Kon

is an Modified Soul created during Project Spearhead. His name is short for. Kon typically inhabits a stuffed lion, but occasionally doubles as a Soul Candy pill for Ichigo Kurosaki, taking charge of Ichigo's Human body.

Appearance
Kon occupies the body of a small stuffed lion for most of the time. The doll has a light tan body with seams running up and down the entire thing. The arms and legs each have four white, flat claws which serve as his fingers and toes. A button is placed in the center of the body where his belly button would be. He has two beady black eyes and small ears with pink inside of them. His head is surprisingly flat when viewed from the side and he has a brown, spiky mane atop his head. Hanging from his lower back is a small tail.

Seventeen months after Sōsuke Aizen's defeat, having been experimented on by the 12th Division, Kon's stuffed animal form can become much larger, though his head remains the same size. In this enlarged form he sports large and well-defined muscular physique. Kon can also be reverted to his original appearance via a remote.

Personality
Kon is quite perverted, being preoccupied by sex much of the time. He will often try to take advantage of his stuffed animal body to get girls to hug him to their chests. Kon is especially attracted to girls with large breasts, which has made Orihime or Rangiku the center of many of his fantasies. He also likes caramel. Kon can be cocky and sometimes refers to himself as the "King of New York".

Kon has strong views on the sanctity of life. Because he spent many years in the form of a pill, fearful that one day he would be discovered and disposed of, Kon has developed a moral stance that prevents him from killing anything. He will also risk his own life in order to save even the lowliest of creatures, and is angered to see people who belittle their creations and dispose of them off-hand.

History
Kon was one of the last Mod-Souls ever created for Project Spearhead, an operation which made Artificial Souls designed to enhance Human physiology to be placed in dead bodies in order to help the Shinigami fight Hollows. Shortly after his creation the project was deemed inhumane by Soul Society and was shut down, and all of the existing Mod-souls were to be terminated. Kon, however, made a lucky escape and wound up in the storage room of the Urahara Shop, inside a Soul Candy dispenser. Kisuke Urahara placed the tainted dispenser in a box designated as "poor merchandise" and had intended to dispose of it, but never did.

Kon's stuffed animal body was a fake version of Ponkichi, the main character of a popular TV show called. It was purchased in the Karakura Town Festival for a child instead of a more expensive, official version. The child who got it didn't like the cheap knock-off, and so the child threw it away.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
When Rukia realizes she won't have much more time in the Human World before the Gotei 13 send someone after her, she decides to find a way for Ichigo to transform into a Shinigami without her help. For this reason she goes to the Urahara Shop and buys a dispenser of Soul Candy. Ururu Tsumugiya brings her the dispenser containing Kon. Later, in school, Rukia drags Ichigo to a secluded corner and forces him to take one of the pills. Ichigo's soul is pushed out of his body and the Mod-Soul takes control of it, acting like a normal Artificial Soul. Right then, Rukia is alerted to the presence of a Hollow by her Denreishinki, and the two leave Ichigo's body in the hands of the supposed Artificial Soul.

The Mod-Soul, finding himself for the first time in a Human body, decides to hijack Ichigo's body for his pleasure and amusement. He wows a teacher by jumping over his head onto a rooftop some distance away. Next he surprises the girls in Ichigo's classroom by jumping up to the 3rd floor window from the ground. He makes a move on Orihime and kisses Tatsuki Arisawa, sending her into a fit of rage. Ichigo and Rukia return in time to find school desks flying through the window, they try to corner the Mod-Soul but he jumps down from the window and runs away.

The Mod-Soul goes off on a spree, leaping high and far through the air. He arrives at another school, where he encounters Hashigami, Kaneda, and Ino, three young boys who cut from gym class to play video games. He is enraged by the callous way the boys delete the game characters they had created. He attacks the boys and breaks their game console. Later, as he is heading away from the school, he senses a Hollow near the place he just left and doubles back, arriving just in time to drag the three boys out of harm's way. He then begins to fight the Hollow and is soon joined by Ichigo. The pair defeat the Hollow together, but the its falling body threatens to crush a trail of ants. The Mod-Soul kicks it away, putting himself and Ichigo's body at risk of falling off the roof. He later says that he refuses to kill anything or allow anything to be killed, because he feels anything has the right to live and die freely.

When Urahara arrives to retrieve his "poor merchandise", Ichigo and Rukia decide to keep the Mod-Soul as the permanent means to replace Ichigo's soul, and agree to claim responsibility over the Mod-Soul. They later find a stuffed lion toy for him to reside in while not in use. The stuffed animal comes to life and Ichigo orders him to not reveal himself to the rest of the household. Ichigo chooses 'Kon', short for Kaizō Konpaku, as his name, rather than 'Kai', which Kon had preferred.

Kon accompanies Rukia to the grave of Masaki Kurosaki when Ichigo and his family visit it. He complains about having to stay inside her backpack and that it seems Ichigo wants them to lay low. Rukia insists that they have to be nearby in case of Hollow, prompting Kon to warn her that she will lose friends if she does not think of anything other than work. When the Hollow Grand Fisher attacks Ichigo's sisters, Kon listens as Ichigo and Rukia talk while running towards the Hollow. Ichigo is surprised to see him, prompting Kon to say that he is Rukia's disciple. Ichigo distracts him by mentioning Orihime.

Rukia puts him into Ichigo's body to help her carry Ichigo's unconscious sisters away from the battle. When Karin Kurosaki wakes up, Kon tells her that Yuzu and her had fallen asleep because of the long trip. He leaves them and complains to Rukia about having to pose as Ichigo. Upon realizing that Rukia is not going to help Ichigo, Kon asks her to go help Ichigo, expressing displeasure at the thought of having to take Ichigo's place in the family if he were to die. Rukia returns Kon to his stuffed toy, but as she and Ichigo talk, Kon cannot get up as the air is too heavy.

When he is fed up with the pains of living in the Kurosaki Clinic, where Ichigo beats him against a wall to clean him and Rukia uses a toilet brush on him, Kon runs away to find a place where he truly belongs. When his plans to stay with a number of girls fail, he eventually gives up. Upon returning home, he does not feel like going to Ichigo's room and passes out in Yuzu's room. Yuzu finds Kon, bathes him, dresses him in baby clothes and places him with her other stuffed animals, annoying him greatly. He returns to Ichigo and Rukia, realizing that they are simply poor at expressing affection.

After encountering Uryū Ishida, Rukia removes Kon from his stuffed animal and makes Ichigo keep his pill with him in case he runs in to Uryū again. The Quincy later challenges Ichigo to a duel and Ichigo uses Kon to free his Shinigami form from his body. Ichigo sends Kon to fetch Rukia's Denreishinki so that he can locate the numerous Hollows that Uryū has summoned for their duel. Kon finds Rukia and stops a Hollow from attacking her. He then confronts Uryū about creating a crisis for the sake of challenging Ichigo. When Ichigo arrives, he argues with Kon until the Mod-Soul points out the crack that has appeared in the sky. Kon later looks on as a Menos Grande appears and listens to Rukia's explanation of what it is.

As she flees from the Kurosaki Clinic, Rukia tapes Kon to the bathroom to keep him from telling Ichigo of her departure. He is eventually found by Ichigo, whom he helps to decipher the coded note she left. Urahara frees Ichigo's Shinigami form and puts Kon into Ichigo's body so that his family will not be suspicious. Kon later lies in bed with his stuffed animal form wondering about Urahara's motives. When Ichigo and his companions depart for Soul Society to rescue Rukia, Kon wishes to come along, but instead Ichigo leaves him in charge of his body and asks him to take care of his family.

Soul Society arc
While Ichigo is in Soul Society, Kon returns to the Kurosaki family in his place, telling them he came home after losing his bullet train ticket. As he walks outside, a group of kids see him kick a pebble with superhuman strength, and they successfully bribe him into joining their soccer team for an upcoming game. The next day, however, Kon realizes his stuffed lion body is nowhere to be found.

Two days later, Kon arrives to the game despondent over not having found his body. To his shock, Jinta is playing on the opposing team and has the stuffed lion strapped to his pants (as Yuzu had given it to him as a good luck charm). Kon tackles Jinta, who realizes he is after the lion and retaliates by pulling out his bat. Before he can hit Kon with it, Tessai notices the fight and stops it by grabbing the stuffed lion, tearing it in the process.

Arrancar arc
As Ichigo prepares for school, he notices that Kon's stuffed lion body is badly torn. While Kon complains about his reaction to this, Ichigo tells him that he will bring Uryū home to repair him, which he duly does, including adding a Quincy cross to the back of his head which Kon is not aware of. Later, Kon takes over Ichigo's body while he is dealing with a Hollow and goes out to have some fun in the town, only to run into Grand Fisher. He is saved by Isshin Kurosaki, who quickly dispatches Grand Fisher. Kon is left confounded by the sight of Ichigo's father as a Shinigami and Isshin reveals that he knew about Kon ever since meeting him during Grand Fisher's first attack at the graveyard.

Kon later greets a despondent Ichigo when he enters his bedroom and asks about his father. Kon remembers Urahara telling him not to say anything about it to Ichigo and tries to cover his tracks, but Ichigo just lies on the bed. Kon then heads out for his daily walk, not wishing to have to watch him in the state he is in.

When Rukia and Rangiku Matsumoto arrive at the Kurosaki Clinic, Kon enthusiastically greets them, but is violently put down before being studied by Rangiku and Renji Abarai. When Ichigo leaves to train with the Visored and causes Yuzu to cry over his disappearance, Kon comments Ichigo is a bad brother for making her cry.

Fake Karakura Town arc
Kon (inside Ichigo's body) is sent to Soul Society along with the rest of Karakura Town, as part of the Gotei 13's plan to swap the town with a replica. While pretending to be unconscious like the other citizens, he is spotted by members of the 12th Division, who take a great interest in him. They eventually step away and begin whispering, at which point a beautiful woman entices Kon to wake up. Seeing her breasts, he springs gleefully toward her, but she attacks and restrains him with a device springing from her chest. He is captured and taken to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
In the SRDI, Kon encounters Ichigo and accidentally hits him. Ichigo does not recognize him because of his newly enhanced physique and how long it has been since he last saw him. Kon starts to tell Ichigo of the hardships he has been through, but Mayuri Kurotsuchi presses a button on a device that shrinks Kon to his old size and appearance. Later, much to his own surprise, Kon is used as a communication system by Urahara, still in Hueco Mundo, to contact Ichigo.

When the Royal Guard take Ichigo and the injured Shinigami to the Soul King Palace, Kon sneaks along by hiding in Ichigo's robes. After Ichigo and Renji are healed, they are launched into the next domain. Finally being noticed, Kon changes back into his larger form to cushion the Shinigami's landing. They are greeted by Kirio Hikifune, who treats them to a banquet. Kon eagerly attempts to help himself, but Ichigo holds him back, saying that there has to be a catch. However, when Kirio tells them that there is none, they all proceed to dig in. After they eat, Kirio returns, shocking them with her new slender and attractive appearance. While Kon is blissfully staring at her, Kirio explains that using the same principals behind the Artificial souls she developed, the food has strengthened their Reiatsu. She warns them that they are going to the palace of the unpredictable Ōetsu Nimaiya, the creator of the Zanpakutō.

When Ichigo and Renji are launched to Ōetsu Nimaiya's palace, they once again use Kon to break their fall. He scolds them for using him as a cushion, but Ichigo tells him off, telling him that it was his decision to tag along. Kon contests this, stating that he had asked to be left behind at Kirio's palace. He then states that they took him by force, but is suddenly interrupted by Ōetsu's fanfare. When they enter the Royal Guard's extravagant palace, he responds to Ōetsu's harem of female Zanpakutō spirits with glee, saying that he is in heaven. However, when they are later taken to the real palace, Kon begs Ōetsu to take him back to the other. Ōetsu concurs, claiming the "mysterious talking plushy" can feel his pain.

A few days later, after Ichigo confronts Yhwach, is thrown off the Soul King Palace, and is rescued by Orihime, Kon bursts out of his pocket in his muscular body and complains about ruining his grand entrance as Ichigo falls unconscious. When Ichigo learns that Kon is the one who caused him to pass out, he finds and torments him until being interrupted by Yoruichi.

Echoing Jaws of Hell arc
On the night of Jūshirō Ukitake's Konsō Reisai, Kon lies in Kazui Kurosaki's bedroom after spending the day playing with him, only to be alarmed when Kazui reveals that he was only pretending to be asleep and begins opening the window to leave. Unsuccessfully attempting to convince Kazui to stay, Kon reluctantly joins him in traveling on the backs of a pair of flying ethereal fish to visit the lonely Soul of an older man, whom Kazui brings alongside Kon to a small stone shrine in order to help him pass on by opening a strange portal with a ritual, shocking and intimidating both Kon and the man.

Equipment

 * Protective Charm: A Kidō-based charm originally given to Ichigo Kurosaki by his father. If the owner is attacked by hostile forces, it acts as a defense by forming a powerful barrier, such as when Kon (in Ichigo's body) was attacked by the Arrancar Grand Fisher. Isshin later reveals that he created the charm for Kon in the first place.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: During the few times that Kon is in combat, he has proven to be able to hold his own; in addition to possessing all the potential combat abilities of whoever's living body he inhabits, he was designed to have exceptionally powerful leg strength. He was able to fend off Ichigo in combat by using just kicking attacks and leg-blocks, and is able to kick aside massive Hollows.

Enhanced Strength: With his enhanced leg might, he is also capable of jumping over 13 meters and 56 cm from a standing position in Ichigo's body and effortlessly smash through a metal fence with a single kick.

Enhanced Speed: Kon can run 100 meters in 3.8 seconds.

Spiritual Power: Being a Mod-Soul, Kon possesses some spiritual power, though not as much as spiritually aware Humans, such as Yasutora Sado or Orihime Inoue.

Two-Way Holographic Communicator: Through modifications to his plushie form by Kisuke Urahara, the top of Kon's head is able to emit a display that can allow communication between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. The eyes are switches for it.

Appearances in Other Media

 * Kon shares a Bleach Beat Collection with Hanatarō. Mitsuaki Madono performs two of the three tracks as Kon: "LIONS NEVER SURRENDER" and "Shimpainai Oneesan," the latter of which is a duet with Hanatarō's seiyu.
 * Kon features in Bleach "B" Station. He performs tracks on the first, third, fourth and fifth volumes of the first season. He is also in the second season's fourth volume and the third season's third volume.
 * BuriCon - Bleach Concept Covers features Kon performing "My Pace."

Censorship

 * In the manga, when Kon, inside Ichigo's body, was injured by The Millipede-like Hollow, Ichigo's left sleeve, forearm, and left side of his forehead were covered in blood. In the anime however, blood was only shown around the shoulder wound.

Trivia

 * His theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is "Tanaka-san, Nichiyōbi Dansu" by the band Kūkikōdan (Kon Theme #1) and "Bushman" by Rip Slyme (Kon Theme #2).
 * In the anime, when Kon kicks the dying Hollow away, he does so to protect Hashigami, Kaneda, and Ino.
 * In the tenth popularity poll, Kon ranked 19th.

Quotes

 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Right after I was born, Soul Society ordered the mod souls to be destroyed... and the day after I was born I was already chosen to die! Everyday while I was in that pill I was afraid. As I watched my friends disappear each day. Even after I got lucky and escaped the storage among other pills, I feared being discovered and killed. As I trembled in fear I would think... life isn't something that should be taken from others. I was born like this! I should at least have the right to live and die freely! Whether it's humans or insects... or even us... it's the same. That's why I won't... kill anything. 
 * (After Rukia Kuchiki stepped on him and he looked up her skirt) "Nice angle!"
 * (About Yuzu Kurosaki missing Ichigo) "How could you make this poor kid cry? What a worthless brother!"

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