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| Shinsengumi | |
| |
| Kanji | 新選組 |
| Romaji | {{{romaji}}} |
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Reikai Grat (secondary) |
| Affiliation | Gotei 13 |
| Purpose | Working alongside spiritually aware Humans in order to contribute to the protection of their local communities. |
Shinsengumi (新選組, Newly Selected Corps), known unofficially as the Sanada Braves (真田健気), is an organization attached to the newly established Gotei 13. Sanada Shirono served both as the groups founder and leader. It is one of the few examples of an organization employing both Shinigami and Humans.
History[]
Although the Shinsengumi didn't come about as an organization until some time following The Collapse, Sanada pulled from his own experiences and that of others when creating it. The first, which influenced the Shinsengumi's uniform and focus on task-oriented cells, was pulled from Tadashi Kori and Shin Nagakura. Both men co-led a patrol-centric squad of Shinigami that acted as the police force for the vast Rukongai just prior to the First Spiritual War and also before the two obtained their Captaincy in the old Gotei 13. This patrol force worked in tandem with what would eventually become known as the Ryū Order, with Kenji Hiroshi, Kusaka Kori and Kensei Muguruma all involved in the day-to-day assignments.
After the end of the First Spiritual War, Kusaka lost his powers and settled in Grat, where he began a family alongside his wife, Kireina Shiba, where the two remained for sixteen years. Their sons, Hawke and David, befriended a number of spiritually-aware Humans during Kusaka's exile, all of whom fought Hollow alongside the Kori brothers. One of these Humans, known as Garrett Sheppard, took it upon himself to protect Grat shortly after Hawke and David left the town to help Kentaro Hiroshi deal with the threat posed by Oda Kōhai and his Battle Dolls. He was joined by Lloyd, Randy and May, who had all fought beside Hawke previously. The group was eventually rounded out by Tiffany Henderson and an amnesic Shinrei Kurosaki, under the alias Ries Nohr, which served as the future basis for the Shinsengumi's cell-focused structure.
When it was created the Shinsengumi was the sole organization attached to Kentaro's new Gotei 13 that did not pull its membership from multiple existing organizations, as the vast majority of the group -- with the exception of the Shinigami-centric leadership -- was made up of spiritually-aware Humans who operated from their homes in the World of the Living.
Mission and restrictions[]
The Shinsengumi, as an organization, had only two goals. The first was the protection of the World of the Living from spiritual threats, such as Hollow, whilst the second involved the collection and archiving of information that could prove useful in the future, either in pursuit of the first goal or to aid the Gotei 13. In terms of restrictions there was only truly one to speak of, which involved not causing unneeded and unnecessary spiritual influence to the World of the Living. Garrett and Tiffany in particular where subject to a number of limitations that included specialised limiting seals being placed upon them. Following their training under Kenji Hiroshi just before the Collapse occurred the duo where powerful enough to clash with and eventually defeat fully trained members of the Kikkashō criminal organisation, albeit they lacked the maturity and experience required to fully control their newfound abilities. This was a degree of power that was deemed dangerous by Sanada. Shinrei, due to his amnesia and residence in a Gigai which changed his appearance, was notably exempt from this, and thus his massive spiritual reserves went completely unrestricted.
General operation[]
There are two very different sides to the Shinsengumi. The Shinigami-centric leadership work daily to identify threats and arrange missions for their agents, for they rarely ever venture outside the Reikai. The various Cells active in the World of the Living however enjoy a far more casual operation, at least when they aren't actively working a case. In their downtime agents are allowed -- and expected -- to carry on with their normal lives. They are, however, required to drop all during an emergency. Missions and reports are generally delivered via the telepathic bracelet system developed by Kenji Hiroshi during his exile, though this is not always the case.
Organization[]
Structure[]
The Shinsengumi can best be described as a detective agency whose goal is to protect the World of the Living through the employment of high-spec Humans in the fight against the Hollow. The Commander oversees the cases currently assigned to each cell as well as any sensitive information received, with the Vice-Commander overseeing the more day-to-day activities. Each cell maintains a degree of operational freedom in how they approach the cases they accept, so long as they do not cause unnecessary influence on the World of the Living.
Shinsengumi Council[]
The Shinsengumi Council is headed by the Commander and Vice-Commander, with the council members being comprised of the various cell leaders. The Council exists more-or-less to ensure that, in the words of Sanada, the various cells "play nice with one another". A single meeting can typically take a number of hours, though emergency meetings dealing with particularly dangerous or sensitive cases are known to be shorter.
Ranks[]
Commander[]
The Commander (総帥) is not only the leader of the entire Shinsengumi but also holds the same level of command authority as a Captain in the Gotei 13; because of this they also sit on the Captain's Council. The Commander oversees the cases currently assigned to each cell. They also document any sensitive information received through their cases, as well as directing the Shinsengumi Council whenever such a meeting is called.
Vice-Commander[]
The Vice-Commander (副長総帥) is not only the second-in-command of the entire Shinsengumi but also holds the same level of command authority as a Lieutenant in the Gotei 13; because of this they also take part in the regularly held Lieutenant meetings. The Vice-Commander oversees the more common day-to-day duties of the Shinsengumi: this extends to allocation of supplies, specialized training sessions, as well as finances.
Advisor[]
The Advisor (顧問, Komon) is not only the third highest-ranked member of the entire Shinsengumi but also holds the same level of command authority as a third-seat would in the Gotei 13. Whilst the Vice-Commander ensures the day-to-day running of the Shinsengumi itself, the Advisor is responsible for being the Commander's direct aide. Due to this unique position the Advisor is actually closer in function to a Lieutenant in the Gotei 13 than a Seated Officer. An Advisor is likewise responsible for handing out more specialised or sensitive cases to the various Cells.
Shadow[]
The Shadow (影, Kage) are those operatives who exist within the Shinsengumi's infrastructure in order to safeguard against internal corruption. As far as the general Shinsengumi membership is concerned the Shadows do not exist; the rank is known only to the Commander of the Shinsengumi and the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, with both being responsible for assigning the rank. There are two requisites for becoming a Shadow. The first is achievement of Bankai, as the Shadow may be required to deal with individuals wielding powers equivalent to the final release. The second is all-around expertise in the four main combat fields of the Shinigami in addition to proven skill in stealth and espionage. In addition there can only ever be three Shadows at any given time, and one is always kept in reserve. Only dire emergencies would see all three Shadows active at once.
Onmitsu[]
The Onmitsu (隠密, Detective) are the face of the Shinsengumi and comprise almost all of its membership. Cells of Onmitsu are active throughout the World of the Living, in areas such as Grat, Hama Town and Kagamino City, with their main goal being the protection of their local communities from spiritual threats. This goal aside they are also assigned cases by the Shinsengumi leadership, which can have widely varying tasks and goals. These cases could be the eradication of dangerous Hollow, or the securing of valuable intelligence useful to the Shinsengumi or the Gotei 13; in the same vein it could be something as simple as night-time patrol. Onmitsu are paid weekly wages in their national currency, and can receive further rewards depending on the difficulty of the assigned case. Thus far only Humans can become Onmitsu though Ries Nohr, who is in actuality Shinrei Kurosaki, was able to pass as a Human due to his soul form inhabiting the body of a specialized Gigai of Kenji Hiroshi's design.
Cells[]
The structure of the Shinsengumi cells is based loosely upon the model utilized by Kenji Hiroshi, Kusaka Kori and Kensei Muguruma when they where all members of Tadashi Kori's Rukongai patrol team during the First Spiritual War, and each team had operational freedom as far as their own structure went. In that case Kensei served as team-leader with Kenji and Kusaka as his support; this structure was what dictated the layout of the various Shinsengumi cells. Each cell receives their missions from the Commander or Vice-Commander.
Grat Cell[]
The first cell to come under the Shinsengumi's banner was the team of spiritually-aware Humans active in Grat. The team was led by Garrett Sheppard, with Tiffany Henderson as his primary support. Lloyd and Randy Jones served as additional support, with May acting as team-medic. Shinrei Kurosaki, who had adopted the name Ries Nohr due to his amnesia, was also affiliated with the organization, as was Garrett's estranged father, Aaron Sheppard. The Grat cell, which later came to be known as Spectre (幽霊, Yuurei), took missions dealing mostly with the eradication of dangerous Hollow, or suppression of the Kikkashō criminal organization. Due to one of the side-effects of The Collapse, which collapsed the Spiritual Roads from the World of the Living to the Reikai save the one leading from Grat, Garrett's cell essentially served as the first-line of defence against potential outside invasion. This, coupled with Grat's status as the current spiritually-enriched plot, ensured that Garrett's cell rarely ventured out of Grat itself.
Kagamino Cell[]
The membership of the Kagamino cell has yet to be revealed, though it is known that Kusaka Kori had a hand in their training before he and Kitsui Sanretsu dropped off the grid.
Argleton Cell[]
Argleton's cell was comprised of three cousins who all exhibited the power of Fullbring. Aaron Sheppard was known to aid them on occasion in much the same way he aided his son's cell before he moved to the UK.
Size and recruitment[]
The Shinsengumi is one of the smallest organizations attached to Kentaro's new Gotei 13. Its manpower is directly tied to the number of cells active in the World of the Living which, combined with the Shinigami situated in the Reikai, amounts to little more than one-hundred operatives. Injury serves to ensure that the Shinsengumi is never at one-hundred percent, for Humans are naturally frailer in comparison to the more durable Shinigami. Humans are scouted and offered positions to safeguard their local communities alongside other potential candidates from the same area. Humans are compensated for their work through a series of potential rewards, which is agreed to before any cases are accepted. Money was the most common reward and the one Garrett, who had two siblings to support, took the most often. Tiffany, however, opted instead to have her requests with the S.R.D.I fast-tracked, which further aided her teams ability to operate.
Insignia[]
The main insignia of the Shinsengumi was simply the kanji for Shinsengumi, which was emblazoned prominently on the clothing of her operatives and the barracks where the leadership resided. Sanada claimed that the Shinsengumi, which translated as the "Newly Selected Corps", was created as a means of bringing Humans and Shinigami together as allies against their common enemy. The secondary insignia echoed this sentiment and was actually the one Sanada himself invoked more readily, which was that of the geranium flower; symbolizing cooperation and camaraderie. It was not rare to see a number of the Shinsengumi membership wearing some manner of floral outfit with the aforementioned flower present.
Uniforms[]
The formal uniform of the Shinsengumi was quite simply a variation on the standard Shinigami uniform and Captain haori combination, and was based upon the style favoured by Tadashi Kori and Shin Nagakura just before their respective Captaincy and the outbreak of the First Spiritual War. The pair favoured a light kosode, standard hakama, a light-blue haori over the top, and a bandanna wrapped around their heads. Sanada later adopted this as the Shinsengumi's formal uniform, though it was rare for the various Human cells to actually don the outfit, and it thus became mostly associated with the Shinigami membership. The Humans, for their part, seemed to favour various forms of gi, with Garrett and Ries sporting a Brazilian ju-jitsu gi with heavy cotton padding. In addition to the above an additional uniform, which incorporated a tatami-style chest-plate, was issued to personnel assigned particularly dangerous cases. This modification was seemingly in imitation of Rosuto Shiba, who wore such armour throughout his Captaincy in the old Gotei 13.
