Kikkai Sanpuu
From Inga no Kusari wiki
| Sanpuu, Kikkai ♂ | |
|---|---|
 Captain, 5th Division | |
| Date of Birth | 8th September, 1837 (174) |
| Place of Birth | First District, Rukongai |
| Zanpakutō | Torijaku |
| Player | Kikkai |
| Shinigami | |
Contents |
Appearance
Personality
Kikkai has bloomed as a person following his promotion to the lieutenant and then captain of the fifth division. No longer is he a lethargic and dopey soul, the position of command has knocked some sense of responsibility into himself, and the ever-friendly captain Yamazaki helped his matters even more. He cares for all those beneath him like an elder brother would their siblings, making sure each of them is happy in their positions and thus allowing him some degree of respect earned, increasing his ability to lead.
In social situations, he's still something of a recluse, unable to get a whole sentence out without a pregnant pause most of the time and often stumbling over his words. It's not because he's afraid of people, but more that he just dislikes small talk, worrying about his own actions. When things get serious, he can talk steadily and with a commanding tone, the worry of being judged gone. When around friends, he still stumbles a little, but not nearly as much as he does with absolute strangers, and following a few recent occasions, he's started to become more confident.
History
As is quite standard for the Sanpuu family, Kikkai grew up with only occasional (and even then quite short) meetings with his parents, instead growing up under the care of guardians who lived in the first district of the Rukongai. He was taught from an early age of his heritage, being from one of the minor noble houses, though he never really seemed to care for it, he didn't seem to care for anything at all in fact, apart from a good book. This concerned his guardians, a well to do elderly couple, who had seen other Sanpuus through their early years, including the one-time third division captain Kit Sanpuu. They were of the mind that Kikkai should respect his great standing in Soul Society, and give serious thought to the repurcussions of him acting so flippantly, when he was one of the few Sanpuu boys of recent years, after all, the continuation of the family line rested quite firmly on his shoulders.
This was half the reason why Kikkai shunned his family ties so, with all the pressure and responsibility, frankly it scared him, especially as a young boy of only 6 years old, being told about marriage, children even, how ultimately important he was to the family. It was at this age that he turned to books for an escape. The stories he read and the amazing adventures he had took his mind from the pressure, stopped himself worrying too much, and with a mind so peaceful he pushed into his duties as a noble house member with more vigor than ever.
With this renewed enthusiasm and open-mindedness, Kikkai learned what needed to be learned, not marriage etiquette just yet, but he became able to recite the great poems, speak with eloquence and properness, and act as a noble should. He continued like this for some time, and his tutors and guardians were proud, his parents were proud too, but never managed to drop by to bestow their respect upon their son. All was going well, Kikkai expanded his mind both through his studies and his reading, up until he turned twelve (or thereabouts in spirit terms). Marriage was on the cards once more, and preparations were made to pair Kikkai with a suitable bride early on, so that the two of them could come to enjoy the others company for the rest of their lives. Needless to say, Kikkai wasn't too excited about this prospect, especially not the idea of sharing almost his every living moment with somebody else, he wouldn't call himself a loner but he liked to be alone in the quiet to read once in a while. The idea of marriage continued to be pushed on him and Kikkai became more and more depressed and distracted, eventually fleeing completely to his bedroom, a place where he would read until he slept, and dream dreams of wonderous places and vicious monsters.
Kikkai became lazy when it came to things other than what he wanted to do, which was mostly reading, though he had started too to venture out into the Rukongai, and took part in games of mindpower and skill with the other first district boys. Eventually after years of lethargy and excuses to avoid marriage lessons, the whole idea was thrown out, shame was pushed onto Kikkai, though not so much that he would further lock himself away, that was the last thing they wanted, and after all, there were a couple more Sanpuu boys to be taught the ways of marriage, Kikkai had another predetermined destiny awaiting him now..
Like his famous cousin, Kikkai was now firmly on the track to becoming a Shinigami, his tutors waving a gracious goodbye to him as they were replaced with war veterans and martial artists, warming the young man's feet to the disciplines of combat, readying him for the rigours of the Gotei 13's Academy. Kikkai enjoyed this to a degree, though his years of hiding away, relatively inactive in terms of exercise (save for the essentials of walking and so on), had taken their toll. He was unable to fight competently, his body moving too slow to react to attacks, his footing clumsy and his arms lacking direction and discipline. Kidō came naturally to the boy, which was fortunate, he was unable to produce specific spells but that was to be expected from one who hadn't even been introduced into the Academy, though compared to his body, Kikkai's mind was accurate and very very active, his reiatsu control astounding his mentors as he moulded it to fit the situation, focusing what little spirit pressure he had into the areas they were needed when his dull blade missed a parry, when his feet caught a stone.
Before long he was ready to join the Academy, and join it he did, taking with him boxes upon boxes of books and trinkets, testament to his willpower. To say he failed at the Academy would be an understatement, Kikkai was the bottom of his class (and lower than several other classes) at most of the forms of combat, his blade unable to strike because he lacked conviction and drive to win a fight. His parries grew stronger, though, and most of the time he merely blocked blows until his opponent was tired, before dropping his boken and finishing the fight. Despite being a royal (or rather, noble) failure, Kikkai was quite liked by his teachers, and he excelled in his more mentally intensive classes, and it was on the merit of these few achievements amongst the steaming mire of the rest of his classes that he managed to pass the final exams, on his second attempt anyway.
He was instantly brought into the fourth division, where his reiatsu control, knowledge of hollows, wounds, and treatments (along with several other unimportant things such as the distance between the Earth and the Moon) would be favoured and most useful. A shame really that his usual lethargy often lead to him being the last one picked for more important missions, never given a chance to shine as he lounged about the division's hospital building, a book in one hand, a gameboy in the other (hey, it was getting to the 80s by now, and with that family allowance of his, he could easily afford electronic devices from Earth. Kikkai was one of the first Shinigami to own a digital watch, one of the only too but it was something to shout about at the time), he'd sit and watch patients be treated, all essential parts of the learning process to becoming a fully fledged officer in the fourth division, whilst his thumbs busily made an Italian plumber jump on mushroom monsters.
Kikkai stayed with the fourth for many years, acting as a field medic and being sent along with many combat groups. It was through these visits to earth, often in zones where you had to defend yourself, that he started to pick up a more proficient use of kidō, allowing him to protect his allies from unexpected attacks and becoming more than just the guy that treated everyone's wounds when all the fighting was done. Despite this, he stayed as a field medic, which he was content with, it allowed him to see the world, and he never had to make any lasting relationships with people (which was a plus considering his shyness).
It was only during the resurgence of the arrancar in the Mortal Realm that Kikkai started to become noticed by the higher ups in Seretei. A key part to many teams sent out to combat the hollows in their attempt to summon the great serpent Leviathan, he was given a promotion to third seat just a few months following the beginning of the Seretei's campaign.
And his luck didn't stop there, forming bonds with several Shinigami, Yomijou of the third, the Hakkebana sisters, Mei and Yin, and a rocky relationship with Shirou Kamui, Kikkai took part in even more dangerous missions as a third seat, his zanjutsu and kidō skills advancing further, he became a much more capable fighter.
Shortly before the devastating finalé to the campaign, Kikkai was promoted to lieutenant of the fifth division, the second in command to the kidō corps. It was this recognition of his efforts that kicked Kikkai's personality into overdrive, the newfound responsibility of a whole division beneath him made him retire to his quarters for a short week, but soon enough he'd managed to gain some degree of confidence. Just in time for the final battle with the arrancar.
Leading a squad, Kikkai helped in erecting a barrier around the combat zone, protecting all the mortals from the dangerous amounts of reiatsu being emitted. The battle ended swiftly, within just a few hours, and Kikkai went back to his existence. Peace reigned once more, if only for a little while, he could rest for a while, he thought.
Another threat soon reared it's ugly head, a dead body in Rukongai, a burning bar, very mysterious circumstances indeed! Alongside Tategawa Shinji, Kikkai's trail lead to a graveyard where bodies had been mysteriously unearthed. Across the Rukongai, the day ended in tragedy, the death of a friend, Mei Hakkebana. It affected Kikkai to the core, a close friend despite only knowing one another for a year, he tried to keep a stiff upper lip, if only for the sake of Yin, Mei's younger sister, who no doubt had been devastated by the event.
To get his mind of things like the deaths that were becoming more and more regular, Kikkai took up something he'd been recommended to do for a long time, he started teaching advanced kidō at the Shinigami Academy in his spare time. Though frequently late to classes, he felt at peace with his mind when he was teaching, and it allowed him to meet a great number of people who he might otherwise just see in passing and never really speak to. It helped boost Kikkai's confidence, and gave him something constant in his life beyond his friends, something to rely on.
Combat
Strengths
From his days as a field medic, Kikkai is quite proficient are treating most injuries and illnesses that don't reveal heavy amounts of medical attention. And even despite moving to another division, he still keeps some medical supplies on him at all times, in case he does need to apply his talents.
Also following his medical profession, Kikkai can also identify injuries, even internal ones, just by touching a victim's body, perhaps using a little reiatsu. This knowledge of anatomy can also be used against his opponents. Knowing pressure points and which ligament works on which muscle enables him an advantage, and to notice and target weak points for maximum damage.
Weaknesses
Perhaps the larget of Kikkai's weaknesses is his hesitance to land a killing blow on many of his enemies. Simple hollows, when left without even the slightest bit of humanity, are easy for him to kill. But more often than not, he will fight in order to capture rather than kill, even if the odds are stacked against him or if he'd explicitly given an order to destroy. He will often use harmless bakudou, and his sword strikes will be made to immobilise.
His unwillingness to kill also gives rise to a reluctance to even fight at all, if another solution to a problem arises. More often than not, he'll not draw his sword til the very last moment. Whilst this might be good for negotiation, as a soldier and a lieutenant, he ought to be ready for anything, even if he disagrees with the outcome.
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