Personality:

Toushiro Hitsugaya is a product of circumstance, having sacrificed a great deal of his childhood to learn how to grow up at a young age. Being the youngest Captain in Gotei 13 history, he's well-respected among his subordinates as well as his fellow soldiers. However, he is still a child, and thus works very hard to maintain his mature demeanor so people don't treat him as such.

He harbors low to no tolerance for being addressed as anything but "Captain Hitsugaya", and hates it when people think he's an elementary school student. In fact, he hates being acknowledged as a little kid as well as being called "Shorty" more than anything (he is, indeed, very short). Likewise, he detests anything that he considers to be childish, such as children's toys and school uniforms that appear to be fitting for young boys; and to add to his bitter attitude, he detests sweets and prefers food like fermented beans. Yeah. He is still young though, and his roots come from being a "child prodigy" for having an impressive level of intelligence and a lot of talent for someone so young. He is also incredibly disciplined, even more so than some of his older subordinates and fellow Captains.

Hitsugaya is always very diligent in getting his paperwork done, as well as being on time to and completing various missions in both the Soul Society and in the Human World. He doesn't like to beat around the bush and is always very direct, so as to not waste time or energy on unnecessary things. This attitude carries in his speech manerisms, too: Hitsugaya is extremely blunt and curt, only saying what he means and what he needs to. He's all about efficiency and making himself as clear as possible. Rarely ever does he allow himself to "have fun", and will often berate his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, for doing leisure activities while they should be working. While there have been attempts to try to get Hitsugaya to lighten up, they rarely ever work because he works himself down to the bone and just doesn't stop.

This is a testament to how he takes his duties incredible seriously, however, and you can't really blame him. He's a child in one of the highest, most honorable positions in all of Soul Society, standing beside and above others who are much older than him. He doesn't really have room to act like his age--though some people often think and treat him like he should--because he needs to be respected in his position. And Hitsugaya's definitely worthy of respect; while he is naturally talented, he does not get complacent, and continuously works on improving himself and his abilities.

However, his talent has also put him leagues above his peers, so he hasn't really gotten the chance to make many friends. Hitsugaya was never allowed to have a proper childhood, his spiritual energy being too strong for him to safely live at home with his adoptive grandmother. Furthermore, the other kids in the area were afraid of him, isolating him and leaving him with only his grandmother and Momo Hinamori to talk to. After she left to attend the Shinigami Academy, Hitsugaya followed her years later, but was just as isolated there probably due to a number of factors such as his age, his odd hair color, and his talent. Because of this, he's not the most friendly or the most open of people, used to being by himself and often times preferring it that way. He's not a complete loner, however, and has some rather valuable relationships he holds dear.

Hinamori is one of the most important people to Hitsugaya, and he is entirely devoted to protecting her for as long as he's around. She's his childhood friend--an older sister figure to him--and his desire to protect her and his grandmother drove him to becoming a Shinigami. She was the only child in the Rukongai District he grew up in to befriend him, being one of the only people able to break through his icy exterior. Hinamori gets special treatment in that she's the only one who is allowed to get away with addressing him by his given name, and doesn't get seriously upset with her when she uses nicknames with him. Hurt Hinamori, and Hitsugaya will make it his goal to make sure you never touch her again.

Another one of his notable relationships is the one he holds with Rangiku Matsumoto. has also earned Hitsugaya's respect in that context. Because she's his lieutenant, he recognizes Matsumoto's abilities, and believes that she's able to fight her own battles. In return, Matsumoto is usually always seen by her Captain's side, and is willing to protect him at all costs. It also turns out that they've become really close over the years they've worked together in the Tenth Division. It's become a routine for Hitsugaya to berate Matsumoto for not doing her paperwork, as she usually sneaks off to have a few drinks or go shopping--anything that isn't work, really. But while this is probably a punishable offense by Soul Society standards, Hitsugaya has never seriously punished her for this. Also, when Matsumoto was going through a difficult time, Hitsugaya let her sleep in their office without protest. Subtle little things like these are his way of showing he cares, and while they may not be visible to the average person, those who know him can recognize that he's not as cold as he tries to make himself seem.

Ironically, even though he reminds his subordinates to not mix personal motives with work, Hitsugaya's relationships are what hinder his ability to do as such. He's shown numerous times making irrational decisions that are fueled by his desire to protect and help the people he cares about. Hitsugaya had endangered himself during the two events in which Aizen had severely wounded Hinamori, by charging recklessly with only one thing in mind: to kill Aizen, despite the fact that Aizen's clearly much more powerful. He was also even classified as a traitor at one point after he abandoned a mission to chase after the enemy, Kusaka, who'd been Hitsugaya's friend in the academy. Soul Society had the impression that he had been meaning to join with the enemy; though this was not the case, Hitsugaya was aware of it and did not bother trying to clear his name, willingly abandoning his post as a Captain to presumably fight Kusaka as his equal--as his friend.

The word "friend" is not to be taken lightly in Hitsugaya's case; if he considers you to be a friend, he damn well means it. He rarely ever goes out of his way to help others with their problems, believing that they should deal with things themselves. He holds the same standard to himself and has a hard time asking others for help. He's pretty reserved with his feelings and his emotions, and even a glimpse of anything that isn't irritation or anger is hard to find with him. However, if he's willing to open up to you and show any sort of kindness towards you, consider it well-deserved.

If he had more time, maybe he would have learned to open up, make friends and enjoy childhood; but that isn't the case here, and Hitsugaya's a kid who's just had to grow up way too fast. It's a shame his height didn't grow as fast as his maturity.

Flavor Abilities: Hitsugaya is a Shinigami. As such, he normally has more durability, a much longer lifespan, and greater physical and spiritual capabilities than the average human. However, these will be nerfed significantly here, with only his basic combat capabilities in tact. Also, if he can get his hands on anything that's like a sword, he can use that as a weapon. His lifespan will be shortened to that of an average human.

On his durability: Hitsugaya can withstand freezing temperatures thanks to his Zanpakuto. Without it, however, he'll only have slightly higher than average cold tolerance. This does not make him immune to things like frostbite.

Suitability: Hitsugaya, being a trained soldier, has survival knowledge and capabilities. He's physically fit, excellent in hand-to-hand combat as well as swordsmanship, and intelligent to where he could probably help in solving a lot of the mysteries surrounding Norfinbury. He's also used to dealing with loss, so moving on past the deaths of those around him (probably) won't be much of a struggle for him, as cold as that sounds.

For Hitsugaya, the loss of his powers will probably be the hugest detriment as well as a great area of exploration for him. He's grown accustomed to the cold because of Hyourinmaru; without his powers, he will be just as prone as the average human being to conditions such as frostbite while exposed to extremely cold temperatures. And while he's used to being in a human body, which is normally required of Shinigami when they're on certain missions in the human world, he's always been able to switch into his Shinigami form when he needed to. Now, he's going to have to learn to survive as an ordinary human.

RP Samples: Network sample. Prose sample. A mix of both.