. Jiyū Ren'ai can then restore a subject covered by the cloth to the state that they were before taking damage. If need be Kakyoku is capable of fully restoring a person's destroyed body parts from nothing, seemingly bypassing the proper medical treatment that is usually needed. While Kakyoku can heal wounds quickly, it takes her longer to replenish the patient's Reiatsu. Large amounts of foreign spiritual energy, such as those found in Vizards, makes healing much more difficult.


 * Saisho Senryō (最初線量, First Dose): Kakyoku uses this technique as a sort of portable hospital. She elongates and expands the cloth of her Zanpakuto, depending on how many individuals are in need. She will then cause the cloth to take flight in order to escape danger or get to the destination. Those that are located on the cloth will find that their wounds are slowly healed and their spiritual energies are replenished the longer they remain in contact with the cloth. The speed of this technique should not be questioned as she can traverse locations quite quickly if the situation calls for it.


 * Ni Senryō (二線量, Japanese for Second Dose): Kakyoku wraps the cloth around her target, healing them of most of their wounds and even removing any foreign entities from their bodies. With this technique, Kakyoku is also able to create a wall of bandages that is reinforced with healing energy in order to defend from attacks while healing the target. This wall is capable of reflecting all damage due to the enhanced healing factor acting as a sort of mirror for anything with destructive purposes.


 * Kakyokutechnique.jpgSan Senryō (三線量, Japanese for Third Dose): Kakyoku channels her spiritual energy around her body creating a dense sphere to protect herself from harm. This sphere then begins to use Kakyoku's spiritual energy in order to create a pair of angelic wings and four massive spade-tipped swords with heart-shaped guards that cover a large portion of the area. Once this technique is fully formed, Kakyoku is then able to proceed to heal anyone that she considers a friend or an ally back to perfect condition and is even able to restore spiritual energy back to those affect as well. The 4th Division Captain has said that this is her ultimate technique while in shikai.

Bankai: Fuhen Jiyū Ren'ai (不変自由恋愛, Everlasting Free Love): Is the name of Kakyoku's bankai. She dislikes using this due to it having an offensive ability. An enormous burst of Reiatsu spills out from the 4th Division Captain as she lets go of the blade, sending it spiraling towards the ground in front of her, where it digs into the soil. For a moment, everything seems silent. Then, as if to break the silence, a giant ornate gold and white pillar appears from the ground and grows until it reaches into the sky. On the top of the pillar is a golden ring roughly ten feet in diameter. Once the pillar is erected, Kakyoku slides her hand into the side of the column as if it were made of liquid pulling out a long, double-edged blade with an English-style grip and cross-guard on both ends. One of the two grips is white while the other is a deep red. The blade itself is a gleaming silver. As soon as her blade is firmly in hand, Kakyoku's back seems to ripple for a moment as a red ribbon pokes out. With a quick wince it quickly vanishes back into her form as her Reiatsu makes a final spike.


 * Bankai Special Ability: In her bankai her healing and defensive abilities are greatly enhanced. Upon release, as soon as the tower is erected, every individual within a few thousand feet suddenly notices spiritual rippling across their forms. Their Spirit Ribbons are forcibly yanked from their body unless they can use pure force of will to keep it from happening, which isn't possible if their will is weaker than Kakyoku's. Powerful lieutenant-class and Captain-class enemies can keep their ribbons from escaping their bodies, but they must continually concentrate on it to keep it from happening. Those who cannot produce such willpower find their ribbons, red for Shinigami and white for everything else, traveling towards the golden ring of the pillar. Once there, the ribbons fasten tight to the structure. These ribbons embody the life-force of the individual they stem from. If the individual is wounded, the ribbon is equally degraded. By healing these ribbons with her blade, Kakyoku can bring even the most terminal patient back to pristine health - the complications of surgery and fine medicinal work are completely bypassed. On the other end of the spectrum is the main reason why she often elects to not use her Bankai as it takes life although Kakyoku is devoted to saving lives. Should she use her blade to cut a ribbon, its owner simply dies. Only Kakyoku can directly interact with the ribbons, although anyone can see them.


 * The blade that Kakyoku pulls from the tower has two abilities. Each of these abilities corresponds to which handle she holds while wielding the weapon. The red handle corresponds to the healing aspect of her Zanpakuto. While wielding the blade by this grip, Kakyoku can swipe degradation off of the spirit ribbons that attach to the ring of her pillar. This, in turn, heals even the most grievous of wounds on the corresponding individual. The white handle of the blade allows the Zanpakuto to harm. While either side can block strikes, only this side is capable of dealing damage when attacking back. It's also this side that Kakyoku uses to cut the ribbons of enemies who couldn't contain them. Through the utter mastery of her Bankai, which Kakyoku has long since attained, she can quickly switch sides in the blink of an eye
 * The only way that Kakyoku can interact with the Spirit Ribbons is through her sword. Nothing else but Fuhen Jiyū Ren'ai is capable of directly interacting with the ribbons - all Kido and spiritual attacks phase right through them as if they weren't there. However, by using the pillar itself as a catalyst, Kakyoku can affect all of the ribbons attached to the tower at once. By using any sort of Kido on the tower, the spiritual "heartbeat" of the column can move the spell up and across all of the ribbons at once. This can allow Kakyoku to heal, damage, or manipulate any amount of enemies; it's only dependant on the number of ribbons attached. This technique is used primarily to eliminate many weak enemies or heal a field of wounded Shinigami all in one swoop. Unfortunately, the technique is not at all selective. If the heartbeat transports poison, anyone attached by a ribbon is subject to it. There is no way for Fuhen Jiyū Ren'ai to distinguish friend from foe.