Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki is a female anime and manga character who features in Bleach.

Biography

Origin

Rukia Kuchiki.

Rukia Kuchiki (Japanese: 朽木 ルキア, Hepburn: Kuchiki Rukia) was a female human who had an older sister named Hisana Kuchiki. Around 150 years ago, the pair died in the human world and passed into the afterlife where they arrived in the Soul Society. Once there, they came to reside together in Inuzuri which was located in the 78th District of Rukongai. Though together at first, her sister Hisana could not care for a child and abandoned Rukia when she was still a baby. As a result, Rukia came to grow up by herself where one day she witnessed Renji Abarai and his group of friends attempting to escape an adult chasing after them after they stole his water. Kuchiki came to save them by tripping the man and then urging Renji along with his friends to follow her so that they could escape capture. It was after that point that she came to join Renji's group and became their indirect leader as they all lived together as a family.

When her brother became a captain, she accompanied him when Byakuya first encountered the new head of the 3rd Division which was Gin Ichimaru. The meeting was seemingly an amicable one but Rukia came to be disturbed at the encounter and was uneasy whenever around Gin.

She was later admitted into the 13th Division without having to take the entrance exam. During this time, she heard the comments from the other recruits who believed that Rukia was being shown special treatment due to her status as a noble. At first, she was disappointed as she saw this as another sign of her clan's status affecting her personal life. This changed though when she met the division's Lieutenant Kaien Shiba who scolded her for not conducting the proper formalities and showing respect to a superior. Rukia became happy at the lieutenant not giving her a special treatment and having a normal relationship. She later informed Byakuya of the events of her first day and apologised for not having attained the rank of a Seated Officer.

Rukia was later informed by Kiyone and Sentarō that she had been assigned to the Human World. It was believed that the experience would benefit her as her transfer was for a month where she was tasked with protecting Karakura Town. This was deemed an easy assignment with Captain Ukitake asking Rukia if she had told her brother but she said that she did not wish to bother him with such a minor matter. The Captain offered to tell Byakura for her with Rukia thanking Ukitake for this as she departed to the world of the living.

Agent of the Shinigami

Whilst in Karakura Town, she came to feel a strong presence and tracked it to the home of a human named Ichigo Kurosaki. He came to mistake her for a burglar and kicked her which surprised Rukia as she did not expect an ordinary human to be able to see or touch her. She then went about the nature of shinigami to him and their existence though Ichigo refused to believe her and even insulted Kuchiki. This angered Rukia who then bound Ichigo with a Kidō spell which she explained before returning his insults. Rukia, reassuring a nearby Plus, performs Konsō on it. With the aid of some drawings, she explains Konsō and the duties of Shinigami to Ichigo. She reveals she is unable to sense the Hollow she had been tracking anymore because a great power is hindering her senses. Ichigo tells her he can hear something howling. Rukia realizes it is a Hollow, but is confused by how Ichigo heard it before her. She rushes out of the room to confront the Hollow, refusing to free Ichigo. Spotting Karin Kurosaki lying in the corridor, she listens as she tells Ichigo what happened. Ichigo breaks free of the Kidō, much to Rukia's shock, and rushes to stop the Hollow, Fishbone D. As Ichigo futilely attacks the Hollow, Rukia injures it, freeing Yuzu Kurosaki from its grasp. When Rukia explains Fishbone D came because of Ichigo, he attempts to attack the Hollow himself. Rukia shields him with her body, rendering her unable to fight. Seeing that Ichigo is truly determined to protect his family, Rukia offers to transfer half of her power to him. However, Ichigo somehow absorbs almost all of her power instead. Rukia realizes it was Ichigo's power which had confused her senses earlier, leaving her wondering about the human. After defeating Fishbone D, Ichigo collapses and Rukia goes to his side, where she was approached by Kisuke Urahara, who offered her a Gigai.

The following day, Rukia shows up at Karakura High School as a new student, telling people her family had just moved there. She quietly threatens to kill Ichigo if he reveals anything about her true identity. Later, Rukia explains that her power is still inside Ichigo, preventing her from returning to Soul Society. She reveals she is using a Gigai to recover, enabling normal Humans to see her. Rukia tells Ichigo he will have to take over her Shinigami duties, which he initially refuses to do. Rukia, forcing his Shinigami form out of his body, takes him to a park where a Hollow is about to appear. As the Hollow attacks a young Plus, Rukia successfully persuades Ichigo to perform her duties. Rukia arranges for Ichigo to undergo some rudimentary training to improve his combat tactics. As he trains, she studies modern speech by reading a horror manga. They are interrupted by Orihime Inoue, whom Rukia initially does not recognize. Rukia notices a mark on her leg left by a Hollow, and asks Ichigo about her before leaving. That night, Rukia receives a message about a Hollow on her Denreishinki. She tries to warn him of a Hollow attack just as a large hand bursts through the floor. Rukia uses her Gokon Tekkō to force out Ichigo's soul, and he manages to slice off part of its mask, revealing it to be Orihime's brother, Sora Inoue. As the Hollow flees, Rukia explains to Ichigo that all Hollows were once Human. Ichigo and Rukia rush to Orihime's home, where Ichigo engages the Hollow in battle. When Ichigo is thrown through the apartment’s wall and knocked out, she wakens him, warning that if he loses, Orihime's soul will be eaten. Rukia enters the apartment as Orihime is badly injured. Revealing she can save her with Kidō, Rukia, telling the lucid Sora to move out of the way, treats her. When Sora decides to purify himself with Ichigo's Zanpakutō, Rukia states his sins will be washed away by the sword. Waking up, Orihime began to ask Ichigo questions forcing Rukia to replace her memory.

When Ichigo states his wounds have healed very well, Rukia tells him she excelled at Kidō in the Academy, before changing the subject by asking him how to open a juice box. Mizuiro Kojima interrupts, noting Rukia and Ichigo are together again, saying they get along well. Ichigo says Mizuiro's hobby is womanizing, especially older girls, and warns Rukia to watch out for him. Keigo Asano, arriving, introduces himself to Rukia. As Reiichi torments the group, Rukia, ignoring him, continues to struggle with the juice box until Yasutora Sado arrives with a talking parakeet. Rukia tells Ichigo the spirit of a lonely Plus is inside it, which they should send to Soul Society that night. She notes Ichigo is now concerned about other people's safety. When an injured Sado is brought to the Kurosaki Clinic, Rukia tells Ichigo the wound on Sado's back was inflicted by a Hollow. The next morning, Sado disappears and Rukia searches for him. She later tells Ichigo she did not find him, nor has she received any word about Hollows from Soul Society. Ichigo, trying to track the parakeet himself, quickly finds the Reiraku of the parakeet, much to Rukia's shock. Just as they find Sado, they also come across a weakened Karin. Rukia orders Ichigo to take her home so he is not distracted while fighting. Brushing off Ichigo's concerns about her fighting a Hollow, she runs after Sado. Unable to catch up to him due to the restrictions of her Gigai, she curses the SRDI. Rukia is attacked by a Hollow called Shrieker, but is surprised when she survives his initial strike. During the fight, she realizes Sado cannot see Shrieker. Surprised by his calmness, Rukia verbally directs his attacks towards the Hollow. When Ichigo arrived, Rukia transformed him into a Shinigami, warns him about Shrieker's abilities. She and Sado hide Ichigo's body and the parakeet in a safe place. The parakeet says it is his fault she was injured, as he wanted to bring his mother back to life. Rukia questions him about this. When Ichigo defeats Shrieker, the gates of Hell open to claim the Hollow. Rukia explains Hell to Ichigo. After examining the parakeet, she, determining he cannot be returned to his body, reassures him about going to Soul Society where she proceeded to erase Sado's memory.

With her supplies running low, Rukia decided to visit the Urahara Shop. She stopped Jinta Hanakari from bullying Ururu Tsumugiya outside the shop before being shown in to Urahara. Ordering various goods, she pays for them with the bounty from Ichigo's defeat of Shrieker, shrugging off Urahara's concerns. She collects a previously ordered Soul Candy dispenser. At school, she gives Ichigo the dispenser, stating it will allow him to transform into a Shinigami without her help, while placing an artificial soul in his body. Ignoring Ichigo's unease with the idea, she makes him use it. When she receives an order, she drags him off to deal with it, leaving the artificial soul, Kon, in Ichigo's body. After dealing with the order, they rush back to find the artificial soul is causing mayhem in their classroom. They attempt to confront it, but he escapes, leading Rukia to believe it is a Mod Soul. As they search, Ichigo and Rukia argue until she tells him of Operation Spearhead, revealing that according to Soul Society's laws, all Mod Souls must be destroyed. As Rukia naively asks a shopkeeper if he saw Kon, she receives an order. When they find the Hollow, they find Kon is already fighting it. After it is defeated, Urahara arrives to reclaim Kon. Rukia tells him she is content with her purchase, and he does not have to worry about it. Later, Rukia and Ichigo see a news report about the incident on TV. Ichigo asks what they should do, but gets no reply. Rukia and Ichigo search for a dead animal to put Kon into, but eventually settle for a stuffed toy animal. On the 16th of June, Rukia notices Ichigo is very distracted. After a family meeting that night, Ichigo tells the confused Rukia the following day is the anniversary of his mother's death.

The following day, Rukia waits for Ichigo near Masaki's grave. She questions Ichigo about his mother's death, asking if a Hollow killed her. Angered, Ichigo tells her he was responsible for Masaki's death. Horrified by this and what she had said to him, Rukia quietly watches Ichigo's family visit the grave. Kon, crawling out of her backpack, asks to go home, but Rukia insists they must be nearby in case a Hollow attacks. When Karin and Yuzu are attacked by Grand Fisher, Rukia senses the Hollow, but is once again surprised by the lack of any orders on her Denreishinki. She rushes towards them, meeting up with Ichigo on the way. She tells Ichigo she will not ask about Masaki any more. She, transforming him into a Shinigami, carries his body. Finding Ichigo's sisters, she sees Ichigo being confronted by Grand Fisher. Rukia, telling Ichigo about this infamous Hollow, berates him when he recklessly attacks it. As she realizes Grand Fisher killed his mother, Ichigo, stopping her from helping him with Kidō, tells her to stay out of the fight. Rukia puts Kon in Ichigo's body, and they bring the girls to safety. When she honors Ichigo's request to stay out of the fight, Kon asks her to save Ichigo. Rukia rushes back to watch Ichigo's battle. Thinking to herself that she cannot interfere, as Ichigo is fighting for himself, she remembers the events of Kaien's death and decides not to interfere. When Grand Fisher escapes, Rukia tries to calm the heavily wounded Ichigo, insisting that the fight is over. When Ichigo collapses, she begins healing him. Rukia uses up most of her strength healing Ichigo's major wounds, so she returns him to his body before he is fully healed, reassuring him over the outcome of the battle. Rukia listens as Ichigo talks with Isshin. Afterwards, Ichigo asked Rukia if he can remain a Shinigami for a while longer.

One Sunday morning, Rukia stopped Ichigo as he beats Kon clean against a wall, revealing she has arranged for an implement to clean him with. She proceeded to use the school's toilet brush on Kon, but Ichigo orders her to take it back. At school, Keigo invites Rukia to the live broadcast of Don Kanonji's TV show and encourages her to do his pose. Rukia declines, politely saying she is too shy. The following Wednesday evening, Rukia accompanies several of her classmates to the broadcast at an abandoned hospital. Telling Ichigo he must be tired from his dual life, she instructs him to relax. She reveals she does not know what the 'festival' is about. Ichigo explains it to her, but she still does not understand. He asks Rukia if there really is a spirit there, thinking the Shinigami would have dealt with it. She states it is likely a Jibakurei, which can be difficult for Shinigami to detect. When the Jibakurei screamed, Rukia tells him it is a Demi-Hollow. As the show begins filming, Rukia, turning her attention to the events unfolding, is impressed with Kanonji's entrance. Ichigo asks her if they should perform Konsō on the Jibakurei, but Rukia tells him it takes months to years for one to turn into a Hollow. Believing it would be trouble if there was a struggle with so many people there, she states they will do the Konsō after the show and seeks to reassure him. However, Don Kanonji jams his staff into the hole on the Demi-Hollow's chest. Rukia condemns Kanonji's actions. When Ichigo is pounced on by security after attempting to stop Kanonji, Rukia, trying to change him into a Shinigami, is caught as well. Urahara frees Ichigo, prompting Rukia to ask what he is scheming. Urahara, claiming he is there because Ururu and Jinta enjoy the show, frees her. After Urahara knocked the guards unconscious with a blast, Rukia berates him for using Soul Society's tools so freely. When the spirit disappears, Rukia, realizing its body is about to reform into a Hollow, searches for it with her Denreishinki. She yelled at Ichigo to look above him which attracted the attention of some security guards.

The following day, Rukia and the others were called before the school principal over their appearance on the show. Rukia distracted Kagine by claiming responsibility, allowing the others to flee. When Kagine notices the others are gone, Rukia escaped as well. Later that afternoon, she received an order and left with Ichigo where they bickered as they passed by Uryū Ishida. Later that week, Rukia and Ichigo arrived at what they believe to be the site of a Hollow attack, but find a Plus cowering in a corner and no Hollow. Ichigo suggested her Denreishinki was broken, but Rukia insisted it was working, rebuking Ichigo's suggestion that there was another Shinigami defeating the Hollows before him. Rukia was unable to get the Plus to reveal who saved him, but determined somebody was responsible. Rukia decided to call Urahara to ask whether her Denreishinki is broken. When he does not answer, she complains about him to herself. After school, she and Ichigo arrive at yet another site with no Hollow. The pair were then approached by Uryū, who told them a new Hollow had appeared. An order confirmed this, and she was surprised when Uryū kills it where he introduced himself as a Quincy. The next day, Rukia told Ichigo to keep Kon with him in case Uryū tries to contact him again. Later, she visits Urahara, and after scolding him for not answering her calls, asked about the Quincy. Rukia came to be confused by the repeated appearance and disappearance of Hollows. Seeing a large number of Hollows, Rukia went outside and noticed a spiritual disturbance in the sky. Later, Rukia was attacked by a Hollow where during the fight she realizes, with annoyance, her power had not recovered, despite her being in a Gigai for two months. Kon arrived at the scene where he subdued the Hollow, but Rukia bickered with him for forgetting what he was supposed to tell her. When Uryū interrupted them, Rukia deduced he was responsible for the large amount of Hollows. Ichigo, arriving, argues with Kon. The group argued until they notice the Hollows are gathering at the disturbance in the sky. When Uryū leaves, Rukia tells Ichigo about the Quincy and their extermination by the Shinigami. Ichigo chased after Uryū, leaving her alone with Kon. Ignoring Kon's advice, she decided to go after them.

Rukia watched in shock as a Menos Grande appeared near her. When she tries to stop Ichigo from attacking it, Urahara, binding her with Kidō, tells her to watch the battle, which he claims will be crucial for her and Ichigo. She is left stunned when Ichigo severely injures the Menos, forcing it to flee. When Uryū turns up at school heavily bandaged, Rukia tells Ichigo not to pay attention to it, as it is not his fault. Mahana Natsui, inviting her to lunch with the girls of the class, asks Rukia what her relationship is with Ichigo. Despite Chizuru Honshō and Orihime's encouragement, she states they are just friends. Realizing she has become too attached to the Human World, she ties up Kon and writes a coded note for Ichigo, telling him not to look for her and to go into hiding. She then leaves the Kurosaki clinic. Lost in thought as she runs, Rukia was surprised by Renji. Complaining she has become too soft in the two months she has been missing. He demands she summon the Human she gave her powers to. When Rukia denies doing such a thing, Renji asks why she is acting like that. Byakuya appears behind Rukia, surprising her. When Renji prepares to attack her seriously, Uryū intervenes, but is unable to defeat him. As Rukia noted Renji's increased strength, Ichigo arrived at the scene to save her. Angry that he came after her, Rukia watched as Ichigo and Renji fought once another. Hoping Ichigo will run away, Rukia leaps on Renji to distract him. However, Ichigo, continuing to fight, ends up being greatly injured by Byakuya. Rukia, saying it is her fault he is dead, asks to go to him, prompting Byakuya to say Ichigo resembles "him". Ichigo grabs Byakuya's leg, relieving Rukia. However, she kicks his arm away from her brother to prevent Byakuya from attacking again. She tells Ichigo to know his place and accepts her arrest, saying there is no point in finishing off someone who is clearly about to die. She tells Ichigo she will not forgive him if he tries to follow her. Renji then opened a Senkaimon, and the group left for the Soul Society.

Soul Society

Whilst being escorted to the execution grounds, she seemingly sensed the death of Renji at the hands of her brother Byakuya. At this point, Gin Ichimaru was present and spoke to Rukia where she was uneasy over meeting him. He revealed that Renji had survived and admonished Rukia for not showing the proper respect to a captain yet claimed that this was all said in jest. Gin then asked Rukia if she would consider asking him to save her life and those of her friends where he said it was certainly within his power. At first, Rukia was shocked and even considered the possibility with this being Gin's purpose whereupon he said that he had no intention of helping her. The entire conversation was simply him attempting to give Rukia a brief glimmer of hope thus shattering her resolve in dying and leave her in agony. She then scolded herself for so easily falling for Gin's worlds and questioned her own resolve.

Hueco Mundo

The next day, she joined Hitsugaya's team as they managed to cut through interference and made contact with the Soul Society where they spoke to Captain Ukitake. He revealed that Orihime had been captured by the Arrancar when she was travelling to Earth with Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordering all shinigami units to return back to the Soul Society. Rukia believed that such an act was akin to abandoning Orihime and thus refused to obey the order to return but having expected this response Yamamoto had ordered Captains Byakuya and Kenpachi arrived at the scene through the Senkaimon in order to forcibly back them back home. Thus, Rukia had to leave the world of the living and joined her brother in the Seireitei but he allowed her and Renji to act on their own once there as he only had orders to return them to the Soul Society. This was his own way of allowing the pair to go on their own mission to help rescue Orihime and provided them cloaks that would help them in the arid environment of Heuco Mundo. Rukia and Renji then made their way to the world of the living where they travelled to Urahara's shop.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Rukia Kuchiki appeared as a short petite woman with light skin as well as purple eyes along with short hair where several strands of it always hung between her eyes. According to Byakuya, Rukia was said to had strongly resembled her sister Hisana Kuchiki.

Though born of the lower class, Rukia retained a degree of modesty even as an adopted member of the nobility. She was graceful and 'clean' though choose to talk to ordinary people.

She maintained a cool and lone demeanor that often forced her to hide her personal troubles even from her friends. According to Ukitake, Rukia never opened up her heart and had difficulty making friends.

Rukia was shown to like things that were themed on rabbits and became quite sensitive when someone insulted her obsession with them.

It was shown that she tended struggle in finding clothes that fit her especially when inhabiting a Gigai in the Human World.

She had an older sister by the name of Hisana Kuchiki (朽木 緋真, Kuchiki Hisana) where both had entered the Soul Society as Souls. As a result, Rukia came to be adopted into the Kuchiki family where she was considered Byakuya's younger sister. She came to hold a deep level of respect and reverence towards him with Rukia often looking up to him.

In her childhood, she came to be a close friend with Renji Abarai (阿散井 恋次, Abarai Renji) where the two grew up together.

Rukia had a deep regret over killing her superior Kaien Shiba and blamed herself for the incident.

She had said that she never liked Gin Ichimaru after first meeting him and likened him as a snake whose words looked to strangle her through words alone.

Years later, she came to marry Renji Abarai with the two having a daughter by the name of Ichika Abarai (阿散井 苺花, Abarai Ichika).

Powers and abilities

Rukia Kuchiki was was a Soul (魂魄, Konpaku) who were spiritual beings that were formerly the spirits of dead humans from the World of the Living that passed on to the Soul Society. From a young age, she came to demonstrate a degree of spiritual power. Later on, she came to be trained at the Seireitei in order to become a Shinigami (死神, death god(s); Viz "Soul Reaper(s)"). Renji commented that Rukia was helpful and effective because of her high speed. She was also capable in hand-to-hand combat whilst in her Shinigami state with her possessing augmented strength. By the time she was a Captain of the Gotei 13, Rukia boasted a great level of spiritual energy.

Her greatest strength was her knowledge of Kidō (鬼道, Demon/Spirit Way; Viz "Demon Arts") that allowed her to enact a variety of spells. With this magic, she was able to conduct a range of abilities that included binding, healing and destruction. It was shown that she had a particular skill in Kidō with her holding the highest score at the Shin'ō Academy though these were still considered average by the time of her joining the 13th Division. Through further raining, she managed to improve her talent where she was able to use spells such as Hadō #73 without incantation to considerable effect. In some cases, she was shown using a variety of spells in unique combinations and at the same time. However, she still required incantation when using the high-level spells simultaneously.

Among the spells known to him included:

• Hadō #33: Sōkatsui (蒼火墜, Blue Fire, Crash Down; Viz "Pale Fire Crash") : by aiming her palm at a target, she was able to create a torrent of blue energy that fired at her target. The blue flames were discharged as a direct blast or a wave depending on the power channelled into it.
• Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō (六杖光牢, Six Rods Prison of Light; Viz "Six-Rod Light Restraint") :

According to herself, she had less talent in swordsmanship than Kidō. This changed following her training under Kaien Shiba where her skill drastically improved.

Her Zanpakutō (斬魄刀, Soul-Cutter Sword; Viz "Soul Slayer") was Sode no Shirayuki (袖白雪, Sleeved White Snow; Viz "Sleeves of White Snow") which in its sealed form appeared as a normal katana. Her Shikai command was "Dance" (舞え, mae) where she hold her sword in front of her and turned it in a circle counter-clockwise. Upon turning it, the blade, hilt and tsuba all turned completely white whilst the latter turned into a hollow snowflake-like circle with white-ribbons forming from the pommel. Sode no Shirayuki was regarded as one of the most beautiful Zanpakutō in the Soul Society. Upon its transformation, there was a rush of cold air that came from all directions. The sword was noted for being an ice-type Zanpakutō allowing her to achieve a variety of cold-based attacks.

Among the techniques known to her included:

• Some no mai, Tsukishiro (初の舞・月白, First Dance, White Moon) :
• Tsugi no mai, Hakuren (次の舞・白漣, Next Dance, White Ripple) :
• San no mai, Shirafune (参の舞・白刀, Third Dance, White Sword) :
• Juhaku (樹白, White Tree) : after stabbing the ground, Rukia's sword created a trail of ice in the direction of her intended target. The ice froze the target from the base up, in a continuing freezing process, as it transformed the target into ice.
• Bankai: Hakka no Togame (白霞罸, Censure of the White Haze; Viz "White Haze Punishment") :

It was said that Sode no Shirayuki was the most beautiful of all the Zanpakutō in the Soul Society. She manifested as a snow white female in the form of a beautiful pale-skinned young woman.

Rukia at first only knew the basic levels of Zanjutsu where she had only mastered the rudimentary skills. By her own admission, she had less talent in swordsmanship than Kidō.

Within the Soul Society, she came to join the ranks of the Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, Goteijūsantai; lit. "13 Division Imperial Guards"; Viz "Thirteen Court Guard Companies") where she was assigned to the 13th Division (十三番隊, jūsanbantai; "Squad 13" in the English Dub).

Notes

• Rukia Kuchiki was created by Tite Kubo where she featured in the setting of the Bleach universe.

In other media

Television

• In Bleach, Rukia Kuchiki appeared in the setting of the anime television series adaptation where she was voiced by Japanese actress Fumiko Orikasa and by English actress Michelle Ruff in the dub.

Films

• In Bleach, Rukia Kuchiki appeared in the setting of the 2018 live-action film adaptation where she was portrayed by actress Hana Sugisaki.

Video games

• In Jump Force, Rukia Kuchiki appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game where she was voiced by Japanese actor Fumiko Orikasa.

Appearances

• Bleach:

External Links

• Bleach Wiki Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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