Hotaru was a student at Shinigami Academy. She was a Senpai to Momo Hinamori, Renji Abarai and Izuru Kira. She died when a group of hollows attacked her during a training mission in the material world led by her, Shūhei Hisagi and Aoga. Her death scene, where she is impaled by the hollow, is much more drastic in the manga than in the anime.