Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Grand Fisher

 is a battle which involves Ichigo Kurosaki learning about the truth of his mother's death at the hands of the Hollow, Grand Fisher.

Prelude
After Ichigo gets his body back from the Kaizō Konpaku, he decides to give him a permanent residence. He decides to try a plushy he finds on the top of a pile of garbage. Experimentally pushing the pill inside its mouth, he lifts it into the air, swinging it several times, and decides it did not work. Awakening inside the plushy, the Mod-Soul, kicking himself away from Ichigo, becomes distressed at his new size.

The next morning, he loudly wakes Ichigo up. Angrily throwing him at a wall, Ichigo tells him to act like a normal stuffed animal. As Kon tells him to treat him nicely, Rukia Kuchiki, exiting the closet, tells Ichigo to be quiet. She accidentally steps on Kon, who says "nice angle", causing Rukia to repeatedly stomp on him.

When Yuzu Kurosaki enters the room, both Rukia and Kon hide in the closet. As Ichigo slams the door to the closet shut just as she enters, his awkward pose prompts her to ask what he is doing. Insisting he is doing nothing out of the ordinary, a panicked Ichigo asks her what she wants at such an early time in the morning. Suddenly stern, Yuzu tells her brother it is not early, and Mizuiro Kojima has been waiting for him outside. Panicking when he notices the time, Ichigo, calling out to Mizuiro from a window, apologizes to him and tells him to come into his house and wait.

As he realizes everyone's memories of the incident with the Mod-Soul have been erased, Rukia reminds him he would have problems if they remembered the things which had taken place with Kon inside his body. As he begins to wonder about Kisuke Urahara and who he is, Rukia tells Ichigo she is going to go on ahead of him. Angrily looking at his watch, Ichigo wonders why Isshin Kurosaki did not wake him up, since he seems to crash in whether he likes it or not. Spotting the date on his watch, he falls silent. When Rukia asks Ichigo why he has such a long face now, Ichigo, telling her nothing is wrong, states "it's soon".

At Karakura High School, Tatsuki Arisawa, Orihime Inoue, and Michiru Ogawa discuss the art project, "my future self", which they have been assigned. When Tatsuki shows a picture of herself as the champion of women martial arts, Michiru worries that she cannot show hers as, by comparison, she does not think it is any good. When she asks Orihime to show her drawing, a proud Orihime reveals a picture of herself as a robot with many special abilities, causing her to get quite excited. Exasperated, Tatsuki tells her the project had nothing to do with futuristic visions of themselves, but about where they would like to be. Asking Orihime if she wants to get detention again, she is sure she will if she uses that.

Orihime is distracted when Ichigo, arriving, passes their table. When Orihime greets him, Ichigo, smiling happily, does the same. As Tatsuki realizes something is wrong, Michiru wonders aloud why Ichigo is in such a good mood. Stunned into momentary silence from his reply, Orihime asks why Ichigo is so tense. Tatsuki asks Michiru what date it is and Michiru, looking at her watch, states it is June 16th. Realizing he is tense, Tatsuki, telling Orihime she is amazing to have noticed something which took her three years to realize, states if she has any business with Ichigo, she should do it now because he will not be in school tomorrow.

Holding a family meeting to decide what they are going to do tomorrow, Isshin states since he is the chairman, he will be making all decisions. Angrily getting out of her seat, Karin Kurosaki tells Isshin that means this is not a meeting, but Isshin, telling her to raise her hand before speaking, refers to her as "staff director", the title making Karin happy enough to stop arguing. Isshin ends the meeting with giving Yuzu the job of lunch staff and Karin the job of luggage carrier. When Ichigo goes into his room, Rukia, telling him the family meeting looked fun, wonders if Ichigo is going on a picnic tomorrow. Not answering, Ichigo asks Rukia if he can have the day off from his Shinigami work tomorrow. Telling him he cannot, Rukia asks Ichigo why he is acting so strange. Telling her tomorrow is the anniversary of his mother's death, Ichigo states it is not just the day she died, but also the day she was killed.

Deciding to explain to Orihime about Ichigo's mother, Tatsuki states she and Ichigo first met at the dojo they went to when they were four. She says Ichigo looked really funny with his flashy hair color and how he always smiled when he was with his mom. She reveals he always cried whenever he lost, and she was the first one to make to make him cry. Saying he always got better whenever he saw his mom, Tatsuki states this really annoyed her because a man who loses should not smile like an idiot. Telling Orihime how Ichigo was spoiled when he was kid, but always looked very happy, she states this was the beginning.

The next day, as the Kurosaki family begins walking to Masaki's grave, Yuzu complains about the hill they are at being too tough to climb. Yelling at his two daughters to do their best, Isshin begins climbing up the hill on his hands. Telling Yuzu to ignore him, Karin states if you encourage people like them, they will never stop. Calling her naive, Isshin states even if they ignore him, he will not stop. As Isshin begins climbing up the hill faster, Karin, kicking her father back down the hill, tells him to start from the bottom. Stating even though it is June, it is still hot, Ichigo thinks to himself even though it is the same June 17th, it is completely different from the one before.

When Yuzu and Karin spot somebody, Ichigo, looking to see who it is, sees it is Rukia. As the Shinigami begins waving at them, Yuzu asks Ichigo if he knows her, which Ichigo tries to deny. When Karin says she remembers her from somewhere, Ichigo tries to explain it off as his old middle school classmate whom he forgot. He tells them to go to Masaki's grave ahead of him while he talks to Rukia. After he leaves, Karin states it seems Ichigo has reached that age. When Yuzu asks her what she means, Karin tells her they should leave Ichigo alone, and they head off to Masaki's grave.

When Ichigo asks Rukia what she is doing here, Rukia explains how she has to be here in case a Hollow comes by. When Ichigo tells her she should have been more covert, but Rukia tells him she was not aware. When Ichigo asks Rukia why she is so angry, Rukia, telling him she is not, and decides to ask Ichigo who killed his mother. Though Ichigo tells her to forget he said anything, Rukia, continuing to question him, speculates a Hollow killed her, due to how Ichigo could see ghosts and had a high enough spiritual pressure to attract Hollows. Yelling at Rukia, Ichigo tells her it was not a Hollow. When a girl appears behind Rukia, Ichigo runs away. Looking behind her, Rukia sees no one there.

Tatsuki reveals to Orihime Ichigo's mother died when he was 9 years old, after which Ichigo began skipping school. Stating she went to look for him, Tatsuki says when she found him, he was at the riverbank where his mother died, still carrying his schoolbag. Stating it looked like he was searching for his mother, she says it was difficult to watch him like that. As Tatsuki explains this, Rukia, running up to Ichigo, asks him why he ran. Stating she was not killed by a Hollow, Ichigo begins to tell her who it really was.

Going up to Masaki's grave, Karin, asking her how she is doing, retracts that thought, stating the question is pointless because she is dead. Isshin proclaims it is time for this year's annual "Ba-Dum! Kurosaki Family's Tombstone Domino Rally" and states the first round is between him and Ichigo. As Yuzu tries to stop him, Rukia, remembering Ichigo telling her he was the one who killed Masaki, wonders if what happened was a mistake or accident. As she thinks to herself she is a fool for suggesting Hollows were behind Masaki's death, Kon, exiting Rukia's bag, tells her it is hard to breathe in here. When he suggests they go home, Rukia tells him Hollows could come, and it is her job to stop them. When Kon tells her she will lose friends if she thinks about nothing but work, Rukia does not answer him. When Kon asks her if something is wrong, she tells him she is fine.

Ichigo remembers when, as kids, Tatsuki asked Ichigo if he could see ghosts, and he, lying to her, said he could not. He thinks to himself he could see ghosts for as long as he could remember, and he had trouble with telling the living from the dead. Ichigo states this normally was not a big deal until June 11th came by. Remembering how he always wanted to protect Masaki, Ichigo states he never saw his mom cry or get mad once. He states his entire family revolved around his mom, and because of his name meaning "to protect one thing", he wanted to protect Masaki.

Ichigo remembers one very rainy day, during which he saw a girl at the river's edge, as if she was about to jump in. Ichigo explains how he could not tell the difference between a ghost and a human back then, and because of that, he chased after her, stating he wanted to protect more and more people. He ended up becoming unconscious somehow, but when he woke up, Masaki was lying on top of him, dead. Ichigo states he does not know how it happened, but she clearly died saving him. He tells himself he was the one who stole Masaki away from his family.

As Karin tells Yuzu to stop crying since she does this every year and she should be mature by now, Yuzu does not stop. When Isshin begins blowing his whistle to gather everyone together, Karin tells Yuzu to get up. Before they can get anywhere, Karin, spotting a girl next to a cliff, realizes it is a ghost. Going up to the ghost alone, Karin tells her if she has something she regrets, there is a priest who lives around here whom she can go to. As the ghost states it is wonderful someone can both see and hear her, an image of something else appears behind her.

Isshin continues blowing his whistle until Ichigo, arriving, tells him to be quiet. When Ichigo asks him where Karin and Yuzu are, Isshin, not knowing, tells Ichigo to look for them. Initially declining, Ichigo decides to go when he begins feeling a weird sensation. As Yuzu asks Karin what she is doing, Karin yells at her not to get any closer. As Karin asks the ghost what the thing behind her is, the ghost, ignoring her, states she is the "best" for being able to see the thing behind her. Sensing the presence of a Hollow, Rukia does not think it is anything because she did not get any orders. Suddenly, getting the orders about the Hollow, she angrily states the orders must have been late. As Rukia runs to where the Hollow is, she meets up with Ichigo, and the two run towards the Hollow's location together. When Ichigo asks her if she is going to ask him anything, Rukia tells him this is his problem, and even if she did, he would not answer her.

As she tells him he can talk to her when he is ready, Kon, exiting Rukia's bag, says they should not act so cool. When Ichigo is surprised by this, Kon states he had to come because he is Rukia's "number one disciple". As Ichigo begins picking on Kon because of this statement, Rukia tells them to be quiet. As Karin is attacked by the Hollow, Yuzu, attempting to help her, is strangled by the mysterious enemy. Getting mad at how someone with no Reiatsu is getting in her way, the ghost decides she is going to eat her first.

Battle
Arriving in his Shinigami form, Ichigo cuts off the tentacle choking Yuzu before the Hollow can swallow her. Cutting off the arm holding down Karin, Ichigo takes his two sisters away from the Hollow. Asking the ghost why she is here again and why she is with a Hollow, Ichigo wonders if she is being controlled by the Hollow or actually working with the Hollow, but the ghost tells him both are wrong.

As Rukia carries both Ichigo's body and Kon with her, Kon complains about Ichigo's weight being too heavy on him. Spotting an unconscious Yuzu and Karin, Rukia sees Ichigo talking with the ghost. As Ichigo asks the ghost what she is, the ghost, smiling at how someone saw her form and still survived, tells Ichigo he is lucky. Ripping in half, the ghost becomes a tentacle-like limb which, taking the shape of a lure, connects to the top of the Hollow. As Ichigo looks on in shock, the Hollow tells Ichigo because he has seen him like this, he cannot let him go without eating his soul. As Ichigo realizes the ghost was really a part of the Hollow, Rukia, appearing behind Ichigo, tells him the Hollow is called Grand Fisher.

Rukia explains how Grand Fisher is a Hollow who hides his body and makes his lure take the shape of a Human which only other humans with high Reiatsu can see. Because of this, he has an easier time finding humans with high Reiatsu. Stating he increases his strength by eating these humans, Rukia tells Ichigo Grand Fisher has eluded Shinigami for the past 54 years. Stating because this Hollow is so well known, Soul Society has extensive records on him, Rukia hands Ichigo a paper displaying this information. Crumpling up the piece of paper, Ichigo realizes back then, he fell into Grand Fisher's trap, and because of that, his mother died.

Jumping into the air, an angry Ichigo swings his Zanpakutō down on Grand Fisher, who dodges his attack by jumping into the air as well. As Rukia tells Ichigo to stop being careless, Grand Fisher, regenerating his severed arm, stretches it out to attack Ichigo. As Ichigo tries to block the attack with his Zanpakutō, the force of the blow is too much for him, and he is sent flying back. Regaining his footing, Ichigo jumps back to fight Grand Fisher, who, launching his growing hair, begins strangling Ichigo, prompting Rukia to begin casting a Kidō spell. Telling her to stop, Ichigo, cutting off the hair enveloping him, tells Rukia not to interfere. As he tells her to look over Karin and Yuzu, Rukia tries to persuade him to let her fight, but Ichigo claims this as his fight.

Leaving the battlefield, Rukia decides to forcibly put Kon in Ichigo's body, much to the dismay of the Mod-Soul. As she tells Kon to help her move Karin and Yuzu, she silently tells Ichigo not to die. As Grand Fisher wraps his hair around Ichigo's left arm, breaking a tombstone in the process, Ichigo cuts off the hair holding him down with his Zanpakutō. Telling him he is too slow, Grand Fisher attacks the Shinigami again, leaving a wound on his head. Mocking the Shinigami, Grand Fisher tells him he cannot win by running away and he cannot win by wildly swinging his sword. He states with this level of ability, he should not have told his comrade not to interfere.

Ichigo thinks to himself Grand Fisher moves surprisingly fast despite his huge body, and all he can do is shrug off his attacks. Realizing if his stamina runs out, he will lose the battle, he regrets thinking like that because this is the person who killed his mother and made the rest of his family suffer. Deciding he is going to defeat Grand Fisher, Ichigo charges towards the Hollow, but Grand Fisher, calling him careless, swings his arm at the Shinigami. As Ichigo blocks the attack with his Zanpakutō, Grand Fisher tells him he should not have hesitated, and this is what makes him careless. Grand Fisher impales Ichigo's chest with his fingers.

Waking up, Karin sees Kon, in Ichigo's body, greeting her. Telling her he saw her and Yuzu asleep on a hill, Kon suggests she rest a little longer now. Deciding to leave, Kon tells her he is going to bring Isshin here now. After leaving, Kon, asking Rukia if he did all right, states keeping his eyebrows knit together is exhausting, wondering how Ichigo can actually keep this face on all day. Thinking to herself the one who saved her from the Hollow was definitely Ichigo, Karin wonders if it was simply a part of her dream. As Grand Fisher removes his fingers from Ichigo's chest, blood begins flowing out of the Shinigami. Grand Fisher tells Ichigo he will control him and kill him without a single wound because of his short-lived passion of discarding his comrade and diving at his enemy's chest.

Angrily swinging his Zanpakutō at Grand Fisher's head and missing, Ichigo tells him he will defeat him even if his arms and legs are ripped off. Telling him this is the reason he will die, Grand Fisher explains to Ichigo how he is easily angered because he is young, and because of this, his heart is shaken, which in turn causes his blade to become dull. He brings his lure out, revealing the "human girl" again, and squeezes the head of the "human girl". As he removes his hand, the face of the "human girl" changes to that of Ichigo's mother. As Grand Fisher tells Ichigo he is way too young to fight him, "Masaki" says Ichigo's name, causing the Shinigami to become paralyzed.

Grand Fisher says Ichigo must be wondering how he is able to make his mother's form appear, even though he said he did not remember as far back as 6 years ago. Telling Ichigo he has to know the reason because that is what his face is telling him, Grand Fisher laughs madly. Grand Fisher reveals because he attacked him with his left hand, he was able to look into his memories, and when he does this, he makes something similar to the one thing he cannot cut. Grand Fisher states every Shinigami has someone they could never cut, and by rooting this out, he has been able to successfully kill many Shinigami up until now. When Kon asks Rukia why she is not going to save Ichigo, Rukia tells him she was told not to interfere. Bowing his head down to Rukia, Kon begs her to save Ichigo, explaining how if she does not, he will be forced to live with his family, which is something he could never do. Convinced to go, Rukia tells Kon he has to protect Yuzu and Karin in return.

As Rukia runs there, she, wondering what she could possibly do to help Ichigo, states right now remorse is what is driving Ichigo, and since becoming a Shinigami, this is the first time he has actually fought for himself. As she wonders if Ichigo will be happy if she helps him, she, reaching the battlefield, spots Ichigo struggling against Grand Fisher. Trying not to interfere because Ichigo will not be happy with the outcome, Rukia begins to remember someone from her past. The person had told her there are two types of fights - one to protect life, and one to protect pride - and saving someone who is fighting for their pride would end up destroying their pride. Remembering these words, Rukia, deciding not to interfere in this fight, quietly tells Ichigo not to die.

When Grand Fisher asks Ichigo if he really cannot move just because his mother called out his name, Ichigo tells Grand Fisher this is not the place he should have brought his mother's form into. Getting in front of Ichigo, "Masaki" tells him to sheath his Zanpakutō and not cut her. Impaling both "Masaki" and Ichigo through the stomach with his arm, Grand Fisher tells him out of all the Shinigami he has encountered, he was the most inexperienced, thoughtless, and inadequate of them all. Thrusting his Zanpakutō through Grand Fisher, Ichigo tells the Hollow he has finally caught him. Tightly grasping the arm impaled through him, Ichigo tells him he might be correct in thinking anger can dull the blade, but the main mistake he made was in not realizing a dulled blade is enough to kill him. Ichigo tells Grand Fisher out of all the Hollows he has encountered, he was the most archaic, filthy, and irritating of them all. Ichigo swings his Zanpakutō out of Grand Fisher's body, leaving a deep wound pouring blood.

At Tatsuki's house, Orihime, looking outside, states it is raining. As Tatsuki states this is weird because it was sunny in the morning, Orihime, asking if she can borrow an umbrella, tells Tatsuki she cannot stay because she was kicked out of her house. Surprised by this, Tatsuki asks Orihime where she is staying now. When she tells her she is sleeping outside with a reversible sleeping bag, Tatsuki begins arguing with Orihime about this, but she tells her she was just kidding, explaining how she is at a hotel right now. After the two of them get into a minor argument, Tatsuki tells Orihime she can still stay at her house, but Orihime tells her she feels like walking outside today. Leaving, Orihime thinks to herself about Ichigo's mother dying when he was only nine, and the relief of when she met her brother before was for no reason. She states she can understand the reason Ichigo has for having a one-way sympathy.

As Grand Fisher begins screaming in pain from this new injury, Ichigo thrusts his Zanpakutō into the ground. When Rukia arrives to greet him, Ichigo tells her she is a bit late, and he has already cleaned up this Hollow. When Grand Fisher stretches out his hair to attack Ichigo's head, Ichigo, dodging the attack, suffers only a minor cut to his face. Grand Fisher's body enters that of "Masaki", causing the body of "Masaki" to become similar to that of Grand Fisher. Answering the question Ichigo asked before, he states both of his bodies are the real one. Stating if one body is injured, he can simply jump into the other one, he tells Ichigo he has no way of beating him now.

Back where Ichigo's family is resting, Isshin calls out for "Ichigo" to come inside because it is raining, but "Ichigo" is gone. As Rukia tells Ichigo to stop fighting because this is reckless, Grand Fisher, telling him she is correct, explains how there is no way he will be able to cut down his own mother. As Grand Fisher leaves the area, Ichigo tries to go after him. As Rukia, stopping him, states this fight is over, Ichigo, still trying to go, collapses due to his wounds. As Rukia heals him, Kon arrives, and Rukia tells him Ichigo will be all right. She thanks Ichigo for not dying in the fight.

Aftermath
Back in his Human body, Ichigo, stating the pain hurts, asks Rukia why she did not fully heal him. Telling him she used all of her strength trying to heal his stomach, Rukia gives Ichigo band-aids to put on. When Ichigo states he lost his fight, Rukia tells him he won because the Hollow had fled. As Ichigo leaves the area, Kon, now back in his plushy body, states the air here is too heavy for him to move.

Going to Masaki's grave, Ichigo apologizes for not being able to save her. Going up to him, Isshin begins poking him with an umbrella, forcibly trying to give it to him. After Ichigo angrily hits him across the face with the umbrella, Isshin states it has been ten years since Masaki died, but Ichigo says it has only been six. After the two of them get into another argument, Isshin tells Ichigo if he lets Masaki see his lively form, she will be able to rest easy on the other side. Taking out a cigarette, Isshin begins smoking. When Ichigo states he thought he quit smoking when Yuzu and Karin were born, Isshin explains to Ichigo how the only time Masaki complimented him on his looks was when he was smoking, and she told him his hand looked cool while doing that. Because of that, he decided he would always smoke in front of her on this day only.

As Isshin tells Ichigo to not look so sad and cheer up, Ichigo, crying, asks Isshin why nobody blames him for Masaki's death. When Ichigo tells Isshin it would be so much easier if he simply blamed him, Isshin, telling him Masaki would get mad at him if he were to do that, states her death is no one's fault. Stating Masaki was simply a woman who could die protecting her son, Isshin reminds Ichigo how she was the women who was in love with him, but decided to give up her life for her son. Kicking Ichigo, Isshin, stating he hates that fact, begins to walk away. He tells Ichigo to live well, age well, bald well, and die after he does, and when he dies, he should do it while smiling. He tells him not to hesitate to act, and while sadness might be a cool thing to shoulder, he is still too young for it. He tells Ichigo he will be waiting down below.

Telling Rukia to come out, Ichigo, asking her if her Shinigami power is returning yet, states regardless of whether it is or is not, he wants her to let him stay a Shinigami a bit a longer. He explains how he wants to become strong enough to defeat Grand Fisher, or else he will not be able to face his mom. At an unknown location, Grand Fisher is healed by a mysterious Hollow. Telling Grand Fisher to be quiet, the Hollow, stating he could just leave him like he is right now, tells him this happened because he plays around with his enemies too much. Another Hollow tells him if he wants to kill Shinigami with certainty, he has to chop their head off. When Grand Fisher apologizes, the Hollow tells him he does not want to hear it because he told him to prepare, and he has no desire to fix his mistakes. Removing his mask, the Hollow working on Grand Fisher asks him if this is going to happen again. Telling him he will never be taken down by a Shinigami again, Grand Fisher says Ichigo's name to himself.