Aaron Sheppard

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"Kenji? Always poking your nose into other people's business. This has nothing to do with you!"

—Aaron to Kenji upon the latter intervening to rescue Garrett from Aaron.^[src]

Aaron Sheppard
Name	Aaron Sheppard
Characteristics
Race	Soul
Gender	Male
Professional Status
Affiliation	Gotei 13 (loosely)
Previous Affiliation	Ryū Order
Occupation	Onmitsu (occasionally)
Team	Shinsengumi (loosely) Grat cell (consultant) Argleton cell (consultant)
Previous Team	6th Division
Partner	Garrett Sheppard
Previous Partner	Unnamed Lieutenant
Base of Operations	Grat, Argleton, Reikai
Personal Status
Marital Status	Widower
Education	Grat high-school
Family	Jūshirō Ukitake (eldest brother) Several unnamed siblings Garrett Sheppard (son) Ellie Sheppard (wife) Jenny (niece) David (nephew)
Status	Active
Fullbring

Aaron Sheppard was born under the name Kaito and was a member of the aristocratic Ukitake family, being Jūshirō Ukitake's youngest brother. Known predominately as Knives during his time as a Soul, Aaron was the youngest Shinigami to became a Captain in the Gotei 13 since Tōshirō Hitsugaya; Aaron was Captain of the 6th Division up until his supposed death at the hands of the traitorous Shori Keihatsu. He escaped at the expense of his spiritual powers and was rendered essentially Human through a specialised Gigai, but eventually regained some measure of his former strength through manifesting his latent potential as a Fullbringer.

Aaron took a new name and settled in the World of the Living, where he met and befriended Paul; Paul was a mechanic, and Aaron helped him financially. In return Paul introduced Aaron as his foreign half-brother. Aaron levied his considerable combat knowledge in order to win an underground street-fighting competition, referred to as the "Arena Beatdown", and became known as the "King of the Arena". Aaron eventually met and married Ellie Sheppard, which resulted in the birth of Garrett Sheppard. Ellie and Paul carried on an affair for years, however, and this union resulted in the birth of Jenna and David; Aaron believed both to be his children for years until he discovered the truth. Aaron left and Ellie herself was killed by a Hollow protecting Garrett around this time, though Aaron refused to return and became estranged from his son for a number of years.

During his wanderings Aaron had numerous dealings with Kenji Hiroshi, the Ryū Order and the ancient Vlad. He was aware of the ongoing war with Averian and his army and fought alongside the Ryū Guard on several occasions. After The Collapse he became affiliated with Kentaro Hiroshi's newly formed Gotei 13 as an adviser to the Shinsengumi.

Appearance

Aaron during his Captaincy.

Aaron is described as a tall white-haired man with a muscular physique. He is partial to formal attire: dress trousers, dinner jackets complete with ties, and designer shoes. During his time as the Captain of the 6th Division, Aaron sported jet-black hair and often dyed his fringe and ends scarlet. In addition to the standard haori he often donned a long black-coloured trench-coat. He also wore Shinigami attire more commonly seen amongst the members of the 9th Division, specifically a sleeveless kosode. By the time Aaron had joined the Ryū Order during the First Spiritual War, Aaron's hair had turned white and he had allowed it to grow out; he had also taken to wearing a black leather jacket during combat assignments.

Personality

Aaron, on the surface, appears to be an aloof and emotionally distant man, even with his own family. Kusaka remarked to Aaron's son Garrett that Aaron and he were quite alike, and further asked Garrett if he understood what he was talking about.

His attitude merely serves to disguise how deeply he does care however, and he is not afraid to paint himself the villain to push his son the way he thinks is best for him. This was demonstrated when Aaron attacked his son after meeting him again for the first time in years, only to later reveal that this was a mere ruse: the only reason he attacked Garrett, seemingly with killing intent, was to scare him off the path of a warrior because he saw that his son was only doing it to gain his attention. He is not above stepping in and lending his considerable combat skills when he is needed, for he came to May's aid when Grat was invaded by a large number of Hollow so that she could successfully escape and contact Kenji via Renkei.

During his Captaincy he was known predominately for his cunning. He was the first of the Captains at the time to have suspected something was amiss with Shori Keihatsu, and he subsequently launched his own investigation. His cunning served to make him arrogant and overconfident however. Garrett correctly deduced that it was Aaron's belief that he could stop Shori alone that ultimately led to his defeat and exile. After returning to Grat after a number of years absent from his son's life, Aaron has seemingly reconciled with Garrett. Garrett openly admitted that the two still had a long way to go to rebuild their relationship, but noted that they where speaking at least.

History

Born Kaito, but known predominantly as Knives, Aaron was a member of the Ukitake family, and eventually became Captain of the 6th Division in the Gotei 13. He was thought to have lost his life in a battle with Shori Keihatsu, but managed to survive; his overconfidence led him to challenge Shori alone, instead of seeking reinforcement. Although he survived Aaron temporarily lost his spiritual powers and was rendered essentially Human through use of a specialised Gigai. At this point he adopted the name Aaron.

Aaron would eventually have dealings with Kenji Hiroshi and the Ryū Order, and was aware of the ongoing war with Averian. Aaron fought alongside Kenji and Kusaka against the Soulless, and was noted to have already developed Fullbring by this time. One of these dealings involved the mysterious Vlad engaging Kusaka in battle. Aaron developed a relationship with a young woman called Ellie and eventually married, with Aaron taking her surname as his own, and fathered a child with her, whom the couple named Garrett Sheppard. Aaron would be a father to Garrett for only the first nine years of his life however. Kusaka noted that Aaron left the Ryū Order when he learned of Ellie's pregnancy.

Aaron departed for parts unknown following the death of his wife and left his son, Garrett, in the care of Paul, who was Garrett's legal uncle, and did not attempt communication for a number of years with either his son or Paul. The reason for his departure was unknown for years, though Aaron once angrily claimed that "Paul knows why". In actuality Aaron learned that his brother had been having an on-off affair with Ellie over the years and that his two other children, Jenna and David, where not his but Paul's children. Aaron opted to disappear.

Synopsis

Main article -- Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Part II

Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds Part I.

Part III

Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds Part II.

Part IV

Main article -- Bleach: Cataclysm.

Investigating Grat arc

• Day 19: Ghosts of Yesterday
• Day 20: The Beatdown
• Day 20: The Beatdown Part II
• Day 20: The Beatdown Part III
• Day 28: Grat Runs Red

Peri-Collapse Events

• Second Battle of Grat

Rising arc

• Looking Through the Years (flashbacks)

Part V

Main article -- TBA.

Equipment

• Zanpakutō: After losing his Shinigami powers in the aftermath of his battle with Shori Keihatsu, Aaron retrieved the physical remains of his Zanpakutō, which he carried with him ever since. After awakening to his ability as a Fullbringer, Aaron used the physical shell of his Zanpakutō as his focus; he stated that his old Zanpakutō was essentially a part of him, and thus he was adaquately familiar with it to fulfil the requisite of fondness required to boost an objects soul with the Fullbringer's own. This produced a particularly potent weapon-based Fullbring that was indicative of Aaron's own wealth of combat experience from his time as a Captain in the Gotei 13.

Powers and Abilities

Great Spiritual Energy: Aaron seems to possess particularly powerful spiritual energy for a Human. Its potency and quantity was enough to impress Kenji. As a former Captain in the Gotei 13 and a wielder of Bankai, his power was likely very high.

Keen Intellect: During his Captaincy Aaron was noted particularly for his intellect. He was the only Captain of his time who suspected Shori, which led him to start his own investigation.

Zanjutsu: As a former Captain and wielder of Bankai it can be inferred that Aaron was a skilled swordsman. Garrett later observed his father through various flashbacks, and noted that he was a skilled swordsman.

Hakuda Mastery: Aaron was fit to effortlessly dispatch Garrett pre-training with very little effort. As the current "King of the Arena" as well as a former Captain, it can be inferred that his combat skills are exceptional. He was capable of killing multiple Hollow without using his Fullbring, with sufficient degrees of speed that May discerned him solely as a blur.

Immense Speed: Aaron's movements where of sufficient levels that May discerned him solely as a blur. As a former Captain in the Gotei 13 it is implied that his skills where particularly advanced. Like his son, Garrett, Aaron mixes elements of Bringer Light with the years of experience he accrued utilising Shunpo. Even after shortly developing Fullbring, Aaron's mastery of Bringer Light was such that he was capable of matching Kenji and Kusaka during their battle against a group of Soulless.

Fullbring

Aaron uses the physical remains of his Zanpakutō to produce a weapon-based Fullbring, which is noted to have strength and abilities closely resembling the released stages of his old Zanpakutō during his time as a Captain.

Author notes

Behind the Scenes

• In the initial draft of the storyline Aaron was an out-and-out antagonist with no real relation to the main cast, beyond his status as an individual they had to defeat. In the revised script he maintains an antagonistic element, albeit a different sort of antagonist to the norm utilized by the author, and was made Garrett's estranged father to provide an emotional link beyond the normal "you're my enemy". The author admits that he isn't "evil" either, calling him "grey".

• Most of the antagonistic qualities shown where later stated by Aaron himself to be him merely playing his son. Aaron admitted that he only used force against Garrett because it would drive him to seek the aid of the one man Aaron was comfortable training his son. This person was Kenji, thus providing the link to the main cast.

• In the initial draft Aaron had gained immortality through use of his unique Fullbring. Whilst certain aspects of this backstory was retained following the 2015 retcon, namely his status as a Fullbringer, it has yet to be determined what age Aaron is in-story and whether or not he is immortal or not. His character is somewhat inspired by Van Hohenheim from Fullmetal Alchemist, specifically as he was portrayed in the Brotherhood version of the anime.

Trivia

• Aaron is not the father of Garrett's siblings. Paul, who is Aaron's brother and Garrett's uncle, is their father by way of an affair.