Sora Inoue

Orihime's older brother. Sora was 15 when Orihime was born. Because his parents were so abusive, Sora left home as soon as he turned 18, taking Orihime with him. Having more of a parent/child relationship than a brother/sister one, Sora raises Orihime much like a daughter. When Orihime was in middle school, Sora bought her some hair pins as a present, but she rejected them as she thought they were too childish. Feeling down, Sora went out for a walk, was hit by a car, and died at the Kurosaki clinic. His unresolved feelings of not wanting to leave Orihime alone kept him from passing on, and he watched over her as a ghost for over a year until he was devoured by hollows.

With his feelings twisted as a hollow, Sora attacked Ichigo and Tatsuki, the two people he believed were making Orihime forget him. With Ichigo's help, Sora was able to regain his humanity long enough to say good-bye to Orihime before purifying himself with Ichigo's sword. Every day after Sora's death, Orihime wore the hair-pins he bought her, and made friends with Ichigo and Tatsuki to show Sora that she wasn't lonely or sad.