Yachiru Kusajishi

This article is about Yachiru Kusajishi. For the Kusajishi District see Kusajishi

"Whatever happens and at any time, Yachiru is always Kenpachi's supporter." - Tite Kubo

is the Lieutenant of the 11th Division in the Gotei 13, under Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, as well as the President of the Shinigami Women's Association.

Appearance
Eleventh Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi's appearance is that of a very small, young girl with pink hair and a perpetuate blush on her cheeks. She wears the normal Shinigami robes, and thus far we have only seen her with the Lieutenant insignia on her arm. She appears to be the youngest as well as the smallest, among the captains and lieutenants.

Personality
Yachiru is child-like in most aspects, as she is small, cheerful, energetic, and carefree most of the time. She is often seen latched onto the back of her captain, Kenpachi Zaraki ("Ken-chan" as she calls him, "Kenny" in the English Dub and manga), just over his left shoulder, and is somewhat territorial about this position. She is surprisingly intimidating at times, especially when annoyed. Like Kenpachi, she has no sense of direction, even though he relies on her for directions. Yachiru resents being criticized in any way and will often attack the perpetrator. Further reflecting her child-like nature, Yachiru likes to give people nicknames, like she gave Makizō Aramaki the name "Maki-Maki" and later when he reminds her of that name she finds it funny. She later renames him "mini-mustache".

Yachiru's favorite free-time activity is eating sweets, though she will eat pretty much anything. She attends Head Captain Yamamoto's tea sessions, Captain Unohana's ikebana lessons, and also Captain Kuchiki's Calligraphy Club, but only to eat up the snacks and cakes served during these occasions and then disappear within moments.

It is also known that Yachiru's speciality is infiltration, which she uses mostly for mischievous deeds. During the time when Kenpachi takes his usual afternoon nap, she goes to play around Seireitei. She appears to have dug secret tunnels through the Kuchiki house, as she was seen searching for Ichigo Kurosaki ("Icchi" as she calls him), to show them to him. The tunnels are shown again when Lieutenants Isane Kotetsu and Nemu Kurotsuchi try to take a photograph of Byakuya Kuchiki.

Yachiru is the president of the Shinigami Women's Association, and holds its funds as such, spending it mostly on toys and candies. She stores her "treasures" in the hideout on the Kuchiki grounds mentioned above. It seems that she uses the whole Association to order the other members around, who are doing various, mostly childish pranks and other "tasks" to please her.

Yachiru seems to show a little-girl crush on Byakuya Kuchiki. She refers to him by affectionate nicknames like "Bya-kun" and "Byakushi," invites him to come eat with her (which she never asks anyone else) and at one point is seen offering him her drool-covered lollipop. Byakuya seems to find her crush annoying and mostly ignores her, although he apparently keeps buns on hand to jam into her mouth if she gets too assertive. In a recent omake, she has been seen dressed up in a cat costume, catching the koi in Byakuya's pond and releases them in Ukitake's pond. While visiting Jūshirō Ukitake and "helping" him finish his food, Rukia mentions that there are no more koi in the pond, which Byakuya is upset about.

History
Yachiru first met Kenpachi in one of the worst districts of Rukongai, the 79th district of the North Alley, Kusajishi, as a nameless child. She crawled over to him after he had killed several other men with his unnamed Zanpakutō, and was completely unfazed by the violence she had just witnessed, or the blood on the sword. Even as Kenpachi warned her that the sword was dangerous, she reached out and touched it, giggling as her hand was covered in the blood of dead men. He adopted her after that, saving her from certain death in Rukongai. He named her "Yachiru" in memory of the only person he ever admired. Her surname Kusajishi was given to her because she's from that district. Since that day she has spent much of her time clinging to his back for transport.

Soul Society arc
Yachiru is first seen when the Ryoka break into Seireitei and she accompanies her captain as he begins searching the city for them. She is seen directing Kenpachi through the city's streets, albeit badly, resulting in them becoming lost, though they blame each other for their predicament. After the pair unintentionally arrived at the 4th Division's compound, they visit Ikkaku Madarame, who, while recovering from injuries suffered from fighting Ichigo Kurosaki, was being interrogated by 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. After Mayuri and his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi leave, Yachiru tells Ikkaku that she was worried about him, and they trade friendly insults.

Having learned what Ichigo's destination is from Ikkaku, Kenpachi decides to wait for him near his objective, where they eventually encounter Ichigo, Ganju Shiba and Hanatarō Yamada. Yachiru is surprised by how easily Kenpachi scared Ichigo's companions, jumping on Ichigo's shoulder as she does so. As the fight starts, she is sitting against the wall of a building. She tells Ichigo that he cannot cut Kenpachi with his sword. Later, Yachiru is seen watching on from the rooftops of the nearby buildings, where she is approached by a messenger from the Reversal Counter Force of the Onmitsukidō who attempts to inform her of the death of Sōsuke Aizen. Yachiru, however, is too engrossed in observing the battle, and orders him to tell her after it ends.

After the fight, Yachiru thanks Ichigo for giving her captain such a good fight and says she hopes he survives so that the two can have a enjoy another fight in the future. She then lifts Kenpachi onto her back and jumps up onto the top of a building and calls for Retsu Unohana to heal Kenpachi. Kenpachi tells Yachiru that he lost, but Yachiru refuses to accept this, stating that it was not a fair fight as it was two against one. Kenpachi disagrees and laughs at her attempts to justify not winning, which Yachiru responds to by slapping him. The pair reminisce about how they met and gained their names, resolving to get stronger together. Kenpachi then loses consciousness again, worrying Yachiru greatly.

Some time later, Yachiru finds Makizō Aramaki carrying an unconscious Orihime Inoue, whom he declares he had been bringing to her. Yachiru and Aramaki bring back Orihime to Kenpachi and he tells her that he will help her find Ichigo. Orihime attempts to guide Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Aramaki to Ichigo, finding and freeing the captured Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, and Ganju on the way. While searching for Ichigo, the enlarged group is confronted by 9th Division Captain Kaname Tōsen and 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura, as well as their respective lieutenants Shūhei Hisagi and Tetsuzaemon Iba. Kenpachi, Ikkaku and Yumichika stay behind to fight the new threat, while the remainder of the group, continues on towards the Sōkyoku Hill in search of Ichigo. As the execution ceremony of Rukia Kuchiki begins, she rushes on ahead to determine the situation. After Ichigo rescues Rukia, she waits in the branches of the trees on top of the Sōkyoku Hill for the others to arrive.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

She becomes interested after Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Aramaki report that Maki Ichinose, a rogue 11th division member, has been spotted in the human world. Later, she watches the fight between Ichinose and Kenpachi after the Bounts invade the Soul Society.

Hueco Mundo arc
Later when Zaraki enters Hueco Mundo, she follows him and stands back while he fights Nnoitra Jiruga. During a portion of the fight when Nnoitra managed to briefly knock out Zaraki, he sets his sights on killing Yachiru. Yachiru however states that "I think you should look behind you," before Zaraki cuts off one of Nnoitra's arms. After he discards it, Yachiru says "You should watch out! Ken-chan will get mad if you start attacking me!" to which Zaraki replies, "Who d'you think you're callin' mad?"

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Having been away when Muramasa started the Zanpakutō rebellion, Yachiru reappears along with Zaraki, just as the Shinigami are on the back foot from the Zanpakutō attack. She explains that she and Kenpachi were fighting Hollows in Rukongai. They headed back as soon as they received word of what was happening but got lost on the way, hence why they were late. When Kenpachi berates her for revealing that they got lost, she got upset, defending her statements. She also expresses her annoyance at Kenpachi running past a candy store without stopping. Zaraki promises to take her back to the candy store later and tells her to get back as he is about to cut loose. She agrees and gets off Kenpachi's shoulders.

After Ashisogi Jizō's attack upon the Shinigami, she is seen trying to "play" with Ashisogi Jizō. Thinking they were playing a game of hide-and-seek, she chases Ashisogi Jizō around. This then morphs into a game of tag and she manages to pin it down briefly by grabbing its wings. Ashisogi Jizō was about to release its Bankai form, but was subsequently caught by Kenpachi and then detonated by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. She is then seen as the Shinigami begin treating the injured. Yachiru and Kenpachi are found to be the only one's caught in Ashisogi Jizō's poison that were unaffected by the poison. Yachiru claims that she held her breath, though Shunsui Kyōraku claimed that Kenpachi probably used his reiatsu to blow away the poison.

As the Shinigami decide on their next course of action, Yachiru accompanies Kenpachi as he goes with a team consisting of Yoruichi Shihōin,Shunsui Kyōraku,Jūshirō Ukitake and Ichigo Kurosaki to rescue Yamamoto. Kenpachi and Yachiru enter the Zanpakutō's hideout first and initially get lost in the caves. They then encounter Gonryōmaru and Tenken as the Zanpakutō spirits are alerted to the Shinigami presence. As Zaraki fights the two spirits, Yachiru realises that they are fighting defensively. The Zanpakutō are stalling for time and trying to keep Ichigo Kurosaki separated from the other Shinigami. After the defeat of Gonryōmaru, Zaraki tells Yachiru to get out of the way as the fight is about to become more serious.

Powers & Abilities
High Spiritual Power: She is also capable of emitting a great amount of spiritual power when she is angry, which forms into a large, pink, angry cat face. She also seems to be immune to her captain's spiritual pressure. Despite her childlike appearance and immature personality, Yachiru is apparently quite strong, since she is the current lieutenant of the combat division within Soul Society. Grown men have been shown to be afraid of her, and Rangiku Matsumoto was able to scare Ikkaku Madarame by threatening to tell on him to Yachiru if he didn't stop harassing Keigo Asano. Like her hair, Yachiru's spiritual pressure is pink.

Infiltration Expert: Yachiru is an expert at infiltration, which she only uses to undertake mischief.

Enhanced Strength: She is strong enough to easily lift Kenpachi, who is almost twice her height and over five times heavier, and leap between buildings while carrying him.

Enhanced Speed: Yachiru is also incredibly fast despite her compact size, running from the ground-level area of Seireitei to the mountain that holds the execution grounds in a fairly short period of time without Shunpo. In the anime however, she use what appeared to be Shunpo when she is chasing Ashisogi Jizō.

Zanpakutō
The name and ability of Yachiru's Zanpakutō are both unknown. She carries it around with a loose cord, rather than at the sash of her uniform. Her Zanpakutō's scabbard is also unusual in that it has a pair of wheels for transport, which were installed by Ikkaku Madarame, who turns out to be handy with tools, after she continually pestered him to do it. The tsuba is shaped like a flower.


 * Shikai: Not Yet Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Yet Achieved

Appearance In Other Media
In Bleach: The Blade of Fate, Yachiru hits enemies with her Zanpakutō sheathed. She can also summon a cat made of yellow spiritual energy. In Bleach: Shattered Blade, she uses the same fighting style as Ikkaku before he uses Shikai and hits with her scabbard and Zanpakutō.

Kenpachi Zaraki
Yachiru seems to share a very close relationship with Kenpachi Zaraki, caused from him saving her when she was an orphan in the Kusajishi district. This relationship is more than often realized as a sort of father-daughter relationship.

Ikkaku Madarame
Yachiru doesn't seem to be on good terms with Ikkaku as they are seen getting on each other's nerves. (For example, when annoyed, Yachiru sometimes yells at Ikkaku "Shut up, Cueball!" referring to his baldness.) Their feuds have raised a few jokes throughout the series.

Nicknames
Yachiru is known for making up nicknames for people, sometimes on a moment's notice. This is a list of her known nicknames:
 * Kenpachi Zaraki - Ken-chan/Kenny
 * Ikkaku Madarame - Cueball/smoothie/pachinko head
 * Ayasegawa - Yun-Yun
 * Ichigo Kurosaki - Ichii
 * Sajin Komamura- Koma-Koma/Doggy
 * Makizō Aramaki - Maki-maki and Mini Mustache (when she forgets his first nickname)
 * Maki Ichinose- Maki-chan
 * Nanao Ise - Nana
 * Shunsui Kyōraku - Shun-shun
 * Retsu Unohana - Re-chan
 * Izuru Kira - Izurun
 * Yoruichi Shihōin - Boobies
 * Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto - Gramps
 * Mayuri Kurotsuchi - Mayurin
 * Byakuya Kuchiki - Byakushi/Byakkun
 * Orihime Inoue - Jiggles/Boobies
 * Ganju Shiba - Monkey
 * Yasutora Sado - Muscles
 * Uryū Ishida - Pencil
 * Jūshirō Ukitake - Ukki

Trivia

 * Her theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is Andre Previn's "Veni, Veni, Venias" (Yachiru Theme #1) and "Izumikawa Sora's Yahoo!" (Yachiru Theme #2).
 * Yachiru and Kenpachi Zaraki are the only lieutenant and captain to have achieved their ranks by means other than the standard tests.
 * In an interview, Tite Kubo mentioned that he plans on revealing Yachiru's namesake.

Quotes

 * "You're annoying me! Ken-chan's fighting, so don't bother me!"
 * (To Nnoitra) "If you attack me, Ken-chan'll be mad."
 * (To Ikkaku) "Shut up, pachinko ball!"

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