Yoruichi Shihōin

Yoruichi Shihouin (四楓院 夜一, Shihōin Yoruichi?). She is the former Commander of the Special Forces.

Appearance
Yoruichi Shihouin is a dark-skinned woman who can transform into a black cat for long periods of time.

Personality
She is intelligent and witty, and is intimately knowledgeable of Soul Society and its workings, as she was the former leader of the special forces. Although of noble birth, she acts differently from other nobles. For instance, she instructed Soifon to refer to her without using honorific suffixes. She also transforms into her human form directly in front of Ichigo on several occasions just to see his reaction to seeing her naked.

Yoruichi tends to avoid battles, preferring to help after a fight is over, but she will step in if she thinks her side cannot win. She was responsible for training Chad and Orihime prior to their entrance into Soul Society. She also supervised Ichigo Kurosaki's bankai training using the methods developed by Kisuke Urahara.

History
Yoruichi was the former head of the special forces. She was also the first female and the 22nd generational head of the Shihouin family (天賜兵装番, tenshiheisōban?), one of the four noble families, and earned much respect in Soul Society while she was there. While her age has not been revealed, she refers to Byakuya Kuchiki as "Little Byakuya", implying that she is older than him. About 100 years prior to the Bleach storyline, she helped Kisuke Urahara in his escape from Soul Society and was thus relieved of her high status. Yoruichi and Urahara are close friends, as they played together daily under the Sōkyoku hill training space, which Urahara built when they were children, although many incorrectly believe them to be family.

While Yoruichi was the special forces commander, she took in Soifon as a guard and became her mentor and friend. She taught Soifon most of the techniques she knew. As a result, Soifon succeeded her as head of the special forces after Yoruichi's escape from Soul Society. During her time in Soul Society, she created many techniques that involve flash steps, as well as teaching some of them to Byakuya.

Since her departure from Soul Society, it has been stated that she "has kept her distance from battle." According to the manga, Yoruichi disappeared and has not fought in battle in over 100 years before the storyline. Her segregation from fighting seems to be the main reason for Yoruichi's initial struggle during her fight with Soifon after she returns to Soul Society.

Shinigami Powers and Items
As a member of a noble family and head of the special forces, Yoruichi has acquired many powerful abilities and artifacts.

Feline Morphing: One of her most important and unique abilities is that she can shapeshift into a black cat at will. It is unknown if this ability possesses any time limit, but it is unlikely considering she has used it for so long that she is unused to her human form and dislikes wearing clothing (much to Ichigo's chagrin). As a cat, Yoruichi can still channel spiritual power and move with incredible speeds, though she is physically limited by the form. Her transformation also allows her a complete disguise in multiple ways; aside from the physical transformation, her voice as a cat is deep enough for most to assume that she is male.

Flash Step Master: Yoruichi is also highly skilled in the use of flash steps (瞬歩, shunpo?), a high speed movement ability. Though this is by no means a unique skill, as most seated officers are capable of performing it to various degrees, Yoruichi holds the title "Goddess of Flash" because she has mastered this ability to such an extent that she can appear to be in several places at once and wipe out entire special forces squadrons in moments. The full extent of her abilities remain unclear, but she was able to outrun Byakuya while carrying an unconscious Ichigo over her shoulder. She was able to perform around 300 steps before feeling out of breath. Furthermore, she states that she is out of practice after doing so.

Flash Cry: Yoruichi is also skilled with flash cry (瞬閧, shunkō?), a technique that combines hand-to-hand combat and kidō. It concentrates high-pressure kidō energy around the body, allowing it to be fired at opponents. It can also be used to instantly neutralize an opponent's movement.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant

Two of Yoruichi's unique items are accessories that allow the user the power of flight.


 * One is a small wand with a skull atop it. By channeling spirit energy into the wand, it produces a tentacle that acts as a harness and a single, bat-shaped wing that acts as a one-handed hang glider. No skill or previous experience is required to use it.


 * The other, known as a tentōken (heavenly dancing figure), is a brown mantle with a large draw string closure at the collar and a large brooch displaying the Shihouin family crest. Like the wand, the tentōken seems to require no skill or previous experience to use. It also seems to be superior to the wand, since it allows one to hover in mid-air and doesn't immobilize one of the user's hands.

Another item, though not in Yoruichi's possession, though apparently belonging to her family.


 * Shihouin Shield: the device used by Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku to destroy the Sōkyoku. It is a large, shield-like item with the Shihouin family crest stamped on it and a long cord connected to it. When the cord is wrapped around Sōkyoku and two zanpakutō are stabbed into two vertical slots running from its top, their energy flows through the cord and destroys Sōkyoku. Jūshirō Ukitake had it in his possession under some sort of seal.

Zanpakuto
It is known that Yoruichi possesses a zanpakutō, but she relies nearly exclusively on hand to hand combat, shunkō and flash steps. However, although she never carries it during the main storyline, it is shown during a flashback when she tells Ichigo about Kisuke Urahara as the previous 12th division captain. She briefly uses a sword during the "Sealed Sword Frenzy" OVA to dispatch a hollow. She also uses it in the anime during Soifon's flashback about becoming Yoruichi's protégé, where it resembles a kodachi or wakizashi.