Hebihime

Reila Isanagi's Zanpakutō Spirit

**Hebihime** [蛇姫, *Snake Princess*] is the manifested spirit of Reila Isanagi's Zanpakutō.

## Appearance

In its unreleased state, the Zanpakutō has a mint handle and a deep green sheath. Made of pure gold, the guard is rectangular, framed by angular diagonal spirals. A labyrinth-like spiral is also engraved on the middle part of the guard, reminding of Ancient Greek ornamentations. On the sheath, a triangular decoration made of gold is attached. When Reila doesn't tie the two red beads in her hair, she ties it on the sheath of her Zanpakutō, held by a white cord.

**Hebihime**'s appearance and power are inspired by the Ancient Greek myth of Perseus and Medusa. Herself, **Hebihime** is represented as a tall, voluptuous and beautiful woman with dark skin, but her beauty is very characteristic. She has a piercing deep green gaze with thick green lashes, but she often is seen wearing a blindfold. **Hebihime**'s very distinctive feature is the countless snakes, twisting on her head. In accordance with the myth's description of Medusa, she also has wild boar's tusks, claws and wings. Black linear tattoos adorn her face, two from her eyes down her cheeks and two from her mouth down her chin. Emerald reptile-like scales are scattered all over her body, and beautifully reflect light. **Hebihime** wears a black body with a low-cut neckline, topped with golden shoulder armor and a knee length skirt made of golden coat of mail.

## Personality

Hebihime is a playful, arrogant and bloodthirsty Zanpakutō spirit. She loves fighting over everything else, influencing Reila's behaviour in that way over the decades.

When Reila managed to make an Asauchi her own, Hebihime was deeply disappointed in who turned out to be her master. Back in the Academy, Reila severly lacked self-confidence, rather being a peaceful Shinigami, almost a people pleaser. This lack of confidence strongly clashed with Hebihime's personality and deeply irritated her. So, the Zanpakutō made it her duty to change Reila and develop her confidence. Despite their differences, Hebihime, being extremely haughty, believed, that if she existed, that would've only mean that Reila had a hidden potential. Otherwise, Hebihime would not be who she is. And despite her reckless nature, she understood Reila needed to be pushed in order to reveal her true personality. And that's what she did; she drove her into a corner so many times just for her to push her boundaries. And it worked. With a very strong discipline, Hebihime became the main key for Reila's ascension as a Gotei member, and as a soul. But Reila also influenced Hebihime's personality.

## Inner World

Reila's inner world is a never ending mirror maze, and **Hebihime** hides within the millions of reflections. The very first time Reila made it into her inner world, **Hebihime** greeted her with a warning: if a living soul endowed with reason had to meet her gaze, even through a reflection, they would inevitably be turned to stone. Reila deduced that, in order to stay alive, hiding from the very power of her own Zanpakutō, she had to trust her other senses only. So, every time she entered her inner world, she purposely blindfolded herself and wandered through the mirror maze, looking for **Hebihime**, as the Zanpakutō was mocking her, moving through her mirrors.

## Power

**Zanpakutō Release Command:** *"Mite"* (見て, *Look/Stare).*

Hebihime is another Zanpakutō amongst the illusion category, along Sōsuke Aizen's *Kyoka Suigetsu*, Shunsui Kyōraku's *Katen Kyōkotsu* or Shinji Hirako's *Sakanade*.

### Shikai

To initiate Shikai, Reila sheathes her Zanpakutō back in its sheath. Starting to change its form, the sheath disappears and a curved shorter mirror blade appears. The color of the handle does not change, but two twisted snakes decorate the tip of the handle. The guard disappears, replaced by another twisted flat snake. The blade itself is slightly curved, and is in fact a mirror. The Shikai looks like a longer Ancient Greek *kopis*: a heavy, curved knife used during animal sacrifices, and during battles. In Perseus and Medusa's myth, the goddess Athena gives Perseus a *harpe*, a mythological version of a *kopis*, to cut off Medusa's head.

Its size and weight allows Reila to hold it with one hand as she likes, increasing her mobility, and allowing her to quickly strike, "cut and thrust" her enemies. But unlike the original *kopis*, **Hebihime** is a double edged sword, just like her ability is. This way of fighting suits **Hebihime** well, since she is a bloodthirsty spirit. Her Shikai gives great mobility and allows to slain a lot of enemies in a short time.

Despite its fragility, thought to slain its foes in one strike rather than sparring with them for a long time, just like a mirror, this Shikai's ability is to reflect enemies' attacks. If Reila does not manage to cut down her enemy with a single shot, but encounters her foe's blade instead, **Hebihime** will absorb the physical strength of the attack and will reflect it back twice as powerful the next time the blades clink. And the second time the blades clash, the attack will be multiplied by two once again, and so on. The longer the sparring lasts, the more powerful Reila's attacks are, exponentially multiplied with every clash. But every time **Hebihime** reflects an attack, it draw in Reila's Spiritual Pressure, and if the sparring lasts, and/or if her enemy has a high Spiritual Pressure, it will eventually tire her, as with every blow, the double of the previous attack's power is being used. That's why she always prefers to slain her foes in one single stealthy shot.

### Bankai

**Hebihime no Shinjitsu [蛇姫の真実, *True Hebihime/Hebihime's Truth*]**

Reila spent years looking for the exit of her inner world, the mirror maze, thinking it was the right way to achieve her Bankai. But she realized she completely misunderstood **Hebihime**. Reila didn't have to find the exit, which did not exist either way. She needed to find the true **Hebihime** hiding within the mirrors, to see her with her own eyes, and not just through a reflection. And after **Hebihime** established such a fear of her gaze in Reila's heart, that's when Reila found her after decades of wandering and came to finally look her in the eyes that she achieved her Bankai.

**Hebihime** is an instinct fighter. She enjoys the battlefield. And Reila started to enjoy it along with her. And that is precisely why Reila achieved her Bankai with the help of Kiganjō Kenpachi, back when she was the 11th Division lieutenant. Surprisingly, he was the one who helped her understand her Zanpakutō and her tricky nature.

    To release her Bankai, Reila will violently break her mirror blade by crushing it against the ground, shattering it in a million pieces. Only the handle of her Shikai will remain in her hand, allowing her a better control of her Bankai. Her eyes change their color to deep green with a vertical and slit pupil, just like **Hebihime**'s. And in her Bankai, **Hebihime** is capable of seeing through Reila's eyes.

The shattered pieces of her blade will be suspended midair on a certain diameter around her and her foe. Reila can extend or reduce this area by will, the only thing that would change being the concentration of broken pieces of mirrors around.

The broken mirrors play with the enemy's senses, creating an illusion and reflecting everything: images, sounds, odors, Spiritual Pressure. Reila's silhouette is multiplied, making it hard for the enemy to figure out which one is the true one. Reila's whole silhouette becomes vague within the million broken glasses, and her Reiatsu is scattered and reflected across the whole area of her Bankai, making it even harder to find the real her. Reflecting everything, the Bankai's first goal is to disorientate its opponent's senses. And if they try to progress blindly, they will be deeply cut by the mirrors.

    The mirrors are directly connected to Reila's inner world, and when **Hebihime** is feeling like fighting, she would join her master. Which occurs very often. While **Hebihime**'s gaze is dangerous even for Reila, her Bankai is an exception: her eyes become **Hebihime**'s eyes and Reila is immune to her dangerous gaze. Which is not the case of everyone else. When **Hebihime** comes out, looking at the battlefield through her mirrors, her eyes are reflected in all scattered broken pieces. And if a living soul endowed with reason catches her eye, they will be paralyzed as long as she is looking them in the eye. And her mysterious and magnetic gaze make it easy for her to kill whoever falls into the trap. But Reila's eyes do not have this ability, they only provide her immunity for **Hebihime**'s gaze.

Connected to her inner world, **Hebihime** can cross the border very easily, hiding herself in the mirrors when needed, or coming out to physically fight. She prefers to play with her victims, making fights last longer during Reila's Bankai. But if **Hebihime** comes to be injured, the Bankai's whole strength would decrease.

Just like **Hebihime**, Reila can come in and out of her inner world, dodging attacks or traveling across the whole area of her Bankai in an instant, surprising her enemy. All the mirrors are connected to each other. In this way, Reila can stretch her hand into the mirror world to make it appear in another spot of the area of her Bankai, attacking by surprise.

**Kagami Keimusho [鏡刑務所, *Mirror prison*].** With the handle of her Zanpakutō, Reila would gather all the broken mirrors together to imprison her enemy in a shapeless mirror prison. Their every attack against the mirrors shall be reflected directly, hurting them. **Hebihime** has access to the inside of this prison, making the prisoner an easy target for her. To finish the attack, Reila can run all the fragments through the body of the prisoner.

**Kagami no Hana [ 鏡の花, *Mirror's Blossom*].** Just like Buyakuya Kuchiki's *Senbonzakura*, Reila can control every shattered piece and use them as piecing weapons that quickly moves around. Being mirrors, they reflect their surroundings and are difficult to notice, letting only a glassy sound be heard.

**Reichi no Ko [霊地の子, Child of the sacred place].** Reila's Bankai exists in a million pieces, and its major force is that in cannot be destroyed. Unless she choses to destroy it herself with this ultimate attack. Reila reduces the mirror fragments into dust, allowing her a full control of the remaining. Much quieter than the fragments themselves, this deadly "fog" is very versatile, silent, difficult to dodge and practically invisible. This fog inflects the deadliest wounds. Every time it hurts an opponent, tiny pieces of dust remain in the wound, of which Reila is fully aware, and what she can entirely control. Those tiny pieces can make their way in the opponents' system, mixing with the blood in vessels, until they reach and wound vital organs. This is the final attack of Reila's Bankai, which breaks it in theory. **Hebihime** needs a cooldown to restore the Bankai (and the Shikai) to its fullest if this technique is used.

### Weaknesses

* Long sparrings in Shikai can weaken Reila because every clash exponentially draws her Reiatsu.

* **Hebihime**'s glare is useless against Hollows as they are not considered as living souls endowed with reason. It's not **Hebihime**'s gaze that has the power to paralyze, it's the living condition of the opponent that makes them paralyzed, just like Medusa's glance.

* If **Hebihime** comes to be physically injured during Reila's Bankai as she fights, the Bankai's whole strength would decrease. And if Hebihime dies, Reila's Shinigami powers would wither.

* Reila cannot use her Shikai or Bankai anymore after she has used her **Reichi no Ko [霊地の子, Child of the sacred place]** Bankai technique. It needs a cooldown so **Hebihime** can restore herself.

## Trivia

* Hebihime's name is inspired by Boa Hancock from One Piece. "Hebihime" is her noble title.

* Every Hebihime's snake on her head has a name.

* When Shinji found out how Reila's Bankai was called, he made fun of her because it has the sound "Shinji" in it, even if it means something different.

* Reila is very good at fighting blindfolded, since she had to live with Hebihime's dangerous gaze. That's why she always had an advantage when fighting against Shinji using *Sakanade*.

## Quotes

* (Hebihime to Reila the first time they met) *"You call me a monster while I am the reflection of your own soul... You may call out the wrong person, girlie. Just take a look... in the mirror"*

* (Hebihime, to Reila) *"You gotta be more blunt than that, girlie. You gotta embrace me. And if you ever wanna compell my strength... You gotta **find** me first. My true self."*

## References

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