Bleach Inuzuri Rukia

[windstorm]

Byakuya doesn't seem like the type of person to try and force something like that on Rukia or any other person. I also don't think having an unwilling member of your clan is a good idea either.

This. It's not the clan that wanted to adopt Rukia, she's not some special super special talented shinigami like Hitsugaya or Byakuya. She was only adopted in canon because Byakuya loved her sister, and thus honored her dying wish by adopting her. Going by whats said in canon, the clan simply does what Byakuya tells it to do.

I know that it was because Byakuya wanted to adopt Rukia that she was adopted into the Kuchiki clan. I really don't think he would try to force her to if she had initially refused though, he just doesn't seem the type. He would likely value personal honour and the clan's honour at that point and it would be a huge dishonour to use his and his clan's position of authority to force someone into it when they were unwilling. I can see him being persistent and asking Rukia multiple times, but not outright forcing it even if he could.

Byakuya was conflicted about breaking tradition and rules at this point, not as outright conflicted about breaking rules as during Rukia's execution in canon, but still conflicted about it. I'm assuming that there are civil rights in soul society like I said in my previous post and if there were I don't see Byakuya breaking the laws of soul society if Rukia were unwilling to join the Kuchiki clan in order to force her to.

Forcing the adoption on Rukia would also conflict with his devotion to Hisana and her final wish. Hisana's wish was made most likely with the intention of wanting a better life for her sister and for her to be happy. Making Rukia join the Kuchiki clan against her will would not make her happy. Forcing the adoption would conflict with the intention and spirit of Hisana's final wish even if it didn't conflict with the wording.

As for having an unwilling member of your clan being a bad idea, well think about it. The unwilling person might act rebellious and not be well behaved and they would have a perfectly valid reason for being that way. It would cause problems inside the clan such as disturbing the peace and maybe even the running of things. It would also reflect the status of the clan in public as well if such misbehavior were witnessed by anyone outside the clan, and for nobles like the Kuchiki clan their public image is probably pretty important.

 

[zeebee1]

There are civial rights in Soul Society. But not Rukongai. But then again, the academy is in Soul Society so it's a moot point.

 

[zenaku]

I think that she would have the right to refuse the adoption. The nobles do seem to have a lot of leeway for matters within their clan, but I highly doubt that they can get away with whatever they want. A noble clan interfering with the life of an academy student and a soon to be member of the Gotei 13 might cause a lot of negative attention to be drawn and might also draw the attention of the Captains and Central 46. That's a situation most noble clans would probably rather avoid. I really doubt that shinigami's individual rights in soul society are broken that easily anyways (and yes I do think they have civil rights otherwise the shinigami themselves would probably have had a massive civil war by now). Byakuya doesn't seem like the type of person to try and force something like that on Rukia or any other person. I also don't think having an unwilling member of your clan is a good idea either.

Its been a while since I've seen the episode, but wasn't Rukia originally unsure of accepting the offer? I may be mistaken, but I belive Renji was the one who convinced her to accept it.

 

[windstorm]

Its been a while since I've seen the episode, but wasn't Rukia originally unsure of accepting the offer? I may be mistaken, but I belive Renji was the one who convinced her to accept it.

Yes you're right about that. Rukia seemed surprised and hesitant about the choice. Renji upon hearing about it comments on how great it would be to live the lifestyle of a noble (mostly with a one dimensional view of it from my perspective).

 

[Valint]

Was it ever stated when the orb was put in Rukia? The timeline for that is really important.

It was put in the same Gigai that was turning her human, and transferred from that to her soul. So the day after she lost her powers to Ichigo.

Actually, I always inferred from Aizen's speech that Urahara hid it in her before he left Soul Society.

If Urahara had the hougyoku the whole time, Aizen wouldn't have been searching for where the hougyoku was hid, he would have been searching for Urahara. (Plus, it would be odd to say that Urahara was so "desperate" after being unable to destroy the orb that he... waited 100 years before finally hiding it; if that was the case, clearly just holding on to it was working fine.)

For that matter, if Urahara put the hougyoku in her when he gave her the gigai, Aizen wouldn't "intuitively" know that Urahara had something to do with her disappearance, that would have been the only possible explanation.

[Strictly anime-watcher, so it's quite possible that I would know that this is either blindingly-obvious or completely wrong if I were reading the manga.]

 

[zeebee1]

That's what I thought. It was just his bad luck that she became a shinigami. He probably picked her when she was in Rukongai.

 

[bigbabidi]

Holy hell, I never even realized that. Come to think of it, that actually strongly interferes with a good number of Bleach ideas on this entire forum.

 

[SoftRogue]

The problem is, it is never said directly when Urahara placed the Hougyoku into Rukia.

Personally, I find it unlikely for the following reasons...

Even before we saw the -100 chapters, when knew that Urahara was only one step ahead of...well, everyone when he left Soul Society. After the -100 chapters, we saw that Urahara was busy making gigai for the new Vizards.

We don't know for sure how long Rukia was living in Rukongai. It's impossible to guess a person's age in the Bleach-verse, so it's possible that she has been in Soul Society for around a hundred years.

Finally, I find the idea that Urahara took something a potentially dangerous as the Hougyoku and put into some complete random stranger in a place he could never reach to be completely out of character for him. However, I see it as in character for him to hold on to it until he could find a way to destroy it and, once he did, to do anything he could to see his plan go through; even if it meant condemning a shinigami to become a normal living human.

However, since it has never been confirmed either way, both are valid ideas.

 

[bissek]

There is an approximate indicator of Rukia's age. Way back in chapter one, she says to Ichigo:

Despite my appearance, I have lived ten of your lives

.

If you take that to mean that she is roughly ten times Ichigo's age, then given the Ichigo is fifteen, that would put Rukia at roughly 150. Alternatively, if you take that to mean she has lived ten times the normal human lifespan, that would put her at roughly 700-800.

 

[zeebee1]

I doubt it's the second. And we know that Hisana died around fifty years ago. And seeing as it's unlikely that the academy takes a decade we have a rough outline of when Rukia entered Soul Society.

 

[warai_kitsune]

Byakuya didn't decide to obey every rule slavishly after he adopted Rukia, it was after he married Hisana. I think. As for whether or not Rukia has any right to accept or decline, something to remember is that the Kuchiki nobles would have probably seen the resemblance between her and Hisana, so they'd likely know what was going on. Whether they'd allow her to or not, it depends; as clan head, can Byakuya do whatever he wants? Because if so, he might very well bull-doze through and force the adoption, justifying inasmuch as 'he knows best what's good for her.' If not, I don't imagine the other clan nobles would be all that interested in having her in, in which case they'd likely be very kindly and very polite in accepting any refusal to sully their clan.

Refusing to accept the adoption though plays havoc with her character, particularly if she doesn't enter the 13th. Her interactions with Kaien are a HUGE part of her development, and without that, who knows what she'll develop into.

One thing I have to wonder though is how this affects the other soul reapers who'd be expected to interact with her. Renji's in love with Rukia, and it's probably not a stretch to say that a big part of his decision to surpass Byakuya was the belief that it was the only way for him to earn the right to have Rukia back (so to speak). If she refused, if she gave some indication that the nobility wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, Renji might not develop the drive that would allow him to attain bankai as he did in canon (or at least not early on). It might also mean that Renji would end up staying in the 11th for the whole time.

It would also mean that Renji might end up being the one that who trained Rukia, not Kaien. I'd love to see that; 11th-division Renji trying to beat sword-basics into Rukia, trying to convince her that her pretty little sword should be used for hacking people to bits, not that pansy-ass ice-manipulation, with Rukia ranting furiously at him for his complete lack of subtlety, needling him constantly for his inability to do any of what she could accomplish (kido-wise). It could well end up with both her and Renji being much better rounded.

 

[zeebee1]

Rukia before the academy was very similar to who she became later. The real reason she needed Kaien wasn't for training. It was because she realised that her ablities didn't match up to evryone else. But if she actually finished the academy it wouldn't matter nearly as much. Not only would her overall ablities be better, but she would have had time to realise that just about everyone in the academy had problems similar to her own.

 

[warai_kitsune]

At the time she met Kaien, she was actually starting to get pretty withdrawn, remember? She specifically said that what she wanted was a normal relationship, implying that she didn't have any at that point. Still, if nothing else, if she wasn't there when Kaien got hollow-fied, what would have happened? If I remember right, Ukitake tried to kill him, and couldn't (his illness caught up to him at an inopportune moment).

Though that could lend itself to some interesting possibilities in and of itself; I remember someone stating that Ukitake's illness seemed to be the soul society version of tuberculosis or something (not canon), but who knows what might happen if he pushes it far enough.

And my point still stands; it's not just that Rukia would change, it would also effect a lot of soul reapers.

 

[Valint]

It was just his bad luck that she became a shinigami. He probably picked her when she was in Rukongai.

Given the timing, he would have had to pick her when she was in Rukongai. Security through obscurity: pick some random kid far in the depths of Rukongai, and figure no one will ever be able to track them down.

I'm not sure it's bad luck, though. Considering how mere proximity to Ichigo changed his classmates, it would be strange if having something as powerful as the hougyoku in your very soul had no effect. (Also, we know that living near those with strong spiritual presence can damage people in Soul Society, so for a bonus twist, consider whether the reason Hisana felt it necessary to leave Rukia behind and died of some unknown sickness was connected to Rukia having the hougyoku implanted in her.)

 

[bissek]

Then why wasn't Renji affected? He lived with Rukia for years in Inuzuri.

Of course, Renji and Rukia were the only members of their little street gang that had been there when they first met and were still alive by the time they went to become Shinigami. Could it be that the Hogyoku affected all of them except for Renji (Or affected Renji slower)?

 

[Valint]

Then why wasn't Renji affected? He lived with Rukia for years in Inuzuri.

Who says he wasn't?

Bleach, like most of the shonen genre, generally follows the "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" principle. Going from nothing to bankai in under a century is somewhat remarkable; perhaps Renji could handle the effects of being around Rukia, whereas their other friends couldn't.

 

[JumperPrime]

Then why wasn't Renji affected? He lived with Rukia for years in Inuzuri.

Who says he wasn't?

Bleach, like most of the shonen genre, generally follows the "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" principle. Going from nothing to bankai in under a century is somewhat remarkable; perhaps Renji could handle the effects of being around Rukia, whereas their other friends couldn't.

Probably has to do with spiritual power. Rukia had it, Renji had it, the rest of their little gang didn't, and Rukia & Renji were the last survivors of their gang.