"You fool!" A familiar female voice echoed in Ichigo's head. "Wake up, Ichigo!" The voice said harshly. Ichigo sat up in bed. Ever since he first started remembering these dreams, the harsh female voice became louder, and much more clear. For the past week, he had been woken up by that voice, instead of his Father's usual ambush. On the first day, he didn't even remember why he did wake up. On the second day, the voice was the same, but he remembered it after awakening. On the third day, he noticed that it wasn't only the harsh female voice urging him to awaken, but two male voices as well. On the fourth, fifth, and sixth days, he realized that they had been speaking the exact same words in every dream. But on the seventh day, the day he was to begin his training, something was different. Not only were the two male voices completely absent, but the female voice was much quieter, much gentler, not only that, but Ichigo remembered every word she said.

"Ichigo, before you wake up today, I need you to answer something for me... Do you miss her? Do you still...think about her? I know it seems stupid to ask, I mean, you are dreaming of me..." In his dream, Ichigo spoke to the voice.

"Dreaming of... you? Of her? Look, I don't even know who the hell you are..." Ichigo grunted in his dream, scratching the back of his head.

"I see..." The voice trailed off sadly. "So you've already forgotten my voice, have you, fool?" The voice replied angrily. Ichigo's head began to ache. His memory flashed back to the countless petty arguments he shared with... her.

"No, you couldn't...possibly be..." He said, dropping to his knees. An image of her flashed before him.

"I see I've finally succeeded in getting through that thick skull of yours, haven't I?" A short, black-haired girl smirked as she stepped out of the shadows in Ichigo's dream. "It's been awhile... Ichigo." Rukia said, her smirk softening into a smile.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo exclaimed happily, as he scrambled to his feet. Not thinking at all, he ran over to the violet-eyed Soul Reaper and embraced her. Rukia smiled and reciprocated before gently pushing away. Ichigo looked pained, but he let her go. She smiled.

"You still haven't answered me." She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Rukia, of course I missed you. Every second of thinking I might never see you again was pure hell. Every time I thought about you fading away like thatm I almost lost it. I felt so alone, moreso than I ever have before. These past 16 months have been my hell. I thought about you every morning, it was the first thing I did after waking up. I thought about you every night, it was the last thing I did before going royal sleep. Rukia, I want to be near you again. I NEED you... I lo..." Ichigo was cut off by Rukia hushing him with her finger.

"Ichigo, before you say anything else, I need you to do something for me." Rukia whispered. Ichigo nodded in compliance. "I need you, to wake up, Ichigo." A look of pure disdain spread across the orange-haired boy's face. As he began to regain awareness, he could've sworn he heard her whisper "I'll see you soon. For real this time."
Ichigo sat up in bed. He wasn't sure why, because even though he should've felt crushed and alone, he felt happy and excited. For the first time, he felt absolutely SURE he would see her again, and very soon at that. He smiled and said aloud, even though he was alone, he felt sure someone was listening.

"I'll see ya' soon, midget." As the words parted his lips, Ichigo felt a long-lost power surge inside of him. His strength was returning, and it felt amazing. Ichigo chuckled and repeated once more, "I'll see ya' soon, midget. I'm sure of it this time, because..." Ichigo thought of his dream, and the strength she gave him, "I found... my resolve..."

(A/N: This is a sort of sequel to "Like Hell". Think of the song "On the Precipice of Defeat" for this one. I based it loosely off of episodes 30 and 31 (the sewer scene where Ichigo swears that he will save Rukia, and the scene right after the flashback before Ichigo defeats Renji). Reviews make me a happy IchiRuki fanboy! That means review, ne?)