Bleach
Changing History,
Unchanging Heart is
the three hundred and sixty-sixth, and final episode of the Bleach anime.
Summary
Both
in their Bankai, Ichigo Kurosaki and Kūgo Ginjō continue to clash as the group
of Shinigami watch from below. They begin to turn away and leave the scene,
much to the distress of Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki, who asks why they are
leaving. Captain Byakuya Kuchiki pauses and asks Rukia if she recalls the
reason for their mission to the World of the Living. He thus reminds her that
their true mission was to observe the decision that Ichigo made. Captain
Tōshirō Hitsugaya elaborates that the Gotei 13 had always known that once
another Substitute Shinigami appeared, he would, sooner or later, be targeted
by Kūgo. Thus, the decision was made that when this happened, they would use
that Substitute Shinigami to lure our Kūgo and then kill them both to prevent
the problems that Kūgo had caused by betraying them, insisting that all of the
captains shared this view at the time due to those problems.
Hitsugaya
then explains the change in their views because the contact with the new
Substitute Shinigami had completely changed the views of the Soul Society
irreversibly. Instead, they shared their powers with the person they were
supposed to kill and were now dispatched to observe his decision. He asks Rukia
if she remembers asserting that Ichigo would never succumb to Kūgo's
temptations. Hitsugaya confirms that she was correct in her assessment and that
the Ichigo they had known for years now made the choice she knew he would make.
He then laments that he is glad that the latest Substitute Shinigami is a man
like Ichigo and not a man like Kūgo in that he has not changed his will once
and has, in fact, changed the rigidity that had lasted thousands of year in the
Soul Society.
As
they continue to battle, Kūgo realizes that instead of judging him like he
expected, Ichigo has been trying to understand him by seeing things from his
point of view. He maintains that he will destroy all the Shinigami who betrayed
him and yet Ichigo wants to understand him and then reject his ideals. He
screams Ichigo's name, raises his blade and shoots a large fuchsia beam of
energy at Ichigo, who easily blocks the attack with his hand without flinching.
Ichigo then concentrates Reiatsu on the edge of his blade and slices Kūgo
across the chest with it, causing his opponent to fall to the ground.
Kūgo
still tries to battle back, but Ichigo easily slices his blade apart and cuts
him down. After falling, Kūgo glances at Ichigo and then at the broken edge of
his sword; he laments if things have been reversed had Ichigo been the first
Substitute Shinigami and he had been the second. He wonders if that had
happened would he have been the one forced to cut Ichigo down to stop him
getting revenge of the Gotei 13. As he speaks, Kūgo's powers begin to fade
away, with the markings on his face completely disappearing and his eyes
reverting to normal while his hair remains white, as he passes away.
As
Ichigo stands over his defeated enemy, a severely injured and distraught
Shūkurō Tsukishima suddenly rushes in to attack him from behind. Rukia notices
this before Ichigo does and jumps in front of the blade to take the blow
instead. However, a green light flashes on Rukia's chest and Riruka Dokugamine
suddenly appears to defend her, having previously used her ability to hide
inside the Shinigami. Tsukishima's blade cuts through Riruka's left shoulder
blade, slicing off most of her left pigtail in the process. Shocked by the
sudden appearance, the exertion causes Rukia to collapse into Ichigo's arms.
Riruka
demands to know if Tsukishima is stupid, pondering why he was going for the
kill. Her comrade removes the blade and hysterically insists that she get out
of his way. Tsukishima begins to scream desperately to Kūgo for him not to die
and to get up. Crouched on the ground behind him, Riruka shakily tells him to
give up. Visibly upset, she asserts that they could never have saved Kūgo
despite that fact he was the one who had saved them. She explains that the one
who has saved Kūgo was Ichigo.
Tsukishima
thinks back to the time Kūgo, as the Substitute Shinigami, found him as a
child. He had realized that the young child was alone, just like him, so had
decided to take him under his wing. Tsukishima mentally demands to know why
Kūgo taught him how to use his abilities and how to fight, but had not taught
him how to live without him. Still heavily injured, he begins to convulse and
cough up a pool of blood. Looking up he sees Moe Shishigawara in front of him
and finds some form of clarity from his subordinates presence.
Some
distance away, Yukio Hans Vorarlberna is kicking a stone along a pavement. He
is chastised from behind by Jackie Tristan who tells him that he has a bad
habit of kicking things and thus he shouldn't annoy Riruka so much about her
habits. Yukio comments that it is nice she survived her battle, but Jackie
retorts that she might as well be dead. He realizes then that her Fullbring
abilities have been lost asserting that it should be a good thing considering
how much she detested her abilities.
Yukio
explains that he had found Giriko's watch and corpse previously so had decided
to bury the watch with Giriko. Jackie confirms that she really did hate her
abilities while she had them. However, now that they have left her, she almost
envies Giriko for being able to die whilst still being in possession of his
abilities. She elaborates that at some point while being a member of Xcution
she realized that their Fullbrings were the only thing that held them together
as a unit. Yukio stares at her for a while before replying that her opinion was
stupid and that he was now leaving.
Sometime
later, at the Urahara Shop, Riruka wakes up with Rukia beside her. Rukia alerts
Ichigo to this development and he enters the room just as Riruka is expressing
surprise that she is alive. Ichigo informs her that her survival is due to the
arrival of Kisuke Urahara, who saved her life. He also delivers the bad news
that they could not find any other members of Xcution. Saddened, Riruka rolls
over and is confronted by Orihime Inoue who is lying next to her, crying freely
due to the events. Riruka also begins to cry then.
Elsewhere,
Moe is carrying the injured Tsukishima through a forest while encouraging him
not to die because he is the strongest of them all. The dying Tsukishima begins
to smile as he listens to Moe insisting that he cannot die. He realizes that
Kūgo must have always known that even if he had died that Tsukishima was not
alone. He weakly thanks Moe for being there, but his subordinate happily
brushes off his thanks, maintaining that it is not needed since as his
apprentice, he is supposed to help him.
In
Soul Society, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki rush to the lakeside
residence of their captain, Jūshirō Ukitake. They inform him that Ichigo has
successfully defeated Kūgo and the Shinigami dispatched to the area have all
returned safely. They also inform him that Kūgo's body has also been retrieved
as a traitor. Through the shutters they see Ukitake trying to get to his feet
and become alarmed, but their captain insists that he is alright before asking
about Ichigo. When informed that the latest Substitute Shinigami is safe,
Ukitake lifts the shutters, holding an ice pack to his head as he smiles and
murmurs that he is thankful for the outcome of the situation.
Back
in the Human World, Urahara calls out to Riruka that it is time for breakfast.
However, upon receiving no answer, enters the room to find it empty and her
sheets neatly folded in the corner. Riruka has decided to leave as she stands
on a building lamenting all that has happened. She thanks Kūgo for making her a
part of Xcution; she thanks Sado for believing in them; and she thanks Orihime
for shedding real tears for her. She hopes that Ichigo will move on with his
life and forget about Xcution, bidding him farewell although she mentally
admits that she knows he will never ever forget. With that, she uses Bringer
Light and vanishes.
Meanwhile,
in the Seireitei, a messenger arrives at Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni
Yamamoto's office to report that the team tasked with cleaning up in the Human
World has finished. Yamamoto curiously asks why he is reporting something so
trivial to him. Simultaneously, all the captains learn that Ichigo has arrived
in the Seireitei and is requesting an audience with Yamamoto and the other
captains. Lieutenant Renji Abarai confronts Ichigo about this, but his friend
just walks on passed him causing the lieutenant to get annoyed. Rukia calms
Renji down by informing him that Ichigo has permission to speak to the
Captain-Commander, shocking the red-head. Ichigo proceeds towards the meeting
with Renji and Rukia following behind him.
Lieutenant
Nanao Ise reports the development to her captain as he lies on a roof at their
barracks. Captain Shunsui Kyōraku reminds her that Ichigo has learnt that there
was a Substitute Shinigami before him, he must have a lot on his mind that is
troubling him. Kyōraku states that he would not be surprised if Ichigo was
quite furious with them. Nanao asks him if he thinks he is going to return his
badge, Kyōraku insists that he can't say for sure, but the situation is a
complicated one.
Ichigo
arrives at the entrance hall to the meeting room to be greeted by most of the
Gotei 13 captains. He is stunned and asks if all the captains needed to greet
him, but Captain Suì-Fēng appears behind him and reveals that Captains Mayuri
Kurotsuchi and Ukitake are not here. Captain Kensei Muguruma steps forward and
tells Ichigo to go inside. Ichigo is surprised to see Kensei as a captain
again, but Kensei tells him to shut up and go on inside.
Everyone
enters with Renji and Rukia bowing believing they should leave. However
Yamamoto tells them to remain quietly at the back of the room. Yamamoto
welcomes Ichigo and commends him for fighting admirably. Ichigo brushes off his
compliment and then states that he wants to take Kūgo's body and give it a
proper burial. This shocks all the captains with Shinji Hirako standing forward
and asking how he can forgive a man who messed up his family. Rukia quietly
wonders why Ichigo is making a request that is like asking for Kūgo's pardon.
chigo
states that it is not about forgiveness, since all of his family are uninjured
and returned to normal. Yamamoto asks if he has considered the ramifications
and Ichigo replies that he doesn't care about the consequences. He just wants
to bury a fellow Substitute Shinigami out of respect since he is going to
continue that mantle and remain one. The revelation that he is not retiring
causes relief among the captains and Yamamoto grants Ichigo's request. Rukia is
so soothed by this news that she has to hold back tears. As he leaves, Ichigo
asks that they start informing Shinigami in Karakura Town about what a
Substitute badge is.
As
Ukitake sits alone on a grassy hill, he is approached by Kyōraku who informs
him that Ichigo is preparing to leave. Tense, Ukitake asks about the badge and
his friend admits that Ichigo has decided to take it with him confirming that
Ichigo has insisted that he trusts them. Ukitake sighs as he closes his eyes, a
weight being lifted from his shoulders. Kyōraku asserts that Ichigo has matured
a lot through his role as a Substitute Shinigami. Both of them agree that they
can never stop youngsters growing up and that it happens so fast they never see
it coming.
At
the Senkaimon, the Kidō Corps open the door to allow Ichigo to bring the body
of Kūgo back to the World of the Living with their aid. Rukia follows him to
the door, reflecting of their time as friends and how much Ichigo has grown
with a wistful smile on her face as she quietly thanks him for all that he has
done. Ichigo stops at the doorway and tells Rukia that he will see her around.
She mocks him playfully by wondering how many times she has heard him say that.
Ichigo replies that it won't be the last time so it doesn't matter how many
times he says it. Rukia agrees before Ichigo waves one last time and runs into
the Dangai.
