Eikichirō Saidō

is a Shinigami working for the Onmitsukidō who was assigned to find Rukia Kuchiki in the Human World during The Death Trilogy Overture. He is currently the Shinigami assigned to patrol Kagamino City.

Appearance
Saidō is a tall man, fair-skinned man with a somewhat angular face and pronounced chin. He has dark brown eyes with small pupils and short black hair, with two bangs of different lengths falling on the right side of his face. In addition to the standard Shinigami shihakushō and footwear, Saidō wears a tan farmer's hat engraved with a four-petal flower design on its tip that he keeps attached to his head with strings of cord which wrap around his chin and the back of his ears; this hat features a cord falling from the side that, when pulled, causes the engraved section to flip up, revealing the message.

Personality
Saidō is an eccentric and generally lighthearted man, even when on-duty; one of his first actions when confronting Rukia Kuchiki over her extended stay in the Human World was to try to get her to remember him from their days in the Shin'ō Academy as "the guy with the jokes", only to deflate when Rukia flatly told him that she did not remember him, and later confirmed Rukia's guess of his status as an agent of the Onmitsukidō by repeatedly flipping up the movable section of his hat while making a bell sound with his mouth. He also has a self-admitted tendency to fall asleep on the job because he is assigned so many "exhausting" missions, and has a perverted side, demonstrated when he half-jokingly asks Rukia if she is staying in the Human World to pursue a romantic relationship with Ichigo Kurosaki and later tells a young Plus that her underwear is visible. However, he takes the enforcement of his orders quite seriously when pressed; Rukia's refusal to peacefully come back to Soul Society led him to immediately resort to force, something he had been looking forward to prior, and he fights unrelentingly with a grin on his face during his short skirmish with Ichigo despite the latter being a Human with comparatively minimal training and combat skill, mocking the young fighter in the process. Saidō considers Rukia's transferal of her Shinigami powers to Ichigo to be a grave crime in line with the Central 46's decree, which is what pushed him to attack Ichigo to begin with.

Despite his eccentricity and strict adherence to his duties, however, Saidō is a kind and moral man at heart. He is left visibly disgusted by Grand Fisher proclaiming his preference for female victims and rubbing the death of Ichigo's mother in his face, and after witnessing Ichigo and Rukia's bond during the ensuing fight, Saidō decides to let Rukia remain in the Human World and forgo his mission to collect her out of respect for them both. He also has a soft spot for children; when a member of the Onmitsukidō approached him with the mission to find Rukia, Saidō was playing a game of spinning tops with a group of Rukongai children, whom he gave some money for beating him, and later put himself in harm's way to save Karin Kurosaki from Grand Fisher by cutting off his hand and protecting Karin from several of his fur tendrils by blocking them with his body. Though he may act silly and seek out a fight when on a mission, Saidō wholeheartedly believes in his role as a protector of Humans and slayer of Hollows - prior to intervening in the fight against Grand Fisher, Saidō immediately halted his clash with Ichigo when Rukia's Denreishinki alerted her to the presence of a Hollow nearby, which he proceeded to ask her for details about, and after letting himself be injured in order to save Karin, he explained that he does not want innocent people to lose their loved ones if he can prevent it.

History
Saidō entered the Shin'ō Academy two years ahead of Rukia Kuchiki, where he was known as "the guy with the jokes" for his eccentric demeanor and knew Rukia in turn as the "Princess of the Kuchiki Clan".

Agent of the Shinigami arc
Saidō plays a game of spinning tops with some children in the Rukongai and requests another match upon losing to them. When a member of the Onmitsukidō approaches him, Saidō sends the children away with some money and moves to an alley to talk with the member, who informs him that he is going after Rukia Kuchiki for staying in the Human World for too long, prompting Saidō to wryly ask him if this is really the only reason. After the member suggests that something else is behind this and tasks Saidō with finding out what that is, he disappears with Shunpo while Saidō looks forward to getting rough on this mission.

The following day, in the Human World, Saidō tracks Rukia to a cemetery in the Human World, where he secretly listens to her speak with Ichigo Kurosaki over his mention of his mother being killed. After an angered Ichigo runs off, Rukia detects Saidō's presence and finds him sleeping under a tree. Waking up, Saidō greets Rukia, who realizes he is a Shinigami and takes note of him being on a mission. When Rukia asks him who he is and what he is doing here, Saidō reveals that they were in the Shin'ō Academy together and tries to get Rukia to remember him, which she does not. Though deflated by this, Saidō does confirm that he is a member of the Onmitsukidō.

Saidō inquires as to why Rukia has remained in the Human World for so long, and when she does not give him a straight answer, he begins teasing her with the idea that she is pursuing a relationship with Ichigo. Angered by this, Rukia begins charging a Kidō spell, prompting Saidō to realize that she does not plan to come with him peacefully and so prepare to attack her. After Ichigo arrives, having been informed of the situation by Kon, Saidō learns of his Substitute Shinigami status and begins to fight him instead, quickly overwhelming the young fighter and only ceasing upon learning that a Hollow has appeared nearby, which he moves to investigate with Ichigo and Rukia.

Upon finding Grand Fisher holding Karin Kurosaki hostage, Saidō listens to Rukia explain his history and tactics, which he is disgusted by. Watching as Ichigo takes on Grand Fisher, Saidō is shocked when Rukia is injured while trying to bind Grand Fisher and intervenes himself when Ichigo is about to be devoured by cutting off Grand Fisher's hand, freeing Karin. Angered by this, Grand Fisher tries to impale Karin with his fur tendrils, but Saidō intercepts them with his body, to the shock of Ichigo and Karin. Saidō explains his motivation for protecting Karin and collapses, but quickly reveals himself to merely be sleeping rather than dead, to Ichigo's annoyance. Later on, Saidō wakes up and finds Ichigo fighting Grand Fisher in a nearby clearing. When the dying memories of Masaki Kurosaki manifest themselves in Grand Fisher's Lure, Saidō merely grins and reveals that he caught a glimpse of this earlier. After Ichigo defeats Grand Fisher and falls unconscious, Saidō decides to not take Rukia back to Soul Society out of respect for them both and leaves.

Fake Karakura arc
Some time prior to the White Invasion, Saidō is put in charge of the area around Kagamino City. During the prelude to the fight in the Fake Karakura Town, after a group of Hollows chasing a young female Plus girl are destroyed by the sheer Reiatsu of the assembled Shinigami and Espada, Saidō comforts the Plus and convinces her to leave so she is not destroyed as well. As she does so, Saidō notes the beginning of the battle and wonders who will win.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsman: Saidō is a very proficient swordsman, having quickly and effortlessly overwhelmed a comparatively inexperienced Ichigo Kurosaki during their brief clash after Ichigo became a Shinigami. He has something of a kinetic fighting style, using the power of his strong attacks to propel himself to other surfaces that he leaps off of to intensify his assault.

Hakuda Combatant: Saidō displayed some skill in unarmed combat during his brief clash with Ichigo, using powerful kicks whenever he found an opening.

Perceptive Combatant: Saidō is perceptive in battle, quickly determining Ichigo's that combat abilities revolved solely around brute strength rather than the skill and finesse of swordsmanship.

Spiritual Power: As a Shinigami, Saidō possesses some spiritual power.


 * Reiatsu Control: As a member of the Onmitsukidō, Saidō possesses some skill in suppressing his Reiatsu, which allowed him to listen in on a conversation between Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki from only a few meters away without being detected; Rukia was only able to sense him once he had fallen asleep.

Enhanced Endurance: Saidō is an impressively resilient combatant; after he was stabbed several times by Grand Fisher's fur tendrils and collapsed, Ichigo and Rukia assumed he had died, but Saidō merely fell asleep and began snoring. Later, after waking up, Saidō moved and acted as if he was uninjured.

Zanpakutō
The sealed form of Saidō's Zanpakutō is a wakizashi with a black hilt and gray guard.


 * Shikai: Not Yet Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved

Quotes

 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "Sorry, I hate to be caught napping, but these missions just get so dull sometimes that I just can't seem to stay awake."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "Why not admit it? You're involved with that kid whose mother was killed by a Hollow! The guy with the spiky hair? You feel sorry for him or are you looking for fun in the Human World? Nothing to be embarrassed about, my little flower. Everybody needs love, and I guess the best you could do was a Human boy to get all smoochy with!"


 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "I'm a Shinigami, kid, and we fight Hollows. We kill them without mercy, no matter what. When a Hollow attacks at random and kills someone, that person's loved ones are the real victims. They're left with nothing but an emptiness. As a Shinigami, I couldn't let that happen. We must always protect the innocent."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "Time to go home. I'm not so heartless as to break up a serious couple."