Yasaki, Hakkotsu - Quincy

The Thief.

20 Years

N/A

Original Artwork

5'9''

120lbs

Hakkotsu Yasaki stands roughly five feet, nine inches off the ground, with exceptionally pale skin (a tribute to the twelve years he spent underground in some unknown facility within the Rukongai) garnished in predominantly shinigami-esque clothing. His hair contrasts his eggshell colored skin greatly, a seeming pool of infinite swirling, goopey ink. Having only recently discovered this sacred rite of, “shaving,” red bumps dot his cheeks, chin and neck, a tribute to his unfortunate ignorance. His eyes seem to be embedded with the finest of emeralds, glistening light whenever possible; yet their beauty, upon close inspection, betrays a horrid past of abuse, pain and absolute torment. Oft you'll see his thin and bony fingers, with finely trimmed nails, covering his face in a vain attempt to control his breathing and fight back the tears.

He's clothed in, as previously mentioned, shinigami themed clothing. The majority is black with white highlights, with the exception of his Gotei Captain-esque Haori he dons over his broad, heavy shoulders, which sports the opposite theme: white with hints of black about. A black shirt and black pair of nice-fitting robe bottoms are donned under his haori, while a black bealt with a silver quincy buckle is bound at the center of his waist, with two thin cords of silver hanging down, forming a perabola shape before reconnecting in the back. His pale wrists don a third testament of his captors: silver, inexplicably bound cuffs, the left one having taken on life as his Reishi focal point. Tucked firmly within his waist is an extraordinarily wonderful sheathe for what he's come to know is a, “Seele Schneider,” a melee weapon of his people. More tubes which contain these weapons are carried on his belt, behind him, hidden from view.

✓ The Doppler Effect. Hearing sounds fade into the distance to Hakkotsu is a sign of safety and comfort. Having been imprisoned for twelve years of his life, he has learned to appreciate the sound of fading noises. As the sound goes away, so does the pain.

✓ The sound a bone makes when it's cracking; especially when it finally breaks! Perhaps this could be attributed to his extremely vengeful attitude where the Shinigami are concerned? To hear their bones crack and look upon their faces as bone literally snaps. To give them the same physical pain he and his clan were given. Yes. He rather likes that.

✓ The smell of freshly printed newspaper. He was never able to explore the peculiar smells of the World of the Living for very long before he was taken away. Many could agree, as well, that newspaper has a rather distinct smell. Some prefer it, others do not. It's quite nice to smell something other than pain and suffering for a change, that's for sure.

✓ The smell of melting and burning plastic. Again, another extremely distinct smell. Somewhat sweet with a hint of passion, at least in the eyes of Hakkotsu. The strength of the plastic, signified in the transferring of its solid state to liquid state. It refuses to be crushed. It will be burned, tortured and melted, though it'll take a lot of work to reduce the plastic to ash!

✓ The supposed smell of sadness. Again, another testament to his hatred for the Shinigami. To smell what he smelled on his friends and family emanate from them... wondrous.
✓ The supposed smell of anger. See above.

✓ Freezing cold objects making contact with his skin. Most of his physical sensations - one's that he can vividly remember, anyhow - are simply that of pain. Torture, especially, involves the exceptionally warm, whereas the icy feel of frozen objects is something else entirely. The wondrous feeling of numbness that'll eventually come along... exquisite.

✓ Neatly trimmed nails and hair. For most of his life, his hair - facial, body and otherwise - was always a matted mess due to over a decade of mistreatment. To finally have control over an extremely large portion of his appearance is one of the few things he can take pride in about himself.

✓ Antique lanterns and tableware. One thing he admired about the Shinigami, despite their treatment of him, was the state of their equipment. While he never saw many things, they'd often bring him his scarce food on old-styled wooden plates with light by lantern. Very vintage.

✓ Vintage, leather bound books with yellowing pages. See above.

X Deep, menacing voices. They make him angry. His captors, see, made every psychological attempt to break the Quincy they'd captured. What better way than to frighten them with menacing, beastly voices? Plenty, of course, but that's besides the point.

X Organized society with rigidly (and overly) designed hierarchy. It's obvious this is about the structure of Soul Society. Pretty much anything about Soul Society goes down as an automatic dislike.

X The sound of nails on human skin – please, people, stop scratching yourselves too audibly. Of course this also relates to the sound - slight and quiet of course - skin makes as it tears open, be it by blade or hand. It's one of the many things that has shaken Hakkotsu to his very core.

X The sound of clearing throats and sniffling. Let's be real. Those sounds are just nasty.

X Particle sneezes and projectile vomit. See above.

X Birthday parties and other such events. He was never able to celebrate the vast majority of his own, "anniversaries," and thus is quite jealous of those who have and can. Perhaps this will change on the first anniversary of his escape?

X Audio books – the voices of the readers, mainly, is the reason why. None can adequately capture the author's tone and message.

X Sunglasses and, “shades.” They hide the emotion that many can relate to.

X Body sprays and perfumes. They hurt his sensitive nose. His sense of smell isn't like a dog's, of course, but scents such as that have largely remained a mystery to him throughout his life, so sudden exposure is painful.

X Nasally languages. Reminds him of cars honking, to be honest. Especially dislikes the French language.

X Antisocial – A life of peerless interaction, brutality and disrespect has shaped Hakkotsu in many, many negative ways. The desire - as well as a measure of the mere ability - to adequately socialize with beings, simply does not exist. He could, with practice, get good at it, though he actively attempts to avoid prolonged interaction; it's quite draining on him mentally.

X Untrusting – Having spent the whole of his current life being lied to time and time again, the word of others means very little. Nothing can be taken with a grain of salt. Everything must be proved through action. There exists nothing in Hakkotsu's, "book," so to speak, that advises verbal, actionless agreements. To him, everything is absolute only after physical, nonverbal proof.

X Untrustworthy – Stemming, once again, from his time in captivity, he's learned that people are, in fact, sellouts. People do much to save their own, "hides," when the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan. Twelve years of this have shaped his mind and attitude: people are seldom to be trusted.

X Calloused – Like soft feet that have worked on the hard ground for weeks at a time, the, "skin," enclosing Hakkotsu's mind has been rubbed raw over and over, over time, little by little, hardening. He cares about himself and little else. He is understanding, but he factually finds it difficult to divert his own energies to do much of anything about the troubles of those around him, unless they benefit him or his cause in some way, shape or form.

X Unstable – As is common with those who have had years of mental abuse, Hakkotsu is quite unstable emotionally. Sadly, this manifests quite frequently, with many things capable of triggering a more or less immediate slip. Anger, sadness and actual tears burst forth frequently, with little known to Hakkotsu in terms of how to control (or stop) these often violent changes. Perhaps medication?

X Hidebound - Alas, it's very true. Hakkotsu is an extremely hidebound individual. He's very, "stuck in his ways," and would, for the most part, under any circumstance, refuse to change who he is or what he stands for simply because of tradition or convention. Being a Quincy who spent most of his current lifetime locked away in Soul Society, the, "Quincy Pride," didn't develop to quite the levels it does among other Quincies.

X Vindictive - Hakkotsu's goals center around revenge, that much is apparent. He's extremely, extremely begrudging and vindictive where the Shinigami are concerned in particular. He realizes it wasn't the whole of the Shinigami who's done him harm, and even that the bulk of them might not hold the same opinion of his former captives. Pain, however, warps a person's sense of judgement.

✓ Patient – Freedom was something desired with nothing less than this young man's absolute desire. Freedom has finally been obtained. Twelve long years of testing, pain and other cruel activities. Patience, among other virtues, is something he simply had to learn.

✓ Zealous – Fervor accompanies the wishes, desired and ambition that Hakkotsu holds so very close at heart. Exterminating and purging the world is not something a distinctly non-fervorous word could ever properly express.

✓ Ambitious – To be decorated and known throughout the world for fame (or as it might be, infamy). To be credited with many, many distinctive accomplishments and to be respected and feared. Ambition suits this young man nicely.

✓ Motivated – His cause, to he himself, is the single most just thing in the entiriety of the world. His principles, desires and actions are something he need not explain. He must simply do. Do and continue doing. Do until there is nothing left to do. Motivated by a desire to free the world from the tyranny that is the Shinigami and Hollows. He'll not back down, even for a single second.

✓ Determined – "I cannot tell what you and other men think of this life; but for my single self, I had as lief not be, as live to be in awe of such a thing as I myself." - Cassius, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. I don't know what other people think, but to me, I'd rather not live than be regarded as mortal. My name shall go down in the books of history!

✓ Apathetic - Perhaps only considered, "positive," to he himself, Hakkotsu distances himself from the concerns of others, if only for self preservation. He is the most important person in his life and he'll do all he can to save himself before he saves others. To some, this is negative, to others, it's nothing but positive. Can you guess how it applies to Hakkotsu?

Habits
-
/ Hakkotsu is an extremely light sleeper by habit. His time in captivity never allowed for much of deep sleep. As for now that he's free, the threat of assassination is very real. This inability to sleep heavily is therefore quite beneficial to him.

/ Hakkotsu, whenever he does speak to someone, generally refuses to look them in the eyes. He was taught that only beings of mutual standing could look one another in the eyes. In captivity, this meant Hakkotsu was lower than the Shinigami who held him. Now that he's free, it's everybody else that is beneath him.

/ During even some of the lightest pain, Hakkotsu bites his tongue to the point of pierced skin. His body literally fears being dished out pain, as he's had his fair share of wounds. Having gone so long being unable to do very much about it, his body's natural response is to find some way to drown out the pain in some other way.

Goals
-
/ To liberate the World of the Living from any and all control from Soul Society. To find some way to push them into their own realm and keep them there, he hopes, for good. Hakkotsu believes, especially since he's free, that the Shinigami need only look after the souls that have passed on, not the ones that remain living.

/ To find some way for the Quincy as a whole to be able to purify Hollow souls. As it stands, Hakkotsu is aware of some Quincies that are exceptions to the, "Purification vs. Destruction," rule, though it does not apply to every Quincy. If Hakkotsu can some how, some way, figure out how to purify instead of destroy... or find someone who knows how, then when he (hopefully) pushes the Shinigami back, they'll have little reason to return. This one, he knows, is an extreme stretch for him, though it's something he thinks about in his down time.

Several Seele Schneider. There are four linked on his belt, hidden by his haori behind him. Additionally, there is one on each of his hips.

Having only obtained the first stage of his powers, Hakkotsu's weapon takes on the form of a light blue energy weapon, bound to his left wrist as a wrist bow. It doesn't measure very impressively, though it's a pretty powerful piece of weaponry. His Helieg Pfiel, his Holy Arrows, take the form of the Cross of Saint Peter. When his bow is active, the silver cuff that serves as his Mekkakyu becomes adorned with a beautiful spiderweb esque pattern of Reishi flowing through the metal, converging to a single point where the bow manifests. The bow itself is relatively small in size, only measuring a little over two and a half feet in length, with each arrow a mere eight inches long. When fired, as opposed to the traditional and well known sound a Quincy arrow makes -- a loud woosh -- Hakkotsu's wrist bow makes a higher pitched, shorter frequency woosh, a testament to its smaller size.

Hakkotsu's Mekkakyu takes the form of a bound silver wrist cuffs, formerly used to drain his spirit energy so that he may not make any attempts to escape. Unknown to Hakkotsu (who simply knows he is incapable of removing these cuffs) the cuffs have been bound to his wrists permanently, as a result of the near constant flow of spirit energy unto these cuffs, a rare (spiritual) chemical reaction occurred in which these cuffs became literally part of his living body.

Not mastered, but Hakkotsu does possess a Sanrei Glove that he has never attempted to bond with.

Name: Trajectory Arrow
Item used: Bow
Type: Offensive
Cost: Minimal
Range: Long
Description: If an arrow is shot and it misses its target, it can change its trajectory only once more at Hakkotsu's command. The maximum degree the arrow may change is a full one hundred-twenty degrees. It may, once more, only do so a single time.

Name: Arrow Barrage
Item used: Bow
Type: Offensive
Cost: Minimal
Range: Long
Description: A barrage of standard arrows is fired, covering a swath of eight feet in width, seven feet in height. The number of arrows fired is equal to Hakkotsu's BUK stat multiplied by 5. Each arrow is weaker than a standard arrow, but can still do significant damage if the opponent is caught in the midst of such a barrage.

Name: Detonation Arrow
Item used: Bow
Type: Offensive
Cost: Moderate
Range: Long
Description: An arrow is fired that for all intents and purposes is a standard arrow. If, however, the arrow is split in half or otherwise strikes the opponent successfully, it will detonate in a brilliant display of power. Detonation Arrows can benefit from Hakkotsu's ability to change the trajectory once if the arrow misses its target.

Name: Gedankenübertragung
Translation: Telepathy
Item used: Ginto
Type: Passive, lasts 5 rounds.
Cost: Minimal
Range: Long
Description: Establishes a mental connection with any single person of Hakkotsu's choosing, allowing them to communicate through telepathic means. This works similarly to the Quincy's Ransotengai: a thin line of reishi is formed, connecting the brains of the two individuals visibly before fading away. After the connection is established, it works in the same way a wire might: information is transmitted.

Growing up as a distant relative to a member of one of the now-deceased Great Quincy Clans of Japan, the Masaru, Hakkotsu lived a live of fairness and closeness with his family and his kind. He was brought up knowing what he is and what he'd eventually he capable of, as well as who his natural enemies were. Although the Masaru as a whole were closely affiliated with the Shinigami from Soul Society, Hakkotsu's family of non-Masaru were not, therefore he was brought up to be very mindful and distant where the Shinigami were involved, as Quincy by nature make their lives and duties endlessly more difficult, complicated and complex. Oftentimes, even, his family would take part in rinky-dink covert actions against the Shinigami.

Unfortunately for Hakkotsu, the Shinigami were eventually made aware of the culprits.

Needless to say, the Shinigami, with the names of those who disrupted their activities in mind, sprang forth and attacked the Yasaki Clan, the minor Clan that Hakkotsu belonged to. Unable to defend themselves adequately, as they lacked the element of surprise, much of his already small family had been slaughtered by the Shinigami, while the remaining handful, including the eight year old Hakkotsu, were taken into Soul Society as prisoners. The group of Shinigami who'd attacked these Quincy had not the authority to do so and were quickly approached by Soul Society officials and denied the ability to detain the Quincy whom they'd captured. The conniving, fiendish bastards already knew such would happen and had prepared an underground compound in which to imprison the Quincy they'd captured in utter secrecy.

And there he … they … remained. The Shinigami took out their frustrations on these Quincy. They paid them back for every wrongdoing they'd ever done unto them and their fellow Shinigami. For every Shinigami life the Yasaki Quincy had taken, the Shinigami would spend a good ten minutes mercilessly beating each and every remaining Yasaki Quincy. Bound in cuffs of silver which sucked away spirit energy, the Yasaki were unable to react. They were unable to defend themselves. They simply had to take their beatings, even the dearest young boy, eight years of age, Hakkotsu.

Within his first year of imprisonment, the desire for revenge faded from his Shinigami captors while their curiosity grew. “What is the Quincy body, mind and soul capable of?” they wondered. What could they do to them? What could they break without breaking their spirit? Test after test immediately began, all physical, chemical, mental and any other, “al,” which could ever be thought of. These Quincy were absolutely tortured, young Hakkotsu alongside them. Some died as a result of these tests while most simply forgot who they were, retreating to a, “happy place,” within where they could be content with themselves and their situation. Hakkotsu, however, was frightened. Thankfully, until he was fifteen, he was spared the most heinous treatments and was typically used to test experimental drugs and other such scientific artifacts, one of which affected one of his five senses, allowing him to literally smell the emotions of those around him. Without delusions, he knew his time to be tormented would come; the torment of seeing his loved ones perish before him, however, was very real and would stay with him no matter the lack of physical torment he was given.

Starved, dehydrated and beaten over and over, the physical pain began just weeks after he turned eighteen years old. The Shinigami reasoned that since he was legal in his world to be treated as an adult, he'd be beaten like an adult as well. With the help of Kidō, the Shinigami removed fingers, viciously, “poked,” at, “organs,” all without ever failing to repair the damaged body parts before Hakkotsu would become permanently damaged. No thought of privacy was ever allowed to exist. No sense of security would ever be given. The walls were not meant to protect, but to limit and contain.

By the time he was twenty years old, all but four others from the Yasaki Clan remained, all of whom had, somehow, been able to keep a shred of their minds, as Hakkotsu had. His father was the only one of the remaining four he could properly remember from his time as a young boy; the remaining three were simply distant members of his family. Perhaps they were second cousins? Regardless, a chance of escape revealed itself as one of the Shinigami who contained and saw to their treatment was a fresh recruit from the Shinigami Academy who somehow ended up wrapped up in this fiasco. He thought he'd approve of such treatment of, “those who disrupt the balance,” as he'd often deemed Quincies. However, he was wrong – seeing it firsthand was not something he was prepared for. He'd spoken to the remaining five, detailing little by little, over the months, that there'd be a day where he'd see to their release.

Such a day came within that very same year. Sometime during the night, as Hakkotsu slept, an explosion could be heard. The four members of the Yasaki clan tore through the scarce ranks of the Shinigami, reducing their souls to nothingness – literally. Hakkotsu never knew what it was like to wield the power of the Quincy, therefore he was not of much help in their escape from captivity. He did, however, manage to help the group-de-cinq avoid conflict by smelling out the emotions of those around him, learning which directions to avoid due to, “alerted suspicion,” that he could pick up on. The Shinigami that saw to their escape rendezvous(ed) with the group, much to their surprise. He spoke quickly and with panic, promising that he'd opened a Senkai Gate which they could use to escape to the World of the Living. Hakkotsu's father thanked him formally, mercilessly ending his life afterward as a way of, “minimizing any chance of recapture,” in the event this Shinigami was discovered having helped them escape.

Upon their return to the World of the Living, for a short few months, they were hunted down as Hakkotsu's father and the other three made every attempt to stuff the knowledge of the Quincy into Hakkotsu, attempting to train him in the art of Reishi manipulation. He was able to succeed and proved somewhat useful in the few battles to come. However, the chase ended as the Yasaki Clan took refuge in Germany, the homeland of the Quincy. There Hakkotsu watched as slowly, the remaining four members of his clan were picked off one by one, by what Hakkotsu could only assume was the work of Shinigami Assassins.

Since then, he's fled, in desperate fear for his life. He currently resides somewhere in Europe; wherever he can sustain himself, making every attempt to sustain his Quincy training, regrettably all by his lonesome. His experiences have him longing for companionship, though very hesitant and reluctant to seek it out. How will he fare?

Thin bony fingers held the renegade Quincy's healing waist, having only recently survived a close encounter with a shinigami assassin. Thanks to much rest and the kind doctors that aided him, he was able to overcome the worst of his injury. Little more than a bad scab plagued his otherwise toned, even skin, discluding the minor fits of sharp pain the wound offered. In a way, it was sort of nice to have this injury; it came not because there was no choice but to endure, but because he made the wrong choice in a situation he had complete control over. He was not tied up, hands and legs spread apart leaving his body frighteningly vulnerable. Rather, he was in control and slipped up, resulting in something coming from a choice he was graced with being able to make. An odd thing to be happy about, certainly, but happy he was indeed.

Night soon fell and he found himself slowly trekking the cities of Europe, his body and mind having felled deep within itself while his body droned on. Light colored dots – stars, he remembered them being called – dotted the sky above, twinkling and moving about the sky ever so gracefully. This time of the year, late September, offered the north eastern hemisphere with cooler weather, evident in that with every breath the Quincy released, a gray puff of vapor accompanied. He mused silently that perhaps this vapor – his essence – was being carried up to the stars and some higher power would feel his pain and send aid of some kind. Some higher power that perhaps the shinigami, hollows and quincy knew nothing about. A power that was watching over the world, making note of wrongdoings, seeing who it was that needed to be punished. Making note of the merciless evil and corruption. Something that could send evildoers to a place much more frightening than the factual Hell that exists.

Or maybe they were just stars. Stars in deep, deep outer space whose light travels so fast, yet the body of combustive gas is so far away, the light he views if millions of years old. And those stars that he's viewing with such pained eyes are in actuality already dead themselves.

He sighed solemnly. He stretched his fingers out slowly, relishing in the relief it brought to his tense hand. He cared for little more than getting back to his homeland: Japan. He wasn't quite sure how he'd do it, but he was determined to find the former living space of the Yasaki Clan. Maybe if he was lucky, it'd be abandoned and he could find refuge therein, if only for awhile. These gentle thoughts ended abruptly as a knuckle cracked, snapping him out of his inner monologue, bringing him back to the harsh reality that was his own life. "No, the Yasaki Compound doesn't exist any longer", he assured himself, recalling the destruction the shinigami rained upon his clan and their dwelling. He had nowhere to go. There was no place for him. No surviving family, save the Masaru Clan, whom he wanted absolutely no contact with. Any who associate themselves with the shinigami have no place in Hakkotsu's life. Ever. Especially people of his own kind who willingly submit to their rulings and act as though they were their mortal dogs.

No. He had nowhere to go.
So he'd only continue to go as he had been.
Through Europe and to Japan. For what? Well, of course, “it's not about the destination, but rather the journey.”

AV-1

HAN: 14
REI: 16
HAK: 14
SEI: 14
BUK: 15
HOH: 10
Points Earned: 0
Total points:83

Hakkotsu

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