I just realized. Ichigo and Inoue's interactions in 676 mirror the ones in 281 and 282. Inoue thinks back to the top of the Las Noches dome in the panels, but the actual actions and words from both of them mirror the Grimmjow fight, not the Ulquiorra vs Zangetsu fight.
Ichigo's been in control, she's been watching him fight and seen for himself that he's mentally, spiritually and physcially all there, able to fight and speak with reason and deliberation, but she's SCARED. Very uniquely horrified of him where she wasn't of Ulquiorra before and isn't now of Grimmjow, who's the actual aggressor here:
Then in 676, Inoue is just as frightened and horrified of him even though he's just as in control of himself and has shown no signs of being mentally, spiritually or physically about to fall into his hollow power:
It's the exact same pattern.
Ichigo's got his hollow power active, she's horrified and cringes, he reassures her, then turns his back, telling her to put up a shield, then leaves her to focus on the fight.
And when Ichigos' explaining his power she has the same bruised eyed, doubtful look on her face:
And she only fully snaps out of this and stops standing there silently hugging herself when given an order to do something else.
To put up a shield and retreat by Ichigo in TYBW; to cheer Ichigo on by Nel.
She is definitely calmer and recovers faster in TYBW, she's not crying and not shut down unable to speak, but the thoughts and impulses are exactly the same, almost beat for beat.
Ichigo's had more visible growth. Her fear of him doesn't bother him anymore. He doesn't care anymore if she's scared. It doesn't matter to or effect him. He doesn't dwell on it for a moment, isn't offended or hurt like in the Grimmjow fight, he just accepts it, reassures her, then carries on with his fight after making sure she's out of the way of it.
It really is an endless cycle of fate, like that poem of Ichigo's earlier in the series: grinding like a millstone until it wears you to dust.
They're repeating the same moments, little is progressing, it's just washing out to something duller and fainter.
I really, really wish Ulquiorra had lived so we could get a proper callback and resolution to the dome like Inoue clearly needs. I would LOVE to see her reaction to him coming back with his full power to help defeat the Quincy.
After that final reach and saying she wasn't scared with such a tenderly heartbroken look, after watching him die from that last hit he took protecting her from Ichigo, I can't see her flinching from him the same way.
It would have been so, SO cool for them to reach for one another and make it, this time a greeting, and have a healing moment of connection there in the middle of war. It would have been a real endcap to her development to make up for not being allowed to fix Tensa Zangetsu.
