Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo

'''Fight to the Death! Ichigo vs. Ichigo''' is the sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

At Rukia Kuchiki's behest, Ichigo Kurosaki puts an artificial soul in his body to take care of it and not arouse suspicion while he carries out his Substitute Shinigami duties, but the artificial soul has its own agenda.

Summary
At nighttime in Karakura Town, Rukia Kuchiki sits on the edge of a building's roof and looks at her Kikanshinki, which beeps as one of its four lights blinks on and off. Noting that it is almost empty, Rukia observes her left hand not moving properly and decides that it is time to replenish her supplies.

The next morning, at the Kurosaki Clinic, Ichigo Kurosaki brings a plate with two onigiri and some accompaniments on it to his closet and knocks on the door while telling Rukia that it is time for breakfast. When he does not receive a response, Ichigo angrily repeats himself and pulls the door open, only to find it is empty aside from Rukia's folded pajamas laying on her makeshift bed. As he notes that Rukia is gone, Ichigo petulantly eats one of the onigiri and wonders where she went.

Downstairs, Yuzu Kurosaki asks Karin Kurosaki if she thinks Ichigo has been acting strange lately with how he has started eating more and constantly rushing back to his room. Overhearing this, Isshin Kurosaki begins to assert that an impressionable young man in the springtime of his youth would only lock himself in his room for one reason, prompting Ichigo to knock him down with a spinning kick to the face and demand that his father stop analyzing him like this. Isshin declares that he is only doing so because he is Ichigo's father and asks his son why he cannot understand this, but Ichigo proclaims that no one could understand this.

As Ichigo and Isshin brawl with each other, Yuzu tells her brother that his breakfast will get cold while Karin notes that this is about as peaceful as their household gets. Meanwhile, outside the Urahara Shop, Ururu Tsumugiya sweeps the ground as Jinta Hanakari plays an imaginary game of baseball using his broom as the bat. After Jinta attempts to hit a home run but completely misses the ball, Ururu tells him to get to work before Tessai Tsukabishi scolds him, but Jinta tells her to shut up and declares that he is not cleaning up out of fear of Tessai. When Ururu asks him if he is not sweeping out of fear, Jinta declares that he is not scared.

Jinta berates Ururu for being too cocky before rubbing his broom against her head while asserting that she is his underling. When Ururu tearfully points out that she is three years older than him, Jinta states that he is referring to rank instead of age. Suddenly, Rukia grabs the broom out of Jinta's hand, prompting him to demand to know who she is before recognizing her. Rukia notes that Jinta never changes and asks him if his boss is inside as Jinta grudgingly welcomes her. As Jinta pulls back the store shutter, Tessai pauses in the middle of carrying several boxes to remind him that it is too early for them to open before greeting Rukia upon seeing her.

Tessai asks Rukia to wait for a moment while he wakes up the boss, but Kisuke Urahara reveals that he is already awake and puts on his clogs before greeting his employees and informing Rukia that he just received a shipment yesterday. Soon afterward, Rukia purchases a spare vial of the cheapest Kikanshinki fuel and sixty Soma Fixers, which Urahara warns her can be toxic in large amounts because leaving her Gigai will cause her great pain if she is overly synchronized with it, only for Rukia to acknowledge this before revealing that her connection with her Gigai has been weak lately and it is becoming hard to move her body.

When Urahara offers to give her Gigai a checkup for a discount, an irritated Rukia refuses this before asking him if the item she ordered has been delivered. Confirming this, Urahara has Ururu fetch it from the back, which she happily agrees to do, and tells her that it is labelled "new item". In the storage room, Ururu searches for the box with this label and seemingly finds it with a small wrapped object inside. Up front, Rukia looks at the object and asks Urahara if this is the only kind he could get, prompting Urahara to state that it is the second most popular variety and was hard for him to get before warning Rukia that she cannot keep faking this forever, which she acknowledges.

At Karakura High School, Rukia politely greets her classmates, and Mizuiro Kojima greets her in return as Keigo Asano compliments her for looking so lovely today. When Mizuiro notes that it is not like Rukia to show up to school in the middle of third period, Rukia claims that she had to go home for something and asks Ichigo if she can see him for a moment. Ichigo states that she can talk to him here if she needs to, only for Rukia to suddenly punch him hard in the stomach and drag him out of the classroom while asking him if he is alright and proclaiming that she needs to take him to the infirmary. Mizuiro points out that Rukia hit Ichigo, but Keigo claims they did not see this.

Outside, Rukia tosses Ichigo a small canister with a duck head on the end and explains that it contains a Gikongan, an artificial soul that will force a regular soul out of its body when swallowed, before stating that Ichigo can use this should a Hollow appear while he is not around. When Ichigo observes that the canister has "Soul Candy" written on it, a flustered Rukia reveals that the Shinigami Women's Association had it labeled as such because Gikongan did not sound cute, and defensively states that she wanted the rabbit-themed Chappie instead when Ichigo wonders why there is a duck on the canister, which Ichigo takes note of.

Angered and embarrassed by Ichigo apparently judging her for her choice, Rukia demands to know if he is belittling her and steps on the back of his head to force it to the ground as Ichigo admits that he did not understand her explanation very well. Rukia tells Ichigo to take one of the Gikongan so he understands, and Ichigo complies by popping one into his mouth, causing it to glow with energy as it falls down his throat. As his eyes widen, Ichigo's soul is forced out of his body, which is sent flying to a fence that it drapes itself over, and Ichigo observes with shock that his soul really did leave his body, prompting Rukia to ask him if he is surprised.

Rukia explains that Ichigo's empty body is now inhabited by a substitute soul so that no one will notice that his true soul is gone. While Ichigo looks on in surprise, his body gets up and introduces itself as him before claiming that its favorite phrase is "Early to bed, early to rise." Hearing this, Ichigo expresses disbelief at such a phrase being used, and when Rukia asks him if it is not amazing, Ichigo demands to know what part of this personality resembles him. Upon hearing her Denreishinki beep, Rukia looks at it and notes that it is perfect timing for a mission before telling Ichigo to leave the substitute soul here, which Ichigo vehemently protests.

As Rukia drags him away, Ichigo claims that his peers will immediately know it is not him and tells the substitute soul to attend his next class, which the substitute soul agrees to do, only to drop his friendly demeanor as he tells them to take their time. Meanwhile, at the Urahara Shop, Urahara walks through the storage room and notices the box that Ururu pulled Rukia's order out of with its label fully exposed. Shortly afterward, as Urahara and Tessai stand by, Jinta has Ururu read out the full label, which is "Defective Merchandise", and begins pulling on her bangs in punishment while demanding that she get her act together, prompting Urahara to tell them to not fight.

When Tessai notes that this Gikongan is going to be trouble, Urahara confirms this and asserts that they must take care of this as soon as possible because they do not know what it will do. Back at Karakura High School, the substitute soul stretches Ichigo's arms and legs before effortlessly destroying the fence next to him with a single kick. As the substitute soul celebrates having finally found a mobile body so he can be free, a groundskeeper approaches while demanding to know what he is doing and mistakes him for Ichigo before pointing out the broken fence next to him. Seeing this, the substitute soul begins to menacingly walk toward the groundskeeper at a brisk pace.

The startled groundskeeper asks him why he has this look on his face and swings his shinai at him, only for the substitute soul to calmly leap over the groundskeeper and land on top of a hallway roof several meters away, to the groundskeeper's disbelief. Reveling in the groundskeeper's shock, the substitute soul jumps to the roof of the school and departs as the groundskeeper sinks to his knees. Elsewhere in the school, as the lunch period begins, Orihime Inoue celebrates it being lunchtime as an exasperated Tatsuki Arisawa tells her to not get so excited about lunch, which prompts Orihime to claim that a healthy girl only comes to school to eat lunch.

Tatsuki admits defeat and tells Orihime to sit down. When Orihime asks her what she brought for lunch and reveals that she brought bread and sweet bean jam, Tatsuki rubs her head while stating that she only brought a normal lunch as Orihime shows her how to make her own bean-jam rolls. When Chizuru Honshō walks up and asks to eat lunch with her, Orihime agrees to this, only for Chizuru to begin hugging her upon noticing the crumbs left around her mouth from the bread, which she says is cute. Suddenly, the substitute soul leaps up to the window of the classroom from the ground below, to the shock of the students inside, and identifies them as Ichigo's class.

Elsewhere, Ichigo runs along the grassy land under a bridge toward a Hollow, whose grasping hand he narrowly avoids before purifying it with a downward slash from his Zanpakutō. As the Hollow fades away, Ichigo notes that he has a bad feeling. Back at Karakura High School, the substitute soul stands on the windowsill in front of the shocked students as Tatsuki demands to know how he got up here. When the substitute soul states that he simply jumped from the ground and asks them if they are amazed, one of the students claims that he probably just came from the next door classroom through the window, only for another to confirm that he did jump from the ground.

While the student admits that he did not actually see this happen, the substitute soul expresses excitement over everyone looking at him and thinks they all believe he is amazing before noting that all the girls in the class are very good-looking and above-average. Bemoaning how he has been locked up for so long, the substitute soul suddenly focuses on Orihime and her chest, which he immediately falls in love with for its size, and leaps to her desk before taking her hand and asking her for her name. When the substitute soul kisses Orihime's hand, the other girls in the class react with shock and horror as Tatsuki immediately restrains the substitute soul.

Addressing the substitute soul as Ichigo, Tatsuki demands to know if he knows what he is doing and declares that this better not be some sort of joke, only for the substitute soul to tilt his head back and note that Tatsuki is pretty cute up close as well, further shocking the other girls. Meanwhile, as they run back to Karakura High School, Rukia asks Ichigo why he is in such a rush to return, leading Ichigo to admit that he is worried about how the substitute soul is doing. Rukia claims that Ichigo does not have to worry because the substitute soul will be doing fine, but Ichigo asserts that he has been getting a bad feeling about what is going on.

Suddenly, Ichigo and Rukia stop in surprise as they hear screaming coming from Ichigo's classroom, and upon seeing a desk being thrown out of the window, Rukia admits that they do need to hurry, prompting Ichigo to state that he told her so. Inside the classroom, an enraged Tatsuki throws another desk at the substitute soul, who asks with annoyance why she is getting so worked up over him kissing her on the cheek and states that she is not in grade school anymore, only for Tatsuki to tell him to shut up before throwing another desk at him. As the substitute soul leaps back, Michiru Ogawa begs Chizuru to stop Tatsuki, but Chizuru fearfully asserts that she cannot stop such a monster.

Suddenly, Rukia slams open the door to the classroom and demands that the substitute soul stop, prompting him to run toward the window in panic. Seeing this, Rukia calls out to Ichigo, who leaps through the window and confronts the substitute soul while stating that there is no longer anywhere for him to run. After looking back and forth between Ichigo and Rukia, the substitute soul grins and begins repeatedly kicking at Ichigo. As he catches a spinning kick from the substitute soul, Ichigo demands to know why he is doing this before being kicked in the side of the head by the substitute soul, who proceeds to repeatedly kick him in the abdomen as Rukia watches in shock.

While the students watch the substitute soul seemingly kick empty air, one of them wonder what he is doing, prompting Tatsuki to claim that no one cares. After being kicked and punched in the face several more times, Ichigo finally manages to punch the substitute soul in the face, only for the substitute soul to recover and kick at him twice more before kneeing Ichigo in the gut, which causes him to double over in pain. The substitute soul begins kicking Ichigo repeatedly in the chest, lifting him off the ground slightly more with each blow, before leaping into the air behind him and kicking Ichigo away, causing him to crash through multiple desks and chairs before hitting the wall.

While Orihime follows Ichigo's trajectory and tries to focus on him, one of the girls claims that there is a poltergeist in the room. As Ichigo gets to his feet, the substitute soul bids him and Rukia farewell before leaping out of the window, to their shock. Having landed safely on the ground, the substitute soul looks back at them and grins as he begins running away at high speeds, prompting Ichigo to wonder what is going on with him. A stunned Rukia realizes that this can only mean the substitute soul is a Mod-Soul, and as Ichigo leaps out of the window to pursue the Mod-Soul, she runs out of the room to follow him, to the surprise of the students still in the room.

While Mizuiro observes that it was Rukia who ran out, Keigo covers his eyes and claims that he did not see anything. With a visible burning aura of anger, Tatsuki declares that she will never forgive Ichigo, leading Yasutora Sado to note that she is a demon, but calms down when Orihime calls out to her. Chizuru expresses concern for Orihime and tells her to think of this as an attack from a stray dog, but Orihime asserts that it was not Ichigo who confronted them, to Tatsuki's confusion. Elsewhere, in an abandoned factory, Ichigo bemoans having lost track of the Mod-Soul and has trouble figuring out how to refer to him, leading Rukia to state that he is under a moratorium.

Confused by this, Ichigo declares that it is not time for Rukia's strange way of speaking and asserts that they must find the Mod-Soul before agonizing over how he used Ichigo's body to take advantage of Orihime and Tatsuki. When Rukia notes that he also kissed them, Ichigo freaks out and tells her to not say it out loud, only for Rukia to claim that a kiss is like a greeting and not a big deal as she claims that even worse things happened in the book she read recently. An exasperated Ichigo tells Rukia to not compare these things and asserts that his classmates being grabbed and kissed is a big deal before clutching his head and wailing about his hard-earned reputation being ruined by this.

While Rukia expresses surprise over Ichigo having intentionally built up his reputation, Ichigo calms down and recalls how Rukia referred to the substitute soul as a Mod-Soul before asking her what this is. Rukia explains that Soul Society once had a program called Project Spearhead that revolved around placing artificial souls designed for combat in the dead bodies of Humans so they could fight Hollows. Illustrating her explanation on a sheet of paper, Rukia details how these artificial souls would make one part of the body they were placed into superhuman and describes them as a soul made specifically for fighting before declaring that this is a Mod-Soul.

When Rukia asks him if he understands so far, Ichigo confirms this and flatly states that her drawings erased all the tension, prompting Rukia to smack him and scribble on his cheeks before revealing that Project Spearhead was cancelled because it would force corpses to fight and that all Mod-Souls in the development stage were slated for destruction. As Rukia expresses her surprise that some of the Mod-Souls still exist, Ichigo cleans his face and asks her if this means the Mod-Soul was created and then rejected by Soul Society, which Rukia confirms, and demands to know if Rukia accepts this, only for her to state that it is not a matter of accepting it or not.

Rukia asserts that Mod-Souls must be destroyed because it is the law of Soul Society and reminds Ichigo that those laws are made to protect Humans before declaring that they should go so he can get his body back. Shortly afterward, as he and Rukia run down the street, Ichigo wonders how the Mod-Soul feels in his body and thinks about how he managed to survive even though his kind was created and destroyed thoughtless before noting that he has to keep running regardless. As Ichigo wonders what he is feeling right now, the Mod-Soul leaps through the air and happily declares that this is great as a crowd of shocked people watch him from the street below.

Reveling in the attention he is drawing to himself, the Mod-Soul lands on the sidewalk and jumps on top of a nearby fence, which he begins to run along while recalling how he heard that Mod-Souls have all kinds of different powers and expressing his gratitude for having a power that lets him stand out. The Mod-Soul jumps high into the air and flies over a schoolyard, where he notices three boys huddled in a corner and wonders what is going on. As the Mod-Soul quietly lands on the fence near the boys, who are playing handheld video game consoles, Ino complains about how boring P.E. is, prompting Hashigami to praise how they cut class instead.

While the boys continue to play, Ino loses a battle in his game, prompting him to tell the creature in his game to fight better for the one who created him. When Hashigami suggests killing the creature, to the Mod-Soul's surprise, Ino declares that those who do not obey their masters die as he deletes the creature. While the Mod-Soul looks on in shock, Kaneda admits his surprise at Ino actually deleting his creature, only for Ino to claim that he will just make a better one as he and his friends laugh. Angered by this, the Mod-Soul drops to the ground below and confronts the boys, who are startled by him, and screams as he attempts to kick them, only for Ichigo to block his leg at the last second. As Ichigo forces him back, the Mod-Soul stares him down and grins.

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Yasutora Sado attempts to preview the next episode, but simply remains silent for several seconds before admitting he cannot do it as an exasperated Ichigo realizes they are out of time once again.