Stature

The moment that Rukia entered the Kuchiki household, they forced a hard wooden board on her back and tied it to her waist and shoulders with tightly tied knots.

Your posture is horrid, a Kuchiki woman commented. Did you know that your worth is determined by how straight you stand?

No, Rukia replied. But I'm willing to change.

In Rokugai, Rukia was content with walking with her shoulders slouched and back hunched. Renji was fine with that too, since it made him look taller.

It was difficult to wear anything to cover herself as she walked with the intolerable board strapped to her back. Somehow, she always felt a little colder with it on.

She noticed that Aniki had impeccable posture. A ramrod straight walk with face that looked straight ahead. Something else for her to aspire to.

The day that they took the board off, Rukia felt as if she were finally freed. But with a stern glance from her adoptive father and a disapproving glare from Byakuya-aniki, she straightened herself immediately.

The next time Renji saw her, he commented that she looked as if she were chiseled from stone. He kicked her in the back so hard that she fell forward.

Stop questioning your self-worth, you idiot, he growled. How you stand isn't going to determine anything.

He wasn't content until she had properly hunched over with her shoulders bent inwards. But the moment he had left, satisfied with himself, she ran back home and fastened the board onto her back again.

Some things, she concluded, he just couldn't understand.