Manae :BIO:

----Personal Information----

Name: Manae Yamazaki (山崎)
Age: Died as a baby, Actual age is unknown, appears 15-16
Birthday: November 28
Sex: Female
Species: Shinigami
Race: Japanese
Nationality: Unknown
Sexual Preference: interested in men
Relationship: none

Affiliation: Gotei 13
Rank: 4th Seat
Former rank: 3rd Seat

----Appearance----

Height: 5'3" (63 inches)
Weight: 125 lbs
Eyes: Hazel, Oval
Hair: Chestnut Brown, Wavy, hip length
~In battle: long braid
~In the office: Down, tied at the end with a green ribbon


Build/body: Curvy Body

~ B/C Cup
~Light Tan skin tone

Distinguishing features:
~freckles across cheeks
~Beauty Mark beside left eye
~Cartilage is pierced twice in her left ear, once in the right, wears small hoop earrings
~Has a cherry blossom tattoo on her right shoulder blade


Clothing:

She wears a usual black Soul Reaper uniform with white trim. Unlike most, she ties it at her natural waist with a thicker gray sash, tying it at the left side, and the shoulders have a slit on top. Under the sleeves of her uniform, she wears lime green arm bands with black trim which come to her middle finger, held by a silver loop (see other pics), along with waraji worn over tabi. She wears her zanpakuto on her back, a chain holding it around her chest, as it's too long to wear at her waist.

She wears two pieces of jewelry. The most important to her is her actual necklace. She wears a lime green, quarter-sized pendant attached to a leather string, which was given to her by Momo Hinamori as Toshiro's present to her one birthday. On the pendant is a arrow design which represents her zodiac sign, Sagittarius. Tighter around her neck, Mariya wears a teal ribbon choker with another lime green gem attached to it. This accessory didn't show up in Manae's look until she was in her last year at the academy, when she learned the name of her zanpakuto, Iteza Bakugeki, who of which the choker represents, that and the relationship between the two.

----Personality----

~She's kind and caring about others, which kinda makes her greedy and covetous when it comes to people (Yes, people. Not just friends. Though it's less noticeable). This is because earlier in her life, she lost people that she really cared about, such as her parents from illness. So, she wants to keep people around her, trying to make up for the emptiness these people left with her afterwards.

~Yamazaki's down-to-earth, and likes to help people with their problems. But sometimes it causes her to betray more of a arrogance to know everything, which she doesn't try to do.  She just wants to know what's bothering her friends.

~She's polite, and acts professional when need be, as that's how she was taught when she was younger. Around those she considers friends, she's usually more laid back, and is known to be a fun and social person, though she never goes too far with her actions, as she understands where she stands in the ranks, and must set an example.

~She has a slight temper, though because she's highly ranked, Manae usually tries her best to keep her anger in, and be polite as she usually is so to not make a fool of herself. Though, if pushed any farther, she can be known to go off verbally for a few minutes, before she calms down enough to the point that she can just walk away before the situation becomes worse.

~When fighting, Manae tries her best to keep concentrated, and more importantly, badly injured. She hides her insecure thoughts much better, composed. With the stress of knowing she may switch, Manae makes sure to think at least three steps ahead, making sure she has an out or the ability to dodge at all times.

~Manae is self-conscious about certain things, from random little things like her singing voice, to bigger things, like how she's seen by others and superiors. This came about when she returned to the Soul Society after the incident, and felt that no one saw her as she once was, and looked down on her as a Soul Reaper. And it got even worse when the personality flop developed, which made her even more self-conscious, and outcast in a way.

~Then there's her personality flop mentioned above, which happens usually when she's;
a: Surprised
b: Badly injured, specifically to the head
c: Scared
In this situation, Manae acts more like a stereotypical teenager, easily hyper and known to hold grudges towards people. She's more laid back, and carefree, and also is known to use more modern terms in her speech, as well as cuss more. But most importantly, in this condition, she isn't really aware of how to either act, or even fight, which gets her into problems in battle.


Major quirks/habits
~When alone, she likes to sing songs that her mother taught her when she was young
~When nervous, she's known to chew on the inside of her mouth, which gives her away easily
~She hates when people keep secrets from her, and isn't a big fan of surprises
~Manae has mild OCD when it comes to papers, from how they're filed to alphabetical order
~She isn't a big fan of pink or neon colors, as they give her headaches (When switched, she wears them all the time)

Speech mannerisms
~Doesn't swear much, only when furious
~Voice is about middle range for a girl, authoritative when need be, and warm when relaxed
~When excited, her voice goes higher


----Abilities----

~Kido-
She's well versed in Kido, using #33 most often as a way for quick escape. Can do a few without incantation.

~Swordsmanship-
Average user of a sword, and can hold her own in a fight, though would much rather use a bow.

~Flashstep-
Better flashstepper then most, having Kido to back her up to make up for not having an aerodynamic figure

~Strategist-
Manae is a bit above average when strategizing, having had as much experience as she does, and relies on her ability a lot

~Physically Fit
As Manae's blade is almost five feet long, she had to build up a lot of strength in her arms so to be able to use it to it's fully extent in battle. She's also quite agile, and quick on her feet, able to dodge well with the help of flashstep.


----Weaknesses----

~Due to her situation with the personality flop, if she's caught in battle when it occurs, she's basically dead, as she doesn't have a lot of knowledge on how to defend herself

~She does over react to many things, from insults to actual injuries her friends get in battle

~She isn't the best at sword fighting, so she can be overpowered by someone who's more specified in swordsmanship

~Even though she can throw a few punches, she isn't a hand to hand combat type of fighter, doing her best to avoid it at all times

~Other then her regular sword form, Mariya is very bad with short range attacks, rather liking to stay in long or middle range unlike most fighters

~In Bankai, Manae has no means of defense, so it can leave her open

~Her Bankai uses most, if not all her energy, not allowing her to fight more then one person who require using her Bankai at a time

~She has a certain point on her back that if hit hard enough, she passes out within seconds. Came about after Manae's accident.



----Zanpakuto----
Name: Iteza Bakugeki (Sagittarius Bombardment)


Type: Fire/Zodiac

Spirit: Formidable Horse
---Appearance: Iteza's spirit is that of a formidable white horse with a black mane and dorsal, her eyes bright teal,  and around 16 hands tall, looking quite similar to the Lipizzaner. Around her neck is a decorative neck-hanging with tassels, gilded with similar green gems to Manae's pendant and choker gem.

---Personality: Though at first glance, she's rather intimidating, Iteza actually is very kind and close to Manae. She's very intelligent, though it can sometimes come across as arrogance when she goes into explaining things she's just said, thinking that Manae didn't understand her. Iteza is an old soul, not very modern, speaking more like an educated woman would of in the late 1800s, early 1900s, and is usually unaware of modern terms, and their meanings. In terms overall, she's best described as being book smart, and not so street smart.

Sealed: Regular Katana, about 58 inches (4'10") long including the green hilt, which curves at the end like a cane, a teal ribbon connected to the end.

-Sealed abilities: When sealed, Iteza is a regular sword, and has no real abilities

Shikai:
---Command Command: Shoot from the Stars
---Appearance: Released by pulling the sword back as if it was an arrow by the cane hilt, causing it to transform into into a style of bow that is a stick (or metal rod, haven't decided yet) with a band on the top in which Manae holds the bottom of the stick, hooks the arrow into a loop at the end of the band, pulls back over head and releases. In this form, the bow is used as both defense, and offense, as she can shoot with the entire thing and defend against a blow with the stick part. Her arrows are made of tightly compacted reiatsu, and as long as she can maintain a steady Spiritual Pressure, she can create another after shooting one.

---Abilities
~Yafiya (Fire Arrow)- As Sagittarius is a fire type zodiac sign, Manae is able to make her arrows appear to be on fire, or made of fire, and on impact, it creates a minor explosion. Good for sneak attacks, and offense.

~Kuriatama (Clear Shot)- With enough Spiritual Pressure, Manae can make her arrows invisible, causing them to fly faster, and more accurately. With this technique, she can shoot up to five arrows at once. Used usually as offense, and finishing moves.

~Yamimono (Arrow Web)- Only able to be used once in battle, Manae shoots arrows with almost invisible strings connected to them, creating a type of web. Used to catch opponents, and make final moves with either Yafiya or Kuriatama.


Bankai:
---Name:  Kouki Iteza Bakugeki (Final Sagittarius Bombardment)
---Release: Basically the same as releasing Shikai
---Appearance: Manae's uniform changes, looking more like that of a Kyudo Archer, the bow changed to a Japanese Yumi.

---Abilities:
Iteza Han Makai (Sagittarius Hell Seal)- With this, Manae shoots arrows around the opponent, creating a diagram. With a key word at the end of laying out the diagram, the arrows link, and create a fire cage, trapping the opponent for a time. Usually used in combination with Archer's Mirage

(Archer's Mirage)- When at best strength and highest Spiritual Pressure, Manae can shoot about ten arrows at once every ten seconds, making them hard to dodge. And, if wanted, she could make them invisible, or she could readjust it so to fire an arrow every second instead of ten at once. Usually used when going directly to Bankai, and as a finishing move.

Reiatsu color: Light Green

Inner world: A plain, looking similar to Kansas, which stretches out into the distance, dotted with wildflowers. The sky is blue, though you can see stars and planets, which seem to be much closer then they really are to Earth in reality. When happy, or healthy, the inner world is bright and colorful, though when injured or upset, storms rage across the plains, tornadoes sometimes forming if extreme enough.

----History----

Short Life:
Manae was born sometime in late November and was to be the second child of a Second Class, normal family during the 1870's, calculated from how old she is in the Soul Society. Unfortunately, some time after Manae's birth, she contracted measles, and died from the illness.

Noble Home:
Manae was adopted into a lower class noble family as a baby by Deiderku and Akahana Yamazaki. As a young child, she grew up in a good home, taught the values of a good person by her mother, on which her own values and personality were built. She became very close to her mother, whereas her father was more distant, though Manae could tell he did care. To make her time worth something, her father had her taught archery, which she turned out to have a knack for, and had Akahana teach her the ways of a noble lady. Though, a sudden epidemic swept over the region, taking first her Mother, and then her Father, leaving Yamazaki as an orphan with no other relatives.  When investigated, Manae was told that the sickness had been caused by a recent appearance of Hollows in the area, and that it had been when she was visiting a young Lady of a nearby family that her parents had been infected.

Rukon District:
Because her family wasn't a high ranked noble family, she was sent with only her clothes and inheritance from her parents to find a new home in the Rukon District with her mother's head Lady in Waiting named Naiko, someone Manae wasn't very fond of. Soon, she came to know the area Junrinon as home, and struggled to become accustom to the simpler life. A week or two after moving in, Manae, in tears from the sorrow of missing her Mother, ran away from the home, and accidentally ran into a boy around her age. In a moment of annoyance, Manae and the boy began to bicker, before Manae ran off, not wanting to deal with him anymore. Soon after the encounter, she met a kind older girl named Momo Hinamori, and the two became friends. As the two play more, Manae began to see Momo as a big sister figure, though when Manae was introduced to Momo's friend Toshiro, things kinda dipped. Manae and Toshiro didn't get along at all, Manae finding him a bit weird and harsh, which caused her to do all she could to avoid him when hanging out with Momo. As time went on, Momo tried many times to get the two to get along, but for a long time, the two were too stubborn, and didn't try to become friends. Finally, Manae gave in, and decided for Momo's sake, to just investigate the idea of being a friend to Toshiro, as she didn't want to be continuely nagged on it anymore.  Soon after, for Manae's birthday, Momo gave her a green pendant necklace, telling her Toshiro had picked it out in the market, which he really didn't, as he didn't really care enough at the time to give her anything.  Though, this little lie caused Manae to start the process of becoming Toshiro's friend soon after, as she believed it.

Friendship and the Academy:
When Momo left to go into the Soul Reaper academy, Toshiro slowly accepted that Manae wasn't going anywhere, and the two began to develop a friendship, which, when Momo left, became stronger, as the two no longer had Momo for companionship. As days, months, years dragged on, Toshiro eventually learned to trust her, and he and Yamazaki became good friends, and Momo remained a loving big sister figure, even though she wasn't around as much. After a time, Manae moved in with Toshiro and his grandmother, as Naiko developed a bad habit of getting drunk, and stealing Manae's inheritance to buy herself things. This was another big change that caused the two to become close. Then, they met the Soul Reaper Rangiku, while out buying candy, who took interest in the two, specifically Toshiro after their short encounter. The next morning, Toshiro told her that Rangiku had visited that night, and had suggested he enter the Soul Reaper Academy, as he seemed to show signs of owning abilities. But most importantly, he wanted to save his grandmother from his uncontrolled spiritual pressure, which had apparently been causing her recent depleting health and weight. Not wanting to be left alone again, Manae decided to enter as well, and with Toshiro's help, she was able to enter with him, though in comparison, Manae did quite mediocre in classes. As school went on, Toshiro and Manae befriended a boy named Kusaka, who hadn't been taken back by their unique predicament of being so young. Manae developed a small crush on Kusaka over time, though her feelings were later dashed when Kusaka later vanished. Toshiro didn't tell her anything to much later, revealing that he had killed him in something having to do with their zanpakutos, which caused him to become more shut-out.

Life Change:
Manae graduated a year after Toshiro did, and in the last year, learned the name of her zanpakuto, Iteza Bakugeki, and gained her choker resembling her. She entered the Court Guard Squads as an unseated member, and was placed into Toshiro's squad, Squad 10. As time passed, the two steadily climbed in the ranks, and before long, Toshiro was third seat, and she 6th. Then, Toshiro climbed up to take the Captain spot, and Manae rose to 4th seat soon after, not wanting to be left behind by her talented friend. As Toshiro was getting adjusted, the Soul Society was placed in many different dilemmas, one being the betrayal of three Captains, Momo's Captain being the ring leader. This gave Manae the chance to take one of the three spots, and before long, Manae found herself in line to become the Squad 5 Captain. Though, her hopes were dashed soon after. During a mission to the World of the Living, Manae was blindly hit by a car, and when she woke up, she was found to have injury induced amnesia concerning the Soul Society, and many of those she cared about, including Momo and Toshiro. Manae was soon moved into the home of Kiskue Urahara, and for four years, lived a normal high school life, with no memory of her prior life as a high ranked Soul Reaper.

Return:
Then, finally, after four years, near the end of Manae's senior year, her memories finally began to come back to her more and more each day, and she was reintroduced to the Soul Society when most had been revealed. Due to her withdrawal from using her zanpakuto, fighting overall, and her current knowledge concerning certain areas, Manae was sent back to the Soul Reaper Academy for a year to get herself reacquainted with the information she had once known. Once she returned to the Court Guard Squads, Manae was placed in 15th seat as a start, and soon, Manae found herself rising in the ranks again. Though, as stress over her situation and aggravation from loosing her chance at becoming Captain got worse, Manae developed a new condition. At random times, Manae would start acting different from usual for short periods, before she'd return to normal. As she wasn't aware of it, over a period of a few months, the intervals began to become longer that she'd change, and finally, the Head Captain, Momo, and Toshiro took notice.

After inspection, Manae was found to have developed a type of personality disorder due to the incident long before, and this caused two decisions to be made: 1. Manae was to be accompanied at all times by at least one person in case attacked during an interval, and 2....Until she was able to control the disorder, or she grew out of it, Manae would never be able to hold a seat higher then 4th. This made Manae ineligible to take the title she had been trying to reach for for so long, and this caused her to become quite frustrated.

Today:
Currently, Manae over the years has reached the final seat she can hold in her current condition, and has begun to take some control of the disorder, though her condition is kept quiet, as she became self-conscious due to it, and doesn't want to be judge because of it. Though, she hasn't given up her goal to become a Captain, and she probably never will.


Quotes:

~"You have to remember your position when you 'hang out' with people. You can't simply act like a child, you must remain mature. Yes, you can have fun, but you must be smart about what you do."

~"Uh, no, I won't go bindging with you. I'd rather not wake up not knowing where I am tomorrow morning."

~(Other Personality)"Oh, c'mon, really? Why do you have to be such a stick in the mud?! Come with, you'll like it! You need to get out more, hell, we all do."

~"Cree, I don't want to talk about it. I was ill mannered, I'm aware of that, now if you'll excuse me, we have to have reports in by nine, and I'd rather not be late."

~"Call me Mayonnaise one more time Virginia. One more time, I dare you."

~"You bastard, how dare you try to attack me in that condition! Do you have no pride as a warrior?!"


Random Trivia

~Her full name means "Small plant of the Mountain Promontory"
~Japanese Voice Actress choice: Ryo Hirohashi
~American Voice Actress choice: Trina Nishimura
~Her blood type is B-
~Her theme song is still being decided
~She doesn't drink alcohol
~She was first created out of sheer boredom in science class my 8th grade year
~She speaks fluent English and Japanese
~When not in her other personality, she isn't known to cuss
~Though most aren't aware of it, she does like to sing, and has a nice voice, but she doesn't like people watching her