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Kaien Shiba,bio

Kaien Shiba (志波 海燕, Shiba Kaien?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He was the lieutenant of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13, under Jūshirō Ukitake.

Contents [hide]
1 Character outline
2 History
3 Aftermath
4 Nejibana
5 See also
6 Notes and references



[edit] Character outline
Kaien was an upbeat and kind young man who treated all his subordinates equally, though his initial introduction depicted him as rough-mannered. He was shown to be easily annoyed, but usually because he felt others were putting themselves down unnecessarily (e.g. Rukia Kuchiki), or because of Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu's antics. He was a father/older brother figure to Rukia, whom he taught how to fight and helped her find a place within the 13th Division. He was also a prodigy amongst shinigami; graduating from a six year curriculum in just one year and becoming a lieutenant five years after.

Kaien is the oldest son of the Shiba clan, which was one of the main noble clans (along with the Shihouin and Kuchiki clans), and the older brother of Kūkaku and Ganju Shiba. He was also married to another shinigami, the 3rd Seat of his division, Miyako.

In terms of appearance, and in some cases, personality, Kaien had an uncanny resemblance to the series' protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki. Kaien's hair is spiky, long in the back, and black. He dresses in the garb typical of shinigami, without any alterations, with his lieutenant badge around his left arm. Kaien also has a tattoo of the Shiba clan symbol on the same arm.


[edit] History

Kaien dying in Rukia's arms.Kaien essentially ran the 13th Division before his untimely death because Ukitake was often sick and unable to run day to day operations. The subordinates of the 13th Division greatly respected and admired him, especially Rukia, Sentarō Kotsubaki, and Kiyone Kotetsu.

When his wife, Miyako, and the rest of her squad were killed by the hollow Metastacia, which had the unusual ability to annihilate a shinigami's zanpakutō with its tendrils and fuse its soul with that of a shinigami, Kaien went to avenge her death, accompanied only by Ukitake and Rukia.

Kaien fought the hollow in a solo battle. At one point, Rukia was about to intervene, but was stopped by Ukitake, who explained that it was a battle for honor and pride, not a battle for life or survival. The hollow eventually took over Kaien's body, forcing Ukitake to step in. However, a sudden attack of his illness disabled him. The hollow then turned its attention to Rukia, but Kaien momentarily regained control and forced himself onto her sword, killing both Kaien and the hollow. It is eventually revealed that the hollow that killed Kaien and Miyako was created by Sōsuke Aizen in his attempts to create a perfect hollow-shinigami hybrid.


[edit] Aftermath
Since his death, the 13th Division has not assigned another lieutenant. Day to day operations are run by the two 3rd Seats, Sentarō and Kiyone, who often squabble and vie for Ukitake's attention (which they had previously done with Kaien).

Both Kūkaku and Ganju became distrustful of shinigami after Kaien's death. The Shiba clan was eventually removed from the top noble families, although it is unclear whether this was caused by Kaien's actions during life or by his death. The clan eventually left Seireitei to live in their residence in Rukongai. The clan diminished and is now thought to only consist of Kaien's two siblings.

Rukia, who felt the most responsible for Kaien's death, carried a heavy amount of guilt for his death until the end of the Soul Society arc, when she apologized to Kaien's relatives. She managed to convince herself that, by killing Kaien, she was "taking Kaien's spirit body back from the enemy," and thus saving him. However, it is later revealed that Metastacia's special ability allowed him to return to Hueco Mundo after his death. Returning in Kaien's body, Metastacia is consumed by the 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arleri, keeping Kaien's spirit body in "the hands of the hollow." The confrontation is brutal, but in the end Rukia recalls Kaien's words about leaving his heart behind with her and rallies herself, managing to shatter Aaroniero's head and pierce one of his faces - the other dies screaming shortly after.


[edit] Nejibana

Nejibana in Bleach Advance: Kurenai ni Somaru Soul Society.Kaien's zanpakutō is Nejibana (捩花, lit. Screw Flower, Viz: Twisted Flower). Its initial release command is "uncoil the liquid heavens" (水天逆巻け, suiten sakamake?, Viz: "rankle the seas and heavens" wink . Aaroniero Arleri, after devouring Kaien's spirit body, gains the power and experiences of Kaien and therefore this zanpakutō as well.

Nejibana's initial release is represented as a cross between a trident and a ji (a Chinese halberd) with a crystalline appearance. Like the ji it bears a horsehair tassel, although it is blue instead of the traditional red; similarly the two side blades are straight with concave edges as opposed to the usual crescent blade. Kaien himself is never seen using Nejibana's initial release, since the hollow responsible for Kaien's death destroyed his zanpakutō before it could be released. Its form was first shown in Bleach Advance: Kurenai ni Somaru Soul Society, where it has water-based abilities. It first appears in the series when released by Aaroniero, and has the same abilities.

During Rukia's battle with the Espada Aaroniero, Nejibana's abilities are explored in depth. It is described as having the ability to use the shockwaves it creates in conjuction with trident attacks to "crush and split the enemy in two." Kaien's techniques and form are also revealed during the battle, and are described by Rukia as "a trident technique reminiscent of dancing." This allusion is further alluded to by the spinning of the zanpakutō-wielding hand's wrist and the use of a peculiarly high stance