Michiko Kōno

Michiko Kōno (美智子河野, Kōno Michiko) is the lieutenant of the 9th Division under Captain Yuki Kaname. She is a protagonist member.
==Appearance==
Michiko is a young woman. She has waist length red hair and dark purple eyes.
She is mostly seen wearing a dark crimson seifuku, but longer than normal ones, and sometimes with a matching dark crimson hat. She also wear her casual clothes which consists of a white shirt, red neck ribbon, and a black long skirt with brown tights. The left side of her skirt has been split for some reason. In any occasion, Michiko always wears white gloves.
Approximately 150 years ago, Michiko had long hair which were tied in a twin tail. She wore a white kimono and a purple-bluish hakama. 
During the Hollow Invasion, she cut her hair short, only framing her face. She wore various clothes but her most noticeable one was a winter outfit. 
==Personality==
Michiko, ever since before, was always serious and calm, though she can be easily annoyed. She attempts to work hard albeit the fact that she's quite the lazy type. She also seem obedient and polite towards those whose rank is higher than hers. She likes wandering around despite having a poor sense of direction. She appears to like reading magazines of all genres.
==History==
About 160 years ago, Michiko Kōno, was born as "Hiro" in a lower class Noble Family in the Eastern parts of Rukongai. She grew up in a peaceful neighborhood. Some members of her family found the need to eat, as well as Hiro herself which means they must have spiritual power. Every night, she would go to a store and buy sweet rolls or ramen for dinner. However, one evening, Hiro returned to their house after buying dinner only to see everyone in her family killed. 
A day later, Hiro decided to move to West Rukongai for her own safety. Due to her lack of knowledge of the place, she ended up in North Rukongai, a place full of violent people. Nevertheless, people feared her because she accidentally gained her Zanpakutō, though still not knowing its name. Since the residents were afraid of her, Hiro lived alone, missing her old residence.
===Hollow Invasion era===
Around 30 years later, the Hollows' number in the Soul Society increased. Hiro went to move to West Rukongai again, but was surrounded by Hollows. She, however, was able to kill all of them and escaped. Unfortunately, she ended up in a wrong place again, in Inuzuri of South Rukongai. She believed she was in her desired place and rested in an inn. A few hours later, the Hollows appeared and destroyed the houses, killing the Souls, one by one. A group of Souls and Shinigami who were stuck in the place at the time helped suppress the Hollows with Hiro, but only a few survived. 
A month passed as the invasion continues, Michiko was adopted by a small family which she loved and protected later on. Her new father, Hachi Mori gave her a new name when she forgot about her real name. "Michiko Kōno" was the name he gave her. For an unknown reason, she wasn't given the last name Mori, but she was contented. Hana, her mother, taught her how to play a harp. Mayu always gave her food, and trouble while Kohaku always teased her. Michiko became contented with them.
Every night in her new house, Michiko always had dreams about herself being in a dark place and hearing voices of her Zanpakutō Spirit trying to introduce the name of her Zanpakutō. The time came when she was having this kind of dream, her reiatsu leaked and accidentally burned down her house. Luckily, no one was harmed. Hachi and the rest of the family understood the situation and rebuilt the house. Her father told her not to feel guilty and asked her to join the Shinō Academy. 
Michiko used to train in a very long and expansive forest in an attempt to finish a 6 year course in 3 years. She met Mitsuru and Haruo Yamada, both new students in the academy at the time, who also trained in the forest. There, she was the one who taught Haruo some Kidō-Zanpakutō Hybrid techniques, which were considered rare and powerful. With that, she became friends with them. 
She came to help the two against a strong Hollow they encountered in Kusajishi, but they all lost to it. When the night came, Michiko woke up alone in the forest she was thrown in, thinking Mitsuru messed with her again that she left her alone in the forest, and losing memory about what happened. She just decided to go in the nearest town and eat dinner. The next morning, she returned to her house, saying she was so tired that she just slept in a forest.
A year later, Michiko was on a hill in Inuzuri putting finishing touches on her robot. She named it "Tracking flag." It was a robot she finished in 11 months and the one who would continue to protect her family when she couldn't. On the same year, roughly 14 days after she finished the robot, she wandered around Soul Society until she decided that she would try to find the person who murdered her family, only knowing the face and clothing of the person: A woman of average height with long silver-white hair and green eyes and wearing a black elegant long dress. She also decided that she would find her by joining the Gotei 13. On her way to Seireitei, she fought a Shinigami who tried to be in her way and that Shinigami's defeat resulted to the return of her memories about the incident a year ago.
Some time later, Michiko stayed in the Living World for an unknown amount of time, but it is safe to assume she had stayed for about a year as she had an apartment.
===Joining the Gotei 13===
Michiko joined the Gotei 13 as a member of the 7th Division and later promoted as the lieutenant of the 9th Division.
==Invention==
So far, Michiko has only invented a device which is capable of performing Kidō barriers.
*Tsuiseki hata (追跡旗, Tracking flag): A small, worm-like metal robot which emits purple reiatsu when active. Tsuiseki hata is a small device which is capable of setting a protective barrier around a certain place and that only known people can go through it. It seems to follow Michiko around when she's near it.
==Powers & Abilities==
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: In fights, Michiko has demonstrated a talented and skillful swordsmanship. She is also capable of destroying a heavy armor of a clockwork doll.
Shunpo Expert: Michiko is a very agile fighter as she is able to move in fast movements like how Shunpo Masters do. She can use Shunpo consecutively to move faster.
Stealth Expert: She is skilled enough to hide her presence for a long time until finally showing herself.
Expert Hakuda Combatant: Michiko is also pretty good when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, but she rarely shows her skill.
Kidō Expert: Michiko is able to perform mid to high level Kidō spells with full power and control. She also uses unknown Kidō spells that seals, make objects completely invisible to plain sight, and place objects in some sort of inventory dimension.
Expert Inventor: As a child, Michiko was able to invent a weird worm-like robot which protects her family.
Great Spiritual Energy: She possesses fine amounts of spiritual energy. Her reiatsu, when released, is elemental type which is fire. Her spiritual energy is high enough to cause the weather to be very hot.
===Zanpakutō===
Jigoku no Toride (地獄の砦, Fortress of Hell): It takes the form of an ordinary katana with a red-orange handle and sheath. She uses a spell that makes it always invisible when not in use. 
*Shikai: Its Shikai command is "Rage" (暴れ狂う, Abare kuruu). Once released, Jigoku no toride appears as a longer katana and has a thin hollow space at the middle, usually filled with red energy or flames, and a light pink hilt-wrapping. The blade itself may appear as flames at times, depending on the condition of Michiko's reiatsu.
:Shikai Special Ability: Its ability does not only focus on fire manipulation but also making the weather very hot, one’s throat would dry up and rushing flames would welcome anyone who would step into the barriers of the hot weather carelessly.
:*Chitengoku (血天国, Blood Heaven): The atmosphere, in an instant, becomes all-red and hot, with tiny particles of hot orange substance floating everywhere. In this state, Jigoku no toride momentarily has it powers boosted and the sword becomes completely black with a circular tsuba.
:*Shakunetsuten (刃のような炎, Burning Heavens): Jigoku no toride suddenly bursts a large explosion mainly because of excess fire it releases at a target. It is far stronger than just releasing flames.
*Bankai: It is named Jigoku no Toride no Kaihō Oni (地獄の砦の解放鬼, Release of the Fortress of Hell Demons). It has not yet been used in battle since Michiko is still training to complete it and have full control on it.
==Trivia==
*Her theme song is "If This is It" by Newton Faulkner.
Category:Characters
Category:Female
Category:Shinigami
Category:Shinigami lieutenants
Category:Nobles