Summary
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Rukia Kuchiki’s biggest regret in theBLEACHstory is her inability to save, and subsequent killing of 13th Squad Lieutenant, Kaien Shiba, whose loss reverberated greatly into the future of the narrative. Her guilt about her part in his death, even though it wasn’t her fault, is why she resigns to fate when she is captured and prepared for execution for giving her powers to a human.
When Ichigo arrives in the Soul Society, 13th Squad Captain Jūshirо̄ Ukitake’s already pale skin goes paler when he sees him, with Byakuya Kuchiki interjecting that he isn’t who Ukitake might think he is. So, just how is Ichigo Kurosaki related to Kaien Shiba?
Who Was Kaien Shiba?
Kaien Shiba was the 13th Squad Lieutenant when Rukia was first enlisted into the Gotei 13, and he had an immensely positive influence over the other squad members. His personality is eerily similar to Ichigo’s in that they can be obstinate, but incredibly sincere despite their hotheaded temperament. Initially, Rukia feared that she would have to resign to being treated differently from other squad members due to her connection to the Kuchiki family, but Kaien treated her just like anyone else.
He was held in high regard by his squadmates and Captain; however, he would be one of the countless victims ofSо̄suke Aizen’s Hollowfication experiments, falling victim to the Hollow known as Metastacia, which is capable of taking over the body of its target, and eating them from the inside out.
Kaien’s battle against Metastacia was rough because the Hollow had the special ability of dematerializing and consuming Zanpakutо̄, meaning that Kaien would have to fight it bare-handed, which is how it gets its opponents to touch the tentacles at the top of its head, which are the conduit for its body-snatching ability.
When a possessed Kaien lunged at Rukia, her upheld sword impaled him, killing him, a moment which severely traumatized her. The Hollow absorbed Kaien’s personality, and wound up being eaten by a stronger Hollow, with Kaien being “revived” as the personality that managed to come through the legion and control the body ofthe Noveno Espada, Aaroniero Aaruruerie.
How Kaien is Related to Ichigo
The Point of Connection is Isshin Kurosaki
Ichigo’s father was originally Isshin Shiba before he married the Quincy, Masaki Kurosaki; however, as is revealed in the “Everything But the Rain” episodes ofBLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, Isshin was only a member of a branch of the Shiba family, so he had a rather indirect relation to Kūkaku, Ganju and Kaien, but his connection to themis still by blood. They would most likely refer to each other as cousins, which makes Kaien an uncle of Ichigo’s, albeit somewhat removed because they are only extended family, and it is unknown how many standard deviations away from the main family Isshin’s branch of origin might be.
Regardless of how removed Isshin is from the main branch of the Shiba family, Ichigo’s stark resemblance to Kaien Shiba is indicative of the blood connection between he and Isshin, as it often happens that one’s child resembles their siblings or even cousins as they once appeared as children, or even look like a carbon copy of a distance grandparent.
It can be theorized that Rukia’s willingness to risk capital punishment to give Ichigo her powers was more than a pragmatic decision made in desperate times, but an emotional decision spurred on by the shock of seeing a young boy who looks just like someone she greatly respected who died by her sword. Rather than pragmatically use Ichigo as bait in that very first Hollow encounter, Rukia leapt in between him and the Hollow, sustaining serious injuries. Rukia, theunknowing host of the Hо̄gyoku, wished to be freed from the guilt she felt about Kaien’s death, and saw in Ichigo the respected friend who died by her hand, and was thus ready to give up her own life to make up for what she did. When she was on death row, she came to terms with her looming death somewhat after remembering the worst night of her life, unable to forgive herself for what happened to Kaien, she believed that her execution was just desserts.
Bleach
Cast
Based on Tite Kubo’s battle shonen manga, Bleach centers around Ichigo, a high school student who is dragged into the world of Soul Reapers. The original anime ended in 2012, but it was revived in 2022.
