BLEACH EPISODE #4

This episode opens at night. Sado and his two friends Shigeo and another unamed friend are sitting around a bird cage containing a lone cockatiel, talking about the cockatiel's past. Apparently, every owner before it has befallen horrible deaths. They are deciding who should take care of the bird when an I-beam above them suddenly falls off it's resting place. Before it can kill them, the title screen appears, then the place of the Hollows. Their boss, it sounds like, announces they will continue to expand their numbers, and "The soul of a shinigami... 'tis exceptionally delectable." The outline of the cockatiel appears and the scene returns to Sado and his friends. Sado has stopped the I-Beam with his bare arms, declaring it to be no big deal. His friends panic, seeing that he is bleeding. To their surprise, the bird then expresses it's thanks, and introduces itself as Shibata Yuuichi and asks for Sado's name. Sado's friends again panic, and Sado calmly answers the bird. The scene fades to day as Sado's friends continue to panic.

Now, Ichigo and Rukia are calmly talking at school. Ichigo marvels at the speed with which his wounds healed, and Rukia merely brags about her skills in Demon Magic. When Ichigo questions about a "school for shinigamis," Rukia merely asks how to open her drink. Ichigo tries to explain to no avail when Mizuiro approaches, accusing the two of being friends. Ichigo denies their friendship and denies caring about other people's opinions of him. Rukia finally figures out what the straw is, but is unable to tell where to put it. Mizuiro tries to introduce himself and Ichigo calls him a womanizer, and in the course of the argument, Keigo approaches and congradulates Ichigo for hitting on Rukia. Sado appears therein and Ichigo notes his injury from the construction site the night before. He also donned a new injury: a motorcycle accident. He is also carrying the cockatiel. When the bird announces it's name, Ichigo and Rukia become immediately concerned, but Kiego merely finds the bird fascinating. Upon questioning from Ichigo, Sado announces that he got the bird yesterday. Kiego notes that Sado left out the entire story, and demans the details, while Rukia tells Ichigo not to worry, that whatever they sensed within the bird is nothing bad. It is a lost soul, "probably just lonely" and she announces her plan to give it a soul burial later that night. Rukia seems proud that Ichigo noticed another soul, and Ichigo opens her juice. He then proceeds to tell how he met Sado. Because of his hair color, people often bullied him. But one time, it got serious. A man with brass knuckles had his friends hold Ichigo down while beating him, but Sado rushed the man and angered him to the point that he forgot about Ichigo and began beating up on Sado. Sado merely stood in silence and took every hit, to Ichigo's amazement. Ichigo notes that Sado refuses to fight, no matter how bad things get.



Ichigo comes home to find the clinic in chaos. There was a traffic accident at a nearby intersection. His dad is yelling at the hospital to take some of their patients. He rejects Ichigo's offer for help, hurting his feelings in the process. Soon, his sisters drag in Sado, and Ichigo is called upon for help. Karin seems frozen by the cockatiel that Sado is still dragging around. Upon taking his shirt off, Sado appears to have a burn, but Ichigo realizes there is something not right about it. Sado tries to reject treatment, but collapses. Later, Ichigo confronts Rukia about the strange wound Sado suffered. She announces the bird is harmless, but it appeared to have a Hollow somewhere nearby. During the ensuing montage, we see that Karin is still bothered by the cockatiel.

The next morning, Yuzu announces that Karin seems to be feeling a little under the weather. After noting that Karin rarely gets ill, Ichigo's dad announces that Sado has disappeared, along with the bird. Ichigo embarks to find his friend and is quickly met by Rukia, who proceeds to explain (infamously poor drawings included) that when a Hollow isn't making mischief in our world, they hide out in a sort of limbo between our world and Soul Society, meaning that unless the Hollow they seek is in our world, they can't find it. After noting her poor artwork and suffering the consequences (a swift hit to the stomach), Ichigo decides that if they wait for the Hollow to attack, it'll be too late. He begins glowing in an ethereal light, but the scene changes to Sado in a construction site, with the cockatiel confessing the misfortune that befalls his owners. Sado states simply that he knows, but the bird insists on apologizing. He then begins trying to persuade Sado to leave him, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Karin's condition seems to be detiorating. She struggles to her feet, saying that she has to tell Ichigo something. At the same time, Rukia marvels at Ichigo's newfound power, saying even she can't sense such weak ghosts. During her musings, dozens of white threads suddenly appear around Ichigo, at which point he confidently grabs one, saying "I found it! Let's go!" Ichigo dashes off while Rukia ponders on what just happened. Ichigo had summoned "spirit threads", visualized spirit energy, which only top ranking shinigamis should be able to see. She notes that he's grown a great deal, then takes off after him.

Back at the construction site, the cockatiel once again tries to get Sado to abandon him without success, at which point they are attacked. Sado flees and runs right into Ichigo. Before Ichigo can catch up, however, Karin appears and collapses. Rukia decides Ichigo should take Karin home while she chases Sado. Ichigo notes that she's still not in fighting shape, warns her not to be a hero, and the two part ways. One the way home, Karin announces that she saw the cockatiel's memories. Right before his eyes, Shibata's mother was murdered! Karin begs Ichigo to save the ghost, and the scene changes to Sado and Shibata, still fleeing the Hollow. Rukia notes the physical handicaps of her faux body over her regular form, and is caught off guard by the Hollow's initial debut. Rukia quickly regains her composure and dodges the Hollow, attacking during his rather boring monologue. She tries to use a Demon Magic, but finds it far weaker than normal. She must not be fully recovered yet...

Sado hears the sounds of the battle, and Shibata explains that Rukia is under attack. Sado puts Shibata down and announces his plan to save Rukia. Upon insisting that it's too dangerous, Sado mistakes Shibata's plea as meaning that it's too dangerous for the small bird to be left on the street and places him on a small wall. On his way toward the fight, Shibata screams that Sado can't see hollows and won't stand a chance against the foe. Meanwhile, the hollow explains that Rukia's attack power is far below average, then goes on to explain how he's eaten everyone who tries to help Shibata. Back to Ichigo, Karin says to tell Shibata that if he goes to the other side, he can see his mother again and he'll cease to be alone. The episode ends in a "to be continued."

End Episode