Her Name is Nel! The Appearance of the Strange Arrancar

is the one-hundred-forty-sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki meets the Arrancar Nel Tu.

Summary
Ichigo saves the Human girl from the Hollows, but as it turns out the Human girl was actually an Arrancar named Nel Tu, who was playing a game of "eternal tag" with her friends. Nel apologizes to Ichigo for accidentally making him think she was in trouble, and explains that there's nothing fun to do in Hueco Mundo. Nel then introduces her "brothers" Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Birstanne, as well as her pet, Bawabawa. Ichigo questions how Arrancar can have family and pets, and Dondochakka and Pesche state that they simply met Nel and decided to become brothers, but Ichigo tells him that this means that they aren't siblings at all. Nel and the others are shocked from this revelation, and Ichigo retracts his statement and allows them to be brothers. Ichigo then questions Nel as to if she's really an Arrancar, and she proves it by pointing out her broken mask, but Ichigo tells her that she acts so different than the Arrancar he encountered in the Human World. Nel explains that the ones who went to the Human World were Números, Arrancar that work under the Espada and are given a two-digit number. She then remarks that Ichigo and his friends look nothing like Arrancar, and that Ichigo looks more like a Shinigami. This causes her to get scared a bit, and she asks Ichigo and his friends what their jobs are, and they introduce themselves to her. Nel and her "brothers" scream in fright at this revelation, and Ichigo is surprised that she didn't know what he was. Nel is convinced that they're bad guys and that they're going to kill her, and she wonders what she should do. She talks with her "brothers" and Dondochakka suggests that they pretend to play a game of "eternal tag" with them, and then when they're caught off guard they can defeat them. Nel agrees to this idea and she begins running after taking Ichigo's Zanpakutō. Ichigo chases after her, but as he does this, Pesche and Dondochakka chase after him.

Uryū Ishida remarks that Ichigo's Zanpakutō got stolen pretty easily, and Yasutora Sado wonders if Ichigo actually agreed to play their game. Bawabawa suddenly appears behind the two of them, and they are forced to run away as well. Nel suddenly trips and drops Ichigo's Zanpakutō. Ichigo picks her up while Pesche, Dondochakka, and Bawabawa trip as well. Ichigo puts Nel down and she asks him if he helped her. Ichigo states that he did, pointing out that she would have been squashed if she just stayed on the ground. Ichigo tells her that he's in a hurry and begins to leave with Uryū and Sado, and she asks him if he's just going to run away. Ichigo reiterates that he's in a hurry, but Nel calls him mean and says that she wants to play more, and that if she doesn't then she would want to die. A voice suddenly comes from somewhere and tells Nel that he'll give her the death she seeks, and a Hollow rises up from the sand. Ichigo wonders who this is and Nel informs him that he's the guardian of the White Sands, Runuganga.

Runuganga states that he was informed of intruders coming towards Las Noches, but remarks that it's unforgivable that Nel and the others would be helping them out. As Nel tries to convince him otherwise, Ichigo takes his Zanpakutō out and fires off a Getsuga Tenshō, splitting his head vertically in half. Nel calls him a cheater for pulling off such a cheap shot, but Ichigo tells him this shouldn't matter since he just saved them, and that either way he attacked from the front so there's no way it was a cheap shot. Runuganga suddenly forms back together, and tells Ichigo that he's despicable for not even acknowledging that it was an unfair blow. Ichigo asks Nel how he's still alive, and Nel informs him that Runuganga is made out of sand. Runuganga punches at Ichigo, but he is able to dodge the attack. He then forms a sandstorm and Nel begins to get sucked up in it, but Ichigo catches her before it can happen. He then pulls her back towards him, and Runuganga tells him he's pretty tough. He then forms several sandstorms, but Ichigo fires off a Getsuga Tenshō and gets rid of one of the sandstorms, as well as cut Runuganga in half again. However, Runuganga reforms again, and Uryū suggests to Ichigo that they fight together. Ichigo fires off another Getsuga Tenshō, Uryū begins firing Quincy arrows, and Sado uses El Directo, and the attacks cause Runuganga to completely disappear. As Ichigo wonders if they won, a sand pit forms under them and the group struggles to get back up. Ichigo grabs Nel before she gets sucked in, and he asks her if Runuganga has any weakness. Nel informs him that water would work, but Ichigo points out that there is no water here. Runuganga suddenly reappears to the group, and opens his mouth in an attempt to eat all of them. However, Runuganga suddenly becomes completely encased in ice. The ice then breaks away, along with Runuganga. Ichigo looks to see what the cause of this was, and see's that both Rukia Kuchiki and Lieutenant Renji Abarai have come to Hueco Mundo.

In Soul Society, Onmitsukidō Agents inform Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki that both Renji and Rukia have disappeared. They state that they're searching all throughout Seireitei, and Yamamoto curses the two of them. Back in Hueco Mundo, Nel states that more "bad guys" are here, and both Rukia and Renji jump to where Ichigo is. Ichigo runs towards them, but to his surprise, they are less than friendly and punch Ichigo, causing him to fall to the ground, and Uryū asks him if he's all right. Rukia asks Ichigo why he entered Hueco Mundo without them, but Ichigo thought they wouldn't be able to. Rukia simply yells at him for actually thinking she wouldn't immediately come back, and tells him that he should have believed in her and Renji. Ichigo apologizes, and Rukia tells him not to make her say something like that again. Rukia then asks who Nel and the others are, and the three of them introduce themselves, but with different group names for each other. They begin to argue with each other, and Ichigo tells them to be quiet. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Uryū, and Sado decide to continue walking towards Las Noches, but Nel suggests that they ride Bawabawa to make it go faster. As they ride on Bawabawa, Nel glances at Rukia and asks her what her relationship with Ichigo is, and Renji makes fun of Ichigo because of this. Ichigo asks Rukia and Renji where they got those cloaks that they're now wearing, and Rukia states that someone gave it to her so she wouldn't get hit by dust and sand in the desert. Rukia embarrassingly states it was Byakuya, and Ichigo is shocked by the fact that Byakuya is the one who sent them here. Renji states that Kisuke Urahara was the one who got them here, but they never would have been able to if it wasn't for Byakuya. Rukia tells Ichigo that Byakuya told them that he had no orders after bringing them back, and that they could do whatever they wanted. Ichigo remarks that Byakuya's getting pretty soft, but Rukia states that Byakuya also told them to go here because it would be bad if Ichigo was left to his own devices. This causes Ichigo to angrily punch Bawabawa, causing Nel and the others to yell at him. The ground suddenly shakes and Runuganga reappears in front of the group, stopping them in their tracks.

Arrancar Encyclopedia
Gin Ichimaru reviews how Arrancar are classed. He states that Vasto Lorde are the only class of Arrancar to look truly Human, and he looks at Nel, remarking that she became Human as well. Nel begins to blush and Gin states that there are people like her as well.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Nel Tu
 * 2) Bawabawa
 * 3) Dondochakka Birstanne
 * 4) Pesche Guatiche
 * 5) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 6) Yasutora Sado
 * 7) Uryū Ishida
 * 8) Runuganga
 * 9) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 10) Renji Abarai
 * 11) Onmitsukidō Agent
 * 12) Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto
 * 13) Jūshirō Ukitake
 * 14) Byakuya Kuchiki

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used: Fullbring used:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:



Other powers: