During his fight with Zaraki Kenpachi, Ichigo senses that Chad's life is fading away, and tries to end the battle quickly to be able to help his friends. After trying to fight Zaraki eqaully, in the end Ichigo loses the fight and with his soul slayer, Zangetsu ,brokened, things dont look promising to Ichigo, but apparently not everything is hopeless as in the end of the episode Zangetsu appears in front of Ichigo.
From creator Tite Kubo, comes the story of a world where passing lurks impalpable to an everyday human's eyes. Ichigo Kurosaki helps run a local clinic with his family but Ichigo has the unusual ability to see poltergeists but rather than react with surprise he merely sees it as an annoyance. Ichigo helps those when he cares but can't bring himself to care enough... until one fateful day. A small, mysterious woman appears on duty inside his room, a Soul Reaper known as Rukia. Soon enough Ichigo and Rukia get formal in the oddest of ways and in such an untimely matter the losses begin. The Kurosaki family is soon attacked. This leads Ichigo on his first step to accepting the roles and responsibility's a Soul Reaper must uphold.