Tenth Division Captain: Suzunosuke Tsuruga (pt. 1)

Aliases: Cruel Beauty, Demon's Attendant, "That Gay Guy" (never to his face)

Gender: Male, identifies as genderqueer.

Age: 451, appears in his late twenties

Race: Shinigami

Position: Captain of the Tenth Division (Director of Archive Administration)

Overview: Suzunosuke's birth was by no means exceptional. The Tsuruga family was a mid-ranked noble clan, renowned for their high-quality paper and writing supplies that were used by famous calligraphers across Soul Society. He was expected to take on the family business after his father eventually passed, and until that passed would shadow him in every step. However, from an early age, he knew he was a bit different. The forward-facing, aggressive behaviors that his father tried to mold into him weren't sticking. Suzu instead gravitated more to the artistic aspects of the business rather than the hard-wheeling sales sides, and his personality was different in turn. He knew he wasn't like other boys, and his father didn't like that. He wanted to smack some sense into the kid, and thus the first chance he got, he enrolled his son in the Central Academy. Suzu was fine at first, but harassment for his sometimes-effeminate behavior always followed.

The boy's destiny took a sharp turn one late night when he was returning to the barracks. It was after a particularly stressful day of classes. Two noblemen who stunk of alcohol stopped Suzunosuke in the alleyway he cut down to get to the barracks. They knew him, and they begun to block his way past, hurling obscenities as he went. He tried to elbow past, but they wouldn't let him by, and the insults grew harsher and harsher. It got to the point where he wouldn't take it any more. Suzu was only a student at the time, but he wasn't going to be slighted by the indignities of people who thought themselves superior to him. Standing tall, he called out the pair out to a duel, two-on-one. Their lives were on the line if they accepted: should they decline, their honor. In their stupor, the nobles accepted. It would be the next day.

The three men met outside, in a square of Seireitei amongst a milling crowd of nobility. There was no formal oversight of the match. It was just a battle to the death, an avenging of one's name. The flag was dropped, and his opponents advanced, their movements as clumsy and uncoordinated as they were drunk. He disdained to let this drag on much longer. His sword fell, and heads were removed in a single stroke. He wanted to make this the last time that anyone challenged him for being something that he couldn't change. In the crowd was a man in a white haori, and he approached Suzu after the battle. Suzu's name was already put out there amongst the higher-ups in the Gotei 13, as he was a diligent student with a hard work ethic. The duel only cemented this reputation.

Even though he had proved himself to be a skilled swordsman, the captain thought that the young shinigami's low-boiling anger would be better channeled into low-key activities. He wrote a recommendation for Suzunosuke to join his division, the Tenth, and work behind the scenes of Soul Society in gathering its history. There was even a low-ranked seat available for him. Suzu was initially reluctant - he had skills on the battlefield, not in the library - but he eventually relented. The offer would guarantee him a seat, after all, and he'd be able to stay away from the drudge work that was often appointed to unseated officers in the Tenth. The deal was made, and Suzu went right into the archives, diving into Soul Society's lore.

What he discovered, though, surprised even him. He enjoyed all the historical work. There was something about all the information available at his fingertips, of being privy to secrets that even the Second and Eighth Divisions have never laid eyes on that excited him in ways swordplay never could. Thus, Suzunosuke quickly climbed up the ranks. His charming nature combined with an incredible work ethic and a relatively-small field of competition meant that there were very few other candidates for advancement. It was thus only to be expected when the captain died that his protégé would take up his mantle. It wasn't long after, however, that the War of Nights started. Suzu didn't take the front lines, instead working alongside the Eighth to plan the troops' movements. He wouldn't stay there for long, though. As soldiers fell, all available captains were called to the front line, him included. Few speak of his bankai's release after that day, but the terror it inspired only cemented Suzu's reputation. If not respected, he was to be feared.

Appearance: Upon first glance, many residents of Soul Society would confuse Suzunosuke for a woman. That would be a completely understandable reaction. The captain of the Tenth Division has deliberately cultivated an aura of androgyny about him, which he believes is the pinnacle of beauty. His skin is clear and pale like porcelain, reflecting the high standard of personal hygiene to which he holds himself (and others), and nary a wrinkle or other mark of age decorates his body. Some have even remarked that it has a faint sparkle to it, and even more are unsure if the so-called "sparkle" is natural or not. (He won't deign to answer.) Suzunosuke has a willowy build, slender with faint traces of definition along his chest and torso. The captain looks gentle and almost soft, but his looks are deceiving. There is a certain coiled tension hidden behind the elegant façade, in the way his fingers drum against his thigh in impatience or in the sudden snap of his arms to attention.

The captain's face is equally feminine. It is roughly heart-shaped and has pronounced features, with a sloping brow and thin lips and eyebrows. Suzunosuke's hair is long and lustrous, a raven black color that seems to approach midnight in its intensity. It is tied back in a tight ponytail, secured with a band of extremely high quality fabric that changes daily. His hair is one of Suzu's points of personal pride, and it is rigorously washed and treated each day to keep the same shine. A small silver earring adorns each earlobe, both polished to a sparkling gleam that catches the light as he passes by. Other than that, jewelry remains absent from the man's body. His personality is already vibrant enough that to add any more would be excessive.

A faint amount of eyeliner is added to accentuate his eyes, which are a dark brown that approaches coffee or mahogany wood in its intensity. Suzunosuke's gaze have a sense of opaqueness: his expressions are inscrutable and his gaze never betrays his thoughts. Many have compared him to the Cheshire Cat in this regard, as while there's always a smile decorating his face, it's rarely one of genuine happiness. There's a conceit to the emotion that's frankly unnerving: it can more accurately be compared to a snake sizing up its prey, pulling back before biting down. The ability to go in from docile to intimidating in the blink of the eye is a rare skill, and Suzunosuke has tuned it to the point where every blink, every smile and frown is finely tuned to convey a certain intent.

Like many of the other captains, Suzunosuke has altered his uniform to fit his personal tastes. The shihakusho is fitted more loosely than normal, with longer flowing sleeves within which he can conceal papers, quills or other tools of his trade. It tends to conceal his hands, making it even more difficult to determine the intent of his movements. His haori's lining is a rich red-orangecolor, which contrasts with his pale skin. The kosode hangs around his shoulders and waist, exposing a large number of tight sarashi bandages that twine about Suzunosuke's torso and lower chest. These sarashi allow him to maintain the flat figure he so desires. His hakama are equally loose, often stretching down long enough to cover the zori that he wears.

Personality: Although the strength of his moral fiber may be often called into question, it is undeniable that Suzu is quite a charmer. His words are always light and airy, and there is never a playful remark far from his tongue. The captain bears the unique ability to carry the levity of a room on his back: he's always one to make a wisecrack to take the edge off of tension. These skills were ones that he's had since childhood, born unto him by his noble family as a way of impressing others. He throws well-known parties every year for the various elites of Soul Society, many of whom have donated great sums to the Tenth Division. (Their barracks are notably more polished and up-to-date than some of the other division's are, a fact Suzu's not ashamed to admit.) Many have bought into his charms in the past, and he simply enjoys being around other people. Loneliness to him is one of the worst punishments that can be inflicted on a person.

Suzu is also a very capable leader of his men. He demands respect for his authority, and to do so he's been known to enact particularly forms of "discipline." When the Tenth's leader says jump, his subordinates don't even have to ask. They know his specifications. Although being fair but strict is something to which many leaders aspire, a good number of shinigami question how much so Suzunosuke follows the former specification. His standards are often unreasonably high: typos are a rarity in Soul Society's archives precisely because the captain is so obsessive in seeking them out. However, the shinigami that serve under him still have a great deal of respect for their leader. He shows care and concern for those for whom he has responsibility.

This, however, conceals a sinister set of behaviors. Suzunosuke is a highly manipulative person. He is exacting and demands control over all aspects of his life, and this includes people as well as things. The captain is a master at playing people's negative traits against them. If he wants someone to get something done, he won't think twice about twisting their psyche until any reluctance is wrung clear out. Guilt, shame, duty: these are all weapons in Suzunosuke's arsenal, and he doesn't hesitate to apply them. His subordinates are ultimately to him just another means to an end, and even the other captains have struggled to receive any genuine respect. In the end, the captain desires little less than to control Soul Society's very flow of information, and he's come a shockingly far way in accomplishing such.

Suzunosuke also has somewhat of a problem controlling his vices. An avid smoker, he's rarely seen without a cigarette or a pipe in one hand, puffing away as he pores over the most recent acquisition to his library. It's one of the few things that keeps him relatively on keel throughout the day, and trying to steal them away will result in a captain-level tantrum. The Tenth's leader is also one to indulge in more carnal pleasures. Men and women both have kindled his heart's fire, and he's not above seducing someone that piques his interest and taking them to bed. However, relationships don't last long with Suzu. He's unafraid to tell those with whom he's lost interest to get out, and many a bridge has been burned this way in the past. It all doesn't matter much to him. People are just diversions like that.

On the battlefield, however, two options present themselves to Suzu. If his enemy is uninteresting - maybe just a mook, or someone who's blabbed too much about their abilities to the point of boredom - he's not going to mess around. The Tenth's captain is a feared master of the one-hit kill, and he's cut down many an opponent who's stood in his way with nary a second concern. However, Suzunosuke's interest can be aroused, and when it is, he gets dangerous. Despite his ditsy appearance, only the Kenpachi has been known to best him in the art of crossing swords. He fights to satiate his own curiosity and to gather information, and nothing can keep Suzu from his mission. Insolence in his presence will result in his sword flaying open throats, as the two nobles who dared insult his sexuality found out.