Ryūko Amatsuinei

Ryūko Amatsuinei (天津胤裔竜子, Amatsuinei Ryuuko lit, Heavenly Successor, Naga Child) is a Shinigami of the 4th Division, having been transferred there from the 12th Division to make better use of her powers.

Appearance
Ryūko appears as a teenage girl with long black hair that reaches down to her knees and blood-red eyes. She eschews the standard shihakushō's style in favor of her own. She wears a dark-colored, sleeveless mini dress with a white collar and a red tie, a red belt with a side-skirt cover along with black gloves. In place of the original tabi and sandals, she wear black socks and boots. When ready for combat, she wears red gauntlets over her arms. She wears a reiatsu-hiding cloak when sent to the human world.

Personality
Ryūko comes off as very grim and aloof, taking everything far too seriously and trying appear far more mature than she really is. Coming from the bleaker and more desolate corners of the Rukongai, she knows what its like to come from nothing and dreams of reaching the pinnacle of the Shinigami society to prove that noble birth means nothing, that there's nothing wrong with being a commoner and having dreams above one's station.

Though hard to approach at first, if one can get her to lower her stern and cold facade, there's more to the girl than meets the eye. Regardless of how much she still endeavors to keep others at a distance, when her guard is lowered, she exposes a softer side that so rarely is brought to the surface, where all her self-doubts come to light. She harbors a deep regret related to an incident in her past that she very seldom can bring herself to discuss even to those who have dared to get close enough that she can even try to consider them friends. All many have ever gotten out of her was that she lost many friends and family members.

After the Blood War, Ryūko grew to despise the Quincy for the destruction they wrought and all the lives lost in a mad quest that made no sense to the young Shinigami. Ever since, she has given her all to better protect those who cannot protect themselves, vowing to never allow anyone to ever go through what she did. During the opening onslaught, she went so far as to almost overtax herself; only being physically and forcfully separated from her Zanpakuto was enough to stop her from going beyond her limits.

Powers and Abilities
High Spiritual Power: Ryūko has a large amount of power at her disposal, rivaling a Lieutenant-class Shinigami despite her position being far away from that rank. When generating a pressure, it appears as a violet-hued cloud around her.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Ryūko is a very physically-focused fighter, relying heavily on her Zanjutsu in battle. She is incredibly gifted at using Iaidō, striking with masterful swiftness, flicking the blood away and sheathing her sword again in a matter of moments, often so fast that her arms barely look like they've moved and the opponent only reason they were cut afterwords. If her initial strike is blocked or evaded, she can switch seamlessly into a more defensive style to await an opening, lashing out with fluid grace for any exposed or undefended parts of her opponent.

Expert Hohō Specialist: Ryūko's talent at the various movement arts of the Shinigami, especially at Shunpo. Her speed is so great that even when surrounded by innumerable Quincy soldiers, she was able to break through their ranks in a fraction of a second.

Expert Kidō Practitioner: Ryūko is adept at using Kidō to augment her fighting ability, preferring use of Bakudō to give herself an advantage. She can chain a number of binding spells together to further ensnare her enemies and leave them exposed to her attacks.

Hollowfication
After taking in the Shin'eiyaku, Ryūko was able to Hollowfy like a Visored, gaining a vast improvement to her abilities as she broke down the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow. Instead of simply integrating the drug into herself, it rapidly infected her soul. After her soul was stable, she discovered that she could summon a white mask at will and while wearing it she became far stronger.

Hollow Mask: Ryūko's mask takes the form of a rounded white mask with red lines across it that resembles a monster with four eye holes. There are a number of plates attached to the main part of the mask, giving it a more aggressive look. While wearing her mask, the whites of her eyes turn a midnight black and her irises seem to glow from within the eyeholes, further making her appear as a demon.

Enhanced Spiritual Power: Hollowfying gives Ryūko an additional well of power to draw on. In this state, her reiatsu becomes vastly thicker and darker, turning black with a violet-hued outline to it. Despite the sudden and explosive change, those who have known her long enough can still recognize her from a distance.

Enhanced Speed: Ryūko becomes much faster thanks to her Hollow powers, employing Sonído with the same skill she does Shunpo, although her movements are less practiced and more of an instinctual affair.

Cero: Ryūko can fire a violet blast of spiritual energy from her hand or her sword. Because of her relative lack of experience using the technique herself, she requires a momentary build-up before firing. When charging, her Cero gives off

Zanpakuto
Wakuraba (病葉, lit Blighted Leaves) is Ryūko's Zanpakuto. It takes the form of a katana with a red dodecagonal hilt and red wrapping. The sheath is also a crimson red color, except for the end where it is painted black. A yellow string is tied around it near where the sheath can be worn, between two bands of metal.

Shikai: Wakuraba is released by the command Vanish (消失, Sōshitsu). When released, the sword changes little, only gaining a dark purple and black mist shrouded around itself, and even that can be suppressed whenever Ryūko wishes it, making it difficult to tell if or when it becomes released, making a perfect weapon for stealth. However, the mist itself is full of aerosolized poisons for the enemies to inhale.

Shikai Special Ability: Wakuraba's power is to take in any chemical and memorize it, synthesize it with other chemicals it has absorbed and to use or refine the resultant compounds. This marks it as a Zanpakuto that is both useful for combat and for healing. At any moment, Ryūko can call upon the nearly endless compounds her Zanpakuto has memorized, enhanced or created and coat the edge of the sword in them in any amount she chooses, only limited by her reiatsu, allowing her to make potent medicines or to inject incredible amounts of toxins into an enemy.


 * Shin'eiyaku (侵影薬, Shadow-Raiding Drugs): One of the many compounds Ryūko accidentally took into her Zanpakuto, the Shin'eiyaku is a drug that Hollowfies the user, giving them temporary access to the powers of a Hollow in addition to their normal abilities.

Trivia
Ryūko's appearance is based on Akame from Akame Ga Kill. If written differently, inei can be translated as hatchling.