The Older Brother's Wish, the Younger Sister's Wish

The Older Brother's Wish, the Younger Sister's Wish is the third episode of the Bleach anime.

When the Hollow of Sora Inoue begins to attack his sister, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki set out to save her.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: October 19, 2004
 * English Airdate: September 22, 2006
 * Opening Song: *~Asterisk~
 * Ending Song: Life is Like a Boat
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 4 (starting page 8), Chapter 5, Chapter 6.
 * English Name: Sibling Rivalry
 * Arc: Agent of the Shinigami arc

Summary
A small recap of the battle between Ichigo Kurosaki and Acidwire is shown. Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki discuss the current situation when Rukia informs Ichigo that they don't have time for that. Back at Orihime's place, Tatsuki Arisawa and Orihime finish their dinner and find Enraku (a teddy bear) with a large rip in its face and they once again hear a loud roar. On the way to Orihime's, Rukia informs Ichigo that Hollows attack those who were closest to them when they are alive.

Orihime and Tatsuki are attacked by an invisible entity that knocks the former unconscious. Orihime in a corner sees her friend being attacked by the monster and notices that she is attached by a chain to her. The Hollow calls Orihime and she asks about how he knows her name which makes the Hollow attack her. Ichigo suddenly shows up and drives the Hollow away. When Orihime calls Ichigo's name he wonders about the fact that she can see him. The Hollow appears once again and tells Ichigo the reason she can see him is because she is dead, he then proceeds to grab the chain which attaches Orihime's spirit and body. Rukia shows up to find Ichigo being thrown outside a window and into the ground.

The Hollow grabs Orihime and when she looks into his eyes finds out that he is her brother, Sora Inoue. Orihime says that her brother would never act like that, and he replies that his reason is that he was lonely and blames Tatsuki's friendship with Orihime as the reason for her forgetting about him.

After talking with Orihime some more he tells her that it is her fault that he ended up as such and when he tries to choke her to death Ichigo appears to intervene once again. Upon slicing off one of the Hollows arm Ichigo tells him that the reason big brothers are born first is so that they can protect their younger siblings and as such they should never talk about killing them even if it cost them their own lives. Upon seeing the glow of the hairpins he once gave her, memories of when Orihime was younger flow into his head, after ramming his head against a wall he attacks his sister again and once more is stopped by the Shinigami.

Taking their battle outside the apartment the Hollow spits acid upon Ichigo hands and as he dives for the killing blow Orihime steps in between the two only to be caught in the Hollows jaw. Orihime apologizes for having asked her brother not to leave when he died and tells him that she always knew he was watching. She tells him that the reason she had begun to act the way she did was so that he could see that she was happy and could move on. This revelation causes the spirit of her brother and the instinct of the Hollow to have an inner struggle and Sora manages to regain control of himself once again. Rukia tells Ichigo that the reason for this is because he was turned into a Hollow against his will and that the reason he was turned most likely was in order to use someone to whom Ichigo would find difficulty to fight against, something they had succeeded in doing. While Rukia heals an unconscious Orihime she tells them that as long as the Chain of Fate is connected she is alive. Ichigo tells Sora that she once told him that the hairpins she wears were a present from him and she never takes them off.

Using the last moments of his sane mind the Hollow grabs Ichigo's Zanpakutō and attempts to kill himself. When Ichigo is about to stop him Rukia informs that he is making the right choice and that slaying a Hollow is not the same as killing it and that the job of a Shinigami is to wash away the sins the Hollow has committed and allowing it to enter Soul Society. With Orhime waking up she reminds her brother of the last time they spoke and tells him something she should have said that day before he left "Have a nice day" to what he responds "I'm going now". Seeing the soul of her brother pass on Orihime can't help but break down in tears.

The next day, while having lunch on the school roof, Orhime tells her friends of what she remembers happened last night, a wild story about a summo wrestler blowing a hole into her apartment with a gun. Ichigo listens to this and asks Rukia if this was what she did to them and Rukia responds that it was a memory modifier and that what the person believes is dependent on ones own imagination. Ichigo tells Rukia that while he's not sure whether he is ready to risk his life for a stranger he is also not someone who can just stand by and not help, and informs Rukia that he would like to help her with her work as a Shinigami.

Next Episode Preview
Orihime thanks her brother for protecting her and tells him that she'll do her best to be happy, and ask him to be careful as well. A crying voice informs Orihime that this is the next episode preview, and comments that they are out of time again.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Acidwire
 * Ichigo Kurosaki
 * Rukia Kuchiki
 * Orihime Inoue
 * Tatsuki Arisawa
 * Sora Inoue
 * Ryō Kunieda
 * Michiru Ogawa
 * Mahana Natsui
 * Chizuru Honshō

Powers and Techniques Used
None