Yoshito "Yoshi" Tanaka

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to   love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. " -Mic 6:8 (Yoshi's favorite scripture verse) 

Bio
Yoshito Tanaka is the 3rd seat of Squad 13 under Captain Hinata Banteki. He is an easy-going (if not spazzy) Shinigami with a strong moral compass. When in battle, Yoshi refers to himself as a "messenger of the Lord." This is known to be his Zanpakuto, Kami no Sabaki, influencing his thoughts and emotions. Otherwise, Yoshi loves to spend time with his friends and happily fulfills his duties as third seat. His favorite Pokemon is Combusken.

History
Yoshi was lonely from the time he came into the Rukongai as a child. Luckily for him, he lived in one of the higher districts. Yet, nobody seemed to want him and he wandered the street. One day, Squad 13 Captain Jushiro Ukitake was walking through after a Gillian attacked outside the Seireitei gates and happened to notice little Yoshi wandering aimlessly. It was then that Yoshi was brought into the Squad 13 barracks as a civilian occupant, a personal guest of the Captain. Yoshi grew up separated from the rest of the Squad 13 shinigami because he did not know how to interact with them. The only people he spoke to were Ukitake and Ned, the life-sized stuffed Gillian that Ukitake made him based on one of Yoshi's drawings when he was first brought in.

He entered into the academy at the average age and progressed relatively quickly. He was praised highly for his Kido skills, being able to use hado as high as Haien and bakudo as high as Tsuriboishi by the end of his first year. His zanjutsu was on par with most others, but his hakuda was dissapointingly low. It was at the end of that first year that Yoshi decided to work on long range fighting. That train of thought eventually led him to start using kido in less-than-conventional ways, like using Tenran to launch himself in the air or catapulting his Haien using Tsuriboshi to increase velocity and force. When he graduated, he repaid his debt to Ukitake by entering his squad. By the time Ukitake resigned, Yoshi had made it to fourth seat. He remained that way during Bveress's reign as Captain, before he defected and Hinata took over. He was promoted to third seat and became fiercely loyal to his former subordinate.

After being cheated on and left by Azumi Haruko, Yoshi went a bit insane. He occupied his time making odd little trinkets in his quarters, not seeing the light of day for weeks. And when he did step outside, many feared for his already fragile sanity. While trying to avoid Azumi and her new boyfriend Drake Soñoliento, Yoshi met the fifth seat of Squad 1, Yusako Tsukiko. Insisting on being called "Tsuki", she invited Yoshi to be her date for a night at a sushi joint in Karakura Town. Their relationship blossomed after that, and they eventually fled the Soul Society after threats of a civil war. They currently live in Karakura with Tsuki's orphans. They opened and currently operate a small shop which welcomes all races.

Kami no Sabaki (God's Judgement)
When unreleased, Yoshi keeps Kami no Sabaki in its golden sheath behind his back (like Soi Fon). It resembles a nodachi with a bright yellow handle. Its release command is Sabaku (Judge). When releasing, Yoshi puts one palm on the tip of his blade and the other on the pommel of its handle. He pushes his palms together, and his sword is reduced to a small ball of



white-gold reiatsu. It floats over his head and morphs into a large, golden battleaxe. Yoshi can wield Kami no Sabaki with ease, spinning it behind his back and over his head with little effort despite its size.

Shikai Abilities
Toku: Every injury inflicted by Kami no Sabaki leaves a marker over the wound. At any time, Yoshi can call forth an arrow made of reishi (just like a Quincy). The arrow appears right over the marker, then pierces though and causes additional damage, There can be up to four markers present in total at a time, and the number carries over to other opponents. Once an arrow has inflicted damage, however, the marker disappears and makes room for another to be placed. The arrows are called forth by the words "Fortitude", "Prudence", "Temperance", and "Justice".

Goka: Yoshi can also call forth dozens of arrows at once, pelting his entire field of vision up to 50 feet away. However, due to the immense amount of energy it uses, he rarely, if ever, uses it in combat.

Zanpakuto Spirit
Kami no Sabaki manifests itself as an elderly, priest-like man. Whenever he appears, he continues to lecture



Yoshi about his various "sins." He may appear as a stern, stubborn, old man, but he truly cares for his master. His lessons and lectures are his attempts to make Yoshi a better person and more in-tune with his faith. Kami no Sabaki tends to take a more active role when released in combat, entering into Yoshi's mind and influences his thoughts and actions. He is Yoshi's moral compass, and steers the young lad on his path of being a "messenger of the Lord."