Saeko Mikage [Approved 2-3]

Name: Saeko Mikage
True Age: 640
Appearance Age: 28
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6”
Weight: 135

Appearance:


Personality: Saeko's demeanor is how she is usually seen by people that don't exactly know much about her. Saeko holds herself strongly. She is the epitome of a strong, independent woman with a natural beauty that not many could match. Although she's actually quite plain in appearance because of her normal brown hair and eyes, she still has this aura about her, this presence that makes people do a triple take. There are people that just stare at her in awe when she is walking by, though she never seems to acknowledge them. Unfortunately, this changes once you get to know her a bit, especially when you realize what she has been through in the passed seven years. Once a character gets to know Saeko, they see a deeply depressed woman with a broken spirit that seems impossible to mend. Saeko isn't exactly a closed book. If someone asks her a questions about herself, she will answer it. She just answers very bluntly and can sometimes seem cold and heartless with her descriptions. Most of the time, people take it as her not wanting anyone around her, so she often seems like a recluse, or loner. She's not a loner; she's just hurting quite a lot.

Keep going. If life hands you lemons, drop them. Don't keep yourself in a situation you don't like just because you don't want the lemons to rot. People move on and so can you. If you fall, get back up and try again. Bad things happen and you can't change them, but you can try to move on and make things better for others and yourself. This is what she is trying her hardest to live by at this point. Life has handed her a shit deal and nothing has gotten better since the incident. Every single day, Saeko has to sit back and think about why she's continuing on. Why should she keep living today? Every single day for seven years, she has only been able to give herself one valid reason: the job. Being a Shinigami, protecting lives, allowing souls to pass on, and killing hollow give her a purpose that she is satisfied with. At this point, if she ever lost the ability to go to the world of the living and fight hollow, she'd snap. She would snap and likely kill herself. What's the point of living if you have no reason to? Find one and keep it. Saeko doesn't really see a point of ending it in one world when you're likely just going to return to the soul cycle to be hurt again.

Saeko's strength lies in her will to live, but her weakness also lies there. She has been able to fight her sorrow and hopelessness for seven years by giving herself a reason to live. She convinces herself every day that she still has a purpose, that things will get better, and that she'll be happy again. This weighs her down and this will to go on just keeps getting weaker and weaker as time passes by. Nothing seems to be changing and it's like she's stuck in time. She needs something to change. Saeko feels alone all the time and that's probably the worst way someone like her can feel. When she's alone, she sits there and thinks, even when she's trying not to. She can't even think of anything good because good memories only bring back the bad that she has had to deal with for so long. It only causes her more pain. These thoughts constantly returning have done something to her. When she has someone remind her, make her mad, threaten her, or tell her to just end it, she actually gets this look of true anger and insanity. It's actually quite frightening to look at because when she gets like that Saeko is completely unpredictable and likely to hurt someone or herself.

Character Background: Saeko remembers nothing of her living on Earth. In fact, she's not even sure if there was a time that she had lived on Earth. For years, Saeko lived in the Rukongai. She was well known in the area she was from and was sort of looked up to. Over time, she noticed that she was slowly growing hungry. She began needing food like those with spiritual energies within them. She knew what this meant, but doubted highly that she'd ever become anything more than a mere soul with mere power. For one hundred years, her power continued to grow. In her three hundred and twenty first year of remembered life, Saeko's power was getting to a noticeable point. She caught the eye of others in her area of the Rukongai and they attempted to recruit her in their little gangs and groups of criminal-like organizations that sought only to control the weak in the area. She denied them and they did not like it.

A couple of weeks after their initial offer, the men who she had declined the offer of decided to show up at the hut she had been staying in. They pushed themselves into the place she called her home and repeatedly attempted to convince her to reconsider their offer. When they were repeatedly declined, they became angry and decided to use physical force instead of their charm to bring her along. Of course, she resisted and as they attempted to drag her out of her home, she yelled out for help. She was a tough woman, but she had no ability to fight. Luckily, a handsome young man saw this little issue and decided to stick up for her. They refused and attacked him while two men held her down. Saeko watched as this man fought them off. He wasn't the most graceful of fighters, but he had a lot of brute force behind his technique. Once they were defeated and she was let go, she learned this man's name was Ryuu Mikage.

Ryuu was a kind man who enjoyed one thing in his life: his job. He often talked about being a Shinigami and how fulfilling it was to protect those who needed it, to help the dead move on, and to exercise hollow. He was very proud of his work and had a strong loyalty to the Gotei because of it. It wasn't long till he noticed that she had enough power within herself to advance and do what he did. He talked it up so much that she was pulled into his dream and ended up gladly making it her own as well. It wasn't long before she was convinced to sign up for Shino Academy. Since Ryuu was a Fifth Seat of one of the Divisions, Saeko thought that they would go their separate ways, but that didn't happen. In fact, he often came to check on her and helped her with her progress. He trained along with her for quite some time, helping her get better and better, and one day shocked her with a question she actually hoped he would ask.

"Do you think... well..." he started shyly. He was so cute when he was like this. He had begun to get shy around her recently and she wondered why. "I... wanted you to... with me... dinner, maybe?" he continued and she could not help but smile at him. After he tried a couple more times, she placed her finger over his lips, shook her head, smiled, and leaned in to give him a small kiss. He was shocked for a moment and Saeko enjoyed watching his cheeks turn red. He continued to look at her, creating one of those moments that made you want to kiss more. They moved closer and soon their lips met again. The two shared a surprisingly long and passionate kiss. They created a connection that neither had felt before. Needless to say, the two of them got very close. They began dating each other and seemed perfect. On the day of Saeko's graduation and placement into Squad 2, Ryuu did something she did not expect. He proposed.

Needless to say, Saeko had fallen in love with Ryuu and she excitedly said yes to his proposal. Three months later, the two of them got married and took a little vacation to have a honeymoon to the world of the living. There, the two had the greatest of times, only making the love they had for one another become stronger and stronger. Saeko had never been happier and she was happy for years to come. Unfortunately, fate didn't seem to shine brightly down on her because her happiness was torn from her seven years ago. She was now the third seat of the Second Division and her husband was the Lieutenant. Through training and hard work, the two of them climbed the ranks and got to a place they were satisfied. The two of them were sent out on a dangerous mission ton Hueco Mundo. During the mission, Saeko was to act professional and nothing more, which is what they were used to doing. It was the agreement they made long ago.

Unfortunately, their group was backed into a corner by a massive amount of hollow that they were unable to fight. They began questioning the reason for coming to this place without a Captain, but soon realized that Ryuu had actually developed his bankai. During a battle, he unleashed it and fought hard and strong. Saeko concentrated on protecting her squad members, but realized that Ryuu wasn't fully able to wield his bankai. When he began having problems, she rushed out to help him. He shouted to her and told her to return to the side of their members, but she refused. She fought along side of him, but a more powerful hollow caught her off guard. It struck her with such force that her body was sent flying far away. Saeko was knocked unconscious. Two weeks later, Saeko woke up confused, in pain, and wrapped in many bandages. The first thing she did was ask about Ryuu and of they gave her the most horrible news.

"Lieutenant Ryuu Mikage was killed in action..." was the first thing out of the nurses mouth, "... He... Uh..." The woman sighed and decided she'd rather be emotional about this over professional. "Ryuu ran in to save you when the hollow hit... Your body was so damaged that you didn't wake up. It's been two weeks. He couldn't fight them all off, but he's the only reason you're alive. Captain Koenig arrived just on time to save you and the rest of your group... Most were injured, but... I regrettably say that your husband did not survive." Saeko was more than crushed. It was her fault, all her fault. If she had just listened to him, she wouldn't have been hit. He wouldn't have had to run to her side. He wouldn't have died. Her husband was dead because of her. From then on, Saeko fell into the deepest depression that one could possibly get into. Because of this, she stayed in the hospital for a month before they allowed her release.

Of course, the first place that she was going to go when they told her she had to leave was home. It took her an hour to open the door, and even as she did she was shaking. She stepped in and her lower jaw began to tremble as she looked around. She was trying not to cry, but the moment she closed the door, Saeko fell to her knees, balled up, and began crying for hours and hours on end. She wasn't seen for days. Finally, someone came to see her, but it wasn't a presence she particularly wanted. "I would have listened to him, you know." she looked up to see a blonde haired red eyed female standing in her doorway, "I would have listened to him and he would still be alive. This is why I told you to stay away from him when you first started dating. You were going to get him killed, I knew it. And now look. You did. You deserved to die, not him." Hearing that destroyed her. The only person that came to see her was this bitch?

Saeko's vision blurred and she felt her heart begin to race. She felt like she was having a massive heart attack. The woman stood there, watching her in disgust, but unaware that someone else was listening in on their interaction. Suddenly, the bitch was hit in the back of the head, knocked unconscious, and right before she blacked out, Saeko noticed only the shadow of someone who came to help her. She passed out. Once again, Saeko woke up in the care of Squad Four about three days later. She felt so numb; everything she loved had been ripped from her life and it was her fault. She went home again, but this time she couldn't even cry. She just began cleaning up. A few hours passed and things began looking decent in her home and a lot of Ryuu's stuff was in the same place she was used to it being. She noticed something. It was a letter and on the envelop it was addressed to "The Love Of My Life". She opened it and read.

My Dearest Saeko,

Two weeks from now will be our 312th anniversary. Words cannot describe the amount of love I have for you or how special and precious every moment of my life with you has been. But if you're reading this letter, either I didn't make it home on time to remove it from under the pillow, or I didn't make it home at all. No matter which one it is, you need to know that I will love you forever, but there is one problem. You told me years ago that if I were to die, you didn't think that you could continue on or ever love again. Please, I beg of you, do not do that to yourself. Moving on will never lessen the beautiful life we had together. It just allows you to live a new one. I will be in your heart forever and in your memories, so please my love, if there ever comes a time where I did not come home, continue to live your life and love again. You are too beautiful, too kind, and have way too much to offer. I love you Saeko.

~ Forever yours, Ryuu

The letter was beautiful and she held it to her chest as if it was the most precious thing she had. "So that's what you write every time you go on a mission..." she thought as she recalled him writing hundreds of these things since they got married. She was never allowed to look at them and he'd always put them in different spots for her to find. Of course, she never read one until today. "How am I supposed to love again..." she asked herself as she dropped to her knees and buckled over, holding the letter to her chest, "... when you took my world and my heart with you." Even with the amount of pain she felt, she would honor his request for her to live on. It was the one thing she felt she could do for him. She promised herself and him that she was going to find a reason to continue on and live her life. She wouldn't break down and end it and maybe one day she could find someone new, but even if she tried nothing could compare to Ryuu.

After another week, Saeko finally felt like she was able to function and returned to her Squad. Upon arrival, she was given the news that she would be promoted to her husbands position. At first, she didn't think that she could handle being called Lieutenant Mikage, since that is exactly what everyone called him. Before her husband, she never had a last name to define her, so that wasn't changing. Over a seven year period, now in present time, Saeko has changed a lot. She used to have this soft, loving, and motherly demeanor around her, but now she's this strong, independent and rather intimidating individual. Of course, this isn't what she's wanting to be. She's just lonely and in pain. Since she has no one to talk to, she isn't sure how she is supposed to mend that pain. So now, Saeko acts as the squads Lieutenant and that's it. She does her job and does it well, feeling that is the only reason that she now has to continue and live her life.


Unreleased Abilities: In order from most to least skilled.

Hoho: Saeko is at an early masterful level with the techniques in Hoho. While she has mastered the art of shunpo, the other techniques within the Hoho category are on the more adept to advanced level. They are something she's practiced and maybe used once in battle, but not much experience beyond that.

Hakuda: Saeko is right between advanced and master with this one. The only reason she's at this level with Hakuda is because she stopped her training in Zanjutsu when her husband died. With that, her time for training in Hakuda doubled and she now uses it as a way to clear and relax her mind. When she's fighting in this aspect, she's very focused and her reaction time is rather high. When she's not using her Zanpakutō, hand-to-hand is her choice fighting style.

Zanjutsu: Saeko is at that mark between adept and advanced, leaning more toward advanced when it comes to the Shinigami sword style. She's naturally good and considered master with regular swordsmanship, but applying the techniques that only Shinigami can use is a little different. It's something that Ryuu was able to do very well and was training her in, so she sort of paused all progress.

Kidō: Saeko knows the basic spells because she feels that they get the job done fine when she needs them. She doesn't know anything beyond forty and is really only master/advance level with Kidō 1-20.

Zanpakutō: Saeko's Zanpakutō is just a small dagger. See Shikai for image.
Zanpakutō Release Phrase: "Reveal"


Zanpakutō Spirit Name: Akairo

Zanpakutō Spirit Appearance: Akairo is a woman with a rather attractive body, soul piercing eyes, and hair length that outmatches most. Why? Because she's about seven foot tall, Saeko's never measured. For a woman, that is a little over the top, but Akairo is meant to be intimidating, so it works. She's meant to be able to knock someone off their feet over and over again without much resistance.


Zanpakutō Spirit Personality: Strong, intimidating, and yet so fully of life. That is the exact embodiment of Akairo. She is very strong both physically and mentally. She's the type of person to knock you down over and over again until you get up on your own and force yourself to stay up. She's intimidating; it's as if she is meant to scare you into running away or facing her. She's quite demanding and strict in aspects like training and battle. She expects nothing less than a strong will and determination from Saeko and when she doesn't get it, she'll beat the shit out of her until Saeko is sick of dealing with it. Of course, there are those times that Saeko just can't deal with it and just allows it to happen. If this goes on, Akairo actually refuses to lend Saeko her power and makes her fight on her own until she remembers why she is continuing to live. Akairo is sympathetic toward Saeko, especially since the loss of Ryuu, but she's only gotten tougher since then. It's her way of keeping Saeko up to her standards and ready to fight.

Zanpakutō Spirit's World: Saeko's inner world is meant to make people feel small and insignificant, but learn to accept that this is just the way things are. Everything in her inner world is ten times the size that it would be in the normal world. The world mimics Saeko's current thought process. If she's wanting to train, she'll appear in a large arena that makes her look like an ant. Is she wants to relax, she'll end up in a forest where the trees are too big to walk around without a map. If she wants to be home, she'll end up in her room where the bed is too tall for her to get on normally. And then there is Akairo; the giant woman who comes along to push her out of that bed, trip her over the tree root, and kick her ass in the arena. It really is a world that just knocked you on your ass.

Shikai Name: Kami no Me (神の目, The Eyes Of God)
Shikai Appearance: This is referring to her eyes, not the dagger. The activation of Saeko's shika allows her eyes to change colors. A red, orange, and yellow energy, often resembling a semi-transparent fire, also can be seen emitting itself from the blade of the six inch dagger.


Shikai Abilities: There are two steps to Saeko's shikai: placement and cutting. Saeko's Zanpakutō gives her control on what she has come to know as "threads of life". These threads of life need to be placed on someone. Saeko places them by getting close enough to swing her dagger toward them and exert the fire-colored energy toward them. It moves out only five feet away from the initial swing, so she has to prevent them from dodging, running, or being too far away. Once they're placed, Saeko has to cut them in two to do any damage. This means she actually has to get close to cut the thread she's put on them with her dagger; they can't be cut by anything else. Once the thread is cut, the energy within it is used in one way: Over a mere .5 seconds, it acts as a blade and cuts straight back through the area until it reaches the other side. This makes threads on the top of shoulders, on the stomach, neck, or head especially dangerous.

Saeko is able to place up to four threads on a person and each of these threads can be from .5-6 inches long, depending on where it's placed. These threads do not move through a person, so just because they hit the front of the opponents arm, doesn't mean they are on the back of the arm. Each thread lasts for three posts once placed and then fade away. Once the thread is placed, the only one that can see them is Saeko. It's all about close ranged accuracy with Saeko. As a note: these lines do not just go on a person's body; they can be placed on items as well, but don't think that means it stops through the first layer of clothing. No. It continues through at least five inches and then will stop on the other side, so unless you're wearing a hell of a lot of clothing, don't think that's some sort of sneaky advantage you've got.

An Example Of Saeko's Shikai: Saeko is fighting. She places a thread at the bottom of someone's ear on accident. She cuts the place anyway and they no longer have the bottom of their ear attached to them. It's not that big of a deal and will heal, but damn that sucks and is likely a pain one is not used to.
Example 2: Saeko places a thread on the top of their shoulder and cuts it again. That energy will push down through their body until it comes out the other side. This means their body was just cut in two.


Bankai Name: Meimyaku (命脈, Thread Of Life)

Bankai Appearance: The only visible thing that occurs during the activation of Saeko's bankai is that her dagger is no longer a dagger. It turns into a full katana and the energy it emits is much more powerful than when in shikai.

Bankai Abilities: