Haineko (Zanpakutō spirit)

This article is about the manifested spirit of Rangiku Matsumoto's Zanpakutō. For her Zanpakutō and its abilities, see Haineko.

is the manifested spirit of Rangiku Matsumoto's Zanpakutō that is seen during the anime-exclusive Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc and the Beast Swords arc.

Appearance
Haineko's spirit takes the form of a werecat with peach skin, turquoise eyes, and maroon chin-length hair. While looking mostly humanoid, she possesses a tail, cat ears and pink fur over her body. The fur on her upper body covers her functions as a rather provocative shirt, not covering her shoulders and mid-section, while the fur on her left leg appears as sort of stocking, and puffy shorts that extend mid-thigh. She also has sharp claws for nails which she can use in the conventional sense of striking at her opponent. She sports a voluptuous figure not unlike Rangiku Matsumoto's; both have curvy bodies and well-endowed breasts.

Personality
She is highly mischievous, and tends to get bored rather easily. She also enjoys taunting her opponents, is rather flirtatious, and seems to possess a slight sadistic streak (or a more aggressive side to her flirtatious nature), based on her comments about "playing" with Ichigo when she and Tobiume first encountered him a few minutes before their first fight with Momo and Rangiku. She also cares for the well-being of her fellow Zanpakutō, as shown by her claim that she was "glad" that Kazeshini was able to make it back to their hideout, despite the large wound he bore on his back.

She is rather superficial in appearances and has a passion for perfumes. She also appears to be infatuated with Hyōrinmaru, often calling him "darling". Her desire for leaving Rangiku appears to flaunt her own ideals of true feminine beauty, believing that women who reach a certain age have no right be considered beautiful. In addition, she has a love-hate relationship with Tobiume and Rangiku, often arguing with and teasing them, even after being released from Muramasa's control, despite nearly always being around each other.

Additionally, Haineko and Rangiku both have an interest in fashion, but have notably different tastes; Rangiku opts for the "cuter" and surprisingly more modest style of clothing, while Haineko prefers "sexier" and slightly more revealing outfits. As with Rangiku, Haineko has a love for drinking, having being seen drinking a large barrel of sake (and getting drunk) alongside Rangiku herself during a party, courtesy of Rukia Kuchiki and Sode no Shirayuki. She has also shows a somewhat perverted side to her, when she and Tobiume, out of curiosity, 'spy' on Senbonzakura in the men's bath to see what his face looks like, and blush once said Zanpakutō appeared nude when walking into the men's bath, only to comically yell at him for, once his face came into view, choosing not to remove his mask.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

She first appears when the Zanpakutō spirits are in a cave waiting for Muramasa's return. She claims to be bored and wishes to go outside, but the spirit of Sode no Shirayuki tells her that they have to wait for the rest of their companions to awaken. She is later seen along with the rest of the Zanpakutō spirits when they appear before the Shinigami that have gathered at the Sōkyoku Hill. She passes by Rangiku and taunts her for a second, then forcibly pushes her before bidding her farewell.

Later while arguing with Tobiume at their hideout, Muramasa returns with new orders to capture Ichigo Kurosaki. She says it'll prevent her from being bored. While hunting for Ichigo with Tobiume, she wonders where Hyōrinmaru went, blushing while saying that "he's cute when he's shy". During their argument about who will find Hyōrinmaru first, Senbonzakura appears before them without warning, scaring the two. When he asks them about Muramasa's whereabouts, they tell him they don't know and he leaves. They soon spot Ichigo and immediately attack him. Haineko strikes at Ichigo with her ash wave and soon gets into another argument with Tobiume. Ichigo, not wanting to get into another fight, tries to run away, but the pair attack him once more. Just then, Rangiku and Momo Hinamori arrive and engage their former Zanpakutō, while Ichigo leaves to continue his search for Byakuya. Haineko argues for a while with her former wielder, calling her an "old hag" and bragging on how relieved she is on being set free.

The two then begin to fight, with Haineko constantly mocking Rangiku's appearance and claiming she is old and fat. Haineko even goes so far as to say that Rangiku has "gone past her expiration date". This causes Rangiku to go into fits of rage and the two end up clawing and pulling at each other. Eventually with a tag-team strategy with Momo, Haineko is finally subdued along with Tobiume with the use of Bakudo 9: Hōrin. After which, Momo explains how she would like to get older as to lose her naiveness. While Haineko doesn't understand, Rangiku explains that a kid, meaning Haineko, wouldn't be expected to understand.

Later, Haineko and Tobiume are seen in a cell being taken away by several Shinigami. While journeying back to Seireitei, Byakuya knocks out all the escorts, though he does not bother to release Haineko and Tobiume from the cage, as they are still seen in it during a Shinigami Golden Cup segment. However, it is assumed that they escaped at some point, as they were both shown along with the remaining spirits afterwards in Muramasa's cave. She later appears during the confrontation between the spirits and Shinigami along with Tobiume to fight Tetsuzaemon Iba and Isane Kotetsu, although the two argue and almost let the two get away. Haineko then calls for Ashisogi Jizō to emerge out of the rumble he was earlier blasted into by Isane. She then fights Iba for a short time before Rangiku shows up again to fight her. However Ashisogi Jizō sprays his poison at Iba and Rangiku while Haineko safely retreats to a nearby building.

Later when the Shinigami find Zanpakutō's hideout, she and Tobiume intercept Ichigo and Yoruichi. Yoruichi, however, proves to be too fast and powerful for them and easily fends them off, allowing Ichigo to move on. Yoruichi stays to battle the two Zanpakutō spirits, who were fighting her solely to delay and separate her from Ichigo. Yoruichi uses her Kidō skills to restrain the two spirits and leaves. The pair later escape their restraints and attack Yoruichi again, this time promising not to hold back against her.

While the fight's end is unclear, Haineko later appears allied with Rangiku again to help battle the unstable Muramasa's who's rampaging energy is causing great damage in the living world. Once again partnering Tobiume, the two take down several Gillians. When it becomes clear that the number of Gillian will not decrease while the enormous Garganta Muramasa produced is still open, Haineko joins the others in helping to close the Garganta by focusing her Reiatsu on it. Afterwards, Haineko complains that she exhausted, leading to Tobiume teasing her that is just older than she is willing to admit. After finally getting rid of the Gillians and Muramasa having been defeated by Ichigo, Haineko returns to Rangiku's sword.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

While Soul Society is partying to recover and rejoice over their victory, Haineko joins Rangiku in several drinks, soon ending up drunk. Haineko later joins Rangiku in following Captain Hitsugaya to the Human World to warn Ichigo Kurosaki of the threat of the Tōjū, despite the captain telling them not to. Haineko manages to have some fun by experiencing what the living world hast to offer, while wearing a Human-based Gigai and borrowed clothes from Orihime. Later, the three are attacked by a Tōjū‎ that has transformed due to fusing with a Hollow, making it stronger. With Rangiku not being able to separate from her Gigai thanks to losing her Soul Candy, Haineko fights the beast alone, but is quickly knocked out; she is saved by Ichigo.

Some time afterwards, Haineko, Wabisuke and Hōzukimaru briefly confront Kazeshini, still determined to kill his master, and gruffly tells them not to get involved. While they seem to slightly disapprove of his desire to kill Hisagi, they agree not to involve themselves any further. Satisfied, Kazeshini leaves shortly after, with Wabisuke commenting on how "gloomy" Kazeshini is, despite himself being quite depressed, which Haineko points out. Several minutes later, Haineko and Hōzukimaru snicker hysterically at seeing the normally bloodthirsty demon with an infant clutching to his head, and while he claims that the child wouldn't "stop following" him, they continue laughing. When he tries to have them take after the child, they refuse, with Haineko pointing out how he said he didn't want them to get involved, and immediately leave shortly thereafter, despite Kazeshini's protests.

While searching for Tōjū, Haineko discovers the injured Narunosuke. Unable to bring herself to kill him, she spares his life and returns to Matsumoto, telling her that she found and killed a Tōjū. She later treats his injuries in a hut near where she found him. Haineko unsuccessfully tries to convince Matsumoto that not all Tōjū are bad. When Narunosuke asks about this, Haineko tells him that Matsumoto is trying to convince her boss. After a couple of days, Narunosuke becomes anxious about this, and Haineko is forced to admit the truth to him. One night, Matsumoto follows Haineko to the hut where Naruosuke is staying and discovers him. She tells Haineko to get away from him so that she can kill him. Haineko refuses, but Narunosuke becomes a Tōjū and attacks Matsumoto and Haineko. When Matsumoto is knocked away by him, Haineko envelopes herself and Narunosuke in her Shikai and kills him.

Powers and Abilities
Enhanced Speed: Haineko has shown tremendous speed comparable to Shunpo, great enough to fight on even ground with her former partner.

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Haineko has shown great swordsmanship as well, able to easily keep up with Rangiku.

Zanpakutō
At anytime, Haineko can manifest the sealed sword form of her former self. This is a straight-bladed katana with a cross guard in the shape of a cat's head, with two triangles on the top half curving into ear-points and the bottom half tapering down into a single point.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Haineko can produce ash which floats in the air. Though it now takes on the look of scattered ash, each particle is a tiny blade. Haineko controls the ash to attack from any direction as her hand controls the hilt, ultimately enveloping and tearing up the enemy. So evidently, Haineko's ash is very hard to fight against in this form. The main attack strength of the ash comes from how much ash makes contact, thus this is the reason why it is clumped together. If the ash was to attack the opponent in single particles, the damage would be little to nothing. The ash can cut through objects as easily as a sword would, similar in principle to Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura.

Quotes

 * (To Rangiku Matsumoto) "You see, women have expiration dates on them...and you went bad a long time ago."
 * (Thinking to herself about Narunosuke) "This is too weird. It's like he's a Zanpakutō! I mean, I am, too... but I prefer older men. He's obviously younger than me and he looks like a wuss... definitely not my type. He's not worth my time. Seriously, I prefer older men with a little meat on their bones, not skinny puppies like him. But...Crap! I see that flash of lightning!"
 * (To Rangiku Matsumoto) "''I'm kinda glad I'm still so young. Because there's still plenty of time until I become an old hag.

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Haineko (espíritu)