Tatsuki Arisawa

is a student at Karakura High School, and is in the same class as Ichigo Kurosaki, her childhood friend and former karate partner.

Appearance
Tatsuki is a teenager of average height with black hair and brown eyes. She has a contrasting appearance to her best friend Orihime Inoue. Tatsuki is a tomboy, and has a very lean frame compared to Orihime's curvier figure. Her hair used to be short and dark, kept spiked out at the sides, in tune with her less than feminine appearance. She usually appears in her school uniform or her karate outfit while training in school or at the dōjō. Seventeen months later, Tatsuki's hair is much longer, reaching down past her shoulders. Ten years later, Tatsuki wears her hair short again, reaching as far as her neck only.

Personality
Tatsuki is a tomboy who is bold, outgoing, and extroverted. She is laid back and levelheaded most of the time, unless she is provoked by somebody. She aggressively uses her great strength to deal with anyone who troubles her or her friends. She easily hits anyone who annoys Orihime or gives her some sort of deep personal insult, seen when Kon, while inside Ichigo's body, gives her a compliment and apparently kisses her on the cheek. She stays angry for some time, even after wrecking much of the classroom and Kon flees the scene. She has a lot of insight on Ichigo's personality. When they were children, Tatsuki regularly saved Ichigo when he was getting beaten up, as well as cheering him up when he was upset. A tomboyish karate practitioner with dreams of becoming a vale tudo champion and already ranking Japan's second strongest in her age group, her only obvious feminine trait is how she writes her name using hiragana (たつき), though this is because she thinks it looks feminine while she considers the kanji of her name to be unappealing.

Tatsuki is constantly protecting Orihime from men looking for a date, as well as the school lesbian Chizuru Honshō (who often approaches and tries to grab Orihime's chest). Tatsuki has done this since middle school, when she beat up some bullies who were trying to cut Orihime's hair, and had already done so once before Orihime's brother died. After that, Tatsuki promised to protect her from anyone who dared to make her cry, and she and Orihime became best friends.

History
Tatsuki and Ichigo are childhood friends. They first met when they were 4 years old, at the dōjō where Tatsuki used to train. She claims to be the first person to make Ichigo cry at the dōjō, with one blow to the upper body, which made Ichigo cry in about 10 seconds. That was the beginning of their friendship. Tatsuki routinely beat Ichigo until sometime in the 6th grade. They haven't had a single karate match since the day Ichigo beat her. Ichigo also used to call her Tatsuki-chan, but stopped in the 5th grade.

Ichigo's mother died when he and Tatsuki were nine years old. Following his mother's death, Ichigo started skipping school, prompting Tatsuki to go look for him. She found him by the river-bank, where he paced from morning till night. Tatsuki believed that Ichigo was looking for his mother and claims that it was very hard for her to see Ichigo like that. As a child, Tatsuki once asked Ichigo if it was true that he could see ghosts. Ichigo denied it, and Tatsuki believed him, which in-turn made her angry at the kids who were spreading the rumors about Ichigo.

Tatsuki and Orihime met in middle school, shortly after the death of Orihime's brother. Tatsuki became Orihime's protector and due to her friendship and protectiveness, Orihime gained enough confidence to grow her hair long. They have been best friends ever since.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
At Karakura High School, Tatsuki comes upon Orihime relaxing. She tells her that her mouth is open and that she is too young to be “zoning out.” She then remarks about Ichigo being late. When Orihime replies with a confused response, she asks Orihime if she was thinking about Ichigo. Orihime rejects this. Tatsuki then asks what it is that Orihime likes about Ichigo. She notes that Ichigo is cold, has a weird hair color, is a brat and is short-tempered, and that Orihime could do better. Tatsuki is then surprised when Orihime tells her that she thinks Ichigo is funny. Orihime tells her that she can imagine Ichigo’s grimacing face and create numerous humorous faces based from that. She then starts laughing, which still surprises Tatsuki. Their conversation is then interrupted by Michiru, who notes that Ichigo might not come to school today. The two are confused and ask what Michiru means since he always comes to school with Ichigo. Michiru explains that he saw a huge hole in the side of Ichigo’s house in the morning as a truck apparently crashed into it during the night. Tatsuki then beings to ask if Ichigo is injured or dead, just as he arrives. He hits Tatsuki with his bag and tells them that he is not dead, nor was anyone injured.

As Tatsuki and Orihime are walking to their homeroom, Orihime knocks into Ichigo Kurosaki, and drops all of her books. Tatsuki scolds Ichigo and as a result, Ichigo tries to help Orihime up. Orihime gets up on her own and suddenly becomes shy, making an excuse to go play volleyball. Tatsuki asks Ichigo why he was late for lunch, but he tells her not to worry and that he will tell her about it later. After school, Tatsuki comes over to Orihime's house with stewed beef and potatoes, as her mother thought it would be nice. The two enter Orihime’s apartment and enjoy their dinner. Tatsuki claims that if she doesn't bring food for her, then Orihime would always end up cooking the weirdest meals. Tatsuki and Orihime proceed to converse, with Tatsuki encouraging Orihime to be more assertive in interacting with Ichigo. They then hear a crash as one of Orihime's teddy bears suddenly falls out of the bookshelf. This prompts Orihime and Tatsuki to start worrying if something strange is happening.

Orihime runs to the teddy bear and wonders how it got the big rip on its head. Orihime then notices blood on her hand. Orihime is then knocked unconscious as Tatsuki wonders what happened. She is then thrown against a wall and injured by Acidwire. Tatsuki wonders why she is bleeding. The Hollow proceeds to attack again, and begins choking her. She puts up her hand, and tries to discern what she feels. Orihime goes to help, stopping Tatsuki from choking. Orihime tries to call out to Tatsuki to run away as her friend breathes heavily. Tatsuki then faints

Once the Hollow, Sora Inoue is defeated, her and Orihime's memories are replaced, and both of them are healed. The next day, Tatsuki, Orihime, and her other friends talk with each other while having lunch, as if nothing happened.

Tatsuki and her friends are in class the day Rukia turns up with Soul Candy for Ichigo. She pats Orihime on the head for her enthusiasm over lunch and how she had brought in an actual loaf of bread to eat and yells at Chizuru for flirting with Orihime again. Along with her friends, she freaks out when it appears as though Ichigo has jumped up to their classroom window, unaware that it is actually Kon inside his body. Whilst shielding Orihime, she points towards him and demands to know how he got to the window. When it appears that Ichigo has kissed Orihime's hand, she pulls him away, insulting him as they struggle. They end up facing one another and he calls her cute before kissing her on the cheek.

This enrages Tatsuki, who begins to lose her cool, lifting tables and throwing them at who she thinks is Ichigo. She and her friends watch on as Ichigo appears to fight with nothing but air, but in reality the real Ichigo is getting kicked as a Substitute Shinigami. Following Ichigo, Kon and Rukia leave, and it becomes quite apparent that Tatsuki is still angered by what transpired, and her classmates look on hesitantly. Orihime then informs her that what looked like Ichigo, wasn't really Ichigo at all, disturbing her. Tatsuki scares Keigo when he returns to class and also frightens a teacher when she glares at him, but Ryō Kunieda covers for her so that she doesn't get into trouble over the mess.

Several days later, Tatsuki and Orihime are talking about their art class project with their friends. Michiru Ogawa asks to see Tatsuki's art project on her future self, saying that she is not confident about hers. Tatsuki proudly shows her project, saying that she will be the future champion of women’s martial arts. Tatsuki and Ogawa are then flummoxed when Orihime shows them her project. Both of them scold Orihime for misinterpreting the project. When Orihime greets Ichigo, both Orihime and Ogawa are confused by his “good mood.” Orihime wonders why Ichigo is so tense, which confuses Ogawa. This prompts Tatsuki to ask Ogawa what today’s date is. Ogawa tells her it is June 16th, causing Tatsuki to compliment Orihime for being able to notice something that took her three years to realize. Tatsuki goes on and tells them to finish up any urgent business they may have with Ichigo today, as he will be absent tomorrow.

Later, Orihime comes to Tatsuki's house to talk about Ichigo. Tatsuki discusses how Ichigo was always with his mother and how Tatsuki would always beat him in sparring. Tatsuki recalls how Ichigo would always smile when he saw the face of his mom, even after being beaten in a fight. They also talk about the death of his mother when he was nine years old. After this, he was never the same person as he was before. Both then notice that it has started raining. Orihime asks if she can borrow an umbrella, to which Tatsuki says she can. She also offers to let Orihime stay overnight since her hole in her apartment hasn't yet been repaired. Tatsuki is then surprised to learn that Orihime was kicked out. She asks where has Orihime been living, to which Orihime jokes with a sleeping bag that she has been sleeping outdoors. Orihime then reveals that she has been staying at a hotel and teases Tatsuki for making her joke not funny. Orihime then takes off, despite Tatsuki’s offer to have her stay over. After leaving, Orihime thinks about their conversation and is upset as she feels bad for Ichigo.

Later, in Karakura High School, a strange Hollow appears behind Orihime named Numb Chandelier. Orihime tries to rush Tatsuki and Chizuru out of the area, as none of them were safe near the Hollow. While they are being rushed out, Orihime is captured. Tatsuki comes running to Orihime, stopping the people that Numb Chandelier is controlling. Chizuru grabs Tatsuki's shoulder and begins to squeeze. Orihime is captured once more and as Tatsuki tries to help her, she is shot by one of the Hollow's seeds, causing her to fall to the ground. The Hollow commands Tatsuki to cry, but she is instead able to bite the Hollow. Numb Chandelier screams in pain and, after hitting her for a short while, decides to kill her. As Tatsuki falls to the ground, she begs Orihime not to cry. Orihime runs to help, but Tatsuki unwillingly hits Orihime in the abdomen. When Orihime acquires her Shun Shun Rikka, she is able to use Tsubaki to kill the Hollow. During the battle between Orihime and Numb Chandelier, Tatsuki is healed by Orihime's Sōten Kisshun. Days after Orihime defeated Numb Chandelier, Tatsuki tells Orihime that she is the second strongest girl in Japan. She also makes Orihime promise to come back home alive from Soul Society.

Soul Society arc
While Zennosuke Kurumadani is watching Karakura Superheroes and is wandering about Karakura Town, he is spotted by Tatsuki. She interrupts him, commenting that he looks suspicious for watching children (Karin, Jinta and Ururu) play games. This leaves him shocked as she can see him.

Arrancar arc
Later on, during the first invasion of the Arrancar, Tatsuki nearly dies at the hands of Yammy Llargo; who uses his special technique called Gonzui to suck up Human souls. While looking for Ichigo, Yammy asks Ulquiorra if she was the one they were looking for. A timely rescue by Orihime and Chad saves her. Orihime protects Tatsuki and Chad, resulting in Tsubaki breaking into many pieces. Yammy then nearly kills Orihime, but is stopped by Ichigo's blade.

Tatsuki also witnesses the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow on the night when he and his Fracción invade Karakura Town. She is frightened as she sees what happens to Ichigo. She isn't noticed by Ichigo or Grimmjow whilst she watches their fight as she is hidden from view. Along with Ichigo's battle, she also witnesses Tōshirō Hitsugaya's team and the Arrancar clashing.

When Orihime is taken away to Hueco Mundo, Tatsuki asks Ichigo where she is. She grabs him by his shirt, causing Ichigo to respond by telling her that it has nothing to do with her. She suddenly gets mad and punches Ichigo through a wall for not telling her what she wants to know. Before she does any more damage, she is restrained by Keigo Asano. She is later accompanied by Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima to Kisuke Urahara's Shop. She watches as Urahara opens a Garganta for Ichigo and the others to leave for Hueco Mundo.

Fake Karakura Town arc
After Tatsuki wakes up in Karakura Town and finds everyone else to be asleep, she hears Keigo crying for someone to be awake; for which she punches him in the face. He begins explaining his situation to her, but it simply ends up annoying Tatsuki and she punches him in the face again. She tells him to be quiet and he apologizes, stating he just got excited all of a sudden, but Tatsuki yells at him to stop making excuses. Tatsuki then shows him the unconscious bodies of Chizuru Honshō and Michiru Ogawa. She tells Keigo to pick up Chizuru while she picks up Ogawa and says that they are going to take them to the school. Tatsuki warns Keigo not to touch Chizuru inappropriately, but Keigo makes remarks about her chest and Tatsuki punches him again. Tatsuki tells Keigo that she recently walked around the edge of town and it felt as if the town had been transported somewhere else since there are only mountains surrounding the area. Keigo wonders if this has to do with Ichigo and Tatsuki remarks that it has to, but since it's Ichigo he'll do something about it. Soon they are spotted by Gin Ichimaru and Sōsuke Aizen, who recognizes Tatsuki from Ulquiorra's report.

Along the way, Tatsuki asks Keigo if he is going to search for Kojima. Keigo replies that he already did and that since Ichigo disappeared, he has been going to school alone and not answering his phone. Tatsuki is surprised by this and Keigo explains that Mizuiro is very distant with everyone other than Ichigo and he was happy to see him take the initiative with Ichigo. Tatsuki tells him to look for Kojima once they leave the others at the school. Keigo asks if she is going to look for Ryō Kunieda and Mahana Natsui, but she replies that they can take care of themselves and that she will look for Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki. Keigo says that their dad will be with them, but Tatsuki replies that he is probably asleep as well. They are then interrupted by the Reiatsu of the approaching Sōsuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. Keigo asks Tatsuki if she is alright, but she tells him not to worry about her. As Tatsuki asks who the pair are, she collapses to one knee; worrying Keigo. Aizen compliments them for being able to continue existing despite being so close to him. When Tatsuki again asks who he is, Aizen states that Ichigo will inevitably arrive with a new power and that he will kill them in order to push that power closer to perfection. Tatsuki tells Keigo to run as he cannot do anything by staying. Keigo turns and runs with Chizuru still on his back.

Rangiku Matsumoto arrives and orders Kanonji to take Tatsuki and Michiru away from Aizen, which he reluctantly does. As she is being carried away, Tatsuki looks back at Rangiku and wonders who she is. Noting that her clothes are similar to Ichigo's, she complains that Ichigo never told her that he had such a pretty friend. After escaping, Tatsuki tells Kanonji to put her down as she can now walk. He tells her not to overdo it, but she head-butts him when he continues to refuse to put her down; complaining that he never hears things the first time. Keigo then appears carrying the Zanpakutō of Zennosuke Kurumadani. Keigo tells her it belongs to an unconscious "Af-san". Tatsuki asks who this is, but Keigo tells her he will explain later. She asks him if he had searched for Chizuru and Mizuiro. Keigo says that he found him and that he left Chizuru with him. He tells her to ask about it later and to run as the presence of Aizen is getting closer to them. Just as the group encounters Aizen once again, Ichigo arrives, surprising Tatsuki. Ichigo greets the members of the group, including Tatsuki, and tells them to remain where they are. The stunned Tatsuki notes to herself that while she feels an overwhelming power from Aizen, she cannot sense anything from Ichigo, who forces Aizen to move outside the town.

The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc
Tatsuki meets Ichigo in class, and asks if he brought Tekken, since the new one is being released soon. When he does not immediately hand it over, Tatsuki asks if he forgot it. Ichigo gives it to her right after she asks.

When she meets Ichigo on the soccer field, Tatsuki asks about his involvement with the basketball club, but he says his job with them ended a week before. Tatsuki informs him that she has a part-time job as the assistant instructor at the dojo. Ichigo says that he is glad he stopped going, which Tatsuki responds to by threatening him to call her sensei. During their argument, Orihime calls to them from the second story of the school, and goes to them by climbing down a pipe on the side of the building. Tatsuki hits her for being reckless, but Ichigo says she should not be mad. Orihime tells them about a song she likes, and that she wants to change it. When giving a choice of what to do by Orihime, both Tatsuki and Ichigo reply either one is fine. Tatsuki looks at her watch and realizes she is late for work. As she leaves, she reminds Ichigo of his own job, and how his manager reacted last time he forgot to call in.

After Shūkurō Tsukishima calls her, Tatsuki arrives at Ichigo's house along with Keigo and Mizuiro. She tells Ichigo that she heard that he is staying out all night lately and tells him to come home earlier because Yuzu and Karin are always sad as they wait for him. After Ichigo throws Tsukishima, she calls out to Tsukishima. She goes to his side and asks if he is okay, yelling at Ichigo and asking him what he is doing. She says she has no idea what he is so angry about, but she has no idea what he is doing to his family and demands he apologizes. Ichigo tries to say something, but she just tells him to shut up and apologize. As Ichigo and Kūgo Ginjō enter Tsukishima's mansion, they are greeted by Tatsuki and other friends of Ichigo. Tatsuki, along with everyone else, tells Ichigo that Tsukishima is not angry and then tells Ichigo he should apologize. Some time later, following Kūgo's defeat and Tsukishima's death, she returns to normal, alongside Ichigo's family and the rest of his friends.

The Thousand Year Blood War Arc
Tatsuki is walking down the street with Keigo and Mizuiro, who are wondering where Ichigo is. Tatsuki says she has no idea and wonders if Keigo asked Ichigo's sisters; only to find out that he apparently went to soccer camp, despite the fact the tournament is already over. When Shunsui Kyōraku shows up, he tells Keigo that he is an acquaintance of Ichigo, and the captain tells them he has information regarding Ichigo's parting from them.

Cautioning Keigo to calm down, Tatsuki and the others learn that Ichigo has once again been dragged into Soul Society's affairs, and this time he may be forced to remain in Soul Society due to the risk of his power affecting the Human World. Because the remote likeliness of this happening though, Tatsuki asks why Shunsui would personally come to them about it, to which he replies that even if it's a small chance, not telling Ichigo's friends wouldn't be fair on him. She then receives a Soul Ticket along with the others, which will let them visit Ichigo in Soul Society should he ever be forced to stay there, with Shunsui reassuring her that he has also given some to Ichigo's family. Before leaving, he promises her that he plans to get Ichigo to come home before the battle for some rest.

Ten years later, Tatsuki goes to the Kurosaki Clinic with Keigo and Mizuiro in order to watch Sado's boxing match on TV. Rukia and Renji later arrive, and Keigo is very excited to see Rukia, causing Tatsuki to slap him.

Power & Abilities
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Having been trained professionally since a young age in karate, Tatsuki has a high level of skill at it, enough to fight several enemies and also teach Orihime basics to defend herself. Tatsuki is considered the second strongest girl in Japan of her age group. She managed to come second in a tournament with a broken arm.

High Endurance: Tatsuki's resolve to win is proven great enough for her to willingly continue in a national tournament with a broken arm. She can also take hits from spiritual beings such as Hollows. In Orihime's battle with Numb Chandelier, she was able to resist the Hollow's control.

Spiritual Power: Her spiritual power is enough to put up resistance against Yammy Llargo's Gonzui.

Spiritual Awareness: Tatsuki is spiritually aware to the point that she can clearly see Pluses, Hollows, Shinigami, and other such supernatural phenomena, though she lacks any unique spiritual powers of her own. She has also developed an ability to sense Orihime's spiritual pressure even when she was in the Soul Society with Ichigo, which was the thing that drove her to confront Ichigo since she couldn't sense it from all the way in Hueco Mundo.

Reiatsu Resistance: Even in the presence of the Hōgyoku-enhanced Sōsuke Aizen, though she was brought to knees and paralyzed in fear, she was able to "maintain her existence".

Memory Chikan Resistance: After her memory of Acidwire's attack was supposedly erased, Tatsuki could still remember Rukia being at Orihime's house, and the sensation of it being hard to breathe (an after-effect of Acidwire gripping her by the neck).

Appearances in Other Media

 * Tatsuki is playable in multiple forms in Bleach: Brave Souls, most recently as a Senkaimon Quest reward. In this form, Tatsuki is a melee character with the "Human Killer" ability and is available in five different versions, each with a different Attribute, whose second Strong Attack is a Boost Move. Her unlockable skills are "Berserker +50%", "Bruiser +40%", "Devastation +40%", "Enhancer +10 secs.", "Flurry", "Poise", and "Sprinter +1", while her Soul Traits are "Normal Attack Damage +20%" and "Last-Ditch Survival Rate +100%". Tatsuki's special is, where she unleashes a flurry of kicks and backfists that inflict immense damage.
 * In Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, Tatsuki is a non-playable character who must be protected from Yammy and Ulquiorra by Sado, Orihime and Uryū, until Ichigo, Yoruichi and Urahara arrive.
 * Tatsuki appears in the live action film adaptation of Bleach.

Censorship

 * In the manga, blood was visible as Tatsuki was thrown against the wall by Acidwire. In the anime however, blood wasn't visible until after it dripped onto the floor.
 * In the manga, Tatsuki had one of Numb Chandelier's seeds protruding from her shoulder and forehead, which were bleeding profusely. In the anime however, the seed was omitted, and the blood was replaced with green fluid instead.
 * When Tatsuki punched Ichigo into a window, the latter didn't have a nosebleed in the anime, compared to the manga.

Trivia

 * Kubo drew Tatsuki as a Shinigami in All Colour But The Black.
 * During an interview with Kon (manga only) he teased her for having small breasts (when compared to a fan) to which she replied they are actually C cup.
 * Her theme song, as chosen by Tite Kubo, is "Mou Aoi Tori wa Tobanai" by Hal.
 * In the anime, seventeen months after Aizen's defeat, Tatsuki's hair extends to her lower back, whereas in the manga it only reaches her shoulders.

Quotes
(To Ichigo Kurosaki) "I've seen you through so many hard times!! I've helped you so many times!! You don't...You don't hide things from someone like that."

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