Kuwabara, Shizuru

桑原静流

Kazuma Kuwabara's tough older sister. Like her younger brother, she possesses a high level of Reiki sensitivity and is extremely strong; at the start of the manga, Shizuru has a stronger sixth sense than her brother. Shizuru, who is 17 at the beginning of the manga, wants Kazuma to grow up and get an education so he can make something of himself. An aspiring beautician, Shizuru gives Keiko her new haircut after Keiko rescues Yusuke from the burning house in Chapter 13: Qualifications for a Girlfriend. Shizuru is also a chain smoker, and her biggest role in the anime series occurs during the Dark Tournament (Ankoku Būtsukai), where she falls in love with Sakyo, the owner of Team Toguro, which is Team Urameshi's rival team. He saves her life twice, but she remains unaware of his true identity until the end. She also knows Yukina's connection to Hiei because she saw a videotape that provided the details for the mission where Yusuke and Kuwabara had to rescue Yukina from Gonzo Tarukane (only she, Botan, and Yusuke saw the details that Yukina is Hiei's sister). Like Keiko, she is a woman who is unafraid to speak her mind or deliver a beat-down where needed. She even yells out to Toguro during the Dark Tournament when he goes up to face Yusuke. Shizuru also appears in the Chapter Black and Three Kings saga. During the Three Kings saga, Shizuru, tired of seeing her brother recklessly endanger his life, began to harshly discipline Kazuma to force him to keep up with his school studies and warned him that he would only bring ruin to his life if he kept fighting. In the anime, Shizuru is introduced later (during the Yukina arc rather than right after Keiko's fiery haircut), but ends up having a larger role, mostly due to the addition of her romance with Sakyo and her taking on Atsuko's role.