Hiyori Sarugaki

is the former Lieutenant of the 12th Division under Captains Kirio Hikifune and Kisuke Urahara, and currently a Visored.

Appearance
Hiyori is a very short, brown eyed, blonde-haired girl who wears her short hair in spiky pigtails with her bangs clipped together by three clips. She wears a white shirt and a red jogging suit, the latter with white lines running down from the shoulders and decorated with the first kanji of her name, as well as yellow flip flops. Hiyori carries her Zanpakutō over her back. On each cheek, under each of her eyes, she has three freckles. She has an overly long fang protruding from the upper left side of her mouth. This physical characteristic has caused both Ichigo and Shinji to call her "snaggletooth". She appears more haggard and not as sharp as she did during her days in Soul Society, with tired lines under her eyes.

During her time in Soul Society, she wore a standard Shinigami uniform with her lieutenant's armband on her left arm. During this time, her pigtails were fairly long and hung down, and she did not wear her hair clips.

Personality
Despite her small size, Hiyori is an aggressive and short-tempered girl with rather violent tendencies, her most common victim being Shinji Hirako, whom she frequently abuses, usually by smacking him with one of her sandals or kicking and punching him in the face. She has made it a reflex to use him as a human shield when necessary, and shows him an obvious lack of respect, a gesture which he seems to return. This behavior dates back to her time as a lieutenant, despite Shinji outranking her back then. She has highly aggressive tendencies, often make her lash out at other people even under normal circumstances.

She shows very little respect to the majority of people around her, easily losing her temper and getting into fights. Having viewed her former captain Kirio Hikifune as a motherly figure, Hiyori was quite hurt by her departure, and initially refused to accept Urahara as her replacement, even treating him with her trademark violence and disrespect, despite his attempts to be her friend. When Kirio Hikifune was in charge of her, Hiyori was very respectful to her old captain as a sign of respect and trust, but still smacked everyone else around. Hiyori seems to harbor a hatred of both Shinigami and Humans. As a result of her thorny disposition and possible insecurities, Hiyori never displays much emotion besides anger, and always appears to be frowning.

During her time training, she never succeeded in making Ichigo call her "Hiyori-san" (Miss Hiyori), though she calls Ichigo and Shinji "dumbass" among other names.

History
Approximately 110 years ago, Hiyori was the lieutenant of the 12th Division under captain Kirio Hikifune until the latter's promotion. When Captain Shinji Hirako of the 5th Division arrived at the 1st Division headquarters for the promotion ceremony of Kisuke Urahara, Hiyori, opening the door, attacked him. She got knocked on the head by Captain Love Aikawa, who stated she should apologize, which only prompted Hiyori to question his authority in disciplining her. Love stated since her captain was not present, someone had to keep her in line. Regardless of Love's attempts to get her under control, Hiyori insisted she would not apologize.

Later, Hiyori waited with the other captains as the newly appointed 12th Division captain, Kisuke Urahara, arrived to the meeting. Hiyori, looking on, was unimpressed upon his arrival. Later that day, when Urahara formally introduced himself to the 12th Division and Hiyori, she, flat out telling him she would not accept him as her captain, slapped away Urahara's hand, which shocked him. Stating she already could not stand that Captain Hikifune left without a moment's notice and now they had to deal with a 2nd Division member as their captain, she noted he was from the Onmitsukidō, so he was most likely a sneaky murderer.

When the other 12th Division members tried to tell her she was going too far, Hiyori stated she was only saying what they were all thinking, though the other 12th Division members refused to side with her opinion. When she confronted Urahara, trying to get a rise out of him, he, laughing it off, told her he has already been made the captain of the 12th Division. He explained he had already decided the role he would play would be their captain, and no longer a member of the 2nd Division. Urahara told Hiyori if she had a problem, it was hers to change. Hiyori, kicking him in his crotch, ran off, only succeeding in injuring her foot.

While walking around the 12th Division barracks, Hiyori, becoming irate when she found the division moving Urahara's vast amount of personal items, got into another confrontation with him when he tried to be of aid to her. The following day, at a division meeting, Urahara revealed he had decided to change the policy of the 12th Division, but had yet to determine what course of action he thought would be a good role for them. Becoming increasing angry upon hearing he was still thinking about it, Hiyori attacked him. Later, she was walking around the 12th Division barracks when she was confronted by Shinji. They got into a small argument, and Hiyori attacked him for saying something Urahara commonly said which she could not stand. Confronting Urahara, she challenged him to a fight, which he accepted, but asked that they fight hand-to hand. As they prepared to fight, Urahara told her to attack him from any angle. Hiyori, running at him, kicked him square in the face.

Hiyori ran off, and at the entrance to the division headquarters, she realized Urahara, seeing through her attack, moved out the way and back in place so she would hit him. She became confused as to what drove this action. The following morning, she arrived at the captain's chamber. As Hiyori became enraged at how Urahara had changed the room from its former state, he, trying to calm her down, told her in getting to know him, he would get to know her. Undeterred, Hiyori attacked him, but he, brushing it aside, asked her to accompany him to the Nest of Maggots.

Hiyori accompanied Urahara onto the 2nd Division grounds, where he proceeded to explain to her the purpose of the detention unit and what truly happened to those found under their jurisdiction. He further explained what the Nest of Maggots was and what function it entailed. Upon entering the facility, Urahara, telling her the inmates were not permitted to leave, but they were still free within the facility, warned her to be careful, as the inmates could become violent. When Hiyori asked what they did, Urahara told her "nothing", causing Hiyori to question the methods, but Urahara explained to her the dangers these inmates could bring and why they were imprisoned, making note of the true dealings of what happened to those who withdrew from service in the Gotei 13. Urahara explained though the people in the facility were possibly dangerous, he had always felt that, given a suitable outlet, they could channel their power into something more productive.

When one of the inmates tried to attack Hiyori, she realized she could not fight, as she had left her Zanpakutō behind. Easily stopping the inmate, Urahara apologized, as he had noticed she had left her Zanpakutō behind and had chosen to say nothing. He made note that in the facility, they were not allowed to carry weapons, so hand-to-hand combat mastery was the key. When this prompted the other inmates to attack, Urahara, easily defending himself, took out all his attackers, much to Hiyori's surprise. Eventually, one of the inmates, trying to take Hiyori hostage, was quickly overwhelmed by her as she demonstrated her own capabilities in hand-to-hand combat.

Urahara told Hiyori they were going to meet the only inmate who was so dangerous he required his own cell, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, whom Urahara asked if he wanted to leave the Nest of Maggots. After Mayuri and Hiyori got into a small argument, Urahara, explaining she was his lieutenant, asked Mayuri for an answer to his proposition. He revealed that in his capacity as the captain of the 12th Division, he had decided to make an organization; the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Hiyori was surprised and further amazed he would put such a dangerous criminal in the line to a position of power.

9 years later, Hiyori was with Urahara and now 12th Division 3rd Seat & Vice-President of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The trio were greeted by Captain Shinji Hirako and Lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen. Beginning to inform Urahara of current events, Shinji was attacked by Hiyori, who claimed he did not say "Hi" to her. The two got into a fight which left Aizen to explain to Urahara the 9th Division had been sent on a special investigation to find out what was happening with the disappearances in Rukongai.

During her time as a member of the Institute, Hiyori served as a lab manager while clashing with then 3rd Seat & Vice-President of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute Mayuri Kurotsuchi over who had more authority under the captain. The two got into an ongoing argument about who was in charge, prompting Hiyori to call in Urahara. He explained to her that, with the disappearances occurring, he had created a new type of Gigai. Before Hiyori could respond, they were interrupted by the arrival of Tōdō, the 6th Seat of the 9th Division. Agreeing to send a researcher over to the investigation site as per the request of Captain Kensei Muguruma of the 9th Division, Urahara elected Hiyori to go to the site. When she, becoming irate, asked why he could not send someone less important, referring to lab assistant Akon, he asked if she should continue being a lieutenant, prompting Hiyori to attack him, though he simply dodged her. Though reluctant, Hiyori gave in once Urahara explained she was the only one he could trust with the task.

Some time later, Hiyori was running for her life from a shadowed creature, which was revealed to be a Hollowfied Kensei. Just when he was about to deal her a devastating blow, his attack was deflected by the arrival of Shinji Hirako. Moments later, a team of various captains and lieutenants who were sent to investigate the disappearance of Kensei's Division arrived. They began to attack Kensei and a Hollowfied Mashiro Kuna, lieutenant of the 9th Division. In the midst of this, Shinji, picking up Hiyori, pulled her out of harm's way. Gathering after the fight, the investigation team talked about the situation. Starting to cough, Hiyori became Hollowfied herself. A darkness fell around the rescue squad, and they were attacked by an unseen assailant.

The assailant was found to be Kaname Tōsen, Kensei's 5th seat, who was acting under the orders of Sōsuke Aizen, who was the one behind the disappearances and Hollowfication experiments. Just as Aizen gave the order to kill the Hollowfied Shinigami, Captain Kisuke Urahara and Captain Tessai Tsukabishi, arriving, saved them from destruction. Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Tōsen made their escape, and Tessai used Forbidden Kidō to preserve and transport them to the 12th Division barracks. In his lab, Urahara tried to reverse the process using his creation, the Hōgyoku, which ended up as a failed process, not having the effect Urahara expected.

The next day, Urahara and Tessai were arrested under the orders of the Central 46. The Hollowfied Shinigami were sentenced to execution as Hollows. Before any of their sentences could be executed, both were rescued by 2nd Division Captain Yoruichi Shihōin, who brought them to a secret underground area. In this secluded area, she had brought Hiyori and the other Hollowfied Shinigami, along with the prototype for the new Gigai which Urahara was working on. With this epiphany, Urahara resolved to make ten reiatsu-blocking Gigai to help him, Tessai, and the eight victims escape to the Human World, where they would find a way to undo the Hollowfication process.

Arrancar arc
After Shinji Hirako fails to recruit Ichigo Kurosaki after showing him his Zanpakutō and Hollow mask, he calls Hiyori to inform her about his failure. As she scolds him for not completing his mission, he, apologizing to her, states it is only a matter of time. Appearing as Shinji fails at convincing Ichigo to join the Visored for a second time, Hiyori, smacking him with her sandal, yells at him for not succeeding in his mission. The two are interrupted by arrival of Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado, who were searching for Shinji. When Orihime asks who Shinji is and what he wants with Ichigo, Hiyori states Orihime did not think they would actually tell them. As Hiyori introduces herself to them and they do the same, Hiyori voices her envy of their name meanings compared to hers and Shinji's and the looks of Orihime compared to her own, going as far as reaching for her sword and saying she would just have to kill them, as the conversation has become pointless. She is grabbed by Shinji, who runs far away from Chad and Orihime with Hiyori over his shoulder. As she screams and argues with him, he punishes her in a very uncomfortable way. Calming down, Hiyori states she hates humans and Shinigami. Shinji tells her he already knows, which is why he was the one who went to enlist Ichigo and told her to wait.

Ichigo shows up at the Visored's warehouse, planning to "use" them to help him control his inner Hollow. As the other Visored have a conversation about the status of the fight, Hiyori, getting bored, walks toward the battle, telling Hachi to add another five layers to the barrier. She attacks Shinji, knocking him away, using her sandal, sending him flying out the window and breaking the barrier. Hiyori explains to Ichigo he has the who situation backwards: they want him with them, but it is not up to him, it is up to them. Only after seeing his power will they decide; he has no right to choose. From their point of view, if he is powerful enough, they will teach him how to keep his inner Hollow in check. When she tells him to Hollowfy, Ichigo refuses, and Hiyori, putting on her mask, tells him she already told him he has no choice. She tells him if he is too scared, she has no choice but to pull out his inner Hollow by force. Taunting Ichigo into Hollowfying, Hiyori, deciding to take a more direct approach, attacks him with her mask on.

After some considerable fighting, Ichigo is left injured and exhausted. As she continues to goad him on, he still refuses to use his mask. Hiyori tells him at the very least he should use his Bankai, and after he refuses, she, telling him she knows why he will not use his powers, fiercely attacks him. His inner Hollow, brought to the surface, gains possession over Ichigo's body. Attacking Hiyori before she can react, breaking her mask, slamming her into a wall, he proceeds to strangle her with one hand. As the other Visored quickly restrain Ichigo before he can kill her, Shinji, determining they have seen all they need to see, asks Hiyori if she approves, but she is too terrified and shaken to respond.

Hiyori waits around with the other Visored as Ichigo does some training on an exercise machine, using her training techniques on his own. As she gets into a minor argument with Shinji over boiling hot water, Ichigo, becoming irritated with using the work out machine, throws it at Hiyori, who blocks it with Shinji. She get into an argument with Ichigo when he does not believe the training is achieving anything.

Later, Hiyori and the other Visored go down into their underground training area. As Love fights the possessed Ichigo, Lisa asks the other Visored what the longest time any of them have ever taken in their inner Hollow subjugation battles is. Saying Hiyori took sixty-nine minutes and 2 seconds, Kensei tells her Ichigo is up to sixty-eight minutes and 44 seconds. When Ichigo's Hollow form begins to destabilize, Hiyori yells to Hachi to get Love out of the barrier. Later, after gaining control over his body once again, Ichigo trains with Hiyori, the pair using their Hollow masks while fighting. When Hachi becomes alerted when he detects someone has slipped inside his barrier, the other Visored are surprised. Orihime, showing up, is revealed to Hachi and the other Visored to be the culprit. They are quite shocked a simple Human could perform such a feat.

Later, as Orihime talks with Rukia Kuchiki, they are interrupted when Hiyori, dropping in on them, grabs Orihime, telling her she is coming with her because Hachi has business with her, and they leave so fast Rukia has little time to react. Upon returning to the warehouse, Hiyori spars with Ichigo again. As they continue to fight, Hiyori, maintaining the upper hand, brutally beats Ichigo and continues to taunt him. When Kensei announces dinner is ready, they take a break from the training. Shortly after eating, when Shinji asks Hiyori how the training is coming along, she says it is not, as Ichigo is nothing special.

Later, Hiyori leaves the warehouse with the other Visored to fight in the upcoming conflict.

Fake Karakura Town arc
She, along with the rest of the Visored, arriving at the fake Karakura Town, intercepts Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tōsen's release from Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Jōkaku Enjō. When Shinji asks his fellow Visored if they have anyone in the Gotei 13 whom they wish to speak to, Hiyori says no. When Shinji tells her to shut up, as he was not asking her, she screams at him, asking why he would not be asking her like he asked everyone else. When Lisa leaves, she asks her where she is going, and does the same when Shinji leaves. When Shinji returns from speaking to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the huge Hollow creature spews forth a large horde of Gillians from its mouth. Hiyori, along with the rest of Visored, puts on her mask to prepare for battle.

Hiyori stands ready for battle as the other Visored, drawing their Zanpakutō, attack the Gillian. Cutting a Gillian's mask down the middle with her Zanpakutō, she blows it away with a point blank Cero which kills several other Gillians.

When Lisa and Hiyori offer aid to 10th Division captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya in his battle against 3rd Espada Tier Harribel, Hitsugaya states there is no point in asking if the Visored are friend or foe under the circumstances. Agreeing, Hiyori admits even though she really could not care less about helping out Shinigami, now is not the time to fight with each other.

When Hitsugaya asks Hiyori if they can take care of the Espada, since he wants to go fight Aizen, Hiyori, yelling at him, notes the Visored have come for revenge against him, and Hitsugaya was already having problems fighting Harribel, so what makes him think he can take Aizen. Admitting she is right, Hitsugaya tells her he is sorry; he just panicked. Instead of letting it go, Hiyori starts an argument with Hitsugaya, who remains silent until she, questioning his position as a captain, insinuates he is a kid, which prompts Hitsugaya to yell back at her, causing the two to get into a big fight. Becoming annoyed, Lisa attacks Harribel by herself.

Donning her Hollow mask and releasing her Shikai, Hiyori, alongside Lisa and Hitsugaya, attacks Harribel, the resulting attack creating a large explosion. Following the explosion, Aizen, appearing, strikes down Harribel, leaving Hiyori to appear next to Shinji.

As Hiyori sets her sight on Aizen, her Hollow mask dissipates. Appearing near her, Shinji tells her and the others it would be best not to be too quick to go near him, explaining that with Aizen's ability, one would be done for before it begins if they do not have a plan in mind. When Hiyori tells him they know that much, Shinji, saying he specifically talking to her, tells her to stand down. Taunting them, Aizen states regardless of what they do, the ending will still be the same, as their fates have already been decided. As Shinji tells Hiyori to not listen, as he is only trying to provoke her, Aizen states they have nothing more to fear, seeing as they all died that night over 100 years ago.

Sent over the edge by this taunt, Hiyori, becoming enraged, rushes towards Aizen to attack him as Shinji yells to her to stop. Before she realizes it, Hiyori's body is severed at the waist by Gin's Shikai, and she goes into shock as she sees the bottom portion of her body fall behind the top half. Screaming to Hiyori, Shinji catches her top half as she falls. Now seemingly fatally injured, Hiyori tells Shinji she is sorry, as she just could not control herself. Shinji calls to Hachi, but upon realizing he only has one arm, he, remembering Orihime Inoue can heal, yells for Ichigo.

Shinji gives Hiyori, who is breathing quite shallowly now, to Hachi as he goes to fight Aizen. Hachi places her in a barrier on the ground, where they are found by Retsu Unohana. By the time Aizen has been sealed, Unohana, having fixed Hiyori's physical structure, states surviving is now up to Hiyori as long as she does not give up on living. The other Visored, though grateful, are still very worried over their comrade.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
After taking an afternoon bath, Hiyori, coming across Lisa, yells at her, asking why no one is replying to her to let her in. When Lisa tells her Love is at the store, Hiyori asks why Lisa is not replying. Lisa, stating she does not have a key, says only Hachi has a key, and he went to a cafe due to being hot. Smelling Shinigami, Hiyori turns around to find a small hole opening next to her.

Powers & Abilities
Hakuda Expert: Hiyori is a very capable hand-to-hand fighter who commonly use various kicks in combination with her Zanpakutō to take out opponents. She effortlessly overwhelmed a dangerous inmate from the Maggot's Nest who had taken her hostage.


 * : Hiyori performs multiple foot stomps on an opponent's face. The technique is powerful enough to send Ichigo flying and completely shatter his Hollow mask.


 * : Hiyori smacks her opponent with her sandal. This technique, while simple, possesses enough force to send Shinji Hirako flying through a nearby wall and Hachi's barrier.

Expert Swordsman: Hiyori's skills in swordsmanship are considerable, having spent time as a lieutenant in the Gotei 13. Her fighting style is aggressive and unpredictable, as she channels a lot of her attitude and anger into her attacks. She has fought off numerous Menos Grande, held her own against an experienced fighter like Ichigo Kurosaki, and held her own against the 3rd Espada, Tier Harribel (while fighting alongside Lisa Yadōmaru and Tōshirō Hitsugaya).


 * : Hiyori comes down with her sword upon an opponent. She used this technique to cleanly cut down through the head and mask of a Gillian with ease.

Enhanced Strength: She has brutally beaten up Shinji and Ichigo using her enhanced strength and her hand-to-hand combat.

Enhanced Speed: Her speed is considerable, and she regularly uses it to supplement her fighting skill, surprising those she attacks. While training Ichigo, she uses what appeared to be Shunpo.

High Spiritual Power: Hiyori possesses lieutenant-level reiryoku. Being a Visored, Hiyori possesses a dual-type spiritual energy, part Shinigami and part Hollow. Her spiritual energy is pink. With her mask on, she can focus considerable amounts of energy into a blast to knock targets away.

Zanpakutō

 * Hiyori's Zanpakutō is a standard katana, though its tsuba (decorated sword guard) is decorated in small hearts. During her days as a lieutenant, she would wear it by her belt, but as a Visored, she normally carries her sword over her right shoulder on her back.


 * Shikai: Its Shikai command is . Hiyori's katana becomes a large cleaver with a serrated saw-like blade.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Unknown


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved

Hollowfication
Hollow Mask: Skeletal in appearance, her Hollow mask sports a prominent horn centered on the forehead and a row of diamond-shaped markings over the eyebrows. Upon donning her Hollow mask, the sclera of her eyes turn black, though her irises remain brown. She took the longest to defeat her inner Hollow out of all the current Visored (excluding Ichigo, who took about the same amount of time) at 69 minutes and 2 seconds. When angered or provoked in some way, the mask's power increases due to her emotions ruling her.


 * Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Hiyori's Hollow powers supplement her Shinigami powers, giving her a vast increase in both strength and speed.


 * Cero: Hiyori can fire a red Cero from the open mouth of her Hollow Mask. The powerful blast is sustainable, and can be used as a sweeping beam which can take out more than one target in one pass.

Censorship
In the manga, when Hiyori moves to attack Aizen, she is bifurcated by Gin Ichimaru's Shinsō, and Shinji catches the top half of her body. In the anime, when Hiyori moves to attack Aizen, she is stabbed through the abdomen from behind by Gin's Shinsō, and Shinji, catching her whole body, deals with a significantly less wounded Hiyori.

Appearances in Other Media
Hiyori is a playable character in a couple of Bleach video games, including Bleach: Heat the Soul (series), Bleach: Blade Battlers 2nd, and Bleach: The 3rd Phantom. She can use her Visored mask, which is quite powerful in the game. In Bleach: Heat the Soul 7, she uses Kubikiri Orochi's Shikai as one of her attacks while wearing her Hollow mask. In Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, she can use several Kidō, like Haien and Kurohitsugi, and can heal one of her allies.

Quotes

 * (To Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue) "A princess and a tiger, huh? Such excessive names! Our names mean 'monkey' and 'lewd!' I'm so jealous!"


 * (To Shinji Hirako) "I really, really hate humans. I really hate Shinigami too."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "I don't want to be helping you out Shinigami!! But this isn't the time for that!!" 


 * (To Shinji Hirako) "I'm...sorry...Shinji......I...was impatient..."

Battles & Events

 * The Cold War
 * Visored Training
 * The Arrival: The Visored Appear
 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Lisa Yadōmaru & Hiyori Sarugaki vs. Tier Harribel
 * Aizen's Impatience: Tense Situation

Navigation
Hiyori Sarugaki Hiyori Sarugaki Hiyori Sarugaki