As Atsuko and Ayaka are twins, I have decided to merge their profiles into one. If this is not okay, I can separate them. However, doing so would result in many similarities – particularly with the background, since they grew up under the same household. This, and their visual similarities, is the main reason I chose to merge them. If this is an issue, I can split them - just know that the backgrounds, in particular, would be identical.
At any rate, if there are any issues, or any parts that are confusing, please let me know. I was getting a little tired near the end (late night), so I might have slipped up. If not, bonus!
Lastly... the two accounts are there, but I could obviously only post this under one.
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Name: Koizuki Atsuko and Koizuki Ayaka (both written surname, given name)
Age: 115
Visual Age: 19
Years since Entrance into the Gotei 13: Roughly 30 years
Gender: Female
Division: 13th division
Rank: Both are Lieutenant level in skill and strength, however they hold different ranks for formality.
Atsuko – 13th division Lieutenant
Ayaka – 13th division 3rd seat
Appearance: Being twins, both Atsuko and Ayaka share an identical body style. In terms of shinigami years, they are in the prime of their youth, so to speak, as they both bear a body resembling that of a 19 year old. Roughly 5’9” tall, they are a slight bit shorter than their mother, the Amazonian aspects somewhat lessened as they are her offspring rather than her siblings. However, both Atsuko and Ayaka still have an impressive athletic form – slim and fit, yet accentuated in the right places as well thanks to their genes – and both work hard to keep the form. If one were to compare a picture of the twins now, and their mother at this age, they would look nearly identical, as Ayaka and Atsuko do now when compared to each other. That being said, the two do have their differences, which they choose to make known so as to differentiate themselves
Atsuko, for example, keeps her hair longer, much like Erika did in her youth. It has grown long enough to reach the back of her waist, a length she prefers to keep it at. Her hair color is a slightly different tone than Erika’s as well, losing the violet tint, making it a deep, almost raven color. Her eyes are the other noticeable difference, being a light grey in color.
Ayaka, on the other hand, keeps her hair cut short – barely long enough to touch her shoulders. In addition to this, her hair is a lighter color, with a more noticeable blue hue, often making her stand out a little more than her sister. Her eyes, while also grey, are darker too. The last difference between the two – visually – is their skin tone. Ayaka’s skin tone is slightly more tanned than her sister’s, as it seems to be more sensitive to the sun. Neither is sure why, but they welcome the difference, as it makes it easier to tell them apart.
One other point of difference is the type of uniform both twins wear. Atsuko favors the standard shinigami uniform, whereas Ayaka chooses to wear a sleeveless variant more commonly seen around 2nd division and the Stealth Forces. She feels it lets her move around easier, as she favors a more agile, up close type of fighting style.
Personality: The personality is where Atsuko and Ayaka truly differ. In plain terms, Ayaka is the brash, aggressive twin while Atsuko is more reserved, and responsible – much like Erika in her youth, compared to how she is now. This, however, is merely scratching the surface.
Ayaka, at first glance, is a very up-front girl. She tends to leave nothing unsaid, and is often quick to get riled up. She enjoys physical activities like training, sparring, and fighting quite a bit. This is not to say that she is a mean person, though. Ayaka is fun loving and a nice person, she just takes pleasure in more extreme ways. She does have a bit of a temper as well, which is much easier to provoke when compared with Atsuko. One thing should be noted about her, though – despite how she presents herself, Ayaka is actually a very intelligent being, more so even than her sister, and can even be just as responsible when needed. She does well to hide this fact, however, as she says it would ruin her image. One other thing she has been unable to shake – yet keeps a secret from all but her family – is that she is also afraid of the dark, terrified even.
Atsuko is almost the polar opposite of her sister Ayaka. She is more reserved in her speech and much more polite. She keeps a cool head in all situations, and is generally known to be the responsible twin. As she is just as athletic as her sister, Atsuko enjoys the same sort of physical activity – even the sparring – though she will not go out of her way to pick a fight. More often, she is forced to play Ayaka’s conscience, so to speak. Or, as Ayaka would put it, she is forced to be the wet blanket. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t like to have fun once in a while, Atsuko just knows when it is appropriate to do so. As far as fears are concerned, Atsuko does not suffer from the fear of darkness that her sister does, and holds no ill feelings for having to be there when her sister needs it, from time to time.
There are two things that both sisters share, however. The first, is an almost supernatural awareness of each other – nearing telepathy, as others have described it. Even at a distance, they can almost sense each others’ feelings, and in battle, they can seemingly communicate without words. The second is a sort of fear for the other’s safety. This is more prominent in Atsuko, however. Ayaka, being the more aggressive twin, tends to get herself in trouble. While Atsuko is usually very calm and collected, the sight of her sister badly wounded is more than enough to drive her to a blind rage. The same can be said for Ayaka, though she is surprisingly less susceptible to such a severe state.
Fighting Style: Both Atsuko and Ayaka have a similar fighting style in terms of theory; both are very quick on their feet, and quite agile. There are a few key differences, however. First of all, Ayaka has never been very good with shunpo, while her sister Atsuko excels at it. In addition, Ayaka prefers a more close range fight as her zanpakuto takes the form of a wakizashi, while Atsuko prefers to keep her opponents at range with her zanpakuto taking the form of a larger nodachi like her mother. In shikai, these roles stick as well; Ayaka’s weapon is similarly short, whereas Atsuko’s becomes a polearm. It is a good contrast, and the two work well with it in battle.
This is the most important thing that should be noted: when fighting alone, either sister is roughly lieutenant level in power and a tough opponent. However, when both fight together as a team, they are much more capable than the sum of their parts, so to speak. The bond they share as twins allows them to communicate with the slightest of movements, or the smallest of glances, with outsiders describing the phenomenon as almost telepathic.
Background: Atsuko and Ayaka were born into a very unique living situation: their mother, Erika Shikou, was a Captain of the Gotei 13, and their father, Koizuki Ayumu had been killed before their birth. They were named for their father, thus through the name Koizuki – and their mere existence, of course – his memory would live on. Of course, for the first few years of their lives, this had no impact on them. Erika took some time off from her position, leaving her seated officers to run the division in her stead so she could raise her daughters. So, for the first few years of life, Atsuko and Ayaka had a fairly peaceful and normal life.
This changed around the time they could walk and talk. At this point, they were old enough that Erika was comfortable either leaving them in the care of a trusted friend, or more often, bringing them to the office with her while she worked. In fact, it was only when Erika had to attend a Captain’s meeting, or some other gathering where the twins could not accompany her that she left them in the care of another. They were her life, after all. As a result, growing up, Atsuko and Ayaka learned much about the shinigami, and the workings of the 13th division – much more than anyone else their age. That was another point too; as an unfortunate result of Erika’s position, Atsuko and Ayaka were alone, when it came to children their age. It was rare for a shinigami to have a family such as this, so there was little Erika could do about finding friends for her daughters.
Fortunately, it was not long before Atsuko and Ayaka were old enough to enter the Shinigami Academy. They did so at their mother’s insistence, though it is likely that they would have done so regardless. Whether or not one believes in fate, the fact that their mother was a Captain of the Gotei 13 meant that they were destined to become shinigami – strong ones, at that. It was simply in their blood. So, the two entered the Academy, intent on putting their all into it.
Unsurprisingly, both began at the head of class, simply because of all they had learned while accompanying Erika around the division. The challenges didn’t kick in until the second year, at which point both were forced to actually put effort into the work. Ayaka, being the subtly more intelligent twin, often had an easier time with the intellectual work. On the other hand, Atsuko was slightly more gifted with the other aspects of the Academy, such as kido and physical training. Regardless of their individual strengths, however, both eventually graduated from the Academy with flying colors.
The moment they did, Erika saw to it that they were assigned to her division. From an outsider’s perspective, this was seen as an effort by Erika to pamper her two daughters, though the reality was far from it. Immediately upon reporting for duty, Erika put her daughters through a training regiment far more intense than what the Academy had to offer. She loved her daughters very much, and never wanted to see them hurt. However, she could not personally protect them at all times. The solution? She would train them to be the best shinigami they could possibly be. Atsuko and Ayaka saw it as hell. Though they appreciated the results of the training, it didn’t change the fact that Erika was a ruthless drill instructor.
In time, however, they reached a point that Erika could no longer effectively teach them anything new. Atsuko and Ayaka had passed her rigorous training, and in doing so, had become full-fledged members of 13th division. From then on, Atsuko and Ayaka trained together, pushing each other to become stronger. Having achieved shikai during training with their mother, all they could do was continue to fight, and learn their respective zanpakutos inside out. Finally, their efforts paid off – likely much later than they should have. Erika promoted them, not only giving them a seated position, but assigning Atsuko to be Lieutenant, and Ayaka to be 3rd seat.
Both were strong enough to hold the position of Lieutenant, however officially, there could be only one. Neither Atsuko nor Ayaka seemed to mind, however. With the added authority came added paperwork – paperwork which Ayaka hated to do. So, she was more than glad to hand over the Lieutenant position to her sister. These promotions occurred very recently as well – a little over a year ago – and since then, much of their time has been spent getting used to the position and their required duties. Only recently have Atsuko and Ayaka been able to begin to relax a bit, and relish in their accomplishments…
Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:26 am by 
