Kirio Hikifune (Seireitou)

"You've just eaten food that was made according to the same logic that I had used when creating the Gikon aritifical souls. Right now, your bodies are brimming with reiatsu on a level you've never fathomed. If you can feel even a tinge of that... then my job here is done."

- Kirio speaking to Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai.

Kirio Hikifune (曳舟桐生, Hikifune Kirio) is a member of the Zero Division in the Royal Guard, holding the title "Ruler of Grain" (穀王, Kokuō). She is the former Captain of the Twelfth Division in the Gotei 13.

Appearance
Upon her return to Soul Society, Kirio is a plump, purple haired lady with styled swirl-shaped markings on her cheeks and black lips. She has a large silver adornment in her hair and wears the standard Shinigami uniform beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the Royal Guard's emblem. Captain Shinji Hirako noted that her appearance has changed drastically since he last saw her, so much so that he didn't even recognize her. Kirio's true form is only revealed after cooking, where she appears as a slender and well-endowed version of her plump self with her long hair left down. She is only plump initially as her cooking technique uses up her entire reiatsu, forcing her to gain as much weight as possible beforehand, in order to ensure that her body is able to endure the process.

Personality
Hiyori Sarugeki would see her as a motherly figure, back during when she was a Captain, implying that Kirio is a woman of great maturity and caring. Kirio comes across as a cheery individual, but has been known to lash out at others, striking Shinji Hirako while telling him to "feel pain".

History
At some point in the past, Kirio invented the Artificial soul technology, something the Soul King recognized as a significant contribution to Soul Society; hence her promotion to the Royal Guard. During her time as the captain of the 12th Division, her lieutenant, Hiyori, became very attached and came to love Kirio as much as she would her own mother. However, approximately 110 years ago, Kirio left the Gotei 13 to take up a position within the Royal Guard. She was soon succeeded by Kisuke Urahara, but failed to attend his inauguration ceremony.

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: Standing as one of the five Captains of the Zero Division, Kirio retains a large amount of spiritual energy within her body. It appears that one of Kirio's unique traits is that her bodily size changes in accordance with the amount of spiritual energy that is stored within her body, which is a result of storing reiryoku within her body over a certain period of time and consumption. This accumulation takes a considerable amount of time and inactivity. In doing so, the reserves of power build up overtime and her powers increase and involve. As her reiatsu levels change in direct proportion to her overall physical mass, this allows the instantaneous alteration of both her size and strength to greater levels, allowing for a more fluid use of her internal energy supplies.
 * Involuntary Size Alteration: Kirio involuntary tends to increase and decrease her size, because her method of cooking uses up all of her Reiatsu. Therefore she needs to bulk up in-between feasts in order to maintain a safe standard level of reiatsu during the process, so it doesnt deplete her completely.

Reiatsu Fusion (融合, Reiatsuyōgō; literally "spiritual pressure fusion"): The contribution Kirio had made to Soul Society that resulted in her promotion to the Royal Guard was the concept of using foreign sources of reiatsu in the pursuit of improving the quality of the reiatsu of a target source. In theory, Kirio developed a method at which one could take reiatsu from an outside item and have it become "injected" into the target of interest, which would lead to that foreign reiatsu becoming part of the target's own reiatsu, literally turning that outside source of energy into the energy of the internal target. This paradigm led to the creation of the Soul candy, which could later be applied to other circumstances. For example, Kirio can imbue reiatsu into foreign bodies such as the food she cooks in order to strengthen anyone who consumes it beyond any level they could ever assume. This was the case with Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai, as after they finished eating their fill of her reiatsu-imbued food, Kirio noted that they were now "brimming with reiatsu beyond levels they could fathom", subsequently stating that she was successful in infusing reiatsu into their bodies if they could feel even a single tinge of that newfound spiritual pressure.

Master Chef: Kirio is shown to be an exceptional cook, able to make any food, even insects, extremely tasty.

Zanpakutō
The name and appearance of Kirio's Zanpakutō is unknown.


 * Shikai: Not Yet Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Behind the Scenes
The information listed on this page is a fanwork based on Kirio Hikifune, and will depict non-canon elements. Thusly, this article will only be used in works of the author unless permission is given by another user.