Shiki Akumu

Shiki Akumu (始期 あくむ, Akumu Shiki) is the perfect balance between Vizard and Arrancar. He was a Vizard who had gone through his full Hollow transformation to rip off his mask, granting him powers similar to an Arrancar as well as granting him perfect balance.

Appearance
Shiki, despite his old age appears to be fairly young. His appearance resembles that of a young twenty year old human male, likely around the age of twenty three. He stands at a fairly tall height, falling an inch short of six foot. His body seems frail and weak as he is incredibly thin, he'd appear to be emaciated if it weren't for the small overtone of muscle in his weak frame. His hair is is a vibrant crimson that cascades passed his shoulders, falling roughly around his mid back. He keeps the glorious man of his in a ponytail at times, and the luster and shine to it has been compared to a calming sunset by some. He has somniferous almond eyes that shine like the reflection of a warm son on an emerald, often captivating those nearby. He shows a general disinterest in most clothing, as he tends to wear nothing but a loose fitting robe. His robes are shown in a array of colors, though most are simply various shades of grey. They expose a majority of his torso and fall to his around knee-length with the rope tied around his waist. Upon expecting certain company or upon request he will often put on black boxers with soft grey pinstripes underneath, or a full apparel of clothing. Around his neck lies a choker with an ankh on it, brass in color and only an inch or two in size. On his left ring finger is an ouroboros shaped ring, silver in color and ignorant to the placement of it.

Personality
Shiki has been known to have a complex personality, but this is speculated to be due to his inner Hollow. His age has granted him an odd wisdom, and has made him rather calm. He can retain his cool under many situations, not allowing anything to break his hard demeanor. He's been known as the evil type, malicious even which he can be towards much inferior beings. For the most part he doesn't believe in unnecessary death and will often avoid killing an individual unless he deems it their time, or if they've outlived their usefulness to him. there have been times, however when he's been known to kill out of boredom or just to analyze the outcome of the individual's death. He can be rather unpredictable at times, with no one capable of determining his next course of action. Shiki also tends to remain aloof, rarely letting any information of any sort escape his lips, be it personal or business. He prefers to keep those around him on their toes, guessing what he's going to do next. His contempt for all knows know bounds and seems ignorant to the simple concepts of life and death. His malicious behavior has caused him to be compared to a shrike by some. The shrike is a bird in which it impales it's prey on tree branches to feast on it's insides later. His behavior has also been compared to a hyena by some, due to his being prone to laughter at even the most evil deeds. He is also known as Akaritsuzen, the Crimson Horror by some; a reference to his destructive behavior and either the color of his hair, or the bloodshed left behind. He wasn't always even, though. Shiki was once a good man with a strong sense of justice, though the abandonments and losses he'd suffered caused him to grow bitter and resentful. He kept neautrality on most matters, though, not letting emotion get the better of him. However, with his moments of weakness, the drastic evil that is Warug and Muda had slowly infiltrated,corrupted and shaped his mind into the monster known by many today. A few of his close associates remain a fim belief that he is still that good man deep at heart, he only needs a savior and light to shine his way and pull him from the darkness that'd taken advantage of him.

History
Shiki's human life hardly has any documentation, considering it was before much of recorded history. It is assumed that he had died around the human age of twenty three, but this is based solely from appearance. All he remembered was waking up in the afterlife. He woke up and felt he was some...Something more. Though he wasn't aware, he had become a Shinigami. He spent no more than a year in the spirit world growing accustomed to the changes in life. It was there that he met a boy, quite similar to him named Caleb. In his new life he became quite lonely so the two quickly befriended eachother. Due to evidant financial troubles, they began to live as roommates on the outskirts of the Rukongai.

One day, the area around their home started shaking and they felt a dark presence. Their was a hollow attack. The two had no idea what was going on, as a hollow attack was a rare occurance in the Soul Society especially i their short time living there. Looking back, they appeared to be at an Adjuchas level. Luckily their happened to be a Shinigami strolling around that ector around that time. He was, to them, incredibly powerful. He was a Fukutaicho and was able to save the two men with ease. Shiki and Caleb, incredibly grateful showed the man absolute gratitude and hospitality. After some discussions, they had learned of the academy and how they could increase their power for the good of the Soul society. The boy's eyes lit with hope and befriended the lieutenant as he helped them progress through the academy as much as he could. They grew quickly in the academy, pure naturals. They both seemed to be keen learners with a natural, powerful spiritual pressure. In a time no longer than a year they were graduates and their bond had grown even closer. They looked after eachother and took eachother in as brothers of sorts.

Many years had gone by, as they rose through ranks in the Gotei and became seated members. One day, Shiki had his first encounter with a hollow ambush. His mission was to patrol an area in the human world that was believed to go under a Hollow attack. Surely enough, this was true and Shiki fought to hold them back. But at his current power, he had yet to even learn his zanpakuto's name. So there he was, fighting off the Hollow which were fair in number, roughly twelve as he remembered. He had gotten through roughly three fourths of them before he was caught off guard. A Hollow had used it's claws to tear into Shik's chest, gravely injuring him. As his body had fallen unconscious to the ground, he woke up in a strange world. There was a voice swirling around him as he laid there, shocked and confused. He could hardly move and this place had begun to frighten him. It was dark and morbid. Flesh and bone had decorated the entire area, and it was all dimly lit by seven crimson moons. The voice beckoned him into taking it's power, as it spoke the same word continuosly. Struggling, Shiki opened his eyes again, seeing a one of the Hollow lunging at him. He was back in the human world, where he was before? Without skipping a beat, a force within him caused him to hold out his zanpakuto and shout. The word he shouted sounded vaguely familiar to him. The word, Warugi had confused him. He wasn't entirely sure why he had said it but he knew it was significant. Upon shouting his zanpkuto's name, the blade split into many more blades, all connected through the hilt. Each one had pierced a Hollow's mask, destroying them in the process. With a small smirk, he had shut his eyes again, drifting out of consiousness.

It seemed Caleb has sensed his danger and brought him back to their small home. Shiki was hailed for his successful mission and the fact that he learned the name of his zanpkuto. That day was marked an important one for him. More years had gone by and they both rose through their ranks, both eventually gaining mastery over their Shikai and slowly learning their respective Bankai. They were each brought up to Captain ranks at some point in time, supposedly seventen years after Shiki's encounter with his zanpakuto. Their friend, the lieutenant was also a captain at this time and the fact they rose to be so powerful so quickly brought them all a sense of pride. All was peaceful until one fateful day, one that drastically changed their lives. There were traitors within the Gotei which sparked a civil war.

Shiki and Caleb fought bravely and valiantly in the front lines, conquering much of the battlefield. At some point the two were seperated and fought alone. During the war it had turned out that the very Shinigami that trained both Shiki and Caleb was the one responsible for this. He had retreated into the depths of Hueco Mundo, and without permission from the SoTaicho, Shiki followed him their. The two had a very powerful showdown, but Shiki was close to losing. The traitor, recongnising their bond had spared Shiki this one time, but promised if they met again he'd be forced to kill him. As a result from their battle, many spectators were wounded simply from the powerful spiritual pressure released and it's prolonged effects. Shiki remained in Hueco Mundo for several days incompaciated from the battle. Hesitantly a very powerful approached the Shinigami that was borderline dying. He had admired his power and efforts, and too wanted more power. He struck a deal with Shiki, offering him a grand power, but only if they were both accepted as one.

The process was unheard of, a merging between Shinigami and Hollow. Little did Shiki know, that having such a malicious and selfish beast within him would cause so much trouble, but he was weak. He needed to gain more power and avenge the Gotei, though all he fought for had turned against him. He wanted to survive and so it was done. He had become the first Vaizard in existance. It seems he had returned home time later, and he returned to the Gotei, though quickly ridiculed and exiled for what he had become. they were frightened of the Hollow within him. Due to this, he was out of contact with Caleb for some time, and he used his time wisely practicing his new-found powers. and after he believed to gain some mastery over it, he had started to spread word of the process and had set up a guild dedicated to helping those like him.

Many years went by, Caleb as his second in command to this guild as they brought Vaizards to the surface, revealing them to the majority. After some time, they were feared less for what they were, but for the power they held. The Gotei however, had still despised their existance. This changed after a century or so when a close friend of Shiki's, Syn a fellow Vaizard had joined the Gotei and with his proqess and knowledge gained the position of SoTaicho after a long time. He hadn't revealed his identity until he came upon his position. With his efforts, they were more accpted into the community. Joining their friend, both Caleb and Shiki were granted rank in the Royal Guard. As the three of them helped the Soul Society and Gotei grow in strength, bordom sunk in for Shiki. He wanted more power and he couldn't learn much more in the Gotei so he had left them.

He found himself training under the Quincy, attempting to learn thir arts but it was nearly futile. He only had only gained the ability to access one technique, though it was quite significant. He figured that the powers of Quincy were beyond his capabilities so he wandered around for some soul searching. He set up a small organization for the purpose of assassination known as Iron Spike Enterprises, which failed. Hardly anybody had need for it, it was a rather peaceful time without much conflict. Years going by, Syn and Caleb had both defected from the Gotei for their own reasons, leaving it under a new leadership. It was, once again discriminating, even to the Vaizard. They were once again slain and murdered for being part Hollow and Shiki was disgusted. Some of his closest friends were murdered for this very reason and he had been sent off the deep end. He began studying for answers, ones that would give him even more power.

Eventually, he found a way, an incredibly risky one but a way nonetheless. He had secluded himself for nearly a year, and used his mastery of his Vaizard capabilities. He had transformed himself into his full hollow state. Using the intelligence and control he had over himself he gripped his hollow mask. Tugging on it was incredibly painful, and it took him nearly a weak to complete the act but he eventually tore it off. He had gone through another transformation, one that gave him power closer to a Hollow's, all while retaining his old powers and and intelligence. He was both Arrancar and Vaizard, a perfect medium between opposing races. As an Arrancar, having the fragments of his Hollow mask were not a necessity as he was a Vaizard. But he did gain another powerful transformation, Resurreccion, a power quite different fom his Shikai/Bankai.

It turned out to be in the form of a different being, a hyena-shaped Hollow named Muda. Accessing this ability gave him the abilities to shed his skin from any minor damage, as well as an effective combat form. He took his new power to raise an army in Hueco Mundo. He wanted justice against the Gotei but very few wanted to take a stand against them. This is when he met a clever and powerful individual, Nazo. He had taken Shiki into his own organization, one that had greater plans. They had planned and decided to lure Unagi, the son of a powerful Taicho into Shiki's dwelling in hopes of recruiting him. The attempt failed and at the sight of Nazo the boy tried to escape which caused Shiki to bind him, not yet finished questioning him. There they spent a few days chatting amongst eachother until eventually multiple Shinigami and a Fullbringer had tracked down his location and broke into the dwelling. After a short conflict with no resulting injuries in any party, one Shinigami managed to sneak off with the boy due to use of forbidden kido.

Shortly after, Shiki's evil deeds and activity slowly declined. His body became weak and malnourished and he's yet to find a reason why, though he speculates he's either been poisoned or his reiatsu has become far too wicked for even him to handle. The slightest movements made him fall ill and seek rest, moving peacefully only through Rasotengai. Months later he seems to be making a recovery as he'd launched a near catalysmic assault on Rukongai resulting in numerous deaths and many more casualties. Currently the battle rages on between him and multiple Shinigami with many onlookers and spectators.

Equipment
Limiters: Shiki wears a choker with an ankh attatched to it, as well as a silver ouroboros-shaped ring. These are infact limiters, objects he wears to keep his vast reiatsu under control by limiting the amount released at a time.

Historic Weaponry/Armor: Shiki is an avid collector of historic artifacts, so in his dwelling resides an assortment of very old weaponry and armor.

Caja Negación:  A tool used by high ranking Arrancar to punish their subordinates. It traps its subject eternally in a closed dimension.

 Gigai:  The temporary bodies that Shinigami use in the world of the living. They were created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

Denreishinki: A vital tool for any Shinigami stationed in the real world, this variation on a cell phone functions both as a regular phone and as a communication line with the Soul Society. It receives information about the time and exact location of a Hollow's emergence via a Global Positioning System (GPS). Shiki's own denreishinki is no longer connected to the Soul Society, but rather had adapted it to Silence.

Power & Abilities
Vast Spiritual Power: Shiki has a very large amount of spiritual energy, so much infact that he has to wear limiters to even control it. Without his limiters it can even kill humans if their exposure to it is prolonged. He is capable of launching very powerful kido without much drawback.

Enhanced Reiatsu Sensing: With it being one of his main focuses, Shiki has developed an absurd ability to sense reiatsu. Even without total concentration he can sense and react quickly to the Shunpo of a Fukutaicho, and at times even a Taicho. With his eyes closed, for even a moment he can tell where and what most reiatsu signatures are, the shape of them and how quickly he could react. It has gotten to the point where he could possibly even be a better combatant if his eyes were shut for the entire fight, with a sonar like his.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Shiki is incredibly skilled in his swordsmanship, capable of using his speed and near flawless precision without much effort. Though Shiki is primarily right handed, he tends to use his left hand when wielding his Zanpakuto. He does this to throw the enemy off guard in case he deems them worthy enough of switching hands. He has gained near mastery of all of Zanjutsu's techniques.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Shiki is known as an incredible hand-to-hand combatant, capable of disarming and killing many different enemies using his bare hands, his raw strength has been shown causing him to break down cement walls without his hands sustaining much damage. He has gained near mastery of all of Hakuda's techniques.

Hohou Master: Shiki is exeptionally fast, as it was his main focus. His raw speed is often second to none, causing his mastery over Hohou's arts. As a result of his being he is capable of using both Shinigami and Arrancar arts of transportation.

Kido Expert: Due to his age, Shiki has spent a lot of time practicing kido, capable of using nearly all of the techniques it has to offer. He can even use most of them without the need of an incantation, though it's power is still hindered.

Cero: Shiki has been shown shooting Cero from his fingers with excessively destructive power. It can be charged and fired relatively fast and is a black color, with a light red outline color instead of red, which is the most common color of a Cero. The force of the blast is powerful enough to send an opponent hurtling long distances, effectively destroying any obstacle in its path at great range. He is shown capable of firing from numerous locations of his body.

 Gran Rey Cero:  It is performed by mixing an Arrancar's own blood with the Cero. The result is a Cero with a much greater attack power and speed as well as a change of color unique to the individual. It is also many times more powerful than a normal Cero, capable of disturbing the fabric of space, it also seems to spin like a razor upon release as it compresses and decompresses due to the sheer speed and raw power.

 Cero Oscuras:  It is a black cero that covers all exposed light into pitch darkness. The Cero Oscuras' range is vast, and its attack power is massive. It is strong enough to destroy half of the dome over Las Noches. The superior Cero Oscuras is far greater than an average Cero, often called the most powerful Cero.

 Bala:  This technique hardens the user's spiritual pressure and fires it like a bullet from their body.

 Enhanced Hierro:  Refers to the hardened skin of the Arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power. While not openly stated, it has been seen repeatedly that Shiki's skin is highly durable even by Arrancar standards. He can deflect attacks of similar power barehanded, though this is very limited.

Descorrer: A technique used by high ranking Arrancar to open a Garganta to grant travel between the human world, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo.

Shunkō: An advanced secret battle technique, combining the physical techniques of Hakuda with the spell-based techniques of Kido. It is an ultra-powerful technique in which one drives Kidō into one's arms and legs. The Kidō itself can also be controlled and fired at opponents from the body.

 Ransōtengai:  In his time training with the Quincy, Shiki has learned this ability. It is a high level technique that allows the user to control their body parts using strings of spirit energy controlled by their brain, forming lines or strings out of countless reishi. By using this technique, the user can control their body as one would a puppet, allowing them to move freely despite paralysis, broken limbs, or any other force that would impede normal movement.

Contortion: Apart from his natural ability to contort his body like a snake, Shiki can use his reiatsu to enhance this ability. He can use it to mold and loosen his joints without losing his physical form, making it far easier to bend his body in ways one shouldn't be capable of. In addition, since it isn't being released from his body, it wastes little to no reiatsu, making him capable of using it as many times as he wishes.

Zanpakutō
Warugi (悪気, Malice): Shiki's zanpakuto takes the shape of an o-katana, a standard katana with a longer blade. In length, it is about ninety five centimeters. The blade's color is a bit of a darkish-greyish color. The handle of it is covered in black wrappings and the sheath is a dark red in color. The guard is in the shape of a cross pattée. Shikai Special Ability: Warugi's Shikai has the power to extend and grow multiple more blades from it. This power tends to be more useful when locking swords with an opponent. It also has the ability, when stabbed into the ground, to launch the blade out of any surface connected to the ground. However, this can be avoided as one could easily sense the reiatsu moving underground. Additionally, his blade can release waves of concussive energy, but only if the previous effects are not in use.
 * Shikai: It's release command is "Eviscerate!" (はみ出す, Seppukku). In it's Shikai state, Warugi does not change in it's appearance.
 * Bankai: In it's Bankai, Shiki's zanpakuto becomes Akujin Warugi (悪神悪気, Evil God Malice), which is released thorugh the phrase "Bring forth pain and misery, leave destruction and annihilation in your wake. Slay all that is holy and desecrate all remains. I call upon your hellish endowment!" In it's Bankai, Warugi as a blade vanishes, and instead Shiki can use it's previous abilities from his own body. As his Bankai is activated, and the broadswords that erupt from the ground his appearance gets a small change. As they rise in a triangle pattern, the point of the triangle being his front, the other two will come from close behind him and to the sides a bit. The two in the back will flay the flesh of his back greatly, but will stop and fly away before the skin falls to the ground. The 'sheets' of skin that were cut will unfold from his back and give the appearance of him having wings. Despite what it would appear, Shiki would suffer no damage from this, other than the pain of it happening as it happens. As his Bankai is sealed, the folds will come back down and slowly heal within a few days, with no chance of mortality. His Bankai is said to have multiple effects, though only one has so far been documented.
 * Danbira Arashi (剣嵐, Sword Storm): Three broadswords erupt from the ground, six feet in length and a foot wide. These three broadswords not only spin themselves, but roatate around Shiki. They can be used as either defense mechanisms, or he can manipulate and use them one at a time to strike at the enemy. If one blade is stopped, one other will be stopped as well but there is almost always one sword rotating around him.

Hollowfication
Hollow Mask: Shiki's Hollow mask is rather complex in design. It's shape is like an oval, but towards the mid parts of each end it juts out causing a sharp edge before eventually slimming down to accomodate the chin. It's base color is white with black marking across it. The top right corner juts out, creating three spikes. While the top left juts forward, making three horn-like pieces to it. A bit between that and the mid section the side shoots out again, creating another spike. At the bottom, on the chin area the mask shoots out two last spikes, down at an angle and towards their respective sides.


 * Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Shiki's Hollow powers supplement his Shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed.
 * Enhanced Spiritual Energy: While wearing his Hollow mask, the spiritual power Shiki possesses becomes even greater than before.


 * Enhanced Strength: While wearing his Hollow mask, Shiki has shown that he has much greater strength.


 * Enhanced Speed: While wearing his Hollow mask, Shiki has shown that he can move much more quickly.


 * Enhanced Durability: With his Hollow mask, Shiki becomes much more resilient to pain.
 * ​Mask Regeneration:  If Shiki has enough spiritual power, he has the ability to repair small amounts of damage that is inflicted upon his mask.


 * Infinite Mask Duration: Due to the overwhelming amount of time he's spent training, Shiki has earned the incredibly rare ability to use his Hollow mask for as long as he'd like, a feat only accomplished by three others.


 * Mask Re-Summon:  He has been shown to have the ability to call his mask out a second time after it shatters.

Resurrección
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trivia

 * Shiki's name, or at least the name he goes by could be loosely translated into "Nightmare Commander."
 * He has a strong fondness for bold foods, such as spices and sweets.
 * He has a stong fondness for the music of the human world, espcially those that fall under the categories of rock and metal.
 * His themes include Tool's Vicarious and Stone Sour's Get Inside.
 * He wishes to one day fight an opponent that can show him a glorious and honorable death.
 * Shiki possesses a strong appreciation and interest in the fields of religion and philosophy, spending a sum of his time reading and learning about them.

Quotes

 * "Trust in me and fall as well."
 * "I'm not the devil, but I won't be your hero."