Jushiro Ukitake

**Jushiro Ukitake** is the captain of the Thirteenth Squad in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. His current lieutenant is Rukia Kuchki and his former lieutenant was Kaien Shiba.

## Physical Appearance

Ukitake is a tall man with a somewhat emaciated appearance, caused by an illness which occasionally causes him to cough up blood. Because of his illness, he often spends his time recuperating at Ugendo, his family's estate. During one of his attacks when he was much younger, his hair turned white over a three-day period. This is why his eyebrows are black, the color his hair used to be.

His hair is worn long, almost reaching his waist. He also wears it parted on the left side with one long piece that tends to fall over his right eye, and has jade-green eyes. Ukitake wears the common Shinigami uniform with a long-sleeved captain's haori with a maroon red coloration on the coat's underside and the Thirteenth Squad's rhombus number on the coat's backside, and a crimson lining. He wears a narrow white obi, in which he secures his Zanpakuto.

## Personality

Ukitake is well-respected and highly honorable, and always treats those around him with respect, even those who are weaker or not as highly ranked as he is. As a result, he can be easily approached by other members of Soul Society who seek favors or advice from the captain. Due to his high moral code, Ukitake will never let any harm come to either his underlings or those who attempt to protect them. He refuses to give up when he believes something is wrong and will break a rule to do what is right. He is also quite perceptive, as seen when he analyzes the various disturbances caused in Soul Society, and has the ability to correctly judge people's character, as noted by Yamamoto, and knows when they are lonely. He observes that, before meeting Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, Rukia often had trouble opening up about certain things and was very lonely, but sees a difference in her when she spends time training with Orihime Inoue.

Due to his long-standing position with the Gotei 13, Ukitake is one of the most proficient combatants in Soul Society and always maintains a level of honor and integrity when engaging in battle, much like his best friend Shunsui. He refuses to fight in the presence of a child or even with a child, even if that child is a Arrancar. He always maintains a semblance of respect for his opponent and is polite in combat situations. He also has a high measure of mercy, never taking the chance to kill Lilynette, but rather actually try to teach her how to be a better fighter, even though she was an enemy.

## Powers and Abilities

### Zanjutsu Prowess

* Master Swordsman Specialist - While hating the concept of having to engage in a fight, Ukitake is presumably one of the most proficient swordsmen in all of the Soul Society, as demonstrated from his ability to hold his own against Yamamoto. The unique shape of his sword's shikai and it's corresponding abilities make his form of fighting unconventional amongst the Shinigami forces, but shows the skill of his abilities in this art.

### Kido Prowess

* Kido Master - As a captain, Ukitake is shown to have above-average knowledge of Kido, as displayed when he assists in the resealing of the Jokaisho. He also aids in the opening of the Senkaimon. He is able to perform fairly high-level spells without incantation, and he can easily use Kido in battle, such as when he used Seki against Lillynette Gingerback.

### Shunpo Prowess

* Shunpo Master - He is masterful in the art of Shunpo as a captain. He is able to gain sufficient ground when trying to put distance between himself and Captain-Commander Yamamoto when being chased through Soul Society.

### Other Skills

* Enhanced Durability - Ukitake has shown himself able to hold his ground in battle. He was able to remain relatively unscathed despite taking devastating attacks from Captain-Commander Yamamoto, whose Zanpakuto is the most devastating in all of Soul Society in terms of destructive power. He has also shown to effortlessly block Lilynette's Cero with his bare hand, even though he himself admits it was not even of Gillian-level power.

* Medical Knowledge

### Spiritual Power

* Tremendous Spiritual Power - As one of the strongest and oldest Captains in the Gotei 13, it is safe to assume that Ukitake has tremendous spiritual power. When he's partnered up with Kyoraku, many people said that they have unimaginable Reiatsu unmatched by their peers.

### Zanpakuto

**Sogyo no Kotowari** (*Truth of Pisces*) - Ukitake's Zanpakuto resembles an average *katana* with a rectangular bronze cross guard and dark red handle. Unlike Kyoraku, Ukitake's Zanpakuto remains as one single blade when sealed.

* **Shikai** - Its' Shikai release command is "**All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade**". Once he completes the incantation, he grasps the single blade with two hands. The blade then transforms slowly and begins to form two blades, as the blades peel apart, a large red rope-like chain at the base of the hilt lengthens and silver metal square charms attached to the chain begin to fall until all five present themselves. The blade is now somewhat thinner than the normal Zanpakuto and the cross guard now extends up the blade for about 15 cm. Up 25 cm from where the cross guard is, there is a 45 degree cut on the inside of the blade where a second blade is jutting back down and parallel to the main blade. With the edge of the blade facing inward instead of outward, the blade looks very artistic and rather difficult to handle, only further proving just how skilled a swordsman Ukitake must be to have mastered such a uniquely designed weapon.

Shikai Special Ability - Sogyo no Kotowari is able to absorb an opponent's energy attacks through the left sword and directs the attack through the connecting rope where the five charms on the rope strengthens and accelerates the attack faster than it was originally fired and reverses its original course firing the same attack from the right sword, making it much more difficult for the opponent to dodge. The entire process happens so fast that the attack looks as if it originally came from Sogyo no Kotowari.

Sogyo no Kotowari also possesses the ability to manipulate water and lightning.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* Shunsui Kyoraku (Best friend and partner-in-combat)
* Genyusai Shigekuni Yamamoto (Teacher and Father Figure)
* Retsu Unohana
* Kaien Shiba (Former lieutenant)
* Rukia Kuchiki (Lieutenant)
* Kiyone Kotetsu (Co-Third Seated Officer)
* Sentaro Kotsubaki (Co-Third Seated Officer)
* Ichigo Kurosaki
* Karin Kurosaki
* Renji Abarai
* Orihime Inoue

### Enemies

* Owari Otsutsuki
* The Kihei
* The Red Lotus (Xin Bau's Group)
* Sosuke Aizen
* Gin Ichimaru
* Kaname Tosen
* Hollows
* The Arrancars
* The Espada
	+ Coyote Stark and Lilynette Gingerback
* Kugo Ginjo
* Kageroza Inaba
* The Reigai
* Oko Yushima