Bleach Episode 010 - Assault On Trip At Sacred Ground!

An aerial view of some building in the dark of night, and the enthusiastic voice of the commentator welcoming the audience to “Drop-in Holy Ground” open the episode. We soon learn that this is a hospital in Karakura town where it is said you can hear the screams of angry spirits. Orihime and Tatsuki are in the audience, as are Chad, Mizuiro and Keigo, and of course, the Kurosaki family. The male MC welcomes the “Charismatic Spiritual Medium for the new century”, “hell’s messenger”, Mr Don Kanonji. As the awed audience watch, Kanonji jumps out of a helicopter, his cape flying as he shouts to them, “SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU!” and opens a parachute which reads “fancy boy”.

In school, perhaps the day before or earlier, Orihime comes up to Ichigo, and, crossing her arms across her chest, says, “BWAHAHAHA!” Ichigo steps back in surprise and Orihime says that his reaction is rather faint, asking if he knows what she has just done. Ichigo mutters that it is from “Drop-in”, and Orihime says that it’s a fun show, and that he should come with them and do the “Bwahaha”. Orihime raises her hands in the air, ready to cross them over her chest, but is stopped by Tatsuki, who pushes her away and says that she will go with her to “Bwahaha”. Keigo, who is standing behind Ichigo, greets him, and Ichigo turns around to see him, Mizuiro, and, of all people, Chad, doing the Bwahaha. Later, Keigo, upon hearing that Ichigo isn’t going for “Drop-in”, chides him, saying that it is the most popular show and since it’s coming to Karakura to broadcast live, Ichigo might as well be dead if he doesn’t go. Ichigo says that he’s fine being a zombie, and waves Keigo away. Keigo, tears in his eyes says that he even invited Rukia. Rukia, standing a distance away, curtseys and greets Ichigo sweetly. Keigo walks up to her and does the “Bwahaha”, asking her to do the same. Rukia shakes her head, saying that she’s too embarrassed to. Ichigo stares at the pair, a look of utter boredom and what-am-I-doing-here-ness on his face, saying that Rukia’s acting repertoire is gradually expanding.

Ichigo, with the exact same face as earlier, is surrounded by Kanonji’s cheering fans as the man asks them how they are feeling, and stretching out his arms, promises to let his “babies” hear the whisper of spirits. The female MC asks him what he thinks of the location, and Kanonji says that his nose is filled with the smell of horrible spirits, and is no doubt… The crowd finishes his sentence for him, “SMELLS LIKE BAD SPIRITS!”, raising their arms in the air, cheering wildly as he proceeds to do the “Bwahaha”, them doing the same. Smoke fills the stage and someone calls for a commercial. One of the staff directs the people to the exorcism area as Ichigo says that he hates ghost shows. Orihime runs up to him and apologizes for trying to invite him along the other day, as she didn’t know he hated these shows. Ichigo says that he isn’t mad – Keigo and Mizuiro both know he hates ghost shows, but still tried to invite him along. He says that he and Karin only came because his father and Yuzu are big fans of the show, because it’d be sad if only the two of them came alone. Orihime smiles and comments that Ichigo is so nice.

A hand can be seen waving at them above the heads of the crowd as Tatsuki calls to Orihime, saying that she’ll go without her, and Orihime runs to her. Ichigo, at the back of the throng, suddenly hears Rukia’s voice asking him what is wrong. He turns to see her doing the “Bwahaha” very violently, and she asks him what he is scowling, saying that if he doesn’t have fun, he’ll lose out. Rukia says that he must be tired having to juggle school and Shinigami duties, but there will be more difficult fights here on, so take this opportunity to stretch out and relax. She then asks what kind of festival this is, and Ichigo is taken aback that she came along blindly. He then asks her if there would even be any spirits in the hospital, as wouldn’t the Shinigami have dealt with them already? Rukia replies that the kind of ghosts normally found here are earth-bound ghosts, usually absorbed into the ground and therefore are undetectable on Soul Society’s radars. Just as Rukia says that these ghosts would only show themselves when humans enter their territory, a man carrying a speaker steps over an invisible line, sending sparks flying and the roar of the ghost can be heard.

Chad hears it, and asks Keigo and Mizuiro if they can hear it too, but they cannot, and tell him not to freak them out. Chad hence passes it off as merely his imagination. Karin too, has heard it and says that she shouldn’t have come after all. Orihime and Tatsuki look at each other, biting their lips. Rukia explains that that was the scream of an earth-bound ghost, not a Hollow. There are a few patterns to Hollow’s vocalizations, one being made by earth-bound ghosts with strong attachments to the world as they are neglected and degrade to Hollows, like the one that has just appeared in front of the hospital. Basically, a plus on its way to becoming a Hollow, the difference between it and a Hollow lying in the fact that the chest hole isn’t fully open and there is no white mask – a demi-Hollow. Rukia elucidates that the chest hole signifies that the Hollow has lost its heart and become an embodiment of instinct, and the mask is a barrier to protect the exposed instinct from the physical world – neither of which are necessary when one has a heart. An earth-bound ghost has regrets in this world and is hence chained down by the object of those regrets, in this case, the hospital.

The demi-Hollow declares that the hospital is his and he will never let anyone have it, telling them to keep out so that he can become a millionaire here and drive a pink Cadillac and drink pink Dom Perignon. The show starts again and Kanonji once more says that spirits are with you and does the “Bwahaha”, as does the crowd, including Rukia. Ichigo, annoyed, asks her if she cares, and she replies that it usually takes months and months to become a Hollow, and they cannot let it go wild in front of all the people. The soul burial can wait till later. The MC says that it is time to perform the exorcism, asking Kanonji what he thinks. Rukia adds that just before becoming Hollows, they will let out frightful screams and writhe in pain.
Kanonji says that he smells bad spirits, and as he looks at the demi-Hollow face to face, the latter asks him what he is trying to do, and to take off the weird hat.

Rukia adds that so long as there is no stimulus to the hole, it won’t turn into a Hollow for a while. Kanonji says that he must use his Super Spirit Stick and end it in an instant, and starts probing the hole with it. The crowd cheers and the MC goes wild seeing Kanonji use his stick so soon, but Rukia and Ichigo know better – Kanonji is only speeding up the process to becoming a Hollow. The demi-Hollow screams in pain as Kanonji says some weird spell-like gibberish. Suddenly, Ichigo jumps over the barriers and runs at Kanonji, yelling at him to stop. The security guards tackle and immobilize him, and as Rukia pulls on her glove and asks him to come over so she can change him to a Shinigami, she too gets squished by the security guards. The demi-Hollow lets out a frightful scream, causing all who can hear it to wince.

A cane appears out of nowhere and pokes out Ichigo’s soul, and the Shinigami goes rolling away, later seeing that it was Urahara who pushed him out. Rukia asks Urahara what he is doing here, just as Tessai picks up the unconscious Ichigo. Ichigo jumps in between the demi-Hollow and Kanonji, and the TV shows Kanonji being pushed back by an invisible force. He curses Ichigo, who is surprised he can see him, and adds that Ichigo must be a fan that died, staying a fan. The demi-Hollow screams before exploding and disappearing. Kanonji yells “MISSION COMPLETE!”, but Rukia knows that it is not, flipping open her phone and scanning for Hollows. After dispersal, the Hollow will be reconstructed elsewhere, but if its heart is tied to this place, then…

A ball of light descends from the sky and Rukia shouts to Ichigo, telling him to look up to the roof, where a Hollow is being reconstructed. Ichigo tries to tell Kanonji that it is a Hollow, but Kanonji ignores him, putting his hands by his ears and saying that he smells the scent of a super dangerous spirit, probably the revengeful boss of the earlier spirit. Ichigo gets ready to fight the Hollow, but is pushed away by Kanonji, who tells him to run away, spinning his spirit stick in the air and challenging the Hollow, who answers by running down the face of the hospital. Ichigo draws his Zanpakutou and blocks the Hollow, pushing it back. Kanonji asks Ichigo why he doesn’t run, and Ichigo asks him to run away instead. The Hollow stands and Ichigo fights it, Urahara standing by and complimenting him, yet asking him what he will do under the very bad circumstances. The Hollow launches himself at Kanonji, but misses thanks to Ichigo’s fast movements, smashing into the wall. Ichigo drags Kanonji through the entrance and into the hospital. Urahara comments that Ichigo has decided to have that kind of fight after all, and stops Rukia who tries to go forward to help Ichigo, saying that such a weak Hollow will be easy for Ichigo. Furthermore, Kanonji seems to have a bit of power himself.

Ichigo is running while dragging Kanonji through the hall of the hospital, and the latter demands to know why they are running away. Ichigo replies that running away was his (Kanonji’s) idea, but Kanonji argues that he meant only for Ichigo to run. Ichigo stops and flings Kanonji away, asking why he can’t run away, and Kanonji replies that he is a hero whom many children of the 25% of Japanese that watch his show watch and learn about courage from. Therefore, when they are watching, he cannot run away. Now, he wants to go back and fight the Hollow, but Ichigo refuses, saying that the audience will end up caught in the crossfire. Hollows come after humans with high spirit power like them, so it will definitely return here so they can fight without involving the spectators. Kanonji is surprised that he thinks of such things when fighting. The Hollow bursts out of the floor and Ichigo draws his Zanpakutou, unfortunately getting it stuck in the wall in the process. He manages to yank it out, lamenting on the cramped surroundings. The Hollow suddenly spits out some green gooey substances onto his hands so he can’t aim his Zanpakutou properly. He manages to cut the Hollow next to the mask, but the Hollow ends up dragging Ichigo out the building and up to the rooftop. Ichigo rolls away, and manages just in time to dodge the Hollow’s attack.

The roof access door is thrown open by none other than Kanonji, who asks Ichigo if he is alright. The Hollow tries to attack Kanonji, and as Ichigo tries to intercept him, he gets thrown back against the railings. The Hollow spits out more green stuff, plastering Ichigo to the railings. Ichigo’s eyes widen in fear as the Hollow jumps up, mouth open wide. However, when Ichigo opens his eyes, Kanonji is standing before him, using his Super Spirit Stick to wedge open the Hollow’s mouth. Ichigo tells Kanonji to run as he is no match for the Hollow. Kanonji stops him, saying that he too, has some sort of power, even if very little, and he knows the power gap between him and the Hollow. He adds that Ichigo has made a deep impression on him by thinking of others before self. Smiling and turning his head, he asks Ichigo to let him call him a friend, but spelt “c-o-m-r-a-d-e-i-n-a-r-m-s”.

He clenches a fist and focuses energy into it, sending yellow electricity-like sparks flying. “Kanonji-ryuu Final Super Attack! Kan’onball” A blue ball of energy forms in his hand and he fires it at Ichigo. It moves very slowly, in up-and-down movements. As it reaches the green stuff that binds Ichigo, a bright blue light is emitted and the gooey substances disappears just in time for Ichigo to get back in the fight. Kanonji’s spirit stick is broken now, and Kanonji has just been sent flying as he says that he has no regrets. The Hollow jumps at him but Ichigo is faster, throwing the Hollow back and subsequently breaking its mask with a swift slash. Ichigo sheaths his Zanpakutou as Kanonji runs up doing a victory dance. Ichigo tells him not to get all dizzy, and Kanonji doesn’t understand. He stares in utter disbelief as the Hollow dissipates to reveal the ghost he “exorcised” earlier. Ichigo explains that it is a Hollow, an unreasoning monster formed when the chain attached to the ghost’s chest comes off and a hole opens.

Kanonji falls to his knees, asking himself what he has been doing all these years. He is ashamed of himself and begins to cry. Ichigo tells him to stop crying, as everyone is waiting for him. True enough, shouts of “Kanonji!” can be heard from below as he walks to the railings. Ichigo tells him to give them what they want, as that is a Hero’s job after all. The camera zooms in on Kanonji, who shouts “MISSION COMPLETE!” and does the “Bwahaha”. The crowd follows, and Rukia smiles.
Kanonji compliments Ichigo on the good fight, saying that he admires his courage, wit and strength. He would like Ichigo to lend him strength in the future – as his number 1 disciple. Ichigo is pissed that he got demoted.

Bleach Episode 009 - Unbeatable Enemy!

Around Yuzu’s neck is coiled something or another, constricting her and lifting her into the air. Karin can only watch, pinned down by the Hollow’s hand, as he says that yuzu is too noisy, and that one hostage is suffice, moving her towards his mouth. Ichigo arrives to chop off the tentacle-like thing that holds Yuzu, saving her from the Hollow. But the Hollow has a back-up plan in the form of Karin, who he then holds up in his hand in a vice-like grip. Ichigo lays Yuzu down next to a gravestone and yells for Karin, who mutters his name softly before closing her eyes. Eikichirou arrives, just as Ichigo sees a familiar face standing in front of the Hollow – that of the child he tried to save by the river that night. Ichigo curses the laughing Hollow, saying that it was he on the bank that day 6 years back. Ichigo tells Rukia that this was the child he had tried to save, but when he had awoken, had disappeared.

The girl speaks, saying that she doesn’t remember anything that long ago. Her skin starts to come off, revealing a hole of sorts on the crest of her head, from which a red cord-like thing shoots out and into the Hollow’s head, connecting the two. The former, now a mere doll, hangs from the latter’s head. Rukia says that this Hollow is “Grand Fisher” that hides himself, making the appendage from his head take human form and act as bait for those who can see it (those with high spirit power), who will then become food to increase his power. He has eluded Shinigami for 50 long years, and its favorite food is women – meaning that Grand Fisher was the one who killed Masaki. Grand Fisher laughs, saying that Ichigo is a lucky kid to survive after encountering him. He reveals that he was most likely after Ichigo’s soul, but women appealed to him more. Eikichirou says that there aren’t many Hollows that piss him off as much as this one, and Ichigo, obviously feeling the same way, lunges at the Hollow, his Zanpakutou poised and ready.

The Hollow dodges the attack, and as Rukia runs towards him shouting for him to be careful, the Hollow extends a hand in an attempt to squish Ichigo, but missing as Ichigo jumps onto the ledge. The Hollow’s fur grows out and surrounds and wraps around Ichigo, who declares that Grand Fisher is the only one he will never forgive. Rukia binds the Hollow, chanting the incantation “Disintegrate, Black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself and burn; tear away your own throat! Way of Binding no. 9! Geki!” The Hollow moves even under her spell, shooting out a fur spear that hits Rukia back. Grand Fisher then says that he will now eat Karin, and when Ichigo calls out his sister’s name, asks if he will allow him to eat him instead.

Eikichirou jumps up and slices off the Hollow’s hand, thus freeing Karin. Seizing the opportunity, Ichigo slices his way out of the fur. But the Hollow extends more of its fur spikes, all aimed at Karin. Eikichirou steps in just in time to deflect most of the spikes, but gets pierced by a number in the process. Amidst the spikes he sees a green image of a woman just as Ichigo cuts away all the spikes and asks why he did that. Eikichirou replies that Shinigamis keep fighting Hollows no matter what, and will never forgive Hollows for taking away the lives of precious people, and leaving in their wake, emptiness. He will never forgive that, and entrusts the task of protecting them (not the Hollows) to Ichigo before collapsing to the ground. As Rukia walks over to Eikichirou, Ichigo asks if he is dead despite being a Shinigami. Rukia replies that even Shinigami are not immortal – the form is different, but death is… Before she can finish her sentence, they start hearing Eikichirou snoring like a pig, and are surprised and annoyed that he is merely asleep.

Kon, who is in Ichigo’s body, arrives, his lion body tucked under his arm. Rukia instructs him to take the sisters and run, and he does so. She steps forward and tells Ichigo to back her up, but Ichigo jumps up to face the Hollow, telling her to stay back and mind her own business because he’ll do this alone. Rukia tells him not to be ridiculous – this thing has evaded Shinigami for 50 years. He tells her to shut up, because this is his fight. He raises his Zanpakutou and charges at the Hollow.

Meanwhile, Isshin and Kon stand at the steps of some shrine/temple and as Karin stirs, Kon asks if she is alright, changing his voice mid-sentence. He throws his head back in anguish at the seemingly impossible task of keeping his eyebrows furrowed all the time. Ichigo is doing just that, running through the mass of fur lances and slashing the Hollow’s mask. But wait, the Hollow disappears and reappears next to Ichigo, saying that he is slow. Fur thorns bombard Ichigo, who each time manages to leap away in time. The Hollow comments that he is surprised that even with his abilities, he had the guts to tell him to stay away from his friends. Ichigo thinks back to the time his mom died, the aftermath in which he couldn’t begin to imagine how sad or lonely Yuzu and Karin felt. Holding his Zanpakutou ready, he says that he had decided to protect them, and proclaims that he will defeat him.

Ichigo rushes at and swings his sword at the Hollow, but it once again vanishes and re-emerges behind him, reminding him that Rukia had told him not to be careless. Ichigo swivels around just in time to block the Hollow’s hand with his Zanpakutou. Grand Fisher asks Ichigo how many times he has lunged at him without a plan – that is the definition of careless. The nails of the Hollow grow suddenly, piercing Ichigo. Removing them, he says that Ichigo is impulsive – sending away a comrade and lunging at him based on a fleeting emotion. In this way, he shall perform for Grand Fisher’s amusement and die at the end. Rukia starts to run towards Ichigo, but he yells for her to stay away. He will beat the Hollow, even if it costs him an arm or a leg. The Hollow says that will be the reason for his downfall. Being young, he angers easily, and thus, his blade is dulled by the anger. He is far too young to fight with the Grand Fisher.

He puts his hand around the face of the doll, and when he removes them, the face has changed – it is now Ichigo’s mother. Rukia looks at Ichigo, asking if that is who she thinks it is. Ichigo curses the Hollow, who says that even the most hardened of Shinigami will have someone they cannot kill, and by finding that person, he has thus far avoided Shinigami. For Ichigo, that person must be his mother. Rukia calls out to him, but the image of a white-haired Shinigami flashes into her mind. He tells her that yes, if she goes to save him now, she will probably save his life. But what of his pride? He tells her to remember that there are two kinds of fights: one to protect life, and the other to protect pride. She must always remember the difference. The Rukia of that time relaxes the hand on the hilt of her Zanpakutou. Remembering all this, she tells herself that this fight is for Ichigo’s pride, and she cannot interfere. In her mind, she wills Ichigo not to die.

Eikichirou wakes up and styles his hair a little before running off. The Hollow asks Ichigo if he could possibly raise his Zanpakutou to his mother, and Ichigo yells at him, telling him not to bring his mother’s image out in a place like this. As he charges at the Hollow, he stops suddenly as the doll swings in front of him, telling him to put his Zanpakutou away and not to kill her. Ichigo’s moment of shocked debate allows the Hollow a chance to form a very thick and sharp barb out of its fur, which it launches at Ichigo, puncturing his shoulder. Eikichirou arrives just as the Hollow reminds Ichigo that anger dulls the blade, and that the fight will be over in the next attack. Grand Fisher extends his claws saying that so far, Ichigo is the youngest, most impulsive and by far the weakest Shinigami he has encountered. As he raises his hand and aims at Ichigo, the doll suddenly is engulfed by a blue light, and emits lightning, shocking all around.

Eikichirou grins, saying that is the mother’s soma – her wish has taken form, or, the lure has remembered Masaki’s dying wish. Eikichirou mentions that he had glimpsed her earlier, and that the fight is still up in the air. Masaki, her arms wide open, says that she is proud to have known him, Yuzu, Karin and Isshin. She motivates Ichigo, telling him to live, be strong, gentle, and smile. She thanks Ichigo before disappearing back into nothingness. Ichigo kneels on the floor as the rain gets heavier and so do his tears (I think) as he asks his mother if that was what she was thinking at the time. Grasping the hilt of his Zanpakutou tightly and grabbing hold of the fur barb, he asks if anger really dulls the blade. And even if it does, he says, a dull blade is more than enough to beat a loser like you. Tearing the spike out of his flesh and spilling blood, he thrusts his Zanpakutou into Grand Fisher’s neck.

Orihime, leaving Tatsuki’s house and waving, asks herself: If I were the rain that binds together the earth and the sky, who in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to bind the hearts of people together? Remembering her brother, she thinks to herself that she feels like she can understand Ichigo a little bit. The subject of his thoughts shoves his Zanpakutou further into the Hollow before yanking it out laterally. Grand Fisher writhes in pain before ascending into the sky, declaring that he will never forgive Ichigo, a mere Shinigami. Ichigo yells after him to come back, and as he continues to bleed, sticks his sword into the ground. Rukia rushes forward, grabbing his shoulders and saying that it is enough – neither can fight anymore, so the fight is over. Ichigo says that it is not, because the Hollow is still alive, before crumpling into Rukia’s arms. Rukia says that he survived, and thanks him.

Eikichirou comments that Ichigo is a bad ass kid who could grow to be a monster, since a Shinigami’s spirit power is the same as his life force. He stands, saying that he’ll be going home now – he’s not as crazed as to break up a serious couple. He’ll just tell them that Rukia’s reached “that age”, but when Rukia tells him not to, he says he will make something up, and if they find out, they do. Later, Isshin and Ichigo (or is it Kon?) look at the full moon and the wispy clouds going past. Ichigo goes back to Masaki’s gravestone and apologizes for his inability to avenge her. Isshin appears next to him, saying that as long as he’s healthy, she can rest assured on the other side. Ichigo tells him not to eavesdrop on his son talking to himself, then says that he thought he had quit when Isshin lights a cigarette. Isshin says that Masaki had complimented him on how cool his hand looked when he was smoking when they first started dating, that being the first and last compliment she had given him. That’s why he smokes just once each year, in front of her grave for her too see.

Ichigo shudders as he asks his father how he can smile, and why no one is blaming him. It would be easier, he says, if his father would just tear into him. Isshin asks him why he should blame him for Masaki’s death. If he did, Masaki would be angry at him, and furthermore, no one was responsible for her death. It just so happened that the woman he had fallen in love with was one willing to die to save her son. Also, Ichigo is the man whom the woman he had fallen in love with had died protecting. Isshin starts to walk away, then gives Ichigo a kick to the back, telling him to live life to the fullest, age to the fullest, go bald to the fullest, and to die long after he does, preferably with a smile. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to look Masaki in the eye. He tells Ichigo not to be wishy-washy – he’s too young to look cool carrying his grief around. Ichigo stands there as Isshin says that he’ll be downstairs, and asks Rukia if she is listening. Rukia is listening from behind a tree as he tells her that he wants to be Shinigami for a while longer, so that he can become stronger and protect everyone from Hollows. He will beat Grand Fisher, if not; he won’t be able to face his mom. Rukia merely smiles and says his name, sounding relieved and pleased.

Bleach Episode 008 - June 17, Memories in the Rain

The episode opens in the rugged landscape of Hueco Mundo, where the Hollows are. Black blobs rise from the ground and land on the ridges – Hollows, one of which raises his head and says that he will go.

The sky is a wonderful blue over where the Kurosaki family walks, Isshin blowing a whistle and Yuzu complains about the steepness of the hill. Karin replies that she is fine, and they hear their father’s voice urging Yuzu on, and turn to see him doing a handstand. Karin tells Yuzu to ignore him, as responding to that sort will make them be on your back forever. Isshin’s eye glints as he says that she is naïve – even if she ignores him, he’ll be on her back automatically. He runs over to them on his hands, and Yuzu has to hold down her dress to prevent the loss of her modesty as he performs a “Deadly Dad Sliding”, but his antics are stopped by Karin, who delivers a kick to his face, sending him rolling down the steep hill past Ichigo, disappearing into nothingness. Karin tells Yuzu to go before he comes back, and Ichigo puts a hand over his eyes to shade them as he laments on the temperature – it is June 17, just like that day, but it is totally different. Yuzu and Karin notice that someone is already here, and wonder if she is also here to visit a grave.

Surprise! The girl is waving at them, smiling sweetly. Ichigo is totally shocked to see that it is Rukia, and denies knowing her at all. Karin comments that she feels she has seen her before, and Ichigo concocts a story in which Rukia is his junior high classmate, and he suddenly feels so nostalgic he just has to go talk to her alone right now. He tells his sisters to go on to their mom’s grave, and runs off up the hill, grabbing Rukia’s arm and literally pulling her into the grove of trees. Karin chuckles, and tells Yuzu that it might be time for her to stop relying on him.
Ichigo demands to know why Rukia is following him, and she asks what he would do if she is not by his side when a Hollow appears. Ichigo says that if she’s going to follow him, at least do so more inconspicuously. Rukia apologizes, and Ichigo thinks that she is angry. Rukia denies that, and instead asks who killed Ichigo’s mother.

As someone eavesdrops on their conversation, Ichigo denies saying that his mother was killed. Rukia asks if, since he has been able to see ghosts for as long as he can remember, his mother had been killed by a Hollow. Yuzu and Karin are laying flowers and sprinkling holy water (I think) on the grave. The eavesdropper, a Shinigami wearing a straw hat, and Ichigo are shocked by Rukia’s words, but she continues, adding that it is a possibility, as his spirit power was high enough for him to see ghosts, that a Hollow after him had mistakenly killed his mother. Ichigo cuts in, shouting that he can’t take this anymore, with her, everything is the work of Hollows. Even this, which isn’t anything to joke about – he hasn’t heard more bullshit before. He walks up to her slowly, stopping to apologize that her guess was incorrect. The one who killed his mother was, not a Hollow, but he himself. He then runs off, Rukia calling after him. The Shinigami takes in all from behind a tree.

Meanwhile, Orihime and Tatsuki are in the latter’s room, and the former asks about the “old Ichigo”. She says that she thinks she may have found out Ichigo’s secret: that he may really be a hero protecting the Earth. Tatsuki says that she first met that “hero” when they were about four, at a dojo, to which a boy with unbelievably bright hair, an unbelievably beautiful mum, and an unbelievably wide smile had come. He had looked skinny, goofy and weak, which he was. He had been easily defeated by her within 10 seconds, making her the first one to make him cry. However, when he saw his mother, who would come to pick him up, he’d start to smile again. Tatsuki had hated that, as she believed a boy shouldn’t lose and be happy. He was really a clingy mama’s boy, even when he was nine. That’s when she died. The day after, he didn’t come to school, so she had gone looking for him. She had found him by the river where his mother died with his school bag, squatting when he was tired and standing once more afterward. From day to day, morning to night – it was as though he was searching for her. Tatsuki couldn’t stand watching Ichigo back then.

Rukia sits on the ledge of a wall, thinking on Ichigo’s words, and of her own, and says that she is a fool. Just then, her backpack unzips itself, and Kon’s hand emerges as he calls out for “Rukia nee-san” (Sister Rukia). He emerges fully out of the backpack, and Rukia asks him what he is doing, reminding him that she had said not to come out until she calls. Kon complains that it is hot inside the bag, and uses his paw to fan himself, asking if they can go home yet. Rukia refuses, saying that if they don’t stay by his side, their response will be delayed if a Hollow appears. Kon, annoyed, retorts that if she constantly thinks only of her work, she’ll lose friends. Rukia gets up, causing Kon to fall out of her backpack. He climbs back up and apologizes, but is shushed by her. Sensing something, she turns around sharply, and cautiously ventures further down the path, where the earlier Shinigami is propped against a tree, asleep. He suddenly yawns and stretches his arms, startling her. He says that he has had a good nap, then greets Rukia, and does a forward roll, landing perfectly on his feet.

He complains about having thus far only tough missions, so if he doesn’t get his sleep, he can’t do his work. Kon, who had somehow found his way into the bushes, seeing that this guy is a Shinigami, runs off to alert Ichigo. Ichigo stands at the base of a flight of rock steps, more memories of that night filling his mind. That night, a truck driving past splashes water on Ichigo as he and his mother walk home in the rain from the dojo. Masaki (mother) pulls out a handkerchief and wipes Ichigo’s face, at the same time offering to take the road side. Ichigo says that he is wearing a raincoat, so he’ll be okay. He wants to protect his mother from trucks like those. Masaki refuses, saying that until he can beat Tatsuki in a match, she’ll walk on the road side. Ichigo argues that he did beat her the other day, but Masaki ignores him and stands, taking the road side as they start to walk. Ichigo asks his mother if he can hold her hand, and she agrees, extending it for him to take hold of.

Ichigo says that he always felt safe around his mother. As they walked along the river, Ichigo spots a kid standing by the river and, since at the time he wasn’t able to differentiate between the living and the dead, ran down the slope to save her. Masaki yells after him to stop, but he doesn’t. As the kid seemingly falls forward into the water, Ichigo reaches her and tries to grab her dress. But it disappears, and the next thing Ichigo recalls is the body of his dead mother over his. When he was young, he was told that the name “Ichigo” was given to him so that he would protect one thing come whatever may, and he had decided that he would protect his mother. Ichigo crawls out from beneath Masaki, as the present-day him says that he doesn’t know how it happen, except that it did because of him. His mother had been the sun around which his entire family revolved. And from his family, he had taken away that center.

Yuzu and Karin are praying at Masaki’s grave, Karin asking how she is doing, and Yuzu sobbing. Karin tells her not to cry every year, especially because they turn 11 this year. Isshin comes up behind them and acts like a monkey in an attempt to cheer them up, saying that it’s time for the “Oh, my gosh! Kurosaki family members-only gravestone domino tournament”, in which they will, for 2.5 hours, devilishly demolish gravestones. Karin’s response is a deft kick as she tells him to press the reset button on his life. She says that beard-o (Isshin) is so healthy he’s aggravating. Isshin runs back up to her, but is kicked away once more by Karin, who runs away, him following after her.

Back in the forest, Rukia asks the Shinigami who he is, and he laughs, saying that it brings back memories. He had been 2 years her senior, but the name “Kuchiki Rukia”, or the “princess” from Rukongai adopted into the elite Kuchiki clan, was famous in the Central Spirit Technique Institute. He says that he is Saidou Eikichirou, who was pretty famous for being funny. She does not remember him, saying that she has never seen him in her life. He says that he has some things to ask her, and her mind immediately wanders over to Urahara’s warning that she can’t pretend forever. She asks him if he is with the Secret Mobile Unit, and he pulls a string on his hat such that a portion of his hat flips up, the words “correct” written on it.
Kon runs through the bushes, calling for Ichigo. He reaches a clearing, but it is actually the rock ledge. He falls off it, but fortunately, onto Ichigo’s back.

Ichigo pulls him off his back, and Kon stammers as he starts to tell him what happened. Eikichirou tells Rukia that back in Soul Society, they’re pissed and wondering when she’ll be back. Rukia curtly replies that Hollows appear and orders come; therefore she won’t return. He then asks her why she is dressed that way, and she self-consciously hugs herself, saying that her dressing is of nil importance. He says that he supposes Rukia-chan’s “at that age” now, together with the spiky-haired boy whose mother was killed by a Hollow. He asks her if she’s looking for sympathy or pleasures of the flesh, and she retorts that his innuendo is excessive and shall she sew his mouth shut? He disregards her and continues, saying that being open is the best. But being hot and heavy with a human boy… His sentence is cut short by Rukia, who tries to perform some Demon Magic on him.

He jumps back and says that too bad, he had thought it quite a good excuse, because if he cannot get an answer the brass would be satisfied with, he’d have to bring her back by force. She says indignantly that she has no intentions of returning anytime soon, and he replies that since she has said that, he has no choice. He draws his Zanpakutou but suddenly hears the voices of Kon and Ichigo calling for Rukia. The two emerge out of the trees, and Ichigo asks Eikichirou who he is. Eikichirou is surprised that he can see him, and Ichigo asks Kon who he is. Eikichirou asks Ichigo who he is, and Ichigo, just to challenge Rukia’s authority by defying her, says that he is a temporary Shinigami. Eikichirou blinks, laughs, then pulls his hat a little lower and tells Rukia that what she has done is a felony. He adds that it wouldn’t be fun fighting a faux body anyway, and throws off his hat and charges at Ichigo. Ichigo dodges that shot and the second, then digs his hand into Kon’s body for the pill, and having found it, swallows it and emerges a Shinigami.

Eikichirou is surprised that Ichigo, a mere human, was really able to switch. Rukia tries to stop Ichigo from fighting, but Ichigo pushes her aside, asking her what she can do unarmed. Karin, who is still at Masaki’s grave with Yuzu, stands up as she senses something. True enough, a Hollow has come. She asks her sister where Isshin is, and Yuzu replies that he is talking to the priest. The Hollow advances toward them, and Karin tells Yuzu to run. Meanwhile, Ichigo and Eikichirou are fighting, the former on defensive and the latter on offensive. Eikichirou asks Ichigo if he only uses brute strength and no technique, and Ichigo charges at him. Rukia’s phone beeps suddenly and the two adjourn the fight to take a look at her phone, which shows that an extremely large Hollow is in the vicinity, possibly targeting his family.

Yuzu runs toward Karin, who is being pinned to the ground by the Hollow’s hand, but something coils itself around her neck and raises her into the air. As Ichigo and Rukia run to save them, Ichigo asks Rukia what Eikichirou had meant by a “felony”. Rukia tells him to forget about her problems, as saving his family is priority. As they run down the steps, he asks her if she’s going to ask about his mum, but she replies that even if she did, would he answer? It’s his deep, deep problem which she has no way to ask about. She will just wait till he feels ready to tell her. The Hollow complains that Yuzu is noisy, and says that one hostage should be enough.

Bleach Episode 007 - Greetings From A Stuffed Toy

At the Urahara Store, Urahara puts down a heavy something-or-other wrapped in bandages as Ururu timidly walks out from behind some shelves and apologizes to him for causing all the trouble. Urahara smiles and reaches out his hand. Ururu, thinking that he must be about to hit her, winces, but opens her eyes when she feels his hand on her head in a comforting sort of manner. Urahara tells her that it doesn’t bother him at all and asks her why she is so timid. Giving her a hug, he adds that they are a team, and he will fix everything. As Ururu begins to cry, Jinta and Tessai arrive and tell him that preparations are complete. The four of them, Ururu carrying the bandaged-wrapped thing and Jinta armed with a baseball bat, are ready to go collect their merchandise.

The three boys whom “Ichigo” saw are staring at him, wondering what he is up to, posing light he’s going to fight, and subsequently kicking the air. Rukia arrives and sees the fight between Ichigo and “Ichigo”, in which Ichigo dodges “Ichigo’s” attacks with ease. Ichigo explains that once he calms down, his moves are easy to dodge. After a few more unsuccessful attempts at kicking Ichigo, “Ichigo” is flung away by Ichigo, but escapes further damage by jumping over more fences. Rukia’s communicator beeps and she tells Ichigo that they have orders – A Hollow is going to appear nearby.

The three boys’ yells gets their teacher running over to them, and they tell her that an orange-haired high school student had tried to attack them. She notices their gameboys on the floor and picks one of them up and tells them that they have been playing too many video games. Meanwhile, “Ichigo” is running along rooftops, cursing the three boys and Ichigo for ruining his buzz. He stops short when he senses a Hollow in the direction from which he came, going to attack those kids, whose words flash through his mind.

The subjects of his thoughts have been made to stay back and clean up, and are complaining incessantly because of that. A caterpillar-like Hollow appears behind the unsuspecting and unknowing children, and laughs. Ichigo and Rukia are obviously running in the wrong direction, and as the phone beeps, Rukia says that her phone has been acting weirdly, and wonders if it is out of battery. Noticing the new Chappy charm on her phone, he says that if he had time to order it, she should have gotten an extra battery as well. Ignoring him, she says that she cannot sense the Hollow’s location.

The Hollow is suddenly kicked in the face by “Ichigo”, and the force of the Hollow landing on the ground behind them sends the three children flying back. They recognize him as the high school student from earlier, but instead of attacking them, “Ichigo” gives a war cry and runs at the Hollow, evading the first two extendable legs but getting cut on the shoulder by the next. As he lands back on the ground, the three children run away, frightened by “Ichigo” as well as the invisible thing that makes a crater in the ground behind him. Rukia and Ichigo spot the Hollow as well as “Ichigo” a distance away, and Ichigo dashes off in that direction, Rukia calling after him. The Hollow tells “Ichigo” to mind his own business instead of interrupting his meal and running around, and extends another leg to hit him on the back. Another leg comes at him as he lands back on the floor, but it is stopped by the real Ichigo, who chops off the end of it. However, he is not doing this to save the temporary soul, but because it is his body that has gotten all injured.

“Ichigo” says that he is only fighting because he took so long to arrive, and Ichigo tells him to shut up, and mocks the fact that he is supposed to be a battle soul. The Hollow interrupts their little quarrel, and together, they defeat the Hollow, “Ichigo” kicking the Hollow and Ichigo slicing the Hollow. The Hollow falls backwards, and it looks like it will fall out of the rooftop boundary to whatever lies below. Seeing this, “Ichigo” runs and gives the Hollow another kick, dissipating it, and he himself falling down. However, Ichigo grabs his ankle just in time, and chides him for taking such a risk when there was no one around, as a Hollow will disappear on its own if its mask is cut. He then hears voices coming from below: it is the three children once more, trying to convince the teacher about the existence of a “blood-soaked teenager”. She does not believe them and instead tells them to stay back and clean up the next day too.

The two Ichigos watch as a line of ants marches past them, and Ichigo asks “Ichigo” if he used to hate those children. He replies that it doesn’t matter, as if he hadn’t saved them, they would have died – and he doesn’t kill anyone. He remembers and retells his life story, whereby right after his birth he was ordered scrapped – the day after he was born, the day he would die had already been decided. Inside the pill, he was afraid everyday while watching the comrades around him disappear day by day. He was lucky enough to mix with other medicines and escaped the warehouse, but continued to live in fear that he would be found and scrapped. He asked himself all the time why his life is decided by strangers, and why he can’t decide for himself. After all, living and dying belong to each individual person. Therefore, he will kill no-one and will not see anyone die.

Urahara had heard the entire thing, and complains that now, the equipment he had brought is completely useless. Using his cane, he swiftly pokes out the little green pill, which falls just next to the body. He picks it up and walks toward the rest of his gang, saying that the collection is complete. Jinta is displeased because he had thought he was finally going to get a battle after so long. Ichigo asks Urahara what he plans to do with the pill, and he replies that he will destroy it. Ichigo is surprised that Urahara is able to see him, and asks what he is. Before Urahara can answer, the pill is snatched out of his hand by Rukia, who finishes Urahara’s sentence, saying that he is a greedy merchant. Urahara tries to get back the pill, and Rukia asks him if his store does not refund goods they take back. Urahara reluctantly agrees to refund her, but Rukia replies that there is no need as they are satisfied with the product. Furthermore, he is acting out of spirit laws – there is no obligation for him to go that far to retrieve the pill. Urahara replies that if any trouble comes, they’ll just go into hiding and Rukia replies that she’s become quite used to trouble.

She passes the pill to Ichigo and they go off on their way. Ichigo winces in pain and complains that the temporary soul only did as he liked because he knew it wasn’t his body. He starts to scold the pill, and Rukia comments that he looks weird like that. He asks Rukia how he can complain directly to the temporary soul, and Rukia replies that he should put it in some dead body. Ichigo says that there is no way they could find that, but he suddenly spots a lion plushie. He wonders if that will do, and asks Rukia. Rukia thinks he is carrying it too far, then remembers that her body right now is also not flesh. They decide to try it as an experiment, and put the pill in the lion plushie’s mouth. He picks up the plushie, and is annoyed that their experiment has failed. But wait! As he spins it in the air, it comes alive and calls Ichigo a dumbass, saying that it hurts. He then demands a rematch with Ichigo, but suddenly realizes that he is a stuffed toy much, much shorter and smaller than Ichigo. Ichigo puts a hand on his head, making the plushie squeak. He tells it that he better say his prayers, but it declares that even in this state, he will fight Ichigo.
The next morning, he wakes Ichigo by jumping onto his chest and demanding an apology, or else he will hide in his bag and go to school with him so that the girls in the class will think him gross for carrying stuffed animals around in his bag. Ichigo picks him up and throws him against the closet, telling him to be obedient and be quiet like a normal stuffed animal. Ichigo says that calling him “Modified Soul” is such a hassle, so he has shortened it to “Kon” (from the “konpaku” part of “kaizon konpaku”). Kon suggests that he be called “Kai” instead, because “Kon” sounds lame. Ichigo refuses because “Kai” sounds cool and therefore pisses him off. The closet door opens and Rukia emerges, complaining that they are too loud so early in the morning, depriving her of peace to change in. As she jumps out of the closet, she steps on Kon. Kon does not protest, after all, from where he is, he has an excellent view. Yuzu suddenly walks into the room, informing Ichigo that Mizuiro and Keigo are downstairs. She sees her brother frantically plastering himself to the closet door, and wonders what he is doing. She tells him it isn’t at all early, so Ichigo hastily starts to change his clothes. He looks out of his window and shouts to his friends that he had overslept, and would be down in a while. They tell him to enjoy rushing, and he steps away from the window. Rukia opens the closet door and Kon falls out.

Ichigo asks her if she had once again erased his classmate’s memories, and Rukia says that she did, if not, he would have problems too. As he puts on his watch, he thinks to himself lately, despite the number of happenings, everything goes on as normal.
He suddenly notices the date display on his watch – 16 June. Just about the jump out the other window, she notices Ichigo staring at his watch and asks him what the matter is, but he says that it is nothing. In school, Michiru asks Tatsuki if she is in the Art Elective, and when Tatsuki replies that she does, she asks if she has done “the future me” assignment. She wants to see Tatsuki’s because she thinks hers is no good. Tatsuki’s art piece shows her in a boxing ring holding up the champion’s belt. As Michiru stares at the art piece in awe, Tatsuki declares that one day, she will become the female Vale Tudo champion. When asks, Orihime gladly pulls out hers because she actually feels secretly proud of it.

The “future Orihime” has a top speed of 380kph, from the mouth 20000 C flames, from the eyes special destruction lasers. In front of her, a student calmly continues his needlework. As Ichigo walks into the classroom, Orihime greets him, and strangely enough, he greets her back with a smile – something his classmates aren’t too used to seeing. Tatsuki asks Michiru for the date, and hearing that it is 16 June, knows what is up with Ichigo, who is in a corner with his friends, laughing. She says that Ichigo makes that face not when he is happy, but when he is very tense. Tomorrow, he will take off from school.

Outside the Kurosaki clinic is a notice, saying that they will be closed the next day. Inside, Isshin says that they will now decide on the jobs for the next day. However, he, being the chairman, has complete authority to decide. Karin opposes that, arguing that that is not how meetings work, but Isshin tells her to raise her hand if she wants to speak, addressing her as “Chief of Staff”. She finds that this “Chief of Staff” job doesn’t sound too bad actually. Yuzu is given the job of “Lunch Staff”, and Karin’s bubble is burst when she hears that she has to carry the bags. Isshin also seeks their opinion in his new haircut.

Back in his room, Rukia comments that the family meeting looked fun, and asks if he plans to skip school tomorrow and go on a picnic. The closet door opens and Kon says that a picnic sounds good, but Rukia shuts the door in his face. Ichigo asks if he can take the day off Shinigami work tomorrow, but Rukia refuses, asking him what is wrong with him, as he has been acting strangely since the morning. Ichigo replies that tomorrow is the anniversary of his mother’s death, or rather, her murder. Outside, clouds cover the moon and it begins to rain. Orihime looks out her window at the rain, remembering what Tatsuki had told her about Ichigo, and wondering if she were the rain that binds together the earth and sky, which in all eternity will never mingle, would she be able to bind two hearts?

Ichigo lies in his bed, a towel over his eyes as memories of that rainy night flash through his mind. As he walked with his mother he had seen a girl by the river bank take a step into the raging waters, and had gone to rescue her. Ichigo covers his eyes, trying to block out the painful memories. His attempts are unsuccessful, as he remembers his mother calling after him as he ran to the girl. The next thing he remembers is being by the side of his dead mother.

Over in Soul Society, a number of little children and a Shinigami are playing with tops. The Shinigami loses, and says that he will play again, and definitely win. Another Shinigami with a sheet over his face appears and the first Shinigami has no choice but to leave the game and speak with the other. The sheet-faced Shinigami tells the other that it is no. 13, Kuchiki Rukia. Hearing the name “Kuchiki”, the latter laughs and asks what “the little princess” has done. The other replies that she has exceeded the time limit for staying in the human world, and also that there must be more beneath the surface for him (the other Shinigami) to investigate. He is told to leave right away.

Bleach Episode 006 - Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo

Rukia sits atop a building, holding up a lighter-like device that has 4 little windows, one of which blinks. It also makes beeping noises as Rukia continues to stare at it, commenting that there is not much left. Raising her other hand, she proceeds to make awkward movements with it. She stares at her hand and says that there is not much there either – time to go shopping.

Ichigo, a plate of Japanese rice balls in his hand, knocks on his closet door, indicating to Rukia that her breakfast is here. Hearing no answer, an annoyed Ichigo slides open the door violently, but realizes that Rukia is not inside in the first place. He proceeds to eat Rukia’s breakfast, while his sisters, who are downstairs, eat theirs. Yuzu comments that Ichigo has been behaving weirdly recently: eating more and going upstairs immediately. Isshin declares that Ichigo, being 15, is at a sensitive age, and does only one thing in his room that all young men in the primes of their youth do. His sentence is cut short as Ichigo kicks him in the face, accusing him of being a pervert. Isshin replies that that is what true parents think of. A tussle ensues between the two as Yuzu and Karin calmly continue their breakfast, Yuzu saying that the food is getting cold, and Karin saying that it is such a “peaceful” morning.

At the Urahara store, a red-haired boy, Hanakari Jinta is fantasizing about baseball, and is using his broom as a baseball bat to hit a ball. He misses, and the girl, Tsumigi Ururu, next to him who is quietly sweeping looks up at him. Shyly, she warns him that if he does not clean up, Tessai will get angry at him. He points the broom at her and tells her to shut up, as he is not even afraid of Tessai. He then starts to “punish” her for talking back to him by rubbing the broom on her head. He says that she is of lower “level” than him, despite the fact that she is three whole years older than him. The broom is suddenly whizzed out of his hand and flung away. He swirls around, wondering who it is. Realizing that it is only Rukia, he relaxes, as does Ururu. Rukia says that he will never change, calling him “shorty”, then asking if the “manager” is in. Jinta reluctantly welcomes Rukia back and pushes open the doors.

A muscular man, Tessai, carrying a number of boxes scolds him, saying that it is not time to open yet. He then notices Rukia, and tells her to wait a minute while he wakes the manager. An oddly-dressed man walks up behind Tessai and says that it is too bad, as he is already awake. He then lets out a big yawn and puts on his sandals. Rubbing his eyes with one hand and the other in his pocket, he greets everybody. He tells Rukia that they just got stock from “there” yesterday. Rukia buys the cheapest (D-rank) spare fuel rod for her spirit communicator, and 60 bottles of Soma Fixers. The man, Urahara Kisuke, warns her that excessive use of Soma Fixers to align her soul with the faux body will result in hell when she leaves it. Rukia acknowledges this, but mentions that lately, her integration with the faux body has been poor, and sometimes it is hard for her to even move. Urahara happily asks if she would like a check up at a good deal, but Rukia refuses, and asks if the item she had ordered had arrived. Urahara says that it has, and sends Ururu to the storeroom to fetch it, saying that it is in a box which says “new goods”.

Looking around the box-filled storeroom, she spots the box she wants and opens it to retrieve the item inside. Rukia unwraps the item and asks Urahara if this was the only kind he could get. Urahara scratches his neck and replies that even getting this was hard as it is the second most popular. He then tells Rukia that she cannot pretend forever.

Rukia arrives in class late and greets everyone sweetly, saying that she is late due to family matters. She then asks Ichigo if he has a moment, but Ichigo says that if she has anything to say, to say so there and then. He is punched in the stomach and dragged away by Rukia, who exclaims that he needs to see the nurse. Their classmates stare after them, asking themselves if Rukia had punched Ichigo or not. On the rooftop, Rukia hands Ichigo the item she bought today, Gikongan - a medicine that forcibly removes the soul from the body and puts in a fake one. She tells him to use it if he encounters a Hollow without her being present. Ichigo asks why it is labeled “Soul Candy”, and Rukia indignantly replies that the League of Women Shinigami complained that the name Gikongan wasn’t cute, and had it changed. Ichigo then asks why the tube has a duck’s head on it, and Rukia says that even she wanted the most popular, “Chappy the Rabbit” too. Ichigo insults her for that, and she steps on his head as punishment.

She then instructs him to try one, and he does so, pressing the duck’s head so that a green pill is ejected into his mouth. True enough, he sways a bit, then his Shinigami self appears. Ichigo appears surprised, and Rukia tells him that there is now a temporary soul in his body so that no one will realize that he has left. The body moves and greets them, saying that “Ichigo’s” favorite phrase is “Early to bed, early to rise”. As the real Ichigo demands to know how that “Ichigo” is anything like him, Rukia’s phone begins to beep. She drags a complaining Ichigo away as the body waves at them and tells them to leave it all to him.

Urahara wanders into his storeroom and notices the opened box on the floor. Jinta yells at Ururu, asking her to read what it says on the box. She mistakes what she sees for “Infester Goods”. Jinta tells her that it is “Inferior Goods”, and that she has just sold that to a customer. Ururu sighs and hangs her head, and Jinta starts to pull on her bangs, but is stopped by Urahara. Tessai looks at a piece of paper and says that the Gikongan would bring trouble, and Urahara agrees, saying that they had better take care of it immediately, as they know not what “he” might do.

Indeed, Ichigo’s temporary soul stretches his muscles, then experiments with his new body by kicking in a wall. A teacher comes along and recognizes “Ichigo” due to his unique hair, and asks “Ichigo” what he has just done. “Ichigo” walks toward the teacher, then jumps right over his head, landing on a roof a distance away with great ease. The teacher stares after “Ichigo”, who jumps away gleefully. The lunch bell rings and Orihime cheers happily. Tatsuki, who does not think Lunch is such an important event, is told by Orihime that a healthy young high school girl comes to school specially to eat lunch. She pulls out a large loaf of bread and a can of sweetbean paste and asks Tatsuki what she has brought for lunch. Tatsuki ruffles Orihime’s hair and says that she eats a normal lunch.

Another of their friends, Chizuru (a lesbian) asks them if she can eat at their table, and Orihime, who is eating her bread whole and smiling with crumbs on her cheeks, agrees. Chizuru gives Orihime a big hug, exclaiming the Orihime’s way of eating is so cute. Suddenly, “Ichigo” jumps up to class from the first storey, shocking many of his classmates. The real Ichigo quickly finishes up the Hollow and says that he has a bad feeling.

True enough, “Ichigo” is standing on the window sill, his friends staring and asking how he got there. He tells them that he jumped up, though many of them do not buy his story. He is very pleased that all of them, guys and girls, are looking at him. He stares at the girls and comments that they are all very hot and above average. He notices Orihime and her assets and goes up to her, strokes her hair, and in a very gentleman manner, kisses her hand. Tatsuki immediately pulls him away, asking him if he knows what he is doing. “Ichigo” looks at her and says that upon looking closer, she actually is pretty cute.

Rukia asks Ichigo why he is rushing back to class, as the temporary soul is definitely alright. Ichigo has his doubts, and they are confirmed when they hear screams coming from their classroom. A table flies out the window and Rukia decides that he is righ – they had better return quickly. It is Tatsuki who is flinging tables at “Ichigo”, as he had just kissed her on the cheek. Rukia walks into the classroom and stops the fight, and the panicked “Ichigo” runs to the window. Rukia shouts for Ichigo, and the real Ichigo jumps up to the window, cornering the temporary soul, who then begins to rain down on Ichigo a great number of kicks. All their classmates see, however, is “Ichigo” kicking the air repeatedly. As “Ichigo” sends Ichigo flying into some tables with a kick. Their alarmed classmates only see some sort of force push back all the tables – they, of course, cannot see Ichigo. Orihime stares curiously as a table is lifted by invisible hands, and “Ichigo” smiles at Rukia and jumps out of the window, freefalling down to the ground floor. Ichigo and Rukia stare after him, who runs away at extremely high speed. Rukia’s eyes widen as she tells her self that it cannot be what she is thinking. She changes her mind as she continues to watch. He is a modified soul.

Ichigo jumps down out the window, and Rukia runs out of the classroom, their classmates watching her. A flaming Tatsuki declares that she will not let Ichigo off, and Chizuru tries to “comfort” Orihime, who stares out the window. Orihime tells them both that the guy earlier was not Ichigo. Meanwhile, Rukia and Ichigo have arrived at a dilapidated house, but have lost sight of “Ichigo”. Rukia comments that he has a moratorium, and Ichigo retorts that it isn’t the time for incomprehensible jokes. “Ichigo” has to be caught for using his body and kissing Tatsuki and Orihime. Rukia does not see why he is so agitated, because, to her, kisses are merely greetings, and in a book she was reading, much more was happening. Ichigo tells her not to compare the two, as kissing an ordinary classmate is a very serious thing, and asks her what sort of books she reads. He gives a wail of despair and complains that the image he took years to build up is gone. Rukia is surprised that he had an “image”.

Ichigo then asks her about the temporary soul being a “modified soul”, and she explains that in Soul Society, there was a plan called “Spearhead”. In it, souls specialized for Hollow vanquishing were injected into soul-less dead bodies. These souls, or mod-souls, would endow some part of the body with superhuman powers. Rukia uses her crude drawings once again, this time as an animation (flip-book style), to explain to Ichigo. Ichigo understands what she means, but comments that with her drawings, the moment’s tension is gone, earning him red spirals on his cheeks and a smack. Rukia continues, saying that the plan was ditched and all mod-souls ordered to be destroyed due to the inhumanity of making dead bodies fight. Wiping off the spirals on his cheeks, Ichigo asks if that means mod-souls were created and destroyed at the convenience of Soul Society, and if she is satisfied with that. She says that is not the question – the scrapping of mod-souls was one of Soul Society’s laws, which are set up to protect human souls. They then set off, running around the town trying to find and hence retrieve Ichigo’s body.

As he runs, Ichigo wonders how the temporary soul feels: being created and then ordered to be destroyed against his will, then surviving and finding a body and yet having to run away. However, contrary to what Ichigo thinks, “Ichigo” is having a great deal of fun jumping along fences and jumping over people’s heads and seeking attention. He says that he likes having powers that attract attention, although it is said that there are mod-souls with more power. Leaping off a fence, he notices three school children sitting behind a store room playing video games and decides to go see what they are doing. He lands lightly on the fence behind them, and watches as they, unaware of his presence, complain about P.E. lessons. One of the boys then exclaims that his character in the video game is not performing up to standard. “Ichigo’s” ears prick up as he hears the boy say that he will just delete the character, and does so, adding that he will just make a better one.

“Ichigo” grips the fencing so hard it starts to break, and the boys turn to look at him. He gets off the fence and looks very angry as he tries to kick the children. His kick is stopped midair by the real Ichigo, and he jumps away from Ichigo and smiles.

Bleach Episode 005 - Beat the Invisible Enemy!

As in the previous episode, the Hollow tells Rukia that if she allows him to eat her, he will tell her what she wants to know. Rukia swiftly delivers a knee in the Hollow’s face, then performs Way of Destruction number 33. This however, has next to no effect on the Hollow – Rukia’s powers have yet to return but a little. Ichigo, as he runs to Rukia’s aid, wonders how long it has been since he saw Karin cry. Until their mother’s death, Karin and Yuzu had been cry-babies. Yuzu, strong and capable, tried to fill the gap left by her by doing the housework. Karin, not as capable as Yuzu, was only able to reduce the family’s worries by not crying – even if she lost in a fight with a bigger kid, even when she was lectured for throwing a ball through the principal’s window, not even when she broke a leg when hiking. He promises Karin to fulfil her wish.

The Hollow puts a hand around Rukia’s neck, asking her to shed the human shell. By some stroke of luck, help arrives for Rukia. Chad lands a punch to the Hollow’s cheek, sending the Hollow flying. Rukia is shocked that Chad hit the Hollow, thinking that he can see ghosts. However, she changes her mind when she sees him standing not far away, punching the air. The Hollow is relieved that Chad’s punch was merely a lucky one, but is soon punched again by Chad, who is pleased. Rukia wonders how Chad is able to hear the Hollow if he cannot see it, and hence, how he is able to coolly and fearlessly confront an enemy he cannot discern.

The Hollow curses, then jumps into the air, wings spread wide. He ridicules them for their inability to reach him, and Rukia shouts for Chad to run. Chad merely blinks and asks if “Transfer Student” can see ghosts. Rukia replies that it does not matter, as they cannot hit it when it is flying. Chad asks where the Hollow is, then tears off most of a telephone pole with his brute strength whilst the Hollow continues to scorn at them. With Rukia giving directions, Chad swings the pole down in front of him, smacking the stunned Hollow to the ground. Rukia runs up to the Hollow and tells it to give up, as someone able to get rid of him will arrive soon. Laughing, the Hollow props himself up, telling Rukia that is the reason why so many Shinigami are beaten by Hollows – because they underestimate the Hollows. As if on cue, little blue creatures (that look like Stitch from Lilo & Stitch) jump over the walls and pin both Chad and Rukia to the ground. The Hollow decides that he shall eat Rukia first before Chad, but Chad, to the shock of both Rukia and the Hollow, flexes his muscles and all the squeaky Stitch-like creatures go flying. As the Hollow asks if he plans on letting his muscles do the talking, Chad does just that by trying to punch him again. He misses, but continues punching the air as the Hollow comments that his intuition is amazing. Rukia instructs Chad to kick over her, and he does, once again sending the Stitch-like creatures flying.

The Hollow rises into the air once again, so Rukia tells Chad that she has an idea. Chad, poised to “shoot” Rukia into the sky, asks if she is sure this plan will work. Rukia replies that it will – a combination of his strength and her abilities. Chad comments that the idea seems rather dumb, but is shut up by Rukia, who tells him to shoot her in “Tiger direction”. Chad, however, does not know what she means, so Rukia has to tell him that it means the left. As the Hollow gloats that being so high, a telephone pole will be unable to hit him, he launches her in that direction, and as Rukia flies towards the Hollow, she tells him to give up. The Hollow says that it will give up, but a few seconds later withdraws that and a Stitch-like creature appears on his shoulder. The creature spits out purple things in a green liquid at Rukia, who begins to fall to the ground below. Chad runs towards her and manages to catch her, who apologizes for being caught off-guard.

Rukia tries desperately to remove the purple things from her body, but fails as they are leeches that do not come off easily. The Hollow tells her that they are also his targets, and rings his tongue, exploding the leeches. The leeches are in face mini bombs that resonate with the sound of the Hollow’s tongue and explode.
Chad walks up to the Hollow, ready to challenge him. The Hollow then reveals his captive – Shibata the cockatiel, who he had bought time earlier to capture. Shibata apologizes for getting caught and the Hollow tells Rukia to run around so that he can have fun hunting her alone. Rukia stands and tells Chad not to move or the birdcage will be exploded, then, telling Chad not to worry as she had promised not to slip up, takes off in the opposite direction. A large number of Stitch-like creatures chase her, followed by the Hollow himself. The creatures catch up with her, and shoot leeches at her, but she jumps and evades them. She is, however, covered in the leeches, which get exploded by the Hollow, when one of the creatures appears out of seemingly nowhere. Rukia begins to bleed, and the Hollow says that he likes the cute blood-stained look, then produces more of the creatures and leeches, all of which Rukia dodges. The Hollow asks her how long she will run, and says that if she like, she can attack him. She stops suddenly at a fence, and the Hollow interprets that to mean she is giving up. Rukia replies that she is not, but merely has no more reason to run. She will take on the counter-attack offer.

Ichigo arrives and steps on the Hollow’s head by way of heroic entry to save the damsel in distress. Ichigo asks Rukia why she has slipped up this much despite her promise, but Rukia replies that what Ichigo had said were words from someone who was at least a little worried. The Hollow moves slightly and yells at Ichigo, asking how long he plans to stand on his head, then stands up fully when Ichigo jumps lightly off his back. Ichigo introduces himself as a “substitute Shinigami”, and tells the Hollow that if he were looking for someone to play tag with, he found the wrong person. The Hollow, hearing that Ichigo is a “substitute Shinigami”, curses, saying that he should have went after him from the beginning.

Rukia pulls on her glove and, while the Stitch-like creatures shoot out leeches and the Hollow rings its tongue, pushes Ichigo’s soul out of his body in time for him to attack the Hollow. The Hollow comments that Ichigo smells the tastiest, and Ichigo asks him if he had used the bombs to tie down Chad so he could have fun chasing Rukia, calling him a “dirty son of a bitch”. The Hollow retorts that now, he shall be eaten by that “dirty son of a bitch”.

Chad arrives with the birdcage in his arms, and the first thing he sees is Rukia watching what seems to be nothing and an unconscious Ichigo at her feet. Worriedly, he calls out to Ichigo, but Rukia stops him, telling him that right now, Ichigo is fighting. She also instructs him to take him and Shibata to somewhere safe. Meanwhile, Ichigo kills Stitch-like creature after Stitch-like creature, cutting them in half and spilling their insides (which are leeches). The Hollow laughs and compliments him, but reminds him that despite his slaying the creatures, the bombs are still detonable. To prove his point, he sticks out his tongue and rings it, exploding them all at once. His glee is short-lived, for Ichigo jumps out of the smoke, and swings his sword down on him. Catching him on the neck, Ichigo asks him if he was the one who murdered Shibata’s parents.

Shibata tells Chad and Rukia that all this is his fault, because he wanted to bring his mommy back to life. Hearing this, Rukia asks if someone had told him he could bring his mother back to life. The Hollow tells his life story to Ichigo, saying that when he was alive, he was a very fussed-about famous serial killer. Shibata’s mother, who ran around frantically trying to protect Shibata to the end, was his last victim. However, as he cornered them on the veranda, he ended up dying a stupid death – Shibata had pulled his shoelaces, causing him to fall to his death. Therefore, to punish Shibata, he shoved his living soul into the cockatiel and told him that if he could run around like that for 3 months, he would bring his mother back to life. The Hollow mocks Shibata, as he knows full well he cannot being a dead person back to life. The most fun part of the punishment was that he got to kill every human who tried to protect Shibata, who would whine. However, he would brighten the moment he was reminded of the eventual “reward” – the return of his mother. Ichigo begins to tremble, allowing the Hollow an opening to push away his Zanpakutou and jump back into the air.

He launches another two more of his leech-spewing creatures, but Ichigo catches and squishes them with his hand. He runs to the Hollow and smashes the Hollow’s front teeth such that his hand along with the leeches are in the Hollow’s mouth. He asks the Hollow if he still plans to explode the leeches, and to try ringing his tongue. The Hollow does nothing, so Ichigo claims the tongue by yanking it off and jumping away. As the Hollow winces, Ichigo jumps towards him once more, this time his Zanpakutou is ready. He cuts the Hollow’s mask, but the Hollow does not disappear as most Hollows would. A green light shoots out of the wound and a door with two skeletons on it appears. Ichigo is taken aback by what he sees, and Rukia explains to him that it is hell. Zanpakutous only wash away sins committed after death, but not those before. For those that have committed mortal sins in life, the doors of hell will open. For this Hollow, the doors do just that, the chains on them breaking one after the other.

The doors break open fully, and hell appears to be a fiery place. A strong wind blows as the Hollow now screams as his mask dissipates. A sword, held by a big blue hand, appears from hell and pierces the Hollow. The doors then slide close once more and shatter.

Later, Rukia reports that Shibata’s Chain of Fate has been severed and there is no trace of it. Therefore, he will be unable to return to his body. Seeing Shibata’s sad face upon hearing the news, Rukia tries to comfort him, saying that Soul Society is not a bad place, but rather, a place where you never get hungry, your body is as light as a feather, and it is 80-90% better than the living world. Ichigo comments that at least if Shibata goes to Soul Society, meeting his mother would be of higher possibility. Since they cannot bring his mother back, the best would be for him to go to her. Shibata’s crestfallen look is lost immediately, and he looks at Chad and thanks him, as he had carried him while running around and thus he did not get hurt. Chad says that it is nothing, and Shibata leaves the cockatiel’s body. Chad requests that should he die and go to Soul Society too, he would like to carry him and run around again. After Shibata agrees, Ichigo commences the soul burial, successfully fulfilling Karin’s wish. Karin, at home in bed asleep, thanks Ichigo as a black swallow-tailed butterfly flutters to the moon.

Bleach Episode 004 - The Cursed Parakeet!

As police sirens wail in the background, Chad and two friends, Shiego and a black-haired boy sit at a construction site with a white cockatiel in a birdcage. The black-haired guy tells Chad and Shiego that it is a cursed cockatiel, all of whose previous owners died horrible deaths. He offers it to Shiego, who turns it down, then at Chad, saying that it is cute. Shiego says that Chad has a soft spot for cute things. The bird mysteriously begins to flap its wings and caw loudly, and the three friends look up to see a steel beam falling down on them.

In the rugged landscape where Hollows seem to live, a voice says that they will continue to consume to fill the emptiness of their existence. A dark figure with creepy red eyes materializes, continuing by saying that Shinigami taste exceptionally nice, and once one knows the taste, one inevitably becomes captive to it.
The steel girder, luckily or unluckily, falls on Chad’s shoulders and thus, the rest are unhurt. Chad bleeds from the forehead, but nothing more. Suddenly, the cockatiel speaks, thanking Chad (it calls him “Mister”) for saving him, and after telling Chad that his name is Shibata Yuuichi, asks Chad what his name is. While his two friends stare in amazement that the bird appears to know what is happening, convinced that the bird is really cursed, Chad replies with his name. Shiego comments that Chad is really fascinated by it now.

Ichigo does not believe that his wound had healed up in one day, but Rukia says that her grades in Demon Magic were tops, so healing like that is a piece of cake. Ichigo is rather surprised too that Shinigami actually have a school. Rukia asks him how she should drink from a packet, and Ichigo vaguely replies that she should stick the straw in it and drink. While she continues to stare at the packet, Mizuiro walks up and comments that the two are awfully friendly with each other, and when Ichigo denies that, he says that is okay too, and that Ichigo should consider what others think a bit more. Ichigo replied that if he did, he would have dyed his hair black long ago. Rukia is still trying to drink from the packet, but after having found the straw, she does not know where to stick it into. Mizuiro greets her, and Rukia, acting as usual, greets him politely. He is pleasantly surprised that Rukia actually remembers his name. He gives a brief autobiography, but is interrupted by Ichigo, who tells Rukia that Mizuiro’s hobby is girl-hunting, so she had better be careful. Despite Mizuiro’s denials, he says that beneath the innocent look, Mizuiro is actually an incurable womanizer. Mizuiro complains that Ichigo is ruining his “image”, then says that in any case, he only goes after older women. Ichigo says that this is the precise reason why he told Rukia to beware. Remember, Rukia is almost 10 times Ichigo’s age.

Keigo comes along just then, speaking in the olden Japanese we often see Rukia speaking, asking what Rukia is doing here. As revenge, Mizuiro says that Ichigo had hit on her and lured her up. Keigo at first curses Ichigo, then congratulates him for a job well done. He then walks up to Rukia, over shrouding her petite frame. He thanks her for coming to this “squalid garden of manliness”, then announces that lunch will be a huge party. He also tells Rukia that should she need any help, she can always turn to him.

Hearing this, Rukia is pleased and thrusts the packet drink in Keigo’s face. Keigo takes a step back and accidentally bumps into Chad, who is bandaged up. His friends ask him what happened, and he explains that his head injury is because of a steel beam, the one on his hand from a traffic accident in which he also carried the injured motorcyclist to the hospital, causing him to be late for school. Ichigo wonders what Chad is made of. Chad puts the birdcage down, and Shibata greets them, telling them his name, and asking for theirs. Ichigo and Rukia both see that something is amiss, but Keigo is more excited, asking the birds to recite after him his name.

Ichigo asks Chad where he got the bird from, and to cut things short, Chad simply says that he “got it” yesterday. As Ichigo continues to stare at the bird, Rukia tells him not to worry, as whatever is inside the bird isn’t bad – probably a lonely ghost. Rukia adds that sometime tonight, they should give it a soul burial, causing Ichigo to lament that he will lose out on sleep yet again. As he takes the drink out of her hand and helps her to stick the straw in it, she is glad that Ichigo actually worried about others at just the hint of a ghost, and learning the mindset of a Shinigami.

Ichigo tells Rukia that it was in 8th grade that he met Chad. Because of his hair, Ichigo had constantly gotten into fights. On the day when the fights became serious, it was Chad who stepped in to save him. Chad however, will not retaliate when he is attacked. Rukia comments that the juice is good.

Ichigo arrives home that night, and is greeted by his sisters bustling about in nurses’ uniforms, Yuzu carrying a box of medical equipment. She tells him that there was a traffic accident at a nearby intersection. He then hears his father shouting over the phone at some hospital staff, demanding that they open up hospital beds for the patients that the clinic’s insufficient facilities are not able to treat. He slams down the phone after instructing the person to tell the chief of staff that it is a request from Kurosaki. Ichigo asks him if there is anything he could do, bur Isshin replies that there is nothing he can do, so go hide in the corner so he does not get in his way. Ichigo does just that.

The door opens and Yuzu and Karin, supporting Chad, stagger in. Isshin takes over and tells Ichigo that it is now his turn. Ichigo realizes that it is Chad, and Chad raises his head and looks at him. Karin stares at the bird in Chad’s hands in fear.
There is a terrible wound on Chad’s back, purple in colour and resembling a Hollow’s handprint. Isshin says that it looks like a burn, then begins using a cotton ball to swab the wound, saying that Chad will have to take it easy. However, Chad thinks otherwise, getting up and putting on his shirt despite the incomplete treatment of his wound. Isshin says that there is no way he is fine with that kind of wound, and true enough, Chad, who had just risen to his feet, collapses to the floor.

Rukia sits on Ichigo’s bed, as he asks her if she felt “it” just now. Rukia replies that she did, even from so far away – nothing from the cockatiel, but the scent of a Hollow from the wound. Meanwhile, Chad lies on his bed, looking at the cockatiel which sits on the table next to him. Karin too, is unable to sleep, seeming somewhat plagued by the appearance of the bird.

The next morning, Karin, to Ichigo’s surprise, is not down for breakfast as she does not want any and does not feel well. Ichigo is surprised by that too, as it is obviously very rare for Karin to be ill. Suddenly, Isshin barges into the room and tells Ichigo that Chad has disappeared from his room, where a window is open and the curtain flutters merrily in the breeze.

Ichigo runs around in search of Chad, and so does Rukia. The two meet at an intersection, and check with each other if they have picked up Chad’s trail. Neither have, and there is no information from Soul Society regarding the Hollow, nor anything on the radar. With her scrapbook drawings, Rukia explains that Hollows go undetected when they hide in the space in between Soul Society and the living world. Therefore, until the Hollow after Chad appears in the living world, they will not know its location. Ichigo earns a scrapbook in his abdomen after a negative comment about her drawings.

Ichigo comes up with the idea that they can track him down by following the trail of the spirit in the cockatiel, but Rukia says that it is impossible. Ichigo concentrates hard, and is suddenly outlined by blue light. Little firefly-like particles are flying around him in the air, surprising Rukia, who seems to know this feeling.

Chad and the cockatiel are hiding out in a construction site, and the bird apologizes to Chad for not telling him the truth, that all who own him meet misfortunes. Chad says that it is okay, but Shibata says that he need not worry about him anymore, and instructs Chad to leave him here and go. Chad refuses. Meanwhile, Karin still lies in bed coughing, but gets up with the thought of having to tell Ichigo something in her mind. Ichigo is still surrounded by the light particles, which then condense to form white ribbon-like things. Rukia is shocked, as even she cannot sense such a weak ghost, let alone follow it. Ichigo opens his eyes as he grabs one of the threads. As they vanish, he begins running in the direction of the thread he pulled. Rukia stares after the disappearing figure, wondering if what she had seen were spirit threads – visualized spirit energy that only top Shinigami should be able to see. Astonished by his growth in so short a period of time, she runs after him.

Chad sits with Shibata in the construction site, and Chad thinks they will be safe for now. Shibata tells him to go, but Chad replies that being sturdy is his only worth. Just then, they hear a creaking noise, and Chad jumps away just in time. The Hollow has found them. Chad jumps out through an already-broken window, and happens to meet Ichigo at a T-junction. Instead of running toward them, he instead runs in the opposite direction. Suddenly, Ichigo hears Karin calling him, and turns to see her panting and using a lamppost as support. Karin falls to her knees, and Ichigo runs over to her. Rukia tells him to bring her home while she will go save Chad, as she does not want his concentration to break while fighting a Hollow because he left Karin there. Ichigo asks if she has enough strength to take on a Hollow, and she replies that she would never slip up enough for him to worry.

The two take off in opposite directions, Ichigo with Karin bundled in his arms. Karin tells him that, since she was the closest in age, she saw the memories of the ghost possessing the cockatiel. The strongest memory of the boy had flown into her: right before his eyes, his mother was murdered. She begs him to save Shibata. In the meantime, Chad continues to run, the birdcage in his arms, Rukia chasing after him. She complains that if she were not in a faux body, she would have no problem catching up, and curses the Demon Craft Development Bureau for putting ordinary physical limitations on a faux body. As her breath gets heavier, she hears a voice commenting that it smells something good. Rukia stops in her tracks just as the Hollow appears out of the ground, trying to get a taste of Rukia’s soul. Rukia somersaults away, and the Hollow is surprised that she can see him, and that she did not die from one hit.
Rukia knees the Hollow’s face, and from behind the Hollow, performs Demon Magic: Way of Destruction, number 33 by chanting the incantation, “O lord, mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man, truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Way of destruction, number 33! Soukatsui!” Rukia is pleased that the spell works and that her powers seem to be returning, but she then realizes that the Hollow is not even scratched.

Chad and Shibata can hear the sounds of the fight, and after Shibata tells him that Rukia is being attacked, Chad puts Shibata’s cage on the floor so that he can go off to help her. Shibata argues that it is dangerous, so Chad moves him to the ledge of a wall. That was, however, not what Shibata had meant. Chad, who is unable to see ghosts, so the Hollow will surely get him. But his words have fallen on deaf ears: Chad continues running in the direction of the sound. The Hollow has seen the spell before, and he recognizes it as a Shinigami’s spell. He mocks Rukia’s spell as weak and incapable of even hurting him. Rukia is annoyed that she still has not recovered enough to use even that level of Demon Magic. The Hollow comments that she must be an ex-Shinigami, thus explaining her tastiness. He adds that he has already eaten two yummy Shinigami who had come to perform a burial for the ghost in the cockatiel. Rukia then asks him why he has been stubbornly chasing the ghost around, and the Hollow replies that if Rukia were to behave and let him eat her, he would answer her queries.

Karin begs Ichigo to tell Shibata that if he goes to heaven, he can see his mum again, and he won’t be lonely anymore.

Bleach Episode 003 - The Older Brother's Wish, The Younger Sister's Wish

Ichigo, having cracked the Hollow’s mask, realizes the true identity of the Hollow. The Hollow, its mask regenerated, lets out a lion-like roar. Ichigo wonders why Orihime’s brother is after him, and Rukia tells him that most probably, a separate and powerful Hollow that is hidden from them wants to eat his spirit power. Several other Hollows would be puppeteered by him. Ichigo does not wish to kill Orihime’s brother, but Rukia states that if he is not killed, he won’t be saved. Rukia initially thinks that the Hollow will be back for Ichigo, then changes her mind – Orihime is in danger.

The subject of their worry has finished her meal, and Tatsuki asks her if she would like dessert. Orihime replies that she has her green onions and sweetbean jelly, and though Tatsuki does not approve of her chosen dessert, she adds that it’s delicious to eat with friends. The pink teddy bear, Enraku, sitting on the shelf suddenly tears on the face, spilling cotton out. It falls to the floor, and Orihime crawls over to pick it up. As she wonders why it has ripped, she and Tatsuki hear a “boom” sound.
Meanwhile, Ichigo, Rukia sitting on his back, jumps from roof to roof, shocked by what Rukia tells him. Hollows, fallen souls without hearts that were not buried by Shinigami nor protected from other Hollows, attack their relatives. Orihime’s brother’s soul turned into a Hollow after failing to eat Ichigo’s, so he would seek out his most-loved person to bury its lost heart. The large bruise on Orihime’s leg that afternoon was the touch of a Hollow, so the accident was probably the handiwork of her brother.

Tatsuki and Orihime continue to look around in search of the source of the sound they had heard earlier. Now, they hear scraping noises, as though someone were sweeping with a broom with hard bristles. Blood drips onto the floor at Orihime’s knees. Orihime is stunned to see blood on her hand, seemingly seeming from Enraku. There is a louder boom and the hand of the Hollow bursts out of Enraku and through Orihime’s body. All Tatsuki sees is her friend suddenly collapsing, a look of shock on her face. A shadow passes over hers, and she is pushed back by a large, invisible force. Her shoulder begins to bleed, and to her, there seems to be no explanation. She is suddenly pushed aside yet again by the force, and goes flying. She gets up again, but is once more knocked back onto the floor. The Hollow is now over her, and she desperately uses her hand to block it.

Orihime watches from the corner, where she is shivering in fear. Her Chain of Fate is attached to her chest, and leads to her body, which lies motionless on the floor nearby. She wonders what the monster-like thing is, and why she (herself) is lying there. She also tries to pull on the Chain. The Hollow tries to strangle Tatsuki, and Orihime calls out to her. She gets up and, uses her whole body to knock away the Hollows arm. She crawls over to the coughing Tatsuki, glad that she is okay. Instead of uttering thanks or whatnot, she stares at the handprint on her sleeve and quickly moves away, shouting for Orihime to keep away. Orihime, surprised by her reaction, asks her what is wrong. The Hollow tells her that it is useless, because Tatsuki cannot hear nor see them. Tatsuki collapses, and Orihime asks the Hollow how he knows her name.

The Hollow tells her that he is sad that she has forgotten his voice. Orihime asks him instead to keep away, instigating an attack from him. However, Ichigo arrives in time and stops the attack, asking the Hollow if he was supposed to be after him. The Hollow, its hand cut, retreats with a roar. Ichigo looks around, annoyed that Tatsuki got caught in the crossfire. Orihime asks him if he is Kurosaki-kun, and when he turns around, she sees that it really is him, and asks now why he is here. Ichigo asks how she can see him, and then notices that it is her spirit he is talking to, as her body is elsewhere attached by the Chain. As only spirits can see Shinigami, normal people should not be able to see him.

The Hollow reappears, saying that Orihime is now dead. Ichigo rushes at him, his Zanpakutou poised and ready. The Hollow evades the attack and picks up Orihime’s chain of fate as it flies away, dragging Orihime along with him. Ichigo tries to attack its tail, but is flicked away easily out of the house. The Hollow orders Ichigo not to move, and tightens his grip on Orihime’s body, causing her to gasp. With his tail, he flicks Ichigo to the road below, and Rukia runs to him, asking if he is okay. Orihime, seeing Ichigo, struggles against her brother’s grip, shouting at him to let go of her. She stops suddenly as the Hollow asks if she has forgotten him, and rotates her body to look at him. She stares for a while then asks if he is her brother.

Ichigo gets up, his forehead bleeding slightly. Rukia reminds him, after assuring herself that he has no serious injuries, that even if the Hollow was once Orihime’s brother, he is now a heartless monster they have to eliminate. The Hollow puts Orihime down, as she asks him if it really is him. He affirms so, but Orihime says that it cannot be him – her brother would never do such a thing. He replies that he was lonely, seeing her gradually forget about him. Initially, she prayed at his shrine daily, and he, who was attaching, was happy. However, a year later, after befriending Tatsuki, the number of prayers she made dropped drastically. Finally, the prayers stopped altogether when she entered High School. Orihime tries to state her reasons, but he butts in and grabs her, saying that if she loves him, not to betray him anymore and to be obedient. It will not be long before he ends this by eating Ichigo. Orihime tries to plead with her brother that Ichigo is not a part of this, and not to hurt him anymore.

Her brother, enraged, grabs her once again, shouting at her, saying that it is her fault that it has come to this. He squeezes her, making her gasp, as he tells her to listen to him or be killed first. Ichigo returns, plunging his Zanpakutou multiple times into the Hollow’s tail. The Hollow drops Orihime, then tries to pick her up again. Ichigo cuts off its forearm, asking him if he knows why older brothers are born first. It is to protect the younger sisters and brothers who come after. Rukia rushes in, just in time to hear the end of his gallant speech. A big brother, therefore, can never tell his little sister that he will kill her, even if it costs him his life. The Hollow tells him to shut up, as Orihime belongs to him – he had raised and protected her in place of their parents who had abandoned them when she was three. He extends his hand to Orihime, telling her to come, and if she does listen to him, he will not hurt the others. Orihime starts towards him, but Rukia stops her, explaining that he no longer has her brother’s heart.

The Hollow notices her glinting hairpins, and memories of Orihime as a young child flood his mind. He begins to bang his head against the wall, then charges at Ichigo, declaring that Orihime belongs to him. Ichigo blocks his attack, forcing his mouth open as he says vehemently that Orihime is Orihime, not anyone’s possession. Pushing the Hollow back hard enough such that it flies out of the earlier hole made when the tables hadn’t yet been turned, he dashes to the hole, his Zanpakutou positioned above his head. He hesitates for a long while as the Hollow flies past, Rukia’s order to slay him coming too late. The Hollow spits poison from its mouth onto Ichigo’s hands, causing him to drop his Zanpakutou and fall down to the road. Ichigo, now unarmed, gets to his feet, as the Hollow flies towards him at high-speed, his mouth open wide.
The one who blocks the attack this time is Orihime, her arms around his neck as she apologizes for saying “Don’t leave me alone” that night, as that was why he could not go to heaven. She always knew that he was nearby, like the day before, when she was about to be hit by the car, it was he who pulled her leg, saving her. However, if she continued to rely on him, he would never rest peacefully. Therefore, she wanted to show him that she was happy, so that he would not worry. Instead, it had made him lonely.

She crumples and falls in front of him, her shoulder bleeding. He tells her it is not her fault, and his face begins to change back and forth between the Hollow’s mask and his original face as he screams. Rukia explains that he is struggling against the Hollow within, as he had not become one of his own volition, but was taken by other Hollows against his will. This was probably because they wanted to eat Ichigo, and purposely chose a soul he would find hard to fight, and after manipulating him, sent it after Ichigo. However, for his sister’s sake, the Hollow is now fighting against that Hollow.

With a cry of his sister’s name, the Hollow’s mask suddenly shatters, revealing the shocked face beneath. Orihime watches, tears in her eyes, before collapsing to the floor once again. Ichigo rushes to her side, but Rukia tells him and the Hollow to calm down, as she is not dead – the Chain of Fate on her chest is not yet broken. She then tells them to get back, as they are in her way. She says that she can still save Orihime with her demon magic.

As she puts her hand over Orihime’s shoulder and it (her hand) begins to glow. In the light of Rukia’s demon magic, Orihime’s hairpins wink at her brother. Noticing his reaction, Ichigo says that she wore them everyday as they were a present from him (brother). The Hollow stares a while more at Orihime, then turns around at picks up Ichigo’s Zanpakutou. He tells Ichigo that if he stays around like this, he will eventually return to being a monster. For that reason, while his mind is clear, he wants to disappear. He puts the tip of the Zanpakutou to his neck, and Ichigo tries to stop him. Rukia instead tells him that he has made the right choice, as Hollows cannot return to what they once were. Also, slaying a Hollow does not mean you kill it, but rather, that you wash away its sins, allowing it to go to Soul Society. That is why Shinigami exist.

Ichigo looks up at Orihime’s brother, who smiles and nods his head. Before he can kill himself, however, Orihime stops him. She tells him that on the day he bought the hairpins, she fought with him as she thought them childish. She did not say anything as he went to work, and by some stroke of luck, that was their goodbye. As her hairpins shine again, she adds that this time, she wants to say it properly, and sits up, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Brother, see you later.”
Her brother smiles once more, and returns the farewell before thrusting the Zanpakutou into himself and dissipating. The Zanpakutou falls to the floor and Orihime begins to weep on Rukia.

The next day, Orihime seems to believe that the previous night, a Sumo champion had come to her home and blasted a hole in the wall with a gun. Her friends find the story unrealistic, and ask her to come up with something else. Orihime insists that the story is 100% true, and surprisingly, Tatsuki confirms the truth of the story. Ichigo and Rukia stand at a distance, Rukia in particular “admiring” her deed. Ichigo asks her if this is what she did that night, when she put a lighter-like device in front of Orihime’s face and pressed a button, making a puff of smoke go up in her face, as well as the head of a duck on a spring. Orihime collapses as Rukia explains to the astounded Ichigo that the device is a memory modifier. Using that, she had erased Orihime’s memories of that night and put in a replacement, as she had done with Ichigo’s family previously. As already revealed, the one downside is that the replacement memory is random.

Ichigo is silent, then he says that as of yet, he cannot say he is prepared, as he is not a saint who can say he will risk his life to protect strangers. Neither is he scum that sits quietly by while people are hurt before his eyes. He extends his hand for Rukia to shake, saying that he would like to help her with Shinigami work. Rukia smiles, then takes his hand, and says that she looks forward to it.