11th Division Captain: Kenpachi Onigawara (pt. 1)

Aliases: Eternal Soldier, Wandering Swordsman

Gender: Male

Age: Unknown, appears to be in mid-thirties

Race: Shinigami

Position: Captain of the Eleventh Division (The Kenpachi)

Overview: The Kenpachi is a figure of a certain legend within Soul Society. Like every man who has born the title before him, he is widely known for being ruthless, intimidating, and above all else inspiring. How else would a man of his position be able to lead so many soldiers, after all? The captain takes a certain amount of pride in this, the fact that he's become such a monolithic entity in the afterlife. However, few shinigami - if any at all - know the Kenpachi's past. He has taken very thorough steps to eliminate mentions of his upbringing and early life from the records of Soul Society, and those that try to pry open his carefully-constructed shield of lies and misdirection will always end up rebuffed. Many would thus assume that Kenpachi has no history. The worst part about this statement is, they're mostly correct.

It's even unclear at what time the man entered Soul Society, but he hypothesizes it had been hundreds of years that he wandered the wastes. He apparently originated from the edge of the northern districts, where civilization slowly crumbled apart and gave way to savannahs and forbidding desert. Few remember the exact circumstances under which he appeared. Those that can agree that one day, they saw a nameless man stumbling into Onigawara, the 80th North district, with little more than a tattered kosode and a worn knapsack tied across his shoulders. It wasn't unheard of for souls to transmigrate into Soul Society past the bounds of the district system, but it was rare, and the wild Hollows that patrolled the depths of the afterlife ensured that the number would remain fewer still. Those who encountered the man didn't question his presence, though. He accepted their meager hospitality but trudged onwards, ever-unceasing, through the tangle of districts to the center of society. To Seireitei.

Kenpachi eventually found himself within Soul Society's inner sanctum. He enrolled in the Shin'o Academy, to continue his life of fighting, and graduated with ease. Even though he wasn't as young as his fellow classmates, he had the advantage of age and experience, and thus was placed into the Eleventh Division. He proved his worth and ascended quickly up the ranks, attaining a single digit seat in a matter of a few decades under the eye of the tyrannical captain. This caught the eye of many, and the man only previously known as the "Wandering Swordsman" grew quickly in repute. As a higher seat, he trained and mentored other young soldiers in the finer aspects of the art of war, using classics from Spartan and Theban authors to whip them into shape. However, this didn't inspire any sentiments of higher calling in the shinigami. His blade had not tasted real blood in too long. Civilization was weakening him. He needed to find a place where he could bare his fangs.

The catalyst for this wasn't a battle, though. It was a girl, one that he tutored, of peerless beauty and intelligence. The shinigami had had a few interactions with her before, but each time he left her side, he felt a longing to be right back there once again. Relationships never came easily to the man, but he opened up to her, and she in turn. The two courted and fell in love, and promises of betrothal were made. However, like all good things, this rare happiness wasn't to last. The man's superior, the Kenpachi, was a covetous man; and one night when Onigawara went to go find her, she was nowhere to be found. He skulked through the barracks, and eventually found himself outside the captain's quarters. His gaze fell inside, and when he saw his love's body entangled with another, red clouded his vision. The next few minutes were lost to memory, but when his sight cleared, the man saw himself standing above the now-prone bodies, his blood-slicked zanpakuto skewering the two to the ground.

Of course, the discovery of the corpses wouldn't take long. The culprit made no attempts at evading arrest, but the trial didn't obstruct him. Very few liked the deceased captain, and to pass the mantle onto someone who at least had proved himself to be a reputable leader was an acceptable solution. There were a few that still held loyalty to the victim, but the now-captain quickly changed their minds. The War of Nights was instrumental in allowing him to lead, taking down enemy arrancar left and right with a bankai that had up until that point been a secret. He reveled in the height of battle, finding life in an existence that was previously all too cold. He wasn't nameless any more. He had a title.

He was now Kenpachi.

Appearance: At first glance, it is little surprise why Kenpachi is a man that has commanded such authority throughout his history. Standing at five feet eleven inches, he casts an intimidating silhouette upon those who cross his path. There is a trace of foreign blood in his appearance, in that Kenpachi's skin tone is a shade or two darker than the standard in Soul Society. It's olive and tanned by the sun, approaching Mediterranean in its shade. His build is similarly swarthy, with powerfully-defined muscles in his chest and arms. The captain's life as a soldier has crafted his body into an exemplar of fitness, so there is little body fat born on his frame: when he walks, there is a disciplined, confident measure in his stride that is unbowed by time.

Kenpachi's hair is dark brown, almost black in color. It is wavy and hangs down to about ear length. A few touches of grey are streaked through his temples, and a similar number of faint lines etch under his eyes. Although still going strong, the captain is obviously bearing the years as best he can, and it's clear that only recently have they taken a toll on his physical appearance. The Kenpachi's body is similarly marked by the years. Thick scars crisscross his upper body and stomach, including a particularly large and puckered one that slices down across his left pectoral. It is a memento from the first battle after the event that earned him his title, and on particularly strenuous days it is not uncommon for the scar to flare up with old pain again.

One thing is for sure, though: Kenpachi's not a very expressive person. His face is usually relaxed in a mild show of disengagement, with lips resting neutrally and eyes drooping slightly. It's not that the captain doesn't care about people, but rather that he's always found words to be a better vehicle for his emotions than his face ever was. Thus, even the cocking of an eyebrow or the crick of his neck is a significant event, a sign that he's taken true interest in whatever elicited the response. Don't be confused, though: he is always alert, scanning crowds for any potential sources of trouble to eliminate. His amber gold eyes are similarly placid, yet hyper-aware as they flicker back and forth under his heavily-lidded eyes.

Much like other captains of the Gotei 13, Kenpachi has taken the opportunity to alter his shihakusho in a manner that best suits him. The inside of his haori is a deep crimson red: the legend in Soul Society is that it was stained over time with the blood of his opponents, but as clichédly ideal that would be, it was merely the choice of his predecessor and he simply has been too lazy to change it. A single leather pauldron sits on his left shoulder, attached by a harness of brown leather straps that cuts under his haori and rests atop his kosode. They are emblazoned on the back with the yarrow floral icon of the Eleventh Division and are unique to him alone: no other members of the Eleventh are permitted to wear such an accessory.

Personality: The first thing that may new members of the Eleventh Division will discover about their captain is that he is a very tough customer. Kenpachi has adopted a strict "no bullshit" policy for both his public and private life, and he will not flag in this regard. His first act as captain was to dismiss his previous lieutenant, not because he was related to the former Kenpachi but because his work ethic was not up to the man's high standard. Regimen and discipline are the cornerstones of his life. The captain is a man who retires to bed early every day and wakes just as early each morning. He meditates, exercises, and reads from one of his many texts of philosophy or war strategy. Thus, the general of the Gotei's war division expects all other shinigami to stay to the same standards as his own. During the Onigawara era, the Eleventh's reputation as a division of boorish warmongers was quelled, and regardless how unfeasible it may be, the Kenpachi would like to see it eradicated. Other captains (particularly the Seventh and Twelfth) have criticized his approach, but the rebukes never perturb him.

It is also difficult to make the Kenpachi utter more than what is absolutely necessary. He is a man of few words, and rarely divulges excess information. Conversations with him thus tend to suffer, as although he has a brilliant mind, the captain is a poor conversationalist. Because his mind is so set in stone with preconceived notions of people, he tends to respond in the way that will best abbreviate the conversation: if they respond in a manner different than what he expected, Kenpachi can get easily flustered. This, combined with his generally calm and analytic behavior makes him a bit unapproachable, but this suits him just fine. As a loner for much of his life, he's perfectly fine with occupying his own time after death. There's also the fact that his loyalty to the Gotei 13 is incredibly unwavering. As one whose life was changed for the better by Soul Society, he isn't hesitant to execute those he deems traitors to its cause, so talk of dissent around him is rare.

There are few shinigami in Soul Society who have lived to see as much as the Kenpachi has, and it is obvious by the way he carries himself and the way his head hangs that the years have worn him down. It is difficult for him to repress his memories, and since the captain has done much of which he isn't proud, it's not uncommon for small actions to trigger greater responses from him. Although he does a good job at keeping these memories suppressed, the way in which they influence his day-to-day life is not uncommon. Kenpachi may not be typically maudlin. However, there come days during which he just sits in the corner of some dive bar deep in the Rukongai, lost in a glass of sake and in a whirlpool of his own thoughts. It may be obvious to tell what's eating the captain, but his burdens are his and his alone. He doesn't let anyone else pick up his self-perceived cross.

Despite that all, though, the Kenpachi has shouldered his past and has forged them into the traits that have served him so well in his tenure as captain. He has a deep understanding of the individual psyches of each and every one of his soldiers, and even his most irascible co-captains (namely Hitomi Ishizaki) still bow to the utterly commanding aura that he exerts. Kenpachi strongly believes in leading by example, not word. He's the first one to throw himself onto the front line of a battle, yelling a rallying cry to kindle a fire in a shinigami's heart. He doesn't just serve in the moment, though. Kenpachi thinks three steps ahead, always considering his next move and how it most benefits others. For the captain, leadership is not a steady state. It is a continuous journey, one on which he is just as close to the end as he still is the beginning.

Of course, in battle, the fierce demon that the captain harbors within him is unleashed. This isn't a demon that rampages, though. He remains as cool and collected as he is off the field of combat. Each threat is analyzed and dealt with in turn. Weak foot soldiers are cut down with brutal efficiency, with each stroke of his zanpakuto taking another life. Any enemy that is stronger usually suffers the same fate, as the fates of his enemies are sealed once he can ascertain their weak point. A cloud of blood is often seen in his wake, which is why the inner lining of the Kenpachi's haori is rumored to be such a crimson red. However, the captain isn't one to tolerate mistakes on his own side, either. He's known to just as easily cut through any errant shinigami who find themselves in between him and his quarry. The master of Soul Society's armies will not tolerate sentiment in war. He treats it more as a force of nature in itself, and reveres it in turn.