Gensoukyou:Zen Shin Tan

Background
Zenshin was a Onmyoji of Emperor Kazen (January 26, 967 – February 8, 1008) Being born into a family that had long served the imperial family, Zenshin's fate was sealed. He was given access to the imperial library and trained under retired onmyojis. He greatly looked up to Abe no Seimei who was the most famous and powerful onmyoji at the time and rumored to even be able to control weak oni at the age of 5.

He graduated at the age of 23 after completing his studies and the quota of 8 youkai extermination missions. Working diligently, he accepted every request that came his way at the city he was stationed at. He spent his spare time to further his studies at temples and studying Shinto, Bhuddhist, Confucian, and Taoist texts. He became well known by the local people for keeping their city safe from youkai attacks.

Though his abilities and accomplishments were greatly shadowed by Abe no Seimei, Zenshin was still a very capable onmyoji. To the point where the emperor invited him to work in the capital as a teacher for future onmyoji. Despite knowing that the missions he would be sent on would be more difficult and dangerous and that he will be responsible for the safety and future success of his pupil, he accepted the position.

On the night before receiving his first student, Zenshin performed a small divination. 'Bad luck' was the result. This didn't discourage him but instead made him steel himself more. At least now he had an idea as to what might happen. The divination came true. Zenshin's disciple turned out to be a rather difficult one. His pupil, Keisotsu, was a ill-tempered and rash one. Being born from a high-ranking noble, it took all the patience Zenshin had to teach him.

During lectures, Keisotsu showed no interest in listening. He always wanted to jump straight into live practice. Many times Keisotsu would skip class and go into town to play. Zenshin knew that Keisotsu was a fine, young man. But he was worried that Keisotsu's spirituality would not be strong enough to even capture and summon his own shikigami.

Halfway through Keisotsu's training, they received word that the youkai infestation at the Yatsugatake mountains was getting out of hand. The onmyoji division stationed at the capital would be sent to keep the youkai at bay. Zenshin protested the order, saying that his pupil was nowhere near ready. His plea was rejected, the situation was too dire. After two mornings, the onmyoji of the Imperial Court were marched out of Kyoto carrying with them the most heavily and powerful pre-inscribed ofuda and omamori they had.

The fighting was tense. Zenshin had never fought so many skirmishes with youkai in a single day before. He repeatedly warned the others to conserve their ofudas but the progress they were making was too alluring. Zenshin could sense it. As the battles dragged on, and the ofudas they brought from the capital were being used less and less. The youkai aggression grew more and more.

One battle. A particularly old and powerful demon attacked. Zenshin, being the only one with any ofudas brought from the capital, began to cast a sealing technique with Keisotsu assisting him. As the demon drew nearer and nearer, beating aside the samurai that were there to hold the youkai back while the onmyoji cast their spells, Keisotsu began to panic. When the head of a samurai flew over and landed beside his feet, he let out a scream and ran. Without his pupil's spiritual energy to help channel the seal, it quickly spiraled out of control. Zenshin was hit by his own seal, trapping him inside a rock that would keep him there for the next millennium. Meanwhile the grounds they had gained would never be recovered and the Imperial Court's onmyoji were driven back. Zenshin was left alone to his resting place.

2014.

The ofuda had finally lost all its power and the slip of paper slid off the rock. Almost immediately, it crumpled and revealed a very disoriented Zenshin to the world. Nothing seemed to be different. The trees and forests around him had not changed much. The air was still thick with the spiritual energy of youkai. But something was off. Nevertheless, Zenshin picked himself up and looked around. He doesn't know yet but he had woken up in Gensoukyou.

Personality
A serious and stoic man but kind at heart. He places duty before everything else. Especially to the emperor. However in this modern world where the emperor had lost all authority and where he himself could not be sure if the current emperor was even of the same line, his loyalty has instead fallen onto Japan. In other words, to carry out his job of keeping the youkai in check. Despite exterminating youkai in the old sense to be part of his job, he has adapted a 'Negotiate first, shoot later' policy. Especially around older and more powerful youkai. He has no qualms about giving up or even fleeing if it meant survival. His ties to the imperial court was no longer there and the Bureau of Onmyō was no longer in existence. Despite being the "strictly business" type, he will immediately help those in need.

Power/Combat
Divination (Bhuddhism): The ability to foretell omens or fortunes based on observations of nature, time, astrological positions, feng shui, zodiac signs, and through the use of tools linked to the Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

Onmyo: Onmyo quite simply refers to 'The Way of the World'. One of the most famous ones is the ability to capture youkai or spirits and seal them into servitude as shikigamis. This ability depends on the spirituality of the caster, their devotion, and their will. The strength of the shikigami depends on the power of their master as the master must be stronger than their shikigami spiritually to effectively bind them. Otherwise, the youkai would simply be tagging along rather than bound in servitude.

Only Imperial Onmyoji learn to seal their shikigamis into paper talismans or paper dolls for easy carriage. Rouge onmyoji do not. Paper talismans allow the caster more flexibility in how they use their shikigami's power. It is a state where the shikigami looses even their spiritual bodies. After they are used, they are simply kept around to let their spiritual power recharge before being used again. This can take from a day up to a week. Shikigamis can also be let out and resealed into the paper talismans at will.

Ofuda (Shintoism): The ability to create and use ofuda or paper talisman, usually written on slips of paper. The strength and power of these paper talismans depend on the name of the god written on them and the name of the Shinto shrine or of a representative of the kami, their purpose, their complexity in calligraphy, the strength and will of the caster or casters, and how many of them are used. They can be used as wards to keep something/someone out or seals to keep something/someone in. Wards and seals can range from implanting thoughts such as "I want to go elsewhere" to actual impassable barriers to violent attacks on trespassers. Naturally if the wards or seals are written sloppily or without improperly imbued with the caster's power, their effects will weaken anyone with a basic knowledge over seals can bypass them or find holes in them. Ofudas can also be used as a purification tool, to rid someone or something of possession.

Elemental(Taoism): The ability to call upon the elements of the Wu Xing. These are namely: Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal. These are the only spells which draw from Zen's "energy" reserves, which can vary from his "qi", "jing", or "shen". Each of these three "reserves" determine the attributes of the spells he is casting with "qi" being the most commonly used, "jing" occasionally, and "shen" rarely. "Qi" refers to his own energy and strength. It is the most commonly used one in almost all of the Wu Xing elemental spells. "Jing" refers to his essence, usually in the form of blood. "Jing" is the densest and is heavily used upon in rituals and spells that require sacrificial offerings. "Shen" refers to his spirit and is the slowest to recover after usage as using his "shen" would put his own existence at risk. However "shen" is also the most volatile of these three "Reserves" and has the greatest amplification on his spells.

Sword/Bow: As part of the onmyoji, it is their job to exterminate or seal youkai and evil spirits. Using the enchanted sword or arrow is the last case scenario as it requires the onmyoji to directly engage the spirit or youkai instead of summoning shikigamis to fight.

Major
- Homura One of Zenshin's shikigamis. He met her while suppressing a youkai attack on a human settlement. The oni had sneaked in his tent at the dead of night and attacked him. Reason did not work, what was left was force. Zenshin activated the barriers that would protect the lining of the tent when he and his apprentice would spar. The battle was intense. Zenshin could barely keep his barriers up due to the oni's speed. However, the battle was decide when Homura was caught in one of Zenshin's seals. Impressed with the oni's fighting prowess, he permanently sealed her to his spirit. Thus, making her his shikigami. As per the contract, the more loyal a shikigami was the more close to their and their master's maximum power they could reach but the more rebellious a shikigami was, the weaker they would become. The rebellious oni had refused to cooperate and only became an unwilling servant after being left powerless for a month. Zenshin treated her fairly and justly. It wasn't until a little under two years later that she became a trusted and close battle companion.

Minor
- Emperor Kazen Zenshin's emperor. They had met once during a ceremony from a successful hunt on a particularly powerful oni.

Gallery
http://safebooru.org//samples/499/sample_5e4c8243652744362e6823117f34270963438633.jpg Zen Shin during his earlier years. http://www.anime-planet.com/images/anime/screenshots/onmyouji14.jpg Zen Shin during his older years.

Trivia
Zenshin uses a sword instead of the bow due to how it was easier for him to use the sword than the bow. As the bow requires great physical strength to use it. Zenshin uses an enchanted Kogarasu Tachi. The sword has their words carved directly into them.

Aside from an enchanted sword or ofuda, it is technically possible to enchant anything to use as a weapon or tool. The ofuda, sword, and bow were simply easier for him to use.

Using blood to write on ofuda greatly enhances its power as it is directly using the caster's life energy that acts as a purer channel of a god's power rather than spiritual energy.

Zenshin's name is in both written and spoken the same way in Japanese and Chinese. Both meaning probity. The same goes for his surname.

Ofudas can protect an entire household while o-mamori can only protect a single person.

It is possible for onmyoji to cast spells using Kuji-In, Kuji-kiri, and a gobosei diagram though Zenshin prefers to use shikigamis instead.

During his studies Zenshin has learned bits of Classical Chinese, Nara, and a dialect that can only be classified as 'Eastern Japanese'.