Fallen Wolves

**Fallen Wolves** is the fifth episode of the Bleached Wolf's Rain series.

Following the scent of the Lunar Flower leads the group to a town, where they meet a pack of wolves and another Soul Reaper.

## Summary

Running through the snow, the group listens as Toboe reveals that he had a dream that they reached Paradise. He goes on about how there were red and blue flowers there, and that they were lunar flowers. When Hige asks if he's ever seen a lunar flower, Toboe admits he hasn't, but believes Kiba hasn't either, which seems to interest Ichigo. Not long afterwards, they reach train tracks that extend out over the sea, Kiba commenting that the scent of the Lunar Flower ends there. This causes Toboe to have belief that Paradise is on the other side, and breaks into a run, the others following him.

On the other side is a town, surrounded by water. As they make their way into town, the group can see that people are hiding in their houses, giving them the idea that they won't be willing to help them. It's then that they come across a group in a secluded area that take notice of them. The leader Zali asks them where they're from, Kiba replying they came from the city to the north.

When he then asks where they plan on going, Toboe tells them Paradise, which causes the group to laugh as if it's a joke. Kiba wants to know what's funny, when Zali claims that they've already been to Paradise, Ichigo seeing that the group is really a pack of wolves. Not wanting things to get out of hand, he convinces them that they don't want any trouble, when a voice says that they already found it. It's Ichigo who is taken by surprise to see that it's a Soul Reaper, who comes down and asks Zali if the group is giving him any problems. After he assures him they're not, he sees Ichigo, interested at seeing another Soul Reaper. Learning his name, he introduces himself as Renji Abarai, then informs Ichigo and the wolves that if they know what's good for them, they'll leave town because there's nothing there for them. The group decide to leave Zali and his pack, Toboe thinking that maybe they should leave, but Kiba isn't at all convinced.

Coming up on a graveyard, Ichigo thinks that they could try talking to Zali and his group, when an old man comes out from one of the dug up graves, startling Hige and Toboe. The old man turns out to be a wolf, who is apparently interested in seeing them. Curious, he asks where they plan on going, and when Kiba mentions Paradise, the old man "Gramps" wants to know if they met Zali. Ichigo brings up how he claims to already been to Paradise, asking if it's true. Bringing them over to an abandoned service tunnel, Gramps explains that Zali and the others had been searching for Paradise, when they came to the town and took the tunnel. Unfortunately, there was a poisonous gas that killed several of his friends, so he gave up on finding it, while Renji grew bitter from what happened. Hearing all this, Kiba decides to walk off alone, Toboe wanting to know where he's going. As such, Ichigo decides to try and take to Renji, although Hige doesn't know if he'd bother listening to him. Left alone, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe try to figure out what to do now, when a member of Zali's pack, Cole, show up, apologizing for the way they were treated earlier. She wants to make it up to them, so she brings out some meat that she offers to them. Grateful, Hige decides to take, thanking her, but Tsume says nothing.

Meanwhile, Ichigo finds Renji alone on the rooftops. He asks him why he and the wolves haven't left town, Ichigo telling him that he knows about what happened, and that he's sorry. However, Renji doesn't seem to care, wanting to know why he's bothering with finding Rakuen.

When Ichigo admits that it's Kiba's desire to get there, Renji patronizes him about it. It goes on for a while, getting to Ichigo, until he finally says that it's "a stupid fool's pipe dream". No longer able to stand this, Ichigo brings out his large sword to attack, Renji drawing his to counter each strike he throws at him. During this time, he is impressed how Ichigo handles himself, but starts to believe that he doesn't have that much experience as a Soul Reaper, and asks him the name of his sword, his zanpakuto. Confused, he doesn't know, which surprises Renji, but also disappoints him. He decides to show him what a "real" Soul Reaper can do, and calls on the power of his zanpakuto, Zabimaru. Taken back at it's change, Ichigo manages to guard against the extended attack Renji throws at him, followed by a close range blow. As they clash, Ichigo attempts to match his movement with his, until he starts finding himself getting a bit overwhelmed, wondering what's going on. In that moment, Renji catches him off guard with a slash to his shoulder, and refers to him as "a fake".

He becomes intent on finishing off Ichigo, who tells him it's not over yet, when he suddenly begins flaring with spirit energy. Moving in, Renji delivers a range attack, but that changes when Ichigo swings his sword, releasing a wave of spirit energy that completely surprises Renji, shatting his Zabimaru's blade and hitting him directly.

Somewhere in town, Kiba notices the discharge of spirit energy, watching in curiousity. That's when he ends up being found by a few of Zali's pack members. They surround him and start mocking him on his efforts to find Paradise, which gets to him, leading up to a fight.

Elsewhere, Tsume decides to go for a walk, Toboe following him. After being left alone, disappointed, he again thanks Cole for the food, while she thinks nothing of it. That is, until she brings up that he should come to the train station, telling him that something there is going to happen there, and that he should be there.

During that time, Tsume and Toboe walk through the outskirts of town, which leads them to the train station. Tsume says he wants to rest for a while, and decides to lie down on the bench, when Toboe asks him out of curiousity about how he got the scar on his upper chest. All Tsume does is say nothing at first, but tells him that he'll tell him about it some other time. Later on, they wake up to the sound of a train arriving at the station, seeing that Hige has shown up, revealing that Cole told him something there was supposed to happen. That's when they see some people, who strap harnesses onto the wolves that they then have pull in the cargo from the train.

Wondering what's going in, Zali shows up to explain that they bring in cargo from the station into the town, and in exchange get well fed by the humans. Surprisingly, Hige comments on how it's like when Tsume led his gang, to which he infuriately argues it wasn't the same. Just then, Toboe recognizes one of the wolves to be the old wolf Gramps. He begins losing his strength as he struggles to move forward, causing him to get whipped. However, he collapses, which worries Hige as he, Tsume, and Toboe watch helplessly as he loses his strength as he weaken, until eventually, he stops moving. Kiba, who happened to see all this, rushes towards the human workers in anger, but is stopped by Zali and subdued. Showing up, Ichigo wants to know what's going on.

A proper burial is given to Gramps, when Ichigo asks Zali why he is doing this to his pack, but he responds that it's how things are. Furious, Kiba calls him out on it, Zali arguing what he would know about it, but Kiba tells him that he's pathetic. But all Zali does is say is that they're young, and still have a lot to learn.

## Appearances In Order

* Boy
* Ichigo Kurosaki
* Mother
* Girl
* Kiba
* Tsume
* Hige
* Toboe
* Zali
* Cole
* Moss
* Zali's Pack Members
* Renji Abarai
* Gramps

## Notes & trivia

* This episode not only features the first appearance of Renji, but also the release of a Soul Reaper's zanpakuto. It is also the first to feature the appearance of other wolves.
* Ichigo's battle with Renji is a reflection of both their first and second encounter in the *Bleach* series.
* Although he has received no training, Ichigo is able to fare against Renji.