Shūhei Hisagi

"Missions, editorial duties, guitar practice, etc. - all these activities keep him busy all day, but he is still a reliable youth, providing much support to the 9th division." - Tite Kubo

is the Lieutenant of the 9th Division, formerly under Captain Kaname Tōsen.

Appearance
Shūhei has short, black hair and wears sleeveless Shinigami robes, has the number "69" tattooed to his left cheek and has a set of three scars straight over his eye and down his right cheek, gained during a past Hollow attack. He also has a blue, stripe tattoo running across his left cheek and over the bridge of his nose over the 69. He wears what appears to be a choker around his throat and a matching armband on his right arm, which have proven to have explosive properties as shown in his fight with Findor Carias. He has his lieutenant insignia tied to his left arm.

Personality
Shūhei is an extremely mature and calm individual, a state that is slightly at odds with his somewhat punk-like appearance. He usually takes responsibility, and tends to avoid violence when possible. He seems to be virtuous, much like his captain's image; their views often coincide until it is revealed that Kaname Tōsen is a subordinate of Sōsuke Aizen. He is often seen in the company of Renji and Izuru.

He apparently comes from the lower class, but when he is pressed for cash, he will rely on any free food source available, including one provided by someone as obtuse and snotty as the lieutenant of the Second Division, Marechiyo Ōmaeda. He is also just as perverted as the other male Shinigami, usually where Rangiku Matsumoto is concerned. In one omake chapter it showed that he and Tetsuzaemon Iba fantasized about rescuing her.

Shūhei has stated that he does not like the shape of his Zanpakutō's Shikai release, as it looks like something meant to take life. He also fears his sword's power, because to him its something of a sign of respect to battle for justice as well as a testament to the true strength of one's character. Shūhei was probably taught this by his former captain, given the latter's "follow the path with the least bloodshed" creed, indicating a reasonable closeness between the two. It also seems that while battling he becomes a darker person and seeks fear in his enemy while in battle.

In the absence of Captain Tōsen, not only the leadership of his division, but also the chief editorial position of Seireitei Communication weighs on him. In what little free time he has, he likes to practice on a guitar that he found on one of his missions to the human world and brought back to Soul Society. As members of his division found his practice annoying, he tended to do it in the mountains of Rukongai. He received proper guidance at last in the handling of the instrument from Yasutora Sado after the Ryoka Invasion. His dream is to form a band. He has a new serial article running in Seireitei Communication, titled "Please Teach Me! Shūhei Sensei!!", but it did not manage to get popular yet. It is also known that he cooks well, and his favorite food is Vienna sausage, while he dislikes sea urchin.

History
Approximately 100 years before the current story line, Shūhei was a child, found along with other children, escaping from a Hollow attack in Rukongai. Not long after, they are saved by Kensei Muguruma and the 9th Division. After being saved from the attack, Kensei tries to cheer Shūhei up (albeit with a slightly scary, demanding manner) and asks his name. As Kensei and the others continue their work, Shūhei sees a tattoo of the number "69" on Kensei's chest, which gives him the inspiration to get the same tattoo on his cheek. Shūhei Hisagi was a famous Shinigami even before he became a seated officer. Shūhei was already taking missions from the Gotei 13 even though he was still a student of the Shinigami Academy. During his last year of study (the sixth) Shūhei is assigned, along with two of his classmates, Kanisawa and Aoga, to lead a field lesson on performing the Konsō with Freshman Class One, the class which Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, and Momo Hinamori were members of. All went well until the end of the lesson, when a group of giant Hollows took the class by surprise.

Both of Shūhei’s classmates are killed, and he orders all the freshmen to run as he tries to hold off the Hollows until help arrives. However, he is quickly overpowered, and if Momo, Izuru, and Renji had not turned back, Shūhei would have died then and there. Backup arrives in the form of Captain Aizen and his then Lieutenant Gin Ichimaru. The scars on Shūhei’s face were acquired in that incident.

Izuru Kira mentions that Shūhei failed the entrance exam for the academy twice. However, his talent allowed him to become a seated officer in the Gotei 13 without having to pass additional tests in the end.

Soul Society Arc
Shūhei initially is seen as one of several Shinigami who notice the confrontation between Ichigo Kurosaki and gatekeeper Jidanbō Ikkanzaka. Knowing of the power of the gatekeeper, he merely just leaves it to him to keep the intruders out.

Before Rukia’s execution, Shūhei accompanies his captain Tōsen and the captain and lieutenant of the Seventh Division, Sajin Komamura and Tetsuzaemon Iba, to confront Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of the Eleventh Division because Kenpachi is assisting the ryoka. Though Kenpachi claims that he can take on all four and assumes the others have gone ahead. However, he is surprised to discover his third and fifth seat officers have remained behind to challenge the two lieutenants. Kenpachi grants permission for Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa to fight Tetsuzaemon and Shūhei. They lead their opponents away from the captains in order to avoid getting in the way. Ikkaku takes Iba and Yumichika takes Shūhei.

In the beginning of the fight, Shūhei is winning, and chides Yumichika for thinking a fifth seated Shinigami could defeat a lieutenant. However, Yumichika turns the tables by releasing his Zanpakutō, which, until that point, was completely unknown to Shūhei. The next time we see him, he is collapsed in exhaustion and disbelief, saying "I didn’t know a Zanpakutō like that even existed...", stating that it is possible that Yumichika might have used his second shikai ability. Yumichika rejoins Kenpachi after his captain is done battling, and he looks more full of energy than when he began.

Shūhei is devastated by the news that Tōsen is a traitor to Soul Society. In the aftermath of Sōsuke Aizen’s retreat into Hueco Mundo he visits the grave of Tōsen’s friend, and encounters Komamura, one of Tōsen’s best friends. They swear to each other that they will save Tōsen from himself and his crazed sense of justice.

After that the Tenth Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto sees him and invites him to drink with her and Izuru, who is already passed out. Shūhei accepts the invitation only to find that Uzuru needs some serious attention and Rangiku is just ignoring him so she can keep drinking.

Bount Arc
When the Bounts begin to attack living humans, Tōshirō Hitsugaya puts together a team of Shinigami to help that consists of Shūhei, Izuru Kira, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Yumichika Ayasegawa. Shūhei manages to locate Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, and their Mod Soul companion Kurōdo, who were fighting against the Bount Mabashi. After Orihime frees Rukia from Mabashi's control, Shūhei attempts to kill Mabashi, only to be interrupted by the rogue Shinigami Maki Ichinose, who retreats with Mabashi.

Later, Shūhei and the other Shinigami sent by Hitsugaya attempt to assault the Bounts' hideout. They decide to split up, which Shūhei ends up traveling with Izuru. But they are all overwhelmed by Ugaki's doll. He and Izuru manage to assist Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai when they also arrive, but they end up staying behind, urging Ichigo and Renji to continue on.

Arrancar Arc
During the events of the Arrancar arc, Shūhei is seen to have taken over the duties of his captain as an acting replacement. He comments to Jūshirō Ukitake that he never expected a captain's duty to be very difficult as Kaname Tōsen hardly asked anything of his subordinates. Ukitake later comments that Shūhei is still recovering from the fact that his captain was a traitor.

Fake Karakura Town Arc
When Aizen along with his top three Espada attack the fake Karakura Town, he along with Yumichika, Ikkaku Madarame and Izuru Kira are left to protect the four pillars that keep the real Karakura Town in Soul Society. After slaying some Hollows sent to destroy his pillar, he begins a battle against one of Barragan Luisenbarn's Fracción, Findor Carias.

After a short time of fighting, he notices his opponent is only fighting at the level of a fifth seated officer. After making the statement, Findor becomes pleased that he passed his "test" and then starts breaking off pieces of his mask, becoming stronger every time. Shūhei eventually becomes tired, something that the Arrancar finds odd, having precisely judged the strength of a proper lieutenant. He then decides to end the fight by releasing his Resurrección. After a short fight with the Arrancar having the upper hand, Shūhei releases his zanpakutō, evening the odds greatly. Shūhei then talks about fearing his sword, something that Findor does not grasp. As the fight goes on however, Findor breaks off another 40% of his mask (90% in total) which he claims to be the power of a captain. Despite this, Shūhei cuts his released form in half while criticizing his lack of fear for his power, a lesson that was taught by his former captain. Shūhei, now claiming Findor to be his equal, finishes him as he tries to run away. After this, he is alerted by one of the pillars falling.

He then makes a timely appearance, along with Izuru, to save Momo from the "pet" of Halibel's Fraccións, Allon. Shūhei tells Izuru to tend to Momo's and Rangiku's wounds. Izuru reluctantly agrees and swoops off, and Shūhei begins battle with Allon. Shūhei started by using Hadō #11, Tsuzuri Raiden. Allon fell over and seemed paralyzed. Shūhei then figured that Kidō was the beast's weakness. He ties up Allon using the chains of his sword, Kazeshini, then attempts to finish him. However, before he can, Allon easily breaks out of Kazeshini's chains. Shūhei then tries his best to dodge Allon; however, Allon gets on his feet and grabs him by the chest. Allon stretches its mouth wide and prepares to swallow Shūhei. Just then, Tetsuzaemon Iba arrived at the scene to save Shūhei. Sensing no reaction from Allon, Tetsuzaemon prepares to strike it. However, Allon sees him coming with a hidden eye and counters by firing a large Cero, defeating Tetsuzaemon. Allon crushes Shūhei with its fist and flings his limp body aside. With Shūhei and Tetsuzaemon down, Allon moves towards Izuru. Just as all seemed lost, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai arrives and manages to kill Allon with little effort. Shūhei remains incapacitated. He is later seen lying with the injured others with Komamura standing by the barrier.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Not approving of his Zanpakutō's shikai form, Shūhei has trained to become especially skilled at swordsmanship so he would not have to rely on it. He has shown to be very crafty with his Zanpakutō as his skills are great enough to regularly fight opponents with released Zanpakutō while his remains sealed, only relying on his own Zanpakutō's released form as a last resort. When Shūhei does release his Zanpakutō he has shown to be highly proficient in its use, using his mastery of a variation of Kusarigamajutsu, which features fighting at a distance with plentiful use of the chain to ensnare opponents as well as using his Zanpakutō as a ranged throwing weapon.

Flash Steps Expert: Shūhei is proficient enough in flash steps to keep up with lieutenant level shinigami. His skill allows him to move fast enough to dodge a vast majority of multiple bala blasts that were fired at him.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Shūhei has shown himself to be a highly proficient fighter even when unarmed. During the Bounts' invasion, Shūhei demonstrated great skill by incapacitating several possessed Shinigami. In battle, he has shown himself to be tremendously agile and able to attack from various angles with great dexterity.

Kidō Expert: Shūhei having been a Shinigami for so long seems to be versed enough in kido to have an understanding of at least fairly high-level kidō spells without incantation, most noticeably binding No. 62. He has been seen using them in conjunction with his released zanpakutō to deliver more damage onto his opponents.

Zanpakutō

 * In its sealed form, it looks like a regular katana with an octangular tsuba. Shūhei has been seen carrying his Zanpakutō both at his waist and on his back.


 * Shikai: Kazeshini's Shikai command is . When released, it takes the form of two Kusarigama-like weapons, each with two sickle blades one inverted giving it the resemblance of a fan. The blades are connected to a spiked rod tethered together by a long chain. While in this form Kazeshini can be swung by the chain in large circles allowing the bladed rod portion to spin like a fan. Kazeshini can be used for entangling an opponent's sword, or other weapon, or immobilizing his arms or legs. Although he dislikes the shape of his weapon because it is shaped like something meant to take life, he is extremely proficient in wielding them; he uses them as projectiles and controls them at range through moving the chain to make the weapons' paths unpredictable.


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved

Quotes

 * "Reap, Kazeshini."
 * "Just what I said. I don't like the shape. Look at it. It's shaped like something meant to take life, isn't it?" (To Findor Carias as he reveals Kazeshini's Shikai form)
 * "He who does not fear his own sword is not worthy to hold it."
 * "...Equal to a captain? You couldn't be more wrong." (To Findor Carias as he flees from Kazeshini)

Trivia

 * The "69" on his face is a personal homage/tribute to Kensei Muguruma, who had a "69" on his chest, after saving his life from a Hollow around 100 years ago.
 * It is unknown if Hisagi used his Shikai against Yumichika during the Soul Society Arc, as their fight goes unseen, but this is doubtful since Hisagi only uses it as a last resort, similar to Yumichika using the "true form" of his own Shikai.
 * It is unknown why Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai doesn't mention Hisagi's Shikai as a two-bladed zanpakutō.
 * In the anime, it is implied that Hisagi's shikai is not shown often. Evidently, when Hisagi releases his shikai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya says, "Finally..."