Tsuya Soikotsu
From Inga no Kusari wiki
| Soikotsu, Tsuya ♂ | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 22nd October, 1544 (467) |
| Place of Birth | Edo, Japan |
| Zanpakutō | Hateshikouen |
| Player | Zero |
| Visored | |
Contents |
Appearance
Tsuya stands at six feet over two inches and weighs roughly one hundred and seventy four pounds. His build is athletic with muscle proportions toned evenly with his height and weight ratio. The color of his skin is a tanned peach which allows his smoldering orange eyes to stand out like orbs of flickering embers against such a soft-hued complexion. Four thin and jagged scars run across his right eye from his forehead diagonally down to his jawline. His hair is slightly afro-esque in style and resembles a natural fire save its dark brown color; soft, light, and always moving. Light facial hair adorns his lip and chin, trimmed into an angular goatee. Tsuya’s attire consists of a crimson red jacket with the collar popped and several unnecessary zippers over-top of a black tank top. He usually keeps his jacket unzipped to show off his athletic figure. Dark blue denim jeans cover his legs and are held to his waist by a belt with a red skull for a buckle. They fall over crimson red tennis shoes while black designs that appear far too expensive for their worth. His left eyebrow is pierced with a rounded black ball covering both ends while his bottom lip has two matching black studs sitting just underneath of it. Fingerless red gloves cover his hands with black metal studs adorning the knuckles.
Personality
Tsuya is a quiet individual. He never feels compelled to speak for the simple fact that people hear, but rarely listen. In fact, there are many things about the people of today that Tsuya finds repulsive and deplorable. He looks at them almost as if they are an entirely different creature from himself; sadly, this is truly the way he feels. He is cold but not in a heartless sense; he has merely become numb to emotions over the centuries of afterlife. He has not abandoned these feelings, though. Tsuya is still driven by primary human emotions; anger, desperation, sadness etcetera. However, he refuses to become a slave to them like the rest of the world. He always thinks logically, allowing himself to assess any and all situation without clouded judgment. To see with eyes fogged with emotion is to lose control and Tsuya would never allow himself to not be in control.
The line of good and evil is a questionable thing to Tsuya. He lives only for himself; fulfilling his personal desires and what he dictates as important. Being bound to actions that are ‘socially accepted’ and ‘inheritably good’ is not what Tsuya feels is an adequate lifestyle. Nor is it one where you purposefully cause pain and wreck havoc wherever you go because of some past trauma or personal vendetta. These are just more examples of people giving in to the influences around them and within them; they are no longer in control of their own lives. Tsuya finds other people simply pathetic. He is a loner in almost every sense of the word; not because he doesn’t seek companionship from others, but because he’s nearly incapable of obtaining it. His personality has closed the doors to the outside world, but Tsuya doesn’t feel any real motivation to try and open them again. He would be perfectly comfortable staying secluded in his own dark world for all of eternity.
History
The year was 1544 CE in Feudal Japan in the midst of what is now known as the Edo Period. The sky was heavy with rain and the ground was covered in the recently deceased; samurai and other warriors of the land extinguished for the territorial expansion of a greedy daimyo. A young Tsuya looks down at the beheaded corpse of his last opponent with an emotionless gaze. It had been over twenty years of the same thing; sent to some random location to slaughter people with the guts to stand up to the villainous Daimyo he worked for. Well, ‘worked’ wasn’t the appropriate term for their relationship. Tsuya was enslaved to his Daimyo; bound to a leash created from threats to his mother’s life. He always regretted his mother’s mistake of letting that man inside of her, despite that Tsuya was the result of such a disgusting union. So Tsuya silently did the bastard’s bidding and slew countless warriors and villagers in the name of his ‘Lord’. It was nothing new to him to cut down a boy just reaching the age of puberty who took up a sword to defend his father’s home. Neither was it uncommon for Tsuya to watch the boy’s eyes lose color and life without feeling a single tinge of remorse.
This is where fate had placed Tsuya; he simply followed through.
For years, Tsuya only fought to become strong enough to kill the man who made him into this murderer. Slowly, however, Tsuya’s passion for vengeance began to dim over time until it was extinguished altogether. Eventually, Tsuya forgot why he fought; his sword lost the purpose for which he wielded it. He had lost his humanity somewhere down the road that he had painted with others’ blood. Tsuya had become a shell of his former self and was nothing more than another minion to his Daimyo’s cause. His mind returned to the battlefield around him and he sheathed his sword. It was time for Tsuya to return to his Daimyo and report their success. He turned to make his way back to his horse, but instead came face to face with the Lieutenant of Daimyo’s army. With a wicked grin, the man plunged a poison knife into Tsuya’s chest and watched as the samurai fell to his knees. He had outlived his usefulness and had become a threat to the very man he had served for his entire life. Like a feeble insect, Tsuya had been crushed under the foot of the Daimyo’s pursuit of power. He slumped into the bloody mud of the battlefield and felt his life drain from his veins.
When Tsuya awoke, he was still amongst the bodies of his enemies. His Daimyo’s army was gone and the rain had stopped. Confused, Tsuya made to move towards the direction of his Daimyo’s mansion to rip the man’s throat out and force feed it back to him, but was held back after a few feet. He looked down and noticed the chain snaking out of his chest into the ground beneath him. Struggling against the ethereal link, Tsuya tried to break free of this strange binding. He was so focused on ripping the chain from the ground that he didn’t notice a man in a black kimono approach him. He called out to Tsuya and when the sound reached his ears, Tsuya drew his sword and gazed at the strange man with the eyes of a killer. The man whistled and stepped back with his hands up before chuckling. A second later, he was inches from Tsuya’s face with his sword drawn at his throat. Tsuya had never encountered a man who could move so fast. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he tried to think of any way out of the situation while keeping his head. Instead, the man in the kimono clicked his tongue several times and turned his sword around so the butt of the hilt faced Tsuya’s forehead.
“I wonder how close you were to becoming a Hollow?” the man whispered while examining Tsuya’s eyes, which took on a questioning look to them. The man blinked and let out an awkward laugh. “That’s right, I haven’t explained myself. You see, guy, you’re actually dead right now. For some reason, you’ve attached yourself to this place. I guess you have some regrets or whatever. Either way, I’m here to liberate you from this world and allow you to pass over. That’s my job as a Shinigami.” He informed Tsuya. Tsuya simply stared at him for a while before letting out a sliver of air from his mouth and looking into the sky. “Um…I’m assuming you’re ready then. Alright, have a decent trip to Soul Society.” The man said. He pressed the butt of his katana into Tsuya’s forehead and began the ritual. Tsuya felt a calm sensation wash over him and he closed his eyes. He would never openly admit it, but he was looking forward to feeling peace.
I have other plans, tomodachi.
These words echoed through Tsuya’s head before pain erupted from his skull. Black lightning crackled around him as he let out an anguished scream. The Shinigami jumped back and watched as seizures rippled through Tsuya’s body. The air around him slowly picked up and began to swirl around him more and more until a small spiral of air enveloped Tsuya. He forced his eyes open, hoping that the Shinigami would offer him some kind of knowledge as to what was happening, but he looked just as confused and scared as Tsuya felt. Another eruption of pain between his temples caused him to shout out and force his eyes closed as dark chuckling bounced around his head.
We can’t have you going anywhere now that I’m here, tomodachi. This body of yours is mine and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now stop resisting!
This voice…it was different from the Shinigami’s. It was darker; more malevolent. Yet it sounded oddly familiar, as if Tsuya had known it his entire life. The pain grew in intensity and the air swirling around him was pushed outward as a wave of energy exploded from Tsuya’s body with a horrible scream. The Shinigami narrowed his eyes and readied his sword.
“This reiatsu…it feels like a Hollow’s. So I was too late after all. You must’ve led a pretty horrible life to bring about the transformation this quickly. Sorry, kid, but it looks like I gotta take you out.” The Shinigami said, before disappearing and reappearing behind Tsuya. A swipe of his sword and Tsuya’s shoulder was cleaved through, stopping just short of his hip bone; a quick and fatal strike. The Shinigami turned from Tsuya and sheathed his katana as the energy pulsating from Tsuya stopped immediately. Tsuya’s body slumped and fell to the ground in a lifeless heap for the second time. His eyes stared out into nothing as the pain subsided. Strangely enough, the voice only grew louder.
Oh, now wasn’t that nice of the pathetic little Shinigami man? Killing you makes it SO much easier for me to take over. It was nice knowing you, tomodachi.
Suddenly, the reiatsu from earlier whipped up a violent wind spiral around Tsuya’s body and lifted the weightless corpse into the air. The Shinigami noticed and turned around with obvious shock displayed on his face. The serious wound he had inflicted on Tsuya’s ethereal form spewed an ivory colored paste forth that began to seal up the cut with little effort. Tsuya’s head cocked back and gave another scream, except this scream sounded more like a roar belonging to something inhuman. The reiatsu grew stronger and stronger as the chain melted away from Tsuya’s chest and revealed the gaping hole that it hid oh so well. Hands gradually became claws and muscles expanded and swelled with unnatural speed. Another spine-chilling roar shook the air before more white paste spewed from Tsuya’s gaping mouth and formed around his face. The Shinigami sped towards Tsuya’s transforming body and slashed down with all his strength to kill the beast before it fully awoke.
This time, though, Tsuya’s body was ready. It instantly blocked the steel blade with its bare arm and pushed the Shinigami back with an enormous roar. Skidding against the air, the Shinigami looked upon Tsuya with frightened wonder. A hulk of a beast stood before the robed man, glaring menacingly at him through demonic yellow eyes. Its arms dragged to the ground and sharp talons stretched out from its fingers. Wing-like appendages sat on its forearms, ready to stretch out and take to the air at any moment. A muscular tail swayed dangerously behind him, spikes stretching out of it and leading all the way to its spine. Large, twin horns curled out of his temples and pointed at the Shinigami like some kind of bull. The mask of the Hollow stretched out like the snout of a dragon, bearing skeletal teeth dripping with saliva. However, the Shinigami noticed an oddity. The left side of the mask was incomplete. The still-human eye of Tsuya was widened with shock and trembling uncontrollably.
Tsuya groaned as he slipped back into consciousness. Rubbing his head, he looked around to notice he was no longer on the battlefield on the outskirts of Edo. No, this battlefield was dotted with precious white flowers and free of decaying bodies. How could such beautiful flowers grow in such a barren wasteland? He looked around and noticed a figure standing across from him. Narrowing his eyes, Tsuya drew his katana and waited for the figure to attack. A familiar dark laughter echoed across the battlefield instead, though. Tsuya recognized it as the same voice that was in his mind when that weird painful sensation was occurring. He also remembered being cut down by the man in black. How was he here? Where was here, now that he thought about it, anyway?
“You just don’t give up, do you, tomodachi? This is my body now. You went and died. Finders keepers and all that bullshit.”
“…What the hell are you talking about? Where are we? Who are you!?”
“Oh, you’re kidding me! You don’t even know what’s going on!? Damn, tomodachi, are you that brainless?” The figure responded angrily. He took a few steps towards Tsuya and gave a demonic smile. Tsuya’s eyes widened as he looked upon a mirror image of himself. The only difference was he seemed to be in monotone colors. Tsuya shook his head and nearly lost the grip on his sword. What the hell was going on? “That’s right, tomodachi. I’m you. Well actually, that’s not really true. I’m the better version of you. Born the minute your pansy ass kicked the bucket. Y’see, you were a very naughty boy in your life, killing all sorts of people for no good reason. Not that I care, mind you. It doesn’t really matter anyway. All you need to know is that I’m a part of you, but not for long.”
“Explain yourself.”
“Tch, you’re pretty rude. Whatever, what I mean is that I’m going to kill you right here and now and take over your body. You have a lot of power inside of you and I want it. Comprendé?” The Tsuya replica said. In the following second, Tsuya barely had time to raise his sword before his darker self slammed his katana against it. Tsuya was pushed back several yards before his replica gave a crazed laugh and slashed upward to send Tsuya airborne. He jumped after him and slashed repetitively towards Tsuya who could barely parry each blow.
“Come now, tomodachi, you have more fight in you than this! Show me that samurai spirit! Kyahahahaha!”
“…Fine.” Tsuya responded and blocked another slash sent his way by his replica. He shifted his weight and turned his wrist so that his sword twisted under the opposing blade and slashed up. His replica was thrown off balance and had its entire torso exposed. Tsuya focused his strength into an overhead slash that came down towards his replica’s stomach. A dark grin swept the dark Tsuya’s face as he pivoted mid-air and simply kicked away Tsuya’s slash before bringing the other foot around to swipe across his left cheek. Tsuya was sent crashing into the barren ground beneath him, ripping up flowers as he skidded against the dead earth. Before he could even struggle to get up, two feet landed in front of his face and a shadow was cast over his sprawled out body.
“Clever, mister samurai, quite clever. However, you forget one little detail. I am you and I know all your moves. I was hoping you’d be more entertaining than this, but I’ve grown bored with you. Thanks again for the body! Goodbye, tomodachi!” The dark version of Tsuya said as he slashed down with his sword. Tsuya closed his eyes and prepared for death. He should’ve known that no matter what happened to him, his life would forever be controlled by higher powers. He had never had a say in his own existence; like a puppet who was passed from puppeteer to puppeteer, constantly getting his strings pulled but never able to move on his own. He was sick of it. Even his own subconscious was planning on controlling him. If he had to choose between living a life that wasn’t his or death, Tsuya gladly chose death. He longed for the peace that he felt he deserved.
Do you really welcome death? Or do you want to fight against your accursed oppression? …Who are you?
My name is…
What? I can’t hear you.
Of course not. That isn’t important right now, in any case. Answer my question.
It doesn’t matter, I’m not strong enough to earn my freedom from fate…
I didn’t ask you to question your resolve or physical prowess. I asked what you wanted.
…I want to be free to live my life my own way.
Then say it with conviction.
I…I want to be in control!
I said say it with conviction! Take heed of your own will and echo your heart’s very desire! SAY IT!
“I WANT TO BE IN CONTROL!” Tsuya yelled as he raised his arm and blocked his dark replica’s blow. The replica’s eyes widened as a fiery reiatsu ignited around him and his power seemed to grow by the second. Tsuya’s eyes narrowed in anger, focused on the personification of his dark past. He had accepted that he was dead. He had accepted that he had lived his life by someone else’s rules. He even accepted that this being in front of him was every bit a part of him as he was. But he would not accept having his strings pulled any longer. Tsuya would regain control of his body and begin living his life…well, afterlife…the way he wanted to. And that would start by defeating this dark persona that haunted his very thoughts.
“You think this changes anything, tomodachi!? This changes nothing! You’ll still die by my hands and this body will become my own personal playground!” The replica yelled before charging towards Tsuya. He dropped into a defensive stance and closed his eyes. His thoughts echoed through his head as he tried to reach that calm, powerful voice that awoke his inner resolve.
I don’t usually depend on others for help, but something tells me I need to rely on you. He thought. There for silence for a moment before laughter shook his consciousness like thunder.
You are an interesting person, Tsuya. I will help you now, but you must learn more about me before you can truly have me fight by your side.
…Heh, agreed., Tsuya replied. He opened his eyes, a flicker of reiatsu behind them, and swept his katana upward just as his replica came down to finish him. A wave of flames followed the flow of his sword’s movement and scorched into his darker self’s body with unrelenting force. A maddened roar of pain ripped from his mouth as he flew back and slammed into the desolate ground beneath him. White flower petals floated down all around the replica as his body began to disintegrate. A low, yet crazed chuckle escaped his mouth as he stared down Tsuya.
“So you had more fight in you than I thought. That’s alright. You win...for now. I’m not going anywhere, though. I’ll always be watching from within your very soul. The minute you drop your guard and prove too weak to contain me, I’ll rip you apart and take the reins of this body before you can even blink. Enjoy the freedom, tomodachi. It won’t last long…” The mirror image said, before dissipating into nothing. Just as Tsuya’s hollow form had the Shinigami by the throat and began to charge up a lethal Cero attack, a single pulse ripped through the beast. A weakened roar escaped its mouth as it dropped the Shinigami and stepped back clutching its face. Digging sharp talons into its nearly complete mask, the Hollow Tsuya ripped pieces of its own face off until a fiery reiatsu erupted around Tsuya as the remaining pieces of the Hollowfication crumbled away. Tsuya stood there, panting heavily, focused on the seriously injured Shinigami before him. A katana with a oddly designed hilt sat in his dominant hands. For a moment, the Shinigami was speechless. Slowly, however, a smile worked across his face and gave out a relieve sigh.
“Man, that was a close one. I’ve never fought against something that strong. I thought I was dead for sure. Good thing you have a strong soul, huh? Well, um…I don’t really know what to – AUUUUGH!” The Shinigami started, before Tsuya suddenly appeared in front of him and sliced through his shoulder until his blade slipped out of his body just above the hip bone. The severed pieces of the Shinigami’s body feel to the ground in a bloody mess and once more Tsuya stood over his latest opponent without an ounce of pity for the crime he had just committed. And in that instant, Tsuya knew he was finally free. Despite the costs and the toll it had taken on his soul, Tsuya was glad that he had cut the strings from his puppet days and gained control of his own life. He knew he had to bring out this deep power that was inside of him, especially if this Shinigami had allies that would come searching or if there were other…creatures like the one he had almost become. So he roamed the living world for over four hundred years trying to better understand the being he had become. All he knew was that he never felt like the power was just his own. It was as if he shared this incredible potential with a darker entity inside of him; an eternal partnership that would push balancing the dark and the light to the break point and beyond…
Combat
Strengths
Way Of The Samurai – Tsuya’s lifetime as a swordsman has made his body attuned to fighting with swords far more than the average warrior. His new lifestyle draws from his past life and comes naturally to Tsuya. He holds a katana with an experienced hand and knows the ins and outs of combat thanks to constantly being in the midst of war. While obtaining this level of expertise wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, Tsuya is thankful for the strife he went through to reach it.
Catch Me If You Can – Tsuya has a natural affinity with speed; his agility is almost unparalleled. From escaping assassins from an opposing region to perfecting the skill of ‘unsheathing death’, Tsuya has always trained to be faster than everyone else. His skill as a swordsman is based on his heightened speed more so than his strength. With his recent ‘evolution’, Tsuya’s new powers usually stem off of velocity in some sense. Now you see him, now you’re dead.
Weaknesses
This Isn't A Game – Tsuya has lived his life knowing his next battle could be his last. He was trained to be a killer, not a good sport, during combat. He doesn’t see battle as a place to enjoy oneself or to pass the time, but rather to prove your superiority by extinguishing your opponent’s life. When attacked, Tsuya will not ‘hold back’ or ‘gauge his opponent’. He will press them until they meet their end at his blade. His killer intent makes it nearly impossible to dissuade him once he’s selected an enemy.
Kind Of New At This – Despite his training as a Samurai and his four hundred year trek of self-discovery, Tsuya is still green when it comes to his unnatural abilities. He has yet to fully understand all of his powers, let alone draw them out to use freely. When he does use them, it is only for a short amount of time and drains him quickly. He tends to rely on his natural swordsmanship until he can master the gifts given to him by his evolution.
What's A Demon Art? - Due to the way he obtained his Shinigami-like powers, Tsuya doesn't have the same training as those who go through the Academy in Soul Society. Whereas some Shinigami are weak in Kidō, Tsuya has no knowledge of the demon arts whatsoever. Even if he were trained in Kidō, his spiritual energy isn't stable enough to full grasp the concept. It would take hundreds of years or a highly skilled Kidō-user for Tsuya to learn how to use Kidō properly.
