Kaien was an upbeat and kind young man from the Shiba house, tattooing his arm with the Shiba house symbol, who treated all his subordinates equally. Kaien closely resembles Ichigo Kurosaki in both appearance and personality, and their resemblance is brought up multiple times in the series. 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. He was also married to another shinigami, the 3rd Seat of his division, Miyako. One day, however, Miyako was possessed by a hollow and killed her subordinates, leading Kaien to fight the hollow in an attempt to avenge her. Kaien, however, is also possessed by the hollow, which then attacks Rukia. Ukitake attempts to save her but his disease hinders his efforts. Rukia raises her zanpakutō in self-defense as Kaien lunges at Rukia; the blade pierces thorugh him and he dies in her arms, thanking her and Ukitake for allowing him to fight it alone.
Since his death, the 13th Division has not been assigned another lieutenant, and is instead run by the two 3rd Seats, Sentarō and Kiyone. Both of Kaien's siblings, Kūkaku and Ganju, became distrustful of shinigami, and due to either Kaien's everyday life or his death the Shiba house diminished from their high status, with only Ganju and Kūkaku remaining. Rukia, who felt the most responsible for Kaien's death, carried a heavy amount of guilt over his death, regardless of her apology to Kaien's siblings. It is later revealed that due to the hollow's special ability, Kaien and the hollow were taken to the Hueco Mundo, where the arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie ate them both and took both their abilities, and with these rose to become the 9th Espada. Rukia would later fight Aaroniero and successfully kill him, finally bringing peace to Kaien's soul.
Kaien's zanpakutō is Nejibana (捩花, Nejibana? lit. Screw Flower, Viz: Twisted Flower). Its shikai command is "uncoil the liquid heavens" (水天逆巻け, suiten sakamake?, Viz: "rage the seas and heavens," English TV: "rankle the seas and the skies"). Nejibana's shikai is a cross between a trident and a ji (a Chinese halberd) with a crystalline appearance that has the ability to manipulate water. 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. During Rukia's battle with Aaroniero, Nejibana is described as having the ability to use the shockwaves it creates in conjunction 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."
3rd Seat (former): Miyako Shiba — Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto (Japanese), Cindy Robinson (English)
Miyako was Kaien's wife who was killed by a hollow. In the anime, she was first possessed, then killed by the hollow, who devoured her from the inside out. Her face is never fully seen in the manga. It is also stated that Rukia Kuchiki looked up to her as a strong but gentle woman.
3rd Seats 1 and 2: Kiyone Kotetsu (虎徹 清音, Kotetsu Kiyone?) and Sentarō Kotsubaki (小椿 仙太郎, Kotsubaki Sentarō?) — Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese), Jeannie Elias (English) (Kiyone) and Voiced by: Kōichi Tōchika (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English) (Sentarō)
Since the death of Lieutenant Shiba, Kiyone and Sentarō have been acting as the division's joint seconds-in-command, overseeing day-to-day operations. They squabble quite often, each believing that they are more respectful of their leader than the other is. They both mean well, but are highly competitive and constantly critical of the other (to further their rivalry, they also happen to share the same birthday, September 22). Kiyone is the younger sister of 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu. Sentarō came from Rukongai.
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