This chapter is all about Shinigamis, explained by Ichigo Kurosaki(with a little about himself)
Enjoy!
I own not the shinigami, nor anything bleach related in this Intro!
Shinigami. A name for the death gods. They are the ones in charge of Konso, or 'passing on', of spirits. They send them to the Soul Society, where they do not age over a long period of time. They feel no hunger. It is a 'peaceful' place…Depending on where you end up. The Rukongai is separated into 320 districts, each numbered for there distance from the Sereitei. The ones closest to the Sereitei are the peaceful, lawful areas, but the outer districts are crime-driven and violent. The Sereitei is in the centre of the Soul Society, where the Shinigamis reside. Shinigamis are separated into different 'teams' known as the Gotei 13, or 13 court Guard Squads, depending on their strength and weaknesses.
For every division, there is a Captain and Lieutenant (With the exception of squad 13, which has no Lieutenant). The Captains are the most powerful Shinigamis and can gain the rank by three methods; by Captain Proficiency Test, Personal recommendation, or Trial by Combat. Lieutenants are the second strongest in their division and take care of, or supervise, day-to-day operations. Lieutenants are required to have learned Shikai, the first transformation of their Zanpakuto, but some have mastered Bankai, the second transformation of their Zanpakuto. Each division has a different speciality, such as squad 4 is in charge of medical/supplies and squad 11 is the melee combat division.
Each division can communicate to certain divisions and/or separate Shinigamis, by Hell Butterfly. It is the quickest way to inform other Shinigamis and is the most reliable. Hell Butterflies are also needed to travel to the world of the living through the Senkaimon. Humans cannot travel to the Soul Society, unless they travel through the use of Reishihenkanki, which converts the body to Reishi, or spirit particles.
Although the Sereitei is the home of the Shinigamis, it is also where the 4 noble houses reside. There are also some lower ranking houses, which dedicate themselves to the nobles and reside in the Sereitei, also.
Me? Well. I'm no noble. Nor a Captain. I am a Substitute Shinigami. My powers were awakened by a fellow Shinigami, who is in the Kuchiki Clan. The Soul Society does not agree to me being apart of them, so I am more like… An 'accidental' Shinigami. You see, if it wasn't for that Shinigami's own power, I would not be a Shinigami right now.
That Shinigami's name? Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki. Adopted into the Kuchiki clan, who knows why. She is the one who changed my fate. She is the one who saved me from death. My name? Ichigo Kurosaki. Heard of me? Yeah, you've probably seen me 'round Karakura. I'm the one with orange hair. I'm the one, who gets into multiple brawls because of my hair. But, I don't really care. If I did, I would have dyed it years ago. If my life wasn't bad enough, I am now to protect this fellow town from the Hollows. Hollows are a form of 'evil spirit', created from spirits by a loss of heart. That's why they have a hole where there heart should be. A hollows mask has no power, but it stops the shinigami from seeing the true identity of the hollow. I learnt this the hard way; I saw what was behind the hollow's mask. It was the face of the spirit when it was a whole.
Shinigamis don't destroy the hollows. We 'exercise' them-purify the soul and it is sent to the soul society-But we can only purify spirits of the crimes they did as a hollow. If they did crimes when they were alive, they are sent to hell. We aren't the only ones who have the responsibility of killing the hollows. Or at least, we weren't. There was, once upon a time, a tribe known as Quincys. Those Quincys specialised in bow and arrows, created by Reishi. Unlike us, they destroyed the hollows entirely, thus the soul society killed them off. But they had missed one. Soken Ishida. He died after being attacked by hollows, but his grand-son and pupil still lives. My friend, Uryu Ishida. The last Quincy. For some reason, the soul society has decided to spare Uryu, possibly because he has helped us stop Sosuke Aizen, an ex-captain, and his army from taking over the two worlds.
Shinigamis have different fighting skills, known as Zankensoki. The most used technique is Zanjutsu, or swordsmanship. Each shinigami uses this techinique, since each carries their own Zanpakuto. There are two enhanced forms of Zanpakutos. The first is Shikai, and each Shikai differs for different Zanoakutos for they have different appearances and special abilities. The second is Bankai. It is a more powerful version of the Shikai. Hand-to-hand combat is also used, but the only shinigamis to use it efficiantely are the Onmitsukido, or stealth force. Kido is used by all shinigamis. It is a group of spells, each different. Bakudo are binding spells. A broad category of defensive spells which block/repel attacks, or freezes enemies. Hado are destructive spells. They are the offensive spells, which harms the enemy. Healing spells are also a form of Kido, but they do not have names, or an incantation. They just heal the wounds of the being.
Being a Shinigami enhances certain abilities. Such as endurance, strength, speed or acrobatics. But no two Shinigami have the exact same enhanced abilities, making each of them unique, having both differing strengths and weaknesses. These abilities can be further enhanced if the Shinigami is also part hollow, known as a Vizard.
But I shall leave that explanation for another day.
Hope that covered it! If you need anything included in this further explained, don't be afraid to ask! I'm happy to post up an explanation to anything(Though I can only explain it to what I know. I'll try nonetheless!)
My other stories (Night horse etc.) have come to a stop FOR NOW until I write the next few chapters (due to my ideas pouring out all at once, then stopping for a long period of time) Sorry for the inconvenience! Review plz!