Ichigo vs. Dalk! Appearance of the Faded Darkness

'''Ichigo vs. Dalk! Appearance of the Faded Darkness''' is the eighty-second episode of the Bleach anime.

Renji fights off many Bitto but many still get away. Ichigo squares off against Koga's doll, Dalk, in her new form.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: May 30, 2006
 * English Airdate: October 4, 2008
 * Opening Song: Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
 * Ending Song: Hanabi
 * Manga Chapters: None
 * Kanji: 一護ＶＳダルク！白き闇の出現
 * Romaji: "Ichigo VS Daruku! Shirakigami no shutsugen"
 * Arc: The Bount arc

Summary
Jin sends the other Bount out, knowing that Ichigo and company are now on the move. In the park, Renji has defeated some of the flying dolls, but collapses as the rest fly away. Ichigo and Rukia are met on the street by Ururu and Jinta, who hand over Urahara’s new Bount sensor. Ichigo puts the helmet on and it immediately starts dragging him towards the Bount. He’s taken all the way to a construction site where he finds several of the dolls sucking on his friend Keigo. He stops them before they can absorb all of Keigo’s soul, but then he gets attacked by Koga and Dalk. Dalk is now sporting a different body and appears to have grown significantly stronger. Ichigo is able to deflect most of her bullets, but the helmet/Bount sensor gets shot off his head.

Rukia, Ururu, and Jinta locate Inoue and Claude in the middle of some warehouses, however none of them can tell where Renji is because his spirit power has disappeared. Before they can go their separate ways to search, the group comes under attack by Yoshi, the female Bount armed with a fan and a sword. Rukia wants Ururu to go find Sado and Nova, and she wants Jinta to find Renji. She tries to attack Yoshi with a spell, but it misses. Rukia manages to dodge the sword counterattack, but is about to be hit by the fan when Inoue steps in and protects her with a shield. Inoue, Claude, and Rukia thus decide to team up against Yoshi.

Back at the construction site, Ichigo is having a lot of trouble trying to handle Dalk. She launches several waves of projectiles down at him, but he manages to not get hit and also to protect Keigo’s body. Keigo opens his eyes and mutters Ichigo’s name, a signal that he can see Ichigo. Koga says that being able to see a Shinigami means that he’s close to death and can't be saved. He goes on to explain that the Bount are absorbing souls to power themselves. Keigo mutters that Ichigo should run and then blacks out. Seeing his friend like that, Ichigo powers up and uses a Getsuga Tenshō on Dalk, slicing her in half. However, Dalk isn’t finished just yet and wraps Ichigo up with her rope-like arms. But Ichigo once again explodes in power and frees himself. Meanwhile, in the park, Ururu has found Sado and Nova. However, all three are soon confronted by Sawatari, the elderly looking Bount.

Ririn wants Ichigo to run away, but Ichigo is bent on saving Keigo. Dalk spins a metallic web inside the building and whips Ichigo until he drops his Zanpakutō. She then grabs it and rushes forward to stab him with it. Ichigo blacks out, but his hand still grabs the sharp end of Zangetsu and takes it back. However, it’s not Ichigo under control anymore, it’s his hollow side. He has no problems stabbing through Dalk and cutting her in half again. Hollow Ichigo starts laughing maniacally, but suddenly stops and starts trying to remove the mask. Normal Ichigo succeeds in ripping it off and then falls onto the ground. Koga says that a strong power requires a strong heart - Ichigo doesn’t have that strong heart, so he couldn’t control the strong power. He prophesizes that Ichigo will destroy himself in the near future because of this incomplete power. Koga then calls forth Dalk again to finish Ichigo. In the park, Jinta finally finds Renji lying on the ground with the little boy still in his arms.

Characters in order of appearance

 * 1) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 2) Ririn
 * 3) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 4) Orihime Inoue
 * 5) Kurōdo
 * 6) Yasutora Sado
 * 7) Noba
 * 8) Ugaki
 * 9) Yoshi
 * 10) Gō Koga
 * 11) Sawatari
 * 12) Mabashi
 * 13) Jin Kariya
 * 14) Renji Abarai
 * 15) Ururu Tsumugiya
 * 16) Jinta Hanakari
 * 17) Keigo Asano