Horiuchi Hironari

is Yūichi Shibata's older "brother" in their communal type of family in the Rukongai.

Appearance
He has short, black hair and appears to be a young boy or adolescent.

History
Not much detail is given about Hironari's history. According to Hironari, he had died in Yamanashi Prefecture during the 1940's.

Soul Society arc
Hironari shows up when Shibata appears before Sado Yasutora after Ichigo Kurosaki and his group had tried to enter Seireitei by the gate entrance guarded by Jidanbō Ikkanzaka. The group is repelled back by Gin Ichimaru and a number of Rukongai residents come out of hiding, gazing at them after having seen the whole incident. Shibata comes through the crowd, calling out to Sado and reminding both Ichigo and Sado that he was the soul who had dwelled in the cockatiel. Sado is surprised at seeing Shibata so soon. Sado then fulfills his earlier promise that he would carry the child one more if they met in Soul Society. As he carries Shibata around, he talks with Shibata about his life in Soul Society. When Shibata mentions that he has a very nice family to take care of him, Hironari then appears. He tells Shibata that it is time for him to go home or that their "mother" and "father" will worry. Sado is slightly confused at Shibata's mentioning of having a family and the appearance of this person. He is also confused when Shibata introduces Hironari and describes him as being a "big brother" as the two have different surnames. Hironari then explains to Sado that Rukongai is composed of mostly family-like groups formed by non-blood related souls. He further explains that Rukongai is filled with many people who had died at different times and places, so it is rare to be reunited with family members who died earlier. Sado asks if the Shinigami help with reuniting family members if they die at the same time. Hironari tells Sado that this is not the case as the procedure for living in Rukongai is that one gets a ticket according to the time died, and then be sent off in different directions. Thus, even if one dies together with one's family, one will not be be able know where the other if they do not get tickets together at the same time. Hironari surprises Sado again by telling how old he is as he died in Yamanashi Prefecture. Hironari looks on in an consoling manner as Sado encourages Shibata that he will meet his mother again if he keeps looking.