I would have cared more about Ulquiorra if I wasn't so happy that Orihime went two whole chapters without regressing to saying nothing but "Kurosaki-kun." Maybe she's finally getting her spine back!

I am with you on Tsubasa. After the drama of the past few chapters it occured to me that I really want to know what the fuck happened to Tokyo before it became Clow.

Maybe she's finally getting her spine back!

Here, here! I'm with you on that one. She had that one awesome determined look a few chapters ago when she protected Ichigo, but then she sort of wilted when Ulquiorra began to pick on her. I didn't get that at all. >.

I've given up on theories about it. It could be her abysmal self esteem or Ichigo saying 'thanks but no thanks' when she tried to help. Or some sort of hollowfication as a result of the HM air or something. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra have both implied that there's something not right inside of her but if that's a natural something or not... At this point, I just want Orihime to get her awesome back.

I do, too. (Although I'm afraid her rediscovered awesome might lead her to do something damaging to my current favorite character. =/) I'm also wondering what Ulquiorra and Grimmjow meant when they said something's not right inside of her anymore. At first I thought the clothes Lenoly and Menoly tore away were going to reveal some kind of marking, but nope.

He sort of has to lose eventually, being on the non-hero team and all. I hope he doesn't die though; he's a little too powerful and pretty and destined to be tragic for my liking right now (I'll probably be happier with him when he does lose, actually) but I'd be sad if he died. Yeah, it's one of KT's better mysteries. Ulquiorra seemed like he was going to tell Orihime what's up but then he got interupted. =/ I guess we'll find out soon enough, as long as the focus of the next few chapters stays with Ulqui/Hime/Ishi and Ichigo's corpse.

I'm really looking forward to the obligatory backstory that leads into the inevitable defeat. Ulquiorra actually yelling in the previous chapter was pretty exciting, IMO. I've been wanting to see Ulquiorra picked apart for quite a while now; it's kept me reading Bleach when I probably would have left it in the dust. I have a feeling it's going to be a long time coming, though. Grimmjow and Nnoitra's battles were hella-long, and since the Ulquiorra mystery has been drawn out longer, I imagine we're in for multiple chapters of powering up. And I'm very interested to see what role Orihime will play, since she's been kind of the catalyst for a lot of Ulquiorra's unrest.

I will be so mad at KT if he switches the focus back to Earth. >.

Yeah, I'm curious about his backstory but with his despair talk it's guarenteed to be tragic. Which takes a little of the fun out of it for me. Still, it will be cool to know why he is the way he is. It probably will take awhile, I think Ishida may end up being a distraction for Orihime to heal Ichigo (which means he's going to get destroyed unless he can use the Quincy final form again, which would be a cool but cliche angel vs. demon fight). I'd like Orihime to fight but Ichigo is the hero and he can't be left with a huge hole in his chest. But in the end I think Ichigo has to be the one to fight Ulquiorra, so we have to wait at least long enough for Ichigo to get back on his feet and probably long enough for them both to show off how awesome they are before we get to the backstory.

Yeah, Orihime's role will be interesting. They have the whole unresolved "I know what's wrong with you" thing between them, too. I'm just terrible at guessing things like this. :(

Seriously. I can't shake the feeling that he's going to switch to Rukia/Chad/Renji though.

I actually get confused about the whole thing where Ulquiorra puts a Hollow hole into Ichigo's chest. He's done it once before, and I really don't understand what it's supposed to do. Anyways, he's done it again, so maybe this time we'll get some answers.

I think what I'm most worried about is that Orihime will get pushed so far that she'll try to reject Ulquiorra's existence, which will be interesting as long as Ulquiorra does die from it. People are also speculating that Ichigo will go into his full Hollow form, or that Shirosaki will come out completely.

Ugh. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I stamped my feet in frustration every time he showed a bit of Rukia in the recent chapters, though. So not what I'm interested in right now. It's cool if it's only a few pages, though.

Grimmjow says at one point that Ulquiorra punches a hole in people he finds interesting and it's an unconcious behaviour. I suppose if there's more to it, we'll see it soon.

I wonder if she would ever think to use her powers like that? To reject an actual "person." I don't think she'll do it just because it would be an instant "I win" card against Aizen. It's possible to see Ichigo's hollow form or Shirosaki. His body regenerates when he takes either form and since Orihime had a hard time healing Ichigo the last time Ulquiorra punched a hole in him, that may be what it takes to get him back on his feet. I guess the question is, would it just happen or would we need to take a trip into Ichigo's inner world first. I sort of think it does have to happen at this point if Orihime can't heal him. Unless Unohana shows up and thrashes Ulquiorra but that would make me really angry.

I'd like to see the others' reactions to feeling Ichigo getting yet another hold punched in him. But I don't want KT to switch to their fight. I kind of think their fight is an excuse to keep them busy while the whole Ulquiorra/Orihime/Ishida/Ichigo drama plays out.

What I really want to know is what Ishida's part in this whole ordeal is. He isn't connected to Ulquiorra at all.

Yep, there's the punching thing, and there's the placement of Ulquiorra's Hollow hole, which looks like it's at the base of his throat in his normal Espada form, but in this second Resurrecion, it looks like it's a hole over his heart. Which is... quite telling and symbolic, I suppose. (Which, of course, makes me wonder if Arrancar/Espada have hearts, if they beat, and if this means Ulquiorra doesn't have one. It would be suitably angsty.)

If I remember correctly, a while back she was thinking of rejecting the existence of the Hyuugoku (sp?). She may just reject one of Ulquiorra's forms, or maybe his existence as a Hollow/Arrancar. (I wonder if that would turn him human?)

I think we'd probably have to take a trip to that inner world. When Ichigo came back from being stabbed last time, didn't he mention something about Zangetsu telling him something...? Ugh, so many chapters, so many murky memories.

I want to know what Ishida is going to do as well! He seems a bit bothered by the fact that he feels he didn't play a huge role in the previous battle, so I think it's likely that he might end up stepping in briefly.

It certainly fits with his theme of despair. That's a good question about arrancar anatomy. Do they have organs? Do they need them? Grimmjow's hole was right in the middle of his abdomen, where several important organs should have been.

Yeah, she was thinking of rejecting the hogyuko (I had to look up the spelling). We've never seen her actually reject the existence of anything but injuries though and she has a hard time rejecting Ulquiorra's reitsu (from Ichigo's first Ulquiorra-hole). It would be cool to see her reject his Resurrecion but I'm not sure she can. But if she rejected his Hollow/Arrancar form he'd be a normal spirit, since he's dead. ^_^

I don't really remember if he did... But inner world chapters would be cool. It would be interesting to see how things have changed inside of Ichigo since we haven't gotten any thought bubbles (about things besides fighting) in awhile. Although it would take longer to get other answers, like Ulquiorra's backstory and what the hell is going on with Orihime.

Yeah, he was bothered by not being there to help Ichigo and Orihime. This may be my shipper tendencies speaking but I'm thinking Ishida's role, the reason KT has him there at all, is his connection to Orihime.

This is an interesting look at the chapter. (At the very least, it softened my attitude towards Ulquiorra.)

It'd be interesting for Orihime to try rejection now; Ulquiorra and Grimmjow have implied that there's something wrong inside of her now. Her powers/energy might have changed a bit, although we haven't seen anything particularly telling so far.

Hmm, that was an interesting look. I don't pay much attention to Ichigo, honestly. I see him more as a force to move the story along; oftentimes, he feels more like a force of nature or a plot device to me than an actual character. =/ When you really look at it, going into a fight he knows he can't win and continuously rejecting help from others is not the best way to ensure that he accomplishes his objective, which is to rescue Orihime. If he dies, rescue becomes that much more unlikely because if he's one of the most powerful fighters they have, and he's getting this thrashed by Ulquiorra, others probably have an even worse chance in a one-on-one fight.

Argh, I want the next chapter already.

There's a lot to speculate on regarding Orihime and we know so little about how her powers actually work. I'd like some answers now, KT!

He can definitely seem like a plot device at times but I think that's the unfortunate fate of all shounen heroes. The Grimmjow fight made it clear that rescuing Orihime was not the only thing on Ichigo's mind. He made Orihime heal Grimmjow before fighting him insteading of pressing the advantage and getting the hell out. So rushing headlong into a one-on-one fight with Ulquiorra is par for the course even if it's idiotic (especially since Ulquiorra destroyed him like one handed the last time they fought). This is why I'm worried about Ishida. Unless Orihime snaps and goes berserk, Ishida's the only one capable of fighting Ulquiorra and he just does not stand a chance.

Yeah, the waiting sucks. And then you get so little and have to wait a week for a little more. Following a manga as it comes out is so frustrating. ;_;

It is. ;_; And shounen chapters are so short! Usually when Bleach is focusing elsewhere, I can let the chapters pile up and then read them all together, but now that the series has moved onto ground that I'm very interested in, I find myself even looking for raws in the middle of the week.

which will be interesting as long as Ulquiorra DOESN'T die from it*

My spelling fails this morning!

^_^

Ah, yeah. It would be interesting if she tries and fails. Although I don't think many people want to see Orihime failing anymore.

Uqluiorra is so definitely fap-worthy. When he said "your heart is why you'll die," I think I finally understood the significance of the placement of his Hollow hole. I always thought of it as being at the base of his throat, but in this second Resurrection form, it looks like it's over his heart. And then, Grimmjow said Ulquiorra always stabs enemies right where his own Hollow hole is...

Methinks Emocar has issues. He definitely gives a new meaning to saying, "I have a hole where my heart used to be."

LMAO. Tony is such a puppy all the time.

He is. XDDD This is why I like him so much, despite occasionally wanting to swat him on the nose.