Application for Ukitake Jushiro
PLAYER INFO
Name/Nickname: Batty
Age: 18
Journal: batty_chan
AIM/MSN/IM: AIM: battypichugirl MSN: Batty-chan@hotmail.com
Email: battypichugirl@yahoo.com
CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Ukitake Jushiro
Canon: Bleach anime
Point taken from canon: Directly post Soul Society arc, after Aizen, Tousen, and Ichimaru have departed for Hueco Mundo
Age: Approximately a little over 2,000 (looks about 36)
Gender: Male
Preferred Village: Kusasato
Appearance: One of the first things that is noticed when looking at Ukitake is his long, white hair, which supposedly turned color soon after his illness first surfaced. It falls down past his shoulders to about quarter of the way down his back, and the thirteenth division captain always wears it loose.
Ukitake suffers from tuberculosis, which causes him to periodically cough up blood, as well as general feelings of weakness, reflected in the features of his face, which usually appears rather gaunt and exhausted, even when he is smiling. His pale complexion and prominent cheekbones (especially when viewed in profile) contribute to this image as well, as does the fact that he is incredibly thin for his height, at a mere 159 lbs for a height of 6’1’’.
Ukitake dresses very simply, in comparison with some of the other captains. There are no embellishments to the standard Soul Reaper uniform, with the white captain’s haori worn on top. A simple white obi sash and his zanpakutou are all that adorn his side.
Background: The Bleach wiki’s article on Ukitake
((According to Wikipedia, Ukitake is from a minor aristocratic family, which I take to assume means he was “born” in the Soul Society because it’s highly unlikely mortal nobility would all find each other in Rukongai after they died.))
Jushiro Ukitake was born the eldest son of a minor aristocratic family in the Soul Society with seven younger siblings, five brothers and two sisters. Not much is known about his childhood or adolescence, other than having contracted his illness at some point while he was young, and his hair turned white soon afterward.
It is around this time that he was enrolled in the Soul Reaper Academy, where he was to meet his future best friend and fellow captain, Shunsui Kyoraku. He and Kyoraku were personally trained by Head Captain Yamamoto, and were among the very first to become captains, along with Captain Retsu Unohana.
About 110 years back, Ukitake tried (and succeeded) to convince an initially-reluctant Kaien Shiba to become his lieutenant. Because of his illness, he often found himself unable to perform all of his duties as a captain and Kaien took over the day-to-day duties of managing squad thirteen for a number of years.
At some point during this period of time, Rukia joined the Soul Reaper Academy and was adopted into the noble Kuchiki family. She was placed into a squad immediately--squad thirteen, Ukitake's own division. She grew attached to Kaien rapidly and came to respect Ukitake as something of a mentor figure during her time in the squad.
Things changed at the appearance of a new hollow. Apparently, it had killed every Soul Reaper that had encountered it, and when the reconnaissance team went to get information on it, the entire unit was slaughtered aside from Kaien's wife Miyako. She, unfortunately, was possessed by the hollow, who used her body to attack her fellow division mates.
Enraged by this affront to his wife's honor, Kaien asked Ukitake for permission to go after the hollow, a request that the captain agreed to, and he and Rukia came along with him.
The group came upon the remains of Miyako's soul reaper uniform just before finding the hollow again, and Kaien asked permission to fight it and avenge Miyako alone.
During the battle, Kaien's zanpakuto was shattered due to the hollow's special ability. Ukitake told Rukia that this was a battle Kaien was fighting for honor and that they should not interfere, even if they wanted to. The battle continued for a short time afterwards, until the hollow possessed Kaien.
The thirteenth division captain entered the battle at this point and instructed Rukia to run. The hollow stated that Kaien could not be "saved" from its control as their souls had now merged, to which Ukitake replied that he would then destroy Kaien's body with the hollow inside it.
Unfortunately, Ukitake's battle was interrupted by a sudden attack of his illness, which left him momentarily incapacitated. However, at this point, Rukia returned, and the hollow possessing Kaien leaped at her. Some part of Kaien's mind regained enough control, however, to change the hollow's course, and he ended up impaled upon Rukia's sword, and died only a few minutes later.
The events between this incident and Rukia being sent out on patrol to Karakura Town where she met Ichigo are unknown, but at some point Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki were promoted to third seat, although Ukitake has not yet chosen either to replace Kaien as lieutenant.
He is not seen canonically until rather late in the Soul Society arc, the first time being when he is told by a messenger of Aizen’s supposed “death,” which he appears to be rather shocked by, particularly when he asks why he wasn’t informed immediately when it happened (the messenger answers that he didn’t want to awaken Ukitake, which suggests he was resting from a recent attack of his illness at the time).
Ukitake is then not seen again until he visits the Repentance Cell, in which he stops Byakuya from killing Ganju Shiba and Hanataro Yamada, and tells the pair that despite their actions, their intentions had been to protect his subordinate, for which he is grateful and manages to get them both only imprisoned instead of executed. He later hears that Rukia’s execution date has been moved up and he tries to confront Byakuya to get the noble to intervene on her behalf but the man responds coldly and tells him it should not matter whether she lives or dies as one more lost subordinate should not make a difference to him. Ukitake is enraged by his callousness, and in attempting to yell at him, his illness flares and Byakuya leaves. He decides to try to save Rukia himself and at first attempts to request a hearing with the Central 46 (which is denied because said governing body had been entirely slaughtered by Aizen who was pulling the strings behind the execution from the background).
When this fails, he seeks to save Rukia by other means, namely destroying the Sokyoku-the weapon of execution in this case-itself. He unseals the Shihouin Shield, and he and Shunsui Kyoraku arrive at the execution site (almost too late!) and destroy the Sokyoku. Yamamoto is angered by this act which he sees as practically treason and confronts them-but Kyoraku grabs Ukitake and they along with Kyoraku’s lieutenant, Nanao Ise, run away from Sokyoku hill, so as to move the fight elsewhere. Yamamoto catches up to them and releases his zanpakutou (after nearly choking/crushing Nanao with his spiritual pressure) and urges Ukitake and Kyoraku to release theirs as well, so they may fight on equal footing with them. The fight is unfortunately not shown, although the two captains clearly held their own against him, as they are still fighting when they receive the message from the fourth division lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, that Aizen is a traitor. This news is just as shocking as the earlier news of his death had been, because…everyone assumed he was dead and the fact that it had all been an elaborate ruse came as a surprise to everyone. He voices his surprise that Aizen has become “this corrupt” while the former captain and his two allies (Tousen and Ichimaru) are escaping to Hueco Mundo with the Menos. After the incident, and as thanks for saving Rukia and exposing Aizen for what he was, he gives Ichigo a badge that allows him to legally hunt hollows in Karakura Town and transform into his shinigami form at will.
Personality: If one had to choose two words that best described Jushiro Ukitake, “kind” and “honorable” are the most likely to be picked. Ukitake is a very gentle-hearted captain, and treats everyone around him with respect, whatever their rank, age, or skill level.
He’s a very patient and understanding man, and very forgiving of mistakes and even outright failures as he believes that there are lessons to be learned in defeat as well as victory.
Ukitake has a very powerful work ethic, and will try to ignore his illness as much as he can so that he can perform as much of his captain’s duties as he is physically able-sometimes to the detriment of his already poor health. Unlike his best friend and fellow captain Kyoraku, lying around has never suited the thirteenth division leader, and he is at his happiest when he is doing something for the good of the Seireitei and the Soul Society. Nevertheless, Ukitake is never too busy to give a warm, friendly smile to a subordinate or fellow captain, or to lend a listening ear to someone who is feeling troubled. He is the type of man one can talk to without fear of being judged-all that is given by the thirteenth captain is support and understanding, and advice, if it is asked of him.
To Jushiro Ukitake, the highest authority is not Captain Yamamoto or the Central 46, but his own conscience. Ukitake has a strong faith in justice and believes in the overall goodness of people, but he will not hesitate to question a judgment that he believes is wrong. He’s shown himself willing to break rules to fight for what he feels is right, even facing the Head Captain, his former sensei, for the sake of doing so.
Loyalty is as deeply entrenched into his being as his commitment to working hard for the Soul Society, possibly even more so. He will do everything in his power to protect those he commands and the ones close to them, and feels deep personal guilt when one of them is hurt or killed. This sentiment of guilt has been in large part the reason for not yet replacing his fallen lieutenant, Kaien Shiba. Similarly, honor is very important to Ukitake-he once told Rukia that there were two types of battles, those fought to save lives and those fought to protect honor, and that one must never interfere in another’s battle of the latter kind. He brings the same honor and integrity to his battles, always showing his opponents respect and courtesy, and refuses to fight against a child or even in the presence of one, because of the risk of hurting the child.
Abilities/Strengths:
Ukitake’s greatest strength where battle is concerned would be his vast experience. Having been a captain for about two millennia, he’s seen a multitude of different combat styles and different zanpakutou releases, as well as had that amount of time to hone his own skills. This experience is extensive enough to compensate for much of his physical frailty and allows him to still be a formidable opponent. He is also fortified by an immense amount of spiritual pressure, rivaling that of even Yamamoto, the head captain and founder of the Shinigami Academy.
Personality-wise, his strengths are unquestionably tied to his leadership skills. Despite being often incapacitated by his illness so that he cannot perform the day-to-day functions of leading his division, he still manages to inspire a great deal of admiration and respect from his subordinates due to his kind nature, to the point where his two third seats literally compete with each other constantly for his attention and praise.
-Zanpakutou-his sword, essentially the physical manifestation/representation of his soul. All zanpakutou have three different states: sealed form, the first release (shikai), and the second release (bankai). The first release is obtained by learning the name of one’s zanpakutou from its zanpakutou spirit which lives deep inside a shinigami’s soul. To release one’s shikai, the shinigami needs to speak the release phrase and then the name of the zanpakutou. Ukitake’s zanpakutou is Sogyo no Kotowari, and its release phrase is “All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade” (His known shikai ability will be described below, with his other abilities. The extent of Ukitake’s canonical abilities is not entirely known, but an idea of his strength level can be gathered from the fact that he and Kyoraku were the first captains to graduate from the Shinigami Academy, personally trained by Yamamoto himself, and held their own against Yamamoto in a battle) The secondary state of release, bankai, is achieved by first manifesting one’s zanpakutou spirit into the physical realm, and then subjugating it. Only captain-level shinigami (aside from Renji, long after Kaien’s death, and Ikkaku) have attained it, but we have yet to see Ukitake’s bankai release. ((note to mods: I don’t how the lack of this knowledge would figure into the gameplay since obviously he knows his Bankai, so could I say that somehow the gods have interfered with his ability to release it to save confusion?))
Ukitake is a shinigami, literally a “god of death.” However, unlike shinigami in many other fandoms, Bleach shinigami do not control life and death in that they do not dictate when a living being dies (other than…physically stabbing and killing them or something… which would be very much NOT CONDONED). Their primary duties are to assist souls that linger in the world of the living to pass on, and purify hollows-monsters created when a soul loses its heart from lingering too long or being devoured by another hollow-wherever they appear. They are spirit beings composed of spirit particles known as reshi. Because their bodies are different than that of humans, they age far more slowly (as of yet it has been unheard of for a shinigami to die of old age, but it might be possible? Yamamoto, the founder of the shinigami academy is over 2,000 years old himself) and can take far more damage before they are killed according to one early episode. However, most injuries considered fatal to humans (i.e. being stabbed in the heart, etc.) generally will either kill a shinigami as well or at least severely wound them to the point that they will die without immediate attention. At the least, it can be assumed that they fatigue a lot slower than humans.
-Konso-soul burial. The hilt of one’s zanpakutou is pressed to the forehead of a soul lingering in the human world, and the soul gets sent to the Soul Society with a Hell Butterfly. This will be utterly useless in Kannagara, but is worthy of note.
-Kido-Shinigami often focus their spiritual pressure (reiatsu) into spells collectively known as kido. There are two main categories of kido: bakudo (binding spells) and hado (destructive spells), though there are uncategorized spells along with healing kido spells-which, unlike all others, do not have names or numbers. ((Note: while all shinigami can do these spells to some degree, like Rukia, those of the medical fourth division are specifically able to collect reiatsu into their hands for the purpose of healing, an ability known as reiki))
-Reshi platform -all shinigami have the ability to stand/walk/run in midair as if it were a solid surface by collecting and solidifying reshi beneath their feet. They can be knocked out of midair by a powerful attack, however.
-Shunpo/Flash step-the ability to move faster than the eye can see. The objective of this technique is to be able to get from one place to another as fast as possible in the least number of steps. It requires a lot of training to master, though some degree of natural proficiency is needed as well.
-Shikai-Sogyo no Kotowari has been seen to be able to absorb energy-based attacks through the left sword of his double zanpakutou (it transforms after he speaks the release phrase) and redirects it through the right sword and fires it back at the attacker. The energy is directed through the rope that connects the two blades, which accelerates the attack faster than it was fired. All of this happens fast enough to look like the attack originally came from Sogyo no Kotowari.
Weaknesses: Ukitake’s primary weakness is his chronic illness. If he gets too worked up emotionally (particularly angry or upset), or if he exerts himself too much physically, his illness often flares and he is temporarily incapacitated as his body is wracked by a coughing fit. Another weakness combat-wise would be the length of his zanpakutou’s release phrase. Shinigami each have a phrase that must be spoken before the shikai (initial release) can be performed. His is the longest currently revealed, and this is a bit of disadvantage due to the possibility of being attacked or intercepted while the phrase is being spoken and his zanpakutou is transforming.
In regards to his personality, while his kind and caring nature is generally a very positive trait of his, he has a tendency of caring…too much, it could be said. He takes the well-being of those close to him or under his command very personally and tends to feel intense personal guilt should something happen to them, even if it is not his fault at all or if there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. The death of his lieutenant (and close personal friend, it is implied) has weighed heavily on him and he’s never quite been able to get over it. He was also so greatly angered when Byakuya said that the death of another subordinate should not matter to him when Rukia’s execution date is moved up that he triggered an attack of his illness.
Defining Quote(s):
"Rukia, remember this. There are two types of fights. Whenever we are in battle, we must be one of the two. The fight for life or…the fight for pride! Right now…He is fighting for his pride! His wife’s pride…his men's pride…Most importantly…his own personal pride. Dismiss this as his stubbornness…and let him fight alone like this…" -Jushiro Ukitake
“The heart unites whatever the mind separates, pushes on beyond the arena of necessity and transmutes the struggle into love.” -Nikos Kazantzakis
“Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.” -Langston Hughes
“I have seen the truth; I have seen and I know that people can be beautiful and happy without losing the power of living on earth. I will not and cannot believe that evil is the normal condition of mankind. And it is just this faith of mine that they laugh at. But how can I help believing it? I have seen the truth - it is not as though I had invented it with my mind, I have seen it, seen it, and the living image of it has filled my soul for ever.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky
Other: ((headcanon extrapolated from what is given in canon))
Ukitake is a gentle, peace-loving man. He is not easily provoked to anger and prefers to resolve conflicts peacefully whenever possible. He does not like violence and gets little enjoyment out of battling, not at all sharing the bloodlust of his fellow captain Zaraki. Because of these notions, and except in cases of a hollow or arrancar attack, Ukitake will only draw his zanpakutou as a very last resort if all attempts at resolving the situation peacefully fail.
Once he has actually engaged in combat, however, his method of fighting is strongly influenced by his primary limiting factor: his illness. Ukitake has to be careful not to exert himself too much during battle, as the few moments he would be incapacitated if his illness flares up at that point could be fatal, especially if his enemy is a higher class of Menos or one of the Espada. This calls for a degree of efficiency in expending energy, so Ukitake often begins a battle defensively, scoping out an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison to his own and rarely ever attacks first. The thirteenth division captain will do his best, however, to avoid a battle of attrition, as due to his condition, he is certainly more likely to tire first.
Action Writing Sample:
[The picture settles on the figure of a seemingly-middle-aged man with russet eyes and long white hair falling over his shoulders. He prepares to speak, but is cut off by a few harsh coughs and he clears his throat before beginning.]
Ah…excuse me, but...
I’m not quite sure where it is I am? [another few coughs, and he clears his throat again]
And…I’m afraid I can’t quite get into contact with my home [a soft chuckle, and he holds up his no-longer-functional Soul Phone in front of the Hitomi screen], so ah, if anyone can hear me over this device-the…Hitomi, is it?-I would appreciate it if you could please respond.
[a slight pause]
It would be particularly helpful if you happened to be familiar with the Soul Society or the Gotei 13, as well.
Third Person Writing Sample:
A light breeze blew through the branches of the tree above the thirteenth division captain’s head and he watched as the sakura petals that came detached danced through the air, a single one landing lightly on his nose.
Warm laughter escaped from the man’s lips at the frivolity of the situation, and he leaned back against the tree with a smile. It was the simple little moments like this one that Jushiro Ukitake treasured. There was really nothing of great significance to a single flower petal landing on his nose, but the beauty of the situation was that there didn’t have to be. The situation was beautiful in its own simplicity, in the fact that it was something that didn’t always happen and that he had taken pleasure in it.
Tilting his head up towards the tree, the thirteenth division captain looked up at the beautiful pink display of the maturing cherry blossoms. The blossoms looked absolutely splendid this time of year-about to reach their peak in just a few weeks-and he remembered why it was that Shunsui was always dragging him out here, even on those days-especially on those days that his illness was flaring up and he wasn’t feeling up to going out for a walk. It was always a soothing spot for him, a therapeutic release from the drab confines of the thirteenth division headquarters and from his two bickering third-seats. As much as he dearly appreciated all their hard work and dedication to him, he wished they’d realize that he respected and cared for them both equally and that wasn’t going to change. Most of all, it was a chance to be Jushiro with his best friend rather than Captain Ukitake.
Shifting his head away from the cherry blossoms, russet eyes traveled in the direction of said best friend, laying just beside him to the right. Kyoraku’s head was just slightly propped up against the trunk of another of the sakura tree, signature straw hat tipped down over his face. An empty sake dish rested in his hand, right next to an equally empty bottle of the alcohol. The eighth division captain’s hat had shifted slightly to the side as he slept off the alcohol, and, grinning a little to himself, Ukitake scooted a bit closer to right it. As Jushiro moved towards his childhood friend, he was able to hear the other man’s deep, rumbling snores and a soft muttering, though he couldn’t quite make out the words. The thirteenth division captain chuckled quietly, wondering what his friend was dreaming about, and settled next to him against the tree his head was currently propped up against.
The sky was already beginning to turn color as the sun began to move towards the horizon. Ukitake knew that he would have to get back soon, otherwise the eighth division lieutenant, as well as his own third-seats would start to worry. Still, he planned to stay in this peaceful little clearing that he so often came to with Shunsui just a bit longer, even if his friend was still asleep. It wouldn’t be fair to make Nanao deal with the hangover all by herself, after all.
…He wanted in on the fun, too.
Name/Nickname: Batty
Age: 18
Journal: batty_chan
AIM/MSN/IM: AIM: battypichugirl MSN: Batty-chan@hotmail.com
Email: battypichugirl@yahoo.com
CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Ukitake Jushiro
Canon: Bleach anime
Point taken from canon: Directly post Soul Society arc, after Aizen, Tousen, and Ichimaru have departed for Hueco Mundo
Age: Approximately a little over 2,000 (looks about 36)
Gender: Male
Preferred Village: Kusasato
Appearance: One of the first things that is noticed when looking at Ukitake is his long, white hair, which supposedly turned color soon after his illness first surfaced. It falls down past his shoulders to about quarter of the way down his back, and the thirteenth division captain always wears it loose.
Ukitake suffers from tuberculosis, which causes him to periodically cough up blood, as well as general feelings of weakness, reflected in the features of his face, which usually appears rather gaunt and exhausted, even when he is smiling. His pale complexion and prominent cheekbones (especially when viewed in profile) contribute to this image as well, as does the fact that he is incredibly thin for his height, at a mere 159 lbs for a height of 6’1’’.
Ukitake dresses very simply, in comparison with some of the other captains. There are no embellishments to the standard Soul Reaper uniform, with the white captain’s haori worn on top. A simple white obi sash and his zanpakutou are all that adorn his side.
Background: The Bleach wiki’s article on Ukitake
((According to Wikipedia, Ukitake is from a minor aristocratic family, which I take to assume means he was “born” in the Soul Society because it’s highly unlikely mortal nobility would all find each other in Rukongai after they died.))
Jushiro Ukitake was born the eldest son of a minor aristocratic family in the Soul Society with seven younger siblings, five brothers and two sisters. Not much is known about his childhood or adolescence, other than having contracted his illness at some point while he was young, and his hair turned white soon afterward.
It is around this time that he was enrolled in the Soul Reaper Academy, where he was to meet his future best friend and fellow captain, Shunsui Kyoraku. He and Kyoraku were personally trained by Head Captain Yamamoto, and were among the very first to become captains, along with Captain Retsu Unohana.
About 110 years back, Ukitake tried (and succeeded) to convince an initially-reluctant Kaien Shiba to become his lieutenant. Because of his illness, he often found himself unable to perform all of his duties as a captain and Kaien took over the day-to-day duties of managing squad thirteen for a number of years.
At some point during this period of time, Rukia joined the Soul Reaper Academy and was adopted into the noble Kuchiki family. She was placed into a squad immediately--squad thirteen, Ukitake's own division. She grew attached to Kaien rapidly and came to respect Ukitake as something of a mentor figure during her time in the squad.
Things changed at the appearance of a new hollow. Apparently, it had killed every Soul Reaper that had encountered it, and when the reconnaissance team went to get information on it, the entire unit was slaughtered aside from Kaien's wife Miyako. She, unfortunately, was possessed by the hollow, who used her body to attack her fellow division mates.
Enraged by this affront to his wife's honor, Kaien asked Ukitake for permission to go after the hollow, a request that the captain agreed to, and he and Rukia came along with him.
The group came upon the remains of Miyako's soul reaper uniform just before finding the hollow again, and Kaien asked permission to fight it and avenge Miyako alone.
During the battle, Kaien's zanpakuto was shattered due to the hollow's special ability. Ukitake told Rukia that this was a battle Kaien was fighting for honor and that they should not interfere, even if they wanted to. The battle continued for a short time afterwards, until the hollow possessed Kaien.
The thirteenth division captain entered the battle at this point and instructed Rukia to run. The hollow stated that Kaien could not be "saved" from its control as their souls had now merged, to which Ukitake replied that he would then destroy Kaien's body with the hollow inside it.
Unfortunately, Ukitake's battle was interrupted by a sudden attack of his illness, which left him momentarily incapacitated. However, at this point, Rukia returned, and the hollow possessing Kaien leaped at her. Some part of Kaien's mind regained enough control, however, to change the hollow's course, and he ended up impaled upon Rukia's sword, and died only a few minutes later.
The events between this incident and Rukia being sent out on patrol to Karakura Town where she met Ichigo are unknown, but at some point Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki were promoted to third seat, although Ukitake has not yet chosen either to replace Kaien as lieutenant.
He is not seen canonically until rather late in the Soul Society arc, the first time being when he is told by a messenger of Aizen’s supposed “death,” which he appears to be rather shocked by, particularly when he asks why he wasn’t informed immediately when it happened (the messenger answers that he didn’t want to awaken Ukitake, which suggests he was resting from a recent attack of his illness at the time).
Ukitake is then not seen again until he visits the Repentance Cell, in which he stops Byakuya from killing Ganju Shiba and Hanataro Yamada, and tells the pair that despite their actions, their intentions had been to protect his subordinate, for which he is grateful and manages to get them both only imprisoned instead of executed. He later hears that Rukia’s execution date has been moved up and he tries to confront Byakuya to get the noble to intervene on her behalf but the man responds coldly and tells him it should not matter whether she lives or dies as one more lost subordinate should not make a difference to him. Ukitake is enraged by his callousness, and in attempting to yell at him, his illness flares and Byakuya leaves. He decides to try to save Rukia himself and at first attempts to request a hearing with the Central 46 (which is denied because said governing body had been entirely slaughtered by Aizen who was pulling the strings behind the execution from the background).
When this fails, he seeks to save Rukia by other means, namely destroying the Sokyoku-the weapon of execution in this case-itself. He unseals the Shihouin Shield, and he and Shunsui Kyoraku arrive at the execution site (almost too late!) and destroy the Sokyoku. Yamamoto is angered by this act which he sees as practically treason and confronts them-but Kyoraku grabs Ukitake and they along with Kyoraku’s lieutenant, Nanao Ise, run away from Sokyoku hill, so as to move the fight elsewhere. Yamamoto catches up to them and releases his zanpakutou (after nearly choking/crushing Nanao with his spiritual pressure) and urges Ukitake and Kyoraku to release theirs as well, so they may fight on equal footing with them. The fight is unfortunately not shown, although the two captains clearly held their own against him, as they are still fighting when they receive the message from the fourth division lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, that Aizen is a traitor. This news is just as shocking as the earlier news of his death had been, because…everyone assumed he was dead and the fact that it had all been an elaborate ruse came as a surprise to everyone. He voices his surprise that Aizen has become “this corrupt” while the former captain and his two allies (Tousen and Ichimaru) are escaping to Hueco Mundo with the Menos. After the incident, and as thanks for saving Rukia and exposing Aizen for what he was, he gives Ichigo a badge that allows him to legally hunt hollows in Karakura Town and transform into his shinigami form at will.
Personality: If one had to choose two words that best described Jushiro Ukitake, “kind” and “honorable” are the most likely to be picked. Ukitake is a very gentle-hearted captain, and treats everyone around him with respect, whatever their rank, age, or skill level.
He’s a very patient and understanding man, and very forgiving of mistakes and even outright failures as he believes that there are lessons to be learned in defeat as well as victory.
Ukitake has a very powerful work ethic, and will try to ignore his illness as much as he can so that he can perform as much of his captain’s duties as he is physically able-sometimes to the detriment of his already poor health. Unlike his best friend and fellow captain Kyoraku, lying around has never suited the thirteenth division leader, and he is at his happiest when he is doing something for the good of the Seireitei and the Soul Society. Nevertheless, Ukitake is never too busy to give a warm, friendly smile to a subordinate or fellow captain, or to lend a listening ear to someone who is feeling troubled. He is the type of man one can talk to without fear of being judged-all that is given by the thirteenth captain is support and understanding, and advice, if it is asked of him.
To Jushiro Ukitake, the highest authority is not Captain Yamamoto or the Central 46, but his own conscience. Ukitake has a strong faith in justice and believes in the overall goodness of people, but he will not hesitate to question a judgment that he believes is wrong. He’s shown himself willing to break rules to fight for what he feels is right, even facing the Head Captain, his former sensei, for the sake of doing so.
Loyalty is as deeply entrenched into his being as his commitment to working hard for the Soul Society, possibly even more so. He will do everything in his power to protect those he commands and the ones close to them, and feels deep personal guilt when one of them is hurt or killed. This sentiment of guilt has been in large part the reason for not yet replacing his fallen lieutenant, Kaien Shiba. Similarly, honor is very important to Ukitake-he once told Rukia that there were two types of battles, those fought to save lives and those fought to protect honor, and that one must never interfere in another’s battle of the latter kind. He brings the same honor and integrity to his battles, always showing his opponents respect and courtesy, and refuses to fight against a child or even in the presence of one, because of the risk of hurting the child.
Abilities/Strengths:
Ukitake’s greatest strength where battle is concerned would be his vast experience. Having been a captain for about two millennia, he’s seen a multitude of different combat styles and different zanpakutou releases, as well as had that amount of time to hone his own skills. This experience is extensive enough to compensate for much of his physical frailty and allows him to still be a formidable opponent. He is also fortified by an immense amount of spiritual pressure, rivaling that of even Yamamoto, the head captain and founder of the Shinigami Academy.
Personality-wise, his strengths are unquestionably tied to his leadership skills. Despite being often incapacitated by his illness so that he cannot perform the day-to-day functions of leading his division, he still manages to inspire a great deal of admiration and respect from his subordinates due to his kind nature, to the point where his two third seats literally compete with each other constantly for his attention and praise.
-Zanpakutou-his sword, essentially the physical manifestation/representation of his soul. All zanpakutou have three different states: sealed form, the first release (shikai), and the second release (bankai). The first release is obtained by learning the name of one’s zanpakutou from its zanpakutou spirit which lives deep inside a shinigami’s soul. To release one’s shikai, the shinigami needs to speak the release phrase and then the name of the zanpakutou. Ukitake’s zanpakutou is Sogyo no Kotowari, and its release phrase is “All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade” (His known shikai ability will be described below, with his other abilities. The extent of Ukitake’s canonical abilities is not entirely known, but an idea of his strength level can be gathered from the fact that he and Kyoraku were the first captains to graduate from the Shinigami Academy, personally trained by Yamamoto himself, and held their own against Yamamoto in a battle) The secondary state of release, bankai, is achieved by first manifesting one’s zanpakutou spirit into the physical realm, and then subjugating it. Only captain-level shinigami (aside from Renji, long after Kaien’s death, and Ikkaku) have attained it, but we have yet to see Ukitake’s bankai release. ((note to mods: I don’t how the lack of this knowledge would figure into the gameplay since obviously he knows his Bankai, so could I say that somehow the gods have interfered with his ability to release it to save confusion?))
Ukitake is a shinigami, literally a “god of death.” However, unlike shinigami in many other fandoms, Bleach shinigami do not control life and death in that they do not dictate when a living being dies (other than…physically stabbing and killing them or something… which would be very much NOT CONDONED). Their primary duties are to assist souls that linger in the world of the living to pass on, and purify hollows-monsters created when a soul loses its heart from lingering too long or being devoured by another hollow-wherever they appear. They are spirit beings composed of spirit particles known as reshi. Because their bodies are different than that of humans, they age far more slowly (as of yet it has been unheard of for a shinigami to die of old age, but it might be possible? Yamamoto, the founder of the shinigami academy is over 2,000 years old himself) and can take far more damage before they are killed according to one early episode. However, most injuries considered fatal to humans (i.e. being stabbed in the heart, etc.) generally will either kill a shinigami as well or at least severely wound them to the point that they will die without immediate attention. At the least, it can be assumed that they fatigue a lot slower than humans.
-Konso-soul burial. The hilt of one’s zanpakutou is pressed to the forehead of a soul lingering in the human world, and the soul gets sent to the Soul Society with a Hell Butterfly. This will be utterly useless in Kannagara, but is worthy of note.
-Kido-Shinigami often focus their spiritual pressure (reiatsu) into spells collectively known as kido. There are two main categories of kido: bakudo (binding spells) and hado (destructive spells), though there are uncategorized spells along with healing kido spells-which, unlike all others, do not have names or numbers. ((Note: while all shinigami can do these spells to some degree, like Rukia, those of the medical fourth division are specifically able to collect reiatsu into their hands for the purpose of healing, an ability known as reiki))
-Reshi platform -all shinigami have the ability to stand/walk/run in midair as if it were a solid surface by collecting and solidifying reshi beneath their feet. They can be knocked out of midair by a powerful attack, however.
-Shunpo/Flash step-the ability to move faster than the eye can see. The objective of this technique is to be able to get from one place to another as fast as possible in the least number of steps. It requires a lot of training to master, though some degree of natural proficiency is needed as well.
-Shikai-Sogyo no Kotowari has been seen to be able to absorb energy-based attacks through the left sword of his double zanpakutou (it transforms after he speaks the release phrase) and redirects it through the right sword and fires it back at the attacker. The energy is directed through the rope that connects the two blades, which accelerates the attack faster than it was fired. All of this happens fast enough to look like the attack originally came from Sogyo no Kotowari.
Weaknesses: Ukitake’s primary weakness is his chronic illness. If he gets too worked up emotionally (particularly angry or upset), or if he exerts himself too much physically, his illness often flares and he is temporarily incapacitated as his body is wracked by a coughing fit. Another weakness combat-wise would be the length of his zanpakutou’s release phrase. Shinigami each have a phrase that must be spoken before the shikai (initial release) can be performed. His is the longest currently revealed, and this is a bit of disadvantage due to the possibility of being attacked or intercepted while the phrase is being spoken and his zanpakutou is transforming.
In regards to his personality, while his kind and caring nature is generally a very positive trait of his, he has a tendency of caring…too much, it could be said. He takes the well-being of those close to him or under his command very personally and tends to feel intense personal guilt should something happen to them, even if it is not his fault at all or if there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. The death of his lieutenant (and close personal friend, it is implied) has weighed heavily on him and he’s never quite been able to get over it. He was also so greatly angered when Byakuya said that the death of another subordinate should not matter to him when Rukia’s execution date is moved up that he triggered an attack of his illness.
Defining Quote(s):
"Rukia, remember this. There are two types of fights. Whenever we are in battle, we must be one of the two. The fight for life or…the fight for pride! Right now…He is fighting for his pride! His wife’s pride…his men's pride…Most importantly…his own personal pride. Dismiss this as his stubbornness…and let him fight alone like this…" -Jushiro Ukitake
“The heart unites whatever the mind separates, pushes on beyond the arena of necessity and transmutes the struggle into love.” -Nikos Kazantzakis
“Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.” -Langston Hughes
“I have seen the truth; I have seen and I know that people can be beautiful and happy without losing the power of living on earth. I will not and cannot believe that evil is the normal condition of mankind. And it is just this faith of mine that they laugh at. But how can I help believing it? I have seen the truth - it is not as though I had invented it with my mind, I have seen it, seen it, and the living image of it has filled my soul for ever.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky
Other: ((headcanon extrapolated from what is given in canon))
Ukitake is a gentle, peace-loving man. He is not easily provoked to anger and prefers to resolve conflicts peacefully whenever possible. He does not like violence and gets little enjoyment out of battling, not at all sharing the bloodlust of his fellow captain Zaraki. Because of these notions, and except in cases of a hollow or arrancar attack, Ukitake will only draw his zanpakutou as a very last resort if all attempts at resolving the situation peacefully fail.
Once he has actually engaged in combat, however, his method of fighting is strongly influenced by his primary limiting factor: his illness. Ukitake has to be careful not to exert himself too much during battle, as the few moments he would be incapacitated if his illness flares up at that point could be fatal, especially if his enemy is a higher class of Menos or one of the Espada. This calls for a degree of efficiency in expending energy, so Ukitake often begins a battle defensively, scoping out an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison to his own and rarely ever attacks first. The thirteenth division captain will do his best, however, to avoid a battle of attrition, as due to his condition, he is certainly more likely to tire first.
Action Writing Sample:
[The picture settles on the figure of a seemingly-middle-aged man with russet eyes and long white hair falling over his shoulders. He prepares to speak, but is cut off by a few harsh coughs and he clears his throat before beginning.]
Ah…excuse me, but...
I’m not quite sure where it is I am? [another few coughs, and he clears his throat again]
And…I’m afraid I can’t quite get into contact with my home [a soft chuckle, and he holds up his no-longer-functional Soul Phone in front of the Hitomi screen], so ah, if anyone can hear me over this device-the…Hitomi, is it?-I would appreciate it if you could please respond.
[a slight pause]
It would be particularly helpful if you happened to be familiar with the Soul Society or the Gotei 13, as well.
Third Person Writing Sample:
A light breeze blew through the branches of the tree above the thirteenth division captain’s head and he watched as the sakura petals that came detached danced through the air, a single one landing lightly on his nose.
Warm laughter escaped from the man’s lips at the frivolity of the situation, and he leaned back against the tree with a smile. It was the simple little moments like this one that Jushiro Ukitake treasured. There was really nothing of great significance to a single flower petal landing on his nose, but the beauty of the situation was that there didn’t have to be. The situation was beautiful in its own simplicity, in the fact that it was something that didn’t always happen and that he had taken pleasure in it.
Tilting his head up towards the tree, the thirteenth division captain looked up at the beautiful pink display of the maturing cherry blossoms. The blossoms looked absolutely splendid this time of year-about to reach their peak in just a few weeks-and he remembered why it was that Shunsui was always dragging him out here, even on those days-especially on those days that his illness was flaring up and he wasn’t feeling up to going out for a walk. It was always a soothing spot for him, a therapeutic release from the drab confines of the thirteenth division headquarters and from his two bickering third-seats. As much as he dearly appreciated all their hard work and dedication to him, he wished they’d realize that he respected and cared for them both equally and that wasn’t going to change. Most of all, it was a chance to be Jushiro with his best friend rather than Captain Ukitake.
Shifting his head away from the cherry blossoms, russet eyes traveled in the direction of said best friend, laying just beside him to the right. Kyoraku’s head was just slightly propped up against the trunk of another of the sakura tree, signature straw hat tipped down over his face. An empty sake dish rested in his hand, right next to an equally empty bottle of the alcohol. The eighth division captain’s hat had shifted slightly to the side as he slept off the alcohol, and, grinning a little to himself, Ukitake scooted a bit closer to right it. As Jushiro moved towards his childhood friend, he was able to hear the other man’s deep, rumbling snores and a soft muttering, though he couldn’t quite make out the words. The thirteenth division captain chuckled quietly, wondering what his friend was dreaming about, and settled next to him against the tree his head was currently propped up against.
The sky was already beginning to turn color as the sun began to move towards the horizon. Ukitake knew that he would have to get back soon, otherwise the eighth division lieutenant, as well as his own third-seats would start to worry. Still, he planned to stay in this peaceful little clearing that he so often came to with Shunsui just a bit longer, even if his friend was still asleep. It wouldn’t be fair to make Nanao deal with the hangover all by herself, after all.
…He wanted in on the fun, too.