Rangiku Matsumoto

is Lieutenant of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13, Serving under Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

Appearance
Rangiku is an attractive woman with long, wavy, strawberry-blonde hair (worn short in her youth) and icy blue eyes. Her most distinctive features are her very large breasts, which are even larger than Orihime Inoue's. She also shares Orihime's strange taste in food. She dresses in the garb typical of shinigami, though her robes hang loose enough for her ample bosom to be revealed. She wears a necklace and a pink scarf over her arms. In addition, her lieutenant's armband is worn on her uniform's sash, as opposed to around the arm.

Personality
Rangiku tends to be a slacker who doesn't like paperwork and loves to drink saké. She's not the least bit modest about her appearance, frequently referring or complaining about her large breasts in casual conversation. She even tries to bribe Ichigo Kurosaki into letting her stay at his house using them, though unsuccessfully. Her easy-going and free-spirited personality is in sharp contrast with the serious Hitsugaya, but the two seem to be quite close, regardless. Rangiku is almost constantly by his side and has shown her loyalty to him on several occasions. While she seems somewhat self-centered, she is sensitive to the feelings of others, evident when she sees the concern Hitsugaya has for Momo Hinamori, the guilt Izuru Kira shares with her when Gin Ichimaru is revealed as a traitor, and when Orihime feels depressed about her role in Ichigo Kurosaki's life. Despite her lackadaisical image, she can be extremely serious when needed. She's shown to be somewhat maternal, especially with Orihime and Momo.

History
Not much is mentioned about Rangiku's past. She came from Rukongai and was rescued as a child by Gin Ichimaru; the two soon became friends. In one short chapter from the manga, she was once asked by Ichimaru during her childhood when her birthday was. She replied that she did not know because she had been alone for as far as she could remember. This possibly means she was orphaned since birth. When he heard about this, Ichimaru told her that if this was the case, then her birthday should be set on the day they met (the day she was not alone anymore).

It is not known how she became a shinigami or how she became lieutenant of the 10th Division, but it is hinted that she has held the position longer than her current captain has held his.

Zanpakutō
Haineko (Ash Cat): The guard is in the shape of a cat's head, as its name suggests. The zanpakutō's form is that of a straight-bladed wakizashi.


 * Shikai: Its shikai command is "growl".


 * Shikai Special Ability: In its shikai, Haineko dissolves into ash, which Rangiku can then control. The ash can cut through objects as easily as a sword would, similar in principle to Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura. In Bleach: Heat the Soul 3, the ash that Haineko produces can form together into a cat or leopard-like animal.

Rangiku has not yet mastered the bankai of her zanpakutō, though she is trying to learn it; however, Haineko is just as moody, lazy, and selfish as Rangiku is, making progress difficult