Hotaru Hiroshi

Hotaru "Kusaka" Hiroshi (ホタル日下浩, Hiroshi "Kusaka" Hotaru) is the son of Kenji and Ino Hiroshi, the younger brother of Kentaro, twins with Akira, the elder brother of Kay as well as the adoptive brother of Shinrei. He was born roughly a year following Averian's defeat and is active mostly on patrols within combating the splintered Hollow army, though he has recently came into conflict with the Engelhaft Gewitter.

Appearance
Short and petite, Hotaru, like his twin, shares his fathers lean-built appearance and is a naturally pale young man; though Kentaro is quick to note that he takes to the sun like a duck to water and tans quickly without actually burning. Kenji notes his frame to be slightly more muscular than Akira's, which is reflected in Hotaru's greater physical strength. He has combed-down, waist-length brown hair that stops near his hips, with a parting fringe that falls as two large locks of hair which reach past his shoulders.

He is usually seen wearing his trademark over the top of a loose pair of baggy pants with two sections each with a set of three straps on each leg, which appear similar to old west trousers. His shoes are often seen to have two protrusions near the toe. He is also partial to a pair of jeans, but never wears anything beneath his poncho, even though his parents complain constantly that he'll catch cold.

Personality
Hotaru is a very straightforward young man who shares many similarities with his uncles Meian and Kusaka, whom he is named after. He is generally calm and collected even when placed under great stress, as demonstrated by his ability to keep his cool even after seeing his family struck down by his father's impostor. However, much like Kusaka, he is prone to jumping the gun at times, especially when his emotions come into play.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Part II

 * Liberation Saga

Impostor arc

 * Kenji gone Mad?
 * Betrayal!?

Powers and Abilities
His spiritual power is white with a mixture of black and red throughout and manifests itself as a red-eyed demonic visage with spread wings.

Durability: Hotaru was capable of remaining conscious when subjected to the superior spiritual energy of Kenjiro Hiroshi when his twin, Akira and sister, Kay, where both knocked out.

Hakuda Expertise: Hotaru is much like his uncle Rosuto, preferring the use of martial arts as opposed to his Zanpakutō, even though he regularly uses both Shikai and Bankai to further his Hakuda abilities in battle. He has at least enough skill to hold his own in serious confrontations, as demonstrated during the Quincy Invasion of Soul Society.

Zanjutsu: Despite his parentage Hotaru has little interest in the formal study of swordsmanship, for he prefers using martial arts instead. His overall skill level is unknown though he was noted to be ranked in the top three of his class within the Yuengiri Academy.

Zanpakutō
 (陰陽道, also In'yōdō, lit. "Way of "). Hotaru's Zanpakutō is sealed in the form of a beautiful katana with red hilt wrapping and a golden guard shaped like a square with inward curving corners. The sheath is a light shade of black, while the blade has a noticeable silver jagged line running down its outside cutting edge. In addition, there's a cloth seal wrapped around the base of the sheath and the guard, which rips and repairs itself indefinitely when drawn and sheathed. Hotaru often carries Onmyōdō is the traditional style after his mother, or merely in his hand depending on his mood.


 * : Hotaru releases his Zanpakutō with the command "Scale" (計量器, Keiryōki). Onmyōdō undergoes a much more substantial visual transformation than Akira's Zanpakutō. It becomes a longsword-esque blade colored red with an enlarged lower blade set with a large red jewel, a wing-shaped guard, a slimmer middle portion of blade, and finally a top section that's composed entirely of red energy.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Hotaru refers to Onmyōdō's ability as Shikigami (式神, Paper Mat). This allows him to create various familiars from pre-made paper dolls which provides him an amazing tactical advantage, as the dolls he summons possess roughly half of the strength of the person they're mimicking. So far he has used a familiar of his father, one of the deceased Akira Nakamura and also one of the deceased Anīka Shihōin.


 * : Onmyōdō Akuhō (陰陽道 悪報, Way of Yin and Yang Karmic Retribution): Hotaru obtained Bankai using the exact same three-day method used by Hawke Kori, and . He releases his Bankai by running his hand over the blade of energy and declaring Bankai, meaning he must first have initiated his Shikai release beforehand. The release causes his hair to stand-up with two loose strands dangling about his face. He also becomes physically larger as the additional reiryoku empowers his muscles, increasing his physical strength, speed and durability many times over. Upon release Onmyōdō Akuhō looses its blade form is favor of duplicate combat gloves.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Unknown.


 * Protective Aura: Hotaru's Bankai seems to naturally resist being stolen through use of the Engelhaft Gewitter's Bankai Stealing Medallions. Kenjiro remarked on this odd occurrence, finding it rather strange. However he inferred that it was not an ability inherent to his Zanpakutō. This suggests that Hotaru has modified his Zanpakutō since obtaining Bankai, though this remains mere speculation.


 * Energized Punches: Hotaru has shown himself sheathing his fists in spiritual power, courtesy of Kensei Muguruma's instruction. Using this method he is capable of delivering powerful punches that can send his enemies flying.

Behind the Scenes

 * Hotaru's appearance is based on Hao Asakura from Shaman King.
 * Translation of the zanpakutō was provided by Ash, or Mewtwo, as he's otherwise known. Credit goes to him alone.