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Kuchiki Rukia. ...how does it know wh-

OUT OF CHARACTER:
Name/Handle: Di
Contact: Discord @ dianna#6806; if a Plurk is considerably beneficial for gameplay, I can create one as well.
Other characters: N/A
DF Alum: No
Reserve: N/A
Referral: N/A

IN-CHARACTER:
Character name: Kuchiki Rukia
Character journal: unburden
Series name: Bleach (original manga)
Canon notes: Rukia is taken from the end of the issue 423, "Farewell Swords."
Species: Shinigami (English: reaper, death spirit). Rukia specifically is a shinigami who was originally human and perished in the Living World before passing over to Soul Society (the series' equivalent of the afterlife), but there are also souls who are directly born in Soul Society itself. In the Bleach series, the Living World and Soul Society exist in a balance, where the souls in either plane should be within a certain level of one another to avoid disturbing the construct of reality. Almost all shinigami, apart from the main character of the series, are individuals from Soul Society with a certain amount of spiritual power (reiatsu) who have undergone significant training in adopting shinigami powers, which are primarily geared towards aiding in the peaceful transfer of souls of the once living to Soul Society. Shinigami can die, both from battle and from disease, at which point their spiritual matter disperses and may eventually flow to the Living World and result in the birth of a living human — however, they do not age in the way that living humans do, making them effectively immortal.

Shinigami are normally not observable by the living unless the living individual has a certain amount of spiritual power; in the series, some shinigami have access to a gigai (false body), which allows them to take the form of a living human with no observable physical differences to the untrained eye. In game, my preference would be for other characters in the game to magically have the ability to physically interact with Rukia (in a similar fashion that all individuals can magically communicate with one another), but an alternative could be for a gigai to somehow be made available to her in game, perhaps with increased limitations to present interesting in-game challenges. Those with the supernatural ability to detect details about a person's soul may observe Rukia to be "deceased" from a human perspective; the ties that bind a living soul to the Living World do not exist for Rukia's soul. If someone prefers to sense that Rukia isn't human, that's also acceptable. Those with the ability to detect spiritual and/or magical power may observe Rukia to be someone of significant capabilities.

Age: ~163 years or so.

Arrival Condition: Uninjured.

History:

Some people remember the details of their death — a frozen field of snow or steady fall of rain. Passing away before her first birthday, Rukia held no such memories. Along with her sister Hisana, Rukia passed over to one of the poorest districts of heaven, or Soul Society, and was soon abandoned when it became clear that a young woman fighting for her own survival couldn't manage with an infant in tow. Miraculously, Rukia survived, one of a small portion of the population with spiritual power and leveraging that ability to escape her otherwise dismal life in Rukongai. With her best friend Abarai Renji, Rukia entered the Shinigami (Soul Reaper) Academy and quickly distinguished herself from her peers. There, she drew the attention of noble Kuchiki Byakuya, who adopted Rukia and quickly introduced the mischievous girl to a more strict and regimented way of life.

Joining the thirteenth division of the Gotei 13, Soul Society's military, Rukia flourished, earning the adoration of her division's leadership. Nevertheless, loss was quick to strike Rukia again; during the course of a mission, Lieutenant Shiba Kaien was possessed by an enemy spirit, and Rukia was forced to kill Kaien in self-defense.

She never quite forgave herself.

Months later, while on a routine mission in the living world, Rukia happened across Kurosaki Ichigo, a living human with a surprising amount of spiritual power. A few critical missteps during the mission forced Rukia to transfer her shinigami abilities temporarily to Ichigo, and the young man proved himself adept at wielding them. Rukia's drained powers were surprisingly slow in recovering, so the two began a partnership where Ichigo pledged to take over Rukia's duties while she recuperated. This arrangement went against Gotei policy, and upon being found out, Rukia was arrested and sentenced to death.

It soon became clear that conspiracy was involved. Unknown to Rukia, the false body she had been given transferred into her a device called the Hougyoku, which was capable of manipulating shinigami abilities and granting its conscious owner his or her deepest desires. A fellow shinigami, Aizen Sousuke, knew of the object shortly after its development and wanted to hoard the power for himself, pulling strings behind Rukia's hearing to have her executed, but Ichigo came to her rescue with only seconds to spare. Upon being exposed, Aizen was able to extract the Hougyoku from Rukia's body and fled, leaving the young woman to recover. Charges against Rukia were dropped, and she soon joined the effort to stop Aizen's plans of world domination. With Ichigo's history being far more connected to Soul Society than either of them anticipated, the two continued to work together against Aizen, often going directly against the Gotei's orders. Eventually, they found Aizen's weakness and exploited it, but stopping him came at the cost of draining Ichigo's spiritual power. Shortly after parting ways, Rukia woke up to discover herself cut off from access to Soul Society and walking along the fields some distance away from a mysterious city.

If more details are desired, an extensive fandom wikipedia entry exists for Rukia.


Personality: 

Standing at a none-too-impressive one hundred and forty-four centimeters tall, Kuchiki Rukia has long nurtured a loud voice and sharp wit to make up for her diminutive size. As a child, she was first and foremost a survivor, and the legacy remains in her interactions with her closest of friends and peers. She's unafraid of pointing out flaws in the plan, unafraid of being opinionated, bossy, and downright violent if times call for it — there's certainly no shortage of people who've suffered a kick or two from her foot. Having spent most of her formative years around the opposite sex, Rukia herself often proves to be quite the tomboy, although her tendency to daydream and obsess about all things cute keeps her from quite being one of the guys. In calmer moments, her childhood friends described Rukia as having a gentle aura and inexplicable grace, elegant long before she was adopted by a noble family.

Although it isn't uncommon for Rukia to revert to her childhood tendencies, especially when there aren't societal pressures and expectations weighing about her, a great portion of Rukia's personality also consists of traits and habits she learned after being adopted by the house of Kuchiki, one of the four primary noble families in Soul Society. In a world where the population is in a constant and uncertain state of flux, noble families and their members are under heavy pressure to set an example for broader society. In formal situations, Rukia has no difficulty being demure and feminine, whether that requires flashing a smile on the turn of a dime or being cold to those raising too much of a fuss around her. As Rukia has always felt a strong sense of debt to the Kuchiki clan for taking her in, she's worked hard at understanding the politics that necessarily surround nobles in Soul Society, and is capable of behaving with aplomb and subtlety alike, reading other individuals well through the aid of her varied past. She knows how to smile, how to persuade, and although it doesn't tend to be her first inclination, Rukia can be highly manipulative if necessary.

Beneath everything else, Rukia's actions are also colored by a heavy sense of guilt. The man that she admired more than practically anyone else in the world, and who served as a mentor and friend alike, was killed at her hands — in that moment, Rukia saw in herself nothing but cowardice and weakness, and she carries with her those regrets to this day. Subconsciously, Rukia's concern for her own well-being takes a dive whenever she is reminded of Kaien, implicitly or otherwise. In this way, although Rukia knows well how to be a survivor, she can also have moments in which her health is the last priority on her mind, making her quick to throw herself in the way for the sake of others and rarely panicking when her life is put on the line. Being indebted to Kaien, Ichigo, and her brother among others keeps Rukia functioning in spite of her guilt — in many ways, Rukia's personality boils down to living for others.

Abilities: 

Rukia is a shinigami, roughly translating to 'death spirit.' Her job is to help maintain the balance and flow between the living world and the afterlife. All shinigami are capable of the categories of skills listed below with training (swordsmanship, spells, hand-to-hand combat, zanpakutou use), and Rukia herself exhibits skills far beyond the average shinigami.

Swordsmanship: Although the majority of her sword-wielding is done in spirit form, Rukia's skill with the weapon extends into her physical form. She's capable of holding her own against skilled swordsmen far greater than herself in stature, and with heightened strength and agility, is capable of besting most regular humans.

Kidou: Roughly translating to 'demon arts,' the majority of Rukia's skill comes in the form of kidou mastery. Consisting of over a hundred spells developed over many centuries, kidou can range in use from binding and barriers (bakudou, 'way of binding') to offensive attacks (hadou, 'way of destruction') and even healing. Rukia graduated top of her class in kidou, capable of casting spells without their incantations while still wielding decent control and power. Additionally, she has a sharp mind for arranging multiple spells in a unique manner, or even using them simultaneously. There also exist forbidden kidou, namely spells that manipulate space, time, or require self-harm to implement; while Rukia hasn't mastered these kidou, she is aware of their existence and could potentially come to learn them in time.

Hakuda: Translating to 'hand-to-hand combat,' Rukia has a fair amount of fighting skill even without the use of weapons. While her greatest strength and agility comes in her spirit form, Rukia's gigai lends her the ability to take on opponents several times her size, and her heightened speed and diminutive size are both often used to Rukia's advantage. She's been known to continue fighting even after having her vital organs impaled with a sword.

Hohou: Translating to 'fast movement,' hohou is the ability to use spiritual power to boost one's speed beyond that which a human can follow. Rukia has shown herself capable of utilizing the technique shunpo, or 'flash step,' which enables her to travel many yards in less than the blink of an eye. Extremely skilled practitioners of hohou are able to travel hundreds of yards in milliseconds, or even faster than the human eye can see; Rukia is not quite that much of an expert, but is still difficult for humans to trail after.

Zanpakutou: Translating to 'soul-cutter sword,' all shinigami possess swords that are honed and forged by their unique spiritual power. Basic abilities of the zanpakutou include purifying souls, passing souls over to Soul Society, serving as a key to unlock the gate between the living world and Soul Society (this ability is rendered moot in the game, barring any special circumstances down the line), and as a regular bladed weapon. All zanpakutou are capable of manifesting as a sentient entity, but are directly linked to their shinigami; Rukia's zanpakutou is named Sode no Shirayuki (sleeved white snow).

Sode no Shirayuki's regular form is that of a katana with a rectangular tsuba and reddish-brown hilt. Its unique abilities are as follows:

• Shikai: Translating to 'initial release,' when Sode no Shirayuki is first enabled beyond its sealed form, it turns entirely white in color and a white ribbon is formed at the pommel. Being an ice-type sword, Sode no Shirayuki's general ability is that of freezing objects, either targeting from a distance or drawing a path of ice through the air. The first technique, Some no Mai: Tsukishiro (First Dance, White Moon), involves drawing a circle with the tip of the blade, causing everything within the circle to freeze, extending as far upward as Rukia's strength allows, forming a pillar of ice — the ice can then be shattered at her command. The second technique, Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren (Next Dance, White Ripple), again involves drawing a circle with the sword, but then requires stabbing the ground four times in a semi-circle, then releasing a strong avalanche of cold air, causing anything in its path to freeze. The third technique, San no Mai: Shirafune (Third Dance, White Sword), gathers the water in the air around her sword to alter the size and shape of her blade; after altering the zanpakutou, the blade is capable of spreading the cold to the immediate area in a trail, darting after the target at Rukia's direction.
  
  
• Bankai: Translating to 'final release,' all zanpakutou have a release more powerful than the shikai techniques. Rukia's bankai, Hakka no Togame (White Mist Sentence), begins by creating a pillar of blinding white light up from the ground, stretching as far as the atmosphere will allow. Rukia's core body temperature quickly drops down, hitting a potential low of absolute zero for up to four seconds, and everything within her area of influence (dependent on her power levels at the time) is also frozen, increasingly so given its physical proximity to Rukia.
  
  
• Note: Rukia's ability to access her shikai and bankai are heavily dependent on her strength and endurance at the time, and her bankai in particular cannot be accessed indefinitely at any given moment. All of the abilities listed are within her reach when at peak performance.

Personal Item: Rukia's zanpakutou, Sode no Shirayuki. All of the capabilities of Sode no Shirayuki are noted above, in the abilities section.

Sample: Per the waiver of the TDM requirements, providing the following writing sample from a previous roleplay game that I participated in:

Years ago, the difference between Kurosaki Ichigo and Shiba Kaien rested in the temper. Volatile and impetuous, Ichigo was always quick to act, quick to anger, and Rukia's voice seemed to lower perpetually in register just for the sake of pulling him back whenever he dangled on the cusp of making some costly mistake. Ever since picking up the sword, Ichigo had clung to the role with increasing ferocity. It was never about protecting one person, it was about protecting them all, using whatever amount of energy that he had left in his hands. Tearing that away from him now seemed cruel, especially coming off the heels of having saved them all. The last blow hadn't been Ichigo's, but Rukia knew what few people wanted to admit.

That Aizen Sousuke couldn't have been brought to a stop without the help of Kurosaki Ichigo.

And that the opportunity wouldn't rear its head twice frightened Rukia. Ichigo's time with Soul Society was quickly reaching its end, and to return from that to a normal high school life seemed impossible. Surely, he would grow angry. Resentful. Regret spilling his powers away in one blow. Surely, that was the way that Ichigo reacted to all that failed to fall in his favor.

Rukia's eyes widened as he sat in bed upon hearing the news, quiet. Even managing the slight tug of a grin at his lips, however strained.

Years ago, the difference between Ichigo and Kaien was in the temper, but that day, Rukia wasn't sure that a bright line could be drawn at all. He asked to go outside, the last step hesitant before his eyes grew sharp with surprise. He'd told her before, how he'd grown up seeing spirits and ghosts everywhere he could turn. How silence must have felt after that, Rukia couldn't fathom. Rukia herself would never know.

She stepped forward, and the movement hardly made a sound. "This is goodbye, Ichigo."

Catching the dimmed amber of his eyes, Rukia felt her breath catch in her throat. There was nothing to do to fight the tide, and Rukia knew that her own place was in Soul Society, as a shinigami in service of the Gotei. Insurmountable barriers — she could never be so bold as Ichigo's father.

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Ichigo asked, and Rukia felt a snap in her chest.

Eyes heavily lidded and taunting, Rukia raised her chin, crossing her arms jauntily over her chest. "Aha, what's this? Don't look so sad," she teased. "Even if you can no longer see me, at least I'll be able to see you."

The protest lacked fire, but still Ichigo's brow furrowed. Rukia could've sworn that he'd end up with wrinkles by the age of twenty. "The hell? That's nothing to be happy about! And I don't look sad." He paused, eyes catching somewhere near her feet, and Rukia wondered if she was already starting to fade in his eyes. "...tell everybody I said hi."

She couldn't look up just yet. "Sure."

Almost.

Rukia listened to Ichigo breathe, and her eyes flickered upward, stormy gray dark against the surrounding sky. She would see him, Rukia reminded herself. She would always be able to watch over him, see to it that Ichigo was finally able to enjoy the peace he so dearly deserved. But all she could tell herself was to hold her breath a minute longer, to keep from crying in front of Ichigo, his friends, sentimentality that had no place in a moment like this.

"Later, Rukia," he said. "Thank you."

"That's my line," Rukia replied, and judging by his unseeing eyes, he didn't hear a word. Without stopping to glance at the others — it was only a matter of time until she returned to visit — Rukia slid her blade through the air until she felt the slight resistance, sword sliding into the lock and turning. A dark black butterfly fluttered through the air, and a pair of shuttered doors opened, light spilling over her feet.

Urahara Kisuke had always been something of a fleeting presence in Rukia's life. From the stories people told while she was in the Academy, no two of which matched exactly, to the time when they were arguably friends and acquaintances, and he still couldn't be found unless absolutely needed. He's woven in and out of Rukia's life more times than she can count, and not always in innocuous ways. Urahara had a way of trampling into one's world, his steps bending blades of grass, and sending ripples skirting across water.

His absence leaves just as much crumbling around her.

She wakes an instant after it happens. While Urahara may be good at masking his spiritual energy, his absence is still notable, as though someone removed a shade or two of color. Making her way over to his store, Rukia half expects to find Un Chat Gris disappeared as well, perhaps taken with Urahara down the proverbial rabbit hole.

Yet it remains there, cats softly mewling as they walk up to greet Rukia as she enters through the back. Raking her fingers through her hair, Rukia steps inside, eyes tracing the panels of the walls and seeking out boxes of materials that Urahara has hidden throughout the store. Spiritual tools, some to suppress power and others to amplify it. A few false bodies, empty vessels for souls to inhabit. She spends a few hours organizing it all, putting it into a system she can easily navigate.

There are good reasons not to shut down Urahara's back door business, even if there might be different rules regarding the wares from here on out.

But inventory isn't the only loose end that Urahara's left behind as his legacy, and Rukia closes her eyes, seeking out a couple of the souls she needs to speak with immediately on the matter. One is far easier to find, and she gives his soul a little tug — a request, rather than a summon.

"Hope you can spare a few minutes," she murmurs under her breath, standing up and preparing for her guest to arrive.

In many ways, dropping one's body temperature is like a gradual forfeit to sleep. As Rukia feels her whole body slowing to a stop, her emotions start to bleed away, like colors fading under blinding light. The ground underneath her feet shudders, an earthquake at her beckoning, as individual blades of grass grow silent and still in their fight to reach the sun.

She's not supposed to be training here, but after a while, any misgivings die entirely. This area is mostly uninhabited by humans and the dense forestry keeps anyone from catching a ready glance of the ice that spreads quickly over the earth, like spiders' legs weaving through the bark of the trees. There's an appeal to letting all of her worries fade.

Besides, her training grounds have been occupied lately.

"Bankai."

Frost covers her surroundings in a precisely drawn circle, spreading over everything in its path, and stemming from Rukia's body itself. Only her eyes retain their color as she glances around. She spares no softness or regard for a bird that gets in the way of her technique.

A swing of her sword brings the nearest tree down, wood shattering into thin splinters.

Ever since arriving in Darrow, it's become increasingly clear to Rukia that there are multiple cycles through which people's souls run. Nearly disparate worlds that have found different ways to balance within themselves. All of them touch in some way or another, she believes — it's the only way to explain her presence here, the fact that she's been able to leap from one to the other. It's probably not possible to see or comprehend all of them which exist, but at least for those who are in the city, Rukia tries to understand.

She tries to understand what death means.

The library's been one of the best places to research, even though walking among the people often helps as well. Today, though, she's of a mind to keep to herself, not wanting to put up airs or raise smiles where she doesn't feel any. Instead, she remains seated at one of the few tables scattered on the first floor of the library, books piled high beside her as she takes notes.

That's when she feels it — a ghost wandering nearby. The lead in her pencil snaps as she glances up, spotting a young girl walking some space away. There's never an elegant way to go about making directions, but Rukia still wanders to her side, carrying all her books in hand.

A few steps away, she pretends to trip, a couple of volumes about reincarnation skating free and skidding against the ground. "Oh no," she breathes, crouching to try and pick them up. "I'm so sorry about that. Are you okay?"

Most of the time, Rukia doesn't have too much trouble avoiding the boutiques in town. They're carefully nestled down the street, brightly colored and tucked away between the larger buildings, the franchises, all with various, nondescript names that Rukia can't ever manage to remember once she's passed them by. It's probably for the best — Rukia has a greater attachment to the cute things in life than she ever wants to admit, and boutiques happen to be expensive places to shop, making up for the lower volume of customers that they get day by day.

But in the mall, and during holiday season, it gets that much harder. There are boutiques that have gone to great lengths to pick up on the holiday season.

Such as pushing their sales racks outside of the store.

It's what draws Rukia to a store mostly decorated in pinks and pastels, sheepishly rifling through the racks and picking out the occasional dress to hold up against her person. While it's sometimes hard to find clothes in her size, the children's section works well at this store, and the style matches as well. Feminine, frilled, but never ostentatious.

"What would I even do with so many dresses?" Rukia murmurs to herself, holding the waist against herself and twirling a little in the middle of the hall.

There's an instability to the city that drives itself down on Rukia's nerves, wearing them down thin, sharp, brittle. Even though the city's returned back to normal, the mixture of spirits in the air remains unsure, ghosting past Rukia's skin and sight, forcing her to pay closer attention than ever before in Darrow. These days, she spends most of her time in her true form, lingering on rooftops, the evening chill passing through her body as she watches the shadows cast by the moonlight, waiting for the next Hollow to emerge. Hoping, each time, that she'll know exactly how to suppress it.

Somewhere in the distance, Ichigo's patrolling as well, reaching out with his presence — from it, Rukia draws a softer relief, calm encouraged by solidarity.

The howl of a Hollow still trickles down her spine like cool water as Rukia gets to her feet, quickly darting over to where the fledgling spirit scratches uselessly at concrete. Sensing the fleeting movement in shadow, the creature starts to turn around, sending an almost plaintive cry through the night — too human for a Hollow, almost, and it makes Rukia wince — but its movements are too slow to keep up with Rukia's zanpakutou, which drives itself directly in the soft, exposed span of skin over the back of its head.

Expression even, she shakes the few lingering drops of blood off of the blade before stalling, belatedly feeling a gaze turned on her from the distance.

The thing about trying to root out spirits before they become Hollows is that it's akin to combing through sand. The world is a place that looks calm from a distance, the actions of any given person most likely falling into a regular pattern that never varies by much. Ghosts tend to be earth-bound, tend to cling to those parts of their lives which remained constant before, and the ability to blend in is as seamless as the chains are strong. Sometimes, Rukia has to literally walk through a building before a ghost rears its head.

Naturally, scanning across the whole of Darrow becomes a near impossibility, and the howls of Hollows are starting to surface with greater frequency, each feeling like a failure to Rukia. Each spirit that falls prey to its inner emptiness is a spirit in pain, and every spirit in pain becomes a danger to the living.

Rukia does her best to quickly find them all, but it isn't always easy, nor is it always perfect. And that's what has her by the beach tonight, having chased a Hollow to the ocean in hopes of avoiding damage done to private property. The Hollow is no great threat, taking up the shape of a snake with an almost reptilian bone-like mask covering its face, but the streams of poison that it shoots from its teeth are enough to wear through her robes, Rukia hissing in pain as she raises her sword, preparing to try and strike again.

The revelations were growing more disturbing by the day. Not only had three months unearthed very little in the vein of potential ways off the island, the phenomena which took over Darrow in any number of ways, from fog to the reawakened, were also making Rukia more uneasy by the minute. Some people might have been accustomed to the idea of there being multiple verses functioning in any number of ways, but to Rukia, there was only her world. There was only the balance that she'd learned of her whole life, the divide between the living and the dead, a cycle which tossed about but rarely tipped.

Darrow changed everything.

While able to keep a straight eye for most of it, sometimes Rukia found herself needing an anchor. Today was one of those days, Rukia making her way over to the town park and stretching her muscles out, testing out a few basic forms in her tank and capris. To anyone watching as she passed through the basic hakuda moves, it was pretty clear that Rukia had some level of experience.

But no one would have been able to mistake her for someone with decades of it. She kept her moves casual, hoping to slip under people's radar, because this was a time for thinking. Not explanations.