Kazuo Saionji [APPROVED 1-1, A0]

Name: Kazuo Saionji (齎恩自 和男; Saionji Kazuo)
Nicknames: (Optional)
Appearance Age: Mid-20s
True Age: 802
Gender: Male
Appearance:


Nobility: As the second son and the next-in-line to be the head of the Saionji Clan (at least until J. has an heir), Kazuo is entitled to his own parts of nobility. The first of which is his personal crest. Only J is entitled to use the Saionji crest currently on official documents and the like, so Kazuo was entrusted with his own crest. His is rather simple, a Mitsudomoe with three extra trails between the parts. That is the symbol of him as a Saionji. For his own personal use, he has a more elegantly-designed peacock symbol. This is mostly used on his documents and the like as a Captain.


Speed & Hohō: Grandmaster. Kazuo is, undoubtedly, among the fastest Captains. He is known as Damashun Kazuo (黙瞬 和男; Silent Flash Kazuo) due to the fact that he can perform Shunpō comparable to a decently-trained Captain in complete silence. That is him holding back. In fact, Damashun is a recent title for him. Before that, he was known as Tenbu Kazuo (一歩; Single-Step Kazuo). Even without using Shunpō, Kazuo's speed is surprising. When he isn't trying to be an elegant nobleman, he's actually scarily fast. Few people actually know his upper limits.
Hakuda: Grandmaster. Kazuo is the unofficial "Fourth Fist" of the Gotei 13. The actual "Three Fists" (Ryōtarō Fujisaki, Lilith Blake, and Kaito Toma) are one-punch-KO types and have myths about them. Kazuo is only grouped in with them because of his skill in Hakuda. He is more of the type to strike at weak spots or something along those lines. However, that isn't why he's grouped in with the three Old Guard. It's because in the time it'd take one of them to land one punch, Kazuo has likely landed two or three due to his speed.
Agility: Kazuo is rather limber for someone of his height and stature. More impressively, he is able to fight perfectly fine without messing up his hair.
Zanjutsu: Above-Average. Due to his brother, Kazuo has learned quite a lot about using a sword... even if he doesn't use it often.
Kidō: Average. Higher skill in Bakudou than Hadou.
Kaidō: No skill.


Zanpakuto Name: Sōhakutoge (蒼白棘; Pale Thorn)
Zanpakuto Release Phrase: "Bite"
Zanpakuto Appearance:



Shikai Name: Sōhakutoge (蒼白棘; Pale Thorn)
Shikai Appearance:

Shikai Abilities: Sōhakutoge has only a single ability, and that is of its poison: Zōge Araga (象牙荒蛾; Ivory Blight Moth). Delivered by the bite from the skull on the end of the chain, Zōge Araga is not deadly on its own. Besides making the afflicted feel warmer than normal, the poison creates a weakened area around the injection site. It suffers from a -5 to durability overall and an additional -10 (for a total of -15) for attacks originating from Kazuo. The durability loss is dispersed after eight hours of rest or Kazuo sealing his Shikai. If he releases his Bankai, the durability loss stays—although his personal bonus does not.



Bankai Name: Rakuyō Kotsumoku (落葉骨木; Falling Leaves of the Tree of Bone)
Bankai Appearance: Rakuyō Kotsumoku is very unique in its appearance as it takes the form mainly of a suit of armor that was worn by some of the first Saionji. The only personalized difference is the change of the Saionji crest to Kazuo's branch's crest.



Bankai Abilities: Rakuyō Kotsumoku loses its injection poison from its Shikai, but it instead gains the ability of Fushō Nenrin (負傷年輪; Injured Annual Ring). Rakuyō Kotsumoku is a Zanpakutō that uses an opponent's history against them. The more battle-worn the opponent, the better it works. This is done by an airborne poison released from the spinning of his axe called Uboku Kyōga (烏木凶蛾; Ebony Plague Moth). This has a similar effect to Zōge Araga, except that it only requires breathing in the poison for one round. After that, every previous wound of the opponent—even those that have healed perfectly—are visible to Kazuo as a faint contrasting glow. Each of these spots suffer a -15 to Durability. This is increased to -30 if any wound was caused by Kazuo over eight hours ago. For example, someone like Ryōtarō Fujisaki would effectively be taking a -15 against any of Kazuo's attacks due to his battle-scarred body. However, someone such as Ai Tachibana would likely not take a single -15 due to her lack of combat experience.


Character Synopsis

Kazuo Saionji is the younger brother of the Captain-Commander and patriarch of the Saionji family, J. Saionji. He is the Gotei's 2nd-most-eligible bachelor (with his brother at No. 1). Family means a lot more to him than people realize, mainly because he keeps what he does for the family a secret. Despite being both a Captain and the next-in-line to lead the Saionji, he does the dirty work in making problems disappear for the Saionji. Ever since entering the academy, he has had his sights set on the 2nd Division, and has served with them since he's been in the Gotei 13, eventually becoming the Lieutenant. After the previous 2nd Division Captain's death, he became the Captain and has served since.

In terms of combat prowess, Kazuo is the unofficial "Fourth Fist" of the Gotei. Whereas Kaito, Lilith, and Ryōtarō all have tremendous strength and a one-hit-KO style, Kazuo is a "death by a thousand papercuts" type. Kazuo is also noted to be among the fastest of the Captains, something that further cements his place as the 2nd Division Captain.