Sōjirō Kusaka

was an old friend and rival of Tōshirō Hitsugaya when they were younger in the Soul Reaper academy in Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion. He is the main antagonist in the movie and is a Soul Reaper which Hitsugaya encounters while searching for the thieves who stole the "King's Seal". He has the same zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru, as Hitsugaya.

Appearance
Kusaka is a tall Shinigami with long, black hair tied into a bun at the back. He has red eyes (violet in his academy days) and a large scar running the length of the right side of his face.

Character Outline
During his days in the academy, he was in the same class as Tōshirō Hitsugaya and the two of them quickly became friends. He had regarded Hitsugaya as a genius and strove to be better than him. He also swore his allegiance to Soul Society and worked hard to become a successful Shinigami just to devote his life to them. When Kusaka met his zanpakutō spirit in a cave, he met Hitsugaya there who had also met the same spirit. They were overjoyed to know that both of them had exactly the same powers and their friendship deepened as a result.

Zanpakutō
//Please do not include Hyōrinmaru's abilities in comparison with Soul Society (e.g. the strongest ice-type zanpakutō in Soul Society) as he never was an official Shinigami. Kusaka has the same zanpakutō as Hitsugaya,. When sealed, Hyōrinmaru looks just like a normal katana with the exception of the guard, which is shaped like a four-pointed star. The hilt and the sheath are also light blue.


 * Shikai: Hyōrinmaru's release command is . When released, Hyōrinmaru gains a crescent-shaped blade attached to the base of the hilt by a long chain.


 * Special Abilities: Hyōrinmaru allows Kusaka to control water and ice. His slashes create an immense amount of spirit power which overflows from the tip of the blade, creating a flow of ice shaped like a purple Chinese dragon. The dragon flies at opponents and instantly freezes anything it touches. Kusaka can also direct his slashes towards the ground and form a wave of ice which rushes over his opponents overwhelming and freezing them. The chain-blade freezes anything Kusaka traps within it.

Death
The Central 46 members ruled that two Shinigami cannot hold the same zanpakutō as it was illegal, although it was of no fault of neither Kusaka nor Hitsugaya.. Hitsugaya said that he would abandon Hyōrinmaru instead of fighting Kusaka, but they disallowed it and forced Kusaka and Hitsugaya to fight. Kusaka drew his sword and charged as Hitsugaya as he wanted Hyōrinmaru for himself. Halfway into the fight, the Central 46 members appeared in front of them again and ruled that Hyōrinmaru belonged to Hitsugaya and Kusaka was be killed, even though no one had won in the fight yet. Numerous special forces members appeared and restrained Hitsugaya while surrounding Kusaka. A group of them stabbed Kusaka before another one, presumably their leader, dealt the fatal blow by slasheing the right half of his face (explaining his scar) and his shoulder. As his zanpakutō dissolved, he asked why he had to die and exclaimed that had fought for Soul Society, before dying. His murder was done in secret and all his records were destroyed afterwards, therefore almost no one in Soul Society knew of his existence.

Rebirth
Though the complete process was not shown in the movie, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai mentioned that the had given new life and that Hueco Mundo had raised him up, though he was not a hollow. Returning to Soul Society seeking revenge, he donned a mask and a tattered cape matching that of Hitsugaya's own. He assaulted Shunsui Kyōraku using Hyōrinmaru, leading Soul Society to believe that it was Hitsugaya who did it and labeled him as a traitor. Kusaka then met Hitsugaya again and showed him the power of the King's Seal, teleporting both of them to the Sokyōku Hill in Soul Society.

Transformation
Kusaka wanted to use the King's Seal to become the new King of Soul Society. When Hitsugaya refused to use the power of his bankai to cut the King's Seal to release its power, Kusaka remarked that "he could do it himself" and sliced it into two using his own zanpakutō. He transformed into a purple dragon echoing that of Hyōrinmaru and effectively became a god, regenerating instantly even being cut into two by Zaraki Kenpachi. He became indestructible and wielded immense power, exclaiming that "this power is spectacular". Kusaka "took root" on a tall building, encasing it in ice and merging with it. It evolved into a gigantic tree but he blew it up soon after to stop Shinigami from approaching him. At this point in time, the King's seal went berserk as since Kusaka had not mastered his bankai he could not control the King's Seal's immense power. It created a rapidly expanding hemisphere in which Kusaka created a castle with him immobile atop an ice tower in the center of the castle. The castle spawned numerous Hollow and Menos Grande which all had the same superfast regeneration abilities of Kusaka.

Second Death
After Ichigo destroyed the ice tower and the King's Seal returned to normal, the ice dragon dissolved, revealing Kusaka. Kusaka and Hitsugaya charged at each other for one last time to finish the battle which they had left off. Hitsugaya won and Kusaka told him that his existence will continue, that he would never die, and that they would be friends forever, before dissolving, leaving behind his broken zanpakutō and his cape. Ichigo said that all Kusaka wanted to do was to finish his fight with Hitsugaya.