The Encounter, Renji Abarai!

 is the sixteenth episode of the Bleach anime.

Two Shinigami, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, arrive in the Human World to take Rukia Kuchiki back to the Soul Society.

Summary
As Rukia Kuchiki runs away from the Kurosaki Clinic, she recalls the night that she gave her Shinigami powers to Ichigo Kurosaki, Mahana Natsui asking her if she likes Ichigo, joining Ichigo's class as a student to work with him, and various other interactions with him and his fellow classmates, which she asserts will be a burden if she has to leave Karakura Town.

Remembering how she told the other girls in her class that Ichigo was just a friend, Rukia declares that compassion, friendship, and affection are bothersome and unfit for a Shinigami before noting that she may have stayed in the Human World for too long. Suddenly, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai agrees with her, prompting a shocked Rukia to look back and see him crouching on top of a telephone pole as Renji draws his Zanpakutō over his head.

While Renji observes that Rukia could also consider her extended stay as having allowed her to live a bit longer, Rukia asks him if he is Renji Abarai, only for Renji to respond by jump off the telephone pole and slashing downward as he falls toward a stunned Rukia, resulting in his Zanpakutō smashing into the ground in front of her as a trail of force and energy erupts from it. As the energy fades, Renji points out to Rukia, who has been scared speechless, that she was so lost in thought that she did not even notice an assailant from Soul Society was lurking right behind her and criticizes her for becoming so lax in just a couple months regardless of being in a Gigai.

Lifting his Zanpakutō up from the cratered and punctured ground, Renji demands that Rukia tell him where the Human who stole her powers is. Though Rukia tries to claim that her being in a Gigai does not mean she has lost her powers and that Renji is being presumptuous to assume that her powers could be stolen by a Human, Renji asserts that it was a Human because Rukia would not have such a Human expression on her face if it was not. Renji recounts how Rukia came from Rukongai like him and was taken in by the Kuchiki Clan, who spent a lot of time and money on making Rukia an elite Shinigami, before proclaiming that her looking so Human cannot possibly be a good thing.

As cheery blossoms float through the air and clouds obscure the moon overhead, Renji asks his Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki, if he is correct, leading Rukia to turn around and stare in shock upon finding Byakuya standing behind her. While a car drives by them, Rukia nervously addresses Byakuya as her brother before suddenly dodging to the side as Renji slashes horizontally at her, resulting in a cut on her cheek that begins to bleed. Detailing how passing on Shinigami powers to a Human is considered a grave crime, Renji levels his blade at Rukia and tells her to consider it a kindness from Central 46 that they sent the two of them instead of the Keigun to handle this.

Rukia gets to her feet as Renji reiterates his demand for her to tell them where the Human she gave her powers to is and reveals that they will be killing him after they take her in before telling Rukia to not bother trying to protect him because she knows that he has simply been allowing her to dodge his attacks up until now. Asserting that his next strike will be fatal, Renji begins slowly advancing on Rukia, who walks backward at the same pace, as Byakuya silently watches. When Renji slashes at her horizontally once more, Rukia leaps over him and manages to handspring onto her feet, only to be forced to dodge again when Renji crashes down onto her with a slash from above.

After rolling along the pavement for several meters, Rukia comes to a stop and gets to her feet, only to fall to her knees as she clutches her right arm in pain. However, as Renji approaches Rukia and raises his Zanpakutō in preparation for the finishing blow, he is surprised to see a blue light reflected on the blade and narrowly dodges a Heilig Pfeil as it hurtles past his head and down the street. Approaching them while carrying a bag, Uryū Ishida observes that an unarmed woman being attacked by two men with weapons is not a pretty sight and stops when in the light as he asserts that this is not something he supports, prompting Renji to realize he can see them and demand to know who he is.

Uryū merely states that he is a classmate of Rukia's who hates Shinigami as Byakuya appears from behind Renji. When Rukia asks him why he is here, Uryū asserts that it is sheer coincidence which she does not need to worry about, only to claim that he was simply out getting sewing materials from the local branch of a 24-hour sewing shop and definitely did not come out here after sensing the Reiryoku of Shinigami while bringing a plastic bag with him to use as an excuse, though Rukia does not believe him and is left embarrassed as she wonders if Uryū is really this clueless. As Uryū states that he does not blame Rukia for being surprised, Renji slashes through the handles on his bag.

With blood dripping down Uryū's arm from a cut on his arm left by this attack, Renji reiterates his demand to know who Uryū is, and when the latter does not respond, he declares that this is fine because he will simply kill Uryū as he levels his sword at the Quincy. Moving in front of Uryū, Rukia asserts that he has nothing to do with this, but Uryū reminds Renji that he already identified himself as a classmate of Rukia's who hates Shinigami. When an annoyed Renji tells him that this is not an answer, Uryū pauses for a few seconds before stating his full name and claiming that it is nice to meet Renji, who is left confused by the sudden change in Uryū's attitude.

Uryū explains that he simply believes Renji has the right to know the name of the person who killed him, prompting an enraged Renji to proclaim that he is going to kill Uryū. Meanwhile, at the Kurosaki Clinic, Ichigo flushes the toilet in his bathroom and zips up his pants while wondering why Rukia has not come back yet even though it is after 2 A.M. However, as Ichigo assumes that this means he will get to relax and take a break from his Shinigami duties for a night, he is shocked to hear muffled groaning in the room and wonders where it is coming from before leaning down to look behind the toilet, where he is stunned to find a gagged Kon taped to the back of the base.

With Kon tearfully trying to speak despite the tape covering his mouth, Ichigo sarcastically asks him how he ended up back there despite his declaration of going on a journey the previous day. After being freed by Ichigo and returning to his room, Kon, now reeking of the toilet, thanks Ichigo for saving him, which Ichigo brushes off as he pinches his nose. Kon explains that he had to listen in order to try and figure out when Ichigo came in because he could not see who was in the bathroom at any given time as Ichigo sprays him with a can of air freshener, which sends Kon crashing into the wall. Angered by this, Kon leaps onto Ichigo's shoulder and gets in his face.

While Kon demands to know if this is how he treats friends who have had to endure such suffering for so long, Ichigo denies them being friends and pulls Kon off of him while declaring that he stinks. Asserting that this is not his fault, Kon begins to blame Rukia before remembering that she is in trouble, which he tries to inform Ichigo of, only for the latter to angrily throw him away for getting near him. Kon bounces around the room multiple times before landing on Ichigo's desk next to Rukia's letter, which he points out to Ichigo while demanding to know if he really did not see it before now. As he walks over to his desk, Ichigo picks up the letter and wonders what it is.

When Kon describes it as a farewell letter, Ichigo questions why he was taped to the toilet instead of leaving, which prompts a bewildered Kon to clarify that he is not the one who wrote it. Kon recounts how he came back to the Kurosaki Clinic to say goodbye to Rukia, as it as the honorable thing to do, and found her writing this letter in Ichigo's room, leading him to assert that Rukia left all of them and went away. As Ichigo demands to know why she would do this without telling him, Kon tearfully inquires how he should know this and declares that she left without saying a word to him even though he was right there with her before telling Ichigo that his anger is irrelevant by comparison.

Wondering what Rukia was thinking, Ichigo opens the envelope and pulls out the letter inside as Kon leaps to his shoulder to look, only for the two of them to be shocked upon finding what appears to be a nonsensical string of hiragana. After attempting to read it out, a confused Ichigo sees that Rukia left a drawing of a tanuki in the corner as a hint and realizes that it means he should remove all instances of ta from the letter to decode it, which he does. Now able to read the letter properly, Ichigo reads out Rukia's explanation of having to leave for personal reasons and her request that he not look for or worry about her, as well as that he burn this letter and go into hiding afterward.

While Ichigo wonders what this means due to Rukia not explaining her reason for leaving, a frightened Kon asserts that something must have happened for Rukia to be so worried about them and falls to his hands and knees before theorizing that something happened between her and Soul Society, which prompted her to leave by herself in order to not get the two of them involved, shocking Ichigo. However, when Kon tearfully begins to wonder if Rukia is dead, Ichigo criticizes him for jumping to conclusions because talking like this is not getting them anywhere. Turning toward the window, Ichigo tell Kon to come with him before declaring that he is going save Rukia as a Shinigami.

Though he initially cheers this on, Kon quickly realizes what this will entail and expresses apprehension as Ichigo asserts that the only way to do this will be for him to stick his hand down Kon's throat and grab his Gikongan. When Ichigo attempts to grab Kon for this, Kon backflips away from him and jumps onto the floor as Ichigo tries to pin him down before running across the room, only for Ichigo to pin Kon's tail under his foot and throw him up into his hands while chastising Kon for resisting while Rukia is in danger, as Ichigo cannot do anything about it if he is not in his Shinigami form. While Ichigo begins to reach into his mouth, Kon claims that this is not the problem.

Kon asks Ichigo who would like having a hand rammed down their throat, only for Ichigo to assert that this is not pleasant for him either. Suddenly, Kisuke Urahara greets Ichigo as he sits on the sill of the open window and observes that the latter is in a bind before inquiring if there is anything he can help Ichigo with while grinning. Back on the street, Rukia expresses shock as an injured Uryū collapses and begins bleeding onto the sidewalk, prompting Renji to criticize him for talking so confidently beforehand. Mentally noting that Renji's strength and skill has increased even further since they last met, Rukia bemoans how she was unable to stop him or even move.

As he walks over to Uryū, Renji raises his Zanpakutō above his head and informs Uryū that Renji Abarai is the one who killed him before slashing downward while sarcastically declaring that it was nice to meet him. However, Renji's attack is interrupted when Ichigo's Zanpakutō slams into the ground next to him, rupturing it with a surge of energy. Shocked by this, Renji leaps back on top of a nearby wall and demands to know who Ichigo is, which prompts Ichigo to introduce himself as the one who will beat Renji and sarcastically claim it is nice to meet him. While Rukia and Uryū express surprise at his arrival, Renji notices that Ichigo is wearing a shihakushō.

Inquiring which division Ichigo is from, Renji is left incredulous at Ichigo's enormous Zanpakutō, leading Ichigo to admit that he always thought it was big compared to Rukia's Zanpakutō before noting that he has not had anything else to compare it to until now. As he observes that the size of a Shinigami's Zanpakutō mirrors the size of their Reiryoku, Renji wonders if Ichigo really has that much power despite his young age. While Rukia mentally berates Ichigo for coming, Renji realizes that Ichigo is the one who took her power and leaps into the air before slamming into Ichigo with a downward slash, which a surprised Ichigo blocks horizontally with his Zanpakutō.

Renji rapidly and repeatedly slashes at Ichigo, who continues to block, as he demands to know if Ichigo's huge Zanpakutō is just for show. Wondering what is wrong with Renji, Ichigo pushes him back and slashes downward at him, only for Renji to leap into the air, leaving Ichigo's Zanpakutō to embed itself in the ground, before flipping over and slashing Ichigo's right shoulder. When a stunned Ichigo falls to his knees and clutches his shoulder as it spurts blood, a concerned Rukia attempts to run to his side, but Uryū grabs her ankle and begs her to not go as he loses consciousness. As he asserts that it is over, Renji tells Ichigo that he will return Rukia's power to her and die.

Upon being informed that Rukia will also die in Soul Society, Ichigo expresses surprise as a nearby light flickers out. Criticizing Ichigo for coming after Rukia in order to save her even though she came here alone just to protect him, Renji mocks the idea of Ichigo being able to do something about it as a mere Substitute Shinigami and confidently asserts that he could never even scratch proper Shinigami like him and Byakuya. Suddenly, Ichigo slashes his Zanpakutō through the air in front of Renji's face, scratching his chin and shocking him, and gets to his feet while apologizing for taking the opportunity to attack while Renji was leaving himself wide open to it during his speech.

When Ichigo sarcastically tells him to continue his speech about not being scratched, a grinning Renji wipes the blood of his chin and prepares to resume the fight, only for Byakuya to agree with Ichigo's analysis that Renji had his guard down. Though Renji protests this, Byakuya notes that he thought he recognized Ichigo from somewhere and reveals that the Onmitsukidō sent a report to him the other day that detailed Ichigo wounding a Menos Grande badly enough to cause it to retreat back to Hueco Mundo. However, Renji merely laughs this off and claims that the Onmitsukidō has gone downhill lately due to him refusing to believe that Ichigo wounded a Menos Grande.

Drawing Byakuya's attention to Ichigo's Zanpakutō, Renji asserts that its size and unwieldy nature are proof that Ichigo has not mastered his Reiryoku. When Renji asks him what his Zanpakutō's name is, Ichigo is left confused, and upon Renji inquiring if he asked for it, Ichigo assumes that he was supposed to ask Rukia for a name and that the Shinigami name their Zanpakutō. As he points to Ichigo not even knowing his Zanpakutō's name as further proof of his inexperience, Renji declares that Ichigo is 2000 years too early to be fighting him as an equal before releasing his Shikai, Zabimaru, a segmented blade which leaves Ichigo shocked as Renji holds it up in front of him.

Renji proclaims that Ichigo will be the dinner of Zabimaru and leaps into the air while preparing to slash downward, prompting Ichigo to hold his Zanpakutō up horizontally in preparation for blocking. Despite this, Zabimaru manages to push down Ichigo's Zanpakutō and embed one of its segments in his shoulder as it extends, revealing a thread connecting the segments. As Ichigo drops his Zanpakutō in pain, Renji pulls Zabimaru through his shoulder and out of his body, causing Ichigo's blood to spurt out from the wound, before declaring that Ichigo will die to him in this spot as Ichigo falls to his knees in shock while Rukia and Byakuya watch.

Next Episode Preview
Revealing that he will be listing off Bleach facts, Kon explains that Shinigami in Soul Society belong to the Gotei 13, Byakuya Kuchiki is the Captain of the Sixth Division, and Renji Abarai is his Lieutenant. However, before Kon can continue, Ichigo Kurosaki wonders know what program he is imitating and demands that Kon do the episode preview instead.

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Renji Abarai & Byakuya Kuchiki

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō released:

Shikai: