Mabashi

is a Bount in the service of Jin Kariya.

Appearance
Mabashi is a slender fair-skinned man of medium height with orange hair arranged in an asymmetrical manner; the left side is cut short and with two triangles shaved into it to expose his scalp, while the right side is grown out extensively at the front with dozens of shaggy bangs of various lengths falling over his face to reach his chin, protrude to the side of his head, and obscure his right eye, while the backside of his head is cut somewhat longer than the left side. He has thin and upward-curving eyebrows, narrow gray eyes, a small nose, and a flat mouth with a long pierced tongue. Mabashi wears a red choker with a metal buckle at the front that holds the sealed form of his Doll, Ritz, as well as a sleeveless light blue-gray shirt with dark gray shoulders that is zipped up completely at the front and has a collar that covers his neck, a gray armband on his left bicep, two red belts with golden buckles spaced a few inches apart from each other around his waist, light blue-gray shorts with dark gray outer portions and two black stripes encircling each leg as well as a downward-pointing red line at the front of the crotch that is segmented into arrows, and black boots.

Personality
Mabashi is an arrogant and self-centered man - he was the sole member of the group who was staunchly opposed to breaking the one law of their tribe that prohibited them from consuming the Souls of living Humans, but primarily due to Sawatari serving as visible evidence of how doing so rapidly ages any Bount who does so, something which he did not want to experience even if it would empower him, though he did also consider the Bitto themselves to be abominations. However, Mabashi changed his mind after Kariya forced him to drink the contents of a Bitto; which left him elated and giggling by his new level of power and with his true colors as a narcissist exposed to the point where he openly claimed to be an omnipotent and omniscient god. However, this new confidence in his power leads Mabashi to overestimate his capabilities and performance against his foes, which forced Maki Ichinose to rescue him from his battle against Orihime and Shūhei Hisagi before his struggles got him killed and eventually led directly to his demise when he decided to use Suì-Fēng to fight on his behalf instead of waiting for her to die from the poison he used against her earlier, not anticipating that she could still be strong enough to fight him or that she would fake her level of weakness.

Though Mabashi largely gets along with his fellow Bount, he has a particular enmity with Yoshi, having gotten into an argument with her over the merits of consuming living Souls, and when he intervened in her battle against Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue, Mabashi repeatedly called Yoshi an ugly old woman who fights in an unsightly manner and openly attacked her in order to get Yoshi to abandon the fight. Additionally, he openly defied Kariya's plan to have the Bount consume living Souls in order to empower themselves and did not change his mind even after the latter brutally beat him down for his dissent.

In and out of combat, Mabashi is visibly sadistic; as amused by the news of Hō and Ban's deaths as his fellow Bount were, he also took great pleasure in overwhelming Yoshi with Ritz, laughing maniacally after she was wounded by his Doll and fled. This is reflected in how he fights using Ritz: Mabashi enjoys taking control of other people with her and forcing his victims' friends to hurt them in order to protect themselves or get to him, such that he has no qualms about forcing them to fight until they die for him, as he can always find another host for Ritz. In such battles, he typically stands to the side and mocks his enemies while the person Ritz is possessing does the fighting for him. When he gained the ability to produce copies of Ritz and control dozens of people at a time, Mabashi gleefully used it to cause chaos across the entire Seireitei by taking control of many Shinigami and Keigun so they would attack their comrades and distract the Gotei 13 while he focused on Suì-Fēng, whom he was also happy to incapacitate with a poisonous sneak attack so he could fight her directly, overpower her, and revel in her weakened, dying state, eventually planning to teach her the meaning of despair solely because he could. Despite this, Mabashi is willing to admit when an opponent has impressed him with their tenacity and fighting prowess.

Mabashi has an affectionate relationship with Ritz, whom he considers to be cute and wants to have fun while she is obeying his orders without hesitation; additionally, the two of them share a sadistic streak. By his own admission, Mabashi does not like to see Ritz get hurt through the bodies of the people she is possessing. However, like many Dolls, Ritz will not listen to Mabashi when he is weakened and ended up attacking him instead of Suì-Fēng after the latter mortally wounded him with Nigeki Kessatsu, leading to Mabashi dying as he expressed panic and confusion at Ritz no longer obeying him.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. When Jin Kariya begins putting his plan to eradicate the Seireitei into motion, he calls Mabashi and all the other remaining Bount to the Bount Mansion, where they learn that Hō and Ban have just been killed and are amused by it. Mabashi and the others proceed to listen as Kariya promises that they will soon be able to emerge from the shadows of history which they have lived in for so long. Two days later, Mabashi joins Kariya and his fellow Bount in the main hall of the mansion when Gō Koga captures Uryū Ishida, where he watches Ryō Utagawa's battle against Ichigo Kurosaki and rejects his attempt to overthrow Kariya.

Escaping from the mansion as an assault by Jinta Hanakari and Ururu Tsumugiya burns it down, Mabashi regroups with the other Bount in the cave system formerly lived in by their clan. Some time later, having created the Bitto, Kariya joins Mabashi and the others in the cave system and reveals that drinking the concentrated living Souls collected by the Bitto will increase their current abilities to over ten times their current level. However, Mabashi is against doing so due to the rapid aging that consuming living Souls brings, and though Kariya brutalizes him for this, Mabashi does not change his mind, leading Kariya to force him to drink the serum instead.

That night, though Maki Ichinose was tasked by Kariya with looking over Mabashi when the latter is left giggling in awe by his new power, Mabashi manages to slip out of the cave system and finds Yoshi fighting Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, and Kurōdo, where he scares her into leaving by summoning his Doll, Ritz, and attacking with her. As he turns his attention to Rukia and Orihime, Mabashi flaunts his new level of power by having Ritz smash through several shutters in the neighboring building before ultimately having her burrow into Rukia's chest to possess her, which he mockingly promises Orihime and Kurōdo will understand the nature of soon.

Mabashi explains that Ritz allows him to control people to fight on his behalf and has Rukia begin attacking Orihime with Kidō, eventually having Ritz force her out of her Gigai so she can access the full extent of her power. With Rukia being injured by a Koten Zanshun aimed at him, Mabashi is ecstatic over forcing her to fight her friends, but is startled when 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi intervenes in the fight, though he does not mind the latter planning to kill Rukia since he can always possess someone else. However, Orihime manages to separate Ritz from Rukia with Sōten Kisshun and Ichinose incapacitates Mabashi to take him back.

The following day, Mabashi is left disgruntled by Ichinose's interference, believing that he would have won the fight regardless, though Ichinose asserts that he would have been killed. When Ichigo makes it to the central chamber after Ugaki is killed, Mabashi watches as Kariya effortlessly overpowers and physically dominates him, with Koga instructing Mabashi to realize that this is a Bount's true power on display. Once Uryū arrives and uses his newly-regained Quincy powers to modify the Senkaimon created by the Bount so they can enter Soul Society, Mabashi grins alongside his comrades and passes through the portal with them.

Upon entering Soul Society, Mabashi begins monitoring the movements and activities of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13 alongside Yoshi and Sawatari at Kariya's instruction. When Kariya decides to initiate his invasion of the Seireitei, Mabashi confronts Danzōmaru alongside Yoshi and easily defeats him, allowing the villagers of the Kusajishi district to raise the Black Ridge Gate with their siege engine, which lets Mabashi and Yoshi enter the Seireitei unhindered. Following this, Mabashi begins his assigned task of creating distractions for the Gotei 13 around the Seireitei so Kariya can search for a hidden device to complete his plan with.

When 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng has the Keigun of the Onmitsukidō begin patrolling different areas of the Seireitei for the Bount, Mabashi encounters a squad of them in one of the streets and has Ritz distract them while he personally incapacitates several of them and taunts the rest to follow him before running away. Soon afterward, Mabashi is discovered by a group of Shinigami and has Ritz split into multiple copies of herself to burrow into all of them, leaving them to collapse as he departs. Once Suì-Fēng reaches his location to reprimand the Keigun on their failure, Mabashi has one of them possessed by Ritz stab her with a dormant Bitto.

Mabashi has all the possessed Shinigami around the Seireitei begin attacking their comrades while he engages Suì-Fēng, whom he reveals has been poisoned with a rotted Soul that had been taken by the Bitto. Though able to match Suì-Fēng in hand-to-hand combat due to her weakened state, Mabashi is caught off-guard when she wounds him with her Shikai, Suzumebachi, and decides to watch her die from afar so she cannot initiate Nigeki Kessatsu. With all his possessed Shinigami being taken down, Mabashi decides to possess Suì-Fēng so he can better combat the Gotei 13, but Suì-Fēng manages to stab him a second time, fatally poisoning him. As Ritz turns on him, Mabashi screams in terror and dies.

Powers & Abilities
High Spiritual Power: After being empowered by living Souls, Mabashi possesses considerable Reiryoku, allowing him to fight evenly with a weakened 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng.

Expert Hand to Hand Combatant: Mabashi possesses considerable skill in close-quarters combat, having dispatched several of the notoriously strong Keigun with physical blows while Ritz distracted them. After weakening master Hakuda user Suì-Fēng with poison, Mabashi managed to match her blow-for-blow for approximately a full minute.

Enhanced Endurance: After being empowered by living Souls, Mabashi was able to continue standing and fighting for a brief period of time after being fatally poisoned by Nigeki Kessatsu.

Enhanced Speed: After being empowered by living Souls, Mabashi can move at high speeds, allowing him to dodge fast Kidō attacks and keep up with a weakened Suì-Fēng's Shunpo, though not consistently.

Enhanced Strength: After being empowered by living Souls, Mabashi's physical strength is increased to the point where he can leap high into the air with a single bound from a standing position.

Doll
is Mabashi's Doll. A small, mouse-like being with a purple-yellow flower enveloping her body who is readily obedient and devoted to Mabashi, Ritz can take control of beings by embedding herself in their chests and attaching herself to their Souls in the form of a blossoming flower; from here, she can use all of their powers and skills, such as Kidō, to attack Mabashi's enemies. Mabashi summons her by taking the crystal off his choker and dropping it to the ground, where it sprouts a flower on a long stem that morphs into Ritz.

Quotes

 * (To the other Bount) "Are you all really going to go along with this? Are you serious?! Listen to me! Am I the only one who's serious about honoring the laws and codes of our tribe?! Tell me something, Sawatari. Some people say that there was a time when you were known to have sucked out a great number of living Souls. Is that not true? And now look at the results, old man! It's aged you by 150 years! Which is why it was taboo, you fool!"


 * (To Yoshi) "I'll take over from here. This isn't a job for an old lady."


 * (To Yoshi) "In fact, I feel great. Right now, I feel as if I'm a god who could do anything!"


 * (To Yoshi) "When things heat up a little, you completely lose it, don't you? Must be old age. Old and ugly. Too bad."


 * (To Orihime Inoue) "How does it feel, knowing that the only chance you have to survive is by hurting your friend?"


 * (To Jin Kariya) "I didn't lose. In fact, I have never been defeated! I would have beaten them! Except...he stopped me."


 * (To Maki Ichinose) "You don't know what you're talking about! You have no idea what my limits are!"


 * (To Suì-Fēng) "So this is the Hōmonka I've heard so much about. It's very impressive. I'm supposed to die if you hit me in the same place twice, right? If you want to finish me off, then you'd better do it soon. You don't have very much time left, so I think I'll just keep my distance and relax while I watch you die. Just die already and get it over with!"


 * "Probably about time to check in on that little Shinigami. In case she hasn't discovered it yet, I'm going to teach her the true meaning of despair!"


 * (To Suì-Fēng) "I had planned on staying hidden away until you were dead, but then...I realized that the Shinigami had discovered a way to incapacitate my precious little Ritzes one by one. Then I thought, maybe if I hit them with someone really strong who they can't knock out, right? It's nothing personal, you see. I just can't bear the thought of Ritz being harmed."


 * (To Ritz as she attacks him) "What?! No, Ritz! Not me! Get away from me! What are you doing?! Dammit, Ritz, I told you to get her! No, Ritz! Why are you doing this?! Help me, please! Ritz, no!"