Dark Kabuto

Name: Dark Kabuto
Former Name: Forgotten not only by him, but by the world itself. In exchange for becoming the 'dark hero', he gave up any former identity or affiliation.
Nicknames: Kabuto
Titles: The Dark Hero
True Age: ~800 years
Gender: Male
Loyalty: Saeko
Moral Leaning: Heroic
Sexuality: Bisexual
Personality:
Some people are called egotistical. In the land of those people, Dark Kabuto is either the king or grand vizir sheming to take the throne. There are precious few people that he feels are even worth his attention at all, and even less are worthy of even the most basic respect - with the sole exception of his master. His self-centered nature is especially prevelant towards combat. He's the strongest, fastest and best fighter there is - no exceptions. He considers himself the epitomy of skill, grace and power. Even his master is only an 'equal' in his eyes, not a superior in any way. As such, he sees aiding someone in combat as a high form of honoring them and they'd better be thankful for it! He's the ultimate, perfect HERO!

You heard that right. Dark Kabuto is a hero, plain and simple. He has rough methods, can often be cruel and rude, and won't help an old lady cross the street. But if someone tries harming the innocent, he'll be there. In the battle against evil, the black Rider will stand against it. Even if only he is left, his will to do what is right will not be subjugated. Sure, he feels as if he's doing the entire world an incredible favor by being a hero - and gloats about it a lot - but really, being a hero is just the right thing to do for him. He'd feel terrible for not acting on his truly heroic impulses, and no matter what he might say, he doesn't really need a reward for every single action. Just having done the right thing is pleasing to him. But he is NOT soft. If you're a villain, you'd better practice begging for mercy before losing to him, or you might just die right there and then. If the murder of one person can stop atrocities from occuring, he'll be volunteering to guide the dagger needed for the execution. Not out of sadism - he only indulges in that during actual combat - but because it is his duty.
Speaking of combat, that's the one time when you'll not notice a hero in him at all. He's a sadistic, self-centered ASSHOLE when fighting. He'll taunt you by insulting your dead grandmother if it grinds your gears, will kick sand in your face, and attack your weaker allies to force you to protect them or let them die. He doesn't fight with honor against his normal opponents. But like all rules, there is one exception.

Some people are his equals, even in his own egotistical eyes. Those people are his rivals, his true challengers, no matter their affiliation. In combat with them, he will always fight with honor and fairly - he will not attack someone who has been weakened by a different fight. He's not going to sneak attack a rival to gain an advantage. This rivalry is also his version of friendship - with a rival, EVERYTHING turns into a contest, and if it is about who can eat the most junk food. He can even be seen cracking actual jokes instead of insults around those that obtain this highest form of respect from him.

One thing to keep in mind is that Dark Kabuto NEVER shows his face to the people around him, walking around in full armor. Most people even think he HAS no appearance underneath his suit. But he does, and he's incredibly vain with it and the armor both. His armor isn't just always shining because of the material, but also because of how much time he spends shining it each day. The only way to get him to remove his mask freely is for his master Saeko to command him to do so - but doing so in the presence of anyone of 'lower worth' would be an incredible breach of trust, and possibly turn Dark Kabuto against her. His choice to keep his face a secret is tied to who he became after turning into a Guardian Beast, and is done to distance himself from an existance as a 'man', to become a 'symbol'.

Besides being a prick to most people, Dark Kabuto doesn't show much emotion. He doesn't have 'likes and dislikes' like normal people do. He won't go see a movie to relax on the weekend either. He is Saeko's shield and servant, and follows her around like a secondary, deadly shadow. Even more, he protects those around Saeko as well, as one of her personal elite. These feelings have two origins. One, it is gratitude and loyalty instilled by her saving his life. The second reason is simple as well - he sees part of himself in her, a reminder of a different and deadly past.

The one remainder from his time as an Arrancar is a part that Kabuto denies. If his pride is shattered, or his face revealed against his will, every single restraint on his feelings and emotions of rage are destroyed. He shouts, doesn't care about his appearance and influence anymore, and will try EVERYTHING to destroy his opponent or offender. In this state, he's more like a wild beast and less like a man. His sole reason to exist becomes to fight and destroy. Thankfully, these pychopathic episodes do NOT last long.



True Appearance:

Only VERY FEW people know his true appearance. At the moment, only Saeko has seen him without his armor. For the appearance he is known for, look at the section 'Beetle'.

Animalistic Traits: Slightly pointy ears, slit pupils and red eyes, fangs.
Appearance Age: Around 20 years old by human standards
Height: 1.93m
Weight: Medium




Natural Techinques: Since becoming a Guardian Beast, Dark Kabuto has become able to create what is known as the 'Chrono Flame'. This crimson fire creates very long lasting burns, but has a rather short range, making it seem almost like usual spiritual fire. However, time-influencing abilities have no effect on the flame, rendering such methods useless to defend against it.

Furthermore, he has obtained one ability from his long exposure to the Zecter energy. This 'Accelerate' ability enhances his own time, making him move at supersonic speeds, up to Mach 2. To go any faster, he has to use the Beetle form, meaning that this is a weaker form of 'Clock Up' (see below).
Kabuto is also capable of instantly teleporting to the side of his master if she calls for him by emerging out of her shadow. This ability can be blocked only by the highest level of barriers to either disable Saeko's call, or to bind Kabuto in place. He can chose not to appear, but with each call from Saeko after the other, his urge to rush to her side grows stronger.
Natural Abilities: Dark Kabuto is a skilled fighter with a magnitude of weapons. For one, he's an expert marksman with modern and old weaponry, but prefers not to use them anymore. Still, his eagle-like eyesight is a bonus. Furthermore, his talents make him incredibly deadly with short blades such as daggers and small axes, using them as extensions of his hand-to-hand combat. He follows no singular style of combat, and has never had any formal training - he uses supreme speed, dexterity and being incredibly relentless as supplements for his natural skill. His fighting sense is honed to a point of being almost like a form of precognition.
Other Weapons: In the rare cases of not being in his armored forms, Dark Kabuto carries a shortsword. While it isn't magical, it is certainly sharp and well-mentained.



Element: Time

Something important to note is that NONE of Dark Kabuto's forms are his own power. For all intents and purposes, he has no released forms naturally - his body is in a constant state of full power. However, to fight, he utilizes the 'Zecter', a special living machine crafted by the old Guardian Beast empire. It is a sentient, but not sapient, weapon, which bonds to a wielder it choses. To utilize it, he slots the living machine into a special belt that always appears on his person the moment he needs it. The Zecter itself hides in 'folds' between timelines, and emerges when it is needed. The power produced by the Zecter is a transformed mixture of Reiatsu from Dark Kabuto and his darker emotions, coloring his energy black and crimson when using it.
In total, the resulting living armor of Dark Kabuto has three forms: Masked, Change Beetle, and Hyper. In that way, it mimicks the three-release stage abilities of Sugiura. However, Masked and Change Beetle are not strictly in a less to more powerful relation, but simply have strengths in different areas. Hyper form is stronger than both, and to access it, a secondary Zecter, a small bug called the 'Hyper-Zecter', emerges and fuses with the side of the belt to utilize the 'Hyper Cast-Off' to access Hyper form.


The least used form of Dark Kabuto, but still quite useful in certain situations - especially in those where supreme speed becomes useless.
Masked Appearance:
Masked Abilities:

• Heavy Armor: The Masked Form is the defensive form of Dark Kabuto. The armor can withstand a lot of punishment, like the carapace of an oversized insect.
  
• Shield Wall: A supportive skill. Dark Kabuto generates a force-field arround an ally, rendering the ally immobile, but also rooting Dark Kabuto to the ground. The ally will be protected against virtually anything, but if Dark Kabuto himself is knocked out or killed, the forcefield will fail.
  
• Chrono Blast: This technique is similiar to the Cero used by stronger Hollows. It concentrates energy in the right or left hand, then fires a fast beam right at the opponent, which will explode upon impact. Much like the Chrono Flames, this blast can't be affected by time manipulation in any way.
  
• Cast Off: Kabuto flips the 'horn' of his Zecter to initiate the Cast-Off command. The outer armor explodes outwards, turning him into the Change Beetle.
  
• Regenerate: By cowering down into a fetus-like position to create maximum protection, Dark Kabuto initiates a healing process that can possibly regenrate even lost body parts. This process takes too long to be used effectively in combat.
  

It is rare to see Dark Kabuto outside of this form. Even most of his allies have no idea that he has both other forms, and even a humanoid appearance underneath the armor. He even sleeps with it on.
Beetle Appearance:
Beetle Abilities:

• Clock Up: The most prominent power of this armor is activated by pressing a switch on the side of the belt. Once activated, Kabuto changes into a 'heightened state of time', accelerating his own time to such a level that the world around him slows down immensely. The scope of Clock Up depends on how much energy Dark Kabuto uses for it at any given time, but the maximum speed when using it is supposedly just short of breaking the speed of light. In other words, he's one of the fastest living beings while using Clock Up, turning into a blur. However, Clock Up can't be maintained forever. It eats up energy, and furthermore, the armor is made for shorter fights in heightened time - the stress of moving so incredibly fast to the outside world puts a strain on it and weakens the integrity. After ten posts of Clock Up in one thread, Dark Kabuto's speed can no longer reach up to the speed of light. After thirty posts, Clock Up becomes unuseable.
  
• Rider Kick: Dark Kabuto hits three buttons on his Zecter in the pattern of '1, 2, 3', before flipping the horn back and forth. This causes an energy buildup to start in his legs, and he will execute a kicking attack on the enemy in an attempt to cause massive damage. Mostly used as a finisher on a weakened enemy, those that are killed by this kick explode.
  
• Rider Punch: When Dark Kabuto reverses the code to '3, 2, 1', the energy buildup switches to his right hand. The next punch with it is incredibly fast AND deadly, causing massive amounts of damage. Those killed by it, again, explode into bits. Violently.
  
• Heat Kunai: Carried on the belt and usually used in the left hand when activated, the heat kunai is a close combat weapon. The blade is a bit shorter than Dark Kabuto's lower arm, and the handle has a complete guard around it to protect the wielder. Once drawn, the blade activates a 'heat field' around itself, searing anything it touches. When used during Clock Up, it leaves behind a visible, red trail of heat through the air at extreme speeds, making Dark Kabuto appear as a blur that is followed by a zagged, erratic red line. Used for quick strikes and to wear the opponent down. When used by someone else, the battery inside holds the heat charge for up to two posts. The armor constantly recharges it even when Dark Kabuto himself is using it, making the energy virtually infinite when used in armored form.
  
• Gun-Axe: Just what it sounds like. Carried on the belt normally, This combination-weapon serves as two in one. When gripped on what is the 'barrel' for gun-use, it performs as a hard and powerful handaxe, and when used at the other grip, can be used as a semi-automatic gun to fire small energy bullets.
  
• Chrono Burst: A special attack for which Dark Kabuto collects time energy in his right hand. The attack releases a laser-like blast that scatters through the air to strike at the opponent with high force. The special energy embedded into it make time alterations unable to affect it. Furthermore, if used during Clock Up, the blast will move at near-lightspeed speeds itself, but deal reduced damage thanks to time energy being used up to reach the desired insane speed.
  
• Chrono Shockwave: By releasing raw time energy around himself, Dark Kabuto disables all time alterations - including his own Clock Up for two posts. The blasts also deals damage to the surrounding area while 'slowing down' the time of it, so anyone caught in the blast and hit by it will be slowed down greatly for two posts. This effect can be disspelled by a stronger time alteration.
  
• Displacement Slash: A short burst of even greater speed while in Clock Up. It deactivates the Clock Up for two posts, but Dark Kabuto is able to attack with what seems to be a single slash of his Heat Kunai - but if it connects, it unleashes fifty slashes at once, dealing incredible amounts of damage.
  
• Hyper Cast Off: Dark Kabuto summons his Hyper Zecter, a small insect-type machine, far smaller than the main Zecter. It slots into the belt and activates, and upon flipping the horn, Dark Kabuto undergoes a form change into his ultimate mode.
  

Hyper Appearance:
Hyper Dark Kabuto is an enhanced version of the original. The chestpiece opens up to reveal the 'time core energy' within, which has now reached quantities that make it visible at all times. The red circuitry shines yellow, as well as the eyes, from being overloaded with energy. The shoulder pads perk upwards, and on the back, two plates slide open to reveal energy 'wings' on the back, which are composed entirely out of time energy.

Hyper Abilities:

• Constant Clock-Up: In this form, the armor becomes so imbued with Time Energy that it can withstand the stress of the normal Clock Up indefinitely. The user is always in a Clock Up state that can be freely manipulated to slow down into normal speeds of the world if needed. Chrono Shockwave is unable to disspell this type of Clock Up. Near lightspeed is still limited by the amount of Time Energy it uses, limiting Dark Hyper Kabuto to one post of near-lightspeed, before having normal superspeed for two posts as a cooldown-period.
  
• Hyper Clock Up: The ultimate power of Dark Kabuto. He becomes so fast and displaced from time, that he can outrun time itself. In other words, Hyper Dark Kabuto is fast enough to travel through time. However, time travel in this manner is NOT perfect or safe. If he travels back in time, he will be 'slingshotted' back to the present within moments of his arrival, and the same thing happens if he travels to the future. He couldn't travel back in time and stab his opponent as a baby, no. What he can do, though, is create paradoxes to help himself in combat. For example, a future version of him could jump in and push him out of the way of an attack he couldn't see coming - after which, the present self would travel back to do the same to his past self, with the former future self now being the actual present self. He can travel to the future, execute a single attack, and be back instantly as far as his opponent knows - the attack will fire off at whichever point Hyper Dark Kabuto arrived in the future, from half a post up to three posts into the future of a single fight. And finally, he can completely stop time for a very short moment, effectively 'teleporting' with a following movement. He can't cause any damage to his opponent during a time stop, as the frozen time makes it unable to hurt someone. The only exception to that rule would happen if someone else also stopped surrounding time - in that case, that person and Dark Kabuto could hurt each other. Every single use of Hyper Clock Up activates a cooldown period in which he can't use another Hyper Clock Up, this period is two posts.
  
• Hyper Chrono Beam: Fired from the mass of energy in the chest, this blast of destruction is comparable in strength to a Cero Oscuras. It has virtually no charge time thanks to being infused with time power, and is very fast. It has to recharge for five posts after each use, and can't be used more than four times during one thread. Can be used during Hyper Clock Up either in the future, or during a time stop. If used during the time stop, the beam will freeze in the place it was fired from until time resumes moving forward.
  
• Hyper Chrono Charge: Hyper Dark Kabuto charges up his next basic energy attack with excessive amounts of energy, increasing their power. Can't be applied to Hyper Chrono Beam, and has a 3 post cooldown.
  
• Hyper Kick: Similiar to the normal Rider Kick. Hyper Dark Kabuto presses all 3 buttons on the Zecter, before flipping the horns of both the Hyper Zecter and Dark Kabuto Zecter at nearly the same time. Time slows to an absolute crawl, almost stopped, while he executes a blindingly fast kick at the opponent, most of the time in the form of an axe kick, but sometimes as a flying side kick. The charged Hyper Time Energy from the kick is enough to produce a massive explosion and deal incredible damage, and each use depletes a lot of Dark Kabuto's own Reiatsu energies to refuel his Time Energy. The kick is incredibly fast, thanks to combining both a near time-stop and the full speed of Clock Up into one. The physical force is enough to push Hyper Dark Kabuto himself backwards after the impact. The unleashed explosion can damage a target even if they manage to escape the high-powered kick.
  

Character Background: Dark Kabuto's story begins with a Quincy of the Vandenreich. Born in the area that would later become modern germany, he was a 'Halbblut', having a normal human as his mother. This didn't stop his potential, though - even as a child, the young Quincy excelled at everything. He was a natural born prodigy and master of his arts. This caused him to quickly become part of the Vandenreich army.
As would be expected from someone that was part of this destructive force of Quincy, he had enough pride for an entire batallion. His self-assured strength and forceful nature lead him to climb ranks more quickly than any other Halbblut, and earned him the hatred of quite a few of his fellow Quincy, even having to fight them from time to time. But never, not even once, was he the one to initiate such a fight. Because above all, he fought FOR the Quincy, not just for himself. In other words, a perfect example of a Quincy hero and Hollow-hunting archer.

His fall began with the first Quincy war. As so many Quincy, he stood against the Shinigami in order to protect his fellow clanmates of the German Quincy Clan. His heroism got him named as the clan leader of that clan eventually during the war. But with every single day, he became more and more ruthless and brutal, like an animal that was being forced into a corner - all to protect those that were now his underlings. What he didn't know was that said underlings didn't just dislike him - they hated him, for being a half-blooded Quincy at their lead. The only exceptions were his direct family, a wife that was pregnant with his child.
During the last days of the losing war, the lone strongest Quincy of his clan stood against an onslaught of Shinigami on his own, while his troops guided the escape and hiding of civilians and wounded Quincy - and they were supposed to return after doing so, to join him in a last battle, before they'd all go into hiding.
But nobody returned. The leader of the german clan fought tirelessly against one enemy after the other, but even the greatest Quincy can't possibly defeat the Gotei on his own. His clanmates had abandonned him - nobody was there to rescue the man that had allowed them to even survive this long. When he finally realized that he was left alone, to simply die and serve as a distraction, he lost all hope and the will to fight, succumbing to his wounds. Battle records of that fight state that he managed to kill fifty Shinigami, while sustaining multiple wounds from Zanpakutō, including most of his internal organs, as well as third degree burns from Kidō attacks. His corpse was so mangled by the battle that even his identity and face never became known.

But that wasn't yet the end. Without hope and the will to live on, the soul of the Quincy had fallen deep into the pits of Hueco Mundo. All that remained within him was a burning desire for revenge, for the deaths of all those that had wronged him and his clan. When the heart of the once great hero eroded, he welcomed the empty feeling in his chest, fully turning into a Hollow. But he didn't lose his mind or wits, oh no. He retained his knowledge and genius battle sense - within weeks, he had consumed enough Hollows - while claiming dominance over their weak minds - to evolve into a Gillian-class Menos. Only with his eventual evolution into an Adjuchas was his true power unleashed, though. From the folds between worlds, an odd energy mixed with his Reiatsu and changed it - into 'Time Reiatsu', allowing him to move at speeds that no other Adjuchas could. But that wasn't enough for him - to simply wander around and devour his fellow Hollows. This was a useless existance, one that didn't bring him closer to slaying his true enemies.
And so, he decided to become the one being not bound by the soul-hunger of the Hollow - an Arrancar. Using more and more of the time energy he felt within himself, he finally pulled out the source of it - a black, bug-like creature. This being - he later found out that it was called a 'Zecter' - shattered his mask and bonded itself to his soul, changing him from an Adjuchas-class Menos into Dark Kabuto, a vengeful 'anti-hero'.

This ruthless figure was not to be trifled with. He had no sense of humor when talking, and no sense of honor when fighting. Using innocents to draw out his targets, killing harmless people that annoyed him - all par for the course. Dark Kabuto became a complete menace upon the worlds, assassinating many Shinigami that were once part of the war when they were on assignments in the human world. But he also killed the Quincy that descended from those that betrayed him, if he could find them - the Vandenreich knew better than to try and contact this vengeful monster.
But like any monster, a hero arose to defeat it. And so came the day when he fought his last battle. For the first time in ages, Dark Kabuto found a worthy opponent in a hero that fought for the smiles of others - and he finally felt 'alive' again. Discarding his evil tactics and cowardly plans, he simply fought with all of his heart and soul, feeling his emotions return only when one final blow of the warrior of good crushed his heart through the armor, revealing the man beneath the armor for the first time. A man, clad in white, tattered clothes, with a handsome face and long, white hair. Dark Kabuto died that day for the second time - peacefully, for he had found his way back into the light only through being defeated by it.

This would've been the end of his story, if not for a certain exiled princess of the Sugiura. Saeko saw his final battle, and decided to make Dark Kabuto her servant. Claiming his dead body before it could expire into particles, she recorded his 'soul and mind' into the Throne - this direct intervention with the Throne itself caused Dark Kabuto's self to return from the grave. His strong spirit and soul formed him a new body out of the primal force of time itself, and the Zecter returned to his side - this time, finally at full power, for he was no longer bound by the laws of the Arrancar.

Dark Kabuto was reborn as the Shadow Guardian Beast of Time, losing his name and identity to fully embrace the hero he could've been once. In this form, he forged a contract with Saeko, and only Saeko - allowing her to summon him to her own side at any time. Partially, because he was thankful. Partially because she still held the 'information of the soul' on him, and could possibly destroy him with it. And partially because in her pained and twisted being, he saw reflected the monster that only knew peace in death that he had been previously.

Now, the Shield of Saeko awaits the orders of his master, so that he may serve her... and so that he may save her from his own fate.

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