<strong>Uako Kinme</strong><br/>Age: 309<br/>Former 7th Squad Captain<br/>Rouge Shinigami<br/><hr/><br/>In the curious time period between Love Aikawa's discharge and Komomura's appointment as captain, the 7th squad was governed by a woman named Uako Kinme.  She is remembered as being very personable, somewhat undisciplined, and wildly eccentric, to the point that 7th Squad was, for a time, known as the Misfit Squad.  It became a place for warriors that had peculiar ways of fighting, or more often, as a haven for those with unpleasant histories who still wished to become Shinigami.  Komomura was one of many.<br/><br/>Uako herself was a Research and Development Savant, who commonly equipped her squad with a experimental weapons and tools.  Some of these were so successful that people wondered why she didn't want to work in Squad 12 under the recently appointed Mayuri.  This question, and Mayuri's poking at it, eventually resulted in her abdicating her position as Captain.  She became a rouge shinigami.  Very few have seen her since.<br/><br/><strong>Biography:</strong><br/>Uako's early life is that of a wandering student that didn't know what she wanted to learn.  She trained under many people, learning everything from sewing to chemistry in the process.  Her creativity lent itself to the vastness of knowledge available, and she was quickly drawn to the prospect of professional R&D in the scientific communities.  Failing the tests several times before entering, she rapidly made a name for herself within her field by developing spiritual technology.  This was augmented by her curious ability to gently nudge energy signatures.  While doing this, she also took the preliminary exams to become a Shinigami in the Gotei, at which point she was rewarded with a raw Zanpakuto and the enhanced capacity to work on weaponry development.  With the Zanpakuto focusing her energy abilities, and her newly inspired genre of toys, she became an eccentric asset to the Gotei, even developing a passing relationship with Mayuri.<br/><br/>Then, all at once, she quit.<br/><br/>Most thought that this was a sudden desire for power.  Forfeiting her R&D capacities, she joined squad 7 and began to climb the ranks.  During this time, she had no contact at all with the Institute, even going as far as to hide from members of Squad 12 who came by to ask after her.  She was 5th seat for some time.  Her abilities weren't staggeringly impressive, but they did help the other members of the squad get a sudden boost of strength.  And she couldn't help but make equipment for them and help them strategize.  Hence, she was valued.  She had a curious habit of sneaking off by herself in what she called "The Dead Hour," between 0400 and 0500 in the morning.  She was secretive, and smart enough that Love Aikawa had to contract one of Squad 2's men to trace her.  This Shinigami was shocked to find that she was practicing a potent Bankai.  After discussions regarding it, in which she pleaded that the ability be kept secret, she was made 2nd Seat.  And several years thereafter, Aikawa was discharged.  And thus, Uako Kinme became Captain.<br/><br/>Her squad enjoyed the fact that while she didn't have a strong military demeanor, and she genuinely cared about the unit.  She was silly, spirited, and sometimes clumsy, which made her fun to be around.  That is, except in cases where her ire was stirred.  Then she shifted thoughts into what was affectionately called "Megane-Chan," a calculating and brilliant strategist that redeemed 7th Squad's reputation as a devastating all-purpose barracks.  However, what most remember her for is that she demanded a single rule:  "One's History is One's Secret."  The strange Shinigami that came to serve under her gave her nearly fanatic loyalty, simply because she wouldn't permit anyone asking someone where they had come from.  In this way, the secret of her Bankai was sealed for some time.<br/><br/>This ended when Mayuri's insatiable curiosity caught up with her.  Her Bankai, he discovered, was nothing short of Alchemy:  The ability to not only transmute materials into base metals, but even to forcibly purify spiritual entities.  Mayuri began to quickly push for Uako to be discharged as Captain and used for research.  And as the R&D Community began to agree with him, Uako, along with her 2nd and 3rd seats, simply vanished.  There was a note left behind, saying several impolite things about the scientific community, some tearful things about her squad, and appointing Konomura as her successor.<br/><br/>Uako's whereabouts are currently unknown.  She was dishonored for abandoning her station, and Mayuri still hopes to one day find her, and extract that part of her soul that seems able to solve one of science's oldest fields.  However, Uako is still just as keen as ever, and has a startling efficiency for hiding right under the noses of her hunters..<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong><br/>Uako has the raw material of a very beautiful woman.  She doesn't pay it much attention, however, and is usually known for her messy hair, her ratty braid, and her enormous smile.  Or her enormous glasses.. she very rarely wears both at the same time.<br/><br/>http://media-cache-ec7.pinterest.com/550x/dd/92/05/dd9205dad66135d20e97bb64bcee2305.jpg (http://media-cache-ec7.pinterest.com/550x/dd/92/05/dd9205dad66135d20e97bb64bcee2305.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>Weapons</strong><br/><br/>移り変わりの三頭ヘビ - Utsurikawari Santou Hebi - Three Headed Snake of Changing Seasons<br/><br/>In it's sealed state, it appears to be a Tai Chi Sword with three tassels, one red, one white, and one yellow, along with a Yin-Yang symbol on the hilt, and the figure of a serpent coiling around the handle.<br/><br/>Shikai<br/><em>Slither, Utsurikawari Santou Hebi</em><br/><br/>http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/550x/0f/c5/a2/0fc5a230686ec457dced6995ffe039b1.jpg (http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/550x/0f/c5/a2/0fc5a230686ec457dced6995ffe039b1.jpg)<br/><br/>In this state, the handle of the sword takes the form of a long snake, which then coils about her arm.  In this way, her sword can move independently of her other hands, making her an unconventional combatant.  The true power in this state, however, is the ability to accelerate or slow energy expenditures.  Used on a life form, it can either dampen their powers drastically, or give them a sudden surge of strength.  This once gave her sword the misconception of being able to confer 'happiness' on others.  In the same way, she can make fires burn brighter or longer, and can concentrate or dissipate electrical and spiritual energy.  A curious power that earned her a place in her squad, but didn't win any points for being a one-shot game changer like many others.<br/><br/>Bankai -  完璧宇宙の黄金の蛇 - Kanpeki uchū no kogane no hebi - Golden Serpent of the Perfected Cosmos<br/><em>Perfect Them, Kanpeki uchū no kogane hebi</em><br/><br/>http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/550x/be/1a/3f/be1a3f1ae2a09810f284cb1a4e370e08.jpg (http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/550x/be/1a/3f/be1a3f1ae2a09810f284cb1a4e370e08.jpg)<br/><br/>Those few who have seen this form sometimes refer to it as "Medusa," because while Uako does not transform, the enormity of her spiritual power along with her messy hair gives the impression of a snake-haired warrior, violently livid.<br/>The sword itself becomes an enormous golden serpent that coils around Uako.  The sword, or rather the tip, has the ability to alter matter into other states.  It was reported that in combat, she was able to use it to conjure pools of acid, transmute the ground into gold, lead, or iron, and even create combustible elements.  That was some time ago, and the current extent of this power is not known.  However, it was confirmed that she cannot transmute any form of Iron, and consequently, cannot alter the state of any known Zanpakuto.<br/>The sword has one other ability, which Uako called the "Black Phase."  By driving the tip of her sword into a lifeform, she can forcibly transmute a living physical / spiritual creature into a purified version of itself.  The process redefines excruciating, and those that are subjected to it are known to spend days, even weeks, in crippling agony, as their skin literally grows deposits of black matter and molts.  When this is done, however, the result is a semi-sentient entity of pure white, flecked with red and gold.<br/>Uako personally hates this ability.  Not only has the ability to perform any sort of alchemy made her a potential specimen for inhuman scientists like Mayuri, but using the "Black Phase" has the added property of forcing her into a miserable state of depression that can last days.  Her mind isn't capable of sustaining its own ego when imparting spiritual perfection on other lifeforms.  As such, she uses this power very rarely.<br/><br/>Auxiliary Weapon - Fronteriza Dorada: The Golden Border<br/><br/>While Uako is well known for her Zanpakuto, what most people who knew her in 7th Squad recall is the gigantic White Sword she would carry with her.  It wasn't a Zanpakuto, or even close.  It radiated with a severe energy that, in Uako's own words, "..Make's a body feel small.  Like they are stealing from the cookie jar."  The sword itself is actually the remains of a Menos Grande that underwent the "Black Phase."  It is a semi-sentient battery of spiritual power: literally the sum of thousands of angry souls, purged of their darkness and given new form as a weapon.  Despite its enormous energy, ordinarily, the sword would be useless.  But thanks to Uako's Shikai, she can cause Fronteriza to blast a modified form of "Cero," or focus the spiritual energy into a extended lance of sharpened force.  Uako will usually carry this into battle in her Shikai form, but she has to actually go get it, rather than having a way to conceal it.<br/><br/><strong>Other abilities:</strong><br/><br/>Hard Step<br/>Uako was never gifted with Flash Step Maneuvers.  Even so, as a former Captain, she needed a way to get around quickly.  She created a modified form called Hard Step, which exerts more spiritual energy to send a person flying quicker.  It's clumsier, but it makes up for it by being an improvised combat technique.  It does get one around, but it's not very good for dodge and evade.<br/><br/>Tai Chi Chuan<br/>As a Captain, Uako felt inadequate to her peers, simply because her combat training had been so lacking.  She forced herself to quickly learn Tai Chi Sword.  In addition to being a capable swordswoman, the energy flow of Tai Chi Chuan gave her small frame the power it needed to play in the big leagues.  While Uako Kinme is not remembered for her inspired sword-play, she non-the-less held her own as a Gotei Elite.<br/><br/>Creativity<br/>Perhaps Uako's greatest talent was the ability to think outside of the box.  A skilled strategist and R&D genius, Uako is most fearsome when she has gotten an obsession in her mind, and a few weeks to work on whatever said obsession requires.<br/><br/><strong>Weakness</strong><br/>Uako is not what most people would consider Military Grade Material.  She is flighty, eccentric, 'nerdy', and obeys authority only as long as she can rationalize the benefits of doing so.  As such, while Uako can be a true terror, she lacks the combative prowess that many other captains base their positions on.