aleksei . ℐ

── .▴Profile ♕ The leader of Team Whole Heart steps forward to greet the cheering crowd of the X! Despite the reduced activity, Zurushi continues to hold himself high and mighty before her opponent, barring the gates to higher floors. Countless times, teams have underestimated the strength of the stagnant team, and those who could stand their ground were met with a fierce battle, unwavering before the glaring eyes of the cunning beast.

"Mind trickery lest you trip." A warning to expect the unexpected. It's most known to refer to the abnormal yet effective battle style of the team, but those in touch with Whole Heart understand that it goes a little deeper. Despite seeming like a vicious blader at first, Zurushi is in fact a wholesome sweetheart. He not only deeply cares for her team both in and out of the X, but many bladers can recall compliments and guidance from the leader after a battle, regardless of win or loss. Zurushi has always offered his support for her opponents, either in training to face his team again or to climb higher up the X.

Zurushi isn't the perfect mentor, though. Since she isn't the oldest of the team, he believes it gives her a pass to be a little immature at times. He doesn't lead the healthiest lifestyle, such as sleeping late and spending too much, and despite giving tips to maintain one's well-being, often ends up not following her own advice. In some cases, he'll endorse such actions, especially when it comes to her own team, if only to treat them all to a little special something.

── .▴Blading ♔ Team: Whole Heart Sponsor: Vitality Tech Role: Leader, Blader Preferred Bey type: Stamina Signature Bey(s): Crown Kyuki, Pennon Kyuki Blading style: Fast, evasive and erratic, but not afraid to deal a nasty blow if you try to bring him down Motivation: Chasing to be the best version of herself, as well as wanting everyone else to be the best version of themselves

── .▴Story 亗 Background: Zurushi was sought out to be the third member of Team Whole Heart, admired for his work ethic but mostly so that the other two members didn't have to be leader. That role of responsibility seemed to come easy to her, aiming high for himself and her teammates without pushing them past their limits. No training session was wasted, and Zurushi would say the same when it came to how much he spent on equipment and beys. She didn't seem to struggle even with the addition of another permanent team member, seeming absolutely untouchable - perfect for the figurehead of the team.

He was the first person people saw when Team Whole Heart walked into the amateur arena. Strong stance, firm gaze, her head held high - a silent declaration to be future champions. The team's performance did not disappoint either, all thanks to the efforts of the leader. This caught the eyes of several sponsors as intended, although none of them seemed to stand out despite several battles. Odd company, lacklustre benefits, sketchy business people.. it was ultimately Zurushi's decision but he wanted a sponsor the entire team would be happy with., and another amateur event was another missed opportunity to be at the X.

Then someone suggested being self-sponsored. After much debate, it was settled. Team Whole Heart would enter the X with one member on sponsor duties; after all, the magic number was three when it came to blading.

They were down a member.

▴⪢-ˋˏ⁠♡ ༻𓄋༺ ⁠♡ˎˊ-⪡▴

At the X: A routine was established: Zurushi would blade first to introduce Team Whole Heart, before handing the matches to the remaining two members, each with their own specialty. The public would think it abnormal, sending their ace first, and although she agreed that abnormality was a running theme of Team Whole Heart, he didn't see herself as the ace, nor any of his teammates at that. That didn't stop them from racing up the X, beating team after team. Between matches, Zurushi often found herself trying to lighten the load for the teammate who dwelled in the shadows, even when they were eventually picked up by a suitable sponsor. Before, Zurushi was able to bring them out into the spotlight every once in a while. Now, people were forgetting there was even a fourth member.

Then they reached the 50th floor. They couldn't move from the 50th floor. Defeat after defeat, Team Whole Heart was losing its popularity quickly as the initial hype for them to challenge the champions soon died with them cemented right at the halfway point. Zurushi could train everyone to greater strengths but that needed time, time they wouldn't get if the team faded into obscurity and their sponsor dropped them. So someone had to do something. Someone took a temporary step away from blading, doing whatever he could to keep Whole Heart afloat.

They were down two members.

▴⪢-ˋˏ⁠♡ ༻𓄋༺ ⁠♡ˎˊ-⪡▴

Now: Team 'Half Heart' has since (begrudgingly) accepted their position in the middle of the X, Zurushi acting as one of the two remaining bladers of the team. Though they have fallen in popularity, they've accidentally become an important marker for bladers and their journey up the X. He couldn't help but notice the increasing number of teams that challenged them, or help but overhear why they would agree to a match with Half Heart. It was a while before her team started gaining wins again, and it was then did he hear the chatter. An test of sorts, of one's own strength. Beat them, and you'll prove worthy to reach the top. Fail, and you have no hope with your current abilities. Zurushi had an idea, attempting to arrange something with B4. Then her team appeared on the latest blading news.

An official halfway point was set in the form of 'Half Heart'. Temporary, but recognised by the commission. Unlike Warden's exam, this was optional, but highly recommended. After all, would you risk venturing further unprepared? And now that their blading career was no longer a concern, Zurushi could turn their attention to their teammates. He has the time now, so all she had to do was bring them back to blading and bring them to new heights. The only time limit was themselves, and the team wasn't going to budge unless they were reaching the top together.

── .▴Relationships ♚ 𓄏Quinn Manju: A blading figure he grew to admire during her research in his early blading days. Perhaps, if she decided to pursue blading as a lifelong career, he want to be just like her... or maybe all she wants is to blade against her as a test of his own strength.

𓄏Toguro Okunaga: In this universe, Half Heart had a match against Zooganic, the first being between Toguro and Zurushi. It was a battle between wits, and ultimately the leader of Half Heart was the one who succeeded. Though she could see great potential within him, he could see that he was only holding himself back. It was something she pointed out, but in that brief moment, held no weight until later on.

𓄏Titus Manju: Zurushi bladed against Titus in the final match. It was hyped up to be a battle between kings, which itself was even more thrilling. In the end, Zooganic emerged victorious and sent upwards with Zurushi's blessing. His only word of advice to Titus was to strengthen his defences, as Claw Leon was susceptible to the sly attacks from her Kyuki.

𓄏Zonamos Nekoyama: Team Yggdrasil also had a match against Half Heart, Zurushi once again blading first, this time against Zonamos. Their methods of testing each other's wits got the audience scratching their heads, but only got them more intrigued as a result. Though Zurushi was the winner of wits, it was Zonamos' bey that was left standing.

𓄏Blaze Fujiwara: An interesting person to Zurushi, and although he doesn't quite get the 'Bey Timeshift', she does understand the idea of Noblesse Oblige, of having the responsibility to guide others. He just didn't expect to have a match against Blaze himself though. It was a new experience to battle against such a fast bey, and though it resulted in her loss, Zurushi found it to be valuable for another possible battle.

𓄏Warden: Can't thank him enough for helping the team arrange the official halfway point. Zurushi wasn't sure what might've went on behind the scenes, they're sure that without Warden, they would've been forced to quit by now.

── .▴Trivia ֟፝֟፝֟ 𓆩♡ Zurushi is based off of the Qiong qi, or Kyuki in japanese, from the Four Perils 𓆩♡ Zurushi Kiwatora's name comes from the kun'yomi of cunning (zuru), wisdom (shi), perplexed from kyuki (kiwa) and tiger (tora) 𓆩♡ The kyuki can be described as a winged tiger with ox-like traits; I went in the tiger direction, but the fur alludes to wings and their hairtie/crown has ox horns 𓆩♡ The kyuki is said to run forever, hence the stamina specialty 𓆩♡ Contrary to his colours, Zurushi's favourite sport other than blading is swimming, much like how tigers are excellent swimmers 𓆩♡ Zurushi plays bass 𓆩♡ Zurushi has a low, androgynous voice 𓆩♡ Zurushi only looks intimidating and serious when it comes to her resting face; he's actually quite expressive outside of it 𓆩♡ The dark hair strands are meant to loosely mimic how tigers can be drawn with the character for king (王) for the stripes on their heads 𓆩♡ She also has the character for king as pupils 𓆩♡ Zurushi has interacted with more people than the ones included in the relationship 𓆩♡ There are stripes on the outside of his leggings, pants, whatever they are