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Bleach 148: Ashido, the Shinigami who came from the Past

Ashido stops his blade inches from Rukia’s face. He puts away his sword and walks away. Rukia calls after him and asks him what he was trying to prove. Ashido says that he wanted to test her strength because the forest is very dangerous. Rukia follows him out of the cave, but he stops her from going any further. He says that someone is fighting and Rukia can feel that it is Ichigo and the others.

Ashido comments that Ichigo’s reckless fighting style will just draw more Menos. He prepares to leave and Rukia says they are her friends. Ashido tells her to stay there and asks for her name. She introduces herself and he leaps away. After a moment Rukia jumps after him.

Ichigo blasts a Menos with Getsuga Tenshou but more pop up. They all fire Ceros and Ichigo and the others are forced to run. Uryuu suggests that they retreat and Chad asks what they are going to do about Nell and her friends. Ichigo says that they will save Nell and the others as well as Rukia. Bawabawa pulls up in front of them and they jump on,

A group of Adjuchas meets and discuss the intruders. The leader says that Ashido is involved in the commotion as well. Nell and the others are brought before the leader and he says that they can use them. Nell and her group are thrown into a prison and the leader laughs.

Ashido and Rukia arrive at the place where the battle was going on. A voice asks if she is the intruder. A Hollow appears behind her and throws a punch. He misses her and she takes a good look at the enemy. She realizes from the size and power that it is an Adjuchas. The Hollow attacks and Ashido shouts at Rukia to get back.

The Hollow asks Ashido if he is with the intruders. It then attacks and Ashido scratches its mask. He throws a barrage of punches but Ashido dodges them and then slashes the Hollow across the chest. The Hollow calls on the Gillian and a group of them emerge from the forest. The Adjuchas laughs and Rukia comments that the Gillian can be controlled by Adjuchas.

The whole group of Gillian fire Ceros at Rukia and Ashido. They dodge and Ashido tells Rukia to stay there. He leaps forward and blocks the next cero with one of the masks stuck on the fur on his back. The Adjuchas is shocked and Ashido slices through him before finishing off the other Menos Grande.

Afterward Rukia questions him about the Hollow and Ashido confirms that it was an Adjuchas. They talk a bit about it and then Ashido asks what happened in Soul Society. He tells her that the strength of the Hollows has been changing and now a Soul Reaper has shown up. She has a flashback of Aizen stealing the Hougyoku and leaving Soul Society and she says that a lot of terrible things have happened.

After a moment says ok and does not press any further. He then says that since their friends weren’t there they will look someplace else. Back at the Adjuchas base, the leader is informed of their comrade’s death. He asks if it was Ashido and the other Adjuchas says that there was a Soul Reaper with him. The leader thinks a bit and looks to where Nell and her group are being held prisoner.

Rukia and Ashido kill some more Menos and they hurry on. As they go, Ashido says that he underestimated her strength and with her level she shouldn’t have any trouble fighting against Adjuchas. After a while, Rukia asks Ashido about the mask he wears. Ashido stops walking. Rukia says he does not need to answer but Ashido pulls off the mask and shows his true face.

Ashido explains that it has been several hundred years since he left Soul Society. Ashido reveals that he was chasing some Hollows and ended up there. He says that he has been fighting Hollows ever since. Rukia asks if there is a way to escape and he says there is but he won’t leave because he is a Soul Reaper. Rukia is confused so Ashido explains.

He tells her that probably, all of the Hollows who appear in the real world come from there. By killing them constantly, he hopes to decrease the amount that go to the real world. He turns to Rukia and asks if there has been a decrease in the number of Hollows appearing in the real world. Rukia does not answer and Ashido says that by her expression he can tell that there has been no change. They keep walking.

Meanwhile, at the Adjuchas base, there is a fire going and Nell and her group huddle together nearby. Dondo Chakka says it kind of sounds like a party and Nell wonders if they will have good food. Pesche leans in and wonders if they are the food and Nell and the others freak out.

Suddenly Dondo Chakka gets an idea and asks Nell if she has kept her hood up the whole time. She says she has and he hatches a plan. He and Pesche grab Nell and run from the cave. They stop before the Hollows and show them Nell. They shout out that she was transformed into an Arrancar by Aizen. He pulls down her hood and shows her broken mask. All the Hollows bow on the ground and Dondo Chakka asks if they know a way out.

One of the Hollows points to a way and Nell and the others walk toward it. Suddenly, their path is blocked by an Adjuchas. Nell and the others point out that Nell is an Arrancar and the Adjuchas says that it has nothing to do with that. Ashido and Rukia arrive in an open space on a ledge.

Ashido reveals that he arrived at this spot with some other teammates. He has a flashback of them battling fiercely in a street full of Hollows. The Hollows are retreating and they jump through into Garganta. Ashido and the others all leap through in pursuit. They arrive on the ledge and are immediately surrounded by Hollows.

Their battle attracted the Menos Grande and he was forced to watch as one by one his teammates fell. Finally he and his friend were the only ones left. His friend is injured so he leaves him behind a tree and leaves to fight the Menos. A Hollow appears behind the injured Soul Reaper and charges. There is a gasp and the Hollows mask goes flying.

Ashido hears the sound and runs back to the tree. His friend smiles at him then falls forward with a horn sticking out of his back. Ashido stares in horror as his friend dies. The Menos fire and in anger Ashido grabs the Hollow Mask and blocks the attacks. He leaps forward holding the mask and attacks.

Ashido tells Rukia that he has stayed and fought in order to protect human souls and to keep the promise he made with the ones who lost their lives. Ashido says that he didn’t ask Rukia if the Hollow numbers were decreasing to see how well he had done. Instead he had wanted to be able to tell his friends. Rukia apologizes and Ashido says she shouldn’t be apologizing.

Ashido says that when she meets up with her friends she should hurry back to Soul Society. Ashido points out that if they are not really affecting the Hollow’s numbers there is no point in staying. Rukia thanks him but says that they came to rescue a friend held captive in Las Noches.

Ashido says that there are Vasto Lorde class Hollow there and that normal people would have no chance. Rukia smiles and says that she is a dear friend and that she is not on her own. Rukia asks Ashido why he brought her there and he points to the graves of his friends and says that he wanted them to hear her talk. He says it has been a long time since they heard a Soul Reaper’s voice.

They are interrupted by a heavy reiatsu and Rukia says it is Ichigo. They leap forward but when they arrive at the spot there is nothing there. An Adjuchas appears and says he got rid of all traces of their reiatsu. He calls on a huge group of Gillian and Ashido tells her not to worry since the Gillian will leave if they destroy the Adjuchas.

The Gillian all fire Ceros and Rukia and Ashido dodge. Using a mask from his fur as a shield, Ashido blocks the blasts as he jumps forward. Rukia and Ashido dodge all the blasts and attack the Adjuchas but he blocks with his arm. The Adjuchas sends the Gillian after Rukia but she dodges. Ashido calls out to her.

Rukia hides behind a tree out of sight from the Menos. The Adjuchas appears behind her and stabs out with a claw. Ashido watches in horror and remembers his fallen comrade. He leaps in the way and takes a hit. His mask shatters and he falls backward with a look of shock. Rukia screams out to him as he falls.

Bleach 147: The Forest of Menos! The Search for the Missing Rukia

Lunuganga reappears in front of Ichigo and the others. Rukia releases her zanpakutou, Sode no Shirayuki. She is about to activate Hakuren but she needs to stab the ground and they are on Bawabawa. Before they can react, Lunuganga opens a sand pit beneath them. Rukia slips off but the others fail to notice.

Rukia is thrown to the side of the pit. She tries to get a grip of something but she is pulled under. Unable to resist, Ichigo and the others are sucked in as well. In a dark area, someone picks up a sword and draws it. Ichigo and the others fall toward the ground in a dark underground forest. Uryuu suddenly catches sight of a group of Menos Grande walking around a ways away.

Bawabawa hits the ground hard. Ichigo, Renji, Uryuu and Chad are all unharmed. Suddenly Nell falls from the sky and lands headfirst on Ichigo. Ichigo falls to the ground clutching his head. Pesche calls from above and suggests that Ichigo move. Ichigo looks up and has Pesche and Dondo Chakka land on him as well.

Ichigo sits up and wonders where they are. Uryuu walks over to a tree and fells it. He is surprised and then he says that they are the same as the ones above. Uryuu comes to the realization that the trees above are the tips of the trees that are below ground.

Chad comments that the forest is very thick. Ichigo turns to find Nell and the other two shaking on the ground. Nell turns sobbing and says that they are in the Menos Forest. Uryuu tells the others of the Menos he saw as they were falling.

Uryuu says that probably the Espada and the Arrancar live on the surface will the other Hollows live below. Ichigo asks Nell if she knows a way out but she says she has never been there before. She only heard stories about it so she does not know. They start panicking and Ichigo tells them to relax.

Uryuu agrees and Uryuu says the Hollow must have a way to get in and out. Suddenly Renji realizes the Rukia is missing. Ichigo asks when they lost her and Uryuu says it must have been when they fell. Rukia wakes up covered in debris. She gets up and calls for Ichigo. Suddenly, she hears something and brings up her zanpakutou.

She looks and sees a bunch of glowing eyes. Someone emerges from a cave wearing a Soul Reaper robe, a large fur and a Hollow mask. After a moment, the figure flash steps away. Rukia defends herself from scores of Hollows. Rukia wonders where they all came from. She calls for Ichigo again then sees a light in the distance.

She blows back the Hollow with ice and runs toward the light. She emerges and gasps as she sees some Menos Grande. They turn to her and one fires a Cero. She takes a step back and the ledge she is on crumbles causing her to trip. The Menos fires and she turns away. Suddenly, the strange figure appears in front of the Cero. He grabs her and flash steps away again.

With Rukia under his arm, he quickly dispatches the two Menos. Rukia catches sight of his worn zanpakutou as he slashes. After they are dealt with he again flash steps away. Ichigo and the others search for Rukia. Uryuu says it is strange since she fell at the same place as them. Ichigo says that since Rukia is small and light, she would fall fly farther away. Renji agrees and Uryuu wonders what they think Rukia is.

Bawabawa starts making noise and Nell translates saying that he will climb the tree and look for Rukia from there. Pesche and Dondo Chakka praise Bawabawa and tell him to take a good look for the “despicable” Soul Reaper. Ichigo and Renji turn to each other and Renji mutters that they were called despicable.

As Bawabawa starts to ascend, Uryuu stops him and says he will help look. Chad agrees and they both jump on Bawabawa. The unknown person carries Rukia under his arm as he jumps from branch to branch. Rukia continually tries to get him to let go but he does not answer.

She grabs his arm and pushes off in the opposite direction. She looks back but he is gone. She gasps, and then he appears in front of her and grabs her once again. She asks him what he is doing. He speaks telling her to be patient because they will arrive at his hideout soon.

Inside a cave somewhere, shadowy figures meet. One says the forest is getting noisy. The next says there are several strange reiatsu there. Another asks what they should do and the last says that “they” will be dead before they know it. Someone else arrives and says that they got a message from Las Noches. The first says that things are getting exciting.

They arrive at the unknown person’s cave and he lets Rukia go. He walks in and she follows. Inside, she takes a look around and sees an orb of light in the ceiling. She asks if he created it with kidou. He does not reply and she says that he really is a Soul Reaper.

She asks him for his name and his squad. She tells him again to say something and he replies that his name is Ashido. He tells her that they are in the Menos Forest. He explains that it is the Menos’ nesting grounds. He picks up his blade and leaps into the air.

Rukia takes a step backward as he lunges for her. She draws her zanpakutou and blocks the first strike. She tries to get an explanation but he ignores her. The second attack sends her flying. She pushes off the wall and strikes back. She notes that he is strong but he uses wild movements.

He flash steps above her and his next attack sends her rolling across the room. She gets to her feet and watches him trying to catch her breath.

Meanwhile, Ichigo calls up to Uryuu asking if they can see anything. Uryuu says they can’t and Uryuu says he is sure he saw Menos but they are gone now. He hears Renji and Ichigo below and looks to see a bunch of Hollows coming toward them. From their position they take out a few of the airborne Hollows.

On the ground, Ichigo and Renji wonder where they are all coming from. As they are fighting, the Hollows start howling. Nell shouts at them all to run away. Pesche and Dondo Chakka tell her not to worry about the “bad guys.”
A shadow falls over them and marks the arrival of the Menos Grande. One of them reaches for Bawabawa. Uryuu and Chad cannot retaliate because Bawabawa is trembling and they cannot get a clear shot. Ichigo blasts it back with Getsuga Tenshou.

They continue to fight the Hollows. Nell watches from behind a tree. Pesche suggests they try to escape. Nell does not want to leave and Pesche tries to convince her to forget about Ichigo. There is a roar behind them and they see a horde of Hollow blocking their escape.

They yell for help and Ichigo turns and calls to Nell. She is being carried off by a flying Hollow as well as Pesche and Dondo Chakka. Ichigo wants to go after them but there are more loud roars and on the edge of their vision they see red eyes. A whole group of Menos Grande emerge from within the forest as Nell and the others fly past.

Chad comments that there are so many and Uryuu says they are the ones he saw earlier. A Menos opens its mouth and fires a Cero. Back at the cave, Rukia battles the mysterious Soul Reaper. She jumps back and asks if he brought her back just to kill her.

Ashido does not answer. He charges and there is an explosion. Rukia is backed against a wall. Ashido asks if that is all. He then points his sword at her. She throws some dirt at him and picks up her sword but he has disappeared.

Suddenly he appears behind her. Rukia turns and her eyes widen. Unable to do anything she watches as Ashido stabs out with his sword.