Kuwa

*"Did you ever wonder why it was called Kidō?"*

**Ikkyō Kumeda** (久米田 一騎黥, *Kumeda Ikkyō*), now known as **Kuwa, the Unspeakable** (言葉にできない 久和; *Kotobanidekinai Kuwa*), is a resident of Hell and presents himself as one of its emissaries. He is one of the mediators responsible for monitoring the Pact made with the shinigami, and sometimes helps them to maintain the Balance of Souls.

## Appearance

Your character appearance will be thoroughly described here in paragraphs.

## History

Expecting a messiah with Ichibē, he failed to believe that the Soul King was that savior. When his friend joined the future ruler, he violently opposed the Soul King when it began annihilating the hollows without restraint. After which, he bound himself to Hell where he locked up other entities, turning the prison into an out-of-reach shelter, so as not to be entirely destroyed by the attack that disfigured him, despite the powers the Hell gave him.

He later protected the Soul King when the Five Ancestors ganged up on it, because he continued to consider it just a child. Making them the First Sinners as punishment, when one of the Five used the Human world as a "lid" when they created the three realms.

Having "renamed" himself to avoid his former comrade's powers, Kuwa maintained relations with the new Soul Society with various pacts. One of the examples of this cooperation is the God of Swords (刀神, *Tōshin*), Ōetsu Nimaiya, and the lessons that Kuwa gave him in order to allow the zanpakutōs to send the sinners to Hell, so that they would not have to intervene too directly. No blacksmithing lessons, Kuwa being certainly useless in this area of expertise.

Although he tried not to get too involved, coming on average once a millennium (*~729 years*) to Soul Society (except in exceptional cases, such as a danger for the Balance of Souls), his repeated contacts with the Division Zero led to an encounter with the Great Weave Guard (大織守, *Ōorigami*), Senjumaru Shutara. The Divine General of the North tricked him into signing a pact with her, after a battle of intellect, creating a counterforce against Kuwa, something lost millions of years before by the leader of the Division Zero.

### Bleach: The 3rd Phantom

Given the state of Soul Society after previous attacks during this period (including the Quincy), and also the Captain-Commander's state after his previous battles, it was no wonder that an arrancar such as Arturo Plateado would benefit (consciously or not) to attack this spirit realm.

Unable to fight the reiatsu thief by usual means, it was the Kidō Corps who offered to seek the help of Hell and its emissary, known for his relations to the branch and his no reiatsu emission. After explaining to him the risks if the Soul Society and the shinigami were further weakened, Kuwa confronted the arrancar in order to restrain and weaken him, while the Kidō Corps managed to imprison the phoenix of Hueco Mundo, also helping the Hell envoy in his fight with some remaining shinigami.

It was a failure, Arturo fleeing after being too injured. Kuwa and shinigami failed to kill him, and the Kidō Corps failed to lock him up.

*(If you consider the "**Shattered Blade**" version, instead of beating up the arrancar, Kuwa restrained the newborn long enough for Arturo to be sealed below the Central 46)*

## Equipment

**Skeletal Part (left *arm and half face*):** Partly blocking his regeneration and causing him burning sensations, in addition to partly depriving him of the physical strength he would have with two similar arms, Kuwa derives certain advantages from it. The parts being connected by his chains allows him to stretch his arm to reach objects at a distance. This is a good defense against quincy arts when the rest of his body is more susceptible to such attacks. He can also redirect burning sensations to people he grabs if they are hollow, in whole or in part. Ironically, Kuwa names this part of his body as Spirit Weapon (霊子兵装, *Reishi Heisō*) like the quincy, although he cannot deactivate this weapon (hence the burning sensation).

**Leather Whip:** Rather classic in its operation despite good resistance and a weight greater than a standard model, it is Kuwa's own weapon and function weapon. With a metal butt and weighted end, there is no special feature or power attached to this weapon.

### Zanpakutō

**Genkyōhan (言拠判):** She's not an asauchi infused by Kuwa's soul but rather a separate entity transformed into a blade, since Kuwa is neither a shinigami nor an arrancar. The sword was one of the prices paid for the Pact, and originally serves as a tool of control over the Emissary when he is in the Three Realms. Genkyōhan is the trap set by Ōetsu, when the Hell envoy wanted a zanpakutō-like to mock the shinigami.

In her sealed form, the handle is large enough for Kuwa to put three hands on and is trimmed with slight spikes, making it difficult for a living being to use. The hilt seems to present a character, an angel mixture whose wings serve as the hilt itself, with tentacles or roots wrapping around the beginning of the blade. The blade herself looks more like a mixture of a Japanese saw and an execution sword, not being designed to cut like a saber would, because of the teeth along the length, and the pointed end is deliberately blunt so Kuwa can't stab someone with her. Genkyōhan is therefore a sword that crushes and tears, but not intended for slashing or thrusting. Hence the importance other than pure combat.

*Since the zanpakutō are always composed of the blade and the scabbard, Kuwa "corrupted" the gift of the God of Swords by becoming himself the scabbard that Ōetsu didn't entrust or didn't forge for him, didn't giving a full/true zanpakutō. This allowing him to access the weapon's powers by forcibly awakening her, because unlike most of the duo, he has no trouble defeating the spirit of the blade, having his own power, and has long forced her to obey him through terror (before being defeated by Ōetsu, who still remains one of the most dangerous opponents for him in the Zero Division)*

## Powers & Abilities

**Out of the Cycle:** Kuwa cannot intervene on Life until he has permission to do so. This prohibition has the interesting effect of making his blows non-lethal, even the most serious ones. If we had to qualify this passive technique, it would be a technique of torture, being as much a weakness as a strength.

* **No reiatsu emission:** Like the Beasts of Hell, Kuwa emits no reiatsu, allowing him to more easily surprise beings accustomed to spotting people with this energy. Hint: This ability seems to be related to the chains tattooed on his body, these gradually disappearing as Kuwa is allowed to use his powers.

**Hell Stare:** Due to his position and what he is, Kuwa is particularly sensitive to sins and can sense them or guess them if the person concerned does not have sufficient willpower. In the worst case, revive them if he manages to have a direct exchange of glances. This ability does not work on particular beings, such as pure quincy, members of the Royal Guard, or potential candidates for the position of Soul King, unless they allow him to "enter".

**Supernatural Durability:** As explained before, he is not allowed to get involved with the concept of Life. "*If it was so easy for a resident of Hell to die, the place would quickly empty*". There is also an absence of certain organs that make it unnecessary to stab him in the chest or to want to create pulmonary edema (yes, he is basically an undead, hence the supernatural side of this part) . However, Kuwa still feels pain (Hell, all that...) and it's possible to damage his body enough to force him to retreat to regenerate in his realm, or damage him enough that he can no longer move.

**Kidō Master:** Beyond having been known as one of the first masters in the matter, he supposedly had a level close to that of Ichibē. Now that his reiatsu is inhibited, this mastery is especially visible by his ease in destroying spells or exploiting their weaknesses to his advantage. This remains by far his specialty, among the classic domains used today by shinigami.

**Speed Enhanced:** Even though he has greatly progressed in this field since being bound to Hell, he does not equal the experts and even less the masters in the matter, having mainly learned to imitate Shunpo gestures to tease. If Kuwa manages to catch up with the slower captains of the Gotei 13, there are many more of them who can catch up to him, we could put him in the low average of the lieutenants. If Kuwa can go faster, it is at the cost of losing control and therefore only in a straight line by compressing the air with his feet, which is much less discreet.

**Expert Swordman:** Kuwa is mostly forced to keep his zanpakutō in his hand, since he doesn't use the scabbard, he has learned to move and live with it, like an extension of his limbs. In combat, he keeps the sword very close to the body to defend himself, to hide the blade, or to gain maximum momentum before having to stretch his arm, then giving sudden blows. Kuwa puts little physical force into the blows, preferring to use his weapon's inertia and slingshot effect, in movements much more flexible than what the shinigami learn with their zanjutsu. (*His sword style is inspired by Chinese jianke and T'ai chi ch'üan practitioners*)

**Master Whipsman:** The Emissary is a specialist in his working weapon, and it's a cliche of hell that Kuwa respects well. He uses it to grab and hinder people who are too fast or move too much, or when he just wants to weaken with surprisingly accurate and/or sonic blows. It also allows him to use his chains more aggressively than most of the inhabitants of his infernal plane who just use chains... Like chains...

**Hand-to-Hand Master:** Second or first specialty of the man according to the points of view. Since he is not allowed to kill, Kuwa specializes in submission holds and pressure from certain specific points, with the aim of incapacitating an opponent or just hurting him without damaging the body. The emissary takes advantage of two very different arms for this, his right for brute force and the left, finer, to sneak in and ensure a hold. His unarmed technique being more varied than his sword techniques, and being accustomed to maintaining pressure on his opponent, the best summary of this part is to say that he is much more dangerous without his weapons than with them.

**Supernatural Strength:** Kuwa was noted for his superhuman strength when performing his manual labor before the creation of the worlds. He enjoyed marveling the children and doing stunts to amuse them. Although time had made this physical strength seem ridiculous now that the children had grown up, this power served him when he found himself unable to use his magic. It's not uncommon to see him rip through enemies bigger than him full-length, when Kuwa is allowed to apply lethal power, now that he no longer uses his hands to create or dream. His favorite move (or his signature technique) to demonstrate his strength is to throw buildings. However, some particularly physically-oriented captains are able to match him.

**Chain Manifestation:** Kuwa seems to be able to summon black and eerily cold chains from nearby shadowy areas, or directly from his body (under his clothes or skin in the most extreme cases). While these appear to be able to perform a few simple actions, they seem to lose their willpower once the task is done (usually restraining someone) if Kuwa does not maintain his control over it. He can also regidify them to use as a secondary weapon or as a spear, in certain situations.

### Unchained/Authorized

***Loss of Powers & Abilities:*** *Out of the Cycle (and No reiatsu emission), partially Chain Manifestation*

**Immense Spiritual Power:** Being able to manifest part of his powers in the Three Realms, he finally exerts spiritual pressure and an ability to practice his kidō rather than using his theoretical knowledge, in addition to finally being able to use his reiatsu to increase his previous abilities with less restraint. However, the presence of his reiatsu prevents him from using his chains as before, no longer being able to manifest them from his body.

**Bala, Hierro and Sonido:** Kuwa partially integrates the Cycle and the rules change. Now able to kill and be banished to Hell more easily, he hides his more hollow side less by using several signature techniques of these, rather than imitating those of the shinigami.

**Fullbringer-Like:** Finally being able to interact with the world where he is, Kuwa can finally interact with souls, but also those of objects like a classic fullbringer, distorting the elements around him to a certain extent to help him during his fights.

**Spirit Appendage Manifestation:** When the locks on his reiatsu are lifted, Kuwa can manifest his aura as an extension of his body that mimics him, in order to increase his range and increase the force of the blows he gives so far just by compressing the air enough to create waves of air (everyone does it with swords, another proof that he is more dangerous without, since his sword does not allow him that).

**Regeneration:** Unlike the hollows, it does not seem to have the ability to regenerate missing pieces if they are just "detached". He also won't use it if too many people aren't watching, trying as hard as possible to fight like a human and not wanting to spoil a trade with such crummy methods. This also means that he must be kept conscious so that he himself slows down his regeneration. So dismember him well and isolate the pieces. If you were looking for a tip for the boss battle.

## Weaknesses

**No reiatsu emission:** Like most residents of his dimension, Kuwa does not emit reiatsu. This blocks many of his techniques, and prevents certain healing from being given to him. He could be considered "living dead" in some respects. When he forces this one to circulate, he loses a lot of advantages and can be considered "alive", but more importantly, Kuwa becomes detectable, no longer able to hide the nature of his soul.

**Type weaknesses:** Like an RPG monster, Kuwa has two simple weaknesses to exploit. It's the sunlight (*like a certain knife-wielding vampire chasing a family of muscle men for generations*) while artificial lights don't weaken him. The second weakness is Fire, as if Kuwa was just an undead npc.

**Abnormal body:**

* Heavily altered, Kuwa sometimes plays on the impression of invulnerability he can give, but bankai can extremely hurt him, or even banish him very easily. *Noting the fact that he plays with other rules*. This is the case, for example, of Shinji Hirako or Shūhei Hisagi bankai, the first literally melting the emissary (because Kuwa is more a superorganism, he is a colony and an army, a bit like the amalgams of souls that are the hollows) while the second forces an *unauthorized* emission of reiatsu, forcing Kuwa to return to his kingdom.
* With Kuwa's face half torn apart, he cannot eat or drink, sustaining his hunger pangs even though he has become used to it. However, the main drawback is that he cannot use techniques like Cero, even with his reiatsu reactivated, otherwise he will explode a large area of which he would be the center.
* As a memory of a previous defeat, the skeletal arm as well as his face give him an incessant burning sensation, in exchange for increased resistance against the quincy arts (suffering an eternity for a boon serving once in a millennium is a weakness , effectively). It may serve as a beacon for some people so that he can never act secretly in the human world (including the quincy who can feel this unnatural skeleton directly with their souls, even though Kuwa does not emit any energy through himself).

**Pacts:** A bit like the demons in fairy tales, if Kuwa makes a promise (which he calls a pact), he cannot get rid of it and obliges him to fulfill his part of the contract. This weakness, however, is more administrative than real, given that he must submit to rules imposed on him when he manifests in the Three Worlds. He can therefore be stopped by the use of spiritual laws.

**Hell Resident:** Not being impacted by Time like humans, hollows or shinigami, he cannot increase his strength through training, and must either modify himself (with weapon acquisition), or wait for Hell itself becomes more powerful.

**Out of the Cycle:**

* Existing in a place which did not know the creation of Space-Time with the separation of the worlds, these gradually reject Kuwa because "*Nature hates the void*". This means Kuwa can't stay out of Hell forever. The Existence will gradually weaken him if he is detected by the Reality created by the Soul King and the shinigami, mainly by emitting reiatsu.
* Being unaffected by the cycle of Life and Death, he is unable to use Kaidō (*healing kidō*) and must be particularly aggressive in combat, as Kuwa cannot kill an individual, not even a fly. The only way the emissary has is to cause a heart attack or suicide of his opponent, as he can inflict pain. But he will never kill in a direct way if he does not have an "inner help", as permission of the Central 46 or the Royal Guard.

## Stats

*This part is important in the sense that all the abilities and descriptions can seem "abused" and that is not the goal of the character. Kuwa's key word is "versatility". He will never defeat a specialist in his field, or very rarely, preferring to use the specialist's weaknesses as a strength for himself.*

The fact that some stats seem low, such as physical strength, is that it should be understood that he lacks strength in his skeletal arm for example. The statistics here are for information only, to give a general idea, and especially to statify those who appreciate statistics!

## Trivia

* Kuwa is inspired by the history of religions (mainly Hinduism and Buddhism) and philosophy (Chinese and Greek), being inspired by people like Nietzsche or Plato, or Lovecraftian concepts.
* Strictly speaking, he was never born, and therefore has no parent. But if he had a real-world nationality, it would be Indian/Chinese.
* His behavior is largely influenced by his different astrological charts and the interpretations that different cultures can give according to their systems.
* The different meanings his name can take depending on the kanji or languages used, in response to Ichibē's power. Hence the simple name which can mean "King of Love and Life", "Tool of Harmony" (*Chinese*), "Helper for a Long Time", "Sum of Requests" (*Japanese*), "Pit" , "the Good" (*Hindi*), "Rise", "Spring" (*Finnish*), "Lion Cub" (*Swahili*) etc. The use of anagram being also used, as for the zanpakutō, the meanings are multiplied.
* The character's combat abilities and fighting style are inspired by Dark Souls. He is a demanding, but not impossible, boss that can be easily defeated if you know his mechanics.