Erika Shikou (Approved)

A few things to note first.

- I am a new member to the site, as such I do not expect this to be completely acceptable on the first try. As always, I'm willing to do what it takes to fix it and make it acceptable

- Erika is the first of three characters I hope to bring here - the other two being Koizuki Ayaka and Koizuki Atsuko, her twin daughters. Once Erika is accepted, I will make their character sheets as well, as they will fill the Lieutenant and 3rd seat positions of 13th division.

- Once Erika is accepted, I will make her zanpakuto as well. The same goes for both twins, eventually.

- Lastly, I'm not sure if this is the norm or not, but I intend to do the sample post after Erika and her zanpakuto are both accepted. The same goes for the Practice Fight as well, though that is more obvious.

I apologize if the background is long... it is late, and when I start to get tired, I seem to write a lot more. I also come from sites where writing a lot is a base requirement.

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Name: Erika Shikou (Given name, Surname)

Age: 413

Visual Age: 43

Years since Entrance into the Gotei 13: 325

Gender: Female

Division: 13th Division

Rank: Captain

Appearance: Erika, while being a Captain, is not an overly imposing woman. She is not incredibly muscled, not is she incredibly tall. That being said, with her height being roughly 5’11”, Erika does stand a little taller than most women. As she is a Captain, she strives to keep a trim, athletic figure. This, coupled with her somewhat voluptuous figure and dark blue, almost violet coloured hair give her a bit of an Amazonian look. Of course, this exotic look has faded somewhat over the years. With her age surpassing 400 years, Erika has the visage of an experienced woman – one who has seen many things, ranging from war to motherhood and everything in between. Her hair, which she used to allow grow as long as it could, is kept just long enough to reach her shoulder blades. Erika’s eyes, light blue in colour, remain the same, the fierce determination shown in them tracing back to the first day she became a shinigami.

As far as her outfit is concerned, Erika retains the standard shinigami uniform, as well as her Captain’s haori, of which she has chosen the sleeveless variety. Her only form of customization to the wardrobe is a dark blue sash worn diagonally across her torso, from which her zanpakuto hangs on her back. In addition, both her uniform and haori have a pair of vertical cuts made on the back, which are there to facilitate her bankai in which Erika gains a pair of wings. Usually, Erika removes her haori for this, however the cuts are in the haori just in case she does not.

Personality: Erika’s outlook on life has changed dramatically over the years. If one were to compare her to her younger self, fresh out of the shinigami academy, the two would seem like completely different beings. Now, after her many years as a mother – which are ongoing, but less so now that her daughters can fend for themselves – Erika is a much more open and personable person. She is easy to talk to, has a good sense of humour, and generally has a good outlook on life. However, she still retains her fierce battle instinct. In conjunction with this, should her daughters be put in danger, Erika would devote her life to preserving their safety. To anyone who threatens her daughters, Erika is their worst nightmare.

When it comes to her duties as a Captain, Erika still keeps a well disciplined squad. Strict training regimens and relatively high expectations from all members of her squad – varied for each level of member’s responsibilities – are the order of the day. Erika sets the example herself as well, ensuring that all paperwork is done on time, and that she obeys the rules she enforces. In addition, her daughters are not exempt from any of this – if anything, they are under more scrutiny. Even so, all of this is on duty only and her squad knows it – it is likely the main reason her squad doesn’t hate her as a whole.

Fighting Style: Erika’s preferred fighting style is one that revolves around agility and precision. Though skilled in kido as most Captains are, Erika rarely uses it, instead relying on her skills with hand to hand combat, and to a greater degree her skills with her zanpakuto to get the job done. With her zanpakuto being a wind-type, it aids her agility-inspired style, allowing her to move swiftly and precisely. Her attacks are not launched haphazardly; every one serves a purpose, and every one is precisely how she wants it to be.

Background: Erika’s life in Soul Society is composed of three main parts. Her early years, in which she graduated from the shinigami academy after a relatively normal life in the Rukongai up until the time she became Captain; her time as a Captain, during which she met – and lost – the love of her life; and finally, her years as a mother, which have lasted until the current point in time.

Like many shinigami before her, Erika began her life in the Rukongai. She was part of a household, a group of souls who had no family and yet decided to group together and form one. She was one of two sisters and three brothers, all of whom were watched over by one of the elder souls who lived in the district. Life was rough, but not impossible. They each held jobs so that they did not have to beg or steal. Over time, as they grew to become young adults, Erika began to change. She began to feel hunger – something a normal soul did not experience. She, and her siblings, were confused by this at first, and sought out the elder for answers. It was then that Erika learned that this meant she had a certain power, one that would allow her to become a shinigami, if she so chose.

It was at the insistence of her siblings that Erika joined the Shinigami Academy. She wasn’t all for it herself. She was a tough woman, but she had never truly wanted to be a shinigami. However, the Academy provided her with a challenge, and with a new life. She was torn between the challenge and the prospect of a meaningful life, and her makeshift family back with the normal life. Unfortunately, in her second year at the Academy, the decision was made for her. News came of a disturbance in the district Erika hailed from. Apparently a gang of thieves had run through the area, ransacking homes and stealing what valuables they could find. Shinigami had been dispatched to deal with them, and when they arrived, the thieves turned violent. Erika’s family was killed in the crossfire, leaving her with no one – and no choice but to continue in the Academy and become a shinigami.

Erika became more closed off then, and focused all her time on becoming the best shinigami she could be. The Academy, once a challenge, became mere child’s play, and she graduated at the head of her class. She was assigned to a division immediately, and from there she began her own rigid training regimen. Erika achieved shikai, and progressed through the ranks at a steady pace, impressing her superiors to no end. It was around the time that she began her personal bankai training – bankai being something she had been frequently told was impossible to all but a select few - that she was transferred to 13th division, which had a lack of skilled Officers thanks to an incident a short while back that robbed them of their Captain.

By the time Erika had completed her training – and thus achieved Bankai – she was already leading 13th division. A Captain had yet to be selected, so the division’s Lieutenant was forced to lead instead. That Lieutenant was Erika Shikou. Once the Captains of the Gotei 13 learned of Erika’s achievement, it was only a short time before she received one final promotion, to that of the 13th division’s Captain. Erika had finally conquered the world of the shinigami – she had reached the highest rank she could. As if to celebrate her promotion, she was also granted a new Lieutenant, transferred in from another division to make room for a promotion within. That lieutenant’s name was Koizuki Ayumu.

Each time Erika told the story of her time with Ayumu, the story changed. However, each telling had one thing in common – it wasn’t long after the two met that they fell in love. For one reason or another, Ayumu’s carefree attitude was able to penetrate Erika’s rough personality, getting her to open up once more like she used to as a young girl in the Rukongai. One thing led to another, and eventually they were to be married.

Unfortunately, for Erika, lightning seemed to strike twice. Once with the incident in the Rukongai that robbed her of the only family she had as a child, and the second time with a routine patrol gone wrong. Details on the event are still sketchy, but most reports coincide to describe an incident in which Ayumu was dispatched with a small squad of shinigami to the outskirts of the rukongai, to itrack down and recapture an escaped convict. The convict, a shinigami who had gone insane a few years back, had recently escaped from prison. Ayumu underestimated the man, assuming that since he was insane, he would be reckless and easy to capture. This was not the case. The convict ambushed them, killing Ayumu and his squad. He was later chased down by 2nd division and killed, but the damage had already been done. Erika was robbed of her love, and she had no one to take out her vengeance on. Stricken with grief, she went through a brief time of uncertainty, which ended with the discovery of something amazing.

She was pregnant. What seemed like a short time later, Erika was gifted with two daughters – twin daughters, in fact. She was forced to take an extended break from her duties as a Captain, during which time she raised the girls herself. She named them for their father, as a lasting memory of him: Koizuki Ayaka and Koizuki Atsuko. Once the first few months had passed, Erika returned to partial duty, juggling raising her daughters with managing the division. Years passed, and her daughters grew quickly.

Eventually, after what seemed like the blink of an eye for Erika, Ayaka and Atsuko were of age to join the Shinigami Academy. They were more than ready – already, Erika had trained them in combat and kido, so that they could defend themselves. The twins succeeded in graduating from the Academy a year early as a result, and upon their graduation, Erika ensured that they were assigned to her division. The two took after their mother, growing in skill and strength faster even than Erika had. Eventually, the two had proved themselves enough that Erika promoted them to Lieutenant 3rd seat of her division – there was only one lieutenant spot, after all.

From that point on, Erika continued to lead 13th division as she always had – but now, she had two daughters following close in her footsteps.




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Edit: Taking out the name 'Vizard', as they aren't known yet to the Gotei 13.
Edit 2: Taking out the whole Vizard thing entirely, replacing with insane convict.
Edit 3: Simply adding the vertical slats to her uniform. Nothing major.

Bravo Bravo......

I must say out of all the lastest new members to have joined you have stepped up, and become one of my favorites. i simply love this Profile. Well thought out, and you added not one, but TWO of the plots key points all in one package. I like the idea of your character being a mother. Your backstory was very entertaining to the point where I read it Four times. i don;t see anything wrong.

However.

the part about the Vizard is well thought out it seems but the Captains, and all other don;t find out about them till the current storyline. So you may have to change that. Maybe something about a shinigami, and a hollow at the same place. Or giving hints about a Vizard, but still something unknown.

other then that I'm looking forward to your Zanpakuto. As I am the only current Wind-user in this RPG, and would like to see how you make due.

With my first act as a Mod. I

APPROVE

make the slight changes, and head on to your Zanpakuto. Be mindful that any of the other Mods can come back, and point out any other mistakes or changes I did not. but i doubt it do Nice Job.

Finally a well thought out, and Great character after a some what string of BLAH. Welcome to Bleach-Awakening.

Ahh, I wasn't aware of the Vizard thing. I'll change that.

Failing that, I'll turn it around to be something else.

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome, I'm glad you liked it. Once I will edit the above post, then move on and do her Zanpakuto (it rather surprises me that there are no wind-types as of yet). After that... the twins.


Edit: My question was answered, thus I removed it.

Edit 2: I completed the required edits, and slipped them into the above post. So, once the change is approved (in the paragraph that previously mentioned Vizard), I will move on to the zanpakuto.

Everything looks good now and changes have been approved. A very good profile all around.

APPROVED

Zanpakuto is next.