Canon information
Out of Character Information
player name: Batty
player livejournal: batty_chan
playing here: Scar, Luke fon Fabre
are you 16 years of age or older?: yes
In Character Information
character name: Kaien Shiba
canon source and the point from which they're taken: Bleach anime(or manga, doesn’t make a difference in this case); because Kaien died before the story proper, it would probably be more helpful to look at the wikia on him here than trying to find each of the individual episodes with flashbacks on him. For mod convenience, however, I compiled a list of five flashback episodes on him: 40, 49, 63, 154 and 155. 49 specifically focuses on the events of his death, while 63 involves Rukia finally coming to terms with his death/summoning the courage to apologize to his family. The Turn Back The Pendulum arc will be useful for purposes of backstory as well, though I'm not sure if they have yet been animated. Not all of it is relevant to him, either. Summary of the Turn Back The Pendulum arc.
character's age: Approximately two hundred, appears about 26
canon powers, skills, pets and equipment: (I apologize this section is so long but I had to list all of the abilities of shinigami in general aside from simply the shikai unique to Kaien)
Equipment:
-Lieutenant’s Badge-piece of wood with the division thirteen division insignia on it and a strap to secure it. He wears it over his shihakushou (shinigami uniform) on his left arm
-Soul Pager-a communications and hollow-tracking device given to all shinigami; it will be essentially functionally dead in Anatole
-Gikongan-“soul candy”. While Kaien won’t be in a gigai for convenience’s sake, all shinigami generally have a container of this on them for missions in the human world. (It puts one of a few possible standard ‘substitute souls' into the body so it doesn’t just fall over when the soul leaves it. The only one we’ve really seen is Chappy the Rabbit)
-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. Kaien’s zanpakutou is Nejibana, and its release phrase is “Rankle the seas and the skies.” (His shikai ability will be described below, with his other abilities) 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.
Abilities
Kaien 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 Anatole, 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-when Kaien releases its shikai, it transforms into its released state, a cross between a trident and a ji (Chinese halberd). The end of Nejibana turns into a corkscrew/drill shape. Nejibana’s ability is the manipulation of water; its tip, the end, and the area around it is constantly flowing with water and each blow creates moderately large waves. The water is implied to follow the motions of Nejibana itself.
non-canon powers: In Bleach canon, it is stated that shinigami can only be seen by other spirit beings/spiritually aware humans. For the sake of convenience/ease of interaction, the mist will change him so that he is visible to everyone/everything.
canon history: Kaien Shiba was the eldest son of the Shiba family, which was once one of the great five noble families of Seireitei. Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko (now the door guards of the Shiba family after Kaien’s death) were once his and his sister Kuukaku’s educators. He apparently rescued an injured mountain piglet in his youth that became his little brother Ganju’s prized riding pig Bonnie that was very attached to Kaien up until his death.
At some undefined point, Kaien decided to become a shinigami and was quickly found to be a prodigy when he passed the entrance exam on his first try and finished the six year curriculum of the Shinigami Academy in only one.
Some time about 110 years ago, Jushiro Ukitake, the captain of the thirteenth division, offered him a position as his lieutenant, five years after his graduation from the academy. He denied the position for a few years, and then finally decided to take it, if only for the sake of taking care of his family. Because of Ukitake’s illness, Kaien often took over the day-to-day functions of managing his division.
At some point while he was the lieutenant, Rukia Kuchiki was placed in division thirteen. Most other shinigami were careful and courteous to her face due to her noble status while speaking about her in hushed whispers behind her back, and Kaien was the first to treat her as an equal. Rukia felt deeply grateful for this, and she became extremely close to Kaien, the latter becoming a mentor figure for her. It is strongly implied that Rukia developed romantic feelings for him as well, though never pursued them due to the fact that he was already married.
Note: He is being taken from this point, before his death, but since a large portion of his role in canon is how his death affected the other characters, I’ll describe the circumstances of his death here and how it affected/developed the other characters involved.
Kaien’s wife Miyako, the third seat of the thirteenth division was part of a reconnaissance team for a particular hollow that had been rumored to have killed every shinigami it had encountered. When the team went to gather information on this hollow, called Metastacia, the entire team was killed, save for Miyako, who was unconscious but seemingly otherwise unharmed. Later in the night, Miyako began suddenly and inexplicably attacking other fellow shinigami. Kaien was able to hold her off, and she then ran away. Kaien, along with Rukia and Ukitake, followed her. They ended up in a little clearing in a forest, where they found the remains of Miyako’s shihakushou, and the hollow which had possessed her and devoured her from the inside out.
Kaien is outraged by this affront to his wife’s honor, and asks Ukitake for permission to fight it alone. He manages to hold his own for a while, even after the hollow’s ability shatters his zanpakutou (Rukia wants to interfere at this point, but Ukitake stops her, telling her of the difference between battles to save lives and battles for honor and pride, and that one must never interfere in another’s battle of the latter kind). The hollow then possesses him as well, and it is then that Ukitake interferes, telling Rukia to run. The two fight for a while, until Ukitake’s illness flares up, and it is about then that Rukia returns, feeling ashamed for her cowardice in running. The hollow, still merged with Kaien’s body, charged at her and impaled on her zanpakutou. Kaien’s consciousness emerges for a few moments before he dies, thanking Ukitake for letting him fight alone, and Rukia, because now he could “leave his heart here [in this world].”
Ukitake is deeply grieved by the loss of his lieutenant, and up to even present canon, has never replaced him. He went to the Shiba family following Kaien’s death to explain what had happened to Kuukaku, who understood and promised herself to forgive Rukia, should she ever come to them to apologize. A deep hatred of all shinigami was fostered in Ganju, on the other hand, and he only agrees to help Ichigo and his friends (albeit reluctantly) save Rukia later on when she is sentenced to death for lending her shinigami power to a human because it is what Kaien would have done. Rukia herself was plagued with intense guilt over the incident and couldn’t muster the courage to apologize to them for many years-when she was in the Repentance Cell awaiting her execution, she couldn’t bring herself to dread it because she felt she didn’t deserve to be rescued after what had happened. Ichigo is said to carry a strong resemblance to the deceased Kaien, which was remarked upon by both Ukitake and Byakuya Kuchiki, which was essentially the reason the latter allowed Ichigo to live after their first encounter-so Rukia wouldn’t have to watch another Kaien die in front of her eyes.
personality: Kaien is a kind and friendly man with a down-to-earth attitude that has earned him the respect of his subordinates as well as many other shinigami. Despite being from a noble house and having been considered a prodigy due to passing the entrance exam for the shinigami academy in his first try and completing the six-year curriculum in one year, humility is a trait not lost on Kaien, as he shrugged off any attempt at being called a prodigy when Ukitake offered him the position as his lieutenant.
He treats everyone with respect as an equal, and it is this homogeneity in treatment of others that also fosters a great deal of respect, as it shows Kaien is a man that does not show different facades to different people, behaving the same way with a noble’s sister like Rukia as he would with any other subordinate or shinigami in another division.
Cheerful and nearly always seen smiling, Kaien has a knack for bringing out the best in those around him. He tends to gravitate towards those who seem the loneliest, beginning the work of opening up their hearts and letting the wonderful people he always believes to be waiting within to shine through, as with Rukia. He’s always willing to lend an ear to a companion who needs someone to talk to, and-along with the occasional corny joke or goofy facial expression-is more than capable of inspiring even the severely disheartened to greater levels of achievement.
Kaien is a very hard worker and unflinchingly loyal to those dear to him (which eventually leads to his death later on, when he is angered at the hollow Metastacia defiling his wife’s memory). He takes on the extra responsibility of managing the daily duties of the thirteenth division without reservation, knowing that his captain is strong but that he needs to save his strength for the important matters that he would not be qualified to handle…not menial things like paperwork.
The bonds of love and friendship are of utmost importance to him. He believes that the two types of battle his captain believes in-the fight for lives and the fight for honor-both end up amounting to a battle for the same thing: one’s heart. As he explained to Rukia, Kaien believes that heart is something created whenever one makes connections with others, and that it is what remains in the hearts and minds of those left behind when a person dies. It is for this reason that he believes that one must never, ever die alone, and makes Rukia promise she will never allow herself to die alone.
if your character is 13 years of age or younger, please post requested information here: n/a
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Kaien would fit into this setting because as lieutenant of the thirteenth division, he’s done a lot of fighting (mainly hollow-destroying), and he’d probably take an active role in the patrols around the city that Priscilla has set up, since shinigami are constantly patrolling the human world to protect people from hollows/helping souls pass on so they don’t become hollows. He’s very capable of taking care of himself and he is likely to help out the natives in Anatole as much as he can, even if they don’t like him (most humans don’t even know of the existence of shinigami, so the lack of gratitude is something he is used to!)