The
story opens with the sudden appearance of the shinigami
(death god) Rukia in Ichigo's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability
to see her,
but their resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a
hollow,
an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect
Ichigo, she intends to transfer half her powers to Ichigo, hoping to
give him the opportunity to face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo
unintentionally absorbs almost all her powers instead, allowing him to
defeat the hollow with ease.
The
next day, Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a transfer
student. Much to his surprise, she appears to be a normal human. She
theorizes that it was the unusual strength of Ichigo's spirit that
caused him to absorb almost all her powers, thus leaving her stranded
in the human world. Rukia has transferred herself into a gigai — an
artificial human body — while waiting to recover her abilities. In the
meantime, Ichigo must take over her job as a shinigami, battling
hollows and guiding lost souls to the afterlife.
