Hitsugaya, Karin and Soccer Ball

is the one hundred thirty second episode of the Bleach anime.

Karin Kurosaki tries to get Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya to help her win an upcoming soccer match.

Summary
One day, Karin, concerned about her brother, accidentally kicks her soccer ball too hard, causing it to fall towards the nearby road. A stranger, stopping it before it enters the intersection, returns it to her and disappears. Karin goes to play soccer with her friends, but when she gets there, she finds the junior high school students are unwilling to give up the field. She ends up arguing with the older kids through the afternoon until one of them suggests they settle it with a soccer match the following Saturday. Her friends, thinking they cannot win, suggest getting Ichigo Kurosaki to help, but she tells them he is on a trip. On the way home, they run into Hitsugaya again, and, after trying to get to know him, Karin asks him to help them with the game. When Hitsugaya starts to walk off, Karin kicks her ball at him, and he surprises them by returning it with a bicycle kick. As the kids gather around him in amazement, Hitsugaya, getting a Denreishinki notification of a Hollow, notices Karin seems to sense something too. Since he is the closest one, he runs off to fight it.

The next day, Karin, searching for Hitsugaya again, finds him in the same spot. In an attempt to talk with him, she asks why he comes here, so Hitsugaya explains this spot is the best place to view the sky; it brings back memories of the time he spent with Momo Hinamori in his childhood. When Hitsugaya, getting another Hollow notification, attempts to rush off again, Karin stops him because she senses something bad again. One of the other Shinigami defeats the Hollow, making it unnecessary for him to go. As Karin tries to get him to come practice with her friends, Hitsugaya does not give her a straight answer. He ends up coming to watch Karin and her friends practice, but he leaves when Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, showing up, starts teasing him about having an interest in Karin. Hitsugaya does not show up when the day of the match arrives, leaving Karin and her friends to play the junior high school kids by themselves. To make matters worse, in the opening play, one of the older kids, injuring Karin's leg, renders her ineffective, further crippling the team. When the junior high team goes up four goals to Karin's team's none, Hitsugaya shows up.

With Hitsugaya's skills, the team evens the score, and he even lets Karin score the goal which wins the game. Afterwards, he tries to talk with her about something, but a Hollow appears. Karin, surprised Hitsugaya can see the Hollow, is unwilling to run away because of her friends, who are now unconscious. When she kicks a soccer ball at its face, the Hollow tries to smash her with its fist. Hitsugaya, bringing out his Shinigami form, saves her. Using his ice powers to defeat the monster, he slices it in half before it can use its Cero. Once the battle is over, Karin asks him if he knows where Ichigo is, since she just saw Hitsugaya is a Shinigami too. Shocked to find out she is Ichigo's little sister, he admits he does not know of Ichigo's whereabouts. He says Ichigo is becoming stronger, just like she is, and tells her not to worry. Karin, meeting Matsumoto, is impressed Hitsugaya has a lieutenant even though he is a grade-schooler. This angers him because, despite how he looks, he is not actually in elementary school.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
As Hiyori Sarugaki tells everyone to get dinner while it is still here, Ichigo does not want to eat the food because he was more in the mood for rice. When Hiyori tells him they have rice as well, Ichigo points out they were supposed to be eating okonomiyaki today. When Shinji Hirako tells him okonomiyaki is not the only thing they need to eat, Ichigo points out it is bad to combine carbs with more carbs. The Visored simply tell him it is natural.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Karin Kurosaki
 * 2) Ichigo Kurosaki (flashback)
 * 3) Fishbone D (flashback)
 * 4) Tōshirō Hitsugaya
 * 5) Kazuya Usaka
 * 6) Ryohei Toba
 * 7) Heita Toujoin
 * 8) Kei Uehara
 * 9) Momo Hinamori (flashback)
 * 10) Rangiku Matsumoto

Powers and Techniques Used
Hollow techniques

Zanpakutō released

Shikai: