Hokōra Shimura

Hokōra Shimura (志村 叢祠; Shimura Hokōra, "small shrine overlooking the village") is currently the captain of the Eighth Division of the Gotei 13, and is praised for her masterful swordsmanship ability. She is regarded as a tough, caring leader, despite her hard exterior.

Appearance
Hokōra appears as a small, beautiful Asian woman with black hair and golden eyes. Her hair begins short around her forehead, and longer, fuller hair at her sides. Her facial expression is mostly serious, but she does have a tendency to smile. Despite looking fragile, she is very well capable of extreme swordfighting. She wears Shūsui, her zanpakutō, at her back, but in dire times will carry it near her hip, for quick draw. She is known for carrying a small jewel around at all times that she frequently toys with, often placing it in her haori when not needed and playing with it when she is bored.

As a captain, Hokōra wears a specialized Shikakusho that is designed like a kimono, decorated with floral patterns and leaves. Her haori is white with long sleeves, with the symbol of the fifth division, the Bird of Paradise, and the symbol of the Gotei 13. The underside of her haori is a cerulean blue, representing her calm personality.

Personality
Hokōra, in regular conversation, is not one to speak, and when she does, she's fairly serious. Hokōra is composed, receptive, analytical, and prefers not to engage in combat; she is content on silently observing both parties until the fighting reaches its conclusion, and actually fights only when she is challenged and attacked by an opponent or commanded to fight by her superiors. Her personality, in combat however, is a rather different situation. In combat, she is rather hot-headed, and does not hesitate to show off her master skills in swordsmanship, of which many times has been fatal. Outside of combat, she is composed, silent, and refrains from any form of fighting, other then practicing with her comrades.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Hokōra is masterful in swordsmanship, usually only employing her Zanpakutō when she faces a opponent with a drawn weapon. She is unique in that her fighting style is different from traditional styles. All strikes are made by sweeping the arm forward as though throwing a punch while whipping the blade forward away from the arm quickly in a broad arc. She is quite adept at blocking with the blade in this manner as well. She also fights in the normal style masterfully, given to being proficient in two variations of sword fighting. Few would hope to come out alive from a fight with her. She is capable of fighting two captain-level Shinigami simultaneously. Her skill in swordsmanship has been shown to be powerful enough to take down her opponent with a single precise strike.

Flash Steps Master: She is also seen to be experienced in the art of Shunpo, using it in her sword techniques and being fast enough to strike and counter a strike from Takuya Kimura during an initial fight they held. She is fast enough to appear in front of the opponent and reappear half-a second later. It was shown that with this speed, she could bifurcate several opposing arrancar in under a second.

Master Strategist & Tactician: Hokōra is a very intelligent person, capable of quickly adjusting to new developments and making quick decisions accordingly. She has great tactical acumen. She is shown to be also a very perceptive person, demonstrated from how easily he could tell Takuya was hiding information about an old rival of his. Her skill at battle tactics is undeniable. Also, she gives commands to his subordinates that may seem harsh or excessive, but often yield fruitful results.

Immense Spiritual Power: Hokōra possesses an exceedingly powerful Reiatsu, seen as a purple-like flame that radiates around her, spiraling and causing sudden feelings of sickness in people that come around her. Her very spiritual power is capable of making Takuya convulse slightly at her power and causes Akira to faint upon it's full release. Takuya has openly acknowledged Hokōra's power as being closest to his, out of all his teammates.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While Hokōra may be proficient in swordsmanship, she still has some skill in hand-to-hand combat. Hokōra had proven to be quite aggressive as well as highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat. She demonstrates her skill and agility in this area by launching a devastating attack against multiple Hollows. She also has displayed her skill in hand-to-hand combat while fighting multiple Gillian-class Menos at once.

Zanpakutō
Shūsui (秋水, Clear Autumn Waters) is the name of Hokōra's zanpakutō. It takes the appearance of a regular katana, with a black blade and a handguard with flower-like edges. The handle is black, with a black sheath. Hokōra normally wears it on her hip, but can wear it in other places if nesessary, such as her back, her side, or even her mouth.
 * Shikai: Not yet revealed

Quotes

 * "It's not a battle of strength. Rather, it's a battle to see if you are mentally capable of using strategy to defeat your opponent."