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Title : In the night, knight

Artist : Kirino Muyako

Type : Short story

Source : Persona 3 FES Anthology Comic, BROS. Comics EX

Chapter / Part :  8

Synopsis : Back in middle school, just before Akihiko joins Mitsuru fighting Shadows

Nb Pages : 16

Link : here.

Scanned / Translated / Typeset by : maboroshi-no

Proofread by :  angevon

These panels are from Chapter 528 in TYBW.

Ichigo had just been kicked out of the Soul Palace and rather than going home to sulk, he went to Ikumi’s house.

Personally, I interpret this in two ways.

1.) These are the people that Ichigo doesn’t want to disappoint the most. They hold and trust him in the highest regard, therefore he doesn’t want to see them again until he’s well enough to earn their support again.

He doesn’t want to show vulnerability to those he aims to impress.

Or

2.) These are the people Ichigo refuses to be vulnerable around simply because he can’t trust them.

If Ichigo ever cried in front of Isshin, he’d come out of the conversation with a black eye (Isshin’s love language, shown to nobody but Ichigo)

For Chad and Orihime, they have shown an unwillingness to allow Ichigo to be vulnerable. They seem to have trouble allowing Ichigo to be moody without either taking it personally or telling him he shouldn’t feel anything.

Prime example:

Ichigo just found out his close friend defected to the enemy’s side. To ally himself with the person who killed both their mothers.

Ichigo’s allowed to brood about that but these two don’t allow it. (Not in a slanderous way, I just think they have a perfect image of Ichigo that doesn’t include his “darker sides”)

Anyways, based on the ending of the manga the reasoning is probably the first one.

He repeatedly pushes them away or fakes confidence in front of them rather than have any real moment of vulnerability or connection, and most important to the Ikumi moment is that the TYBW situation comes on the heels of TLA where, when he was the most vulnerable and in need of support in the entire series mentally, emotionally and in-battle, these two actively, literally fought against him - ignoring his pleads for them to listen to him the whole time.

Chapter 546 is titled "Hear Me", and the whole point of it is that he is trying to get Inoue and Chad to listen to him that Tsukishima is a bad guy, but they won't. Not for a moment. They don't trust him enough to listen to or believe him at all, not even to listen and consider his words. They simply reject him and chastise him and turn their weapons against him on Tsukishima's word.

Ichigo has had hard proof that in a he-said-I said situation they will not only not take his side, they won't even listen to it.

Just look at Ichigo's face, read his words, and then look at how Inoue and Chad respond to his vulnerability and attempts to reach out.

Inoue shuts Ichigo down over and over with this look like "I knew it. I knew you were like this deep down and I hoped you'd be better, but you're not", the distrust and dislike and suspicion she had as soon as his hollow power appeared flaring full-force with Tsukishima making her remember meeting him first and so being the one she had a crush on:

Chad is the opposite. Just shouting and glaring and blaming Ichigo for everything while he lectures with proverbial cotton wool in his ears, deaf to everything Ichigo has to say. He's patronizing, demanding over and over why Ichigo won't see things from his pov, but not once giving Ichigo space to say his side:

Again: just LOOK at Ichigo's FACE:

No amount of "I knew Tsukishima first" or "Tsukishima is also my friend" excuses the sheer coldness and refusal to offer sympathy the two of them show toward Ichigo here. Of course he wouldn't ever want to get close to that position with them ever again.

They are not safe to be hurt and vulnerable around.

On the other hand, after dealing with them Ichigo is now wary and trying not to be hurt by betrayal and rejection when Ishida shows up in 548 his expression is closing off:

Which is an expression much closer to the look he gets from here on out whenever anything is going wrong if Chad and/or Inoue are there.

Also, I don't recall Ichigo expressing thanks, gratitude or appreciation for either of them no matter what they do or do for him for the entire rest of the manga.

The closest for Chad is chapter 661 when Ichigo gives this wordless look and then turns away when Chad elects to stay behind to handle the statues Yhwach sent to whittle away the group Ichigo was approaching with:

And Ichigo acknowledging Inoue is the only one with him and therefore the one he'll have to rely on in 672, though he never follows through and actually relies on her:

The Fullbring Arc did irreparable damage to the Karakura Team’s dynamic and cracked any sort of trust they might’ve had for each other. Mostly Ichigo towards Orihime and Chad.

And in a way, it is shown to us in TYBW where

Example A:

He takes the first chance to rendezvous with Rukia and Renji despite knowing that Orihime and Chad likely couldn’t keep up with him even with Orihime’s powers helping them float.

+ Showing a willingness to leave them in enemy territory despite knowing how dangerous the remaining enemies are.

Example B:

Refusing to tell them what Yhwach’s ability is despite Yhwach telling him not too long ago.

Example C:

Not telling Orihime his plan despite allowing her to engage in a battle where the opponent could take her life at any given moment.

I SO desperately need to know what inspired this! Because, well, my first thought was-- Ichigo, never angry? Kind to the point of absurdity??? Him?????

That said, it did make me do some quick leafing through the manga! Without a full, careful reread I can't be sure, but I think the only time we saw him direct anger at a friend was right after Rukia gave him back his powers in Lost Agent. We get this scene:

I can name countless issues I have with Bleach’s ending but just on the topic of Ichigo:

First off, I truly believe it’s a bad idea for Ichigo to have kids. It sounds strange but having an overpowered kid (in Bleach) is a recipe for disaster.

Ichigo is a hybrid of every race and we saw how everybody wanted a piece of him. Everyone took advantage of his one-in-a-million genes and as we know, nobody really changed in the end of the story. So isn’t it likely that the same fate would befall his child?

It’s a terrible idea to pass down your genes when you’ve been deemed a Soul King Candidate. A young and impressionable kid using powers he has no idea how to control and no idea the problems they may cause is bound to go very badly.

And to be clear, this isn’t personal to IH. Ichigo really shouldn’t have biological kids with anyone cause the same problem would arise.

Second off, the setting. Ichigo should’ve been in the Soul Society by the end of the manga. It doesn’t suit Ichigo’s character to be a part of the Gotei but he really shouldn’t be in the World of the Living. Do I think he prefers Karakura to the Soul Society? Of course. But he shouldn’t physically be able to exist there cause his reiatsu is too high and too influential.

Above all else, my number one problem with Ichigo’s conclusion is that Ichigo is aware of the Original Sin, he is aware of the severely corrupt ways of the Soul Society, he’s aware that the Soul King has been replaced with Yhwach and yet… does nothing?

He’s practically living in a falsified reality cause Ichibei Hyousube rewrote the Soul Society’s history after the war and yet he is okay with it?

Whether Ichigo wanted to live in peace in Karakura or live in the Soul Society there is no in-character explanation as to why he would ignore something so huge. It’s actually doing Ichigo’s character a supreme disservice to have him ignore such blatant corruption.

Ichigo is a character that shouldn’t have been involved with the Soul Society in the first place. However, he became a Soul Reaper and broke his way through their traditions and made a real difference. He defeated their foes for them and never expected anything in return. He remained loyal to them and became someone that they had to rely on. He went to the Soul Palace and learned the root cause of Soul Society’s problems. He led them through a difficult war and came out victorious.

Disclaimer! This post isn’t for Orihime and Ichihime lovers. You’ve been warned. You’re invited to scroll down and look for other content. Thank you. IH stans: “Orihime is special for Ichigo! He is super emotional when she disappeared during the Hueco Mundo arc! He isn’t like this with anybody else!”

Ichigo when Rukia has to go back to the Soul Society in the beginning of the series:

And I’m not talking about just Rukia here.

Have an Ichigo being down in the dumps during the Thousand Year Blood War:

Because yes, Ichigo is an absolute total mess when Uryū isn’t with him and it shows.

(Love these original anime scenes by the way, I’ll come back to them later. Ichi is so much more expressive here than in the “Ichihime one” when she ridiculously faints in his arms and he just doesn’t care, though he sure screamed Uryū’s name to the top of his lungs the second before 🫢.

To be honest, I feel I can say Ichigo has worried about Uryū way more times than he has for Orihime:

During their first fight, when Uryū’s hands burnt while he was trying to stabilize Ichigo’s spiritual pressure, and the day after, at school,

After Uryū lost his powers, at the start of the Arrancars arc,

When Uryū went to fight Yami alone in the Hueco Mundo Arc. Even Ulquiorra asked him if he worried about him,

And of course, the last arc, which is probably the one during which he worried for his best friend the most

By the way, did I mention how Ichigo’s shoulders shook at one point during his confrontation with Uryū?

I dare you to come and tell me again our redhead boy is the most depressed for Orihime after having taken a look at the picture. Ichigo never felt so distressed when she wasn’t there. While here… you can feel his pain hard.)

So no, Ichigo isn’t more desperate when Inoue disappears than when it is Rukia or Uryū. It is the contrary, actually: he thinks non-stop about Ishida and Kuchiki when they aren’t by his side. Hime? You really can’t say the same…

(Also, remember that it RAINS when Ryū and Rukia go away. It doesn’t when his so-called “FuTuRe WiFe” is abducted, lol. Do the math, it’s not a mere coincidence).

And more than that, we are shown how Orihime (and Chad to an extent) can’t understand Ichigo. Let me explain myself.

In the first image in black and white that I posted above, they just learned Uryū’s betrayal. Ichigo is understandably feeling down. It’s normal, his best friend supposedly turned his back on him. What does Orihime do?

Spoiler: nothing. Just a “Wow, Ishida and the Quincy boss are strong!” in an awkward attempt to lift the mood, and when she notices Ichigo doesn’t listen to her she “…” and doesn’t say a single word, staying quiet. Because she doesn’t even know what to say to make him feel better. And Chad just… throws him into a wall? (Glad the anime changed that). Tell me honestly. If you went through a betrayal like Kurosaki did, would you expect your closest friends (amongst them being your partner-to-be, mind you) to act the way Inoue and Sado did? Well I wouldn’t. I would hope kind words and hugs. You could argue Rukia kicks him too, but you know it’s her own special way to boost him, and it works. Ichigo is always happy after that.

But wait, the worst is to come: the infamous boob-dress scene (just mentioning it makes me want to puke honestly. Glad the anime changed that too):

Again, I have to highlight that Uryū Ishida, one of their best and closest friends, is supposed to have betrayed them. And suddenly, out of nowhere, you have Chad somehow thinking it’s a good idea to ask about Ichigo’s opinion on Orihime’s clothes? Like, dude??? ONE OF YOUR BROS TURNED HIS BACK ON YOU, AREN’T THERE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DISCUSS THAN A DRESS?! Plus, Orihime by now should know Ichigo isn’t that type of man, what was she thinking, seriously? In the middle of a war that doesn’t even concern her, her priority was to wear an inconfortable dress just to catch a guy’s eye? I can’t believe the thought really crossed her mind when people were literally dying.

Let’s now go back to the two orange pictures of the anime I posted above a moment before.

The first anime-only scene is from episode 11 of Cour 2. Just before, Chad asked Ganju what they are going to find at the Soul King Palace, to what Ganju says he doesn’t know, it’s his sister who talked to him about it. And Chad and Hime joke saying they should have invited the sister instead of him (I’m summing up).

And I’m like, are they serious? They are tangled in a bloody conflict, I don’t understand how they can take the situation so lightly. How is it possible that nobody prepared them? To be honest, except Ichigo and Yoruichi, nobody else should be going, they are absolutely no match for Yhwach’s sternritters (and honestly, Orihime Chad and Ganju indeed didn’t do much against the Schulzstaffel. I’m still wondering what was the point of them coming). Also, not sure it’s time to joke when, I don’t know, one of your friends betrayed you? Ichigo is the only one who seems to care about that, it’s so odd. I can understand for Ganju, they weren’t super close, but Chad? And Hime??? She really had nothing better to say that “Will Ishida come back?”. She should be the one cheering up Ichi about their separation with their friend. Instead it’s the other way around. As it always have been. Because, it has already been explained in the manga that Orihime’s whole issue is that she can’t cheer him up, and is jealous of others for that. I’m not making up anything.

I’m not done yet. Let’s move on to the second image, from episode 1 of cour 3 this time. It happens when Senjumaru uses her Bankai. Ichigo then says Squad 0 is something else, to what Orihime and Ganju say something along the lines of “It’s cool! They’re gonna beat the Quincies asses!”. And then, Ichigo says “yeah” before immediately showing this expression.

It’s not the face of a man ready to kick asses. It’s not the face of a man ready to take on the world. No need to be Einstein to know that this unhappy look means: “I dont really care about them, I’m worried about Uryū. Because, you know, he is with them up there”. Yet, nobody amongst his friends notice it. Not even Orihime, the future wife, may I remind you. The one you would expect to understand Ichi the best (but then again, when has she ever understood him, lol. Never.).

What I want to point out is, Orihime (same for Sado honestly) just don’t understand Ichigo, even though they have known him for years at this point, and they still don’t know how to support him. They don’t understand what’s going on in his head and what are his priorities. Which is baffling, because they should now Ichigo put his friends above everything else. So obviously he’s thinking about Ishida, do they really believe he’s in the mood to focus on something else?

“But what did you expect Orihime to do, the poor thing?” I don’t know, taking things more seriously? Engaging a true conversation with Ichigo about how they WILL bring their friend back, no matter what? Because it was obvious during the ascension to the Royal Palace that Uryū was on Ichigo’s mind the whole time (it was probably made less clear in the manga but still. Your friend betrayed you, don’t tell me it’s not going to be the only thing you’ll think about). Yet Orihime was more busy with wearing a dress to try to catch Ichi’s eyes (and he didn’t even like it) and joking with the others than picking up on the mood of the man she supposedly love and bringing him support. Chad was so disappointing in that regard too, for someone who is supposed to be his best friend, according to some people.

In comparison, take Rukia. Do you really think she would have behaved the same way? No, not when you have her giving him the “man in my heart” speech while Hime is unable to bring him comfort. You have Uryū knowing Ichigo won’t stay depowered (cf. The Death saves the Strawberry) while Hime is happy he lost his powers. Another proof of great writing *cough cough* and how Hime knows him so well *cough cough*.

I’m not going back on the fact that Rukia instantly knows when Ichigo is in a bad mood, while the love interest is always absolutely clueless. This is at least shown twice in the series (when she appears at the high school after Ichigo was beaten by Yami and unable to protect everyone during the Arrancar Arc, and at the beginning of the Thousand Year Blood War, when she talks with Shinji). But hey, they’re the perfect match!

Ah, ah. I’m not buying it.

[Edit 01/09/25 because I was checking the 5th episode of Cour 3, and, well…

It’s Ichigo and the others after their encounter with Uryū, Yhwach and his team. So, I’m not going back on the fact that screaming Uryū’s name is the first thing Ichigo does when waking up. But I had forgotten one fact. It’s Ichigo when he learns Orihime (love interest, remember) didn’t take a break while healing everyone’s injuries (his being the most serious):

Zero smile. Zero “thank you so much, Orihime” or “you’re so kind/amazing” NO–THING. The poor girl fainted because it took her a lot of efforts and she didn’t pause or eat, yet Ichigo paid her no mind, gave her no special attention, to the point it really makes me sad for her.

Ichigo’s expression when Chad mentions Uryū, btw:

It wouldn’t be a big deal if Ichigo had been equally suffering during Orihime’s abduction in the Hueco Mundo Arc, but he didn’t. We even never saw him worrying about her or agonizing because of her absence the way he did with Rukia and Uryū’s disappearance. Tatsuki was probably one of the one being the most angry and distressed when Orihime went missing. And may I add how one of Ichigo’s goal during this arc was to fight Grimmjow to avenge another girl (he acknowledged it himself)?

The “Ichigo really wants to protect Inoue more than anyone, he’s the most angry/depressed when she’s not here and acts super special with her” doesn’t hold one bit.

And no, this Ichigo/Ulquiorra panel

doesn’t prove anything. He’s still mad when someone other than Inoue is hurt:

(Unless you want to argue that his rage here was only for Inoue? And he didn’t care about Uryū one bit? You know it’s not true. You can’t possibly have watched/read Bleach with open eyes and defend that stance.)

End of the edit. Even as his wife, Orihime isn’t more important to Ichigo than his other friends (and neither is Kazui), to the point Ichigo’s happiest moment isn’t dating, marrying or having a child with Orihime, but seeing Rukia at his doorsteps years later, lmfao.