2. Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア Kuchiki Rukia) is a Soul Reaper who is assigned hollow extermination duties in Ichigo's hometown (Karakura Town) and is the main heroine (though her role is downplayed later on). Though her physical appearance is that of a teenage girl, in reality she is ten times older than Ichigo. At the opening of the story, Rukia is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo and assume a temporary lifestyle as a regular human. She registers at the local high school and takes up residence in Ichigo's closet, while teaching him how to be a substitute Soul Reaper in her place. She is shown many times kicking Ichigo in the face and using similar, slightly comical tactics to "wake him up." Orihime stated once that Rukia seemed to be the only one that is able to cheer Ichigo up, as she seems to have a lot of faith in him. Rukia was the first character of the series created by Kubo, her design being the one he decided to use for all the other Soul Reapers