Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez: Rematch

Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez: Round Two is the second round of fighting between Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. It's takes place above and in the streets of Karakura Town, as a part of the Arrancar Invasion.

Prologue
in order to create a distraction that will allow the abduction of Orihime Inoue, Aizen sends four powerful Arrancar; Luppi, Yammy Riyalgo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Wonderweiss Margera to Karakura Town. Upon exiting the Garganta, the four immediately encounter Tōshirō Hitsugaya and his front guard - comprised of Rangiku Matsumoto, Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa, who were training in the Karakura Park. Grimmjow, recently demoted from his rank as 6th Espada, soon finds that the person he's after, Ichigo Kurosaki, isn't among them and heads off alone to find him. Meanwhile, at the Vizard warehouse, Ichigo is struggling against Love and Kensei who are trying to keep him from leaving to fight the Arrancar, saying he is not yet ready to face them. Shinji however tells them to let him go, and Ichigo leaves in a hurry to search for his enemy.

Battle
Soon after Ichigo leaves the warehouse he runs into Grimmjow, who's standing in the air above him. Grimmjow tells him that he was looking for him, and Ichigo says he was too. Ichigo proceeds to tell Grimmjow he intends to show him how much he's changed since they last met.

Ichigo releases his Bankai. Grimmjow reminds him that during their last fight the Bankai wasn't of much use against him. Ichigo replies that it was his Bankai release Getsuga Tenshō that gave Grimmjow the scar stretching from his throat to his waist. Before they begin sparring Ichigo asks Grimmjow what happened to his arm. Grimmjow replies that he has thrown it away before he came, since he won't need two arms to kill his enemy. Ichigo replies that in that case there's no need for him to hold back. To this Grimmjow says that if Ichigo wishes to live, he'd better not hold back. Ichigo dons his Vizard mask, but realizing he can only maintain it for eleven seconds, he cannot afford to explain the meaning of the mask to the astonished Grimmjow. He attacks, forcing Grimmjow to draw his Zanpakutō in defense, but as soon as Ichigo reaches his enemy's vicinity, he discharges his Getsuga Tenshō.

Ichigo's attack leaves Grimmjow bleeding profusely. He comments that such power cannot be a Shinigami's power and asks Ichigo to explain what he's been up to during the past month. Instead of replying, Ichigo discharges another Getsuga Tenshō, saying he already said he didn't have time to explain. He uses Shunpo to appear behind Grimmjow's back and discharges a third Getsuga Tenshō from pointblank, sending Grimmjow to the ground in a plume of smoke. Ichigo follows his trail, hoping to finish him off in a hurry, but Grimmjow fires a Cero at him to block his approach. Ichigo manages to block the Cero, but Grimmjow uses Sonído to appear behind him and attacks. Ichigo blocks, but just as he is about to land a finishing blow, his mask disintegrates. Grimmjow grins as he sees this, realizing Ichigo has lost his source of power. Grimmjow's subsequent slash connects, sending Ichigo plummeting to the ground.

The injured Ichigo falls towards the ground with Grimmjow at his side, attacking him. He tells Ichigo that as soon as his mask dissipated his breathing got quicker, which means he must have been straining to keep the mask on. The former Espada admits Ichigo was able to hurt him quite a bit, but in the end, even with his new powers, Ichigo wasn't able to beat him.

Ichigo hits the ground, bouncing several times, but manages to rise and face Grimmjow. He tries to don the Mask again but fails, prompting Grimmjow to grin again. Grimmjow gets to Ichigo's side and kicks him hard in the stomach. He says he doesn't know why Ichigo couldn't use the mask, but to make sure the mask stays off, he skewers Ichigo's hand to the ground. He begins charging a Cero, telling Ichigo that from this distance his head will be blown clear off. Suddenly, Grimmjow's hand freezes. He looks to his right and sees Rukia Kuchiki as she is unleashes her White Ripple technique. Unable to block it, Rukia's technique freezes Grimmjow as he stands. Rukia rushes to Ichigo's side, struggling to release the sword pinning him to the ground. She tries to question Ichigo about his mask but is interrupted by Grimmjow, who freed himself from the ice. The Arrancar grabs Rukia's head, telling her she's been naive and she should not have underestimated him. Grimmjow begins charging another Cero. Ichigo, still pinned to the ground, calls Rukia's name in fear.

Before he can launch his Cero, Grimmjow is hit by an energy blast. Everyone stare in amazement as Shinji Hirako steps into the scene. Shinji says he doesn't like getting involved in Shinigami fights, but since he heard the sounds of battle nearby, he couldn't ignore them. Grimmjow inquires whether Shinji is the Shinigami's ally, but Shinji replies that he is not. Grimmjow then asks who he is, to which Shinji replies that it makes no difference. Grimmjow, agrees, saying Shinji's identity has nothing to do with killing him, and with this he pulls his sword out of Ichigo's arm and speeds towards Shinji.

Shinji dodges, but Grimmjow's attack causes extensive damage to the rooftop he was standing on. Shinji asks him to be more careful since he would feel guilty about dodging if it would mean damaging the buildings. Grimmjow attacks again, asking if Shinji is through dodging. Shinji replies that Grimmjow must be a hot head, and dons his mask. Shinji blocks the astonished Arrancar's swing with ease, and Grimmjow asks again if he is Ichigo's friend. Shinji merely reiterates his answer, that his identity is of no consequence. Shinji charges a Cero before Grimmjow's astounded eyes, saying since Grimmjow is so strong, he can't take it easy on him. Grimmjow is able to diminish the Cero's effect on him by launching a counter Cero, but is still hit hard and falls to the ground. Shinji complements him but Grimmjow curses at him and is about to use his Resurrección when Ulquiorra Cifer arrives and grabs his hand, telling him the mission is complete. A second later both Arrancar are surrounded by a Negación ray and are pulled back to Hueco Mundo.

Aftermath
Rukia tries getting help for Ichigo from Hachigen Ushōda and the Vizards, but Hachi tells her their Hollow like Reiatsu is hindering Ichigo's recovery, because of the nature of his wounds. He tells her to take Ichigo home and let him rest. Rukia tries to call Orihime in Soul Society, but is unable to reach her. She wonders about the Vizards and their relations with Ichigo, frustrated that she can't ask Ichigo about them. She also wonders about the Arrancar's pulling out of the fight. When she decides to go outside she overhears Karin and Yuzu arguing whether or not they should enter his room, and lets them in so they can have their dinner at Ichigo's side.

Later that night, Ichigo is visited by Orihime, wearing Ulquiorra's bracelet that renders her invisible and intangible to anyone else. She has chosen him as the one friend she will bid farewell to, over all her other friends, as Ulquiorra dictated. Orihime is embarrassed at first but then sees Karin and Yuzu asleep next to Ichigo's bed, which makes her relax and smile. She suddenly realizes she's never been to Ichigo's room before. Excited again, Orihime leans to kiss Ichigo, but can't bring herself to do it. She confesses her love to Ichigo, saying even if she had five lives to do all the things she wanted, she would still want to fall in love with Ichigo every time. After this, Orihime says her farewell and departs.

When Ichigo wakes up in the morning he finds he has healed completely from his injuries and understands that only one person could have done it. Tōshirō Hitsugaya comes to pick him up to a conference call with Jūshirō Ukitake, who takes the Captain-Commander's place for being the last person to see Orihime before she entered the Senkaimon. Ukitake informs Ichigo and the others of the disappearance and possible death of Orihime Inoue. Ichigo and Rukia protest, but Ukitake says it's one possible explanation, since she was confronted by an Arrancar. As evidence that Orihime is not dead, Ichigo presents his wrist that was skewered by Grimmjow and claims no one could have healed it but Orihime.

When he hears this, Yamamoto intervenes, saying while this proves Orihime lives it also proves she was not abducted but committed an act of betrayal. Ichigo wants to protest further but Renji stops him and volunteers to go to Hueco Mundo and retrieve Orihime. The Captain-Commander forbids it, saying the life of a single person cannot be weighed against the entire world, and orders all members of the front guard to return to Soul Society and help prepare for the oncoming war. To assert his orders he sends Captains Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki to make sure none of the Shinigami on the guard disobeys their orders. When Ichigo asks to be told how to reach Hueco Mundo, so he may save Orihime himself, Yamamoto refuses and orders him to stay put until further notice.

Back at school again, Ichigo is forced to lie to his teacher and friends about the reasons for his absence. He tries to shun Mizuiro and Keigo, but is then confronted by an angry Tatsuki who asks him for the whereabouts of Orihime. When Ichigo won't give a stright answer, Tatsuki punches him in the face.