Ichigo vs. Dalk! Appearance of the Faded Darkness

 is the eighty-second episode of the Bleach anime.

As Lieutenant Renji Abarai fights off the Bitto, many get away. Ichigo Kurosaki fights Gō Koga's Doll, Dalk, in her new form.

Summary
Struggling against the huge amount of Bitto in front of him, Renji collapses onto the ground. In another location, Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki sense Renji's Reiatsu disappear, but before they can do anything about it, they are confronted by both Jinta Hanakari and Ururu Tsumugiya. When they tell them Kisuke Urahara finally made the new Bount sensors, Ichigo does not want to use it because the Bount sensor is the headband he used during Urahara's training, and he has to activate it with the same phrase he used on it before. Despite this, he, putting the headband on, yells out "Take the power of Justice! The Armor and Headband of justice! Protect yourself!" When Rukia is shocked Ichigo would actually say that, Ichigo, arguing with her, begins to move in a random direction. As Jinta tells him he will reach one of the Bount this way, Rukia tells Ichigo she is going to find Renji. Crashing into a fence, Ichigo, jumping over it, continues his search for the Bount. Stating he cannot sense Renji's Reiatsu either, Jinta wonders if he is dead. When Ururu states Jinta must care about Renji, Jinta angrily hits Ururu, stating he does not care about him, and runs towards Renji's location.

As Keigo Asano, leaving a convenience store with some food, walks home, he begins to wonder why he wants to eat junk food in the middle of the night. When Keigo notices some Bitto in front of him, they charge after him. Running away, Keigo, escaping from them, wonders if he is dreaming. As he decides to head home and get some sleep, he is stabbed in the heart by a Bitto. As he collapses onto the ground, Ichigo, arriving, notices several Bitto surrounding Keigo. Fighting off the Bitto, Ichigo, telling Keigo to hang on, Ichigo is attacked by Koga. When Ichigo asks what he did to Keigo, Koga, stating he is not going to explain anything to him, summons his Doll, Dalk, who fires a metal ball at Ichigo. Blocking the attack with his Zanpakutō, Ichigo stops the metal ball, which falls to the ground. When he feels his hand go numb, Dalk notes she has gotten stronger. The metal ball on the ground turns into several, much smaller metal balls, which attack Ichigo again. As Ichigo blocks the attack with his Zanpakutō, Dalk attacks him. Dodging the attack, Ichigo, moving to the air, fends off more of the metal balls. As his headband breaks, he falls to the ground. As Ichigo states Dalk is stronger than before, Koga tells his Doll their investigation is over before Ichigo tells them he is not going to lose, and he is going to save Keigo.

In another location, as Orihime Inoue asks Kurōdo what happened to Renji, he states he either lost consciousness or lost the will to fight. Before he can point out another possibility, Rukia, Ururu, and Jinta, arriving, ask about Renji's status, but they are told they do not know, for as soon as they got there, Renji's Reiatsu disappeared. When Orihime asks what happened to Ichigo, Rukia states he is going after the Bount, and Orihime and Kurōdo should go and back him up. As she states she is going to look for Renji herself, they are attacked by the Bount Yoshi. As Yoshi talks with her Doll, Nieder, Rukia orders Ururu to go after Yasutora Sado and Jinta to look for Renji. As Jinta begins to argue about this, they are attacked by Yoshi again. When Rukia uses '''Hadō #33. Sōkatsui''', Yoshi, dodging the attack, thinks to herself she would much rather fight a man than a woman, but her Doll tells her it is all the same after he kills her. Throwing the sword section of her Doll towards Rukia, who dodges the attack, Yoshi sends the fan section of her Doll at her, only for it to be stopped by Orihime's Santen Kesshun. Telling Rukia they are going to be fighting as well, Orihime and Kurōdo ask Yoshi where Jin Kariya is and what the Bount are after.

Back at Ichigo's location, Ichigo, fending off more of the metal balls sent after him, is overwhelmed by them. When Koga tells his Doll her bad habit is playing with her prey, Dalk states when in a life and death battle, you should let your prey feel the ultimate pain and fear, for it would be a tragedy if the prey never got to experience those feelings. As Ichigo gets back up to fight, Dalk fires a barrage of metal spikes at Ichigo and Keigo. As Ichigo, protecting Keigo, tells Dalk to not mess with him, Keigo spots Ichigo, who is shocked Keigo can actually see him in his Shinigami form. Stating he can do so because most of his soul has been sucked out of his body, Koga tells Ichigo he cannot save him now. Not convinced this is the case, Ichigo asks Koga why he is using the Bitto to collect souls. As Koga tells him the Bitto gives the Bount additional strength, which helps them further achieve their goals, Keigo, telling Ichigo to run away, passes out, prompting Ichigo to angrily fire a Getsuga Tenshō at Dalk, which splits the Doll in half. As Ichigo goes to take care of Keigo, Dalk, stretching her arm around his Zanpakutō, immobilizes it. Stretching more of her arms around Ichigo, Dalk, immobilizing him as well, begins to tighten her grasp on him, but Ichigo frees himself.

In another location, as Ururu informs Sado and Noba of the situation, the Bount Sawatari confronts the group. Back at Ichigo's location, Ichigo escapes from Koga's sight due to Ririn's illusions. When Ririn tells him they have to hurry and escape, Ichigo tells her he has to save Keigo first. As Ririn tries to convince Ichigo not to, Ichigo tells her if he cannot save Keigo, he cannot save anyone, including himself. Appearing with his Doll, Koga tells Ichigo he is correct in thinking he cannot save anyone, and thinking otherwise would be a foolish illusion. Telling Ichigo she will not forgive him if he tries to escape in the middle of battle, Dalk creates a metal spider web around Ichigo, trapping him. Firing a Getsuga Tenshō at Dalk, who dodges the attack, Ichigo tells her he will not run away. As Ichigo's Zanpakutō is immobilized by Dalk's arm again, he realizes he himself is stuck on the web. Using her lengthened arms as a whip, Dalk begins hitting Ichigo, who, kneeling down, drops his Zanpakutō. As she, taking Ichigo's Zanpakutō, thrusts it at the Shinigami to finish him off, Ichigo, catching the Zanpakutō to the surprise of Koga and Dalk, takes his Zanpakutō back, throwing Dalk away.

As the mask on Ichigo's face indicates he has been taken over by his inner Hollow again, Koga asks him who he is. When the Hollow says "I'm me", Koga states he thought he was only a Shinigami, but the Hollow tells him Ichigo is the Shinigami, not him, and he is not as naive as Ichigo. As the Hollow states as much as he would like to say Ichigo is not a part of him, it would be bad for him if Ichigo were to die, Dalk, thinking Ichigo cannot fight anymore, begins to attack her opponent, but the Hollow, dodging, thrusts his Zanpakutō through Dalk's chest. As he, splitting Dalk in half, begins to laugh madly, his arm, grabbing his Hollow mask, begins to rip it off. Realizing Ichigo is the one doing this, the Hollow advises Ichigo against this, but the Hollow mask is ripped off. Regaining control, Ichigo collapses onto the ground. Telling him a strong heart is needed to control a strong power, but he lacks this strong heart, Koga states because of this, he will destroy himself in the near future, but before this happens, he will finish him off himself. As he calls for his doll to come back, Dalk wonders what happened. Telling her the battle is over now, Koga tells her to not make him suffer too much. In another location, Jinta finds Renji passed out on the ground.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
As 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame is in a barbershop, Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, appearing, asks what he is doing there since he is bald. As she begins to draw a line separating his face from his head, he stops her. When Captain Sajin Komamura comes in, Yachiru tries to do the same to him, but Ikkaku stops her again.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 2) Ririn
 * 3) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 4) Orihime Inoue
 * 5) Kurōdo
 * 6) Yasutora Sado
 * 7) Noba
 * 8) Ugaki
 * 9) Yoshi
 * 10) Gō Koga
 * 11) Hollow Ichigo (possessing Ichigo's body)
 * 12) Sawatari
 * 13) Mabashi
 * 14) Jin Kariya
 * 15) Renji Abarai
 * 16) Ururu Tsumugiya
 * 17) Jinta Hanakari
 * 18) Keigo Asano

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki & Izuru Kira vs. Gō Koga
 * Rukia Kuchiki & Orihime Inoue vs. Yoshi

Powers and Techniques Used
Kidō used:

Techniques used:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Dolls summoned:
 * Bitto (ビット)
 * Bitto (ビット)
 * Bitto (ビット)
 * Bitto (ビット)

Other powers:
 * Illusions
 * Illusions