Shinsuke is forced to steal to support himself and his mother. He first appears bumping into Fuu on the street, and it is later revealed that he picked her pocket. His next victim happens to be the head of a band of drug smugglers, yielding a packet of opium powder.
He takes the drugs to Hikoichi for resale (Shinsuke doesn't have the connections to sell it safely), but gets ratted out. Meanwhile, the doctor is telling him that it would take a hundred times his current funds to cure his mother's illness, and his mom is getting antsy because he won't tell her what he's up to. Fuu corners him at the same time the gang tracks him down, he takes her hostage and holes up in a warehouse. He was injured by the gang, and F binds the cut and gets him to talk about his problems. The police announce they will storm in at sunset if he doesn't give himself up, the gang crawls in the window looking for the drugs, and M comes in raging after he realizes that the kidnapper robbed him. In the ensuing chaos, Shinsuke slips out the window and runs across the roof. When he drops to the ground he is killed by a policeman.
(Source: Neko-san's Guide to the Characters of Samurai Champloo)
