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Fuuchouin-ryuuEdit

Kazuki uses white koto strings (in the manga's English translation, they were described as harp strings) in battle;it is used to affect a persons facial feature and is very very sharp and can even tear up solid earth, bones, skin, muscles and sometimes steel based on the vibrations of the finger; the strings also have other uses such as listening in on distant conversations. The Fuuchouin String Arts is regarded as one of the most versatile fighting techniques in the Infinity Fortress as it comprises attack and defense using the same weapon. Because of these skills, he is often called "Ito no Kazuki" (絃の花月 Kazuki of the Strings), an epithet which, albeit sounding harmless enough, is one of the most feared names of the Infinite Fortress. The strings are stored in two bells tied to the front right strand of his hair to ease manipulation (most of the time, Kazuki is portrayed as a dominantly left-handed person, as he wields the bells among his left fingers and manipulate them with his right—a task usually linked with the less dominant hand. However, in his battle against Saizou, he displays some dexterity with his right hand). Ayamine Rando once joked that Kazuki's strings come from the fourth dimension (referring to Doraemon; Kazuki's bells are resemblant to that of the blue cat robot).

Though his fighting skills are far above average, Ban often discredits them. Also, it can be noted that he often ends up badly hurt even if he wins a fight. Sometimes, he even loses them as well. (To be fair to him, Ban often gets whacked up too before he wins a fight.) To emphasize his "mid-tier" status, even as he was berserking as the Prince of Fear, Shido Fuyuki was able to stop him easily by grabbing his arm firmly without using any special powers. Indeed, Yohan mentioned to the Voodoo King that perhaps the Beastmaster would be an even greater threat than Kazuki. However, this is mainly because of the influence of Shido's Chimera, a relic of the Maryuudo and one of the three keys to Babylon. During the IL arc, Kazuki describes his art as derivations from natural phenomena, particularly those connected to water such as mists and rains. This is why many of the techniques are named after such phenomena, for example 'Torrent' and 'Misty Rain'. Kazuki's greatest technique, the 'Empty Moon', uses super-fast strings to shut his enemy, creating a vacuum which will be opened later, much like the lunar phases, forcing the air from outside to slash his opponent. This technique was used on Saizou Toufuuin, an ex-Fuuga member who supposedly betrayed him but was actually protecting him from Youhan's purges. However in the Divine Design arc, when Uryuu orders Kazuki (under his alter ego as Orpheus) to use his strongest attack on Juubei, Kazuki launches the 'Comet', a technique where Kazuki shots uncounted strings towards his opponent from above, much like the celestial phenomenon itself.

The arts can be described as integration of the feminine movements with surprising amount of power. Juubei had described Kazuki's battle movements as an intricate dance: as such most of the ancient martial arts described in the Getbackers series had been described as such, particularly those of Kakei Juubei and Toshiki Uryuu. Accounts vary as to how many years the practitioners of the Fuuchouin had to wear the female kimono in order to obtain the necessary grace to execute the techniques: in the Hot Spring Rest arc, Kazuki stated a period of 15 years, while in the Get Back The Lost Time arc, the period was 12 years. It is also not evident whether this practice apply to every practitioner of the arts or only to certain talented individuals, or even only restricted to those of the main line of the Fuuchouin itself. On the other hand, the Higashi-Fuuchouin and the Kokuchouin clearly did not practice this tradition. Amongst the feminine arts practiced (at least by Kazuki) were dancing and the playing of the koto, long regarded as a feminine musical instrument in traditional Japan.

The reason for Kazuki's strings' unnatural strength is the amount of vibration applied on them by Kazuki's fingers. Though it is hard to imagine how to make the countless strings vibrate whilst performing the intricate techniques, Kazuki seems to be able to do so naturally (One theory is that he focuses his "qi" through his strings. Indeed, he could often be seen concentrating before unleashing his moves. If so, Juubei's notion that 'the Fuuchouin and the Kakei are derived from the same style, which, if combined, will have enormous power' is true, as the Kakei-ryuu is often shown as a 'qi' manipulation technique). This vibration technique must be particularly potent as Kazuki's string shields can protect him from virtually any physical attack, as was shown when he protected Ginji and Kuroudo from Semimaru Kanade, the most powerful of the Kiryuudo 7, in the 'Get Back the Eternal Bond' arc, and even explosions, as was shown when he, Shido and Ren were caught off-guard by Masaki Kurusu in the latest arc. However, it has been shown that this shield can be broken by sufficient strength, or completely by-passed (by Masaki's "light", for example).

Among the Fuuchouin-ryuu techniques commonly used by Kazuki are:

Rain Showers or Rain Spears (multitude of strings falling on an assailant whenever the subject moves. Used on Kakei Juubei, Toshiki Uryuu, and Saizou Toufuuin), This seems to be Kazuki's signature attack as it is the most commonly used. In retrospect, however, the effect of this technique is trivial compared to other styles.

Misty Rain (a technique in which the strings seem to disappear only to attack the assailant from an unexpected direction. Kazuki explained that the technique resembles a wet man trapped in a mist; allowing no chance whatsoever of escaping. Used as the final coup de grâce against Juubei in IL arc)

Jade Shield (strings emanating from the bell in Kazuki's hand form an inverted triangle. Used for frontal attack. Has been compared to the Santen Kesshun technique of Orihime Inoue)

Cursed Binds (to paralyze enemies. Said to cut enemies into seven pieces if he or she moves. Also used by Saizou Toufuuin to bind Emishi Haruki)

Book of Defense 15:3 - String Cocoon (strings surround Kazuki and anyone else and protect him (them) from any attack. Used against Semimaru Kanade).

Apparently, the strings can also be manipulated to resemble actual weapons, i.e. spears, axes; this technique, which remains unnamed, is almost exclusively used by the Ura-Fuuchouin initiates, most evidently bu Yuri Kokuchouin. However, during Kazuki's duel against Saizou, he manipulates his strings to form giant balls from which any strand (effectively resembling a rocket) can escape and attack his assailant. Another Ura-Fuuchouin technique involves using strings to change the external appearance of oneself. Extensively used by Maiya Kokuchouin and, to a lesser degree of virtuosity, Akame of the Mugenjou, the technique is said to originate from the Nishi-Fuuchouin. Maiya is also able to wrought string puppets of herself. By using the Infinity Fortress dimensional rift, she is able to hide in another dimension and subsequently used the self-regenerating puppets to attack her enemies to death. Due to this she is counted stronger than her berserker brother Yuri. However the strongest Ura technique is credited to Yohan Kokuchouin, in which his movements alone is able to nullify the combined effects of the Flower•Bird•Wind•Moon. His ultimate, using string projectiles in shape of origami cranes, is able to render explosions and is almost impossible to evade due to the sheer number of the cranes.

An unnamed technique involves constructing a wall of strings around a person or a group of persons, effectively restricting the movement of the targets. Probably derived from the Cursed Binds, the seemingly basic technique can even stop the Getbackers' progress when used by Saizou to impend their progress at the end of the Queen's Cup Challenge arc.

Unique techniques (shown only once, usually include a series of number to imply the technique's sequence in the Fuuchouin-ryuu) include:

Dance of the Red Sparrow (used against Saizou during the duel of their youth. Kazuki runs towards the enemy, with strings surrounding his person. Unknown effect. Equivalent to Higashi Fuuchouin-ryuu technique Dance of the Green Dragon).

Coffin (used against Hevn during the Divine Design arc, under his alter ego Orpheus)

Comet (used against Juubei during the Divine Design arc)

String Shield (three mere strings which can stop a heavy demolition ball swinging at full force. Used against the Ura follower in the bar)

Bee~Snow~Moon (binding technique to render massive damage to nervous system, completely paralyzing the enemy permanently if not undone immediately. The name implies a bee in early winter dying from the cold, much like the victims of this gruesome technique. Used against the Ura follower in the bar)

Phoenix (used against Youhan. A mysterious technique that Kazuki was not supposed to know, it seems to belong to the feminine branch of the Fuuchouin technique, as it was passed only by those who married 'into' the Fuuchouin clan, as opposed to actually being one)

There are also a few healing techniques in the Fuuchouin-ryuu, but most concern the effects of the Black Strings. Among them are:

Unbinding (A musical string used to undo the Black Seal of the Kokuchouin)

Waterfall (to heal the souls of those trapped in the Black Cocoon. Used against Maiya and Yuuri).

There is also a separate technique used by the Fuuchouin 13 Strings, the bodyguards of the Fuuchouin patriarch. The technique revolves around plurality, in the sense that the strings used are controlled by many people at once, giving extra strength and flexibility. One of the techniques used against Juubei was Flower-Viewing, in which multitudes of strings were bound around the body of the victim, supposedly suffocating him or her to death: effectively the Coffin technique handled by 13 individuals.

It has been revealed during Kazuki's duel against Youhan that the ultimate technique of the Fuuchouin-ryuu is #99, the Flower•Bird•Wind•Moon. The technique is actually composed of four separate fighting techniques derived from natural phenomenon connected with the name. The techniques are:

Flower Dances (like falling flowers having no axis, strings will fall on the victim from unexpected directions)

Hurricane (strings will spin to create sharp currents to slash the assailant)

Bird of Thunder (resembles 'Comet')

Empty Moon

It is originally thought that the essence of the ultimate technique lies in 'Moon'; thus the strongest Fuuchouin-ryuu technique would be the 'Empty Moon'. However Kazuki's mother remarked that the true essence lies in 'Bird'—which is beautiful like the flowers, moves fast like the wind and can fly high like the moon—and it was to this assumption that the 'Phoenix' technique was derived from. The technique itself was called 'Fuuchouin-ryuu, side chapter', remarking its incandescent position as a technique unknown even to the patriarch of the Fuuchouin clan.

In the anime, Kazuki's true strength is never shown, (or rather downtoned, for the sake of the children in the audience) albeit it seems that a lot of people fear him, or at least heard of his (notorious) prowess as VOLTS' "Ito no Kazuki". In the manga, the true essence of his battle potential (or rather, the strength of the Fuuchouin-ryuu) is regularly shown, in order to give contrast to his gentle demeanour. For instance, Kazuki can rip away arms and legs, bind people to the point of losing the nervous system, sew people's eyes and mouths for showing disrespect before him and put people under 'cursed binding strings' (note: not black strings) which cut people into seven pieces if they are to move a muscle. Kazuki is one of the fighters which earned the respect of the Kiryuudo 7, and remarked as 'able to fight one against hundred' Kiryuudo warriors, which are far stronger than human. In 'Get Back the Lost Time', when Kazuki totally lost self-control in his 'Stigma'-induced Prince of Fear mode, he is shown smiling gleefully amidst bloody Ura fighters, many of which are already decapitated by his strings, with blood spattered on his face. Before that, during the 'Oath' Rest arc, he spends a few sleepless days pursuing people connected to the Ura and killing them mercilessly in the backstreets of Urashinjuku, as revenge for the taking of Juubei, Uryuu and Sakura. In the final arc, he is depicted as able to destroy a large section of the Beltline simply with the effects of his duel against Saizou.

Red StringEdit

Aside from the usual white strings, Kazuki also uses a special string, the Red String. In the Divine Design arc, when Kazuki's soul was trapped by Uryuu, the Red String flew from his side to Juubei so that Juubei knew that Kazuki was in grave danger. In an intense moment it is revealed that the Red String is a symbol of an oath between Kazuki and Juubei, apparently made after the massacre of the Fuuchouin clan, that whenever Kazuki 'strays' (as is shown when he is under the Divine Design spell), Juubei is to kill him to save others from Kazuki's purges. Juubei, however, does not kill Kazuki in the moment but let his blood, derived when he received the 'Comet' from Kazuki, reddens Kazuki's white strings so that the illusion of 'red' strings will remind Kazuki of their oath and release his ensnared soul from the Divine Design world. In the manga, Kazuki also used the Red String to summon Saizou Toufuuin, another member of the Fuuchouin String School, to him when the Fuuga team was assembling to get ready for the tournament in the Voodoo Child arc.

In Japanese culture, the "red thread" has a symbolic meaning comparable to the ideology of "soul-mates" in Western culture. The fact that Kazuki's Red String represents his oath with Juubei had been taken by fans of the series to imply a romantic relationship.

Picture 1

Kazuki's Stigma

StigmaEdit

Kazuki has a Stigma in his left eye and when he reveals it, his fighting strength increases drastically. He obtained it after dwelling in the Beltline