Raven Ruhodesu

Raven Ruhodesu (often shortened to 'Rae' by Crystal and Naomi) is a character from the series Bleach: The Forgotten, a Shinigami, and is Captain of Squad 3 in the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Izuru Kira. Raven starts out in a minor antagonistic role to the main group of protagonists (Ketu, Ratiasu, Haruka and Hikari), but later matures and is more supportive to them, after his backstory is established. He later becomes a main protagonist in the sequel, where the Gotei as a whole are portrayed as main protagonists.
He is a slight self-insertion character by Elemental Hero Raeven, and is constantly rated as a popular character by friends of the authors, and some reviewers.
==Appearance==
Raven has a striking appearance, being completely dressed in black. Along with his long black hair and near-black eyes, he wears a normal black kimono underneath his captain's haori which has the inverse colours of the normal haori. He also wears fingerless black gloves, which he uses to keep a better grip on his scythe in battle. His hair is styled similar to Ukitake's, with one long bang loose in the middle of his face, brushed slightly to the side.
==Personality==
Raven usually has a melancholic or apathetic expression, but has been known to smirk or wear a look of shock if the circumstances require it. This is based on the sheer amount of Squads he has been assigned to. He gets excited in a fight if it meets his expectations, from his time under Kenpachi, yet has a bleak outlook on violence as a whole since he is the 3rd's captain. Since he had to work to achieve the level he is at, he seems to despise people who were born with natural talent, such as Ketu or Toushiro.
Raven has a keen intellect, and can pick up on the slightest of things in an instant, after seeing them just once. He displays this especially in his battles with the vizards Kaede and Rei Yokoshima, in which he then uses the things he picks up in quickly formulated plans that usually result in his victory. When actually ready for an opponent, he can produce hundreds of possible scenarios dependent on environments, personalities and possible unseen circumstances with which he can use in battle against them, and can switch to others when the conditions are met.
Behind his apathetic and dark persona, he does care for those close to him: namely his twin sister Naomi and his girlfriend Crystal Kyouraku. He does show that he cares what happens to members of his squad, particularly Izuru and Zeo, with whom he works with closely in squad matters. He also holds a great respect for the position of Head-Captain, after Yamamoto literally saved his life. Therefore, when Hisaigo took over, Raven despised him and was extremely suspicious of him. It is unknown how he feels about Kiyomi Seiryoku, as they converse quite rarely, although she is one of the few he uses a title for when addressing, along with Retsu Unohana, meaning he has a high respect for her.
He is quite well-versed in matters of the workshop, and when he came to captaincy of squad 3, he ordered that all members should be versed in at least basic sword-smithing. This stems from the way he formed his zanpakuto, which was made from the Kyouraku clan's 'tenshi steel' before Raven's soul gave life to it. He also trains his squad in different ways: he trains fully in kidou or swordsmanship to help better those artforms. He is also known for his rather extreme training methods, training Terri by using his zanpakuto's bankai ability as a bigger drive to win.
==History==
Different to most other residents of Soul Society, Raven and his sister can remember how they died, and most things about their human lives. When they were out, their parents were murdered by a thief, who also murdered them when they walked in on him. That murderer later turned out to become the arrancar Plata Acerogarra, who also remembered them.
When living in an unspecified part of Rukongai, they came across a lost Crystal Kyouraku, and guided her back to her estate. Crystal was so thankful, that she asked her parents if her rescuers could live with them, as she had become their friends. They afterwards grew up together under the same roof, and entered the Academy together. All 3 received their zanpakuto in the same way: their souls fusing with part of the infamous 'tenshi steel'.
They all graduated at the same time, and all were placed in squad 5, after Aizen showed interest. Naomi instantly gained an idol-like respect for Aizen, whilst Raven and Crystal were suspicious of him when around then-Lieutenant Gin Ichimaru. Catching onto their suspicions, Aizen moved Raven and Crystal over to Squad 11. There, Raven befriended Ikkaku, Yumichika and Tetsuzaemon, and later left Squad 11 to go to Squad 13, where Juushirou taught him personally. Raven later moved to Squad 8, where Shunsui took over training when Juushirou became weaker. Eventually, Raven's talents were noticed by the newly promoted Byakuya Kuchiki, who asked for him to personally be lieutenant of his squad.
One night, Raven noticed Aizen and Ichimaru discussing matters, and Aizen picked up on this, using his shikai to hypnotise some shinigami nearby to believe that Raven had just caused a massacre. Raven was afterwards brought to trial in front of the Central 46, and only with a good word from Yamamoto avoided execution. Instead, he was outlawed from the Seireitei, but was given a role to watch over the Gates of Hell by Yamamoto, who felt he didn't commit the crime and wanted to keep him close should anything occur. Because of this situation, Crystal runs away from the Seireitei in disgust and Naomi disowns her brother, horrified he would blame Aizen.
During the Fake Karakura arc, Yamamoto brought Raven back, along with Crystal, and reinstated them as members of the Gotei 13, in order to better handle Aizen's threat. Raven intercepted Gin Ichimaru during the battle, and defeated him. Gin then pleaded not to be killed, and Raven accepted, but took Shinsou from him and locked Gin up in the 'Maggot's Nest'.
==Synopsis==
===The White Soul Reaper Arc===
Raven first appears asleep in his quarters, when Crystal goes to fetch him for an urgent meeting regarding Usaitar. They arrive together at the meeting, seeing Shunsui as they arrive, where he shows his suspicions about the new Head-Captain Hisaigo. He converses with Usaitar slightly when he appears, and is then ordered to ready his squad for battle. After being dismissed, he turns down Crystal's offer of a sparring match and leaves.
The next day, Raven awaits Usaitar with Ketu and Hikari, and shows his disdain for Ketu, ignoring him. He stood back as Ketu and Hikari were beaten, before fighting Usaitar one on one. Raven releases his shikai, but when Usaitar releases his shikai, Raven is saved by a timely Crystal. He later berates her for this, saying he could beat him, but then looks for Naomi after he finds out their squads were attacked. He finds her unconscious and injured and snaps, flash-stepping away to find Usaitar.
Raven is seen later to have calmed down, and in a dream-like sequence discusses his flaws with himself, finally resolving to do the right thing. Soon after, he saves a family from a hollow nearby, then travels to his quarters to retrieve Shinsou in preparation for his battle with Usaitar. On his way to find him, he fends off numerous hollows and finds out Usaitar is at Soukyoku Hill. On his way, he meets Ikkaku and Yumichika, who are shocked he has Shinsou in his possession.
During his battle with Usaitar, he reveals his bankai, and his instant-kill ability, which made Usaitar visibly nervous. Just as he was about to finish him, Usaitar releases a blast of spiritual pressure, knocking him down. At this time, Crystal arrives with Naomi, and Raven confesses his feelings for her. After this, he faints from pain. His fading spiritual pressure is sensed by Izuru, who looks on worried.
===Hisaigo Arc===
Raven left the group who had escaped Hisaigo with Crystal and Naomi, and wasn't seen until the group's battle with a Hisaigo-controlled Shunsui. He counters Shunsui with a new Hadou spell, knocking him unconscious. After this, he takes Crystal and with Naomi travels to face Hisaigo. When facing Hisaigo, he and his companions release bankai simultaneously, and he is enraged when Hisaigo takes Naomi out during releasing.
He lashes out at Hisaigo, but doesn't even touch him, before being blasted into the wall, eventually unconscious after witnessing Crystal's quick defeat. Raven was then healed after Hisaigo's defeat, and was there when Crystal summarised the meeting that those present had missed. He is also present when Usaitar reappears, and expresses shock at Usaitar's apparent revival.
===Hunt For The Eyes Of The Dragons Arc===
Raven leaves with Byakuya, Renji, Izuru and Tetsuzaemon to back up Ketu as he searches for his first Eye in Venice, Italy. He snidely insults Ketu as he describes his past, and later is shown to be irritated with him. Raven masks his reaction as Circe Marreina appears and heavily wounds Izuru, before facing her in combat, stating to Ketu 'Consider my debt repaid'.
During the battle, he releases shikai, and both are evenly matched. Just as Circe begins to release her resureccion, Plata Acerogarra appears and stops her. His presence freezes Raven to the spot in fear, and Plata insults him before leaving with Circe. Afterwards, Raven passes out and sinks into a canal, unable to swim.
He is later seen in Soul Society along with other captains, saved and healed, discussing the threat of a controlled Ratiasu. He offers to watch over her, as his shikai allows perfect stealth. When there, he advises Yachiru to take the fallen Kenpachi to Retsu Unohana to be healed, which she does. After Ratiasu deals with Toushiro, Raven attacks her, releasing his bankai.
It is later seen that whilst he has only cut her shoulder, Ratiasu has nearly killed him. He falls unconscious and is later presumably healed.
===The Angels' Final Fall Arc===
Raven later leaves for Hueco Mundo with the others, and he, Crystal and Naomi split up with them, going down a corridor. Eventually, they meet Plata Acerogarra, and Raven remembers why he is frightened of him - he killed him when he was a human. He allows Naomi and Crystal to go ahead whilst he engages Plata in battle.
During the battle, both are taken to the extreme, Raven using bankai and Plata releasing his resureccion: Intoxicaras. Plata's abilities start to paralyse Raven and cut off his spiritual power, and so Raven draws upon a form he only used once before, from when he watched over the Gates of Hell, whose spiritual energies allowed a transformation. With his new demonic form, he uses his bankai's final ability in an attempt to delete Plata from existence, but is halted when Plata uses his 'Spike Cannonball' technique. In a last-ditch attempt at victory, Raven impales himself on a spike and forces himself down it to land the final feather on Plata, finishing his bankai ability.
As Plata starts to be deleted, Raven brings forth the Gates of Hell. As time flows slower in Hell, Raven theorizes that Plata will be tortured forever, and will slowly be deleted during his torture, increasing the pain value on Plata's judgement. After that, Raven faints from blood loss.
===True Strength Arc===
Raven isn't seen then until after the Usaitar Incident, passing by Ketu, Ratiasu and their daughter Terri. He awkwardly accepts Ketu and then leaves, with Crystal following behind. Ketu and Ratiasu are bewildered at this, and then joke about it.
===Academy Massacre Arc===
Raven is first seen ordering Zeo to make a new zanpakuto for himself, using the last of the famed 'tenshi steel', in the same way he, Crystal and Naomi formed their zanpakuto. He then gets a message for a meeting, and leaves with Izuru. When arriving, he talks with his sister and Crystal, before lining up as Kiyomi enters.
Afterwards, he almost audibly congratulates Juushirou on being a captain again, then returns to Squad 3 for more training. It is later shown that he is practicing swordsmanship, the way Squad 11 do, with Izuru, explaining to him the importance of a well-rounded offense. He then asks Izuru to find Zeo as they rest, and when he can't, they continue training.
He later appears at the emergency meeting, shocked that the academy was destroyed. He instantly understands the situation when an arrancar was said to have been the culprit, and defends Zeo, but is overruled. However, Byakuya advises for Zeo to only be watched closely, which Raven is thankful for. He then notices Soifon's reaction to the situation as they left.
When Soifon attacks Zeo, Raven comes out of nowhere to help him, therefore meeting her in combat. In their battle, they both want each other to see their respective views, but neither listens, and the battle continues. Using shikai and Shinsou, whilst Soifon uses shikai and Shunkou, they are evenly matched. Raven also unveils a new technique: Kageyaiba, which he perfected during his last 20 years of training.
Remembering older times, and how they used to wonder who would win in a battle between them, Raven uses bankai, enjoying the fight. Just as he starts to place feathers on Soifon, Crystal and Naomi interrupt, halting the battle and bringing them both to their senses. He is then taken to Squad 1 where another meeting is held.
He doesn't seem to be surprised when Sajin reappears, and quickly votes for him to be a captain again. He then is shocked to hear that more inter-captain fighting had occurred. When Soifon apologises, Raven slyly states that it was the best fight he had had in a while.
Raven later goes to see Shunsui with Crystal about old Kyouraku texts, to see if they can research the 'Ken' Maya had referred to. Before that, they visit Squad 2 to relay a message, and he and Soifon still appear awkward around each other. They later relay the information they find, and discuss means of battling Kenji, when Kenji himself appears in person.
===Soul Society Invasion Arc===
When Kenji's troops arrive, Raven quickly travels to the North Gate, with Crystal, Naomi, Izuru and Zeo, and gets irritated with Crystal's joking attitude to the situation. When they arrive, they meet Kaede Yokoshima, who flirts with Raven, much to his and Crystal's annoyance.
As Zeo and Izuru start to battle her, Raven picks up on Kaede's varying battle-styles and personalities, and figures out she is a vizard instantly. Raven and Crystal then fight her, and during the battle Kaede releases her zanpakuto, showing Rei, her twin sister, to them both. Both Raven and Crystal release shikai, but their opponents use their 'Resonance Wave', focing them to use bankai. Eventually, their battle ends in a draw for all four, but only Raven and Crystal are injured, Kaede and Rei retreating.
They are later found by Naomi under rubble, and then later healed in Squad 4. Raven then shares a tender moment with Crystal as they discuss their loss. They later appear at another emergency meeting, in which Raven voices his opinion on Kenji's strategy, resulting in the others realising he is correct.
He later appears at Squad 4, ready to take the soon-to-be-discharged Zeo and Izuru back to Squad 3. There, he reassures Retsu to let Ikkaku and Yumichika go, and then berates Zeo when he feels depressed. He is later seen training Zeo with Izuru, and finally gets Zeo to find out his zanpakuto's name.
He later asks to be Kaede and Rei's opponent for the scheduled battle, Kiyomi accepting. Raven denies Naomi or Crystal's help, leaving Crystal in particular angry at him. Raven arrives at the fight alone, and starts to battle them both. When backed up and pinned against a cliff, with an 'Otonami - Dosuu 100%' burning into his chest, he reveals he had hid Izuru and Zeo on his way, and they appear to save him.
Raven then reveals his newest kidou: Bakudou 93 - Kurorouka, to separate Rei from Kaede, enabling he, Izuru and Zeo to defeat them. However, Rei tells Kaede to use bankai, to counteract Raven's, and she destroys the Kurorouka, freeing her. When Zeo releases his own shikai, Kaede and Rei retreat, afraid of the death it can bring. Raven is then taken to Squad 4 to be healed.
The day after, Crystal visits him, and shows concern, which Raven brushes off, annoyed that someone saw him in a weakened state. He is later at the meeting awaiting Kenji's instructions, and was calm around the anger building in other captains. He is later seen training with his squad and Crystal's squad, and Naomi, when Soifon arrives to train with them.
He later goes to help against Kenji's assault, even in his condition, but Crystal tries to stop him. He ignores her however, and flash-steps to the battleground. There, he intercepts Kenji, releasing his bankai and attacking him with other captains. He then attempts to send him to Hell, however, Kenji's hollow then destroys the Gates, damaging Raven, and absorbs the powers of Hell.
===Preparing For War Arc===
His is first seen in this arc in Toushiro's hospital room with Kenpachi, Byakuya and Toushiro himself, waiting for Kiyomi. He originally expresses irritation on having been asked to train Terri, but eventually concedes.
Raven then takes Terri's second training session of 2 weeks. He sends Izuru out to fetch her from Kenpachi, as he knew Kenpachi would get lost in Soul Society. At first, Raven attacks Terri both physically and mentally, throwing insults at her about the recently-deceased Hiroshi. He even uses his bankai's ability on Terri, in order to drive her to success quicker. These are all merely tests, however, to see if she is strong enough. At the end of the 2 weeks, Terri finally gains Raven's respect by fusing her shikai abilities flawlessly.
He then gives Terri over to Byakuya's care, asking for him to teach her certain kidou that he uses personally, but is turned down by Byakuya. He then later appears to watch Terri's Kurohitsugi attempt, and tells Byakuya he owes him a training dummy when Terri destroys it.
===War With Kenji Arc===
Raven appears in the meeting awaiting Kenji's order of war, and is the one who ordered Zeo to prepare a garganta for them to travel through in advance. Instead of going through it, like the others, Raven and Crystal stay behind to look over things. Whilst there, they find Kaede and Rei murdering numerous soul reapers, and then follow them through a garganta as they escape.
They arrive in a stone, circular room, and face off against Kaede and Rei one last time. The vizards having now killed in revenge, Raven shows no mercy in the battle. Both parties show themselves to be evenly-matched, even when both release their bankais. However, Raven's plan comes into effect, and when Crystal's 'Shiro Taiyou Kiyome' is shot at Rei, Kaede blocks for her. In despair as her sister dissolves into light, Rei asks tearily to be killed too, which Raven solemnly accepts.
Later, both Raven and Crystal are seen running around Kenji's palace, looking for him, but are caught in the wave from his bankai, becoming comatose. Raven is later brought back with everyone else when Terri defeats Kenichi Ito. He is later seen irritated as his lieutenant and sister, along with lieutenants from Squads 6, 9 and 10, appear drunk just before a meeting. He is lastly seen present in the said meeting, as Terri is promoted to Seat 3 in Squad 8.
==Powers & Abilities==
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Raven is capable of masterful feats of swordsmanship, usually performed with little effort. This is most likely from his time in Squad 11, training under Kenpachi Zaraki, and from his time training with Shunsui and Juushirou.
Flash-Step Expert: Knowing that his zanpakuto's release form is large and hard to use in close-combat, Raven has trained in flash-steps to lower the amount of openings he creates. He is good enough to be able to keep up with Crystal, who is a master at the art.
Kidou Expert: Raven, like most other shinigami, has a skill in kidou, but Raven has several kidou spells that he alone is skilled at, mainly because it uses shadow spiritual energy, which he possesses. He is able to use a level 93 Bakudou spell with no incantation, as well as high level hadou spells with no incantations. He has also developed a special kidou based around his swordsmanship, called Kageyaiba (Shadow Blade). With this, he can change his blade into shadow kidou when making contact with a solid surface, only to appear on another solid surface elsewhere, with the same force coming out as he swung his weapon with. This ability is usually used with Shinsou, which has an unlimited amount of power in shikai.
Enhanced Strength: Like most upper-tier shinigami, Raven has a considerable amount of strength, likely through the tough training he endured with Kenpachi Zaraki when under his captaincy.
High Intellect: Raven is especially good at planning in an instant, and usually these plans work flawlessly. He can pick up on opponents' weak spots instantly, and can see openings in attacks after just one look. He can also accurately predict his opponent's reactions to certain situations, almost to the point where it appears he has foreseen their reactions. Using these abilities, he defeated Kaede and Rei Yokoshima in Hueco Mundo after many of his pre-planned ideas were scrapped, using another plan of the hundreds he had formulated.
Demonic Form: A demonic form acquired when the spiritual energies of the Gates of Hell altered his spiritual pressure slightly. This form temporarily increases his strength, speed, stamina and intellect to superhuman levels.
Calling Hell: As the former watcher of Hell, Raven can bring forth the Gates of Hell to contain someone just by concentrating. During this, his eyes turn white and he needs full focus. He and the gates are linked physically, so if the Gates are damaged, he feels the pain and shows damage, and vice-versa.
High Spiritual Energy: Being a captain in the Gotei 13, Raven boasts an immense spiritual energy level. This is further augmented by his demonic form, to impossible levels for a short amount of time. It has been shown that his spiritual pressure can make people freeze in fear, and eventually black out.
===Zanpakuto===
Kujotenshi (Destruction Angel): Raven's zanpakuto has a black sheath, a black hilt and a black, wing-shaped guard.
* Shikai: It is triggered by the command Delete.
Shikai Special Ability: It transforms itself into a large, black scythe, which Raven wields especially well. In shikai, Kujotenshi allows Raven to completely hide his spiritual pressure, allowing a perfect stealth for undercover missions. It also allows him to fire black kidou blades from the scythe blade for long-range attacks. A fully charged version, Kurotsuki Yaibahana (Black Moon Blade Edge), is a vastly more powerful version of the kidou blade.
* Bankai: Kurohane Kujotenshi (Black Wing Destruction Angel): lengthens the scythe out even more, produces black wings of energy from his back, and darkens the sky in the local area.
Bankai Special Ability: It has many special abilities, such as:
* It originally formed five feathers on the end of the staff, but eventually developed to have the staff hold an unlimited supply attached to kunai. These feathers are made of Raven's spiritual energy, condensed into a solid form. If Raven gets five feathers on an opponent, they create a 'spiritual energy focus point' and delete that person from existence. Raven doesn't know where they go, just that they don't die nor do they get transported to a different dimension.
* It can also still fire the black kidou blades, but they are at a higher power. It can also still hide Raven's spiritual energy.
* Every time Raven's blade touches a non-organic material, it gains power based on around 1/3 of it's current power, becoming a cumulative effect. When Raven chooses, he can release all the power back out of the blade when it makes contact with the opponent or the opponent's blade, but that means resetting the power to normal.
* The special attack Kurotsuki Shinkuuyaiba (Black Moon Vacuum Blade) fires many of the kunai off in a sphere around Raven, followed by a wave of black kidou following them, allowing them to be powered up in mid-flight into opponents at every angle. This highly increases the possibility of deletion.
Shinsou (Divine Spear): Raven acquired Shinsou from Gin Ichimaru after defeating him in the Fake Karakura Arc, and since then has used it sparingly in battle. When used, however, he uses it well. It looks like a ordinary wakizashi. The hilt is light-blue with a tsuba made of two slim swirls of metal looping around the blade to make an open oval, resembling an "S".
* Shikai: It is triggered by the phrase Shoot 'em Dead.
Shikai Special Ability: In its shikai, Shinsou's blade glows white and extends at high speed to impale Raven's opponents from a distance. The blade also carries tremendous force when extending, which is usually used in tandem with the previously mentioned 'Kageyaiba' ability. In addition, Raven can maintain the extension and swing the activated Shinsou in wide arcs, attacking multiple targets quickly and simultaneously.
==Major Battles==
* v Gin Ichimaru (unseen)
* v Usaitar
* v Usaitar
* w/Naomi and Crystal v Hisaigo
* v Circe Marreina
* v Ratiasu
* v Plata Acerogarra
* v Soifon
* w/Crystal v Kaede and Rei Yokoshima
* w/Izuru and Zeo v Kaede and Rei
* w/Byakuya, Renji, Rukia, Crystal and Kiyomi v Kenji
* w/Crystal v Kaede and Rei
==Trivia==
* Despite having an instant-kill ability, no-one has ever actually been shown being deleted by it. Plata started to, but was sent to Hell, where he was deleted 'off-screen', so to speak.
* Raven has been part of the most Squads in his tenure as a shinigami - 6 in total: Squads 5, 11, 13, 8, 6 and 3, chronologically.
* Elemental Hero Raeven has jokingly referred to Raven as 'the embodiment of his dark side', whilst Crystal is 'the embodiment of his nice side', and Naomi is his 'fair and just conscience'.
==Quotes==
*(To Ketu): "Consider my debt repaid."
*(To Terri): "You pass, Zakura. That last attack was a pure fusion of two shikai abilities. It was a sight for the ages, a true execution of multiple weapons in battle."
*(When Kenji destroyed the Gates of Hell): "...Everything is released..."
*(To Izuru about Kaede and Rei's retreat): "Those who fight for revenge will refuse to die until they get revenge. Certain death is not what they are willing to chance."
Ruhodesu, Raven
Ruhodesu, Raven
Ruhodesu, Raven
Category:Fan Fiction