Kawakami Kiichi

Created by Toby, despairforme.tumblr.com

*❝ Keep your heart steady - and follow the light! ❞*

Kiichi is a Shinigami who serves in the 11th Division, under Zaraki Kenpachi. He does not hold a seated position.

## Appearance

Kiichi has narrow, diamond shaped eyes. The right one is grey and the left one is golden. He has long, black eyelashes and tiny green eyebrows. His nose is long and pointy, and his teeth sharp. His hair is bright parakeet and shamrock green. It’s very messy and fluffy and chopped at different lengths. He wears a long braid on the right side of his head, that reaches down to his chest. On his left side he wears three small braids right over his ear, and two lager braids that reach to his collarbone. His hair is very soft and will move around a lot when it’s windy. All his braids are secured by a golden bead. Both his ears are pierced, and he wears one golden earring on each ear. His right ear is heavily scarred and deformed. He is a tall, lanky man, standing at nearly 6’6 ( 198 cm). He wears a short sleeved Shinigami uniform, and his Zanpakuto rests on his left side.

## Personality

It’s not easy to take Kiichi seriously. He appears to be a very cheerful, carefree and friendly person. He will laugh in pretty much any sort of setting. People truly believe that these are his true colors, but the truth is that Kiichi is unable to laugh properly. He has forced himself to laugh throughout his life, up until the point where his true laugh and true humor has been forgotten. Now, he will laugh at most things, and especially his superiors find this to be disrespectful. It also makes it seem like he is mocking people. He simply can’t stop himself from bursting out in his not-even-real laughter at the most awkward of times. Kiichi has an intense drive to make others laugh, and will often result to jokes or pranks to do this. Because his laugh is somewhat obnoxious, he can come off as annoying, or even frightening.

There is one thing that he thinks is genuinely fun - and that is fighting. It is why he always wanted to be in the 11th division. When he’s fighting someone, he feels like he is doing something for himself, and not for others. However, even in battle he is not really able to be true to himself, since he flat out refuses to use his Shikai.

Kiichi is a lost soul. Which is ironic considering the powers his Zanpakuto holds. He struggles to connect to others on a deep level and he has a deep loneliness inside him. He is certain that the only reason why he has companions is because he’s part of a division now. They are his comrades - not his friends. He never allows himself to feel negative emotions, always cutting them off with laughter. Kiichi is a rather physical person, because he feels more connected to others when he’s touching them. Since he is pretty much seen as a “walking joke”, he has a hidden deep desire for recognition, and especially of his fighting abilities.

## History

##### Past

Kiichi died in the human world as a child. He had been suffering from an illness for the better half of a year, and his parents knew he was not going to make it. Both before and during his illness, Kiichi was full of humor. He was always joking and making his parents laugh. He didn’t know how serious his illness was. One night he overheard his parents talking and it became clear to him that he was going to die. He got frightened and almost lost his sense of humor. His mother tried to give him back his courage by telling him stories about the ‘ afterlife ‘. She told him a made-up story ( though she made him think it was real ) about how dying was just leaving this world and going to a different one. When he told her he didn’t want to go alone to a place where he didn’t know anyone, she told him that it was going to be okay. Everyone was going to be kind to him and love him. How could they not? He spread so much joy. He made everyone laugh, and they were going to love him for it! “The next world needs someone to make them laugh, so be a good boy and help them laugh, won’t you?” Kiichi cheered up and promised his mother that he would do his best. Shortly afterwards, Kiichi passed.

He was sent to Soul Society, and arrived without any memory of his previous life. Except for one thing. A deep feeling that everything was going to be okay, as long as he made people laugh. He was all alone in a strange place, but he would do his best! Kiichi grew up in East Rukongai, district 71. It was not a friendly place. He tried his best to be friendly and funny, but there was no place for something like that. “You think this is a joke!?” , “This is no laughing matter!” , “What the hell are you laughing at?!” were the reactions he was met with. He didn’t understand why everyone was so mean and ill-tempered. He wasn’t able to connect with anyone, since everyone lived a tough life and didn’t think laughing and joking were part of that life. Kiichi wondered if maybe he had been wrong about what he needed to do. He didn’t know that it was the promise he had made to his mother that was engraved in his soul. All he knew was a feeling that if he stopped with the laughter - he would lose part of his soul. He couldn’t allow that to happen! There were consequences of this. It meant he couldn’t fit in, so he lived a solitary life, more or less. He stole water when he needed to ( sometimes he would “pay” by writing down a joke and leaving it behind ). Eventually he was chased away by a whole mob of people who had had enough with the “creepy, laughing goblin”. He ran away, scared for his life, and ended up in a forest. He was a young teen by now, and for a while, he had felt the need to eat. His reiatsu had grown. He lived in the woods, more or less like an animal ( or a bird? ). He ate what he could find. When someone traveled through the woods, he would sneakily steal their belongings or food. In a tall tree he had his “nest” where he kept everything he had stolen. He was laughing to himself about the smallest of things. A funny shaped rock, or the awkward call of a bird. Why? Because “You can’t be sad when you’re laughing”. He was incredibly lonely. One day he was caught while stealing. The men he tried to steal from did not go easy on him, and after they beat him, he was laying half-dead on the forest floor. He didn’t have the strength to move a single muscle. Even when rats and mice came to eat his body, he wasn’t able to move. This was how he lost part of his right ear - it was eaten by mice. He lay there waiting to die while being eaten alive, and then a silhouette appeared above him.

A tall, lanky person. He was wearing raggedy grey and brown clothes, and a black cloak with a hood that covered his face. In his right hand, he was holding a lantern that he was playfully swinging back and forth. Even if Kiichi couldn’t see his face, he knew the young man was smiling. “My name is Numachi,” the man said in a surprisingly deep, soothing voice, “come with me, and I will light the path for you.” This was when Kiichi met his Zanpakuto, Numachi. Numachi helped him to his feet, filling him with his reiatsu to help him heal his wounds.

Numachi explained to him that he was his Zanpakuto, and that he would take the form of a blade, and that he would stay with him. After this brief interaction, Numachi went out of his humanoid form and formed a Zanpakuto blade. Numachi became an invaluable companion for Kiichi, though he never took humanoid form again. He finally had someone to talk to. Someone who he got along with surprisingly well. Numachi was a lot like himself, though more devious. It was through one of his talks with Numachi that Kiichi was brought onto the idea of becoming a Shinigami.

“I just want companions.” Kiichi had sighed, feeling lonely with only his blade to talk to. Numachi had told him that nobody here was ever going to want to be friends with him. He was too weird. Kiichi had felt sad at that comment. Then Numachi had told him that there was a way for him to get companions that would have no choice but to be around him. He had then told him about joining the Gotei 13. It would give him lots of comrades. Kiichi had lit up and gotten excited. Surely, if people just got to know him, they would like him! And so, he set off to become a Shinigami.

##### Shin'ō Academy

He was accepted into Shinigami Academy. Passing the entrance exam proved to be no problem for him. He hadn’t had any preconceived notions about how well he would do once he got into the academy, and it was a surprise to him ( and to everyone else, who didn’t think he looked like much of a talent ) that he was skilled. He was immediately placed into the First Class. He was afraid that once again, he would find himself in company where he didn’t fit. After all, was he really a ‘ first class ‘ student? He was pleasantly surprised. His classmates were friendly. They came from all sorts of backgrounds and were all eager to learn. Finally, he could make friends! Kiichi felt like he was on the right track.

During his time at the academy, something began to awaken within him that he hadn’t experienced before. Seeing his strength and skill be valued, and feeling like he was more than just some joke was really feeding his ego. It was a good feeling! This made him work harder and harder to improve himself. It turned out he had a special talent for hand-to-hand combat, and he really enjoyed just pure fighting. Then, he awakened his Shikai.

Everyone had been saying that he would be perfect for the 11th division, with his eagerness and his skill in swordsmanship. Then, it turned out that his Zanpakuto was Kido-based. Everyone knew that there was an unspoken rule that Kido-based Zanpaku had no place in the 11th division. The very first time Kiichi fought using his shikai was during training. He released his sword, and his classmate and friend was the first one to feel the reality of what Numachi’s shikai could do. The classmate ended up having a complete mental breakdown, and barely managed to mentally recover. This was how Kiichi was made aware of how careful he had to be when using his shikai. Rumors about his Zanpakuto and how ‘ cowardly ‘ it was spread around, and Kiichi found that people he had seen as his friends were starting to distance themselves from him. He decided he would not use his shikai at all if it had done this much damage, so most of his focus was put into perfecting his swordsmanship. He tried to keep his friendships, but people treated him differently than before, and no matter how much he tried, people preferred to keep their distance. Like he couldn't be trusted.

He stayed at the academy for the full six years, graduating with marks that could’ve been better, had he spent more time practicing his shikai. He still wanted to join the 11th division, but didn’t want to go to a place where he wouldn’t fit in. He applied for the 5th division, and was accepted to serve under Aizen Sosuke. He grew comfortable in his division, and he was encouraged by his fellow division members to use his Shikai more in battle - but he always refused. He became a great admirer or Aizen Sosuke, and wished to impress him.

##### Gotei 13

For 20 years, Kiichi was in the 5th division, up until right after Aizen’s betrayal. Kiichi felt totally devastated about his Captain’s betrayal, and it was a wake-up call to him. He had been too naive, thinking that he could just fit in and trust people here. He felt like he hadn’t followed the true path he should’ve taken - the one he had wanted to take. So, despite the fact that his Zanpakuto didn’t meet the requirements, knowing that he would not be accepted... Kiichi transferred to the 11th division. He wanted to be true to himself. True to his wishes. This is where he now serves, under Zaraki Kenpachi. Kiichi holds no official seat, but it’s not because he’s lacking in skill, but simply because every time the subject of promoting him is brought up, he starts laughing.

## Powers & Abilities

##### Zanpakuto

Kiichi’s Zanpakuto, “Numachi” ( marshland, mire ), is released with the call “Michi O Terasu” ( light the path ) has the ability to change the very core of a person’s heart. The base of their soul. Numachi finds the base emotion in a person’s soul, and switches this out for the opposite. This triggers a domino effect. What a person loves - they won’t love anymore. What a person’s fighting for - they won’t want to fight for anymore. What they believe in? They won’t believe in it anymore. Basically, a person will become the opposite of whatever they used to be.

A person who is confident in their abilities will lose that confidence, and be filled with the feeling that they are going to lose the battle. This will affect the way they fight.

A person who has no confidence in their abilities, will suddenly be filled with confidence. This will make them overestimate their own strength, and affect the way they fight.

A joyful person becomes sad, a sad person becomes joyful. A person filled with hatred will become filled with love. A kind person will become cruel. A cruel person will become kind.

Each time one meets Kiichi’s Zanpakuto, whether it is by direct hit or blade-against-blade, whatever emotions Numachi is installing in its opponent will get stronger, and it will sink deeper into the core of the person’s personality. They will begin to wonder who they really are, and be too distracted to perform at their best during the battle. The new emotions created aren’t permanent, and usually disappears once the victim has gotten some time to think things through ( or a good therapy session can help ). The effect is strong against healing abilities since it’s emotional damage, and not physical. Upon receiving a cut from Numachi, the effect will be quite strong, and it takes longer to heal than the physical injury. The effect is never permanent, and works differently on different people.

The Zanpakuto spirit takes on the form of a young man/teenager in raggedy, dark brown, black and grey clothes, a black cloak and a hood, holding a lantern which he swings playfully. Numachi usually speaks in a deep, soothing voice which does not fit him at all. His Zanpakuto’s soothing voice is a part of his trickery, because he’s pretty devious. He won’t hesitate to attempt to trick and deceive Kiichi just for fun. Numachi will taunt his enemies and try to get under their skin, or he’ll lie to them and try to reassure them. He’s very shifting and it’s hard to know when he’s being serious. Numachi is somewhat sadistic, in the sense that he likes to make his victims feel horrible about themselves. He’s very manipulative and would rather hurt someone emotionally than physically. Kiichi and Numachi have a complicated relationship. Numachi is very playful in his own way, and his sense of “fun” includes tricking Kiichi as well as opponents. However, when it comes down to it, Numachi will always protect his wielder. Numachi is one of the only things Kiichi actually trusts, despite all their issues, he is the “devil he knows”, and he knows deep down that his Zanpakuto would never cause him serious damage. He believes that the only reason why Numachi treats him the way he does, is because Numachi honestly just wants to have fun - and this is how he has fun.

Sealed, the Zanpakuto has the form of a Katana. The blade itself is dark-grey, while the tsuka ( handle ) is golden. The Saya is dark grey with tiny golden engravings of lanterns.

When released, the blade changes shape. A large lantern appears right above the habaki. Three smaller lanterns also appear hanging off the end of the tsuka in a small chain. These small lanterns are the first to begin to glow. One needs to meet Kiichi’s blade three times for it to take effect. With each strike, the three tiny lanterns will begin to glow one by one. Once the third one has been lit, the larger one above the habaki will begin to glow. This means Numachi has begun to take effect on its opponent. The glow will keep increasing the more hits the blade takes ( or if it manages to slice its opponent ). Upon reaching a certain luminescence, the large lantern will begin to send bright glowing orbs through the blade. Hitting one of these orbs will result in a sudden change in emotions.

Kiichi hardly ever uses his Shikai in battle. One of the very first times he used it ( during training at the Academy ), his opponent had a major mental breakdown from it. Another reason why he doesn’t want to use it is because he really does want to try to fit into the 11th. His Zanpakuto’s abilities has a rumor for being “cowardly”, because it messes with a person’s heart. This is not considered honorable.

## Trivia

* Likes to be called just ‘ Ki ‘ , and he writes it: “木” ( meaning: tree. )
* He's very fond of shiny things, especially if they're golden, and he collects golden beads.
* His favorite treats are bird-seeds and kiwi fruits.