The Appearance of the Great Evil! The Darkness in the House of Kasumiōji

Kenryū and Enryū smash through Ichigo's window in a panic to report that Rurichiyo has gone missing again. She has secretly slipped past the Kasumiōji compound's gate, only to run into Gyōkaku Kumoi, who sends her back to the palace by palanquin and then orders the assassin Hanza to exploit the moment while her guards are away. Ichigo and Rukia arrive and split up with her vassals to search Soul Society, while Kumoi seals Kenryū and Enryū inside the palace after they discover her hat.

Rukia crosses paths with Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru and tries to keep him from tracking down Ichigo's reiatsu. Meanwhile Rurichiyo reaches the palace and reunites warmly with her friend Sayori, sharing a secret handshake before tea.

Ichigo forces his way onto the grounds with flash steps and startles Rurichiyo, who refuses to leave with him and publicly denies knowing him as the guards close in. Wandering off, she tries to comfort a crying girl who lures her to a deserted wing and pulls a dagger. Ichigo blocks the killing strike with Zangetsu, but the arriving guards assume he is the attacker and pile onto him. When Rurichiyo moves to defend him, the disguised assassin slashes the guards instead.

Kenpachi bursts through a wall and seizes the killer, who sheds a false skin to reveal a full-grown male assassin before Kenpachi cuts him down. Rukia follows through the breach, and the group escorts Rurichiyo back to Kenryū and Enryū. Reflecting on Sayori's plea to forgive Rurichiyo, who acted out because Sayori is being married off, Ichigo concludes that noble life is far from easy.

An anime-original episode of the New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc, deepening the plot against the Kasumiōji heir. It concludes the Kibune-related conflict carried over from the prior installment. The picture-book segment has Byakuya watch Yachiru zip around his manor on a scooter Ikkaku built her, deciding a chase is pointless just as Nemu announces the tea party.