Bleached Ichigo

Bleach Manga Chapter 3: Headhittin’

Rukia has Ichigo train by having him hit baseballs thrown from a pitching machine. Since Hollows are best killed by a direct strike to the head, Rukia told Ichigo to only swing at baseballs with her cartoonish heads drawn on them. But Ichigo ended up hitting all of them.

Inoue, who was shopping, sees Rukia and Ichigo in the park and goes to greet them. Ichigo notices a bandage on her arm and finds out she was hit by a car the night before. It seems Inoue has been getting injured a lot lately, but her excuse is that she zones out a lot. Rukia notices a strange black mark on Inoue’s leg. Upon closer examination, she recognizes that it is not a normal injury.

Inoue rushes home because she will miss her favorite show, but blushes when Ichigo offers to walk her home. Rukia asks about Inoue and finds out from Ichigo that her brother died from a bad car accident three years ago. Inoue was present when her brother was first brought to the Kurosaki clinic. However, Inoue’s brother’s injuries were too severe and he died before they could move him to a hospital.

When Ichigo gets home, Yuzu bugs him about her dress and pajamas missing. Ichigo has no clue, but soon finds out that Rukia took them when she bursts out his closet – which she has claimed as her own bedroom. Rukia received orders that a Hollow will appear right in his room. She pushes Ichigo out of the way and extracts his soul just before the Hollow (Acidwire) attacks through the wall.

Ichigo attacks the head; the cut is not deep enough to kill it but does force the Hollow to retreat. From the face behind the piece of the Hollow mask he cut, Ichigo recognizes that it is Inoue’s dead brother. Rukia tells Ichigo that the reason for Shinigami to kill Hollows in one hit is to avoid seeing their true identity – Hollows are formed from previously human souls.