3rd Year High School Student! Dressed Up, and a New Chapter Begins!

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

Seventeen months later, Ichigo Kurosaki continues living life as a normal teenage high school student in Karakura Town.

Summary
In early morning, at the Kurosaki Clinic, Yuzu Kurosaki calls up the stairs to waken her elder brother, Ichigo Kurosaki. The seventeen-year-old sits up groggily and stares out the window for a moment. Tiredly getting to his feet, he scratches his head and yawns, as Yuzu persists in calling him. He walks passed his uniform, murmuring that he still feels sleepy.

After getting dressed in his school uniform, Ichigo goes downstairs to the kitchen. When Yuzu sees him, she excitedly strikes a pose in her school uniform and exclaims "Ta da!" and stares at him expectantly. Ichigo stands dumbfounded in the doorway before remembering that her induction ceremony for High School is later that day and he comments on it tiredly before moving towards the table.

When he takes a seat opposite Karin Kurosaki, he asks her to pass the soy sauce. However, Yuzu slams the bottle of sauce down on the table angrily before handing it to him. As she stalks off, Ichigo asks her why she is angry and she declares that she is not angry. She elaborates that she saved showing him her appearance in her new uniform until her first day and yet he refuses to even properly look at her. As a result, she refuses to serve him the tastiest portion of rice she cooked. Ichigo looks away before informing her that her skirt is unzipped which causes Yuzu to panic. He uses this as an excuse to prove that he was looking but a blushing Yuzu reprimands him for being dirty-minded.

Meanwhile, Karin is quietly eating her breakfast as her siblings bicker. Suddenly, two Plus appear at her left shoulder, looking at her and her food in an interested and excited fashion. When she notices them, she suddenly lashes out and pokes one of the Plus's glasses and breaks his right lens. The spirit becomes upset and complains while his companion spirit looks on, shocked. Ichigo notices her movement and, unable to see spirits any longer, asks her what is the matter. Continuing to eat from her bowl, Karin tells him that nothing is wrong, confusing her brother greatly.

Isshin Kurosaki thunders into the kitchen, calling loudly for Yuzu to help him. He displays the suit he is wearing and demands to know whether the blue necktie or red bow matches his outfit more. Yuzu tells him that they both look alright and it doesn't really matter what he wears. Hurt and stunned, Isshin tries to coax his daughter into having a better look and help him decide which is best. Again, Yuzu informs him that either look good and it isn't a big deal what he where's to the ceremony. Stunned and aghast, Isshin can only open and close his mouth several times, speechless while Ichigo leaves the kitchen.

As he leaves the house for school, Ichigo reflects that it has been seventeen months since his battle with Sōsuke Aizen and that he is now in his final year of High School. His friends all now know about his Shinigami powers and accepted them without a word. Now that he is powerless, Karin's spiritual powers have grown and she's not too thrilled about her new role as medium for the spirits but she's finding her own way of dealing with it. Outside his home, Ichigo meets up with Mizuiro Kojima, who happily greets him. Behind him, Isshin takes his sisters to their new school while Ichigo leaves with his friend in the opposite direction.

In the school hallway, Keigo Asano runs towards and jumps at Ichigo only for the redhead to grab him in a headlock. Mizuiro watches them for a moment before walking to his own class, arranging a meeting at lunch. Ichigo enters his classroom and greets Tatsuki Arisawa who demands to know if he brought back the game she had previously let him borrow. Ichigo looks through his bag for it and becomes distracted when he sees his old Substitute Shinigami Badge in one of the side pockets. After a pause, Tatsuki angrily assumes he forgot the game but he manages to get it for her and proves that he hadn't forgotten it and gives it to her.

During his lessons, Ichigo holds the Substitute Shinigami Badge in his hand and examines it, not paying attention to his teacher. He silently admits that since losing his Shinigami abilities, the badge has all ceased functioning how it used to. It was no longer invisible to those without Spiritual power and it no longer sounds an alarm whenever there is a Hollow nearby in the Human World. He asserts that the badge is now no more than a mere piece of wood that he had forgotten was in his schoolbag for such a long time. He reflects that the only thing left to show that he used to be a Shinigami was the now useless badge in his hand. Ichigo is pulled from his reverie by the sound of a door opening and closing down the hallway and teacher demanding to know where a student is going.

Uryū Ishida runs passed Ichigo's classroom, claiming to need to go to the nurses office. Ichigo watches him pass, pondering how Uryū now takes care of the Hollow attacks that Ichigo used to handle. He thinks Uryū should have been able to leave much of the Hollows to Zennosuke Kurumadani, the Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town, but he had turned out to be even less capable of doing his job than they previously thought. Setting his badge on the table, Ichigo hopes that Uryū does not overdo things and upset people in the Soul Society. He muses that ever since the day that Rukia Kuchiki disappeared from his sight, she hasn't returned to Karakura Town even once.

On the roof at lunch, Keigo asks Ichigo about his plans for the future, reminding him that his grades started out well but fell during the second half of first year. Ichigo scolds Keigo for talking about it, reminding him that he had a lot going on at the time with balancing school and his Shinigami duties. He asserts that his grades are still above average. After a pregnant pause, Keigo wonders aloud about how Rukia is doing these days, shocking Ichigo. Keigo insists she should at least visit every now and then but Ichigo maintains that her duties would normally keep her away.

Keigo asks Ichigo if he misses Rukia but he denies that he does, asserting that he intends to enjoy having a normal life after taking sixteen years to get one. Ichigo stalks off as Keigo sadly watches him leave. Sighing heavily, Keigo gets to his feet and reflects that Ichigo is of course, correct since he doesn't ever want to see such frightening events again as Aizen's invasion of Karakura Town. Ichigo stops walking then, staring at the sky as he thinks about never feeling superior to other just because he could see ghosts. He had never thought about using it for gain or to help others, he just yearned to get rid of the ability to see spirits and he got the life he had always wanted. He follows Keigo as they both leave the roof.

As Ichigo walks home with Mizuiro and Keigo, a thief runs by carrying a duffel bag, shoving passed Keigo. Another man calls out for help in catching the thief that had stolen from him. After the second man passes, Ichigo gives his school bag to Mizuiro to hold. Ichigo then takes off in pursuit of the thief, managing to run faster than the victim pursuing him. He realizes that he had been wrong about his Substitute Shinigami Badge and that it was not the only reminder that he has once had Shinigami abilities.

Ichigo easily catches up to the thief and punches him to the ground. The thief then pulls out a knife and tries to stab Ichigo with it but the redhead easily evades his blow and prevents him from using the knife with a single hand before using his other hand to deliver another punch to the thief. Ichigo retrieves the duffel bag while admitting to himself that the physical reflexes he developed as a Shinigami in order to win in battle, are another reminder of his previous abilities and the reflexes come in handy in some situations such as the current one.

Ichigo returns the duffel bag to its amazed owner who thanks Ichigo for intervening and compliments his abilities. He then goes on to invite Ichigo out for some ramen but the seventeen-year-old declines the offer, asserting that he doesn't want to get scolded. He asks the stranger not to tell anybody that he was forced to hit somebody on the street. The stranger understands and watches as Ichigo and his friends walk away. When he is out of earshot, the victim smirks, remarking on Ichigo's cautious nature, something he didn't expect. He is already aware of just who Ichigo is and a Substitute Shinigami Badge springs from his bag and swings on a chain.

Ichigo has a dream of shadows that look like his former Shinigami associates. The shadows of Lieutenant Renji Abarai, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, and Rukia encourage him to wake up. When he does wake, it is to the sound of his father trying to waken him. Isshin jumps towards him but Ichigo dodges causing Isshin to hurtle out the window, barely holding on to the ledge. As Ichigo starts dressing, Isshin insults him for trying to make his father die from falling out a window. Ichigo shrugs it off, reminding his father he will go to Soul Society, shocking Isshin who remarks that his son is "talking big". Ichigo blames Isshin for his odd dream and tries to make him fall as recompense, asserting he will not die. Isshin suddenly asks about his dream but Ichigo denies that he remembers any of it.

In school, Ichigo is holding auditions to rent out his services to sport teams in the school. As Mizuiro enter, Keigo complains that he will not get to spend any time with Ichigo, for which Mizuiro derides him for. The soccer captain wants Ichigo to act as their goalkeeper and Keigo wonders when he became so obsessed with money. Mizuiro thinks that it could be that he is saving so that he can move out of his fathers house when he is finished school, which shocks Keigo. Mizuiro states that Isshin doesn't seem like the type to loan money so it is best Ichigo saves up now. The soccer team celebrate acquiring Ichigo's services. Ichigo informs his friends that he starts soccer practice later that day.

As Ichigo stretches before soccer practice, Tatsuki approaches and, upon seeing his outfit, asks what happened to him helping the basketball team. Ichigo casually informs her that his contract with the basketball team ended the previous week and he was now hired to help the soccer team. Tatsuki reveals that she has to go to her new job as for the last month she has been promoted to assistant instructor at her dojo. This news shocks Ichigo who expresses relief that he had previously quit attending her dojo as he couldn't imagine having to call her "sensei". As he mocks her, Tatsuki angrily demands to know whether or not she should make him call her sensei right there and then.

In the school hallway, Orihime Inoue is walking along whilst being admired by the male pupils around her. She looks out a window and notices Ichigo and Tatsuki talking below. She calls out to them before clinging to a drainpipe and sliding down it. Ichigo and Tatsuki express horror at her actions, proclaiming that they can see up her skirt. When Orihime lands, Tatsuki punches her head and insists she deserved it and the next time she does something like that, she will hit her even harder. Ichigo insists she didn't need to hit her, and the two of them get into an argument over it. Orihime makes them stop, insisting she needs their advice.

Orihime begins to ask them about what song she should have as her theme tune to life. Ichigo mocks her but Tatsuki pats her on the head in a sardonic fashion. Soon Tatsuki and Orihime have to leave to make it to their part-time jobs on time. Ichigo makes fun of them but Tatsuki reminds him that he has a job that he too is late for. Ichigo calls his employer to ask for time off but his employer does not take it well and threatens to fire him. Ichigo doesn't care but his employer tries to recant their statement. However, Ichigo quits over the phone, hanging up mid-conversation despite his employers attempts to stall him.

A gang shows up in the schoolyard demanding to know where Ichigo is. The leader of the gang reveals that the thief whom Ichigo beat up the previous day was a member of his gang and he has come to seek revenge. The leader continues to taunt Ichigo in an effort to get him to appear but, instead, Uryū casually walks up to the gang, chastising them for their behavior. When one of the gang mistakes him for Ichigo, Uryū gets angry and knocks him into a pole. When the leader demands to know why Uryū hit his associate, Uryū asks what about him made anyone think that he was Ichigo.

Meanwhile, the victim that Ichigo helped the previous day is walking in front of a block of apartments. He enters the elevator and rides it up to the fifth floor. He then enters a passkey on one of the door keys and uses a card that has the words printed on it "Welcome to our Xcution". Inside are three of his supposed associates: a middle aged man cleaning some drinking glasses, a young boy playing a video game, and a woman sitting on a sofa. The man sits down on a leather chair, and is approached by a female teenager who appears to be about Ichigo's age. She asks the stranger if he found "him". He replies that he did, and says that "The next Substitute Shinigami, is an interesting fellow".

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Keigo explains the changes made to his hairstyle during the seventeen month break. He begins with the hairstyle he made during the month of December on his first school year, which because of a penalty in losing a Christmas party game his hair was made into a Mohican style. Apparently, Mizuiro made him do it. Unfortunately for Keigo, on the next day his teacher found out and castigated him, which made him shave his head bald. Keigo then explains on the summer of his second school year, after his hair grew back he did a fashionable perm on his hair, but Mizuiro comments that the perm was awful. Then during the fall of Keigo's second school year, he ditched the fashionable perm and went for a straight perm. But then he states the shocking part of that perm: it made his hair black (almost resembling Ishida's hair). Mizuiro then states that he's turning the viewers off, and then the screen turns black with the kanji for 'The End' shown.

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Zanpakutō released

Bankai:
 * (flashback)