Yamashita Ritsu

Yamashita Ritsu is the 4th Seat of Division 9. His Zanpaktou is Fainarugādo, self proclaimed strongest defense zanpakuto.

Appearance


Yamashita stands at 6'3" and has brown, almost blonde, hair which is kept short and swept to the side causing it to feather on the left and slightly spike up on the right side of his head. His eyes are a mixture of blue and green causing them to appear as one or the other depending on the light of the area he is in. When around the Seireitei he wears the standard uniform with the exception of a leather pauldron which rests over his left shoulder, he also wears a splintered wooden rook chess piece around his neck which was given to him by his captain at the time, Akio Isamu. His Reiatsu is Amber.

Personality
Yamashita is generally carefree and comical in every situation regardless to the mood. There are times where he will take situations seriously, especially when someones emotions are exposed or the topic is exceedingly serious but these moments are short lived due to usually finding a way to ease the tension as being serious makes him uncomfortable. In battle his personality rarely changes. Yamashita enjoys taunting and joking with opponents and even complimenting their skill regardless of his relationship with them. Although his relaxed composure during battle points to his enjoyment of combat, he rarely initiates conflict and prefers to talk things out to avoid fighting. However, if anyone he cares for is in danger he will not hesitate to protect them, regardless of how powerful the opponent may be.

Pre Seireitei Entry
Yamashita's history prior to entering the Seireitei is unknown. The reasons, if any, behind the leather pauldron he wears are also a mystery. He seems to avoid talking about his past. Yamashita also has a sister named Shiraishi but nothing is yet known about her.

Post Seireitei Entry
Upon entering the Seireitei on Febuary 27, 2013, Yamashita was given a warm welcome and was promptly accepted into squad 7 as their 5th seat. After some time he was offered the 4th seat of squad 9 and the position of 2nd in Command for the Seireitei Security force which he accepted.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsman: Yamashita is a skilled when using his Zanpaktou in it's sealed and Shikai forms although notably better when using Skikai due to the drastic change his Zanpaktou's shape. He specialises in blocking and countering being his preferred combat style, he normally waits for opponents to attack before taking action.

Kido Expert: Yamashita is very skilled in kido due to it being his only reliable form of attack. He is able to cast many kido without the incantation or even the rank and has proven to be able to cast it in quick succession, most notably multiple shakkahos.

Skilled Tactician: Although he takes combat very lightly and unseriously Yamashita has shown that he can react in high pressure situations quickly and effectively. He is most noted for using unorthodox and creative strategies and techniques to get the upperhand in combat, trying to surprise his opponent at any cost, even to go as far as to take hits on purpose.

Zanpaktou


Fainarugādo (Final Guard): In sealed form it take the shape of a silver straight sword. Although the sword is entirely silver, including the hilt, grip, pommel and guard, it does not show any of the weakness of silver and is exceedingly durable. Yamashita carries it on his left hip.


 * Shikai: Fainarugādo's Shikai command is Hold Your Ground. Yamashita holds it horizontally and it makes a large cry that sounds like two blades striking each other. In Shikai Fainarugādo changes into a blade with two components. The first component extends from the handle and is a large, heavy, thick piece of blunt steel with 4 holes in it to reduce it's massive weight. The second component is a large piece of razored steel that extends past the handle to protect the hand, it attaches to one side of the blunt component. The two components are connected by several metal rods that leave a slight amount of space between them. This design allows the user to block attacks with both hands spaced on the blunt side of the blade making it optimal for defending against attacks.
 * Shikai Special Ability: Fainarugādo is a defense-type Zanpakuto. It's abilities are based around defense and has no directly offensive attacks. It is considerably more durable than other Zanpakutos and will sustain hits that others would be unable to.
 * Matsu (Bide): A passive ability that stores the energy of whatever attack is blocked (either by the blade or Sheruta) to be later utilized by Hangeki. Matsu does not absorb the energy of attacks but replicates the energy within the blade as spiritual energy similar to Yamashita's although it does not draw any power from it. Therefore, blocking attacks with special properties like fire or ice will not affect how Hangeki materializes.
 * Hangeki (Counterattack): Yamashita calls out this ability as he delivers an attack with his blade which releases all the energy that was stored by Matsu. The properties of the energy release change with how he swings his blade. The known variations of Hangeki are an energy wave when swinging it in any direction, a directional laser when thrusted, and an explosion when not swung or when smashed against and object. The wave is entirely made of condensed spiritual energy and the range or size will not change with how much energy is released. The energy wave is the same color as Yamashita's reiatsu.
 * Sherutā (Shelter): When this ability is called out a semi-transparent shield materializes the same color as Yamashita's reiatsu. This shield can take many basic forms and is capable of blocking any type of attack. The forms it has taken include a wall and a dome. Sheruta's strength is based off Yamashita's spiritual energy.


 * Bankai: Not yet achieved.

True Form: Fainarugādo's true form is that of a Medieval knight. He stands at a height of 6'3" and is covered completely in silver armor, a large orange plume extends from the back of his helmet similar to hair although it is unknown what color his hair is or even what he looks like as he is never seen without his armor on.

Inner World: The inner world is a large mountain surrounded by hills covered in deciduous trees in a constant state of Autumn. The time of day always seems to be at sunset and the trees are constantly shedding their leaves although the world never fills with leaves, Yamashita explains it as frozen in time. Ascending the mountain is a stone staircase that leads to the top where it plateaus to a small clearing. At the center of the clearing stands a large wooden japanese gate that is closed at all times. Looking around the gate reveals nothing but the other side of the mountain so it's purpose is unknown. Fainarugādo is usually found leaning on one side of it.

Trivia

 * Yamashita has gained a slight physical immunity thanks to his Zanpakuto's defensive nature. So far, the only noticeable difference is that he is immune to sunburns.


 * Yamashita's theme is History Repeating pt.2 (One Last Time)