Kirio Hikifune

is a former captain of the 12th Division and a member of the Royal Guard, holding the title. She holds the position of, as well as.

Appearance
Hikifune is a tall woman of fair complexion with green eyes. She has long, smooth purple hair reaching her mid-back that curls up at the ends and bangs framing the sides of her face. She wears black lipstick and has red swirl-shaped markings under both her eyes. She normally has her hair done up into a bun and secured with a large silver, spoon-like adornment. She also wears the standard Shinigami Shihakushō with a white obi beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the Royal Guard's emblem on the back.

Upon her return to Soul Society, Hikifune's appearance changed drastically into a plump form with squinted eyes. This change was unrecognizable even by Shinji Hirako who previously served with her. This is the form she takes in order to properly handle her own cooking method. Once she is finished cooking, she reverts to her original slender and well-endowed form, in which she leaves her hair down and her obi hanging loosely at her hip.

Personality
Hikifune is a cheery individual, and will maintain that demeanor even while lashing out at others over minor slights, such as striking Shinji Hirako for not recognizing her. She, like Ichibē Hyōsube, will often keep her rowdy teammate Tenjirō Kirinji in line with physical force, as well as pick up his slack in regards to explaining things to visitors. She takes great pride and passion in preparing her Reiatsu-enhancing food. While normally upbeat, Hikifune is very serious when warning others about Ōetsu Nimaiya, as he is far and away the most unpredictable member of the Royal Guard. Regardless of her preference for physical punishment and eccentric nature as a chef, Hikifune acted like a mother to Hiyori Sarugaki during her time in the Gotei 13 and displays similar tendencies even while in the Royal Guard, demonstrated when she gave Ichigo Kurosaki some rice balls to eat as he was leaving to rejoin the fight against the Wandenreich. In combat, she is very confident in her abilities and creations, confidently telling the Schutzstaffel that no matter what they do, they cannot escape the Tree of Life she grew to contain them.

History
During her time as the captain of the 12th Division, her lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki, became very attached and came to love Hikifune as much as she would her own mother. At some point, Hikifune invented Gikon, something the Soul King recognized as a significant contribution to Soul Society, and approximately 110 years ago, Hikifune left the Gotei 13 as her invention earned her a promotion to join the Royal Guard. She was soon succeeded by Kisuke Urahara, but failed to attend his inauguration ceremony.

The Thousand-Year Blood War arc
After the death of Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Hikifune returns to Soul Society with the other members of the Royal Guard, where they are greeted by the surviving Gotei 13 captains and Ichigo Kurosaki. Hitting Captain Shinji Hirako after he remarks that the Royal Guard wasn't what he had expected, she then asks where Hiyori is, before introducing herself after realizing that Shinji didn't recognize her. Shinji replies that she has changed so much that she is like a different person. Hikifune and the others later proceed to take Ichigo and some of the injured Shinigami with them to the Soul King Palace. Upon arriving, she hits Kirinji for not properly explaining about the Palace to Ichigo. She then tells him about the Palace's layout. After Ichigo and Renji Abarai arrive at her palace, Gatonden, Hikifune insists on feeding them, providing them with ample food. Hikifune explains to them that eating is essential for them to continue training, as if they are not well rested, they will surely die in the next palace. She explains that like her creation, the Soul candy, her food is imbued with Reiatsu, and asks if they can feel it. She then explains that members of the Royal Guard all invented something that influenced the Soul Society and warns them to be wary in the next palace, as one never knows what Ōetsu Nimaiya might do.

Later, after Ichigo launches himself toward the Seireitei, Hikifune asks Kirinji where Ichigo is. When Kirinji reveals he just left, Hikifune throws a package after Ichigo and tells him it is a rice ball for him to eat if he gets hungry on the way to the Seireitei. After Ichigo catches it and thanks her, Hikifune notes Ichigo has changed and states his wavering Reiatsu is just a memory now. The next day, when Yhwach, Jugram Haschwalth, and Uryū Ishida arrive at the palace, Hikifune senses their presence while eating.

Hikifune appears when Yhwach and his elite guard infiltrate the Soul King Palace. She secretly erects a cage around the entrance portion of the palace structure in order to imprison the Quincy before admitting that she is surprised that she did it, as it has been quite some time since she has created such a big confinement. When Lille Barro fails to pierce the structure with his Heilig Pfeil, Hikifune explains how the tree is imbued with her Reiatsu and points out how Lille's bullets are made of highly concentrated Reiatsu before revealing that the tree will absorb all Reiatsu attacks like these. Telling the Sternritter that they can go crazy if they like, Hikifune states that they will never escape this tree of life.

Hikifune attempts to block Lille Barro's attack against Nimaiya, but is shocked to see that he was hit anyway, and is further shocked as Lille explains his power. Soon afterward, Hikifune, after reverting to her slender form, is defeated by the Sternritter.

Inventions

 * Gikon: Hikifune is the one originally responsible for developing the theory of artificial souls, as well as the means of inserting them into the body, Gikongan.

Equipment

 * Hikifune has infused remnants of a tree with her Reiatsu. The tree branches have become so infused and accustomed to feeding on Reiatsu that they will eat any Reiatsu used to attack the tree itself. This makes it an effective defensive structure to hold off Reiatsu-based attacks, which allows it to continue to grow at an extremely fast rate. She can also generate branches of this tree from her body at will. The tree automatically extends to block any hostile projectiles, but objects deemed harmless such as Yhwach's Medallion can pass through.

Powers & Abilities
Master Chef: Hikifune is a master chef of the highest caliber. She possesses a skill for culinary cuisine in taste, texture and smell, which allows her to create astonishing foods from the finest ingredients. To Hikifune, controlling food means controlling life; she cooks to give form to life.


 * Food Enhancement: Using the same logic she used to invent Gikongan, Hikifune can imbue the base ingredients of the food she creates by infusing the materials from the onset of growth with her Reiatsu, fundamentally changing the nature and properties. All the ingredients come from her body. Through the use of these ingredients, she can augment any food she prepares, which empowers anyone who eats it beyond any level they could ever reach naturally.


 * Fat Growth/Reduction: Because her method of cooking uses up all of her Reiatsu, Hikifune loses most of her weight in the process. As a result, she must bulk up again between feasts.

Shunpo Master: Hikifune is fast enough to intercept an attack from Lille Barro alongside Tenjirō Kirinji, matching the latter's immense speed.

Immeasurable Spiritual Power: As a captain-class combatant and current member of the Royal Guard, Hikifune has an incomparable amount of spiritual power. The Royal Guard link themselves to each other to seal their power; should Hikifune unleash her full power, the sheer pressure can be felt not only throughout the Seireitei, but also the Human World and Hueco Mundo.

Ōken: As one of the Royal Guards, Hikifune has the Ōken imparted in her bones, which grants her the ability to travel into and out of the Soul King Palace, as well as grant permission to others simply by willing it.

Zanpakutō
The name and abilities of Hikifune's Zanpakutō are unknown, as well as its Release Command. It takes the appearance of a wakizashi-length sword with a thin blade in its sealed form, and a large Wok Chuan (spatula) in its released state.
 * Shikai: Not Revealed
 * Bankai: Not Revealed

Appearances in Other Media

 * Hikifune makes her first appearance outside the manga in Bleach: Brave Souls as part of the commemoration for the Thousand-Year Blood War arc tie-in. In this form, Hikifune is a ranged normal attack character with the "Mind" Attribute and the "Shinigami Killer" ability whose second Strong Attack is a healing boost move that briefly causes her to appear in her slender form. Her unlockable skills are "Berserker +50%", "Bruiser +40%", "Enhancer +10 secs.", "Flurry", "Healer +30%", "Medic", "Poise", and "Sprinter +1", while her Soul Trait is "Damage Taken -16%"; meanwhile, her Arena Traits are "Normal Attack Damage +13%" and "Focus +30", while her Arena Abilities other than "All Stats +5%" are "Normal Attack Damage +10%" at level 5 and "Normal Attack Damage +20%" at level 10. Hikifune's special is, where she creates a cage-like tree that traps enemies and consumes Reiatsu, inflicting immense damage.

Quotes

 * (To Ichigo and Renji) "It seems that training under Kisuke Urahara has made you more than a little paranoid! Don't worry yourselves about a thing! This Gaton Estate is a temple of food! My job is to make sure your stomachs are well and truly filled! And as for you... Your only job here is to fill those stomachs to your hearts' content! Now... It's time to get eating! You should be outrageously hungry, I'll expect!"


 * (To Ichigo and Renji) "All that we're doing here is the ordinary preparation that anyone should do before training. It's just that here we do it on a whole different scale. The scale of the Soul King. Our ceremonies contain the Soul King's own power, and the millions of years of history that Soul Society has built up. They're on a whole different level from the "healing" and "eating" that takes place down in Seireitei."


 * (To Ichigo and Renji) "When I prepare food, I pour all my Reiatsu into the cooking process... So once the meal is good and ready, I find myself a whole lot slimmer! That's why I have to fatten myself up the rest of the time - else my body couldn't stand it!"


 * (To Ichigo and Renji) "Do you remember what I said just now about all of Soul Society's history being contained in the ceremonies we perform here? Well, all of us in Division Zero are individuals who have created something back in Soul Society. It's only people who the Soul King has judged to be a living embodiment of Soul Society's history that are chosen to join this Division. My own contribution to Soul Society was the invention of "substitute souls" and the technology to implant those souls into bodies. Before I came up with them, the concept of substitute souls, or "gikon", didn't exist. And it was that same concept of "gikon" that would later form the basis of the "Gikongan". The most key concept involved in "gikon" is the ability to take foreign Reiatsu into one's body and use it to bolster one's own power. The food you just ate was designed using that concept. There should be a whole different level of Reiatsu in your bodies right now than they have ever held before. If you can feel the difference, even a little, that's good enough."

Battles

 * The Royal Guard vs. The Wandenreich

Trivia

 * Hikifune was voted the 45th most popular Shinigami character in the fifth character popularity poll.
 * When she was first seen, her shihakushō was colored white instead of black.

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