Ichigo Kurosaki & Kūgo Ginjō vs. Shūkurō Tsukishima & Xcution

Ichigo Kurosaki & Kūgo Ginjō vs. Shūkurō Tsukishima & Xcution

Prologue
Shūkurō Tsukishima greets Ichigo, saying it has been a while. Yuzu Kurosaki says that Tsukishima just showed up and they had dinner together. Karin Kurosaki then adds that he showed up out of the blue and asks why he always does that. Tsukishima asks if he is being a bother and Karin says she would not go that far. Yuzu begins telling Ichigo to ask Tsukishima about something but is interrupted by Ichigo grabbing Tsukishima asking what he is doing doing. Karin and Yuzu call to him to get him to stop and saying he is hurting Tsukishima. Ichigo angrily asks what Tsukishima did to Karin and Yuzu. Tsukishima tells Karin and Yuzu that it is fine and that Ichigo is probably just upset that he is imposing on them at this late hour. Ichigo yells again and tells Tsukishima to answer him but they are interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Tsukishima asks Yuzu to get it as it is Keigo Asano and the others.

Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo and Tatsuki Arisawa walk in. Mizuiro says hello to everyone and Yuzu gives them some slippers. Keigo and Mizuiro are surprised to see Ichigo there and Tatsuki asks Ichigo about his running off at night and says he should come home at a reasonable hour as he is making Karin and Yuzu lonely. Karin says that they are fine but Yuzu disagrees. Keigo and Mizuiro greet Tsukishima and Tsukishima apologizes to Ichigo for having them over so late but he has not seen them in so long and tomorrow is Sunday so it does not really matter. Tsukishima then says that he should call Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado. He grabs the phone and calls Orihime who initially does not recognize him but he reminds her and begins to invite her to Ichigo's house. Suddenly, Ichigo throws Tsukishima against the wall and everyone is shocked and run to his aide. Ichigo demands to know what Tsukishima did to everyone. Tatsuki asks if Tsukishima is fine and he says he is but Keigo says he is bleeding. Ichigo once more demands answers but Tatsuki asks what he is doing and demands Ichigo apologize. Ichigo tries to explain but once more Tatsuki demands he apologize. Everyone begins to question Ichigo and say he is acting weird.

Not able to take it any longer, Ichigo flees his house and runs. He begins to wonder what Tsukishima's ability is when he runs into Ikumi Unagiya. Ikumi sees Ichigo and asks him what is wrong. Ichigo gets in her car and they go back to her store. She makes him a drink and says he can stay there until he calms down. She says if he wants to talk about what is going on he should feel free to. Ichigo thanks her and she shoves his face up against her breast. Ichigo begins to talk but she tells him to be quiet. The doorbell rings and Ikumi wonders who it could be. Ichigo begins to question if he should tell her what is going on but comes to the conclusion she would not understand. Ikumi comes back and tells Ichigo that Tsukishima is there to cheer him up. Ichigo then runs once more. He begins to think he is the only sane one left before Kūgo Ginjō shows up, out of breath. He tells Ichigo that Tsukishima has taken out the rest of Xcution.

As Urahara and Isshin, who is carrying glowing, sword-like object, walk through the moonlight streets, Ichigo and Kūgo arrive at a dilapidated building. Kūgo tells Ichigo that they should be safe there, as it is a place that he prepared in case Tsukishima found Xcution's hideout. He reveals that he did so without Riruka and Giriko knowing. Ichigo lashes out at Kūgo, blaming the Fullbringer for involving him. Kūgo apologizes and Ichigo admits that it was not his fault. Kūgo tells him not to blame himself.

Kūgo reveals his thoughts on Tsukishima's ability, saying that based on Sado's account of events, he had thought Tsukishima could confuse people's memories. But after listening to Yukio and the other members of Xcution as they attacked him, he surmizes that his ability is to insert himself into the memories of people that he cuts with his Book of The End, just as one places a bookmark into a book. When Ichigo questions if that is possible, Kūgo replies that he is unsure, but those affected by his Fullbring clearly thought he was someone from their past, deeply engrained in their personal lives. Kūgo claims that they would appear to those affected to be insane.

When Ichigo asks if his friends will return to normal if Tsukishima is killed, Kūgo replies that he cannot be sure and that they could end up being viewed as murderers by their friends. But he claims that they have to kill him nonetheless and asks Ichigo if he can kill him. Yukio reveals his presence by remarking on the nature of the discussion. When Kūgo demands to know how he found them, Yukio reveals that he used his Fullbring to track Kūgo. He invites them to return with him, saying that nobody is angry with them and they will be restored to normal soon.

As Uryū stands fully dressed in his room in Karakura Hospital, Ichigo, Kūgo and Yukio arrive at a large house in a wooded area.

Battle
Tsukishima greets Ichigo, Kūgo and Yukio at the door of the mansion. Upon seeing him, Ichigo charges at him, reaching for his badge. He is stopped by Kūgo, who warns that they cannot rush in without a plan. He tells Ichigo that if he is right about Tsukishima's ability, then they cannot afford to be cut by his sword even once. Tsukishima tells them that he is not armed and invites them inside to discuss things, saying that he has no intention of fighting them. When Ichigo refuses to comply due to the possibilty of traps inside the mansion, Tsukishima points out that if he was going to lay any traps, he would have placed them in the forest they had just been through.

Inside, Ichigo is greeted by his friends and family. Yuzu tells him that Tsukishima is not mad at him and Keigo urges Ichigo to apologize to him. As the others join Keigo in calling for an apology, Kūgo urges Ichigo to remain calm, saying that while they think Tsukishima is a friend, they still think of Ichigo as one too and will not attack him. However, Ichigo runs out of the room thinking to himself that while he wishes to slice Tsukishima to pieces, he cannot fight him there as the others will be dragged into the fight.

Ichigo runs upstairs, where he finds the other members of Xcution. Tsukishima appears behind him and comments on how willingly Ichigo allowed himself to be surrounded. Kūgo destroys the stairs so that only Yukio would be able to reach the first floor and tells Ichigo that there is no reason to hold back. Ichigo activates his Fullbring and cuts off Tsukishima's left arm. Tsukishima compliments Ichigo's rate of growth, but Ichigo retorts that he should keep acting high and mighty while he still can as he is there to kill Tsukishima.

Sado appears outside the window and smashes his way in. He and Orihime stand in front of Ichigo, with Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka flying around her.

Orihime ignores Ichigo's pleas to stop healing Tsukishima and restores his arm. Tsukishima compliments her healing ability. Ichigo asks Sado if he is "the same" as the others. Sado replies that he is unsure what Ichigo means, saying that they are uncertain how to respond to his actions. He asks Ichigo why he is doing this and Orihime asks if he has forgotten how much Tsukishima has helped them. Sado tells him that they would not have been able to rescue Rukia or defeat Aizen without Tsukishima.

Tsukishima asks Ichigo if he understands now. Ichigo attacks him, launching through a wall. Kūgo tries to follow, but is stopped by a falling chandelier. Moe Shishigawara tells him that he and the Xcution members are his opponents. Kūgo wonders who he is and how he made the chandelier fall despite not having any tools or weapons, questioning what his Fullbring is.

Tsukishima explains that his Fullbring creates new pasts, simply inserting his presence into the past of the victim as he sees fit. Ichigo remarks that Kūgo was correct, surprising Tsukishima, who admits that he underestimated him. He then says that the past that Ichigo has experienced and that experienced by his friends and family are two different things. Ichigo tries to grasp the meaning of Tsukishima's words before attacking him. However, Orihime shields Tsukishima and Sado attacks Ichigo. Sado asks him why he is doing this, saying that he did not gain his strength for this purpose. He attacks Ichigo again. Ichigo says taht he did not gain his powers so that he would have to hurt his friends. Tsukishima then appears before him again.

Kūgo evades the attacks of his fellow Xcution members and blocks an attack by Moe. As he dismisses Moe's strength, part of his sword's handle breaks off. Moe tells Kūgo that he is fortunate that his body was not hit by that attack as there would have been little left of it. He explains about his Fullbring, Jackpot Knuckle, which manipulates probability so that everything he does works out in his favour. He says that his punch "just happened" to connect at the perfect angle to snap his sword's handle where it "just happened" growing weak. He then explains that the chandalier fell because he flipped a coin which "just happened" to hit the chandelier, which "just happened" to be hanging so loosely that the impact of the coin could cause it to fall. He then threatens Kūgo.

Meanwhile, Ichigo and Tsukishima continue their battle. Icihgo fires a Getsuga Tenshō at him. Tsukishima ponders this, noting that his speed is exceeding his expectations and that he is successfully fusing his Fullbring and Shinigami powers. He then notes that, as planned, the overwhelming despair is helping his development rate.

As Kūgo admits that he is not cut out to fight all four of his opponents simultaneously, particularly with Moe's ability being so difficult to deal with, he checks on Ichigo's progress. Sado and Orihime come to Tsukishima's aid and Ichigo tells them to stop, saying that he does not want to fight them. Tsukishima attacks Ichigo from behind, but Kūgo shields Ichigo from the attack with his own body, taking the hit and falling to the ground.

Aftermath
Ichigo rushes to the injured Kūgo's side, wondering how he will be affected. Kūgo tells him not to be distracted by his injury and Ichigo parries an attack from Tsukishima. Kūgo tells Ichigo that he is alright for now, stating that Tsukishima is an enemy and Ichigo an ally. He tells a relieved Ichigo that he is uncertain why he has not been affected by Book of the End's ability yet, surmising that he is surpressing it or that it takes longer to affect some people.

As he says that they must finish the battle before the ability takes hold, Uryū arrives. Ichigo wonders whose side he is on, concluding that he is an enemy when he activates his bow. Uryū tells him that Kūgo is the one who attacked him. Uryū attacks Kūgo, both he and Ichigo are cut down by Kūgo and Tsukishima. When Ichigo asks if Kugo is affected by Tsukishima afterall, he replies that it was the second time he had been cut by him, which changed him back to normal. He stabs Ichigo in the chest, saying that he will remove Ichigo's Fullbring.