Name: Akira Shinoda (篠田 明, Shinoda Akira)

Titles: Eleventh Division Captain, Head of the Shinoda Family, Kenpachi

Age: 107

Physical Age: 25

Height: 168cm (5'6")

Weight: 73kg (160lbs)

Hair: Black, with the sides shaved short and the top allowed to grow out down to her back.

Eyes: Silver

Physique: Akira has a strong, pear-shaped build indicative of someone who engages in regular, high-intensity strength training. Her torso and hips are curvy but toned, arms and legs softened with just enough fat to mask the rock-hard sinews of muscle underneath.

Complexion: Her skin has a soft olive tone, like her father's.

Attire: As Captains are prone to doing, Akira has extensively modified her Shihakusho to accommodate her preference and combat style. It has changed from slight modifications from her time as an enlisted member of the Second Division to its current iteration, which bears influences of all of her past and present titles and experiences. Her Captain’s haori, in both cut and cloth, is more akin to a sleeveless jin-baori to allow higher mobility, though it retains the customary lavender inlay and the insignia of the Eleventh Division, which appears on her lapels as well as her back. Her attire beneath the haori is a modified copy of the Executive Militia's Corps Commander battle dress, known as Keisen Shōzoku (刑戦装束, Punishment War Attire) - a backless, sleeveless design that also exposes large portions of the sides of her torso. Similar to the Executive Militia, she wears iga-bakama pants. She also uses light armor with a distinctive brass and gunmetal finish. Two plates cover the backs of her hands and forearms, mounted on her elbow-length, fingerless black gloves. A long shin plate covers each of the black kyahan leg wrappings that just overlap with the tops of her slim, black calf-high boots; which have a molded plate on the toe and heel of each foot. The boots are made of light, flexible material that allows her to optimize agility.

Reiatsu: Blood red in color, it appears as a dense, fiery light around her body. When using her Zanpakuto, Akira's reiatsu merges with its vermillion energy and takes on the appearance of flames; and occasionally, the face of a fenghuang.

Personality: Confident but unsure, strong-willed but compassionate, driven but reckless. These are words that define Akira. Highly assured of her own ability, Akira is not easily dissuaded by threats and is excited when she perceives a veritable challenger. Attempts to intimidate her usually fail. Her self-assurance make her careless and carefree when dealing with others. She enjoys the prospect of winning anything, be it a game or a battle, and can highly competitive when intrigued.

However, given her strength, she rarely seeks out combat or challenges anymore and rather spends her time training. She can often be found sparring or exercising at the Shinoda Manor or the Eleventh Division. She has dealt with lingering emotional insecurities due to her initial lack of knowledge and her lack of a real childhood, which makes her feel different from most people. She possesses doubts on her own direction and purpose in life as a result; and chooses to pursue her natural affinity for combat as a way to find a role on society and avoid the deeper questions about herself.

While she does feel allegiance to the Shinoda and takes her duties to the Family with a moderate degree of seriousness, her loyalty is based primarily upon her wish to feel like she belongs. Her loyalty to the small community she has found in the Eleventh Division is an unshakeable bond. As a result, her fury is easily raised by those who threaten her companions or betray bonds of trust. In fact, rage is one of her main weaknesses; she possesses an easily agitated temper, though she does not approach blind rage as quickly as she did in her youth. In spite of her personal issues, she is still a generous and kind spirit with a positive approach to life. She works through the resources of the Shinoda Family to improve the lot of Rukongai-jin. She extends her care for the members of the Eleventh Division, whose respect she has earned through her combat prowess and demand for the unit to remain perpetually victorious. She is incorrigibly independent in the face of tradition; and like a few Kenpachi before her refuses to adopt Kenpachi as her name, rather styling it as a title.

Biography: Akira was created through a combination of Reigai and Mod Soul technology by her predecessor, Raizo Shinoda. Her body was crafted to be superior to other Gigai and is indistinguishable from a naturally formed body. The former Captain of the Tenth Division used his Byakuho technique transform his own soul into a seed that began a cycle of reincarnation with an unknown future. She was born fully formed at the developmental stage of a young adult with no real memories. This occurred in the Human World - soon thereafter, Raizo's comrade, the Visored Commander, Shuren Kumori, arrived. Having been instructed to be there at Raizo's behest, Shuren took Akira into his care. Over the next year, he trained her in the basic Shinigami arts as a last favor to Raizo. At his direction Akira then traveled to Seireitei. Upon her entry to Soul Society, Akira took her birthright as Head of the Shinoda Family. Following in her father’s footsteps, she initially decided to join the Second Division and the Onmitsukido, where she served her as a member of the Detention Unit in the Maggots’ Nest due to her great physical strength. However, as an energetic, curious young person she sought out a different billet and joined the Tenth Division. She struggled greatly - despite joining and being given a Seated Officer position quickly, she was unused to opponents she could not simply overpower and experienced a many defeats due to her lack of a Shikai. During this time, she learned to embrace an innate gift for Kido and reiatsu-based abilities. Fiercely independent and carefree, she did not take the time to work on unlocking her Shikai until it became necessary. After many more training missions, she undertook a Hollow-hunting mission which resulted in her being temporarily trapped in Hueco Mundo. There, she encountered an Adjuchas who had taken up residence in the ruins of Las Noches. With the help of Oscurra del Sol, an Arrancar that owed Raizo Shinoda a longstanding favor, she learned more advanced reiatsu control and unlocked her Shikai. Using her newfound abilities, Akira defeated the Adjuchas.

After this encounter, Oscurra returned Akira to the Human World so she could return to Soul Society. Akira's power began to grow rapidly. It was during this time that the Chrysanthemum Rebellion began to stir. Yamato Konoha, the de facto head of the Konoha Family, a retainer clan to the Shinoda, conspired with separatists within the Seireitei, determined to exile Akira and elevate the Konoha to the Shinoda's place. To this end, he even killed Koharu Konoha; one of Akira's few loved ones and his own mother. The goal of the Chrysanthemum Army was to destroy the city and its government and replace it with a hyper-militarized society and government bent on total war. The sentiment behind programs like Project Spearhead that recognized the numerical futility of the Shinigami versus their many enemies sought a more active grand strategy that would destroy the enemies of Soul Society before they had a chance to grow strong. Though this sentiment brazenly disregarded the danger to the balance of the Worlds and the Soul cycle, it gained enough followers over several centuries to shake the Soul Society to its foundations. An opening attack caught Seireitei off-guard; sealing the Sotaicho, the Kidoshu destroying a fifth of the city and nearly annihilating the Tenth Division. Eleventh Division Captain Kenpachi Shikuma and Yamato Konoha faced off against Tenth Division Captain Entei Harugasaki and Akira during this battle. As the loyalists retreated to Rukongai, Akira defeated the Konoha usurper; but Captain Entei fell to Kenpachi's blade. After the battle, the ragtag Divisions regrouped and recovered while preparing to destroy each other. In the following weeks, Akira was prompted to achieve her Bankai by Raizo, who had learned to assert his psionic presence within Akira’s subconscious. She trained furiously trying to achieve her second Zanpakuto release and succeeded after great struggle. Armed with a freshly minted Bankai. she fought along the loyalist armies back into Seireitei, wresting back control of the city. Akira killed Kenpachi in single combat in front of his own Division; and, according to Division tradition, she took his position as Captain of the Eleventh.