OOC || Application
Hitsugaya Toushirou is a character of extreme paradoxes. His afterlife's philosophy seems to be that whenever he wants something, he must automatically act like he doesn't want it. Essentially, wanting anything for himself is a sin, and he has given up his life to protect those whom are allowed to want. He can't be happy until everyone he cares for is happy, so most likely, he'll never allow himself to be happy.
This sort of behavior established itself early on. While still living in Rukongai, he was brattier and less intent on being seen as an adult, but he was just as protective of others and quickly grew desensitized to his own needs. Because of his leaking reiatsu, most everyone avoided him, talked about him both behind his back and where he could hear them, refused to touch him. Only the old lady who took care of him and Hinamori treated him otherwise, and he appreciated it to no end even though he often didn't show it. But Hinamori left for the Shinigami Academy, and the old lady was obviously not in good health. When he was told that he was the reason granny was losing weight and growing ill, he took his first foray into the world of maturity and made the decision to become a shinigami and control his reiatsu, thus leaving the old lady and the comfort she offered behind.
By the time he's introduced in canon, some fifteen years have gone by since Rukongai. Since then, he's been renowned as a prodigy amongst the shinigami, graduating the Academy early and quickly rising in the ranks to become the captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. Despite his success, it's clear he feels inadequate among his more experienced and more powerful peers, constantly needing to prove himself worthy of his status and garner the respect he feels he deserves. And while he doesn't often understand that formality doesn't equate to respect, he generally receives at least one of the two.
If there is one trait that could be used to sum him up, it would be his stubbornness. A persistence and determination that might as well be outright obsession is sometimes all that keeps him going despite that throughout the series, he constantly comes across failure after failure. Aizen's betrayal and Hinamori's fate were enough to light the undying flame within and set him loose, revealing the vigilante side of his nature. While he seems like a strict, follow-the-rules type of person most of the time, this only applies when the rules suit his purposes. He is not Kuchiki Byakuya. More than anything, his reason for becoming a captain and wanting to gain more power, whether that power be physical or authoritative, is so that he can prevent many of the problems that the people he cares for have had to face, so that he can destroy the Aizens of the world before they can cause the Hinamoris harm. Or if worse comes to worst, destroy the Aizens because they've caused the Hinamoris harm. He has a very strong sense of duty and responsibility, but it's not so much the duty of his position as it is his own sense that he needs to protect and his position allows him to do so.
It's also this same stubbornness that leads him to be so determined to garner respect and become predictably angry when he doesn't receive it, forfeiting any and everything that has to do with being a child to prove that he isn't one, which in and of itself is a very childish notion.
PLAYER
Name/Handle: Wind
Contact: AIM: winddoesitbetter
Personal LJ: zoldyck_fan
CHARACTER
Name: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Series: Bleach
Canon: OU
Age: Looks to be somewhere between 10-12; guessed to be about 40ish.
History: Hitsugaya's life was claimed at a heartbreakingly tender age in the living realm before he was exorcized into Rukongai’s first district some decades ago. He remembers little to nothing of his life before death, not at all surprising considering the trauma of such an event on such a young mind. Upon his arrival in Junrinan, he was taken in by an elderly woman he came to refer to as his Obaa-san or Granny. Only shortly thereafter did another child join him under Obaa-san’s roof, this one an excitable young girl by the name of Hinamori Momo. The three of them lived in this way for several years, and Hitsugaya was content knowing that the two of them would remain with him even if no one else would. Everyone else in Junrinan, even Hinamori’s friends, was afraid of him though he wasn’t sure why. He speculated that it might be because of his hair or his cold personality, but all he knew was that they described him as being "cold as ice." After a while, he'd grown used to it, however, and he’d long since stopped trying to change it.
Soon Hinamori decided to leave Junrinan for Seireitei so that she could become a shinigami. Hitsugaya was far from thrilled at the development, but he wasn’t about to let her know, insulting her even as she left him behind. She would return occasionally for holidays and the like, but the longer she remained at the Shinigami Academy within Seireitei’s walls, the less often she returned. Five years passed after she first left, and Hitsugaya’s Obaa-san had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Most everyone else was still afraid of him, but even with Hinamori gone, he was able to cope as long as Obaa-san remained.
Until he met Matsumoto Rangiku, he had no want or interest in following Hinamori Momo into the Seireitei. In fact, he was rather spiteful of the shinigami in general for taking her away. But her appearance had a large impact because, once again, Hitsugaya had found someone who didn’t go out of their way to avoid him. In fact, she was a bit too forward, and he was the one who ended up running away before she could do any further damage to his under aged psyche. The next time he saw her was mere hours later. She awakened him from his overwhelming dreams to reveal how the leaking spiritual pressure he didn’t even know he had was the reason Obaa-san was weakening as well as the reason people were afraid. If he stayed, he’d undoubtedly be the death of her. Taking Matsumoto’s advice, he finally gave in and told the old lady that he was going to go to Seireitei in order to learn how to control his reiatsu. Her reaction was surprisingly positive and forgiving, and with her approval he began training in the Shinigami Academy.
While there, he quickly gained the reputation of being a child prodigy and eventually became friends with Kusaka Sojiro. Unfortunately, both he and Kusaka gained the same powerful, ice-based zanpakutou, Hyourinmaru, and in accordance with the balance all shinigami are intended to protect, it was decided that the two would have to fight each other to decide who was worthy of wielding the strongest ice zanpakutou in Seireitei, because only one shinigami should be able to wield the power of each individual zanpakutou spirit. Hitsugaya protested the fight until the last second when Kusaka, frantic and desperate, charged him.
Hitsugaya won.
He made it through the Academy much quicker and with far greater ease than the average student, and in virtually no time at all, he was promoted to captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. Matsumoto Rangiku had been working as lieutenant of the Tenth for a short while before, and needless to say, both shinigami were surprised that the little boy she’d found in Rukongai had come to surpass her in rank. The surprise didn’t last long, and the two settled down into a love-hate work relationship filled with on-duty naps, plenty of nagging, and an understanding that both could drop it all at the drop of a hat to make way for strong teamwork whenever the need arose.
This arrangement worked exceptionally well until Kurosaki Ichigo raided Seireitei. Hitsugaya didn’t pay nearly as much attention to Kurosaki as most other captains, but this did not stem from neglect or apathy so much as the fact that he had more important things that took priority. After hearing Ichimaru Gin threaten Aizen Sousuke during a captains' meeting, he wasted no time in warning Hinamori to keep an eye on Aizen. This proved a failure when Aizen was found, supposedly dead, the next morning. Hitsugaya investigated the scene and retrieved a letter Aizen had written to his long time friend. He sent Matsumoto to give it to Hinamori and left to challenge Ichimaru before Hinamori could. This too, proved fruitless, as Hinamori arrived, convinced by her precious Aizen-taichou’s last written words that Hitsugaya had been the one to kill him rather than Ichimaru. Hitsugaya was forced to knock her unconscious to subdue her and then turned on Ichimaru in his anger. When Hinamori’s life became endangered during the fight, however, Matsumoto arrived to correct Hitsugaya’s mistake, and Ichimaru left without further violence.
Eternally grateful but not knowing how to express it, he asked Matsumoto to come with him in order to stop the current chaos at its very core, Seireitei’s governing body the Central 46. When they arrived, the entire Central 46 were nothing but corpses, and it was revealed to Hitsugaya that the perpetrator behind the entire mess had been none other than the late Aizen Sousuke. Overwhelmed with anger and hatred at seeing that the man had stabbed Hinamori, he attacked with his full power, only to be cut down instantaneously, saved by Unohana Retsu’s prompt arrival.
After the situation in Seireitei calmed down, Hitsugaya was sent to lead a group of shinigami on a mission in the living realm. He and Matsumoto took up lodgings in the home of Inoue Orihime. While there, several arrancar attacked, and Hitsugaya defeated the one named Shawlong Qufang. Eventually more arrancar arrived, this time Espada, and Hitsugaya was forced to go all out against Luppi to prevent him from further injuring Matsumoto and the others. During the fight against Luppi, Inoue was captured by Aizen’s men, and this development led to the shinigami being called back to Seireitei to prepare for war.
When confronting Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen in the faux Karakura they’d created for the battle, Hitsugaya wound up pitted against Halibel, the third ranking Espada. Forced to defend himself, he could do nothing but watch as both Matsumoto and Hinamori fought and lost against their own opponents, until he finally gained the upper hand taking a risk and using a technique he'd never used while in bankai before.
Halibel was defeated for a time, but she broke free of the frozen castle of flowers that had consumed her, and the vaizard arrived. Hitsugaya, Hiyori, and Lisa attacked the Third Espada, but Aizen was the one to murder her.
And Hitsugaya was left with the one person whom he would give up his own captaincy to see dead by his hands.
Personality: Concise and straightforward, Hitsugaya has always been perceived as overly serious and lacking in any sense of humor whatsoever. In truth, he is simply stubborn. He abhors the effect his appearance has on others and works vigilantly to change said effect. Despite insistence otherwise, he greatly cares what others think of him and will do everything in his power to prove himself worthy of his station. If that means sacrificing a few childish luxuries, then so be it. He also harbors a great sense of responsibility and duty. There are very few things in this or any world that he truly treasures, and so he makes sure to protect them with his entire being. His normally stoic demeanor can quickly change when he is doing so, revealing a surprisingly large temper that doesn’t quite fit his small stature. Loss is one particular feeling he is not at all keen on, despite how often he experiences it, and he equates it to failure on his own part.
Third-Person Sample: Taken from adstringendum.
...Fear.
Aizen Sousuke looked scared. Holding his blade tightly enough to discolor his knuckles, asking for judgment? It was hard to imagine even the persona of Aizen-taichou doing such things. Both the illusion and the reality had always been so far above him he could never hope to reach. He didn't know what had been said to the man over the network, but this wasn't right. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to push Kyouka Suigetsu aside and finish him off himself, before the man could reveal what he was planning.
He managed to do half of that, marching forward and using his own blade to force Aizen's to the side. Aizen would never have the satisfaction of killing himself. No, he was going to fall to someone else. Hitsugaya would make sure of that. A single bead of sweat glided down the side of his chin and neck, obviously having nothing to do with physical exertion. "Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13," he hissed, using Aizen's crouched position as a chance to loom over the man for the first time that he could remember, flaring his frigid reiatsu to surround him. "Don't you dare forget that!"
First-Person Sample Journal Post: voice;
[He'd been through enough; he'd seen enough, damn it. And when he found himself surrounded by this, it was the last straw. There was only one man who could do this.]
Aizen! Come out, and die!
This sort of behavior established itself early on. While still living in Rukongai, he was brattier and less intent on being seen as an adult, but he was just as protective of others and quickly grew desensitized to his own needs. Because of his leaking reiatsu, most everyone avoided him, talked about him both behind his back and where he could hear them, refused to touch him. Only the old lady who took care of him and Hinamori treated him otherwise, and he appreciated it to no end even though he often didn't show it. But Hinamori left for the Shinigami Academy, and the old lady was obviously not in good health. When he was told that he was the reason granny was losing weight and growing ill, he took his first foray into the world of maturity and made the decision to become a shinigami and control his reiatsu, thus leaving the old lady and the comfort she offered behind.
By the time he's introduced in canon, some fifteen years have gone by since Rukongai. Since then, he's been renowned as a prodigy amongst the shinigami, graduating the Academy early and quickly rising in the ranks to become the captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. Despite his success, it's clear he feels inadequate among his more experienced and more powerful peers, constantly needing to prove himself worthy of his status and garner the respect he feels he deserves. And while he doesn't often understand that formality doesn't equate to respect, he generally receives at least one of the two.
If there is one trait that could be used to sum him up, it would be his stubbornness. A persistence and determination that might as well be outright obsession is sometimes all that keeps him going despite that throughout the series, he constantly comes across failure after failure. Aizen's betrayal and Hinamori's fate were enough to light the undying flame within and set him loose, revealing the vigilante side of his nature. While he seems like a strict, follow-the-rules type of person most of the time, this only applies when the rules suit his purposes. He is not Kuchiki Byakuya. More than anything, his reason for becoming a captain and wanting to gain more power, whether that power be physical or authoritative, is so that he can prevent many of the problems that the people he cares for have had to face, so that he can destroy the Aizens of the world before they can cause the Hinamoris harm. Or if worse comes to worst, destroy the Aizens because they've caused the Hinamoris harm. He has a very strong sense of duty and responsibility, but it's not so much the duty of his position as it is his own sense that he needs to protect and his position allows him to do so.
It's also this same stubbornness that leads him to be so determined to garner respect and become predictably angry when he doesn't receive it, forfeiting any and everything that has to do with being a child to prove that he isn't one, which in and of itself is a very childish notion.
PLAYER
Name/Handle: Wind
Contact: AIM: winddoesitbetter
Personal LJ: zoldyck_fan
CHARACTER
Name: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Series: Bleach
Canon: OU
Age: Looks to be somewhere between 10-12; guessed to be about 40ish.
History: Hitsugaya's life was claimed at a heartbreakingly tender age in the living realm before he was exorcized into Rukongai’s first district some decades ago. He remembers little to nothing of his life before death, not at all surprising considering the trauma of such an event on such a young mind. Upon his arrival in Junrinan, he was taken in by an elderly woman he came to refer to as his Obaa-san or Granny. Only shortly thereafter did another child join him under Obaa-san’s roof, this one an excitable young girl by the name of Hinamori Momo. The three of them lived in this way for several years, and Hitsugaya was content knowing that the two of them would remain with him even if no one else would. Everyone else in Junrinan, even Hinamori’s friends, was afraid of him though he wasn’t sure why. He speculated that it might be because of his hair or his cold personality, but all he knew was that they described him as being "cold as ice." After a while, he'd grown used to it, however, and he’d long since stopped trying to change it.
Soon Hinamori decided to leave Junrinan for Seireitei so that she could become a shinigami. Hitsugaya was far from thrilled at the development, but he wasn’t about to let her know, insulting her even as she left him behind. She would return occasionally for holidays and the like, but the longer she remained at the Shinigami Academy within Seireitei’s walls, the less often she returned. Five years passed after she first left, and Hitsugaya’s Obaa-san had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Most everyone else was still afraid of him, but even with Hinamori gone, he was able to cope as long as Obaa-san remained.
Until he met Matsumoto Rangiku, he had no want or interest in following Hinamori Momo into the Seireitei. In fact, he was rather spiteful of the shinigami in general for taking her away. But her appearance had a large impact because, once again, Hitsugaya had found someone who didn’t go out of their way to avoid him. In fact, she was a bit too forward, and he was the one who ended up running away before she could do any further damage to his under aged psyche. The next time he saw her was mere hours later. She awakened him from his overwhelming dreams to reveal how the leaking spiritual pressure he didn’t even know he had was the reason Obaa-san was weakening as well as the reason people were afraid. If he stayed, he’d undoubtedly be the death of her. Taking Matsumoto’s advice, he finally gave in and told the old lady that he was going to go to Seireitei in order to learn how to control his reiatsu. Her reaction was surprisingly positive and forgiving, and with her approval he began training in the Shinigami Academy.
While there, he quickly gained the reputation of being a child prodigy and eventually became friends with Kusaka Sojiro. Unfortunately, both he and Kusaka gained the same powerful, ice-based zanpakutou, Hyourinmaru, and in accordance with the balance all shinigami are intended to protect, it was decided that the two would have to fight each other to decide who was worthy of wielding the strongest ice zanpakutou in Seireitei, because only one shinigami should be able to wield the power of each individual zanpakutou spirit. Hitsugaya protested the fight until the last second when Kusaka, frantic and desperate, charged him.
Hitsugaya won.
He made it through the Academy much quicker and with far greater ease than the average student, and in virtually no time at all, he was promoted to captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. Matsumoto Rangiku had been working as lieutenant of the Tenth for a short while before, and needless to say, both shinigami were surprised that the little boy she’d found in Rukongai had come to surpass her in rank. The surprise didn’t last long, and the two settled down into a love-hate work relationship filled with on-duty naps, plenty of nagging, and an understanding that both could drop it all at the drop of a hat to make way for strong teamwork whenever the need arose.
This arrangement worked exceptionally well until Kurosaki Ichigo raided Seireitei. Hitsugaya didn’t pay nearly as much attention to Kurosaki as most other captains, but this did not stem from neglect or apathy so much as the fact that he had more important things that took priority. After hearing Ichimaru Gin threaten Aizen Sousuke during a captains' meeting, he wasted no time in warning Hinamori to keep an eye on Aizen. This proved a failure when Aizen was found, supposedly dead, the next morning. Hitsugaya investigated the scene and retrieved a letter Aizen had written to his long time friend. He sent Matsumoto to give it to Hinamori and left to challenge Ichimaru before Hinamori could. This too, proved fruitless, as Hinamori arrived, convinced by her precious Aizen-taichou’s last written words that Hitsugaya had been the one to kill him rather than Ichimaru. Hitsugaya was forced to knock her unconscious to subdue her and then turned on Ichimaru in his anger. When Hinamori’s life became endangered during the fight, however, Matsumoto arrived to correct Hitsugaya’s mistake, and Ichimaru left without further violence.
Eternally grateful but not knowing how to express it, he asked Matsumoto to come with him in order to stop the current chaos at its very core, Seireitei’s governing body the Central 46. When they arrived, the entire Central 46 were nothing but corpses, and it was revealed to Hitsugaya that the perpetrator behind the entire mess had been none other than the late Aizen Sousuke. Overwhelmed with anger and hatred at seeing that the man had stabbed Hinamori, he attacked with his full power, only to be cut down instantaneously, saved by Unohana Retsu’s prompt arrival.
After the situation in Seireitei calmed down, Hitsugaya was sent to lead a group of shinigami on a mission in the living realm. He and Matsumoto took up lodgings in the home of Inoue Orihime. While there, several arrancar attacked, and Hitsugaya defeated the one named Shawlong Qufang. Eventually more arrancar arrived, this time Espada, and Hitsugaya was forced to go all out against Luppi to prevent him from further injuring Matsumoto and the others. During the fight against Luppi, Inoue was captured by Aizen’s men, and this development led to the shinigami being called back to Seireitei to prepare for war.
When confronting Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen in the faux Karakura they’d created for the battle, Hitsugaya wound up pitted against Halibel, the third ranking Espada. Forced to defend himself, he could do nothing but watch as both Matsumoto and Hinamori fought and lost against their own opponents, until he finally gained the upper hand taking a risk and using a technique he'd never used while in bankai before.
Halibel was defeated for a time, but she broke free of the frozen castle of flowers that had consumed her, and the vaizard arrived. Hitsugaya, Hiyori, and Lisa attacked the Third Espada, but Aizen was the one to murder her.
And Hitsugaya was left with the one person whom he would give up his own captaincy to see dead by his hands.
Personality: Concise and straightforward, Hitsugaya has always been perceived as overly serious and lacking in any sense of humor whatsoever. In truth, he is simply stubborn. He abhors the effect his appearance has on others and works vigilantly to change said effect. Despite insistence otherwise, he greatly cares what others think of him and will do everything in his power to prove himself worthy of his station. If that means sacrificing a few childish luxuries, then so be it. He also harbors a great sense of responsibility and duty. There are very few things in this or any world that he truly treasures, and so he makes sure to protect them with his entire being. His normally stoic demeanor can quickly change when he is doing so, revealing a surprisingly large temper that doesn’t quite fit his small stature. Loss is one particular feeling he is not at all keen on, despite how often he experiences it, and he equates it to failure on his own part.
Third-Person Sample: Taken from adstringendum.
...Fear.
Aizen Sousuke looked scared. Holding his blade tightly enough to discolor his knuckles, asking for judgment? It was hard to imagine even the persona of Aizen-taichou doing such things. Both the illusion and the reality had always been so far above him he could never hope to reach. He didn't know what had been said to the man over the network, but this wasn't right. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to push Kyouka Suigetsu aside and finish him off himself, before the man could reveal what he was planning.
He managed to do half of that, marching forward and using his own blade to force Aizen's to the side. Aizen would never have the satisfaction of killing himself. No, he was going to fall to someone else. Hitsugaya would make sure of that. A single bead of sweat glided down the side of his chin and neck, obviously having nothing to do with physical exertion. "Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13," he hissed, using Aizen's crouched position as a chance to loom over the man for the first time that he could remember, flaring his frigid reiatsu to surround him. "Don't you dare forget that!"
First-Person Sample Journal Post: voice;
[He'd been through enough; he'd seen enough, damn it. And when he found himself surrounded by this, it was the last straw. There was only one man who could do this.]
Aizen! Come out, and die!