The story opens with the sudden appearance of Shinigami (Death God) Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Shinigami, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife realm known as Soul Society. After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Shinigami superiors find out about her giving her powers away (which is illegal in Soul Society) and send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Shinigami and Captain Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Shinigami base, located in Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Shinigami military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution. It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sosuke Aizen, a high ranking Shinigami previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Shinigami and allies himself with the hollows, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.
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| Kurosaki Ichigo: He is a teenager with a short fuse and a bit of an attitude. He has the ability to see ghosts, and makes it his mission to protect both the dead and the living from harm.
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| Kuchiki Rukia: After giving her powers to Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia convinces him to help her in her work as a Shinigami (Death God) until her powers return. She soon learns that it is a serious crime for a Shinigami to give away their powers, and her life is put in imminent danger.
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| Inoue Orihime: A classmate and friend of Ichigo Kurosaki. She is friendly, sensitive, and very kind. Orihime develops spiritual powers of her own after Ichigo becomes a Shinigami.
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| Yasutora "Chad" Sado is quiet, strong, and prides himself on being a protector. Although his real name is Yasutora Sado, everyone calls him Chad cause it's cooler. After discovering his powers - he finds himself protecting Ichigo's sister and helping him save Rukia from the Soul Society.
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| Ishida Uryu: He is the last of the Quincy's - a tribe of spiritually aware humans who fought against the hollows in the past. He is usually shy and quiet, but tries extra hard to act cool when around people. He also dislikes those who target, or take advantage of women.
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| Abarai Renji: He is an elite shinigami bearing the rank of 6th Division lieutenant, making him second in command of a sub-branch of the shinigami armed forces. Although first introduced as a deadly enemy, he has conflicting loyalties between his job and Rukia, with whom he grew up. A brash and driven man, he holds both a deep respect and animosity towards his immediate superior, 6th Division captain Byakuya Kuchiki.
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