Asuka Shimizu

Expert Swordsman: Like many Shinigami fresh out of the Academy, Asuka is primarily a practitioner of chūyōdō, the Way of Moderation. However, whilst others commonly train solely this balanced combat style before they select one of the more derived ones to focus upon, she prefers a more meta approach. As such, in a display of proficiency remarkable even for a Lieutenant, she incorporates multiple moves from the more specialised forms of zanjutsu into her bladework. That grants her a significantly improved degree of flexibility in battle. Depending on the way the situation unfolds Asuka may readily switch between vicious offence or stalwart defence, strike vital points or quickly inflict numerous shallow, enfeebling wounds and perform clever feints to outmanoeuvre the enemy. Swordsmanship is definitely her major asset and she might be considered a fledgling master in this art.

Shunpo Expert: Supernatural mobility is one of the essential requirements to become a high-ranking officer of the Gotei 13. Even though neither her physical strength nor her durability are particularly outstanding, Shimizu has trained to compensate for those relative shortcomings with excellent agility. She is notably fleet of foot, capable of manoeuvring about the battlefield with nigh-acrobatic grace and consistently high velocity.

• Nisemure (偽群れ, "False Swarm"): This technique represents one of the intermediate ways of employing an otherwise fairly basic skill. With short bursts of speed and careful footwork Asuka can generate up to three flickering afterimage copies of her person. While a useful distraction on their own, they become even more effective when employed in conjunction with her Shikai abilities.

Kidō Expert: The art of spellcasting is an expansive one, complex and difficult to truly master. Nevertheless, one needs not be a specialist to benefit from this vast collection of utilitarian techniques. Asuka is quite an adept practitioner of magic in spite of her young age and lack of combat experience. She is capable of swiftly casting low- and many mid-level spells even during battle. While hadō provides her with increased attack power, she is more fond of the supplementary techniques contained within bakudō^[1]. She has not practiced any of the more advanced spellcasting techniques, although her ability to slightly alter her spells with the use of her Shikai allows her to surprise many an enemy.

Enhanced Endurance: With an above-average amount of stamina at her disposal, she can continue fighting for a fairly long time before showing the first signs of fatigue. This helps render her intense fighting style effective.

Enhanced Speed & Reflexes: As has been already mentioned, Asuka is a sprightly individual with a dynamic approach to combat. Short reaction times and high speed are an important element of her performance in battle.

Expert Tactician: Lacking in the brute force department and boasting a versatile Projectile-type Zanpakutō, Shimizu relies upon cunning to win. Homing and omnidirectional attacks, distractions and feints let her circumvent enemy defences altogether, or perform a successful ambush. She is rather creative about the usage of her Shikai. The number of different applications she can employ helps her maintain a degree of unpredictability that allows her to keep up with stronger opponents. She is eager to overwhelm them not in a contest of power, but wit and skill.

High Spiritual Power: Undoubtedly a gifted individual, Asuka possesses a large amount of spiritual energy, qualifying her for the upper echelon of her class. When visible, the emanations of her energy exhibit a prominent amaranth hue. A distinct glittering aura not unlike a mirage appears whenever she exerts her spiritual pressure.

Wareta Kagami (割れた鏡, "Broken Mirror"): When in sealed state the Zanpakutō is a normal katana with a rectangular guard, and a jet black hilt.

• Shikai: The release command is "Coruscate" (閃く, hirameku). Asuka holds the katana vertically in front of her and then turns it so that the flat side of the blade faces her. Right after the weapon emanates a bright glow the blade becomes translucent, seemingly composed of glass.

Shikai Special Ability: Even though it is perfectly capable of acting as a melee weapon, Wareta Kagami is in fact a Projectile-type with glass-based powers. Somewhat unusually, rather than call her techniques, Asuka employs her Shikai's abilities with specific commands.

• Shatter (砕けろ, kudakero): Dozens of sizeable shards of glass manifest in the air. Asuka can then guide them to shower her opponent with a barrage of extremely sharp and fast projectiles. While it lacks pure destructive power the technique can simply pierce through defences and functions as a swift area-of-effect attack. For instance, she was able to shred a group of kanki zombies with a single volley^[1].
• Enclose (囲う, kakou): An effective binding technique. Several large panes of reinforced glass assemble into a hermetic prism around the target. The enemy ends up in a cramped space with durable walls. In the event that this peculiar cage is broken, however, the panes break into a number of shards that then attempt to tear apart the would-be escapee.
• Deflect (そらす, sorasu): This versatile supporting technique consists of numerous small shards and glittering powder that forms a cloud in Asuka's vicinity. The cloud can not only deflect or at least distort energy-based attacks, but also manifest multiple mirage copies of its user, scramble her spiritual pressure signature or even help to change the trajectory and focus of Kidō spells she casts. Needless to say, it can be used for a wide variety of tactical applications.
• Reflect (映す, utsusu): Perhaps the most intriguing technique at Asuka's disposal. The command prompts several large panes of glass to appear suspended in the air within her vicinity, circling about the battlefield. At any given moment she might use one of the panes that reflects her image to "capture" her, and then emerge from another one immediately afterward. Furthermore, it may reflect the image of a Kidō spell which she casts as well^[1]. As such, the technique provides increased mobility and can easily confuse her opponent. Should the enemy target the sheets of glass to deprive Shimizu of that boon, they will find themselves pelted with projectiles of the Shatter ability or skewered by her own blade in the meantime.

• Bankai: Not yet achieved. Asuka has beein training strenuously for the last several years and is capable of manifesting her Zanpakutō spirit. However, at present she is unable to deploy the final release.