Character Profile: Kuchiki Rukia

Kuchiki Rukia is a Shinigami (Death God) from the Soul Society. During a Hollow attack, she was forced to give up her Shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, which made it necessary for her to stay in a gigai (faux body) while she recuperates. Back in Soul Society, Rukia was previously from a lower class. When she was young, she spent much of her time together with Abarai Renji and the rest of their childhood friends. But after she was admitted into the Shinigami Academy, she became adopted into the noble Kuchiki family by Kuchiki Byakuya, and her friendship with Renji became distant. Rukia was then placed under the command of Captain Jushiro Ukitake and Lieutenant Kaien Shiba of the 13th Division.

After spending some time under Kaien, she became close to him. She even had romantic feelings for him, but she tried to suppress them as she knew Kaien was happily married to Miyako, who’s coincidently someone she admired most. Therefore as Byakuya mentioned at one point, the reason why Rukia felt such a close bond to Ichigo was probably due to his strong resemblance to Kaien. Rukia has a serious personality and is often seen nagging at Ichigo. She is also stubborn at times.

Kuchiki Rukia’s Powers

Although Rukia has a zanpakuto of her own, she has yet to show her usage of its Shikai form, since during her time in her gigai she do not have access to her zanpakuto. But her greatest strength lies in her strong talent in kidou (demon arts), which is possible to perform while in the special gigai that was given by Urahara Kisuke. During her training in the academy, we witnessed how she was more talented than Renji when it comes to kidou.