Kagami Kuchiki

"*Hmm. You have a keen eye. It's true. The studies I've conducted in this place are by most accounts... forbidden. I had to come all this way just to escape the eyes of the Soul Society. I even placed a blanket around this mountain to hide my spiritual signature.*"

**Kagami Kuchiki** (朽木鏡, *Kuchiki Kagami*) is the Lieutenant of the Fifth Division and the **Vice Kidō Chief** (副鬼道長, *Fuku Kidōchō*) of the Kidō Corps. He is a member of the Kuchiki Clan's main branch.

## Appearance

Kagami is a Soul with the appearance of a young adult. Much like the rest of the Kuchiki Clan, he has jet-black hair, with bangs framing both sides of his face and the rest falling down his back. He has a single strand of hair that falls down the middle of his face. Kagami also wears kenseikan in his hair, symbolizing his nobility and roots to the main branch of the family. In line with this, Kagami also wears a white scarf along his shoulders made from the Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu, a family heirloom of the clan.

As a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Kagami wears a badge around one of his arms.

## Personality

Kagami is a man who possesses a great deal of pride in the traditions of the Kuchiki Clan and hence embodies their principles to the absolute fullest. The aforementioned denotes an emphasis on adhering to the law and security over the history of the Soul Society. Kagami in particular has a deep interest for the lore and ancient history of the Soul Society, bordering on obsession.

He can be somewhat cold and heartless, seen when he answers the door to the sight of a dying Kenzo Shinzui and heavily wounded Ryujin Suiiki and does not care to immediately offer them his aid. Instead he is more preoccupied with how they managed to uncover his secret hideout, while also pondering upon how they made it past the guards and bandits native to the mountain in their current state.

At his core, Kagami has a deep fondness for not only the history of the Soul Society, but the world at large. He wishes to uncover the secrets that he believes are being hidden by the Central 46. In a similar vain, Kagami believes studying Kidō to be the best method in uncovering the world's history. He has gone to great lengths to learn new types of Kidō spells; his own personal goal is to learn all the Kidō that exists. While normally stubborn, Suiiki uncovered that he could get Kagami to cooperate with him by offering the secrets to his Hollowfication with him, along with sharing his own personal Kidō spells which he developed himself with him.

## Plot

### Top of the Morning Arc

*Main article: Top of the Morning*

After Ryujin Suiiki arrives at his doorstep, carrying a dying Kenzo Shinzui, Kagami answers the door to the sight of Suiiki collapsing from exhaustion. Rather than helping Suiiki and Kenzo, Kagami instead yawns and folds his arms across his chest, questioning the others on how they uncovered the whereabouts of his secret hideout.

Nevertheless, Kagami allows Suiiki entry into his hideout stating that it was better suited for Kenzo to hide in the warmth of his library than outside in the frozen cold. When Suiiki enters Kagami's hideout, he quickly deduces that Kagami is studying forbidden Kidō, leading Kagami to threaten to erase Suiiki's memories. Kagami asks what Suiiki has to offer him in exchange for his help, to which Suiiki responds by showing his Hollow mask. Intrigued by Suiiki's Hollow powers, Kagami agrees to heal Kenzo if Suiiki allows him to study his Hollow mask and share his own personal Kidō spells with him. As the two agree to these terms, Kagami uses a forbidden Kidō spell which can reverse the effects of time to restore Kenzo's lost leg.

Kagami then notes that Togashi had left on a mission and had not told Suiiki out of fear that he may be killed. Learning that his Captain may be in danger, Suiiki quickly departs for Hueco Mundo to assist him. Kagami asks Kenzo if he too plans to help out the Tenth Division as they had just saved his life. Kagami then uses the same spell to fix Kenzo's Zanpakutō and bids him farewell.

## Powers & Abilities

**Kidō Expert**: As lieutenant of the Kidō Corps, Kagami is highly proficient in the use of Kid, with Togashi Hiramochi hailing him as one of Soul Society's very best in that regard. His usage of Kidō is amplified to even greater extents through his unique Shikai ability. He is skilled enough with Kidō to use it to conceal his spiritual signature over a distance of several kilometers.

* **Kaidō** (回道, *Turn Way*): Despite having no prior association to the Fourth Division, Kagami is capable of utilizing healing Kidō. The fact that he managed to figure out how to use it on his own without anyone teaching him the basics is nothing short of a serious feat. Using Kaidō, Kagami was able to stabilize Ryujin Suiiki's condition in moments.
* **Time-Space Barriers**: Due to studying ancient spells from past eons, Kagami uncovered a method to utilize what is regarded as **Time-Space Regression** (時空退行, *Jikū Taikō*). It is considered a kind of lost magic, with few in the present day believing that it exists. Moreover, its usage is forbidden by the laws of Soul Society. When Kagami uses this spell, an orange block-like shape surrounds the targeted area and within that parameter, time is "regressed". Normally Kagami causes whatever is inside the block to revert to an earlier instance of time which he refers to as "checkpoints". Kagami employed this spell in secret to restore Kenzo Shinzui's amputated leg and later used it to restore the latter's broken Zanpakutō, greatly impressing Suiiki.

**High Spiritual Power**: Being a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13 and belonging to one of the four noble households, in this instance the Kuchiki Clan, Kagami boasts very high spiritual power.

### Zanpakutō

**Sawagi** (騒ぎ, *Uproar*): Sawagi is a traditional katana with a rectangular shaped tsuba, which is embezelled in an elaborate design symbolizing a conjoining of various wave lengths.

* **Shikai**: Sawagi's release command is unknown. Rather peculiar for a Zanpakutō, Sawagi can enter its Shikai state without a verbal incantation. Normally this is only possible once the wielder has achieved Bankai, however Sawagi, whose ability revolves around the manipulation of voices, is an exception to this rule. Upon activation, Sawagi lengthens, and its blade contorts to form a spherical shape in the middle.

***Shikai Special Ability***: Sawagi possesses the unique power to "heed the voice of all things". More simply, Sawagi can document, distribute, and project voices. In the presence of Sawagi, the concept of speech is materialized into a literal weapon. Being exposed to its reiatsu alone gives Kagami the ability to manipulate a voice as he pleases. For instance, he can erase the sound waves that appear in the air when a person speaks, effectively rendering them mute. When used against Shinigami this can prevent them from releasing their own Zanpakutō by preventing them from uttering their release commands. Kagami was able to converse with Ryujin Suiiki's inner Hollow as well as hear the voice of his Zanpakutō's spirit, through which he swiftly deduced the Lieutenant's capabilities.

* **Junbi Eishō** (準備詠唱, *Prepared Incantation*): A class of Kidō Incantation unique to Kagami's Zanpakutō wherein the incantation is recited through the sword's reiatsu, forgoing the necessity for Kagami to verbally utter anything at all. Through its Shikai, Sawagi can store the voice of everything it hears and fuse its reiatsu with the voice; this technique involves Kagami storing incantations of different Kidō spells ahead of time to make use of in battle. The result is fully powered Kidō spells without verbal incantation.

## Trivia

* Kagami was created on December 13th, 2021.

## Quotes

* (To Ryujin Suiiki) "*No matter. I will erase your memories using the new spell that I have learned. I'm sure you understand why I cannot allow you to leave here with that in mind. Even if you are a trusthworthy man yourself --I don't suspect you are hiding anything from me-- should you be captured and interrogated by the likes of that Kamui, then there is no telling what sort of information he will be able to get out of you.*"

## 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 1.30 Top of the Morning