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savior_n_black♔ Player Information;
Name: Angel
Player Journal:angelcide
Are you over 18? Yup.
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Angelcide
Other characters currently played at Tanelorn: N/A
♔ Character Information;
Character Name: Ichigo Kurosaki
Canon: Bleach
OU or AU?: CR AU taking previous game experience from both Promenade ( on Livejournal, and now defunct ) and [Bad username or unknown identity: ”abaxcity”] on Dreamwidth
Canon point: 479 ( canon ) prior to the Sternritter arc.
Setting: Earth, however in his version of Earth, ghosts and spirits all exist. There are three major planes of existence; the World of the Living (where the living dwell), Soul Society (the world of the dead, both shinigami and human souls), and Hueco Mundo (the world of Hollows, a sort of purgatory), a few "in-between" worlds exist as pocket dimensions of sorts, but they are small and not as well known. The ‘Royal Realm’ ( a sort of ‘heaven’ ) and Hell ( realm of the damned).
When a human dies, their soul re-enters the great cycle of birth, and rebirth, though for the most part souls go first to Soul Society. Corrupted souls caught at the moment of their death are sent to Hell to be cleansed, and reduced to their component parts. Some souls get left behind, or become confused and therefore don’t find their way to Soul Society on their own. These souls are either escorted to Soul Society by elite souls known as Shinigami (lit. "Death Gods") or decay into an animalistic, monstrous state called a Hollow. Hollows lose all sense of self, and once a soul has devolved into its most base parts, all it can feel is the emptiness within. Hollows will consume other souls, and other Hollows if they are strong enough. Hollows can be returned to their original ‘Plus soul’ state by the cleansing nature of a Shinigami’s zanpakutou, but many remain as they are through fleeing from Shinigami, and eventually find their way to Hueco Mundo. Hueco Mundo is a vast, empty desert world. A purgatory realm filled with darkness, but a surprisingly dense field of energy.
Some souls that move into Soul society find that they are imbued with more energy than the average Plus soul. These souls may enter the academy in Soul Society and train until they are tested, and if they are strong enough, they become Shinigami themselves. In addition to these groups, there are also powered humans within the Living Realm. One, called Quincies, inherit their power through hereditary lineage, but are largely underground, or extinct thanks to being relentlessly hunted down by the ruling body of Soul Society. Another call themselves Fullbringers, but less is known about them since to become a “Fullbringer” it takes an extraordinarily specific set of events to befall someone while still in the womb. Currently there are only 6 known Fullbringers left in the Living World.
History: Bleach wiki entry on Ichigo
Ichigo was a typical highschool student, and dealt with all the issues that come with it. Save for the fact that his bright, orange hair made him stand out a bit, physically, and thus made him a target to bullies. But, Ichigo was never willing to back down from those who would try to take advantage of a weakness, and hurt Ichigo, or his friends with it. His teachers call him a delinquent because of his hair and prickly attitude, and he “gets back at them” by getting good grades and studying a lot. His carefully cultivated aloof, standalone persona at school hides a smart boy, just brash, and thus temperamental, and reckless.
The strong desire to protect his loved ones stems from several things, but most especially from his mother, and the guilt he still has over the knowledge that she died to protect him from a hollow when he was only a child. Ichigo had adored his mother, and states that "I want to protect my mom, who protects me". Her death was a vital, if not the single most important aspect of his self-identity.
Ichigo's name even means "first guardian", meaning that he was born first, but also that as an older brother it's his responsibility to protect his sisters. His relationship with his father is a little less easily defined, but Isshin has encouraged this protector idea in Ichigo as well; arguably due to Isshin also having secrets of his own. Tireless, and merciless with himself, and his obsession with being strong enough to protect everyone, Ichigo's strengths are driven chiefly by loyalty, and his own moral code. This deep streak of reckless chivalry has been the source of a good amount of his strength, and he has no qualms with speaking his mind on a subject, and sharing his opinions ( or his fists, as the case may be?). To some it’s a mark of immaturity, but at sixteen, he’s had to do a lot of growing up in a short period of time. Yet, sometimes his age asserts itself, and his naiveté on issues has led to much embarrassment for him. His apparent aversion to boobs is less about not liking them, and more about being so terribly shy, combined with respecting women enough to not trivialize them for just their bodies. At least, that's how he sees it.
In many ways Ichigo's personal tragedies have always set him apart. He's never been quite "normal" from his appearance, to being able to see ghosts, to being a highschool student, and shinigami at the same time. This dual life has had deep effect on his soul as well.
During his first fight with Kuchiki Byakuya to save Rukia from execution, Ichigo actually did fall unconscious, and something like another personality took over. For the short time this inner hollow was in control of his body, all of Ichigo's strength, and speed took such a quantum leap that he wounded Byakuya before Ichigo, himself, was able to regain control; ripping the forming mask off his face. After meeting Hirako Shinji, Ichigo learned that a small group of shinigami had similar circumstances, yet they had subdued the hollow within themselves, and now wielded stronger, blended powers. They called themselves "The Vizards" because they could use, and release their hollow masks at will. Shinji at first tried to recruit Ichigo, but Ichigo refuses to join the vizards. Instead he demands to be taught how to control his inner hollow, which after a small scuffle, Shinji ends up agreeing to. The Vizards were still in the midst of training Ichigo when Orihime was kidnapped, and Ichigo took off to Hueco Mundo. After fighting almost nonstop through arrancar, and then Espada, Ichigo proved he could use, and recall his hollow mask reliably.
Ulquiorra, however, still beat Ichigo rather soundly, and repeatedly knocked the mask off of Ichigo's face. In fact, Ulquiorra would have killed Ichigo if the inner hollow had not taken over right at the end. The hollow took control, and proceeded to not just defeat Ulquiorra, but to tear the Espada limb from limb. The hollow has proven itself to be faster, and stronger than Ichigo, but without any hint of reason, or the rationality of Ichigo's consciousness. Essentially the hollow is a maniacal, bloodthirsty, remorseless fighting machine that Ichigo must actively subdue in order to regain control of himself again. In fact once Ulquiorra was missing most of his lower body, and an arm, Uryu tried to stop Ichigo from further hurting Ulquiorra, only for Ichigo to turn, and impale Uryu on Tensa Zangetsu. This second hollowfied form Ichigo has not yet beaten on his own, either. In a last ditch move on Ulquiorra's part, one of the horns on Ichigo's mask was broken. The mask shattered after that, and Ichigo seemed to further heal himself while his hair, and body changed back to his normal bankai. When he finds out that he was the one to have stabbed Ishida, and cut off Ulquiorra's legs, and arm, he is visibly upset. Ichigo even tries to demand Ulquiorra do the same to him so the fight "would be even" then. Ulquiorra, having used up too much power, begins to fade away. It's debatable if one could say Ichigo actually killed Ulquiorra, but that loss of control over himself, and his own powers obviously deeply disturbed Ichigo enough that the next time he tries to recall his mask, he notices that the mask "feels heavier". Unknown to him at that time, the markings on his hollow mask are drastically altered, as well.
Ichigo needs his hollow's power to protect the people precious to him, but he fears how destructive it is. He fears abandonment by his friends over having a hollow (something Shinji reinforced unwittingly). He fears losing control to the monster he may (and has) become. The conflict is inside himself over his fighting for power to protect, or fighting for the pleasure of fighting. Through the Lust Arc, Ichigo states that he fought “because he had to win”, rather than stating he had to protect. While Ulquiorra meant to crush Ichigo, he still showed Ichigo "true despair', just not in the way either of them expected. The difference is rather small all things considered, since the second hollowfied form results from Ichigo's desire to protect. Or rather, the desire to protect gone horribly wrong.
Now Ichigo has no time to wrestle with these weighty internal issues, or even the fear he now harbors of being capable of hurting, and possibly killing his friends before realizing he needs to return to Karakura Town.
Upon realizing he had been transported into the strange Dream world of Promenade, Ichigo spent the first portion of his time in this new realm doing the only logical thing; searching for friends, and loved ones. It didn’t take long to find a few of the people from his same world.
Time was a strange, and mutable thing in Promenade. There were several instances where the clock became both turned forward, and then back rendering the inhabitants of Promenade as future-selves, and then into child-selves. Ichigo learned a great deal about the place, and more importantly himself during the ups, and downs of life within Promenade. Through antagonizing the native populace, and refusing to follow the rule of conduct said natives insisted on, Ichigo was the first to be held against his will within “The Unnatural” – a part of the city that lived up to it’s name – and had his humiliating, painful torture televised for the city at large. The experience still galvanized Ichigo more than it hurt him.
Over time, he made friends, and even became one of the three people instrumental in creating a sort of “Resistance” against the tyrannical rule of the mysterious rulers of the dream city. And his friendships ranged everywhere from giant alien robots, to elves from faraway lands of fantasy, to superheroes, and even a few things in between. One of those “in-betweens”? Was Rinzler.
As the dream of Promenade collapsed, Ichigo ended up transported along with the Kuchikis, Shiro, and Rinzler into a whole new world. Where Promenade was a dream,abaxity was a nightmare.
After some time spent gaining their respective feet, and finding out just what it takes to survive Abax, Ichigo started gathering those he counted as friends together, and stockpiling supplies into a barricaded store. Between Rukia, Shiro, Byakuya, then later a few other familiar faces from both Promenade, and Ichigo’s own home world, they made the place livable.
Which was a handy thing when Ichigo started welcoming new faces into their midst.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after ending up in Abax that Ichigo, Shiro, and Rukia were just as suddenly transported back home. Ichigo to confront the daunting prospect, and massive sacrifices required to defeat Aizen, Shiro to once again be merged within Ichigo’s soul, and Rukia to be separated from both in Hueco Mundo. ( Please refer to wiki link for details on the end of the Deicide arc, and the Fullbringer arc. )
Upon their return to Abax after almost a year’s lapse in time, Ichigo was not only older, but very sheepish about how long it took for him to sort out his own head in the wake of Aizen’s defeat, and the loss of his powers.
But, after talking to Rukia and helping Shiro to recover both the strength to take on a physical form of his own, then a measure of his old powers, Ichigo was able to find closure with himself. Repairing his friendship with Rinzler was a little more complicated.
Complications that only became exacerbated by Yukio’s presence in Abax, and the strange way the Fullbringer was able to siphon off energy from Ichigo.
Then, in the midst of all of this, Byakuya figured out what was going on between Ichigo and Shiro and after confronting them about it, and it’s impact on Ichigo’s relationship with Rukia, Ichigo and Byakuya’s relationship became even more strained. That strain never really did become properly repaired, even when both both Shiro and Byakuya were deaged
Nevertheless, Ichigo still remained firm about protecting the little ragtag group of friends that he had come to care for in Abax. The city didn’t make it easy, and even tried to turn Rukia and Shiro against each other at one point. Ichigo’s learned a lot of things from his time in Abax, though his disregard for his own health and safety has caused a fair amount of friction between Ichigo, Rukia, and Shiro on several occasions.
But, in spite of the issues that Ichigo is still working on, he still continued to help anyone who seemed to need it. So when Anon hit town, all it took was for Yori to ask for Ichigo to help her get the young program up to speed, and he was right there to back her up.
After so much pain, and uncertainty visited on them thanks to Abax’ s sick sense of humore, though, Ichigo was tired of being reactive. Enlisting Shiro, and Rinzler to help him, Ichigo decided it would be a good idea to destroy the train station. This proved to be not just an exercise in futility, but also a mistake when the city fought back by infecting Ichigo, Shiro, and Rinzler with some sort of shadow-rotting virus. A highly contagious virus that turned all three into carriers, and to Ichigo’s horror, made him a danger to his own friends.
Something that, even after the situation was resolved, haunted Ichigo’s interactions, and cemented his desire to get out of Abax all the more.
Being busy with the business of staying alive in the night-locked city got even more complicated when another program from the Grid hit town, though. Clu’s arrival heralded panic, and fear in many of Ichigo’s friends. Not the least of which was Rinzler.
Ichigo was not about to take the threat to his friends lying down, though, and though he warned Clu against tampering with Rinzler’s disk Clu made it clear he was not going to take Ichigo’s warning seriously. That proved to be a mistake for all concerned. Not the least for Ichigo when Rinzler, furious with Ichigo’s interference, withdrew from all parties, and vanished into the shadows of Abax.
The theft of Clu’s disk was something that Clu was not going to take lying down, either. But when he attempted to exact vengeance the near-fatal injury to Ichigo triggered Shiro’s basic hollow instincts. Instead of taking vengeance, Clu ended up being killed. While no one grieved for him, the mindless merged form proceeded to kill Anon, badly injure Tron, and Rinzler in the same battle. Needless to say, the business of holding grudges was detrimental to everyone’s health, and not something that Ichigo was keen to repeat.
Still. The danger Clu posed to all the programs in Abax wasn’t something Ichigo could ignore. So when Dean Winchester came up with a plan to put a stop to it, Ichigo volunteered to keep Rinzler busy. A job that left a bad taste in Ichigo’s mouth, but better it be Ichigo than someone who might not care if Rinzler was killed in the attempt.
The entire thing went about as well as could be expected, but it wasn’t until Ichigo Rinzler’s copied disk in a random Item Drop event that he really was able to start repairing his relationship with the damaged program. Which, as of the last time they spoke was getting better. Or, at least, Ichigo felt like he was able to talk to Rinzler as a friend again.
And, as of the last export from Abax, Ichigo and Shiro have been merged back together. When Ichigo wakes in Tanelorn, his soul will be complete, and though Shiro will no longer be a player character, their history ( as Ichigo remembers it ) will still carry over.
Ichigo’s tag in the ilpromenade logs community
Ichigo’s tag within the ilpromenade network community
Ichigo’s tag in the Abax network community
Ichigo’s tag in the Abax logs community
Personality: A single-minded, self-righteous pain in the ass with a hybridized soul of immense power potential; offset by a kind, brash nature and a heart of gold. Ichigo is powerful, and knows he is powerful, but thanks to the various lessons of the past few years he has learned not only how to use that power, but also when not to.
First, and foremost Ichigo follows his gut, be it in social interactions, or decisions that impact the health, and safety of the group of friends he has decided to protect. He is very intelligent in the ‘book smart’ sense, but he can be a bit dense when it comes to social situations mostly because his blunt nature means he misses out on the more subtle cues. Still, he always wants to do what’s best, even if sometimes what he thinks is best isn’t always something that everyone agrees on.
There is such a thing as being over protective.
During both his time in Promenade, and then Abax, Ichigo also became prone to offering help to anyone who needed it. Everything from room and board to clothes, shoes, and even helping to locate specialized food. Thanks to this habit of extending his protection to anyone who asked for it, Ichigo ended up with something of an extended list of “Nakama” ( Good/Best friends ). Some were noncombatants with other skills, or good hearts. Any child that Ichigo met, he worked hard to befriend, and would continue to do so no matter where he happened to be at the time. And once Ichigo counts a person as a friend, he is loyal to a fault, and will defend that person to his last breath.
That unwavering loyalty in defense of those who need it definitely makes Ichigo come off as a bit overbearing at times, but he has learned how to put the needs of the group ahead of the desires of a single person. Even if that single person is himself – much to the chagrin of both his girlfriend, and his boyfriend.
Personality Revision 2/27/2013;
Immediately after Aizen's defeat, Ichigo said that he was more than willing to actually talk to his human friends in Karakura town about the double life he led as a shinigami daiko, and highschool student. Then, of course, his shinigami powers were so badly crippled that he became as close to a "normal human" as Ichigo had ever been in his short life. It's unclear in canon how much he outright said on the matter, but his human friends were aware of Ichigo's strange extracurricular activities. But that awareness seems to have been the end of it.
Once Aizen was no longer a threat, and Ichigo lost his powers ( for what he believed at the time to be ) permanently, Ichigo all but shut down. He bottled up all of the feelings of inadequacy, the sadness at being unable to even see Renji, or Rukia, and kept the emotional armor of his aloof attitude firmly in place. Those who knew him best could see plainly that it was eating at Ichigo to be so unable to help when Chad, Orihime, or Ishida disappeared to go deal with hollows in town, but he tried to pretend otherwise.
Then came Ginjou, and the Fullbringers, with the promise that Ichigo could regain his powers, and it was as though Ichigo seemed to come back to life a little. His temper resurrected, and with a tangible goal to work toward, all the emotions Ichigo was holding back through the 13 months of being powerless came pouring out. And true to form? Ichigo used those emotions as fuel; both to harden his resolve to recover his powers, and to use said powers to protect his family and friends. But, if anything, the loss and recovery of his abilities made Ichigo even more reckless, and blinded him to the possibility that he was being used again.
When the realization hit that Ginjou had only helped Ichigo gain regain his powers so the Fullbringers could steal them and boost their own, Ichigo nearly broke. Being powerless, again was more than he could stand. And while actively crying in public for the first time in Bleach canon, Ichigo turned on the sudden appearance of Urahara, and his father to ask if they were here to betray him, too. Ichigo's father, Isshin, scolded Ichigo for even asking that question, and after a moment, Isshin pointed out that Ichigo should be able to see "her" again soon.
When Ichigo realized that Rukia, plus the captains of Soul Society had all been contributing measures of their own reiatsu in order to help Ichigo regain his shinigami powers, he was stunned. Stunned, but infinitely grateful. And from there, he found a way to regroup, reinforce his shaken confidence in himself, and go on to fight Ginjou.
The end of the Fullbringers arc shows Ichigo as having grown up; he is now 17, and has shed both his self-doubt in his own "power to protect", as well as set aside the childish naivete that killing, for any reason, is wrong. That isn't to say he's lost the strength of his morals, though, because Ichigo still goes to extreme lengths to avoid fatally wounding his opponents, but he is no longer afraid of fighting with the intent to kill - nor following through with said intent if the situation well and truly calls for it.
Back in Abax;
After his canon update, Ichigo returns to Abax with a definitely improved attitude. He's pleased to have finished the 'unresolved business' back home, but had no illusions about how inexcusable his behavior was over that 13 months when he was without powers. He had given up in a lot of ways, and that was not acceptable when he had promised several of his closest friends in Abax that he would come back and help them.
But, for all his recovered confidence in battle, Ichigo was even more focused on keeping his friends alive. So focused on that survival aspect, in fact, that he has had problems, on more than one occasion, with respecting his friend's wishes. The over-protective side of Ichigo's protector complex was in overdrive on his return, and that proved to be the source of some of his greatest blunders in judgment.
From the disregard of Rukia, and Shiro's wishes that he stop letting Rinzler ( and even Yukio ) beat the crap out of Ichigo both physically, and mentally, to not listening when Anon, Sora, or Yori told him that he was taking on way too much personal responsibility, and therefore trampling over their choices in the process, Ichigo issues with his protector complex have gotten worse.
With immediate friends, he does try to be aware of what they might want. But even then it's almost a reflex action to want to jump into the middle of personal battles with the intention of protecting his friends. With the best intentions, Ichigo still is trying to figure out how to protect his nakama without stomping all over their pride, or attempts at choice and autonomy. Likewise, his coping skills may have matured enough that he doesn't default to picking a fight, instead opting for trying to talk the problem out first, but he still struggles with his temper.
Temper, with his closest friends, is more confined to grousing, and token slap fights, but usually is followed up with hanging out over dinner and ( Ichigo subjecting his friends to ) talks about fashion and shoes. Temper with his enemies? Is a single warning, and then battle with a lethal edge to Ichigo's focus.
However, Ichigo has also decided that holding grudges, even with the worst of his enemies, is counter productive. Likewise, tries to not just listen to his friends, but take their advice to heart, rather than attempt to simply keep them at arm's length and nurse his personal pain on his own. But through all of the growing up he's done? Ichigo is still only 18, and therefore his impulsive personality means he slips up now and again and falls back on old habits.
Ichigo has shed all fear of his own death, all fear of losing in battle, and learned that even the most iron-forged will doesn't mean that he won't occasionally be pushed to his own limits. He fears failing, and but his greatest fear is being a danger toward innocent souls, or his loved ones.
He calls himself human, but acknowledges that he is something beyond human, shinigami, or hollow. He emphasizes the power of personal responsibility, and choice, but is still learning where the boundaries between choice, and protecting his friends lies. He has found love, learned to accept loyalty displayed toward him, and listens to the wisdom of his friends as much as he can.
Kurosaki Ichigo is close to finding a good balance between being a friend, a fighter, and maybe even a leader to those he cares about. He still has a lot to learn about life and himself, but his definition of "self" has solidified pretty well, and his confidence stays a tangible force.
Ichigo is ready to take on the Multiverse.
Abilities: Because of the way Ichigo gained his shinigami abilities, he not only gained back his "spiritual form", his shikai, and then later learned bankai, but he also became a vizard. As a Vizard, a hybrid of shinigami and hollow, Ichigo also has access to abilities associated with hollows. Among them are the vast expansion of reiatsu and raw strength and durability that come with the bone-white mask that appears over their faces signifying that they are tapping into their inner hollow's power. Skilled Vizards, such as Shinji Hirako, have been shown to be able to use Cero, a hollow specific, highly dense blast of energy known for its devastating power and sonido (the hollow answer to shinigami's shunpo, and while the range is short, the speed this technique gives is only limited by reiatsu level ). However, Ichigo has not shown to be able to use these abilities with the exception of one time during the manga.
Ichigo has received only the most rudimentary training in the shinigami areas of combat, unlike most other shinigami who attended the Great Spiritual Academy and received formal training. Because of this, Ichigo's skills are fairly lopsided. His natural talents have made him a master of zanjutsu and his bankai gives him incredible speed. Before even becoming a shinigami, he had formal martial arts training with his childhood friend Tatsuki Arisawa. Also, Ichigo's "popularity" with his peers have seen him in innumerable back alley fights and school ground scuffles, so his hand to hand skills are proficient, but he's seen to easily succumb to the skills of other shinigami like Yoruichi Shihouin. Kidou is Ichigo's greatest weakness, as in he has absolutely no skill in it. His incredibly vast spiritual reserves should lend him to be a devastating caster, but his shoddy control of his reiatsu and his swing-first-questions-later attitude make him an unlikely candidate for using kidou proficiently.
Network sample:
OIII! I am getting really tired of this crap! Waking up, kidnapped out of my bed, and not knowing where in the hell I’ve ended up really blows okay. At least this time I get to keep my damn clothes – oh, and Zangetsu. Ugh, whoever is behind it this time? Pray I never find you, because I will beat you to death with your own damn shoes!
And this ring, what even…is this thing even working, it’s weird-looking…
I caught the part where stuff is like some messed up hologram in the palm of my hand, too. This better not give me some kind of weird radiation, okay.
Anyway. I hate using this thing, but you guys? You better be here. I can sense Rukia just fine, but how about the rest of you?
…Anybody?
Damn, I hope they got home okay.
Log sample:
Ichigo...well, he could easily say he felt like he was half-alive through all those months. Like he was wandering around in a haze, half-blind, half-deaf, and trying to force himself to 'fit into' this idea of a normal life. He was so disconnected from everything. And though he went through the motions, he still carried his daikou badge around with him wherever he went as some sort of talisman. A reminder of things he 'didn't need'...or more accurately; couldn't have.
He barely socialized, and what little he did generally ended up in awkward looks, or stilted talking between his school friends. His silence had been noticed - more than noticed, it had concerned his friends more than anything.
"Hn. I guess I was sort of 'gone' for a while there, wasn't I."
As Rukia took his hand, playing with his fingers, he couldn't help the bemused little smile when her delicate fingers started to trace the black armor fused to the backs of his hands. It was not so different from his hollow mask in texture, though it was fused directly into his skin, and almost looked more like a tattoo than something extra; warm, and a little rough. Like finely grained sandpaper. He let her explore as she liked, flexing his fingers a bit to show Rukia the funny little 'creak' the hand armor made when he moved. Not unlink quietly popping one's knuckles.
"I wanted to tell you that...that you never owed me anything. You never 'messed up my life' or whatever, Rukia. You gave me the strength I was always trying so hard to do for myself.
And I've never regretted it. Not that part."
Here, though, Ichigo bit his lip briefly. But, well...honesty, right?
"...But I wanted you to know that I...that I know this power is dangerous. It took too long for me to figure it out, too. I know that having this kind of power comes with a cost.
It's a curse. I know it is."
But to forestall any comments from her, he forged ahead as he looked up to hold her eyes.
"But I accept that, now. Because I saw what power can do to you. I saw what Ginjou became, and I know that he was a shinigami daikou just like I am. The power ate him alive - and I don't mean the hollow parts. It destroyed some part of him, and I think...I think that's what he was trying to get back through stealing other powers.
So...I wanted to tell you that what happened to Ginjou won't happen to me. Not like that."
Turning his hand over, he gave Rukia's a supportive little squeeze.
"I won't let myself get lost in despair anymore. I promise."
Name: Angel
Player Journal:
angelcideAre you over 18? Yup.
Contact:
Other characters currently played at Tanelorn: N/A
♔ Character Information;
Character Name: Ichigo Kurosaki
Canon: Bleach
OU or AU?: CR AU taking previous game experience from both Promenade ( on Livejournal, and now defunct ) and [Bad username or unknown identity: ”abaxcity”] on Dreamwidth
Canon point: 479 ( canon ) prior to the Sternritter arc.
Setting: Earth, however in his version of Earth, ghosts and spirits all exist. There are three major planes of existence; the World of the Living (where the living dwell), Soul Society (the world of the dead, both shinigami and human souls), and Hueco Mundo (the world of Hollows, a sort of purgatory), a few "in-between" worlds exist as pocket dimensions of sorts, but they are small and not as well known. The ‘Royal Realm’ ( a sort of ‘heaven’ ) and Hell ( realm of the damned).
When a human dies, their soul re-enters the great cycle of birth, and rebirth, though for the most part souls go first to Soul Society. Corrupted souls caught at the moment of their death are sent to Hell to be cleansed, and reduced to their component parts. Some souls get left behind, or become confused and therefore don’t find their way to Soul Society on their own. These souls are either escorted to Soul Society by elite souls known as Shinigami (lit. "Death Gods") or decay into an animalistic, monstrous state called a Hollow. Hollows lose all sense of self, and once a soul has devolved into its most base parts, all it can feel is the emptiness within. Hollows will consume other souls, and other Hollows if they are strong enough. Hollows can be returned to their original ‘Plus soul’ state by the cleansing nature of a Shinigami’s zanpakutou, but many remain as they are through fleeing from Shinigami, and eventually find their way to Hueco Mundo. Hueco Mundo is a vast, empty desert world. A purgatory realm filled with darkness, but a surprisingly dense field of energy.
Some souls that move into Soul society find that they are imbued with more energy than the average Plus soul. These souls may enter the academy in Soul Society and train until they are tested, and if they are strong enough, they become Shinigami themselves. In addition to these groups, there are also powered humans within the Living Realm. One, called Quincies, inherit their power through hereditary lineage, but are largely underground, or extinct thanks to being relentlessly hunted down by the ruling body of Soul Society. Another call themselves Fullbringers, but less is known about them since to become a “Fullbringer” it takes an extraordinarily specific set of events to befall someone while still in the womb. Currently there are only 6 known Fullbringers left in the Living World.
History: Bleach wiki entry on Ichigo
Ichigo was a typical highschool student, and dealt with all the issues that come with it. Save for the fact that his bright, orange hair made him stand out a bit, physically, and thus made him a target to bullies. But, Ichigo was never willing to back down from those who would try to take advantage of a weakness, and hurt Ichigo, or his friends with it. His teachers call him a delinquent because of his hair and prickly attitude, and he “gets back at them” by getting good grades and studying a lot. His carefully cultivated aloof, standalone persona at school hides a smart boy, just brash, and thus temperamental, and reckless.
The strong desire to protect his loved ones stems from several things, but most especially from his mother, and the guilt he still has over the knowledge that she died to protect him from a hollow when he was only a child. Ichigo had adored his mother, and states that "I want to protect my mom, who protects me". Her death was a vital, if not the single most important aspect of his self-identity.
Ichigo's name even means "first guardian", meaning that he was born first, but also that as an older brother it's his responsibility to protect his sisters. His relationship with his father is a little less easily defined, but Isshin has encouraged this protector idea in Ichigo as well; arguably due to Isshin also having secrets of his own. Tireless, and merciless with himself, and his obsession with being strong enough to protect everyone, Ichigo's strengths are driven chiefly by loyalty, and his own moral code. This deep streak of reckless chivalry has been the source of a good amount of his strength, and he has no qualms with speaking his mind on a subject, and sharing his opinions ( or his fists, as the case may be?). To some it’s a mark of immaturity, but at sixteen, he’s had to do a lot of growing up in a short period of time. Yet, sometimes his age asserts itself, and his naiveté on issues has led to much embarrassment for him. His apparent aversion to boobs is less about not liking them, and more about being so terribly shy, combined with respecting women enough to not trivialize them for just their bodies. At least, that's how he sees it.
In many ways Ichigo's personal tragedies have always set him apart. He's never been quite "normal" from his appearance, to being able to see ghosts, to being a highschool student, and shinigami at the same time. This dual life has had deep effect on his soul as well.
During his first fight with Kuchiki Byakuya to save Rukia from execution, Ichigo actually did fall unconscious, and something like another personality took over. For the short time this inner hollow was in control of his body, all of Ichigo's strength, and speed took such a quantum leap that he wounded Byakuya before Ichigo, himself, was able to regain control; ripping the forming mask off his face. After meeting Hirako Shinji, Ichigo learned that a small group of shinigami had similar circumstances, yet they had subdued the hollow within themselves, and now wielded stronger, blended powers. They called themselves "The Vizards" because they could use, and release their hollow masks at will. Shinji at first tried to recruit Ichigo, but Ichigo refuses to join the vizards. Instead he demands to be taught how to control his inner hollow, which after a small scuffle, Shinji ends up agreeing to. The Vizards were still in the midst of training Ichigo when Orihime was kidnapped, and Ichigo took off to Hueco Mundo. After fighting almost nonstop through arrancar, and then Espada, Ichigo proved he could use, and recall his hollow mask reliably.
Ulquiorra, however, still beat Ichigo rather soundly, and repeatedly knocked the mask off of Ichigo's face. In fact, Ulquiorra would have killed Ichigo if the inner hollow had not taken over right at the end. The hollow took control, and proceeded to not just defeat Ulquiorra, but to tear the Espada limb from limb. The hollow has proven itself to be faster, and stronger than Ichigo, but without any hint of reason, or the rationality of Ichigo's consciousness. Essentially the hollow is a maniacal, bloodthirsty, remorseless fighting machine that Ichigo must actively subdue in order to regain control of himself again. In fact once Ulquiorra was missing most of his lower body, and an arm, Uryu tried to stop Ichigo from further hurting Ulquiorra, only for Ichigo to turn, and impale Uryu on Tensa Zangetsu. This second hollowfied form Ichigo has not yet beaten on his own, either. In a last ditch move on Ulquiorra's part, one of the horns on Ichigo's mask was broken. The mask shattered after that, and Ichigo seemed to further heal himself while his hair, and body changed back to his normal bankai. When he finds out that he was the one to have stabbed Ishida, and cut off Ulquiorra's legs, and arm, he is visibly upset. Ichigo even tries to demand Ulquiorra do the same to him so the fight "would be even" then. Ulquiorra, having used up too much power, begins to fade away. It's debatable if one could say Ichigo actually killed Ulquiorra, but that loss of control over himself, and his own powers obviously deeply disturbed Ichigo enough that the next time he tries to recall his mask, he notices that the mask "feels heavier". Unknown to him at that time, the markings on his hollow mask are drastically altered, as well.
Ichigo needs his hollow's power to protect the people precious to him, but he fears how destructive it is. He fears abandonment by his friends over having a hollow (something Shinji reinforced unwittingly). He fears losing control to the monster he may (and has) become. The conflict is inside himself over his fighting for power to protect, or fighting for the pleasure of fighting. Through the Lust Arc, Ichigo states that he fought “because he had to win”, rather than stating he had to protect. While Ulquiorra meant to crush Ichigo, he still showed Ichigo "true despair', just not in the way either of them expected. The difference is rather small all things considered, since the second hollowfied form results from Ichigo's desire to protect. Or rather, the desire to protect gone horribly wrong.
Now Ichigo has no time to wrestle with these weighty internal issues, or even the fear he now harbors of being capable of hurting, and possibly killing his friends before realizing he needs to return to Karakura Town.
Then came Promenade. (All mentioned characters on this app are confirmed characters fromilpromenade that carried over to
abaxcity on Dreamwidth. Further mentioned CR from Ichigo’s time in Abax are confirmed applications for Tanelorn as well. )
Upon realizing he had been transported into the strange Dream world of Promenade, Ichigo spent the first portion of his time in this new realm doing the only logical thing; searching for friends, and loved ones. It didn’t take long to find a few of the people from his same world.
ofnoblemind Kuchiki Byakuya: Byakuya is Rukia's adoptive brother, as well as the head of the Kuchiki clan. Generally, Byakuya disliked Ichigo for his crass nature, but they both at least try to get along, if only for Rukia's sake. Of course, there's a bit more to it than that, since Ichigo does have a lot of grudging respect for Byakuya, and Byakuya some chagrined gratitude to Ichigo for looking after his sister, but it's not as though they would actually ADMIT these things to one another. That grudging respect was put to the test when Ichigo officially asked for permission to date Rukia.
Time was a strange, and mutable thing in Promenade. There were several instances where the clock became both turned forward, and then back rendering the inhabitants of Promenade as future-selves, and then into child-selves. Ichigo learned a great deal about the place, and more importantly himself during the ups, and downs of life within Promenade. Through antagonizing the native populace, and refusing to follow the rule of conduct said natives insisted on, Ichigo was the first to be held against his will within “The Unnatural” – a part of the city that lived up to it’s name – and had his humiliating, painful torture televised for the city at large. The experience still galvanized Ichigo more than it hurt him.
Over time, he made friends, and even became one of the three people instrumental in creating a sort of “Resistance” against the tyrannical rule of the mysterious rulers of the dream city. And his friendships ranged everywhere from giant alien robots, to elves from faraway lands of fantasy, to superheroes, and even a few things in between. One of those “in-betweens”? Was Rinzler.
As the dream of Promenade collapsed, Ichigo ended up transported along with the Kuchikis, Shiro, and Rinzler into a whole new world. Where Promenade was a dream,
abaxity was a nightmare. After some time spent gaining their respective feet, and finding out just what it takes to survive Abax, Ichigo started gathering those he counted as friends together, and stockpiling supplies into a barricaded store. Between Rukia, Shiro, Byakuya, then later a few other familiar faces from both Promenade, and Ichigo’s own home world, they made the place livable.
Which was a handy thing when Ichigo started welcoming new faces into their midst.
And once Ichigo makes a promise, he will go to incredible lengths to keep it.
Once Yori was safely retrieved from the morgue, though, Ichigo had to be the one to tell her the sad story of Rinzler. A story which Ichigo only knew bits, and pieces of secondhand information about, but still. It was tough for all involved.
As more time has past with Yori firmly staying under Ichigo’s protection, he has come to like the sensible, outgoing program as a friend in her own right. She’s very much a noncombatant, but never weak for it, and Ichigo has developed quite a healthy respect for her will, and her feisty, indomitable spirit.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after ending up in Abax that Ichigo, Shiro, and Rukia were just as suddenly transported back home. Ichigo to confront the daunting prospect, and massive sacrifices required to defeat Aizen, Shiro to once again be merged within Ichigo’s soul, and Rukia to be separated from both in Hueco Mundo. ( Please refer to wiki link for details on the end of the Deicide arc, and the Fullbringer arc. )
Upon their return to Abax after almost a year’s lapse in time, Ichigo was not only older, but very sheepish about how long it took for him to sort out his own head in the wake of Aizen’s defeat, and the loss of his powers.
But, after talking to Rukia and helping Shiro to recover both the strength to take on a physical form of his own, then a measure of his old powers, Ichigo was able to find closure with himself. Repairing his friendship with Rinzler was a little more complicated.
Complications that only became exacerbated by Yukio’s presence in Abax, and the strange way the Fullbringer was able to siphon off energy from Ichigo.
Then, in the midst of all of this, Byakuya figured out what was going on between Ichigo and Shiro and after confronting them about it, and it’s impact on Ichigo’s relationship with Rukia, Ichigo and Byakuya’s relationship became even more strained. That strain never really did become properly repaired, even when both both Shiro and Byakuya were deaged
Nevertheless, Ichigo still remained firm about protecting the little ragtag group of friends that he had come to care for in Abax. The city didn’t make it easy, and even tried to turn Rukia and Shiro against each other at one point. Ichigo’s learned a lot of things from his time in Abax, though his disregard for his own health and safety has caused a fair amount of friction between Ichigo, Rukia, and Shiro on several occasions.
But, in spite of the issues that Ichigo is still working on, he still continued to help anyone who seemed to need it. So when Anon hit town, all it took was for Yori to ask for Ichigo to help her get the young program up to speed, and he was right there to back her up.
After so much pain, and uncertainty visited on them thanks to Abax’ s sick sense of humore, though, Ichigo was tired of being reactive. Enlisting Shiro, and Rinzler to help him, Ichigo decided it would be a good idea to destroy the train station. This proved to be not just an exercise in futility, but also a mistake when the city fought back by infecting Ichigo, Shiro, and Rinzler with some sort of shadow-rotting virus. A highly contagious virus that turned all three into carriers, and to Ichigo’s horror, made him a danger to his own friends.
Something that, even after the situation was resolved, haunted Ichigo’s interactions, and cemented his desire to get out of Abax all the more.
Being busy with the business of staying alive in the night-locked city got even more complicated when another program from the Grid hit town, though. Clu’s arrival heralded panic, and fear in many of Ichigo’s friends. Not the least of which was Rinzler.
Ichigo was not about to take the threat to his friends lying down, though, and though he warned Clu against tampering with Rinzler’s disk Clu made it clear he was not going to take Ichigo’s warning seriously. That proved to be a mistake for all concerned. Not the least for Ichigo when Rinzler, furious with Ichigo’s interference, withdrew from all parties, and vanished into the shadows of Abax.
The theft of Clu’s disk was something that Clu was not going to take lying down, either. But when he attempted to exact vengeance the near-fatal injury to Ichigo triggered Shiro’s basic hollow instincts. Instead of taking vengeance, Clu ended up being killed. While no one grieved for him, the mindless merged form proceeded to kill Anon, badly injure Tron, and Rinzler in the same battle. Needless to say, the business of holding grudges was detrimental to everyone’s health, and not something that Ichigo was keen to repeat.
Still. The danger Clu posed to all the programs in Abax wasn’t something Ichigo could ignore. So when Dean Winchester came up with a plan to put a stop to it, Ichigo volunteered to keep Rinzler busy. A job that left a bad taste in Ichigo’s mouth, but better it be Ichigo than someone who might not care if Rinzler was killed in the attempt.
The entire thing went about as well as could be expected, but it wasn’t until Ichigo Rinzler’s copied disk in a random Item Drop event that he really was able to start repairing his relationship with the damaged program. Which, as of the last time they spoke was getting better. Or, at least, Ichigo felt like he was able to talk to Rinzler as a friend again.
And, as of the last export from Abax, Ichigo and Shiro have been merged back together. When Ichigo wakes in Tanelorn, his soul will be complete, and though Shiro will no longer be a player character, their history ( as Ichigo remembers it ) will still carry over.
Ichigo’s tag in the ilpromenade logs community
Ichigo’s tag within the ilpromenade network community
Ichigo’s tag in the Abax network community
Ichigo’s tag in the Abax logs community
Personality: A single-minded, self-righteous pain in the ass with a hybridized soul of immense power potential; offset by a kind, brash nature and a heart of gold. Ichigo is powerful, and knows he is powerful, but thanks to the various lessons of the past few years he has learned not only how to use that power, but also when not to.
First, and foremost Ichigo follows his gut, be it in social interactions, or decisions that impact the health, and safety of the group of friends he has decided to protect. He is very intelligent in the ‘book smart’ sense, but he can be a bit dense when it comes to social situations mostly because his blunt nature means he misses out on the more subtle cues. Still, he always wants to do what’s best, even if sometimes what he thinks is best isn’t always something that everyone agrees on.
There is such a thing as being over protective.
During both his time in Promenade, and then Abax, Ichigo also became prone to offering help to anyone who needed it. Everything from room and board to clothes, shoes, and even helping to locate specialized food. Thanks to this habit of extending his protection to anyone who asked for it, Ichigo ended up with something of an extended list of “Nakama” ( Good/Best friends ). Some were noncombatants with other skills, or good hearts. Any child that Ichigo met, he worked hard to befriend, and would continue to do so no matter where he happened to be at the time. And once Ichigo counts a person as a friend, he is loyal to a fault, and will defend that person to his last breath.
That unwavering loyalty in defense of those who need it definitely makes Ichigo come off as a bit overbearing at times, but he has learned how to put the needs of the group ahead of the desires of a single person. Even if that single person is himself – much to the chagrin of both his girlfriend, and his boyfriend.
Personality Revision 2/27/2013;
Immediately after Aizen's defeat, Ichigo said that he was more than willing to actually talk to his human friends in Karakura town about the double life he led as a shinigami daiko, and highschool student. Then, of course, his shinigami powers were so badly crippled that he became as close to a "normal human" as Ichigo had ever been in his short life. It's unclear in canon how much he outright said on the matter, but his human friends were aware of Ichigo's strange extracurricular activities. But that awareness seems to have been the end of it.
Once Aizen was no longer a threat, and Ichigo lost his powers ( for what he believed at the time to be ) permanently, Ichigo all but shut down. He bottled up all of the feelings of inadequacy, the sadness at being unable to even see Renji, or Rukia, and kept the emotional armor of his aloof attitude firmly in place. Those who knew him best could see plainly that it was eating at Ichigo to be so unable to help when Chad, Orihime, or Ishida disappeared to go deal with hollows in town, but he tried to pretend otherwise.
Then came Ginjou, and the Fullbringers, with the promise that Ichigo could regain his powers, and it was as though Ichigo seemed to come back to life a little. His temper resurrected, and with a tangible goal to work toward, all the emotions Ichigo was holding back through the 13 months of being powerless came pouring out. And true to form? Ichigo used those emotions as fuel; both to harden his resolve to recover his powers, and to use said powers to protect his family and friends. But, if anything, the loss and recovery of his abilities made Ichigo even more reckless, and blinded him to the possibility that he was being used again.
When the realization hit that Ginjou had only helped Ichigo gain regain his powers so the Fullbringers could steal them and boost their own, Ichigo nearly broke. Being powerless, again was more than he could stand. And while actively crying in public for the first time in Bleach canon, Ichigo turned on the sudden appearance of Urahara, and his father to ask if they were here to betray him, too. Ichigo's father, Isshin, scolded Ichigo for even asking that question, and after a moment, Isshin pointed out that Ichigo should be able to see "her" again soon.
When Ichigo realized that Rukia, plus the captains of Soul Society had all been contributing measures of their own reiatsu in order to help Ichigo regain his shinigami powers, he was stunned. Stunned, but infinitely grateful. And from there, he found a way to regroup, reinforce his shaken confidence in himself, and go on to fight Ginjou.
The end of the Fullbringers arc shows Ichigo as having grown up; he is now 17, and has shed both his self-doubt in his own "power to protect", as well as set aside the childish naivete that killing, for any reason, is wrong. That isn't to say he's lost the strength of his morals, though, because Ichigo still goes to extreme lengths to avoid fatally wounding his opponents, but he is no longer afraid of fighting with the intent to kill - nor following through with said intent if the situation well and truly calls for it.
Back in Abax;
After his canon update, Ichigo returns to Abax with a definitely improved attitude. He's pleased to have finished the 'unresolved business' back home, but had no illusions about how inexcusable his behavior was over that 13 months when he was without powers. He had given up in a lot of ways, and that was not acceptable when he had promised several of his closest friends in Abax that he would come back and help them.
But, for all his recovered confidence in battle, Ichigo was even more focused on keeping his friends alive. So focused on that survival aspect, in fact, that he has had problems, on more than one occasion, with respecting his friend's wishes. The over-protective side of Ichigo's protector complex was in overdrive on his return, and that proved to be the source of some of his greatest blunders in judgment.
From the disregard of Rukia, and Shiro's wishes that he stop letting Rinzler ( and even Yukio ) beat the crap out of Ichigo both physically, and mentally, to not listening when Anon, Sora, or Yori told him that he was taking on way too much personal responsibility, and therefore trampling over their choices in the process, Ichigo issues with his protector complex have gotten worse.
With immediate friends, he does try to be aware of what they might want. But even then it's almost a reflex action to want to jump into the middle of personal battles with the intention of protecting his friends. With the best intentions, Ichigo still is trying to figure out how to protect his nakama without stomping all over their pride, or attempts at choice and autonomy. Likewise, his coping skills may have matured enough that he doesn't default to picking a fight, instead opting for trying to talk the problem out first, but he still struggles with his temper.
Temper, with his closest friends, is more confined to grousing, and token slap fights, but usually is followed up with hanging out over dinner and ( Ichigo subjecting his friends to ) talks about fashion and shoes. Temper with his enemies? Is a single warning, and then battle with a lethal edge to Ichigo's focus.
However, Ichigo has also decided that holding grudges, even with the worst of his enemies, is counter productive. Likewise, tries to not just listen to his friends, but take their advice to heart, rather than attempt to simply keep them at arm's length and nurse his personal pain on his own. But through all of the growing up he's done? Ichigo is still only 18, and therefore his impulsive personality means he slips up now and again and falls back on old habits.
Ichigo has shed all fear of his own death, all fear of losing in battle, and learned that even the most iron-forged will doesn't mean that he won't occasionally be pushed to his own limits. He fears failing, and but his greatest fear is being a danger toward innocent souls, or his loved ones.
He calls himself human, but acknowledges that he is something beyond human, shinigami, or hollow. He emphasizes the power of personal responsibility, and choice, but is still learning where the boundaries between choice, and protecting his friends lies. He has found love, learned to accept loyalty displayed toward him, and listens to the wisdom of his friends as much as he can.
Kurosaki Ichigo is close to finding a good balance between being a friend, a fighter, and maybe even a leader to those he cares about. He still has a lot to learn about life and himself, but his definition of "self" has solidified pretty well, and his confidence stays a tangible force.
Ichigo is ready to take on the Multiverse.
Abilities: Because of the way Ichigo gained his shinigami abilities, he not only gained back his "spiritual form", his shikai, and then later learned bankai, but he also became a vizard. As a Vizard, a hybrid of shinigami and hollow, Ichigo also has access to abilities associated with hollows. Among them are the vast expansion of reiatsu and raw strength and durability that come with the bone-white mask that appears over their faces signifying that they are tapping into their inner hollow's power. Skilled Vizards, such as Shinji Hirako, have been shown to be able to use Cero, a hollow specific, highly dense blast of energy known for its devastating power and sonido (the hollow answer to shinigami's shunpo, and while the range is short, the speed this technique gives is only limited by reiatsu level ). However, Ichigo has not shown to be able to use these abilities with the exception of one time during the manga.
Ichigo has received only the most rudimentary training in the shinigami areas of combat, unlike most other shinigami who attended the Great Spiritual Academy and received formal training. Because of this, Ichigo's skills are fairly lopsided. His natural talents have made him a master of zanjutsu and his bankai gives him incredible speed. Before even becoming a shinigami, he had formal martial arts training with his childhood friend Tatsuki Arisawa. Also, Ichigo's "popularity" with his peers have seen him in innumerable back alley fights and school ground scuffles, so his hand to hand skills are proficient, but he's seen to easily succumb to the skills of other shinigami like Yoruichi Shihouin. Kidou is Ichigo's greatest weakness, as in he has absolutely no skill in it. His incredibly vast spiritual reserves should lend him to be a devastating caster, but his shoddy control of his reiatsu and his swing-first-questions-later attitude make him an unlikely candidate for using kidou proficiently.
Zanpakutou "Zangetsu" ( Slaying Moon ) Unlike most other shinigami, Ichigo has no known release phrase. It's been stated that because Ichigo has such poor control over his reiatsu, and little to no proper shinigami training, he likewise hasn't learned to seal his zanpakutou. Unlike most zanpakutou, which can be sealed into their original form, Zangetsu is always in Shikai form.
Shikai; In this form Zangetsu oversized elegant cleaver rather than a formal "katana". He has no tsuba and no proper hilt; what Ichigo holds is only the cloth-wrapped tang. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is ( 1.75 meters ) and has a black blade with a silver edge. The cloth wrapping on the tang seems to react to Ichigo's will, changing length at a thought or twining about the blade in an impromptu sheath. Ichigo has also on more than one occasion used Zangetsu's wide blade as a shield from incoming attacks. While used mostly for melee combat, Zangetsu has one known special shikai ability. Getsuga Tenshou is a slash that takes the form of a silvery blue crescent moon shape, or wave when released. Ichigo has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omnidirectional blast to knock away incoming attacks, or to strike at the ground in order to upturn it, and crush whatever is in it's path.
Bankai ( Tensa Zangetsu "Heavenly Chain Cutting the Moon" ) Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's Bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daito (Japanese long sword) with a black blade instead. The cross guard has four prongs bent outward like a reverse swastika, and a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangling from the base of the hilt. Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat (or haori) with red lining that is closed at his chest, then left to flare out into ragged ends. This coat is part of Ichigo's bankai and the damage it can take is directly proportionate to the remaining level of Ichigo's reiatsu. Tensa Zangetsu retains the use of Getsuga Tenshou and can be used in the same manner, as well as an enhanced form. When used in bankai, the cresents are black with a red outline and their path is more controlled, but the result is far more destructive. Ichigo can also charge, and keep Getsuga Tenshou within Tensa Zangetsu to augment his sword swings.
Along with enhancing his strength, Ichigo's bankai likewise enhances the speed of his shunpo exponentially, and can allow him to move so fast he creates afterimages of himself to confuse his opponent. Also, because all of his energy is "compressed", using his Bankai doesn't expel as much reiatsu as other shinigami's bankai from the point of activation; allowing him to use Tensa Zangetsu for longer than anyone has yet been able to.
Hollowification; When Urahara Kisuke helped Ichigo regain his powers, he threw his bound soul into something that Urahara called "The Shattered Shaft" and told Ichigo he had to learn to climb out on his own within the time limit, or else eventually turn into a hollow. Ichigo was actually midtransformation when he regained his shinigami powers, and since then, whenever he goes back to the "inner world", always by falling unconscious, he has seen a sort of doppelganger of himself, only twisted, and a little crazy. This "inner hollow", as it were, comes close to taking Ichigo over more than once. During his first fight with Kuchiki Byakuya Ichigo actually does fall unconscious, and something like another personality took over. For the short time the hollow was in control of his body, all of Ichigo's strength, and speed took such a quantum leap that he wounded Byakuya before Ichigo, himself, was able to regain control; ripping the forming mask off his face. After meeting Hirako Shinji, Ichigo learned that a small group of shinigami had similar circumstances, yet they had subdued the hollow within themselves, and now wielded stronger, blended powers.
After Ichigo did face, and defeat his inner hollow, he was able to call his hollow mask into being. When wearing the mask, Ichigo's physical strength, endurance, and the strength of his Getsuga's destructive power are improved.
Network sample:
OIII! I am getting really tired of this crap! Waking up, kidnapped out of my bed, and not knowing where in the hell I’ve ended up really blows okay. At least this time I get to keep my damn clothes – oh, and Zangetsu. Ugh, whoever is behind it this time? Pray I never find you, because I will beat you to death with your own damn shoes!
And this ring, what even…is this thing even working, it’s weird-looking…
I caught the part where stuff is like some messed up hologram in the palm of my hand, too. This better not give me some kind of weird radiation, okay.
Anyway. I hate using this thing, but you guys? You better be here. I can sense Rukia just fine, but how about the rest of you?
…Anybody?
Damn, I hope they got home okay.
Log sample:
Ichigo...well, he could easily say he felt like he was half-alive through all those months. Like he was wandering around in a haze, half-blind, half-deaf, and trying to force himself to 'fit into' this idea of a normal life. He was so disconnected from everything. And though he went through the motions, he still carried his daikou badge around with him wherever he went as some sort of talisman. A reminder of things he 'didn't need'...or more accurately; couldn't have.
He barely socialized, and what little he did generally ended up in awkward looks, or stilted talking between his school friends. His silence had been noticed - more than noticed, it had concerned his friends more than anything.
"Hn. I guess I was sort of 'gone' for a while there, wasn't I."
As Rukia took his hand, playing with his fingers, he couldn't help the bemused little smile when her delicate fingers started to trace the black armor fused to the backs of his hands. It was not so different from his hollow mask in texture, though it was fused directly into his skin, and almost looked more like a tattoo than something extra; warm, and a little rough. Like finely grained sandpaper. He let her explore as she liked, flexing his fingers a bit to show Rukia the funny little 'creak' the hand armor made when he moved. Not unlink quietly popping one's knuckles.
"I wanted to tell you that...that you never owed me anything. You never 'messed up my life' or whatever, Rukia. You gave me the strength I was always trying so hard to do for myself.
And I've never regretted it. Not that part."
Here, though, Ichigo bit his lip briefly. But, well...honesty, right?
"...But I wanted you to know that I...that I know this power is dangerous. It took too long for me to figure it out, too. I know that having this kind of power comes with a cost.
It's a curse. I know it is."
But to forestall any comments from her, he forged ahead as he looked up to hold her eyes.
"But I accept that, now. Because I saw what power can do to you. I saw what Ginjou became, and I know that he was a shinigami daikou just like I am. The power ate him alive - and I don't mean the hollow parts. It destroyed some part of him, and I think...I think that's what he was trying to get back through stealing other powers.
So...I wanted to tell you that what happened to Ginjou won't happen to me. Not like that."
Turning his hand over, he gave Rukia's a supportive little squeeze.
"I won't let myself get lost in despair anymore. I promise."