Kuchiki Kurai

Kurai Kuchiki (朽木 暗い, Kuchiki Kurai) is a member of the Vizard. 100 years ago, she was the third seat of Squad 6 under Kuchiki Ginrei. A member of a branch family of the Kuchiki, Kurai had an arranged engagement to Byakuya, which was dissolved after her assumed death when she and the others became Vizard. While she always maintained that her willingness to marry Byakuya was only due to their family's decision, in the past century the other Vizard have come to find that their comrade actually harbors feelings for her distant cousin, which she tries hard to hide. Kurai is good friends with Lisa, and like her wears a school uniform as her clothing of choice to blend in to modern times. Her Vizard mask has a butterfly shape which covers most of her face except the area around her mouth and part of her forehead. A master of Zanjutsu (the art of wielding a Zanpakuto) and Naginatajutsu (the art of wielding a naginata), Kurai wields a Darkness Elemental Zanpakuto named Hiei (飛影, Flying Shadow). In its sealed state, it appears as an average katana with a round bronze hand guard and a handle bound in black cord. In Shikai, it takes the form of a Naginata with a black pole and the same hand guard as the sealed form, with long black chords tied on either side. Her release phrase is "Kurayami no kirikomu! Hiei!" ("暗闇の切り込む! 飛影!") ("Cut through the darkness! Hiei!"). Over her century training alongside the other Vizard, Kurai has since attained the ability to release her zanpakuto's Bankai, but no one has ever seen her do so. She claims that due to her zanpakuto's element, it's Bankai is too fearsome to use in average combat, and so she has decided she will only use it if she is in a battle where it is her only chance of survival. Name Meaning:"Kurai" is written with the kanji 暗い, which translates to English as "Darkness".