Mission! The Shinigami Have Come

 is the one hundred and fifteenth episode of the Bleach anime.

With Rukia Kuchiki's help, Ichigo Kurosaki regains his confidence and resolve to continue his fight.

Summary
At Karakura High School, having seen Rukia Kuchiki enter their classroom through the window and greet Ichigo Kurosaki from the other side of the room, two students standing with their classmates are left aghast at her doing so and attribute this to her only just returning to school, though they are also alarmed by the presence of 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto and 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame. Suddenly, Rukia grows serious and leaps forward before kicking Ichigo in the face.

While a flustered Ichigo skids back and demands to know what this was for, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai steps up from behind him to restrain Ichigo's arms with his own, allowing Rukia to freely slap him twice across the face and angrily berate a confused Ichigo for his solemn expression prior to donning her Gokon Tekkō and pulling Ichigo's Shinigami form out of his body through the open window, leaving Rangiku to casually state that she knew this would happen and an exasperated Renji to affirm that Ichigo is always trouble.

When Ikkaku asserts that the look on Ichigo's face would make anyone want to do this to him, Rangiku counters that she thought his expression was arousing, and when an incredulous 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa questions what there was to get aroused by, Rangiku denies having been seeking his opinion on the matter, prompting Yumichika to inquire if she was seeking Ikkaku's instead as Ikkaku wonders why he is being brought into this. An irritated 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya orders them to quiet down, only to be alerted when the other students notice Ichigo's lifeless body and assume he has fainted or died.

After claiming that the members of the Strike Force are bad news, one of the students points to Renji's red hair and body tattoos as proof of this, though Ikkaku assures him that he does not need to listen to trivial Human chatter. However, the same student describes Rangiku as a blonde with large breasts, Hitsugaya as a silver-haired elementary student, Yumichika as a bob-haired narcissist, and Ikkaku as a bald man with a sword, which leads an angered Ikkaku to draw his wooden sword and dare the student who called him bald to step forward while Renji drops Ichigo's body and sarcastically reminds Ikkaku to not get bothered by trivial Human chatter.

With the frightened students fleeing at the sight of his wooden sword, Ikkaku threatens to slice them to ribbons and Yumichika offers to help him as an exasperated Hitsugaya questions why he volunteered for this. Simultaneously, an annoyed Ichigo carries Rukia across the rooftops of Karakura Town and asks her where she is taking him, but Rukia refuses to tell him and continues looking at her Denreishinki until she sees a blinking red dot ahead of them. Once Ichigo lands on a rooftop below and Rukia dismounts, he is left confused by the deserted area below him before a large Hollow slams into the ground and roars, prompting Rukia to kick Ichigo over the railing to confront it.

Upon seeing Ichigo crash into the ground nearby, the Hollow begins advancing toward him and stabs its thick blade-like claws into the area where Ichigo is sitting and rubbing his head in pain, forcing the latter to evade to the side at the last second. As Ichigo grips the handle of his Shikai, Zangetsu, the Hollow lumbers toward him and seemingly prepares to lash out with its claws once more, only to instead strike Ichigo twice with its tail and send Ichigo flying behind it with a swipe from its left hand. After Ichigo lands and gets to his feet, Rukia joins him on the ground and criticizes Ichigo for having so much trouble defeating a normal Hollow that he should have no problem with.

While his head bandage falls off, Ichigo counters that Rukia does not have to tell him what to do and begins dodging the Hollow's subsequent attacks with his blade claws as they embed themselves in the ground, eventually leaping behind the Hollow and gripping Zangetsu once more. Suddenly, Hollow Ichigo cuts off Ichigo threatening the Hollow by appearing before him with a chuckle and observing that he is getting closer prior to promising to consume Ichigo and cause him to disappear after his body bursts apart and begins flowing onto Ichigo's face to form his Hollow mask, which causes Ichigo to beg him to get off and scream in fright.

In the real world, Ichigo snaps back to his senses and narrowly dodges a strike from the Hollow prior to holding a still-wrapped Zangetsu over his head to block the Hollow's left hand when the latter slams it down onto him. With the Hollow pushing down on Zangetsu and Ichigo underneath it with its other hand as well, Rukia reveals that she knows Ichigo has not entered his Shinigami form ever since he was defeated by Yammy Llargo and demands to know what he is so afraid of, startling Ichigo as Zangetsu gives way and he is forced to roll out of the way of the Hollow's blade claws while they slam into the ground where he had been standing.

Bringing up the idea of his fear stemming from Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue getting hurt, Rukia dismisses this and asks Ichigo if he is a coward and quitter who is afraid of defeat and being unable to protect his friends before theorizing that it is instead the Hollow inside him, to Ichigo's shock. Rukia tells Ichigo to get stronger if he is afraid to lose, do what he must to protect the ones he loves if that is what he wants, and grow strong enough to crush his inner Hollow if it is so terrible because he must stick out his chest and scream in defiance even if no one in the world believes in him, as this is the Ichigo she knows in her heart.

In response, a newly-confident Ichigo unwraps Zangetsu and turns around to face the Hollow with his Reiatsu surging while claiming that he wishes Rukia would shut up, leaving her smiling while he moves into the air with Shunpo and purifies the Hollow with a single slash. Later that day, back at Karakura High School, Rukia returns Ichigo to his body and finds Orihime in one of the outdoor hallways, where she drags Ichigo by the collar while calling out to Orihime. As Rukia notes that it has been a while, but realizes that this is not quite true, Orihime inquires about her recovering from her injuries, prompting Rukia to thank Orihime for helping her recover.

Despite this, Orihime denies having done anything and questions how long Rukia can stay here this time, only for Rukia to promise to tell her later and hoist up an out-of-breath Ichigo. When Ichigo hesitates to speak to a concerned Orihime, an annoyed Rukia forces him to bow by pressing his head down and apologizes on his behalf for being so weak, to Orihime's surprise, before Ichigo straightens up and vows to get stronger so he can protect Orihime next time. Mentally expressing relief at Ichigo being back to his usual self, Orihime thanks him and turns around prior to tearfully thanking Rukia as well and welcoming her back to the Human World, which Rukia smiles at.

Meanwhile, inside the school, Keigo Asano claims to Mizuiro Kojima that mixing two parts ginger ale with one part Calpico makes a substance that tastes just like hair tonic, prompting an uninterested Mizuiro to address him by his last name and assume that Keigo drinks a lot of hair tonic if he knows this. With an offended Keigo deducing that Mizuiro is trying to pretend not to know him, a texting Mizuiro hears loud noises coming from their classroom up ahead and closes his phone while bringing Keigo's attention to their noisy classroom. Deciding to scout ahead, a giggling Keigo runs to his classroom and slams open the door as he demands to know who is having fun without him.

However, Keigo is shocked to find Ikkaku glaring down at him, and as Keigo cowers in the doorway, Ikkaku elaborately threatens to harm him in great detail for continuing to stare, but Rangiku abruptly slaps the back of his head and tells him to stop. When an irritated Ikkaku questions what she is doing, Rangiku promises to tell 11th Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi about his behavior if he does not calm down, leaving a frightened Ikkaku timidly asking her to not do so as Rangiku laments him not listening to her the first time and instructs Renji, Hitsugaya, and Yumichika to leave with her, though Hitsugaya picks up on her describing them as idiots.

While Rangiku assures Hitsugaya that she was not referring to him and comments on his persecution complex, Keigo is awestruck by her large breasts and flings himself forward under the pretense of her uniform being too naughty, but Rangiku casually knocks him flat on the ground by slamming the back of her fist into his face. Filing out of the classroom alongside the rest of the Strike Force, an unnerved Ikkaku wonders if Keigo is okay, which leads Rangiku to dismiss this as irrelevant and encourage the others to leave. Behind them, Keigo attempts to get up, and when Mizuiro steps on his back while looking at his phone and comments on Keigo making a great footrest, Keigo protests this.

Later, at the Kurosaki Clinic, Ichigo opens the door to his room to reveal Kon sitting still on the floor. Upon seeing Rukia in the doorway, Kon begins weeping and leaps toward her in joy, only for Rukia to casually stop him in midair with her outstretched foot and stomp him to the ground with her foot on the back of his head. When Rukia observes that he has not changed at all, Kon asserts that her stomping foot has not changed either and that she is unmistakably Rukia as an irritated Ichigo tells her to stop fooling around and enter the room, which Rukia appreciatively notes has not changed either and describes as small, to Ichigo's further chagrin.

With Ichigo requesting that she not compare his room to 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's Kuchiki Manor, Rukia claims that it just slipped out and sits on Ichigo's bed, to his further annoyance, while a blushing Isshin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki listen to them from outside the room by holding cups to their ears against Ichigo's door. Upon being approached by Karin Kurosaki, who inquires about what is going on, Yuzu shushes her and informs Karin that Ichigo has brought a girl home, and when Karin points out that Ichigo has been bringing home girls like Tatsuki Arisawa since middle school, Yuzu asserts that this is different since Rukia is more feminine.

Despite this, Karin simply brings up how Tatsuki has developed a curvier body since she entered high school and angrily stomps Isshin in the face when he reacts to this with intense interest prior to concluding that she will not be surprised unless Ichigo brings home a girl as beautiful as Orihime is. As Yuzu protests this and Isshin claims that Ichigo could never be this popular, a furious Ichigo slams open the door and orders them to stop being so loud, leaving Karin to observe that he got mad and Yuzu to apologize while running off with Isshin. Closing the door and bemoaning how his family got so excited at his expense, Ichigo tells Rukia to shut up when she calls his family funny.

After Ichigo requests that Rukia explain the Arrancar to him and questions why he and his friends are being attacked, Renji tells him to wait, startling Ichigo into looking around the room for the source of his voice, and offers to explain it to him alongside the Strike Force as he removes the ceiling light from the ceiling of Ichigo's bedroom and pokes his head through alongside Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika, to Ichigo's disbelief. Dropping the glass cover on the floor and breaking it in two upon landing on top of it, Renji begins to note that it has been a while since he last saw Ichigo, but stops himself and admits that this is not true while Rangiku and Yumichika land on the bed.

When Ichigo demands to know what they did to his ceiling light, Rangiku points to the shiny head of Ikkaku, who hands upside-down from the hole in the ceiling, and claims that she thought Ichigo would still see the light before pushing Ikkaku down from the hole in irritation when he tells her to repeat what she just said. However, as Rangiku tells Ikkaku to calm down and enjoy himself like the others are, Kon fixates on her large breasts and throws himself at Rangiku while calling her uniform a deadly weapon, only for Rangiku to send him flying back with a punch without even looking at him and while continuing to smile, prompting Ichigo to assure Renji that this is not a common practice.

After the Strike Force gets situated in Ichigo's bedroom, Renji explains that Arrancar are Hollows who have removed their masks in an effort to acquire Shinigami powers and that they are few in number, with fewer still having ever fully developed their powers until Sōsuke Aizen gained the Hōgyoku, which led to fully developed Arrancar like Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy appearing. With Rukia illustrating this in a sketchbook, Renji asks Ichigo if he understands so far, and when Ichigo confirms this while adding that he would understand it better were it not for the sketchbook, Rukia throws the notebook at his head in irritation, leaving a mark on Ichigo's nose.

Renji details how Soul Society was initially going to simply monitor the situation until Aizen made a move since the Gotei 13 had just lost three captains and needed time to rebuild its forces in addition to the uproar caused by the Bount Invasion disrupting them, but the fully developed Arrancar appeared earlier than they had expected and the latter's invasion of the Human World forced the Gotei 13 to take action by selecting the Strike Force. Upon being asked by Ichigo about who chose the Strike Force, Renji reveals that Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto did so as the acting Commander-in-Chief until the next Central 46 is formed.

Noting that Yamamoto chose Rukia because she knows Ichigo the best, though Rukia claims that she was chosen for her abilities. Renji elaborates that he was chosen as one of Rukia's superiors and was instructed to assemble a team excluding captains, which led him to choose Ikkaku to accompany him, resulting in Yumichika demanding to come along, Rangiku hearing the commotion and not wanting to miss the fun, and her captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, reluctantly coming along to keep an eye on them, which causes Ichigo to question how casual they all are about this. As he slides open Ichigo's window and sits on the windowsill, Hitsugaya asserts that Aizen definitely has his eyes on Ichigo.

With Rangiku addressing him as the bore who did not want to hide in the attic with the rest of them and Renji pointing out that his choice to wait outside until someone opened the window was foolish since there are not many boys with silver hair around here, an annoyed Hitsugaya tells them to shut up and notes to Ichigo that effective Arrancar are not produced by removing the masks of random Hollows, but instead by doing so with Hollows of Menos Grande-level and above, which would allow them to wage war on Soul Society. Upon picking up on Hitsugaya's wording, a stunned Ichigo wonders if he is saying that there are Hollows more powerful than the Menos Grande.

In response, Hitsugaya clarifies that there are actually three classes of Menos, the first of which are Gillians, considered the lowest class and foot soldiers of the Menos, which he elaborates are numerous, identical, and the Menos Grandes usually depicted in textbooks. From this. Ichigo learns that the Menos Grande he fought before coming to Soul Society was just a Gillian, leaving him astonished that it was just a foot soldier. However, Hitsugaya observes that the Gillians are slow despite their gigantic size and have the intelligence of wild animals, allowing captain-class Shinigami to easily defeat them, and that the next class is more problematic.

Hitsugaya details the existence of the Adjuchas, who are smaller in size and number than the Gillians but are highly intelligent and much more powerful to the point of giving orders to the Gillians, and the Vasto Lordes, the highest class of Menos who are Human-sized and extremely few in number, before revealing that the latter are even more powerful than captain-class Shinigami, mortifying Ichigo. Furthermore, Hitsugaya observes that they have no way of knowing how much more powerful a Vasto Lorde becomes as an Arrancar and the Gotei 13 missing three captains, along with Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen training the Menos right now.

In conclusion, Hitsugaya warns Ichigo that Aizen having ten or more Vasto Lorde under his command would mean Soul Society is doomed. Simultaneously, in Las Noches, Ulquiorra and Yammy enter the throne room of Aizen, who responds to Ulquiorra's announcement of his return by inviting him to share what he has learned with his twenty comrades, including Coyote Starrk, Tier Harribel, Luppi Antenor, Aaroniero Arruruerie, Edrad Liones, Shawlong Koufang, Yylfordt Granz, and Nakeem Grindina.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
In the Seireitei, 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura stands with his lieutenant, Tetsuzaemon Iba, and brings up how he has not received any orders to travel to the Human World in a long time. In response, a startled Iba reminds Komamura that captains are only sent to address the most serious situations, and when Komamura mentions having prepared a special Gigai so he can travel to the Human World at any time, a shocked Iba envisions a regular dog as Komamura's Gigai and looks away in embarrassment.

Events

 * The Cold War

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Hollow Techniques:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Other Powers:
 * Grand Fisher's Transformation (flashback)

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Censorship= Changes=
 * Ichigo Kurosaki being asked if Renji Abarai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa are his friends.
 * Ichigo demanding to know what Rukia Kuchiki is doing when she pulls his Shinigami form out of his body.
 * Chizuru Honshō asking Ichigo's lifeless body if he is okay.
 * Renji questioning if Ikkaku intends to cut people with a wooden sword.
 * Ichigo's Reiatsu surging as he faces the Hollow with his confidence renewed.
 * Ichigo using Shunpo to move into the air prior to purifying the Hollow.
 * Orihime Inoue asking Rukia if she has recovered from her injuries and the latter confirming this as she thanks Orihime for her aid.
 * Keigo Asano giggling as he runs down the hall toward his classroom.
 * Rangiku patting Ikkaku's head after slapping it.
 * Rangiku assuring Hitsugaya that she is not insulting him and making note of his persecution complex.
 * Ichigo opening the door to his bedroom and Kon noticing Rukia in the doorway.
 * Karin Kurosaki stomping on Isshin Kurosaki's face for being interested in Tatsuki Arisawa.
 * Isshin claiming that Ichigo is not popular enough to bring home a girl like Orihime.
 * Rukia agreeing to tell Ichigo about the Arrancar.
 * Ichigo looking around for Renji in his bedroom after hearing the latter's voice.
 * Renji landing on Ichigo's ceiling light glass and breaking it in two.
 * An annoyed Rangiku pushing Ikkaku down through the ceiling light hole into the bedroom by the head.
 * Rangiku suggesting that Ikkaku enjoy this like the rest of the Strike Force instead of getting mad.
 * Renji noting that the Bount Invasion disrupted Soul Society's plans to counteract Sōsuke Aizen.
 * Ichigo is not slashed across the chest and left bleeding by the Hollow.
 * In the manga, Rukia's return to Karakura High School is observed by Shunsuke Kobayakawa, Tetsuo Momohara, Jun Miyamoto, and Chizuru; here, the four of them are instead replaced by generic students.
 * In the manga, one of the reactions to Rukia's arrival is a question about who she is; here, the reaction is instead that she has not come to school in a while, with a second student pointing out that this is not the problem.
 * In the manga, prior to Rukia kicking him in the face, Ichigo says her name again; here, he instead stammers.
 * In the manga, when sent flying back by a kick from Rukia, Ichigo skids along the ground directly into Renji's arms that immediately restrain his own; here, he instead stumbles back a few feet away from Renji, who walks forward to restrain his arms.
 * In the manga, an additional student comments on Rangiku being blond and Ikkaku being bald when the students in Ichigo's classroom are reacting to the arrival of the Strike Force, with Ikkaku challenging both students who called him bald to step forward; here, there is instead only one student describing the Strike Force, with Ikkaku in turn only challenging him to step forward after he calls Ikkaku bald.
 * In the manga, the students' descriptions of the Strike Force revolve solely around their hairstyles; here, the descriptions instead include the respective attributes of breast size, young appearance, narcissism, and carrying a sword.
 * In the manga, when Rukia is searching for a Hollow for Ichigo to fight, she immediately kicks him down from the air toward one upon seeing it already present on the ground below; here, she instead has Ichigo land on the edge of a rooftop and look over at the ground below prior to the Hollow arriving, at which point she kicks Ichigo over the railing to initiate the fight.
 * In the manga, when first attacked by the Hollow, Ichigo dodges to its left and is immediately called out by Rukia for not fighting back; here, he instead leaps away to its right and prepares to counter its next strike as it approaches him, only for the Hollow to whip him with its tail twice and send him flying with another blow from its hand, after which Rukia confronts Ichigo over his response.
 * In the manga, after Ichigo claims to not need to be told how to fight by Rukia, Zangetsu briefly washes over his mind, distracting him long enough for the Hollow to slash him across the chest; here, he instead evades two of the Hollow's strikes and leaps over it to attack from behind, but Zangetsu manifests before him and forces Ichigo to envision his face being covered by a Hollow mask, distracting him long enough for the Hollow to attack again and forcing him to dodge at the last second.
 * In the manga, while Rukia is lecturing Ichigo on his fear and sense of failure, he is rapidly dodging attacks from the Hollow; here, he is instead blocking a crushing downward blow from the Hollow with Zangetsu and rolling out of the way several meters behind the Hollow when it overpowers him.
 * In the manga, when Karin finds Isshin and Yuzu Kurosaki listening to Ichigo's conversation with Rukia through the door, she remains at the middle level of the stairs; here, she instead climbs up to the top level of the stairs where Isshin and Yuzu are located.
 * In the manga, Ichigo's ceiling light is rectangular; here, it is instead circular.
 * In the manga, when Rangiku claims that Ikkaku's head is bright enough to function as a lightbulb, both she and Ikkaku are on the floor; here, Ikkaku is instead still in the attic and hanging down through the hole.
 * In the manga, after Rangiku punches out Kon, she clambers onto Ichigo's bed while Ikkaku asks Ichigo if Kon's lecherous behavior is normal in the Human World; here, she instead remains standing while Renji asks Ichigo instead.
 * In the manga, when Renji points out his mistake in hanging outside when silver-haired boys are so uncommon in the Human World, Hitsugaya promises to remember this when they return to Soul Society; here, he simply tells Renji to shut up instead.
 * In the manga, when Ulquiorra returns to deliver his report to Aizen, his audience of fellow Arrancar are all vague silhouettes with no discernable resemblance to later-introduced characters; here, the audience instead includes clear silhouettes of Coyote Starrk, Tier Harribel, Luppi Antenor, Aaroniero Arruruerie, Edrad Liones, Shawlong Koufang, Yylfordt Granz, and Nakeem Grindina.