Started by Aeytrious, June 30, 2013, 06:46:34 AM
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Kurohana Akio is a tall, light-skinned swordsman with high cheekbones, grey eyes and long wavy brown hair. His hair is tied in a long ponytail and has long bangs that frame the left side of his face. He also has a noticeable amount of body hair on his chest, feet, and arms. Akio wears a set of clothing he calls his Shihakushō (死覇装, Garment of Dead Souls). It consists of a white shitagi, a black kosode, a white haori, black hakama with white himo, and waraji. He does not wear tabi with his waraji sandals, and ties his kosode with a pale turquoise obi. He wears a straw hat (called a jingasa) and a gaudily-colored, pink, flowered, lady's kimono, which he drapes across his shoulders and over his haori. Although his clothing, other than the flowered kimono, appear to be cheap, his twin hairpins are very expensive, made of precious metals and decorated with finely cut gems. He has thin facial hair around his mouth and on his cheeks. He wears an eyepatch over his right eye that was damaged during a fight and the top half of his right ear is sliced off at a slight tilt with a scar along his right temple.
Akio is a laid back and flamboyant man, evident in his style of dress and general attitude, and he is rarely seen without a smile. In his off time, he often drinks sake in bars and naps. He likes steamed buns that go with sake, but dislikes powdered green tea. Other times, he likes to chase after women. Akio tends to use a more casual speech style than others. He generally refers to his fellows by their first name without regard for rank or titles.Akio is a peace-loving man who will always try to talk his way out of a fight, though he doesn't wish to insult opponents by refusing to fight. The slightly eccentric Akio also seems to like making an impression on opponents. Though he tries to talk his way out of a fight, he will fight when the situation demands it. He maintains a level of honor and integrity when engaging in battle. He refuses to fight with children or even in the presence of a child. He always maintains a semblance of respect for his opponent and is polite in combat situations and prefers to fight one on one. Even when fighting powerful opponents he rarely loses his cool, going as far as to make small talk and joke around with his opponents.Despite being an immensely skilled and strong swordsman, Akio retains a level of humility and isn't overly arrogant about his strength, acknowledging others their potential to become stronger than himself given enough time. Akio has shown a great distaste for fighting, saying that it doesn't matter whether you owe someone or they owe you; as soon as you start fighting, you are in the wrong either way. He also dislikes taking the life of innocent people.
Akio is a master of the art of the sword. He does not like fighting, and tries to avoid combat when possible, but he is one of the most proficient swordsmen of his homeland. He is extremely versatile and a highly adaptable combatant. His ambidexterity and skill at two weapon fighting allows him to throw off his opponents. He can easily shift the speed and strength of his hands, which most opponents find surprising. Akio's fighting style involves evasion and attacking an over extended opponent, using his greater speed and balance to surprise and overwhelm them. He moves his wakizashi at a greater speed, and uses slower, more powerful blows with his katana, readily switching which hands he holds them in. ~Styles~ Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu: This style focuses on iaido. Iaido, derived from iaijutsu, develops the skill of drawing the sword and cutting in the same movement, rather than cutting from a traditional stance after already having drawn the sword. Iaido aims to cultivate spiritual harmony in addition to the battlefield skill of iaijutsu. Eishin-ryu contains sitting techniques, standing techniques and techniques for use against multiple opponents, as well as for use on terrain. Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu: Although samurai carry both a katana and a wakizashi, they usually only use the katana outdoors and the wakizashi indoors. This style's name translates to "Two Heavens, One School" and refers to the trademark stance of both swords held above the head to attack. The swords work in a sequential rhythm; as one sword defends, the other attacks in the next step. Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu: This style is the oldest surviving school of swordsmanship in his land. The style encompasses training in the use of the katana, the bo staff, the halberd-like naginata, the spear and in many other weapons. This keeps its practitioners from being surprised on the battlefield by weapons they are unfamiliar with. Mugai-ryu: This style has both kenjutsu and iaijutsu techniques. Students train with bokken--wooden swords--or iaito, aluminum training swords with a dulled edge. Advanced students move on to tameshigiri exercises, which involve cutting targets to ensure proper form and blade angle during a cut. Mugai-ryu's iaijutsu curriculum incorporates two-person forms to help students achieve a sense of distance. Ono-ha Itto-ryu: The name of this style translates to "one sword." The underlying principles of the style, and the branches of Itto-ryu that followed it, rely on a single powerful cut to defeat the enemy. Ono-ha Itto-ryu curriculum has over 150 techniques, many of which involve a direct downward cut through the center line of the body, often using the wrists as a target during their raised position when ready to attack. Yagyu Shinkage-ryu: This style emphasizes flowing, subtle movements, and uses a longer and thinner blade. It contains some principles of aikido: instead of killing an enemy, the style encourages the use of disarming techniques. Jigen-ryu: This style emphasizes a powerful first strike, intended to kill an enemy instantly. Students of Jigen-ryu stand in a modified Hasso-no-kamae stance, with the sword held vertically on the right side of the face with the guard at cheek level. The attacker makes a running hidari-kesa cut from the opponent's left shoulder to his right hip, cutting into the base of the neck where armor would not protect easily. Tamiya-ryu: This style makes use of a sword with a slightly longer hilt. A longer hilt gives the sword greater stability and power. When you stand in the high stance, Jodan-no-kamae, your opponent will have a tendency to look at the raised sword blade, and they will not notice foot movement. Tamiya-ryu requires large, precise movements.
Akio has trained extensively in close-combat style fighting, in which a person is unarmed and uses only one's body. He has mastered several martial arts styles, and combines their teachings into a unique style all his own. Akio rarely uses his unarmed martial arts in combat, but frequently uses them in practice for exercise. He prefers to rely upon his skills with a sword if he must fight, even though he is a master of unarmed combat. ~Styles~ Jujutsu: This method literally translates to "Soft Skills". However, more accurately, it means the art of using indirect force, such as joint locks or throwing techniques, to defeat an opponent, as opposed to direct force such as a punch or a kick. This is not to imply that jujutsu does not teach or employ strikes, but rather that the art's aim is the ability to use an attacker's force against him or her, and counter-attack where they are weakest or least defended. Methods of combat included kicking, punching, body throws, joint-lock throws, unbalance throws, pinning, strangulating, grappling, and wrestling. Defensive tactics included blocking, evading, off balancing, blending and escaping. Minor weapons such as the tantō, ryufundo kusari, jutte, and kakushi buki are included in the teachings koryū jujutsu. This style was originally designed as a means whereby an unarmed or lightly armed warrior could defeat a heavily armed and armored enemy on the battlefield. The evolution of the style allows for combating opponents neither wearing armor nor in a battlefield environment. It includes extensive use of atemi waza, or vital-striking technique. These tactics would be of little use against an armored opponent on a battlefield. They would, however, be quite valuable to anyone confronting an enemy or opponent dressed in normal street attire. Occasionally, inconspicuous weapons such as knives or iron fans were included in the curriculum. Aikido: The art consists of "striking", "throwing" and "joint locking" techniques and is known for its fluidity and blending with an attacker, rather than meeting "force with force". Emphasis is upon joining with the rhythm and intent of the opponent in order to find the optimal position and timing with which to apply force. Aikidō is also known for emphasizing the spiritual and philosophical development of its students. Developed mainly from Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu incorporating training movements such as those for the yari, jō, and perhaps also juken. Arguably the strongest influence is that of kenjutsu and in many ways, an aikidō practitioner moves as an empty handed swordsman. Karate: Translated literally, this styles name means "empty hand". It is also sometimes called "the way of the empty hand". Karate practice is primarily characterized by linear punching and kicking techniques executed from a stable, fixed stance. Many styles of karate practiced incorporate unarmed forms, and many different weapons originally used as farm implements by the peasants such as the sai, kama, and bō. Wing Chun: The literal translation of this style is "spring chant". It is a concept-based martial art and form of self-defense utilising both striking and grappling while specializing close-range combat.
Hohō is the third combat skills used by Akio and relates to footwork. The agility and speed of Hohō can be enhanced and improved through concentration, training, and mastery. Shunpo is the greatest expression of the Hohō technique. However, there are variations even within Shunpo which only master Hohō practitioners can use Shunpo (瞬歩, "Flash Steps") is a movement technique, which allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point which determines the basis of this technique is speed. As speed is the main point of the technique, the method is best characterized by how fast one can get from point A to point B in the least amount of steps. Training and skill are what determines how fast a user of Shunpo can move; those of little skill in the technique or those who have not used it for an extended amount of time would obviously be out of practice, causing those individuals to be considerably slower, which requires the use of more steps to move the same distance and become winded in a shorter amount of time. Akio is exceptional in the art of Shunpo. Akio's skill is high enough for him to effortlessly dodge attacks without mussing his hat or kimono. ~TECHNIQUES~ Utsusemi (空蝉, Cicada): An advanced Shunpo technique. The practitioner moves at great speed, leaving an afterimage which can even appear to have taken damage from a dodged attack. Speed Clones: An advanced Shunpo technique that utilizes multiple simultaneous uses of Utsusemi. Akio can use this technique to create up to eight clones of himself at once. While the clones are indistinguishable from the user's true self and mimic their movements, they do not last long. Senka (閃花, Flash Blossom): A highly advanced Shunpo technique. The practitioner moves behind the opponent to hit with two quick but deep piercing stabs. The movement is so fast, an opponent may not be able to tell whether they were attacked from the front or the back, and even an outside observer may find it impossible to tell what the movements are.
Kidō is the fourth combat style used by Kurohana Akio. These spells are produced with strong Reiryoku, or spiritual energy, and fall into three categories: Hadō for direct attacks, Bakudō for battle support, and Kaidō for healing. Kidō spells are triggered by an incantation. Experienced users can trigger them without an incantation, though the effectiveness of the spell will be diminished.
Despite his laid-back attitude, Akio has repeatedly shown himself to be a perceptive and insightful man. Even when he was younger, Akio has always had an eye for seeing the true character of anyone he meets. He easily sees through lies, and is one of the first people to suspect even the most skillfully crafted deceptions. In battle, Akio has proven to be very adept at noticing and understanding details in an opponent's skills or attack patterns.
Akio has tremendous spiritual power. He is said to possesses Reiatsu unmatched by his peers or predecessors. He is not overwhelmed by the released Reiatsu of powerful demons, though most people would be in such situations.
Akio has shown that he possesses supernaturally high physical strength, demonstrated by his ability to punch through solid steel.
Akio has proven that he is very durable. He's endured the attacks of giants, dragons, and even powerful demons. He has also withstood powerful magical blasts at point-blank range.
-Katana and Wakizashi-A Zanpakutō (斬魄刀; literally, Soul-Cutter Sword) is magical sword that has its form of manifestation linked to its wielders soul. The art of wielding a Zanpakutō is called Zanjutsu. Akio's Zanpakutō is unique in that it exists as a daisho sword pair, consisting of a katana and a wakizashi. Their tsuba, or cross guards, are elongated octagons (rectangles with the corners cut off), decorated by a pattern of cherry petals and lines Each sports a black dragon head tsuka, or hilt, with a burnt-orange tsuka-ito, or handle wrapping. Akio keeps them sheathed through his waist tie at his left side, however, during battle he wil seperate the swords to both sides of his sash. Like many Zanpakutō, Akio's has a personality of her own.
-Friends-Developing
"Drink up my friend!"
