these woods are lovely, dark and deep
Personality:
Quiet and observant by nature, Isane is known to project melancholy taciturnity to those outside of her division, when the truth of the matter is that she is usually too shy or self-conscious to speak up. Her timidity doesn't carry over into combat, however; when on a field of battle, Isane is an aggressive fighter who won't back down from engaging much larger or more powerful foes. She looks up to Unohana as a mentor and mother figure, and treats her with great respect.
Isane suffers from frequent nightmares, as well as a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and is prone to fretting over trivial issues. Since Kiyone's death, Isane has become far more somber in her interactions with her division members. The loss of her sister was a devastating blow to Isane, from which she still has yet to fully recover. Outside of the Fourth division, Isane rarely deals with other shinigami outside of an official capacity, and her perfunctory Shinigami Women's Association meetings.
Isane has become more vicious since Kiyone's death. Where before she would have hesitated to do serious damage during a sparring match, she now refuses to pull a punch. Because of her medical training and thorough understanding of the workings of the human body, it's a simple matter for her to deal wickedly painful or debilitating blows with very little force. That being the case, Isane still keeps a clear understanding of the differentiation between the 'fighting' and 'healing' aspects of her job, and under no circumstances allows the two to mix. Despite the fact that she has deferred a good deal of her more merciful tendencies, she has become increasingly protective of her subordinates, and members of other divisions (especially the Eleventh) have learned to give her a wide berth.
Background:
The first year after Aizen's takeover was spent almost exclusively in mourning. Having to deal with the massive number of casualties helped to delay the shock from setting in, but once it had, Isane was inconsolable and shut herself off, physically and emotionally. Even Unohana had difficulty coaxing her vice-captain out of her room except for work-related issues.
While Isane understands, intellectually, that she needs to move on, she still blames herself for her sister's death, since she was battling and tending injuries elsewhere at the time. Once she was past the denial stage, she slowly worked her way through the other stages: bouts of extreme anger, bargaining, and a lingering depression which she managed to shake off shortly after the end of the year. During the more tumultuous 'anger' stage of the grieving process, Isane was placed under a probation period by the higher-ups to assure that she was still capable of performing her duties as a member of the Fourth Division without flying off the handle. She had to learn very quickly to curb her temper for her own sake, and Unohana's as well.
The 'acceptance' stage hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, either. Even though she's come to terms with Kiyone's death, Isane still misses her sister terribly and would give up anything and everything to have her back. As far as personal relationships go, Isane is still trying to rebuild bridges that she damaged in the time when she purposely isolated herself from all of her friends. She finds it difficult to make herself spend time with others without Kiyone to motivate her. She's been training herself relentlessly in an attempt to become stronger, and if there were any whispered hints of rebellion among the Gotei 13, it's entirely possible that Isane's hand might be in it.
Zanpakutou:
Name: Itegumo. (凍雲, "Frozen Cloud.")
Spirit Appearance:
Itegumo manifests himself as a large white wolf, standing a solid seven feet at the withers. His face (which bears a snowflake pattern), paws, belly, and tail are tipped with blue, and he has two icicle horns and clusters of large ice crystals sprouting from his shoulders. He has soft, cloudlike wisps of white fur on each of his paws. Itegumo can be solemn and serene, but is also tenacious and boisterous; he has an exciteable and playful side to match his canine nature. He is an intensely loyal and stalwart companion, lacking Isane's reserved self-consciousness.
Inner World: Isane's inner world is a vast and frozen evergreen forest. At its heart is a large white mountain, which is in turn surrounded by large snow fields. Itegumo resides in an ice cavern at the base of the mountain. The time of day corresponds with the actual time of day, while the weather - ranging from crystal clear skies to gentle snow to blizzard conditions - fluctuates based on Isane's emotional state.
Shikai:
Release Phrase: "Hashire!" ("Dash!" or "Sprint!")
Appearance: Upon release, Itegumo's blade glows blue and forks out into three separate tines. The two aditional prongs protrude from the hilt at 45 degree angles, and are slightly shy of half the length of the center blade. The [i]tsuba[/i] and handle are unchanged.
Abilities: Itegumo is an elemental Zanpakutou of the ice/wind type.
Its primary power is the ability to create wind. Not ordinary puffs of air, mind; with a flick of her wrist, Itegumo can release up to three intense bursts of frozen air. Isane is able to precisely manipulate the air for both offense and defense: razor sharp wind "blades," fine "drills," and wide walls of air are weapons in her arsenal. As an added benefit, these attacks cannot be seen or directly blocked, as they are made entirely of wind-- the exception here being in humid air, where moisture is picked up and frozen in the wake of the wind. The winds are cold enough to burn, able to flash-freeze the surface of any object (or opponent) they come in contact with. Thinner blades that cut deep wounds will freeze any tissue they come in contact with, making skin or muscle brittle and easy to shatter.
Itegumo's secondary ability is the temperature of the blade itself. In shikai mode, the metal of the blade becomes bitterly cold, and will freeze anything it touches. This only affects the area that the sword touches, ie. cuts will freeze, but tissue more than two or three inches away from the cut will not be affected.
Itegumo's ice and wind powers are amplified by wind kidou such as "Tenran."
Isane has not yet achieved Bankai.
Quiet and observant by nature, Isane is known to project melancholy taciturnity to those outside of her division, when the truth of the matter is that she is usually too shy or self-conscious to speak up. Her timidity doesn't carry over into combat, however; when on a field of battle, Isane is an aggressive fighter who won't back down from engaging much larger or more powerful foes. She looks up to Unohana as a mentor and mother figure, and treats her with great respect.
Isane suffers from frequent nightmares, as well as a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and is prone to fretting over trivial issues. Since Kiyone's death, Isane has become far more somber in her interactions with her division members. The loss of her sister was a devastating blow to Isane, from which she still has yet to fully recover. Outside of the Fourth division, Isane rarely deals with other shinigami outside of an official capacity, and her perfunctory Shinigami Women's Association meetings.
Isane has become more vicious since Kiyone's death. Where before she would have hesitated to do serious damage during a sparring match, she now refuses to pull a punch. Because of her medical training and thorough understanding of the workings of the human body, it's a simple matter for her to deal wickedly painful or debilitating blows with very little force. That being the case, Isane still keeps a clear understanding of the differentiation between the 'fighting' and 'healing' aspects of her job, and under no circumstances allows the two to mix. Despite the fact that she has deferred a good deal of her more merciful tendencies, she has become increasingly protective of her subordinates, and members of other divisions (especially the Eleventh) have learned to give her a wide berth.
Background:
The first year after Aizen's takeover was spent almost exclusively in mourning. Having to deal with the massive number of casualties helped to delay the shock from setting in, but once it had, Isane was inconsolable and shut herself off, physically and emotionally. Even Unohana had difficulty coaxing her vice-captain out of her room except for work-related issues.
While Isane understands, intellectually, that she needs to move on, she still blames herself for her sister's death, since she was battling and tending injuries elsewhere at the time. Once she was past the denial stage, she slowly worked her way through the other stages: bouts of extreme anger, bargaining, and a lingering depression which she managed to shake off shortly after the end of the year. During the more tumultuous 'anger' stage of the grieving process, Isane was placed under a probation period by the higher-ups to assure that she was still capable of performing her duties as a member of the Fourth Division without flying off the handle. She had to learn very quickly to curb her temper for her own sake, and Unohana's as well.
The 'acceptance' stage hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, either. Even though she's come to terms with Kiyone's death, Isane still misses her sister terribly and would give up anything and everything to have her back. As far as personal relationships go, Isane is still trying to rebuild bridges that she damaged in the time when she purposely isolated herself from all of her friends. She finds it difficult to make herself spend time with others without Kiyone to motivate her. She's been training herself relentlessly in an attempt to become stronger, and if there were any whispered hints of rebellion among the Gotei 13, it's entirely possible that Isane's hand might be in it.
Zanpakutou:
Name: Itegumo. (凍雲, "Frozen Cloud.")
Spirit Appearance:
Itegumo manifests himself as a large white wolf, standing a solid seven feet at the withers. His face (which bears a snowflake pattern), paws, belly, and tail are tipped with blue, and he has two icicle horns and clusters of large ice crystals sprouting from his shoulders. He has soft, cloudlike wisps of white fur on each of his paws. Itegumo can be solemn and serene, but is also tenacious and boisterous; he has an exciteable and playful side to match his canine nature. He is an intensely loyal and stalwart companion, lacking Isane's reserved self-consciousness.
Inner World: Isane's inner world is a vast and frozen evergreen forest. At its heart is a large white mountain, which is in turn surrounded by large snow fields. Itegumo resides in an ice cavern at the base of the mountain. The time of day corresponds with the actual time of day, while the weather - ranging from crystal clear skies to gentle snow to blizzard conditions - fluctuates based on Isane's emotional state.
Shikai:
Release Phrase: "Hashire!" ("Dash!" or "Sprint!")
Appearance: Upon release, Itegumo's blade glows blue and forks out into three separate tines. The two aditional prongs protrude from the hilt at 45 degree angles, and are slightly shy of half the length of the center blade. The [i]tsuba[/i] and handle are unchanged.
Abilities: Itegumo is an elemental Zanpakutou of the ice/wind type.
Its primary power is the ability to create wind. Not ordinary puffs of air, mind; with a flick of her wrist, Itegumo can release up to three intense bursts of frozen air. Isane is able to precisely manipulate the air for both offense and defense: razor sharp wind "blades," fine "drills," and wide walls of air are weapons in her arsenal. As an added benefit, these attacks cannot be seen or directly blocked, as they are made entirely of wind-- the exception here being in humid air, where moisture is picked up and frozen in the wake of the wind. The winds are cold enough to burn, able to flash-freeze the surface of any object (or opponent) they come in contact with. Thinner blades that cut deep wounds will freeze any tissue they come in contact with, making skin or muscle brittle and easy to shatter.
Itegumo's secondary ability is the temperature of the blade itself. In shikai mode, the metal of the blade becomes bitterly cold, and will freeze anything it touches. This only affects the area that the sword touches, ie. cuts will freeze, but tissue more than two or three inches away from the cut will not be affected.
Itegumo's ice and wind powers are amplified by wind kidou such as "Tenran."
Isane has not yet achieved Bankai.