14 Days Before Rukia's Execution

is the twenty-third episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends enter the Shiba household.

Summary
The morning after Ichigo's encounter with Ganju Shiba, Orihime Inoue, Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado discuss the injury to Jidanbō Ikkanzaka and the mysterious Kūkaku Shiba, whom they will meet that day. Inoue decides that Kūkaku must be some type of pedigree cat, which sets Ishida and Sado arguing about what kind of person 'she' is. Ishida tires of the increasingly extravagant sketches of Kūkaku that Inoue is proposing and leaves to find out what Ichigo is doing. He finds Ichigo sitting cross-legged in the house they had stayed in, refusing to leave until he finishes his fight with Ganju. Ishida attempts to drag him out of the house by his clothing, which Ichigo resists until Yoruichi Shihōin claws him across the face and orders him to remember the their objective: rescuing Rukia Kuchiki.

Rukia is sitting in the Sixth Division barracks' prison, when she is visited by Lieutenant Renji Abarai, who informs her that she has 14 days until her execution by use of Sōkyoku, and that she is to be moved into the Senzaikyū.

Yoruichi leads the group out into the countryside. Ichigo questions whether the group is headed the right way, to which Ishida responds angrily, telling him that they are following the map properly. Inoue hypothesizes that Kūkaku must want to keep her identity secret to live this far out. However, Yoruichi states that is incorrect and that although Kūkaku changes houses regularly, she'll still be able to recognize it instantly. This is confirmed when the house appears on the horizon, with two large arms on both sides holding up a banner stating, "Kūkaku Shiba". While Sado appears unfazed and Inoue thinks the house is "cool," Ishida and Ichigo are shocked by the house's appearance, with Ishida going so far as to call it "a sad excuse for a house" and both of them are ashamed to enter such a strange looking dwelling.

As they approach the front door, two guardians appear, announcing themselves as Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko. They warn that attempting to enter was to invite death. Yoruichi defuses the tension by sticking her head out from around Ichigo's right leg, upon which the guardians become apologetic and show great respect towards Yoruichi. Upon entry to Kūkaku's room, all except Yoruichi are shocked that she is a woman. Yoruichi proceeds to ask Kūkaku for a favor, warning that it would probably be trouble. Kūkaku replies that it has been ages since they talked like this and that she would like hear Yoruichi's proposal because she loves trouble.

Renji escorts the four guards securing Rukia to the Senzaikyū, where she is to be held until the execution. She looks at the Sōkyoku stand from her window and one of the guards explains that the purpose of the shrine was so that the condemned could spend the last days of their lives regretting their mistakes. Before he leaves, Renji tells Rukia of an unconfirmed report: that one of the Ryoka was an orange haired Shinigami with a body length sword, causing Rukia's eyes to widen.

Kūkaku smokes a pipe while agreeing to Yoruichi's request, stating that because Kisuke Urahara is involved, she couldn't refuse even if she wanted to. However, she doesn't trust Yoruichi's companions, and states that she will be sending a "minion" with them, who is actually her little brother. She opens the door to reveal Ganju, who immediately recognizes Ichigo, and they both leap up and charge at each other, leading Kūkaku to ask if they know each other.

Renji worries about whether he should have told Rukia that Ichigo was intercepted at the gates of Seireitei by Captain Gin Ichimaru, but decides that it was for the best. He is interrupted by Captain Sōsuke Aizen, who asks if he can speak with Renji for a moment. Aizen leads him to a quiet room and opens with small talk about how long it has been since Renji left Aizen's division. Renji asks what it is that Aizen wanted to talk about, and Aizen asks Renji whether he thinks that Rukia should die. Aizen lists the discrepancies that exist in the handling of Rukia's case, from the reduction of the grace period to the use of the Sōkyoku. He states that he believes that it is all "moving to a single will". Ichimaru is standing outside the door, listening in on their conversation. Before Aizen can elaborate, the alarm is sounded and an emergency captains meeting is called.

Ichigo and Ganju continue their fight, breaking several doors without raising Kūkaku's ire until her pipe is knocked to the floor and broken. She uses an unknown Kidō to blast the two apart and end their conflict, while simultaneously causing severe structural damage to her house. She rants at Ichigo, who apologizes for his actions and then orders everyone to stand and follow her. She leads them through an underground path to a door labeled "authorized personnel only," inside of which is the base of her huge chimney, which is revealed to be a cannon, as she is Rukongai's Number One Fireworks Expert.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
The featured character is Momo Hinamori.

Characters in order of appearance

 * 1) Orihime Inoue
 * 2) Uryū Ishida
 * 3) Yasutora Sado
 * 4) Jidanbō Ikkanzaka
 * 5) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 6) Yoruichi Shihōin
 * 7) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 8) Renji Abarai
 * 9) Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko
 * 10) Kūkaku Shiba
 * 11) Ganju Shiba
 * 12) Sōsuke Aizen
 * 13) Gin Ichimaru

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques used
Kidō used:
 * Unknown Kidō used by Kūkaku Shiba.