Tsubame Kuromoto

## General

Name: Tsubame Kuromoto / 燕 黒本

Nicknames: Kuro-san as a short form of Kuromoto-san. Don't shorten Tsubame to Tsu-chan, though, she hates that.

Age: 102 (young for a shinigami, she only appears to be about 20)

D.O.B: November 17th

Race: Shinigami

Gender: Female

Blood Type: O+

Marital Status: Single

## Appearance

Height: 5'2"

Weight: 105 lbs.

Hair: Blue, medium length

Eyes: Grey, but the sclera are very bloodshot and red

Skin: Fair, although the facial tissue is scarred and burnt

Body type: Slim

The first thing people notice about Tsubame is her blue hair, but the second is her mask. Tsubame's mask is a light grey in colour, with black, shiny lenses like you'd see in sunglasses. It points out where her nose is, but has no opening for her mouth. The reason for this mask is because of the damage beneath. Tsubame's face has 3 scars from a clawed hand that run diagonally from top left to bottom right (from her perspective). Everything that isn't those 3 gashes is scarred by burning. The mask helps cover up the mildly sensitive skin and also darkens light levels to an acceptable amount for Tsubame's damaged eyes. Without the mask, Tsubame's eyes would only be comfortable at night, and only when the moon is not full.

Additionally, Tsubame wears the standard shinigami shihakusho. She is short and slim, but she doesn't appear fragile. Her every movement focuses on momentum, creating it to deliver a blow or to absorb one.

## Personality

At first encounter, Tsubame comes off as stoic. The truth is, though, that she just usually doesn't say the first word when meeting someone. Her almost featureless mask is what makes her seem emotionless, but that's because having an emotion on a mask would be awkward if Tsubame wasn't feeling that emotion.

In truth, those that get to know Tsubame know her as a friendly person who is very passionate about what she likes. Often times, she can be found training against dummies and people alike, always trying to refine her fighting style. Those who've sparred with her say it's like fencing, except with katanas. She manages to weave her way around an opponent so that she can get the opening to deal a serious blow. The only problem is that sometimes Tsubame focuses more on the flow of her movements than she does on actually winning the fight.

Against hollows, however, Tsubame is ruthless to the point of cruelty. She's gotten in trouble a few times for prolonging fights that could've been ended quicker just because she wanted to see the hollow suffer. She rarely aims at their masks, usually going for limbs, and she'll avoid releasing her shikai so that her fatal blow isn't painless. On the other hand, if she *is* forced to use her shikai, she'll only strike with her harmless, pain-inducing katana for as long as she can hold out. For this reason, she tends not to get sent on missions to the human world, and was recommended to Squad 9, where she'd settle brawls between people, and deal with only the occasional hollow.

Conversation-wise, Tsubame's happy to talk with others about a great number of topics, most of which she'll have an opinion on. The only thing she doesn't tolerate is small-talk. The weather is something anyone can observe, she's the 6th seat of Squad 9, and you're only the 500th person to ask why she wears a mask.

### Likes

* Swordfighting
* Birdwatching
* Feeling the wind rush past her

### Dislikes

* People making comments about her appearance, whether it's her height, her mask, her face, or anything else.
* Fist fights
* Hollows
* People calling her fighting style "dancing"

## History

Every shinigami dislikes hollows and kills them out of duty, but what made Tsubame have such a particular hatred towards them? Simply put, she was unlucky. As a human, she had a smidgen of spritual power, enough to see a faint outline of spirits and enough to have hollows want to snack on her for dinner.

As it happened, one hollow came in the middle of the night, systematically taking the souls of her family and eating them. She only just woke up in timeto see her brother be finished off. Unfortunately, the hollow now turned its attention to her, and she had no means of fighting back. With a single swipe, the hollow forced Tsubame out of her body, and the acidic slime that the hollow was covered in dripped down and severed her chain of fate. Very quickly, Tsubame's spiritual pressure rose, and she could see the hollow as clear as day, but without any means of attack, it didn't help at all. A second swipe from the hollow left 3 deep marks across her face, as well as enough slime to cause some serious burns.

As grim as things were, Tsubame was saved in the nick of time by a shinigami, who quickly dispatched the hollow and went about trying to help her. With the hollow's reiatsu in the wounds, though, it made it difficult to completely heal Tsubame's face. The damage was done.

Tsubame begged the shinigami to give her the power to destroy those creatures just as her family was destroyed, and the shinigami said she'd get the chance, sending her off to the Seireitei to be trained at the Academy. She also received her mask from one of the lesser scientists of Squad 12 so that her daily life was a bit more bearable.

Having learnt more about hollows and souls in general hasn't changed anything for Tsubame, though. To her, hollows are heartless creatures that will cause as much pain as they can, so they must be on the receiving end of said pain as justice. Even if the hollow hadn't done anything yet, it must suffer because of its potential to cause suffering.

## Powers and Abilities

Masteries

 **Weapon Skill** | Expert

### Zanpakutō

#### Inner World

Tsubame's inner world is a snowy forest. The trees are rather small, being all very thin. Each one's branches could only hold a small bird each. Her Zanpakuto spirit is a cardinal that comes to perch in front of her.

#### Sūkikyō / 枢機卿 / Cardinal

Unreleased, Sūkikyō takes the appearance of a katana. The hilt wrap is red, as well as the sheath. The tsuba is round and black, with the red image of a stylized wing. Upon release, the sheath takes the form of a second katana, but is red where the original sword is black, and black where the original is red. From the tips of both swords stream ribbons that follow each slash, leaving a trace of where each sword has traveled. The black katana's ribbon is red, and the red one's is black.

**Release command:** Senjō aka no nure / 戦場 赤 の 塗れ / Cover the battlefield in red

Chi to Itami
 Type
 Mastery
 Range

Chi to Itami describes the two katanas that Tsubame gets upon activation of her shikai. The black one, Chi, acts as a normal sword, cutting through her opponents, but every wound dealt with it will be painless. The red one, Itami, passes through living things harmlessly, but causes pain as if it had actually cut the part it went through. Both swords can block and be blocked by inanimate things like other swords and kido.

By saying "Kaware" (変われ / Change), Itami will empty itself of red and become Chi, while Chi will do the opposite. Thusly, the role of each sword switches hands. The switch can be completed in the time it takes to slash one's sword, but the switch does take a small amount of energy, and has a cooldown of 2 posts.

**Kiken'na Yoha**
 Type
 Mastery
 Range

Passively, Kiken'na Yoha is what creates the ribbons that follow on the tip of each katana. These ribbons are initially as long as the katanas themselves, but can grow longer should Tsubame dedicate the energy to do so. The ribbons can be wrapped around things, such as enemy blades or limbs, but take at least a little effort to cut. Swinging at a ribbon with anything that does not specifically cut through reiatsu will have the same effect as trying to cut it with a dull blade. If one end is unsecured, the ribbon will merely be displaced. However, if both ends have been secured (for instance, if the side not attached to a katana is grabbed), then the ribbon will be cut because of the tension. The part that is cut off will disperse only after a few seconds.

By saying "Tsuke" (点け / Ignite), one or both ribbons will explode with enough blunt force to break bone, should they be wrapped around a limb. The clause of this ability is that the ribbons must be at least the length of the katana to qualify for explosion (parts that are cut off count towards the length as long as they have not dispersed). Ribbons must be grown back from nothing after exploding, and grow at a rate of 1/4 katana length per post until they reach the normal length. Growing a full katana length worth of ribbon consumes a medium amount of energy, and growing the ribbon beyond normal length consumes extra energy.

#### **Bankai:**

Not yet achieved

Ability name

Describe your Bankai ability.

## Interaction Cliff Notes

Tsubame may seem stoic or emotionless at first (because of the mask), but she's actually a very talkative and interactive person. She hates hollows far too much, but is quite civil to other shinigami, even lawbreakers. She flutters around her opponents before hitting them with all her might.

## Trivia

Tsubame has a slightly better attitude towards people who have animals or colours in their name, even though that has nothing to do with her personality. After all, her first name means "sparrow", and her last name has the colour black in it.

## Quotes

Once I get some that are worthy, I'll put 'em in.

## Out of Character Info

Ayy, remember me? Sumiko? Ya, still EST time zone.