The Princess' Decision, the Sorrowful Bride

Shū Kannogi is dressed for his wedding while Gyōkaku Kumoi assures him that Rurichiyo will return to the manor for the ceremony. At Urahara's shop, Yoruichi reports that the marriage is only two days away, and Kisuke suspects a Rurichiyo double will be used to install Kannogi as secondary head of the family. Kenryū recognizes the wedding as both a power grab and a way to discourage interference, since Gotei 13 guards will be present, while Kisuke warns it may also be a trap to draw out the real Rurichiyo and dispose of her.

In another room, Orihime tends the wounds Uryū and Sado suffered against the assassins as Kisuke reviews what they have learned about the Bakkōtō. Rurichiyo keeps a guilty vigil over the two unconscious fighters, blaming herself for their injuries, until Orihime lifts her spirits and insists she has nothing to apologize for.

That night, Ichigo finds Rurichiyo crying on the roof and tells her the harm done to Sado and Uryū was not her doing, reminding her the assassin also came for him. She admits she has long known Kumoi wants her dead and thanks everyone for shielding her, only for Ichigo to stress that they protect her by choice, under no orders. Rurichiyo then snatches his Combat Pass, hurls it away, and kicks Ichigo off the roof before opening a Senkaimon with her dagger, thanking him but refusing to burden others with her troubles any longer.

Kumoi's plan to marry Rurichiyo to Shū Kannogi is exposed as a maneuver to usurp the Kasumiōji Clan and possibly eliminate the true heir. Rurichiyo reveals she has always known Kumoi is trying to kill her. Determined to stop endangering her protectors, she disables Ichigo, throws away his Substitute Combat Pass, and opens her own Senkaimon to return to Soul Society alone, setting up the confrontation to come.

An anime-original episode of the Kasumiōji Conspiracy, presented as the New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc, it adapts no manga chapters. It aired in Japan on July 16, 2008, and in English on November 21, 2010, using the opening Chu-Bura and the ending Gallop. The Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment shows a bored Dondochakka Birstanne and Pesche Guatiche being smacked by Renji Abarai for their laziness.