Rukia and Kaien, the Sorrowful Reunion

is the one-hundred-fifty-fourth episode of the Bleach anime.

Rukia Kuchiki reunites with her deceased mentor, Kaien Shiba.

Summary
Rukia stands in shock at the fact that her deceased mentor, Kaien, is standing right in front of her. Rukia asks him if he's really Kaien, but then remembers that it can't be true, since she killed him. Kaien goes up to Rukia and tells her to stop having such a confused look and that she should be happy that everyone's favorite lieutenant is alive. Rukia is convinced that this is indeed Kaien in front of her because she has the same feeling right now that she used to have when she was always around Kaien. Kaien suddenly unsheathes his Zanpakutō and Rukia gets ready to unsheathe her own sword, until she notices that Kaien is holding a wooden sword. Kaien then throws another wooden sword to Rukia, telling her that it has been a while since they've trained and they suddenly appear in the 13th Division’s training dojo. Rukia looks around confused and Kaien suddenly begins "battling" Rukia. As she "battles" him, Rukia notices that everything about this person is exactly the same as the Kaien she knew. Rukia is suddenly hit into a wall and Kaien scolds her for giving up already, causing Rukia to be further convinced that this is indeed Kaien. Rukia then goes to attack Kaien, but her wooden sword is easily knocked away. They suddenly reappear inside the dark tower and Kaien tells Rukia that if this was a real battle, she would be dead right now. Kaien remarks that it appears as if she has gotten stronger, but that she still hasn't changed since they've last seen each other. Kaien then opens up a secret compartment in one of the pillars in the area and he throws a pillow towards Rukia for her to sit on, explaining that he has a lot to talk about.

Kaien explains that the night he died, his spiritual body completely disintegrated away and went to Hueco Mundo, where it regenerated itself and that he went to Hueco Mundo because the Hollow that took over his body was one of Sōsuke Aizen's experiments. Kaien then says that the Hollow ended up taking his form, but his mind somehow ended up gaining control of the new spirit body. Kaien then begins to boast that his own power ruined Aizen's plans and Rukia states that she thought this was supposed to be a serious conversation. Kaien tells her that it is, but that she just looks so depressed and that he wanted to lighten the mood. Rukia angrily tells him that she was trying to look serious and Kaien tells her not to get so mad. Kaien decides to continue his explanation and he informs Rukia that he earned a place in the Espada and that ever since then, he has been trying to get his revenge on Aizen. Kaien then explains that everywhere the light touches in Las Noches is being monitored by Aizen and that this is the reason there is a fake sky outside this tower. Kaien tells Rukia that he's glad that she was the one who came here, since he has a plan that only she can do. Kaien then decides to switch locations and Rukia follows after him, but as she does this Kaien swings his Zanpakutō at Rukia, but she dodges and he's only able to make a small cut across her cheek. Kaien tells her that she's gotten better at fighting since they last met.

In Gin Ichimaru's control room, Ulquiorra Cifer enters the room and asks Gin if someone has breached the Espada pavilion. Gin simply remarks on how shocking it is that he's talking to him and he states that he thought he hated him. Ulquiorra tells him that he doesn't and Gin suggests that they should act nicer to each other then, because ever since Luppi Antenor died, he has been lonely. Ulquiorra suddenly notices that Gin's messing with the corridor controls, but Gin tells him that he isn't, explaining that he just hates sad stories. Back in the dark tower, Kaien states that Rukia has a weird look on her face, but then tells her that he's happy that she was able to dodge his attack, since last time she would have been killed. Rukia ignores his statements and asks him how much of what he said was true. Kaien tells her that all of it was true and he asks her if she thought there was anything strange in him trying to kill her, since she was the one who killed him. He then asks her if she's prepared to be killed by him and Rukia tells her that she is, but not right now since while what she did was a terrible thing, she still has to save Orihime Inoue. Kaien tells her that he was just kidding and that he would never kill her over something like that. He then goes back to his original statement that there is something that only she can do and explains that for her to atone for her sins, she must kill her friends. Rukia is shocked by this, but Kaien tells her not to worry, since she knows all of their abilities and it should be incredibly easy to catch them off guard. As Kaien tells her that her killing him won't be a problem after that, Rukia states that this time he isn't going to say that this is a joke, since this is something incredibly serious. She grabs his hand and tells him not to insult Kaien's name.

Kaien backs away and Rukia tells him that there's no way someone like him could be Kaien, since he would never tell people to kill their friends and that everyone in the 13th Division knows this. As Kaien tries to convince her that he really is who she remembers, Rukia yells at him not to say Kaien's name again. She then releases her Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki and Kaien begins to smile at this. As this happens, Lieutenant Renji Abarai stops running through Las Noches and senses Rukia's Reiatsu. Rukia begins to battle against Kaien and she uses Some no mai, Tsukishiro, but he dodges her attack. Kaien runs into a corner and Rukia tells him that he has nowhere left to run. However, Kaien reminds her that he was the one who taught her to fight and he remarks on his disappointment on what little improvement she's had. The two of them then begin to battle again and Kaien tells her that she has guts to try and kill the same man twice. Rukia continues to insist that this isn't Kaien in front of her, but Kaien tells her that she'll understand what he means when she stabs him again. This causes Rukia to put more force behind her blow and Kaien is sent flying into the air. Rukia then uses Tsugi no mai, Hakuren, but Kaien dodges her technique and tells Rukia that she'll never win like this.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Aaroniero Arruruerie
 * 2) Kaien Shiba (Aaroniero's forecasting)
 * 3) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 4) Metastacia (flashback)
 * 5) Jūshirō Ukitake (flashback)
 * 6) Kiyone Kotetsu (flashback)
 * 7) Sentarō Kotsubaki (flashback)
 * 8) Miyako Shiba (flashback)
 * 9) Gin Ichimaru
 * 10) Ulquiorra Cifer
 * 11) Renji Abarai
 * 12) Dondochakka Birstanne

Fights

 * Rukia Kuchiki vs. Aaroniero Arruruerie

Powers and Techniques Used
Shinigami techniques:

Techniques used:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai: