[Discussion] Byakuya: A Closet Psychopath?

Hori

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Lol I know I created A Rukia one days ago but now i think its time for I did her brother's :p. Now, this one may be kinda a stretch. I don’t think Byakuya has really been very sadistic so far in Bleach - a huge **** at times, yes, but he’s no Gin. Nevertheless, as per this request, I shall discuss 10 moments that may make you suspect that Byakuya’s dark side is, well, pretty dark.


1. He tried to have his sister executed.

Okay. So yes, this is pretty dark. Byakuya spent nearly the entire first arc of Bleach trying to get Rukia killed. I mean, he didn’t just sit back and let it happen. He actively tried to make it happen - he arrested her and did his best to kill the people who came to rescue her. Of course, it turns out that Byakuya had his reasons….he made some foolish conflicting oaths. But my question is - why did he decide to adhere to the “obeying the law” one rather than the “protecting Rukia” one, since he had to choose one? Even when he apologized, Byakuya never seemed to really believe that executing Rukia was that wrong, which may indicate something very…dark in his soul.


2. He came to Rukia’s execution.

Byakuya even attended Rukia’s would-be execution. Which shocked the other captains - they did not expect him to come watch his own sister die. Apparently that was above and beyond the call of duty, as it were. But Byakuya didn’t seem to understand that there was anything weird about it. He just quietly showed up. Who does that??


3. He tried to murder a teenage human.

Or, to step away from Rukia for a moment, there’s the way Byakuya dealt with Ichigo. Now, soul reapers, we recall, are supposed to protect humans. And Byakuya had the ability to take away Ichigo’s powers without killing him (or so he thought). Yet nevertheless, Byakuya seemed pretty determined to murder Ichigo - and left him bleeding on the ground in the belief that he was about to die. I mean, this was a 15 year old human we’re talking about. Killing him seems a bit…extreme.


4. He was cool with killing his lieutenant.

Speaking of murder (lots of murder on this list), there’s also the way Byakuya dealt with Renji. I mean, to be fair, Renji was openly defying him at this point, and also wouldn’t stop fighting. But still. Byakuya did not seem terribly broken up about “having” to kill his lieutenant. I mean, even Tosen at the end, as a partly hollowfied traitor, openly regretted trying to kill his lieutenant and his friend. Not so Byakuya. He flounced away as Renji bled to death, probably thinking about cherry blossoms or something.


5. He didn’t look at Rukia for years.

All right. Back to Rukia. This isn’t really psychopathic of Byakuya, but it was dickish. After adopting Rukia, Byakuya didn’t look at her. For decades. Which did not do wonders for Rukia’s psyche. Now yes, Byakuya was sad about Hisana. But he didn’t have to use that sadness as an excuse to destroy Rukia - and doing so demonstrated a complete lack of regard for her feelings. If he was even aware she had them.


6. He never told Rukia about her sister.

Plus, Byakuya never told Rukia that she had a sister. I mean, that was a pretty big deal for Rukia - not only did it explain why the hell Byakuya had adopted her, but it also meant that she had had family. But again, Byakuya never explained - which he ought to have done, even if it was painful for him. Not doing so meant that he just…what? Didn’t have Rukia’s feelings on his radar, as it were?


7. He never mentions Ichigo’s hollow powers.

I’ve often wondered why Byakuya never mentioned that Soul Society’s new favorite substitute soul reaper had hollow powers. I mean, maybe did, off-screen (it would explain why Rukia knew about them). But so far as the canon is concerned, Byakuya just let that go. Again, Byakuya seems to have a weird inability to tell what’s “normal” and what isn’t - or perhaps he just figures that people’s dark sides are best left to themselves.


8. He fights with Kenpachi over Yammy.

The final fight against Yammy is pretty weird, given that Bleach never bothers to finish it on-screen. And there’s also the way that Kenpachi and Byakuya fight each other for the right to fight Yammy. That makes sense for Kenpachi, of course - he’s the bloodthirsty barbarian captain who only cares about fighting. But Byakuya? It was a rare glimpse into Byakuya’s bloodlust, insofar as he really wanted to be the one to dispatch Yammy.


9. He’s ok with killing his old teacher.

The fight with Tsukishima has long seemed…odd to me. I mean, Tsukishima’s whole strategy is to change your past so that you trust him - he made Orihime believe he was her brother and Chad that he was, well, Ichigo. And with Byakuya, Tsukishima made him believe that he was his old teacher, the person who had taught him everything he knew. And with all the other characters, the change in past made them no longer want to fight Tsukishima. But not so Byakuya. He accepted that Tsukishima was his old teacher - and proceeded to kill him anyway.


10. It’s like he turned off his emotions at some point.

I suppose the real reason that Byakuya can read as “creepy” or “dickish” is that he doesn’t really express himself. Maybe inside he was really upset about killing Rukia and Ichigo and Renji and Tsukishima (but prob not Yammy) but he just doesn’t show it. Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t have emotions…but this is the psychopathy post so, what the hell. Maybe Byakuya just doesn’t have much in the way of feelings.
 

YokoKurama

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<div class="bbWrapper">Love that Byakuya.<br /> He's awesome!<br /> Psychopath? Maybe, but a good looking psychopath nonetheless.</div>
 

Forbidden Tale

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1 and 2. He wanted to obey rules and it was already explained why.

3. It's forbidden to give humans shinigami power, if Byakuya killed him Gotei probably wouldn't mind much, again he just obey rules and in the end this all was just as planned from Aizen.

4. Again, he just obey the rules, Renji was "traitor" at that time and Byakuya have no mercy.

5. This is true.

6. Hiruzen didn't tell Naruto about Minato and Kushina, but that doesn't mean he is psyhopath?

7. He don't really care and maybe C46 would try to capture Ichigo, so he wanted to protect him.

8. The point of Kenpachi vs Byakuya was to show some rivality between them, Yammy was irrelevant.

9. Maybe Byakuya have "will of steel".
 

Hori

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1 and 2. He wanted to obey rules and it was already explained why.

3. It's forbidden to give humans shinigami power, if Byakuya killed him Gotei probably wouldn't mind much, again he just obey rules and in the end this all was just as planned from Aizen.

4. Again, he just obey the rules, Renji was "traitor" at that time and Byakuya have no mercy.

5. This is true.

6. Hiruzen didn't tell Naruto about Minato and Kushina, but that doesn't mean he is psyhopath?

7. He don't really care and maybe C46 would try to capture Ichigo, so he wanted to protect him.

8. The point of Kenpachi vs Byakuya was to show some rivality between them, Yammy was irrelevant.

9. Maybe Byakuya have "will of steel".

What about number 10?


Love that Byakuya.
He's awesome!
Psychopath? Maybe, but a good looking psychopath nonetheless.

Lol yeah he is good looking


I'll agree with everything but 7. He didn't really give a sh*t whether or not Ichigo had hollow powers because he doesn't care. But great thread anyway, rep for you.
But Ichigo's hollow powers were a threat to human in souls society and human world
 

Goetia

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What about number 10?




Lol yeah he is good looking




But Ichigo's hollow powers were a threat to human in souls society and human world
Kenpachi is a threat to Soul Society and Byakuya doesn't care, the Fullbringers were a threat to Soul Society (story-wise yes, from my eyes no) and he was very nonchalant about his fight with Tsukushima, he also would've made the choice to kill Ichigo on the spot when he came out of the box with Ginjo, so that only demonstrates his cold and calculated demeanour.
 

iiPyromaniac

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1. He actively tried to have Rukia executed because she had broken one of the Soul Society's Laws, which he had made an oath to protect which also happened to contradict with his oath to protect Rukia.

2. Byakuya obviously felt it was his duty to watch Rukia's execution.

3. He tried to kill Ichigo because quite simply the breaking of that particular Law would mean that both the giver and receiver are branded Criminals and thus are to be killed regardless of the receiver being human and regardless of the receiver's age. His oath to his parents was to protect and uphold the Laws of the Soul Society. Therefore he felt it was his duty to kill Ichigo.

4. Renji had escaped from his Cell after being imprisoned there for breaking a rule by taking on an intruder by himself. Gin was in trouble for taking on an Intruder by himself, as well. Renji had also broken yet another rule by breaking out of his cell. He was also openly defying a Law of the Soul Society by trying to stop Rukia's execution. Not to mention he also went out of his way to attack Byakuya relentlessly to the point where his Zanpakuto broke and his body was so badly injured from the fight.

5. The memories of Hisana made Byakuya sad and given that Rukia looks like Hisana, looking at her would likely bring back memories of Hisana and that would make Byakuya openly sad. Emotion is something trivial to Byakuya.

6. Byakuya never told Rukia about her sister being Hisana because Hisana had requested that Byakuya never tell her since Hisana had abandoned Rukia as a baby. He had to honor his Dead Wife's Wishes and all. Why Byakuya decided to tell Rukia after being beaten by Ichigo is beyond me though.

7. Byakuya never says anything about Ichigo's hollow powers because he doesn't really fully understand it. Byakuya deals in facts. Upon witnessing it for the first time, he states that he won't ask Ichigo to explain. He chooses to ignore what he seen, most likely because he can tell by Ichigo's response about it being an unwelcome interruption that Ichigo knows very little about the power himself.

8 & 9. These are the only points that could possibly hint at Byakuya being a closet psychopath. I am in total agreeance with you on these two points.

10. Byakuya hasn't had much need for emotions after Hisana's death. Infact, I believe that was the only time I'd seen Byakuya show any sort of soft side. He just never shows emotion.

All in all, good thread but I do have to say that I don't think Byakuya is a closet psychopath, moreso that he just enjoys the thrill of a good battle more than he'd like to admit.
 
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