Ichigo meets her eyes. “I made a promise. To protect. Not just you. Not just Karakura. Everyone. So stop asking me to stay behind.”
He turns to Hitsugaya. “Where do we go first?”
A quick, violent flash: Ichigo in the rain, a massive panther-like Arrancar slashing him down with one hand, laughing. “You’re not even worth killing yet, substitute Shinigami.”
Ichigo doesn’t turn. “It wasn’t the Bounts. It was him . The night before we left. A man with a hole in his chest and a sword like bone. He said his name was… Grimmjow.”