Cursed Parakeet

Cursed Parakeet is the fourth episode of the Bleach anime.

When Yasutora Sado receives a parakeet that contains the Soul of a young boy, it is up to Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki to protect him from the Hollow that is after them.

Summary
At a construction site in Karakura Town, Harutoki Ide tells Yasutora Sado and Gitano Shigeo how the cursed parakeet he brought with him has had all its previous owners be killed by terrible things happening to them, much to Gitano's shock. When Harutoki asks him if he wants the parakeet, Gitano refuses to take it after hearing about the bad luck it brings.

Gitano suggests that Harutoki simply abandon the parakeet somewhere, but Harutoki refuses to do such a cruel thing and offers the parakeet to Sado while noting that it is cute. As Sado looks at the parakeet in its cage, Gitano rebukes Harutoki for taking advantage of Sado's fondness for cute things. Suddenly, as the parakeet begins to shriek, an I-beam falls off the top of the construction site toward the three teenagers, prompting Gitano and Harutoki to scream in terror.

In Hueco Mundo, Grand Fisher proclaims that Hollows must continue to devour in order to fill the emptiness of their existence. As he declares that Hollows will always crave the souls of Shinigami once they experience one because they are so exceptionally tasty, Shrieker focuses on the parakeet in its cage. Back in Karakura Town, Sado catches the falling I-beam on his shoulders and back to protect his friends. When a stunned Gitano asks him if he is okay, Sado claims that he is fine as blood trickles down his face, prompting Gitano to point this out. Suddenly, the parakeet thanks Sado for saving him and introduces himself as Yūichi Shibata, to Sado's surprise.

When Yūichi asks Sado what his name is, a shocked Gitano notes that it is like he understands what just happened while Harutoki states the parakeet really is cursed. After Yūichi asks him for his name once more, Sado states his name and his age, prompting Gitano to realize Sado is interested. The following morning, on the roof of Karakura High School, Ichigo Kurosaki expresses disbelief at his injuries from his recent fight healing in a day, leading Rukia Kuchiki to ask if he is surprised before stating that she was among the best in her Kidō class, which made healing Ichigo easy. Ichigo is surprised to learn Shinigami go to school.

Confirming this, Rukia holds up a juice box and asks Ichigo how she is supposed to drink it, prompting a bemused Ichigo to tell her to poke a straw into it and drink. As Rukia expresses confusion at the concept of a straw, Mizuiro Kojima walks up and notes she and Ichigo are together again before observing that they are quite close, only for an annoyed Ichigo to ask him if they look like friends. Mizuiro wonders if he is wrong and decides to not press the subject as he tells Ichigo to be more aware of what people think. However, Ichigo bluntly states that he would have died his hair black long ago if he cared what other people thought of him.

As Mizuiro admits this is true, Rukia finally finds the straw on the back of the juice box and wonders where she is supposed to poke it in. When Mizuiro greets her, Rukia switches to her student persona and greets him in turn, prompting Mizuiro to realize he has not formally introduced himself yet. Mizuiro states his name and age, but is interrupted by Ichigo, who claims that he likes picking up girls. Offended by this, Mizuiro claims this accusation is mean, but Ichigo states that he is a flirt despite his mild-mannered appearance and warns Rukia to watch out for him, prompting Mizuiro to tell Ichigo to stop before he ruins his reputation while Rukia continues to fiddle with her juice box.

Mizuiro asserts that he is only interested in older women anyway, but Ichigo merely replies that this is why Rukia has to be careful, confusing Mizuiro. Suddenly, Keigo Asano appears on the roof and wonders why Rukia is here, prompting Mizuiro to claim Ichigo lured her up here, to Ichigo's consternation. After congratulating Ichigo, who is perplexed by Keigo crying with happiness over this, Keigo welcomes Rukia to the "garden of masculinity" and tells his friends that they will be partying during lunch, only for Mizuiro to ask if they will really be doing so with milk coffee and yakisoba bread, which Keigo claims is irrelevant because it is the spirit that matters.

When Keigo tells her to call on him if she ever needs anything, Rukia realizes with excitement that she can get him to put the straw in the juice box. Suddenly, Keigo backs up into a bandaged Sado carrying Yūichi, whom Ichigo greets. Seeing Sado's bandages, Ichigo and Keigo ask him if he is injured and what happened, prompting Sado to explain how an I-beam fell on his head yesterday and a motorcycle ran into him that morning, which injured his hand and caused him to arrive late because he ended up carrying the badly hurt rider to the hospital. As Keigo admits that this is a good reason to be late, a stunned Ichigo wonders what Sado's body is made of.

When Sado sets down Yūichi's cage, Keigo asks him why he is carrying a bird around as Yūichi introduces himself and asks for Keigo's name. Sensing something, Ichigo and Rukia both look at Yūichi in shock as Keigo expresses amazement over a parakeet being able to talk before introducing himself and asking Yūichi if he can say his name back. Ichigo asks Sado where he got Yūichi, and Sado prepares to give a full answer, but instead pauses for several seconds before merely stating that someone gave it to him yesterday, prompting Keigo to berate him for his bad habit of cutting his stories short instead of telling them in full out of laziness.

Sado claims he did not cut his story short as he sits down, but Keigo refuses to believe this and begins to lecture Sado as Rukia assures Ichigo that whatever is inside the parakeet is not evil and is likely just a lonely Plus. As Sado feeds Yūichi part of his anpan, Rukia notes that they cannot leave the Plus alone and tells Ichigo that they should perform Konsō on it tonight, prompting Ichigo to complain about having to go through another sleepless night. While Ichigo takes her juice box to stick the straw into it, Rukia mentally notes that Ichigo sensing a Plus and worrying about others means he may be learning what it means to be a Shinigami.

Handing the juice box back to Rukia, who begins drinking out of it, Ichigo details how he first met Sado while in the eighth grade, where his hair color drew unwanted attention and got him into fights. In the past, Ichigo fights off several thugs in an alleyway until two pin him down, and their leader puts on brass knuckles before repeatedly punching Ichigo in the face. When the leader tries to smash a cinder block into Ichigo's face, Sado throws him down the alleyway, prompting the leader to angrily demand to know who he is. As several thugs surround Sado and restrain him, the leader punches him hard in the stomach, but Sado does not react.

Angered further by this, the leader continues to assault Sado, who remains unfazed, as Ichigo watches in stunned silence. In the present, Ichigo states that Sado never fights back no matter how much people goad him, and Rukia notes that he is an odd man, which Ichigo agrees with, before noting that her juice tastes good. That evening, as Ichigo returns to the Kurosaki Clinic, Karin Kurosaki tells him to get out of the way and rushes past him in her nurse uniform, prompting a confused Ichigo to wonder why she is in a hurry. When Yuzu Kurosaki greets him while walking past with a box of medicine, Ichigo asks her what is going on.

Yuzu reveals that there was a bad car accident at the nearby intersection, to Ichigo's surprise, while Isshin Kurosaki berates a staff member of the local hospital over the phone for refusing to take any of their patients who require more than the first aid they can provide. After telling the staff member to tell his director that this is a request from Isshin Kurosaki, which he believes will free up some beds at the hospital, Isshin angrily hangs up and curses having to deal with useless flunkies, and when Ichigo asks him if there is anything he can do to help, Isshin bluntly denies this and instead tells his son to sit in a corner and stay out of the way.

Soon afterward, as a dejected Ichigo sits in the hallway, his sisters bring in one more patient, alerting him. Noting that this is a big one, Isshin tells Ichigo to come and help him, only for Ichigo to be shocked upon seeing his father is carrying Sado, who is still carrying Yūichi in his cage. While Karin stares in fright at Yūichi, Isshin removes Sado's shirt and sees a large, claw-shaped injury on his back, which shocks him and Yuzu as Ichigo senses something strange about it. Swabbing Sado's wound, Isshin notes that it looks like a burn and asks what hit him before telling Sado that he will need to rest there for a while, only for Sado to deny this as he stands up and puts his shirt back on.

Sado claims that he is fine and begins to walk away, but Isshin declares that there is no way he could be okay after losing so much blood, and Sado quickly collapses, prompting Isshin to order Karin and Yuzu to prepare a bed for him, which they comply with. That night, Ichigo asks Rukia if she felt it, which she confirms she did even from another room before revealing that Sado's wound reeks of Hollow. As Sado lies in his bed in the clinic and looks at Yūichi, Karin lies awake in her bed in a cold sweat and envisions Yūichi in his cage with terror. The next morning, when Ichigo comes down for breakfast and wonders where Karin is, Yuzu tells him she is not feeling well.

As Ichigo notes that it is unusual for Karin to be feeling unwell, a panicking Isshin bursts into the room and informs him that Sado has disappeared from his room. Shortly afterward, Ichigo runs down the street before being met by Rukia, who asks him if he has found clues about where Sado went. Ichigo denies this and asks if Rukia has, which she also denies before stating that Soul Society has not told her about any nearby Hollows and that she cannot find anything on her radar. Explaining that Hollows usually hide in the space between worlds until they appear to devour souls, Rukia notes that this means they will not be able to find a Hollow hunting Sado until it appears in the Human World.

However, when Rukia asks him if he understands this with her drawings illustrating the concept, Ichigo wonders how he is supposed to understand it with her kindergarten-level drawings, prompting an irritated Rukia to bash him in the stomach with her sketchbook. Doubling over in pain, Ichigo notes that they cannot wait until Sado is attacked to help him and tries to think of something they can do before remembering Yūichi. Ichigo proclaims that they can simply follow the soul inhabiting Sado's parakeet, and while Rukia tells him this is not possible, Ichigo concentrates and begins glowing with Reiatsu as specks of light float around him.

While a stunned Rukia wonders what is happening, Sado walks through an abandoned factory with Yūichi, who says he is nice before apologizing to Sado for bringing bad luck to everyone who owns him, which Sado states that he knows about. As Sado enters one of the buildings, Yūichi apologizes for not telling Sado, who tells him to not worry about it, before stating that Sado should forget about and abandon him, prompting Sado to assert that he cannot do this. At the Kurosaki Clinic, Karin coughs and breathes heavily in bed while sweating and thinking about Yūichi before getting out of bed with the intent to tell Ichigo something.

Meanwhile, Rukia continues to watch Ichigo in astonishment while noting that he is trying to sense Yūichi's soul from a distance even though she cannot even sense it because it is so weak. Suddenly, the specks of light around Ichigo condense into long white ribbons, one of which Ichigo grabs as he declares that he found Yūichi before running off. Standing still in shock, Rukia realizes that those were Reiraku, visible ribbons of Reiryoku that only high-level Shinigami can see, and wonders if Ichigo has really progressed so much in such a short period of time before running after him. At the abandoned factory, Sado sits with Yūichi and notes that they seem to have lost their pursuer.

When Yūichi tells him that he does not need to do this anymore, Sado assures him that it is fine because being tough is his one good trait before being alerted by something in the rafters. Upon seeing a Hollow dropping onto them from above, Sado grabs Yūichi and runs just as the figure lands behind them. Noting that their pursuer found them, Sado leaps out of a broken window with Yūichi. Outside, as Ichigo and Rukia run down the street, Sado crosses the road in front of them and is surprised to see them there before turning and running away. As Ichigo wonders why Sado is running away because it is dangerous to be alone, Karin calls out to him.

Turning to face Karin, Ichigo asks her what she is doing while still sick, only for Karin to suddenly collapse in front of him. Ichigo runs over to Karin in concern as Rukia tells him to take her home first while she rescues Sado. When Ichigo protests this, Rukia asserts that he will be distracted when fighting the Hollow if he leaves Karin there, which she cannot allow. As Ichigo acknowledges this, Rukia tells him to go, but Ichigo reminds her to not take chances because she has not regained enough of her powers to fight a Hollow yet, only for Rukia to confidently state that she would never make Ichigo worry by messing up like that before running off.

Ichigo picks up Karin and holds her in his arms as he begins running back to their house. While Ichigo asks her if she is alright and tells her to hang on, Karin tells him that she saw the memories of the Soul inside the parakeet last night because she is the closest to him in age and reveals that the child's strongest memory is seeing his mother murdered right in front of him. As Ichigo stops running in surprise, Karin tearfully begs him to save the child. Elsewhere, as she follows Sado, Rukia curses her inability to catch up due to the physical capabilities of her Gigai matching those of an ordinary human and disparages the workers at the technology development bureau.

Suddenly, Shrieker comments on the nice smell, causing her to stop running in shock as she looks around. Appearing in front of Rukia, Shrieker tells her that she smells delicious and declares that he will devour her soul before attacking, only for Rukia to handspring away from him in response. A somewhat surprised Shrieker notes that she did not die in one hit and can see him before asking Rukia who she is. Kneeing Shrieker in the face, Rukia springs off the back of his head into the air behind him and recites an incantation before firing '''Hadō #33. Sōkatsui''', which creates a large cloud of smoke upon hitting Shrieker's back.

Mentally cheering over having regained this much of her power, Rukia is shocked when Shrieker emerges from the cloud of smoke unharmed. Elsewhere, upon hearing a loud thud, Sado wonders what that noise was, prompting Yūichi to reveal that Rukia is being attacked by the Hollow who was pursuing them. When Sado places his cage on the ground and tells him to stay there, Yūichi asks him what he is going to do, and when Sado states that he is going to save Rukia, Yūichi frantically warns him against this. Interpreting this as Yūichi not feeling safe in the road, Sado places him on top of a nearby wall before running off as Yūichi reminds him that he cannot see spiritual beings.

Meanwhile, as a stunned Rukia realizes that her attack did not even leave a scratch, Shrieker states that he recognized that attack as a Shinigami spell before declaring that he felt nothing because it was so weak as he leans in to bite Rukia. Leaping back, Rukia mentally notes that her Kidō has not recovered enough to use a spell of that level while Shrieker realizes Rukia is a Shinigami, which is why she smells so good to him, and reveals that he has devoured two Shinigami who tried to perform Konsō on the child, whom he proclaims were delicious. Rukia asks him if he is referring to the Soul inside the parakeet, which Shrieker confirms.

When Rukia notes that Shrieker seems to be relentlessly pursuing that child and demands to know why, Shrieker promises to tell her in full if she lets him devour her soul without resistance before laughing. Elsewhere, as she continues to cry in Ichigo's arms, Karin begs Ichigo to tell Yūichi that he can see his mother again if he crosses over and to not let him be alone anymore.

Next Episode Preview
Kisuke Urahara pops up to advertise his store, frequently visited by Shinigami, and himself, the shop owner who carries a scent of danger, before noting that what is bought from the store will invite tragedy, only for Ichigo to berate him for being a week early and claim that the story is not that sad before realizing they are out of time once again.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Harutoki Ide
 * 2) Yūichi Shibata (parakeet form)
 * 3) Yasutora Sado
 * 4) Gitano Shigeo
 * 5) Shrieker
 * 6) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 7) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 8) Mizuiro Kojima
 * 9) Keigo Asano
 * 10) Karin Kurosaki
 * 11) Yuzu Kurosaki
 * 12) Isshin Kurosaki

Fights

 * Rukia Kuchiki & Yasutora Sado vs. Shrieker

Powers and Techniques Used
Kidō used:
 * (erroneously dubbed as "Bakudō #33" in the English version)

Other techniques: