Race Shinigami Height 144 cm (4'8") Rank Lieutenant of the 13th Division Relatives Byakuya Kuchiki (Adoptive Brother/Brother-in-law) Zanpakutou Sode no Shirayuki Rukia is a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society who met and saved Ichigo Kurosaki's life by lending him her spiritual power. After saving him, she is forced to temporarily remain in the human world, using a gigai given to her by Kisuke Urahara until she can regain her strength and return to the Soul Society. She chooses to live with Ichigo in order to keep an eye on him and have a place to stay. She is also the Lieutenant of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13, serving under Squad Captain Juushirou Ukitake. Initially born into a lower class, Rukia retains her modesty, despite being an adopted member of a noble bloodline. She is graceful and "clean", yet is willing to talk to ordinary people. However, her cool and lone demeanor often forces her to hide her personal troubles, even from those close to her. Because of her never opening up her heart, she has difficulty making friends. She can also act like a bit of a tomboy at times, wanting to show others that she's tough and getting aggressive towards others when they insult her. Rukia is clueless about the ways of the modern Human World, often making misconceptions and struggling with the simplest of things like opening a juice box. She likes to climb up to high places and loves everything rabbit-themed, becoming quite sensitive when someone insults her obsession with them. People often have difficulty understanding her drawings, which are typically rabbit-like, and doesn't like it when people complain about their quality.

Spoiler

Later in the story, more is revealed about Rukia's past. Rukia and her older sister, Hisana, were brought together to 78th District of Rukongai after they died in the human world. Hisana abandoned Rukia when she was still a baby since she could not continue to support both herself and Rukia. Rukia grew up on her own until she met Renji Abarai and other children her age. They worked together to steal food in order to survive and became a makeshift family. During this time, Rukia and Renji showed signs of having spiritual power. While they initially opted against becoming shinigami, the death of all their friends prompted Rukia to suggest joining the academy for a better life. At the shinigami academy, Renji and Rukia started growing further apart as Renji got further ahead in his training. The emotional distance continued until Rukia was asked to join the Kuchiki family. Renji expressed happiness for Rukia's opportunity but both did not admit that they disagreed with the arrangement since they would likely never see each other again. Rukia reluctantly joined the family and was immediately inducted into the 13th Division without having to graduate or take a squad entrance exam. Unknown to Rukia, Byakuya Kuchiki had adopted her in order to fulfill the last wish of Hisana, whom he had taken as his wife.