Aya Tachibana

"*To carry a blade on your person is an attempt to identify as a warrior. As a warrior you must always be ready for war. War does not wait; war does not ask permission. If you carry a weapon then it is my right to attack you. Your duty... is to use it to defend yourself.*"

**Aya Tachibana** (橘彩, *Tachibana Aya*) is the co-lieutenant of the Seventh Division alongside Genichiro Sakai, serving under Captain Takamaru Yasuhira. She is a member of the Tachibana Clan and a resident of the Tekken district. Prior to becoming a Shinigami, Aya served as an instructor of the Sagara Dojo alongisde her elder brothers.

## Appearance

Aya is a female soul taking an ordinary humanoid shape. She is of relative height to any other female seen across Seireitei. As a member of the Tachibana Clan, Aya has bright orange hair. Aya also has a darker skin tone, grey eyes, and a slender build.

During her time as an instructor of the Sagara Dojo, Aya wore a plain white gi.

## Personality

Aya is a confident, headstrong woman who above all else enjoys a good battle. Per the code of the Tekken district, it is to her belief that anyone who carries around a weapon with them should be ready for battle at any given moment; to this end she freely attacks anyone whom she sees with a weapon without any hesitation at all.

Being the only daughter of the Tachibana Clan, in which she saw herself be surrounded by younger and older brothers, growing up Aya had to adapt to their ways in order to reach greater heights. To this end she displays many tendencies that are normally attributed to boys, with many who experience her for the first time regarding her as a tomboy. Aya herself was considered to be just like another son by her father, as he did not treat her any different due to her biological makeup, bestowing upon her everything that he knew in the ways of the sword. Aya takes great pride in being an instructor at the Sagara Dojo due to this very reason, as she grew up idolizing her father; being an instructor is her way of emulating the man whom she possesses the most respect for.

She did not seem to have a very appreciative outlook of the Gotei 13 prior to joining, seeing its officers as being bothersome and unqualified. In her opinion she felt as though they did the bare minimum amount of work and wanted far greater appreciation in return. This is attributed to her own hard work ethic when it comes to furthering her prowess in swordsmanship.

## History

### SALVATION in WAR Arc

*Main article: SALVATION in WAR*
Prior to joining the Gotei 13, Aya resided in the Tekken district wherein she served as one of the instructors of the Sagara Dojo, an establishment run by her clan devoted to teaching others on the way of the sword. Aya grew up longing to be a man, with even her father referring to her as such, and was trained by him in many sword styles. She also sparred among her brothers, leading to her growing considerably skilled in swordsmanship.

Aya's great-grandfather was a man who enrolled into the Shin'ō Academy many centuries ago. Over his schooling he was lent 6 different Asauchi but he failed to imprint his soul on any of them and failed out of the institution. Due to unknown parameters he somehow managed to retain the Asauchi, keeping them in his possession and overtime passing them down the Tachibana Clan with each coming generation. Aya was one of the members to receive an Asauchi in this manner, and she succeeded in imprinting her soul upon it, thus translating it into a Zanpakutō. Furthermore, Aya in the coming years also managed to attain Shikai.

More then ten years ago, Aya was overseeing a training session of a large group of young boys and girls. She distributed Bokken to them all and allowed them to spar for a little while, then attacked them all suddenly. The class of more than a hundred students were brutally beaten down by Aya as she declared that when wielding a weapon they should never let down their guard and always anticipate an attack. The class is then interrupted when two Shinigami, Nakamoto Rakkī Shin Takara and Kiokushi Hotsuka, visit the dojo. Kiokushi and Aya butt heads immediately due to their conflicting personalities. Aya challenges Nakamoto to a battle, noting that the Lieutenant had considerable spiritual power. When she is denied she insults Nakamoto and asks him if he was scared to lose to a girl. Aya then tries to convince him to join in the tournament being held later that day, an offer which Kiokushi instead accepts.

When the tournament begins, Aya's match if the first to take place. She wins the opening round by making short work of her opponent, surprising Yamada Nakatoki, 10th Seat of the Third Division, who had recieved orders alongside Nakamoto to spectate the tournament in the hopes of locating prospects to enter into the Shin'ō Academy. As the tournament progresses, Aya sweeps through the first three rounds. Yamada then confronts Aya in the infirmatory, taking a moment to speak to her in regards to her Zanpakutō, noting that it was peculiar for anyone outside of the Gotei 13 to wield one. Aya grows agitated over Yamada's remarks and eventually leaves when her fourth match is called.

Aya's fourth battle sees her being pitted against the 18th Seat of the Eleventh Division, a man by the name of Fukushima Yasukazu. As he watches, Yamada anticipates Aya to lose due to Fukushima having the ability to relase his Zanpakutō. However, much to Yamada's surprise and amazement, Aya too unveils that she has already achieved Shikai, and uses her unique ability to swiftly defeat Fukushima.

## Powers & Abilities

**Expert Swordsman**: Aya was trained in the ways of the sword by her father and brothers ever since she was a young girl. By sparring throughout her youth and participating in many tournaments held at the Zankai Tenkaichi, Aya became an expert swordsman before entering the Shin'ō Academy, showing the ability to defeat seated members of the Gotei 13 with strict ease.

### Zanpakutō

**Koyake** (小焼け, *The Orange Sky After Sunset*): In its sealed state, Koyake takes the form of a traditional katana with a red handle and hexagon shaped crossguard. Aya normally keeps the sword sheathed on her left side, but also frequently holds it around freely in her hands to extend her reach. Six Asauchi were passed down through the Tachibana Clan, one of which Aya received. She was able to imprint her soul upon it with training, doing so long before she enrolled into the Shin'ō Academy.

* **Shikai**: Its Shikai command is "Journey to Your Content" (あなたのコンテンツへの旅, *Anata no Kontentsu no Tabi*). When activated, the sword does not change in shape. Aya achieved the ability to utilize Shikai before enrolling into the Shin'ō Academy.

**Shikai Special Ability**: Koyake has the unique ability to alter the state of the wound it has inflicted on the body of its victim, as shown when the cut that was left on Fukushima's shoulder traveled to his neck at Aya's command and then expanded in size to slit his throat. Aya further proclaims that as such, any hit Koyake inflicts is a fatal strike.

## Trivia

* Aya was created on November 27th, 2021.
* Aya's surname, "Tachibana", means "wild orange". This is a reference to the orange hair color that all members of her clan possess.
* With Aya, the author is making a strong attempt to avoid oversexualization of his female characters, a poor trend he had noticed over the years.

## Quotes

* (To her class) "*What's that? Have you fools forgotten already where you live?! To carry a blade on your person is an attempt to identify as a warrior. As a warrior you must always be ready for war. War does not wait; war does not ask permission. If you carry a weapon then it is my right to attack you. Your duty... is to use it to defend yourself.*"
* (To Nakamoto Rakkī Shin Takara and Kiokushi Hotsuka) "*"And here I began to think differently of the Gotei 13. I should have known that Lieutenants are nothing more than pushovers. Hmm. I suppose you'll do for the time being, but I cannot say that I am eager to fight you. Matter of fact, whether you join in on the tournament or not --I couldn't care less. He's the one I want to fight. You're just an afterthought. Bitch.*"
* (To Yamada Nakatoki) "*In either case, you’re wasting my time. I have a match to prepare for and I would rather not spend this precious time speaking with you. Nor am I interested in anything else that the Gotei 13 has to offer. It’s none of my concern. I am here to be a fighter. To wield the blade better than anyone ever has. Your duties, your goals… they mean nothing to me. Stand aside, Shinigami.*"

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 RUTH1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Along the PRELUDE