Renji faces defeat, and in his last living moments, recalls his youth, struggling as a poor street kid with Rukia in "Hanging Dog" aka the Seventy-Eighth District of South Rukongai. He describes how they both came to move to the Seireitei to become Soul Reapers, and Rukia`s adoption into the noble Kuchiki family. As Renji struggles to atone for the sins of his life, he blames himself for Rukia`s forthcoming execution. In his final breaths, Renji asks Ichigo to promise to save Rukia.