and the rain left off

Aside from the fact that Byakuya is the 28th Head of the noble Kuchiki Clan, the widower of a commoner, and the captain of the Sixth Division, there is very little known about his past. On the surface, he is an aristocrat through and through - apathetic, serene, and simply cold. He is the strongest head of his family ever, and thus has quite a weight on his shoulders. The expectations of his family are obviously not something he takes lightly, as he struggles between the woman he loves and his family's desires rather often.

As I mentioned, there is little known about his early history. His senpai was Ukitake Jyuushirou, and he was assumedly friends with Shihouin Yoruichi. The most crucial part of his past that has been revealed to us was that he married Hisana, a commoner, and thus broke the rules of his noble house. She died about 50 years prior to the actual Bleach storyline, but her death was crucial and without it, I seriously doubt Ichigo would have become involved. Rukia would not have been taken into the Kuchiki family, and thus Ichigo would not be involved in the conflict surrounding her. Without him, Soul Society probably would have been conquered by Aizen by now.

Regardless of the role Hisana's death played, it should be mentioned that Byakuya was extremely loyal to his wife, even after her death. The last wish she made on her deathbed was for him to find her sister, Rukia, and Byakuya of course did this. Adopting another commoner into his family was breaking the rules once again, however, and Byakuya swore after this to not do such a thing ever again. As a noble, he strongly believed it a crucial thing to uphold the rules no matter what. And as a result, we discover he, though entirely apathetic on the surface, is actually deeply conflicted with the matter of Rukia's execution: he cannot intervene as it would require breaking the rules again or otherwise fail to fulfill the promise he made to Hisana to protect Rukia as his own sister.

Byakuya's role throughout the Soul Society arc is seemingly that of an antagonist. He retrieves Rukia from the living world, all but crushing Ichigo and imprisioning her. Several times throughout the span of the arc, Ichigo and Byakuya fight once again, and have conversations dealing with Byakuya's nobility and the concepts that he withholds in his life. Byakuya also fights with Renji, as the redhead seeks the same as Ichigo - to save Rukia, and at the same time, be on the same level that Byakuya is. Byakuya defeats him in a fight even when Renji does achieve ban kai, yet acknowledges Renji for the first time since the man became his lieutenant.

At the end of his last fight with Ichigo, Byakuya suggests they finish it in one strike, and reveals Senbonzakura's final form. Ichigo musters up as much spiritual pressure as he can, and the two charge each other, Zangetsu ripping through Senbonzakura. As per Ichigo's request, Byakuya states that he lost, and will pursure Rukia no more. With that, Byakuya takes his leave, returning only when Sousuke Aizen has revealed himself as a traitor, and has commanded Ichimaru Gin to kill Rukia. Byakuya appears to take the blow for Rukia, Gin's zanpakutou rushing through his chest. The Fourth Division soon appears to heal the wounded, and Byakuya explains to Rukia of her sister, Hisana, and the situation he was in.

It is thought that afterwards, he and Rukia were on better terms (in fact they are, as in the Bleach novel Honey Dish Rhapsody illustrated by Kubo Tite, Rukia even cooks for Byakuya while he is recovering!) Byakuya also seems to mend what occurs between himself and Renji - or at least, it seems that the two of them are well along the way to mending things. Renji seems happy that his captain is alive, and likewise, Byakuya seems more at ease about his vice captain.

It is another - oh, dear - fifty or so chapters before Byakuya shows up in the manga again, and was sent by Yamamoto with Zaraki to retrieve Renji and the rest of the shinigami from the living world. Of course, this is obviously not Byakuya's true perogative; nearly as soon as the shinigami are taken back, he authorizes Renji and Rukia to return and assist Ichigo's endeavors (I squeed so hard at this, fyi). More will be added here once he shows up again!

There is no doubt that Byakuya hides well behind the mask of a perfect nobleman. There is also no doubt that he is everything but that - everything but the cold, disinterested, and even unpleasant creature that would do anything to preserve both his own promises, and his family's morals. As you can imagine, that is enough to tear anyone apart.

It seems to me that Byakuya was, from the onslaught of his birth, brought up to be nothing but a perfect nobleman, despite what he may have wanted. Every single rule was learned to a T - rules, etiquettes, behaviors, all of it was more than likely pushed upon him and no doubt, he learned all of it thanks to overwhelming pressure to perform well and be the perfect nobleman. The easiest way to accomplish this, of course, is taking emotions away from everything. It's pretty clear that he's good at emotional suppression; with all of the turmoil that was inside of him over Rukia's execution, he still remained stonefaced and cold.

He clearly dislikes when anyone tries to make him react and take him out of his comfort zone. Renji and Ukitake seem to have both tried - and both failed, to some extent, though Byakuya actually acknowledged Renji (a feat to be noted) - and the only time that Byakuya ever seemed to show actual emotion was during his fight with Ichigo. That the man could actually rile him is not surprising. It was a fight for Rukia, and anything relating to her is a good way to make Byakuya show some emotion.

It should be noted that Byakuya is stubborn. I can imagine he was stubborn when it came to Hisana, despite the deep disapproval in his family, and it is rather clear how stubborn he was when it came to the subject of Rukia's execution. If he feels he is right, he will stick by his opinions unless someone can convince him otherwise and obviously, that is rather difficult to do. His stubbornness goes back to his emotional repression - he's stubborn about that, too. Messing with a way to discard all of his emotions and pain and deep, deep hurt is not something he appreciates. It's his way of forgetting, and his way of coping, even if it is more harmful to himself in the end.

All I can say is... I think this guy needs some lovin'. Not only did he lose his wife and good friends over the span of his lifetime, now that everyone knows of his inner struggle, he probably feels more exposed and is most likely extremely unhappy because of it. Hopefully, in time, he will find a closer relationship with those around him, and be able to understand that such a thing is positive. I can't help but get an inner!romantic vibe about him, and think that deep down, he really is a sweetheart. Hisana, I think, was proof enough of that. His family didn't ruin him yet!

Byakuya's name itself means "white", when literally translated. The entire kanji for his name "Kuchiki Byakuya" goes as follows: 朽木 白哉. Here's a brief breakdown of the kanji in his name (thank you, Charles Kelly).

朽 - rot. Kubo's made the translation of Byakuya's surname fairly literal.

木 - wood. Same as above.

白 - white. Quite obvious as to why, considering Byakuya's pale and pristine appearance.

哉 - "alas!", such as expressing awe.

Also, I have to mention this. The kanji "哉" of Byakuya's name is also found in "善哉", which means soft bean-jam. Now, I'm sure you're all thinking this is extremely odd, but do recall that Renji likes sweets - especially taiyaki, a cake filled with soft bean-jam.

I will leave it at that.

Kabalarians also gives an explanation of Byakuya's first name. This is just their brief analyzation, so take it as you will.

1. Although the name Byakuya creates an active mind and a restless urge to explore new ideas, we emphasize that it causes a restless intensity that defies relaxation.

2. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the solar plexus.

3. The name Byakuya gives you a strongly independent and highly creative nature, with drive and ambition to have experiences and accomplish things out of the ordinary.

4. You can work intently at whatever is new and holds your interest at the moment, but your interest wanes quickly when drudgery and monotony set in.

5. Obstacles to your progress or restrictions on your freedom to act create a sense of frustration which may cause you to feel resentful and even rebellious.

6. You can then become intolerant of others, and caustic and belittling in your expression, thereby imposing stress on your personal relationships.

Interesting, no?