Author's Note: Well, I would be lying if I said that my last chapter received a different reaction that I was hoping for but that is part of writing a story. Not everyone is going to agree with the direction you send your characters. Hopefully this next chapter is well received. Reviews are welcome or even just a note to let me know this story is still being enjoyed would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in anyway but am inspired by the work created by Tite Kubo

Waking Up – Chapter 14 – "Battlefield of the Mind"

Ichigo was still fuming as he walked home from the shop. He couldn't believe what Orihime had said to him. "What the hell got into her? All I was trying to do is protect her, that's all I'm ever trying to do!" he thought as his speed increased. Soon he was running out of frustration, out of anger, out of confusion. He wasn't fully aware of where his feet were taking him, almost as if they had a mind of their own and the rest of his body was just along for the ride. Before he knew it he'd stopped, breathing heavily, at the foot of Orihime's stairs.

"What the hell am I doing here? What is wrong with me?" he asked himself and shook his head, getting his breathing back to normal. He had no idea why he was standing at the foot of the stairs of a woman who had basically insulted him in front of their friends. "No, that's not fair," he thought again but still the pain in his heart continued. He stood there, irresolute of what to do. Finally, he flung his body backwards as he turned away from the stairs and continued on towards his house, unaware of the parted curtain behind him where Orihime watched him walk away.

He made it home and changed out of his clothes to take a much needed shower. As the water cascaded around him he leaned his foreman against the cool tile and hung his head slightly. Taking a deep breath he turned to finish his shower, changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He fell asleep but it wasn't long before he was waking up again to a torrential downpour.

"King, wake the hell up!" he heard his Hollow thunder from above him. Sitting up he shook his head and contemplated the landscape around him. He had been pulled into his inner world by the black and white replica of himself and this same being was now standing over him. "Get up, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for a month!" shouted the irritating spirit. He grabbed his zanpakuto and drew on Ichigo as he continued to sit looking at him.

"What's the big idea?! " shouted Ichigo as he rose to his feet and grabbed Zangetsu from behind his back, drawing him in front of his body.

His Hollow smirked and snorted his disgust, "You really are a moron!"

Ichigo inhaled slightly, getting ready to defend as the first attack came.

CLANG! Their zanpakutos impacted one another and soon they were in a fierce battle for control. Back and forth they parried, Ichigo getting the upper hand and then the Hollow, the back and forth becoming a blur as they moved faster through the downpour. Neither of them let up, increasing the violence of their attacks.

The Hollow's zanpakuto made connection with Ichigo's body and he cried out in pain. It had been some time since the spirit had been able to make full flesh contact with his weapon and the surprise of it coupled with the pain made Ichigo fall to one knee, his hand holding the wound to try to keep his blood from flowing out. The Hollow bellowed out a laugh of pure evil filled glee as he followed Ichigo to the ground to deliver another devastating blow, this one with his right fist to Ichico's face sending him flying across the ground. "UH!" came from Ichigo as he tumbled over and over finally landing on his stomach but with Zangetsu still somehow in his grip. He barely had time to register the third attack and rolled away as the Hollow's sword slammed into the dirt where his head had been a moment before.

He lifted Zangetsu up to block the fourth attack, his Hollow hovering over him and pushing down on the sword with his own. Ichigo's arms were burning, his lungs felt like they were on fire and his blood was flowing freely now, not only from the chest wound but from cheek as well, the result of the vicious right hook that had sent him flying. "Aaaaarggghhh!," bellowed Ichigo as he pushed with all his might in an effort to push his Hollow off of him but from this position it was impossible to get his full weight behind the defense. They continued to push against one another's swords, the whole time the Hollow laughing maniacally in Ichigo's face. The rain was continuing to pelt them and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open because of it.

Finally Ichigo managed to lift the Hollow up enough to pull his knee up and force his foot into his stomach. "Oaf!" came the reply to the kick and it was just enough distraction for Ichigo to be able to push him off and he scrambled to his feet.

"I have to get out of here, I have to wake up!" Ichigo shouted to himself. He hadn't seen his Hollow this pissed off in a long time and realized it had been entirely too long since their last fight. He had under estimated his inner demon and was paying for it now. He'd let him run "free" too long and now he was struggling to regain control. The rain continued, getting heavier and heavier, obscuring his vision and making it hard to track the movements of the Hollow. He could feel himself moving slower due to the loss of blood. How he could bleed so much was beyond him. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he wondered how much he could bleed here. In the physical world he'd have passed out by now but here, in his inner world, although it hurt, he could last much longer with these kinds of injuries. But not forever and he knew he had to win the fight otherwise he wasn't sure if he could get out. He wasn't even sure how the Hollow had pulled him involuntarily into his world. He'd done it before and Ichigo could only suppose he had gone slack in his defenses recently and now here he was, momentarily outmatched by the worst representation of himself.

During his whole thought process the fighting had continued, the clanging of metal against metal reverberating against the flow of water coming from the sky. The black sky lit up now and again by lightening. "That's new," thought Ichigo as another flash of light was followed by a tremendous crack of thunder. The storm was raging and he was beginning to have a hard time hanging on to Zangetsu as the water and his own fatigue inhibited his grip. "This is bad, this is really bad," thought Ichigo as he continued fighting. The Hollow wasn't letting up, wasn't slowing down, just attacking and attacking and attacking. How he could keep going at this rate Ichigo didn't know because he KNEW how much the spirit hated the rain, avoided it like the plague, even hiding from it sometimes.

Ichigo had no idea how long this had been going on but it felt like hours. Hours of fighting, mostly defending at this point, against the evil spirit created so many years ago out of desperation. He'd really had no idea what he'd signed up for then, all he knew at the time was he had needed to get stronger to save Rukia. He wouldn't change it of course, he was glad she was safe if not exactly happy, but right now he would have given a lot to have had another option so that he would not have to endure this being before him. This being, who he was horrified to realize as another slash made connection with his left arm, was winning the battle for control.

Bleeding from three wounds now and exhausted from the strength it took just to defend himself Ichigo wondered anew what had gotten into his Hollow. He was fighting with the same ferocity he'd shown the first time they'd battled for control of his mind. Why after all this time? He knew if he didn't do something different he was going to lose and that he could not do. He mustered as much of his strength as he could and gathering his power he shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!" A bright blue wave erupted from Zangetsu and the Hollow dodged, rolling to the side. Ichigo wasted no time and was on top of him with his sword to the white throat. He'd finally won and they both knew it. Both were breathing heavily as Ichigo scowled down into the bright yellow eyes.

"Now then," his raspy but even voice said, "are you going to tell me what the hell all that was about?"

The Hollow grinned and chuckled, shaking his head. He really loathed being trapped in the mind of such a simpleton.

They continued staring at each other until the Hollow shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say King, gotta get my kicks every now and again, right?"

Ichigo's eyebrows rose at this and he put the sword in contact with the Hollow's neck before replying, "Like hell that's the reason. You haven't fought me that hard in years, why now? What has gotten into you? And what the hell is up with this storm?!" He was shouting now, feeling rage at this thing below him that he had no choice but to live with.

The Hollow laughed again despite the cold feeling of the sword at his throat and shot back, "When are you going to wake up and realize what's right in front of you?!" The sword was pressed more firmly, drawing just the slightest bit of blood as Ichigo leaned down further and said, "Stop answering my questions with questions and tell me in plan words or I'll cut your throat out."

"Well, if you did that then I couldn't very well tell you, now could I?" came the mocking reply.

Ichigo stiffened at the sardonic tone but he stepped back, finally allowing the Hollow to rise up. Ichigo eyed him somewhat warily, wondering if he'd made a mistake letting him up. However, because of his own warped sense of battle honor the Hollow knew he had been bested and would not, at least for now, attack again. Both of them were soaked from all the water falling around them and the sky was bursting bright with more and more lightening, peals of thunder shaking the walls of Ichigo's mind as they stared at each other.

Ichigo sighed again and said, "Tell me."

His Hollow heaved his own sigh and said with his head down, "Inoue Orihime."

Ichigo started violently as the name of his friend rolled over the demon's tongue, almost like he had caressed it. It made Ichigo feel sick inside hearing his friend's name spoken that way by him.

"What about her?" Ichigo shouted, unable to keep himself from raising his voice in his irritation.

The Hollow snapped his head back up and looked at Ichigo's face, shouting, "She's the reason for the rain you moron!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Think about it King, think about the day, the night, the fight you had with her, or really the rather funny tongue lashing she gave you in front of all your friends. Think about where you ended up when you were running around like a freaking chicken with your head cut off! And now the storm is raging in your mind, where I have to live thank you very much, and it's all because of her! Will you just get it over with and screw her already?!"

This last question made Ichigo see red and despite his extreme exhaustion he flung himself upon the Hollow and pinned him to the ground again, decking him in the face with his right hand before drawing his face towards his own by his collar. "What the hell did you just say? Why in the world would I screw Orihime?!"

His Hollow bellowed a loud laugh causing Ichigo to hit him again.

"You know what King? If you're not man enough to handle her just let me have control. I'll give her what she wants, what you both want really if you were honest with yourself. Don't think I don't know the thoughts you've had about her, the ones at the very back of your mind that you won't let see the light of day out of fear. For someone who is so freaking ready to die all the time you sure are a coward when it comes to her."

Ichigo wrenched himself off the Hollow, no longer willing to listen to his vulgar talk.

"You're crazy and I'm leaving. The next time you pull something like this I'm putting you down for good, the consequences be damned!"

"The next time I try this I will win and I will take the princess myself," sneered the spirit.

Ichigo didn't bother with a reply and flung himself back to his body, raising up on his bed and feeling like crap. His whole body hurt and his head was spinning. He sat in bed thinking back over the whole ordeal, wondering again what to do. He cared about Inoue of course, they were friends, but that's as far as it went, for him and for her. "Right?" he asked himself. A moment later he heard the bellow of a hollow from outside. "Damn it," he said through clenched teeth as he reached for his spirit badge. However, the next sound that came to his ears was the distinct defeat of the hollow. Although exhausted he found himself curious who had slayed it. "Maybe Renji or Rukia since they are in town?" he thought and tried to sense their reiatsu but the one he came upon was not one he recognized. Now he was really curious; there was someone new in town. Grabbing his badge he pushed it against himself and his body fell back into his bed. He stepped through the window and into the night.

Following the reiatsu (he was getting better at sensing it) he came upon a young man dressed in a shihakusho just finishing a konso on a little girl's spirit, no doubt the prey he had saved from the Hollow he'd slain. Ichigo waited until he had stood up before walking forward.

"Hey," he said to the man in front of him, "you're new around here."

The young man turned and faced him while placing his zanpakuto on his back.

"Yes, please to officially meet you Kurosaki Ichigo, my name is Kano Koizumi and I have been assigned as the new Soul Reaper to oversee Karakura Town," replied the man with a slight bow.

Ichigo's eyebrows raised and he crossed his arms. "Really, which squad are you from?"

"Division six," was the reply and caused Ichigo to smirk. So this new guy was from Byakuya's squad?

"Huh, well I guess I should be glad. I may not like your captain very much but I know his squad is top notch. Though don't tell him I said that, I'll never hear the end of it."

Kano smiled at the compliment and bowed his thanks.

"Anyway, this is the first I've heard of this, when did this happen?" Ichigo asked as he turned to go back to his home and gestured for the man to follow him.

"It was decided this evening. The head captain had it brought to his attention that you were handling the bulk of hollow exterminations and konsos. So he sent word to the squads to send their selections and he would pick an official Soul Reaper to take over your duties. I am honored he chose me, I know how important this town is to so many in Soul Society."

Ichigo nodded his head. They had helped Soul Society a great deal and he was glad to see their worth acknowledged with this sending of a qualified Soul Reaper to look over the town.

"Humph, guess I'll have to get used to the idea of taking a back seat from now on," replied Ichigo as they reached the area below his window.

"Or you could leave Karakura Town and actually live your life," came a deep voice from above them.

Both Ichigo and Kano looked up to see a black cat staring down at them from a top the fence next to the ally.

"Yoruichi," murmured Ichigo as the feline form of the flash step goddess swished her tail.

Kano's eye became wide and he dropped to his knees, face down with his hands above his head in a deep bow to the noble.

"No need for formalities shinigami, I am after all a fugitive," the deep male voice spoke.

"Oh, um, forgive me sir, uh ma'am," stammered the man.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and turned his attention fully to the cat before asking, "What do you mean, leave Karakura Town? This is my home, why would I leave it?"

"Because Ichigo," said the cat, "you are a young man now, you should go out and discover more of this world while you are still living in it. What of university, what of moving forward in your own life? Believe me, there will be plenty of time for battles and wars and all the things you've become accustomed to when you come to Soul Society at the end of your life. I have no doubt you will be sought after to become an official shinigami at that time. For now, take advantage of the opportunity to go and be your own man."

Ichigo noticed the Kano had left, most likely out of respect for what had turned into a very private conversation. He shrugged his shoulders before replying, "I guess I could do that, never really thought about it before."

Yoruichi smirked and said, "That is not surprising, why do you think I went to the head captain myself to make him see the error of his ways of allowing you to continue with full time shinigami duties when you are merely a substitute?"

His eyes widened at her words, wondering why she had risked capture for something he thought of as unimportant. He'd always just figured Soul Society had been busy recuperating from the war much as he and his friends were and that they would get around to assigning a new Soul Reaper to take over.

"Why on earth would you do that? How did you get out again? Aren't they trying to force you back into the nobility?" he asked hurriedly.

She smiled and swatted his head to get him to shut up.

"I went because I wanted to. And because someone asked me to on your behalf."

"What? Who?"

"Orihime, who else knuckle head," came the reply with an exasperated sigh.

He really shouldn't be surprised, of course she would think of asking for help for him, she tried her damnedest to protect him as much as he did her.

He sighed and looked back up to the cat, "I'll make sure to tell her thank you. And thank you, too Yoruichi."

She smiled her welcome and proceeded on her way back to the shop. Ichigo leapt up to his window and reconnected with this body, laying there in the stillness of the night. When he heard yet another hollow bellow out he was surprised at how quickly he had adjusted to the fact that he did not have to rush out to kill it. Kano could handle it. There was something in the man's eyes which spoke of confidence and ability and though it was against his very nature Ichigo found himself trusting the new shinigami much faster than he ever thought possible. His trust was not misplaced as he once again heard the cry of the hollow's defeat and he rolled over to try to actually get some sleep.