Bleach Episode 2: Starter

Written by Hikaru no Michiru

First Aired: October 11^th, 2004

Corresponds with “Bleach” Vol. 1, Chapters 2 and 3

Opening: Asterisk, by Orange Range

Ending: Life is Like a Boat, by Rie Fu

 Ichigo awakes the next morning to find Rukia gone, his sisters oblivious to last night’s events and the giant hole in the wall blamed on a bad truck driver. Once at school, Ichigo meets his

Rukia's soul seperation glove.

 friends (tomboy Tatsuki, daydreamer Orohime, giant Chad, modest Mizuro and outgoing Keigo) and the new girl – Rukia?! After school, Rukia explains that she only meant to give Ichigo half of her power, but ended up giving it all, and so is left powerless in the world of the living. Until her powers return, she has decided to use a realistic body to help Ichigo with his new duty – taking over her job as a regular Soul Reaper*. Ichigo flat out refuses to take over such responsibility, but when he tries to walk away Rukia forces his soul from his body. Finding himself in no place to argue, Ichigo follows Rukia away from the school.

 

Ichigo cuts down the spider.

Rukia receives an assignment from Soul Society. The mission: subdue a spider Hollow that’s  trying to eat a young boy ghost in the park. When Ichigo rushes in to save him, Rukia stops him and reminds him he didn’t want her job as a Soul Reaper. Ichigo argues that he can’t just stand by and watch that boy get eaten. Rukia tells him that if he wants to save this soul, he has to be fair

A child's soul finds peace.

 to all souls, and save them all. Even if it means risking his life, because it’s his duty. Ichigo reminds Rukia that she risked her life to save him last night. He asked if when she did that, was she thinking of her duty. “When you risk your life,”, he says,        “[duty] ain’t the reason.” With that, he kills the Hollow, sends the boy to Soul Society, and tells Rukia he will do this Soul Reaper job of hers for a while.

That night, the soul of a young dead man watches Orohime from her window, saddened when she walks out of his line of view. Behind him, two Hollows appear, grab him, and pull him into a strange, other world. After being chased down and attacked by a gang of Hollows, and becomes a Hollow himself.

In the world of the living, Ichigo and Rukia run into Orohime who has a strange bruise on her leg she blames on a car accident. Rukia suspects otherwise. On the way home, Ichigo tells Rukia of the time he first met Orohime. She was trying to carry her brother into the Kurosaki Family Clinic, but unfortunately they were unable to save him.

Ichigo attacks the hollow.

A Hollow breaks into Ichigo's room.

Later that night, Rukia (who had “borrowed” Yuzu’s clothes, and made Ichigo’s closet a temporary home) burst out of the cloest to separate his soul from his body again – a Hollow was breaking into the room. Ichigo goes head to head with the Hollow, and manages to slice off part of its mask. It runs off, leaving and unnerved Ichigo alone to interrogate Rukia. Ichigo identified the face under the mask as Orohime’s dead brother. Rukia explains that all Hollows used to be human souls. Back at Orohime’s house, a loud noise interrupts her dinner with Tatsuki – her brother is coming, and he’s hungry for a tasty soul.

* Some translate Soul Reaper as “Death God”, or “Angel of Death”, but Soul Reaper is the official term.

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