Yūichi Shibata

was a Human boy whose mother was killed by the Hollow Shrieker when the latter was a living serial killer.

Appearance
Yūichi is a small boy with unruly medium length brown hair and brown eyes. When he died, he wore red shorts and a green jumper. After he was sent to Soul Society, he wore an almost plain kimono with a simple pattern of circles on one shoulder.

History
According to Shrieker, while he was killing Yūichi's mother on a balcony, Yūichi grabbed his shoelaces and sent him tumbling down. After Shrieker became a Hollow, he sucked out Yūichi's soul and put it in a parakeet. Shrieker then promised Yūichi that he would bring his mother back to life if Yūichi ran from him for three months. This was a lie, but Yūichi believed it until Shrieker admitted to Ichigo Kurosaki that it was impossible.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
One night, one of Yasutora Sado's friends, Harutoki Ide, brings the parakeet to where he, Gitano Shigeo, and Sado were meeting. He explains that all of the bird's previous owners died horrible deaths, and so the bird passed hands quite a bit. Harutoki offers the parakeet to Sado, and almost immediately, a girder drops down on them. Sado quickly catches the beam, although he is severely injured in the process. Yūichi thanks Sado for saving him, asking what his name was. Sado and his friends are surprised that it could talk, although Sado engages it in conversation.

The next day, after halting Reiichi Ōshima from using iron knuckles to attack Ichigo Kurosaki, Sado shows Yūichi to Ichigo, Keigo Asano, Rukia Kuchiki, and Mizuiro Kojima. Yūichi quickly reveals his ability to talk comprehensively to them, and Keigo eagerly begins a conversation with him, while Rukia and Ichigo attempt and fail to press Sado for details of what happened the night before. Rukia figures out that Yūichi is a lonely spirit, but could become a Hollow, so she decides that they must perform Konsō on him that night.

Later that day, the Kurosaki Clinic is extremely busy due to a car accident. Ichigo is asked to carry Sado indoors. While he is doing so, Karin Kurosaki notices Yūichi, who is still with him. Sado quickly leaves that night, with Yūichi.

Sado and Yūichi are seen hiding in a warehouse the next day. Yūichi asks if Sado is alright, to which Sado replies that he's tough, so he'll be alright. Suddenly, the roof comes down on them. Sado dodges the falling debris, but Yūichi says that they were found by "it". Sado gets ready to run away, promising Yūichi that he will save his mother. However, they immediately run into Ichigo and Rukia, who were looking for them. Sado quickly turns and runs in another direction, while Ichigo is forced to pull back because Karin was suffering from memories that Yūichi unintentionally transferred to her about his mother's death.

However, Sado stops when he hears the sounds of fighting. Yūichi says that Rukia, who continued chasing after them, is now being attacked by the one who brought the roof down on them earlier. Sado quickly puts Yūichi's cage down, saying he'll go help Rukia. Yūichi shouts for him not to because it's dangerous. Misunderstanding what he meant, Sado puts the cage up on a wall. Yūichi clarifies what he means: Sado can't see ghosts, so Sado has little chance of standing up to their pursuer. But Sado is already dashing off at that point.

However, Yūichi's cage is soon attained by his pursuer: a Hollow named Shrieker. Sado is surprised as to why Yūichi is there. Rukia tells him not to make a move to rescue the parakeet, because Shrieker can destroy him with his exploding leeches. However, due to Ichigo's intervention, Sado is able rescue Yūichi. As Rukia tells Sado to take Ichigo's body and Yūichi out of the area, Yūichi begins to blame himself for their injuries, and regrets that he made them go through everything because he wanted his mother to come back to life. Rukia immediately presses him, asking if someone told him that there was a way to do so.

That night, after Shrieker is killed, Rukia and Ichigo prepare to perform Konsō on Yūichi. Rukia informs the boy that he can no longer return to his original body, so they can only send him to Soul Society. Ichigo adds that if he goes there, he can see his mother again. Yūichi eagerly agrees to being sent to Soul Society, but then looks back at Sado. As Yūichi's spirit form begins to materialize, he thanks Sado for all the time they spent together, because Sado made sure he never got hurt once. Sado asks if when he goes to Soul Society as well, if he can carry Yūichi around once again. Yūichi happily agrees, and Ichigo sends hims off.

Soul Society arc
Shibata appears again when Ichigo and the others enter Soul Society. Yūichi fulfills his earlier promise with Sado that he would let himself be carried. He reveals that he joined a surrogate family, with Horiuchi Hironari acting as his older brother. He explains that he has not yet found his real mother, which is partially due to the fact that souls are sent to separate districts in Rukongai, even if they are family, making it extremely difficult to locate a single person. When Sado departs, Shibata tells him to visit them again.

Appearance in Other Media
In the video Game Bleach: Dark Souls, Yūichi is an unlockable character. He is very weak because of his size and poor range, easily making him the weakest in the game.