A Dispute in School?! Ichigo and Uryū, Fight Together!

 is the three hundred and forty-fourth episode of the Bleach anime.

Summary
Obuta and his gang show up at Karakura High School looking for Ichigo Kurosaki after he attacked one of the gang for stealing the previous day. Ichigo hides from them until he notices Uryū Ishida approaching the gang to admonish them for their rowdy behavior in the schoolyard.

One of the gang mistakes Uryū for Ichigo, which enrages Uryū to the point that he breaks the mans nose and knocks him back into the pole. This action greatly angers Obuta but Uryū calmly replaces his glasses while dismissing the notion that anything about him should remind them of Ichigo.

In anger, Uryū changes his mind and tells the gang that they no longer have the option to leave the school yard. Watching, Ichigo wonders why he is trying to make things worse. Obuta insults Uryū while spitting and his gang suddenly spring into action, moving forward to attack Uryū. Ichigo gets involved, pushing one to the ground and twisting his leg as he counts the number of gang members watching him. Instead of thanking Ichigo for the aid, Uryū kicks Ichigo's shoulder from behind, scolding him for getting involved in his fight but Ichigo states he got involved to make Uryū back off.

Upon seeing Ichigo, the injured gang member points to him and informs Obuta that he was the one who beat him up. Distracted, Ichigo looks his accuser and recognizes the thief from the previous day. He reminds the thief that he attacked him for a good reason as he had stolen a duffel bag from an innocent passerby. The two of them argue about it but Obuta interrupts them, cracking his knuckles as he tells Ichigo to prepare for a beating. However, before he can finish his threat, both Uryū and Ichigo punch him at the same time, knocking the large gang leader to the ground easily.

Despite working together to defeat the leader, both Ichigo and Uryū glare angry daggers at one another. Ichigo begins by arguing that since the gang had originally shown up to find him then the confrontation was none of of Uryū's business and he should stay out of it. However, Uryū retorts that the fight became his business a while ago before Ichigo showed up. Ichigo retaliates that Uryū will only turn the confrontation into a bigger deal and reminds him that he is also class president and thus, better behavior is expected from him. The other members of the gang become even more enraged and begin to attack the duo, interrupting their argument.

The two of them begin to easily evade the gangs attacks and knocking the members aside while continuing their argument. Ichigo states that Uryū needs to be more careful in hunting Hollows as he may attract negative attention from the Soul Society. Uryū disputes that he does not enjoy exterminating Hollows and he only does so when he gets an order from Urahara Shop. Ichigo reminds him that Kisuke Urahara was a wanted man in the Soul Society until only recently but Uryū retorts that it is not the time to bring that up. Uryū suggests that he e-mail him but Ichigo declines, knowing he would never e-mail him.

Ichigo demands to know when Uryū got a cellphone and he informs him that he got one from Urahara after helping out with the shop. Upon hearing this, Ichigo doubts the phone would function properly in the Human World. Just then, someone calls out to Ichigo, drawing both of their attentions. The members of the gang still standing, smirk as they stand aside to reveal Yokochini. Carrying a large baseball bat, the thug greets Ichigo in a sardonic fashion and insists that he has a score to settle with him. Ichigo stares at him blankly and Yokochini demands to know if he remembers him but Ichigo is clueless on the matter.

Realizing that Ichigo has forgotten him, Yokochini becomes enraged and moves to attack him. However, he is suddenly kicked powerfully from behind, knocking him towards Ichigo and Uryū on his face, sliding along the ground. Everyone is stunned by this development before the remaining members of the gang are flung into the air by an angry woman from behind. She angrily admonishes Ichigo prompting Uryū to enquire who she is. Sweating profusely, Ichigo haltingly reveals that she is his boss, Ikumi Unagiya. She asserts that she is tired with his lame excuses to skip work and she has had enough and is here to retrieve him. Livid, Ikumi demands that Ichigo come with him peacefully but the teenager quickly refuses to do so. In response, a mischievous gleam appears in Ikumi's eyes and she charges at her employee and bundles him quickly into her fan in reminiscent of a kidnapping. When she drives off, Uryū stands stunned in the schoolyard, amazed that she was able to haul Ichigo off in such a fashion and wonders just who she is. On the ground, an wounded Obuta asks Yokochini what good they are. Crying, an upset Yokochini replies that he shouldn't use his Yokochini name.

Ikumi throws a bound Ichigo on her sofa and the teenager protests, demanding the tape be removed. Ikumi agrees to remove them on the condition that he doesn't try to run away. Perplexed, Ichigo insists she is beginning to sound like an actual kidnapper. The phone rings and Ikumi answers it in a friendly fashion, informing the caller they've gotten through to the Unagiya Shop, promoting its services. However, she soon gets angry when she realizes the callers wants to order "Unagiya Eel" and she retorts that her shop is not a diner, and actually does a variety odd jobs for customers at a price.

Bemused, Ichigo reminds Ikumi that he has previously suggested that she should change the name of the shop to avoid future confusion. Ikumi brushes off this suggestion and asserts that the name of her shop has been passed down through a number of generations and as the current store owner, she refuses to break with tradition. Ichigo maintains that he isn't asking her to change her family name, just the name of the store. Ikumi refuses to consider it and admonishes Ichigo for addressing her so informally. She lifts a list of jobs to do and throws it at Ichigo while telling him to complete them for customers.

The list slides down Ichigo's face as he sits there stunned. Ikumi informs him that since he has been slacking off from work, the amount of jobs that need to be done have been piling up. Surprised, Ichigo demands to know why she hasn't handled the jobs herself in his absence since she is able to do so. In retaliation, Ikumi grabs Ichigo's head in a threatening manner, causing him to panic. With a sneer on her face, she reminds Ichigo that she hired him to complete the jobs and that he's not a customer so has no right to complain about her duties.

Their conversation is interrupted then by a youthful voice calling out for his mother. Ikumi panics when she hears the voice and releases Ichigo's head. Hurrying, she speedily removes her hat, goggles and hits Ichigo in the face with her gloves. She then manages to place a feminine, yellow apron over her pink shirt and jeans and pull her hair over to the side to create a softer hairstyle before the door opens. A young boy walks into the room, tiredly wiping the sleep from his eyes while informing Ikumi, his mother, that he is hungry. Along with her gentler appearance, Ikumi welcomes the child, Kaoru Unagiya with a more motherly attitude.

Ikumi holds her arms to Kaoru while asking him if he is alright. She gently admonishes him for coming into the office with his feet bare. Kaoru interrupts her when he spots Ichigo seated on the sofa behind his mother, calling the teenager "stupid". He demands to know why Ichigo is there and states that he is aware that his mother is an attractive woman so Ichigo shouldn't be getting too friendly with her. Ichigo is stunned by the accusation, noticeably restraining himself from responding as Kaoru makes a face to mock him. Ikumi gently prods Kaoru to leave the office, asserting that she will follow him soon.

Kaoru makes another face at Ichigo as he moves towards the kitchen whilst Ikumi softly chides him for his behavior and closes the office door. She apologizes to Ichigo for Kaoru's behavior, asserting that he is the only person her son won't warm up to. She asks him to continue to have patience even though he more than likely wants to respond to Kaoru with the same kind of behavior. Confused, Ichigo disagrees with her assessment and insists that he would only want to tell Kaoru that he would not be interested in a woman as old as Ikumi. Incensed, she lifts a book and angrily thumps Ichigo over the head for the remark.

While Ichigo is complaining about being assaulted, the shop doorbell chimes, interrupting the argument. Ikumi greet her customer while opening the door but is surprised by their towering height. Ikumi stares up at the tall customer and hesitantly greets him. Still bound, but now standing, Ichigo recognizes the customer as the man he had previously helped with the mugging. Upon hearing this, Ikumi is shocked to learn that Ichigo knows their new customer but Ichigo denies that he does. The stranger offers Ichigo some ramen but Ichigo declines the offer. Ikumi informs that stranger that they don't sell eel after Ichigo mentions the shop name.

Back in the school yard, Orihime Inoue calls out to Uryū and when he stops, asks if it is true that Ichigo has been abducted. Uryū says that it might have looked that way to a bystander but this is enough to send Orihime into a rush in order to find Ichigo. Uryū rushes after her and asserts that he was kidnapped by his own boss. Orihime stops at this and wonders if Ichigo's boss is weird and Uryū maintains that most people in Ichigo's circle are somewhat odd. Orihime ponders about this for a moment before agreeing that even she and Uryū are weird as well, surprising him.

Despite Uryū's reassurance, Orihime claims that there has been a bad vibe around Ichigo at the moment but Uryū claims not to know what she is talking about. Orihime realizes that she is late for her job so runs off in a hurry. Uryū watches her leave, silently thinking to himself that she is correct. Ichigo was supposed to have lost his Reiatsu and yet Uryū was sure he has sensed Reiatsu around him during their struggle. Unknown to Uryū, he is being watch by a stranger who closes their book. When Uryū turns to see where the noise came from, the stranger has vanished.

Meanwhile, in the shop, Ichigo tries to get the strange customers attention as he eats his ramen from the bowl. He becomes irate when the customer continues to eat and ignores him, almost knocking over his bowl of ramen in his anger. He demands to know why the stranger is continuing to eat and ignoring them. The stranger reminds Ichigo that he did decline some ramen and he wants to eat his before the noodles get mushy. The two of them argue for a bit until Ikumi interrupts them to demand to know what the stranger wants and if he is a customer.

As Ikumi and Ichigo stare at him, the stranger asserts that he is a customer and demands some tea. when he drinks the tea provided, Ichigo demands to know what he wants from him. The customer dismisses the notion, stating that me merely wanted somebody to complete a difficult task for him. He maintains that the two of them bumping into one each other is a coincidence. Ichigo reminds him that he had offered him ramen after the mugging and now shows up at Ichigo's workplace carrying ramen so he doubts the strangers sincerity and honesty in the matter.

After sitting down the man lays a picture down on the table. It is revealed to be a picture of Ichigo's dad, Isshin Kurosaki. Ichigo's frustration as he calls out the guy for lying about their meeting being a coincidence. Ichigo also demands to know exactly how and what he knows about his dad. He tells Ichigo there are things that Ichigo doesn't know about his father. Before their conversation can go any further, Ikumi interrupts and tells him that she will review the information and get back to him about the job. Before leaving, he tells Ichigo to stop by Urahara's Shop before going home.

Ichigo decides to take the man's advice and stops by Urahara's shop. He finds Karin Kurosaki leaving it. Surprised by this, Ichigo doesn't reveal his location and spies on her from a distances as she leaves. The man appears again and tells Ichigo that there is a lot of things he still doesn't know. The man finally introduces himself to Ichigo as Kūgo Ginjō. Kūgo invites Ichigo to join his group, and hands him an "Xcution" card before leaving. After getting home, Ichigo is met by Orihime Inoue, who gives him a lot of leftover bread from her part-time job. She asks if everything is okay, but Ichigo deflects all of her questions and just says that everything is fine. Ichigo asks why she suspects if anything is wrong and Orihime says that it was just intuition, and that she is just overreacting. Ichigo compliments this part of her personality.

Outside, Uryū is seen standing. Apparently, he too was worried about Ichigo. Suddenly, Uryū spots a man walking on the power lines. The stranger quickly teleports away (using a technique similar to Shunpo). Uryū gives chase and remarks at the man's incredible speed, despite the fact that his Reiatsu isn't changing. Suddenly and abruptly, the man turns a 180 and rushes right at Uryū. Back at his house, Ichigo is looking at the card Kūgo gave him, when he hears sirens outside. The sirens arrive to help Uryū, who has been badly injured and is laying in a pool of blood.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Jinta Hanakari is shown angry towards Tessai Tsukabishi, stating that he shouldn't simply pound on his head like that because he might get brain damage and threatened him to show himself. But Tessai suddenly appeared behind Jinta and grappled him, while Ururu Tsumugiya also appeared and tickled Jinta's foot with her hair. This caused a ruckus in their shop, with Jinta pleading them to stop, saying that Karin is still around. Karin is then shown leaving the shop, speechless on what is happening inside.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Obuta
 * 2) Gang
 * 3) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 4) Uryū Ishida
 * 5) Yokochini
 * 6) Ikumi Unagiya
 * 7) Kaoru Unagiya
 * 8) Kūgo Ginjō
 * 9) Orihime Inoue
 * 10) Shūkurō Tsukishima
 * 11) Isshin Kurosaki (picture)
 * 12) Jinta Hanakari
 * 13) Tessai Tsukabishi
 * 14) Ururu Tsumugiya
 * 15) Kisuke Urahara
 * 16) Karin Kurosaki
 * 17) Yuzu Kurosaki (flashback)

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used: