いらっしゃい~
Personality
Urahara Kisuke is, in one sentence, a book that cannot be judged by its cover. At first glance, he appears cavalier, casual, and maybe even a little bit lazy; he's jovial and personable, if not a little bit ridiculous in his mismatched green clothes and tall wooden geta sandals. His shadowed eyes and constant 5:00 shadow paint Urahara as a man who doesn't really care what the world thinks of him, and is content to just do his own thing regardless of what it might say about him. But as we all know, first impressions aren't always accurate. In the case of Urahara Kisuke, it is paramount to keep that in mind, because while his presentation gives the indication he is careless and perhaps indifferent about life in general, his history would tell a very different story.
A brilliant and inventive scientist, Kisuke is not only much more diligent, intelligent, and driven than his slovenly appearance (and shoddy-looking store) would indicate, but having served as captain of the 12th Division in Soul Society over a hundred years ago, he is also much stronger and more formidable than his friendly and somewhat childish personality would suggest. Holding the position of third seat in the 2nd Division before his promotion to captain of the 12th, Kisuke has some serious ninja credentials, which he frequently demonstrates by just showing up in the most unlikely places without anyone realizing he's there until he speaks. Moreover, as head of the detention unit of the 2nd Division, Kisuke is extremely powerful--one of the prerequisites for the position, after all, is the ability to stop those dangerous and violent prisoners with one hand and no weapon. A talented inventor, Kisuke is curious, clever, and incredibly observant by nature, always trying to see the patterns in life and figure out how to make the best use of everything around him. During his time in the Gotei 13 he actually catalyzed the creation of the Shinigami Research Institute,
One of the more subtle points of Kisuke's persona is that of the genuinely helpful and sincerely friendly shopkeep who, despite his shady appearance and run-down residence, is an honestly good person who cares a lot about the people in his life. He's patient and honestly does try hard to understand the people around him, such as taking all of those punches Hiyori threw at him when he was first promoted. Though he took quite a beating from her, he never once lost his temper or got upset with her, and instead endeavored even harder to be a good captain and her friend. He's also a very dependable person. After all, Yoruichi obviously has every confidence in him, and besides, he was in charge of the detention unit; you don't put an unreliable person in charge of a bunch of criminals.
Days at the Urahara Shouten might not be quite so lively as they used to be (not that he got much business in Karakura in the first place), but the little family unit of Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta is no less strong than it was two years ago. Supportive and protective of Jinta and Ururu, Kisuke honestly views them as his own children, even if their origins are slightly less...conventional than most kids', and his friendship with Tessai continues to stand the test of time. His ties with Yoruichi have remained strong as well, and though Kisuke remains exiled from Soul Society, he has maintained vigil in the ghost town of Karakura, working on his own time to help the Gotei bring Aizen to justice. After all, it's Aizen's fault he was banned in the first place.
While it is true that most of Kisuke's actions end up behooving him in the end, it's not entirely fair to assume everything he does has an ulterior motive. Though he often lets things play out as they will to see the end results, when things end badly for people he shows genuine remorse for his actions and does whatever he can to try and right the situation (such as the situation with Rukia's faulty gigai, and the whole Vaizard fiasco). In the end, at his core, Kisuke is a responsible man who understands that every action does indeed have an equal and opposite reaction, and when his behavior causes a backlash, he is accountable for the repercussions. Despite how his curiosity and playful nature get the better of him sometimes, he always has good intentions. He tends to get really serious when sparring or training someone, as he did with Ichigo, but despite his ruthless and seemingly vicious methods, every unkindness was done in the hopes of making Ichigo everything he could be, and the ends did ultimately justify the means. At least in Kisuke's eyes. He keeps his eyes on the bigger picture, taking into account that small steps must often be taken before large leaps can be achieved, and though his behavior might seem lackadaisical or even irresponsible to the objective third party, he always seems to have the greater good of his 'students' and comrades in mind.
At the end of the day, despite his dichotomous nature and seemingly underhanded tactics, Urahara Kisuke is a man who takes two things in life seriously: his inventions, and his comrades. So long as you don't mess with either of those things, you'll probably get along swimmingly. However, mess with his friends or obstruct his pursuit of knowledge, and you might just get to see the darker side of Kisuke's friendly and carefree attitude.
History
With the destruction of the Central 46, there was no longer anyone to uphold Kisuke's banishment sentence from a hundred years ago, and with the revelation of Aizen's betrayal, the idea that Kisuke was a traitor suddenly held significantly less water. However Kisuke is nothing if not perceptive, and he realized that he would need to bide his time and wait for the opportune moment if he was to return to Soul Society without a significantly negative reception. Much like the Vaizards he helped create, Urahara Kisuke is a man whose presence is shrouded in hearsay, and most of the people who knew him well before his good name was sullied by Aizen have lost some credibility themselves. His good old friend Tessai would vouch for him 'til the cows came home, but Tessai left Soul Society to come to earth as well. Shihouin Yoruichi all but cast away her entire life to support him in his efforts to try and reverse the hollowfication of the now-Vaizards, throwing away her position, her nobility, and risking everything to help him. Kisuke never forgets a kindness, and he feels he owes them both debts he can never repay, not to mention the insurmountable responsibility and guilt he feels for what happened to Kensei, Mashiro, and the others as a result of his Hougyoku. He has spent the past two years holding the fort in his shop, remaining out of sight and under the radar (just like he likes it) and waiting for the right time to make a move. The cloaking spell on his shop is much stronger now then it was two years ago--can't have Aizen's lackeys spying on him, after all, and though that does also make it harder for anyone else to see the shop, he figures if his friends need him badly enough, they'll find him. Isshin has managed to keep in touch, after all.
He has been working on revamping a lot of his inventions, working out the kinks in some of his less-successful creations and upgrading the more useful ones to cover more bases. It has been a while since he has seen or heard from Ichigo or any of his gang, though he has remained close with Yoruichi, as well as maintaining sporadic contact with Kurosaki Isshin, with whom he has been acquainted for some time. Though he was not entertaining any significant plans of ever returning to Soul Society after what happened, at this point his hatred for Aizen and the problems he caused outweighs any resentment he might have bore toward Soul Society's rulings against him. Despite everything, Kisuke is still a Shinigami, and Aizen's betrayal not only called his integrity into question, costing him his status, and his home, but it cost the people closest to him their freedom and their credibility, and nearly cost them their lives. These are offenses not easily forgiven, even by someone so easygoing as Kisuke, and when the time comes that his talents are needed in the final fight, he will most assuredly be willing and ready to offer them.
Zanpakutou
Sealed
•紅姫 (Benihime)
Benihime is a rather unorthodox sword, in all respects, really. There was once a time he carried the sword at his hip like any standard zanpakutou, but his forcible change in lifestyle required a slight revamp of his methods of carrying the blade on his person as well. Fitting the blade into the handle of an innocuous-looking cane, Kisuke effectively followed in Old Man Yama's shoes with a zanpakutou in the form of a shikomizue, though the executions were surely quite distinctive. The bottom of the cane is also stamped with the flaming skull insignia that can separate a living soul from the body.
Shikai
•Invocation: 起きろ (Okiro) "Awaken"
A rather passive invocation, especially in comparison to those of most of the other zanpakutou ('scatter', 'howl', 'tear', 'snap', 'roar', etc), is used to call Benihime from her sealed state, and perhaps indicates that Benihime's power falls completely dormant when she is sealed. In her released state, Behinime takes the form of an elaborate chokutou, or straight-bladed sword. The handle of the blade is bent at the end, and the pommel is adorned with a bright red tassel. The blade lacks a traditional tsuba; this aikuchi mounting is decorated with a red cord and a string of what appears to be silver paper, though it is unclear if these adornments serve a purpose or are merely for show.
WIP
The name Benihime is written , meaning 'crimson princess'. Benihime is also a type of Japanese dwarf maple tree (a very petite and rare decorative variety often used for bonsai), and so the imagery I've used to describe the manifestation of Benihime is themed thus. Benihime's initial release is written 起きろ, "awaken!", which is a rather passive invocation, especially in comparison to those of most of the other zanpakutou ('scatter', 'howl', 'tear', 'snap', 'roar', etc), and perhaps indicates that Benihime's power falls completely dormant when she is sealed. Whereas Renji and Ikkaku, for example, seem to have very close relationships with their very talkative spirit manifestations, Urahara actually states that Benihime is 'not nice', which may be partially tied to the reason her powers are not useful for training. Maybe she's just grumpy because she was woken up... The only demonstrated abilities Benihime has are the Chigasumi no Tate, a defensive shield made of blood that can block most attacks, and the attack resembling Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou which is apparently on-par with an Arrancar cero attack, as it nullified Yammy's cero in chapter 194. The invocation to release these attacks is 啼け, which is actually sort of mistranslated in most of the scanlations I've seen. It's often written as 'cry', which is not really correct. Though that would be pronounced the same way, the kanji is different. 啼く is 'to sing', as in the case of a bird, or to make an animal sound, indicating that Benihime is closer to animal than human.
Ergo, the manifestation I have chosen for Benihime would be the form of something along the lines of the Okinawan Kijimuna spirit--a tree nymph, if you will; petite and fine-boned (built rather like Rukia, for example, though smaller), with red-gold hair and dark skin, resembling the coloration of the tree she is named for, Benihime would don a dark green furisode with brown and gold designs, and usually be barefoot, though when the occasion calls for it, she sometimes wears wooden sandals (read: when Urahara needs some sense knocked into him, she needs projectiles). One of the reasons benihime trees are ideal for bonsai is that they look like fully matured trees, yet they rarely grow to heights greater than two feet, so a nymphlike creature would best suit the situation, making her very small, yet not childlike in appearance; nymphs are also traditionally notoriously strong-willed, potentially adding to the 'not nice' descriptor of her demeanor. Benihime leaves are diminutive and red-copper in color, giving the zanpakutou spirit her copper hair, and like all maples, they are deciduous, which would tie in nicely with the invokation, "awaken!", to parallel the way trees regrow their leaves in spring.
Information on bankai forthcoming.