Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-13237238-20130724132657/@comment-5693502-20160601072823

Yōshitō (Premature Death Stepping): While sealed it takes the form of a normal sized katana with black hilt-wrapping and a dark-coloured sheathe. A mala consisting of 108 small black prayer beads is connected, at both ends, to the base of the hilt.


 * Shikai: The wielder releases by the command, “Curse” (Norou). In shikai, its general appearance does not change however the colour of its hilt-wrapping and mala beads are now grey.


 * Special shikai abilities: Yōshitō has the ability to cast curses, called “Tenkunō” (Heavenly Affliction). The wielder must first ingest a person’s blood to be able to curse them; after being ingested once, the person can be subsequently cursed at any point thereon. Cast Tenkunō affect both the victim and the wielder simultaneously and cannot be inflicted on multiple persons, but multiple Tenkunō can be inflicted upon a single person. The wielder and the victim are referred to as “Shibito” (Dead Men) once Tenkunō have been cast. Tenkunō will persist even after shikai is resealed or the wielder dies.


 * Shindaibutō (Dead Caress Stepping): A harrowing sensation of death briefly permeates the Shibito’s minds and bodies every 18th, 27th, 54th or 108th step they take. What number of steps the sensation arrives at is random and won’t be the same for the two Shibito. This Tenkunō lasts for 4 minutes.


 * Shitaitō (Cadaver Stepping): This Tenkunō lasts for 4 minutes and causes a random body part to “die” every six seconds; when a body part “dies”, in actuality the body part merely becomes completely paralysed and loses the ability to feel anything. Once 4 minutes have elapsed, the paralytic effects disappear. Shibito can transfer body part “death” to the opposing Shibito by cutting the opposing Shibito’s corresponding body part e.g. if the wielder’s left hand “died” they could regain its function by cutting the opponent’s left hand therefore causing the “death” to transfer to the opponent’s left hand.


 * Onitō (Demon Stepping): A harmless black flame sets alight above one of the Shibito’s heads; this flame designates that the Shibito is the “it”. From this point onwards, the “it” has 108 steps (27 in bankai) to inflict damage upon the opposing Shibito; if the “it” fails to do so then there is a 50% chance that their heart will instantly stop beating, thus killing the “it” (this percentage decreases proportionally if the opponent has significantly larger reiatsu than the wielder). If the “it” is successful in inflicting damage within the number of steps then the opposing Shibito becomes the new “it”. This Tenkunō lasts 18 ‘turns’, 9 ‘turns’ for each Shibito. In addition, the two Shibito cannot be more than 42 metres away from one another; if a Shibito tries to flee and exceeds this distance, their heart will instantly stop beating, thus killing them.


 * Bankai: Yōshitō (Bewitching Struggle to the Death): The wielder tears the mala from the base of the hilt and then lets the prayer beads fall to ground below them, causing the beads to form a circle around the wielder; the wielder then initiates bankai. In bankai, the appearance of the katana barely changes with the hilt-wrapping now becoming white. The wielder now wears 18 malas, with white prayer beads, on their body: 4 small malas on each wrist and each ankle, 1 large mala around the wielder’s neck and 1 slightly smaller mala that floats above the wielder’s head like a halo. The malas around the wielder’s wrists and ankles consist of 27 prayer beads, the mala around the wielder’s neck consists of 54 prayer beads and the mala floating above the wielder’s head consists of 108 prayer beads.


 * Special bankai abilities: In bankai Yōshitō retains the ability to cast its three shikai Tenkunō but it can now cast Aradateru Tenkunō (Aggravated Heavenly Affliction) as well. Aradateru Tenkunō differ from normal Tenkunō in that they can be cast upon one or more persons and the effects of the curse do not necessarily confer back to the wielder. All bankai curses are Aradateru Tenkunō.


 * Tentōsōtō (Heavenly Struggle Stepping): A unique curse that the wielder can inflict upon either themselves or a target; its effects only apply to the recipient. This curse causes the recipient’s power to steadily increase beyond their limits upon facing an opponent(s) that is more powerful than they are. The cost of this increasing power is that an exponentially increasing amount of strain is put on the recipient’s body; if the strain becomes too much, the recipient promptly dies. The only way to end the effects of this curse are to kill the opponent(s) the recipient is facing or for the recipient to die.


 * Nijūnana Denpa (Twenty-Seven Transmissions): The wielder casts a transferable curse upon a victim by dealing them damage which directly draws blood. This subsequently ‘infects’ the victim with a spiritual condition that gradually necrotises their entire body (starting from the point of inflicted injury). This necrotizing ‘infection’ can be transferred to another being (including the wielder) by dealing them damage which directly draws blood; it is possible to have the curse transferred back after transferring it away. Every time the ‘infection’ is transferred to another being, the speed at which it necrotises their body increases; the initial time is 27 minutes for the victim’s body to become fully necrotic and this time decreases by a minute every time the ‘infection’ is transferred. Once the curse has been transferred 26 times, the 27th time it is transferred, the person dies instantly, their body rapidly necrotises and the curse ends. Necrosis caused by this curse remains after it has been transferred away.


 * Gojūyonjin (Fifty-Four Blades): A passive-aggressive curse that causes every 54th slash/stab attempt, from both the wielder’s and opponent’s attempts, to inflict massively augmented damage (assuming the slash/stab successfully lands); this 54th slash/stab is called “Jōkakiri” (Purifying Cut). Every 4th Jōkakiri inflicts cardiac arrest upon the recipient to the attack (assuming the slash/stab successfully lands). This curse automatically activates after the release of bankai.


 * Hyakuhatsu Shibō (One Hundred and Eight Deaths): A powerful curse that guarantees death. For this curse to be cast, both the wielder and the target need to have drawn blood from each other; if this condition has been met the wielder can then set the curse, causing Yōshitō to glow. The next time the wielder and the target clash, the curse takes effect, trapping both the wielder’s and target’s minds inside a special realm called “Eienshikai” (Eternal Dead Space). The Eienshikai is a featureless, completely white zone that seems to expand infinitely; the only other thing inside the Eienshikai is a large Shinigami-like creature that motionlessly observes the two Shibito. Inside the Eienshikai, both Shibito begin with 108 lives (their number of remaining lives is marked on their foreheads respectively) and the first Shibito to lose all 108 of their lives, dies permanently i.e. one Shibito must kill the other 108 times before the other does, for the curse to end. Inside the Eienshikai, each Shibito’s stamina is limitless but their spiritual weapons are forcibly sealed and unable to be released i.e. shikai, bankai, Resurrección and Vollständig cannot be released under any circumstances. While this is going on, the Shinigami-like creature continuously counts down from 108 to 0; every time the creature reaches 0, both Shibito automatically lose a life and the creature restarts counting. Every time one Shibito kills the other, the Shinigami-like creature instantaneously swoops over, engulfs the killed Shibito and then instantly regurgitates them, fully healed, all whilst still counting down from 108 to 0. In the outside world, time-space around the Shibito’s physical bodies halts the moment the curse is cast and the Shibito’s bodies enter a state of suspended animation inside of a colourless translucent aversion sphere that forms around them; the bodies remain in this state until the curse ends, thus restarting time-space and instantly dissipating the aversion sphere. If both Shibito happen to hit 0 lives at the same time, the curse ends and both persons end up dying via cardiac arrest.