"Hyaaaah!" I leapt at a Hollow and cleaved its mask down the center. It disappeared and I jumped back to land next to Sanosuke and Mitaro. All three of us stood panting from the long day of Hollow slaying.

"Is there no end to these things?" Sanosuke asked wearily.

"Sanosuke, I thought you would be happy. You love fighting," I joked.

"Even I have my limits," he told me. "After a while, slaying these weaklings just gets boring."

As if on cue, our spirit phones all rang simultaneously.

"Guys, I'm getting three more large groups of Hollows appearing in different parts of the city. We need to go and we need to go now," Mitaro said, stepping between us. "We'll have to split up. It's the only way to take care of them before someone gets hurt."

We nodded and ran off in three different directions. My route took me over the roofs of the residential portion of the city. In the distance I saw a mass of Hollows materialize in the sky and dive towards the ground. I used shunpo to close the distance and land just in time to intercept the Hollows as they attacked.

The Hollows in the front of the pack howled in rage as I interrupted their meal and the ones behind roared in pain as they stupidly slammed into their comrades. I quickly dispatched the first few Hollows and readied myself for their next attack. I heard footsteps quickly retreating behind me.

Good, I thought. At least the innocent is out of danger.

A cry from the group of Hollows in front of me brought me back to the battle. They charged me at once, trying to get passed my defense. I blocked and dodged as much as I could. I avoided most of the blows while dispatching the Hollows that attacked. Suddenly I felt a burning pain in my back. A Hollow had raked down my back with its giant claws. I screamed as I fell to the pavement. The Hollows sensing my end closed in.

"Koten Zanshun! I reject!" a feminine voice yelled from behind me. The Hollows in front of me disintegrated in a flash of light. I tried to look behind me to see who saved my life, but my wound flared in pain and I passed out.

I opened my eyes to find myself back in the desert.

"Not again," I groaned.

I saw the familiar figure sitting in obscurity, mocking me with his gaze. I started towards him, as I always did. The wind kicked up again, knocking me backwards. Instead of fighting against it, I merely stopped moving and let the wind blow. Soon it died down and I could move forward again.

I took a few steps and felt the sand soften beneath my feet. I leapt into the air to avoid being dragged under. I saw the ground turn to almost pure liquid beneath me. I watch the ground solidify as I descended and landed. I stood and stared defiantly at whoever was constantly watching me and started moving again.

The large cat again came from behind him and jumped at me. I quickly dodged to the side and kicked it out of my way. It tumbled over and over and slid to a stop. It didn't get up again. I turned back towards my goal and saw the person had disappeared. I heard the familiar sound of a sword being drawn above me. Not thinking I drew my sword and blocked a strike aimed at my head. I looked up and discovered the man was attacking me. I was startle to note that even at this distance I discern anything of what he looked like. I couldn't see any of his features except for his mocking eyes and sneering grin. He kept himself hidden from me.

He increased the pressure on my blade and bore me down to my knees. With a grunt of effort, I shoved upward and threw him off me. He landed lightly some 15 feet away.

"Very good," he said. "You're almost ready." With that he turned and went back to his rock, seemingly waiting for something.

"What?" I asked. "Ready for what? Who are you?"

He just stared at me. I realized my vision of him was growing dim as I watched. I fell back down the sand and blacked out.

When I woke, I wasn't sure how much time had passed. I opened my eyes and saw a world tinted yellow. I tried to sit up but the pain in my back kept me on the ground. I groaned and lay back down. The pain quickly faded.

"You should stay lying down for a few more minutes," I heard a voice from near my head. It sounded like the same voice I had heard before I passed out. "The wound on you back was really deep, so it's taking longer than normal to heal."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You came to save me from the Hollows that attacked. I couldn't believe how brave you were."

"But you came back," I said. "Why?"

"To help, of course. You coming to help me allowed me to get my baby to safety. I couldn't just let you die. And even if you didn't save me, I couldn't let someone be in pain."

"Who are you?" I asked.

The yellowness of the world disappeared and everything reverted to its normal color. Slowly I sat up, finding to my amazement that I had no pain in my back, and turned around. I looked at one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Her orange-brown hair cascaded down to her lower back. She leaned toward me, her full, attractive figure filling out the sweater she was wearing. She smiled at me and offered me a hand up.

"My name is Inoue Orihime," she told me.

"I-I-Inoue Orihime!" I exclaimed. "I am so very honored to meet you. We are taught all about your successes during the Arrancar war. Yours and all your friends. Thank you for helping Inoue-san."

"It's not a problem, honest," she said, holding up her hands. "You saved me and I was just repaying the favor." She stopped suddenly and hit herself in the head. "I did it again."

"What did you do?"

"I told another person my name wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"My name is not Inoue Orihime. Well it used to be, but it changed recently and I still haven't gotten used to saying my new one. My name is now Kurosaki Orihime."

Author's Notes:

Hey to all my loyal readers, however few I have. A few quick things.

Yes, now you know my horrible, horrible secret. I am an Ichi-Hime fan. I apologize to all you Ichi-Ruki fans out there. Please, don't hate me. ;)

I hope you're enjoying the story. Please, if you are, pass the word on to others. Hell, even if you aren't tell them to read my story anyway.

I'm trying to keep a constant weekly update on Mondays. So far I've been able to churn out a chapter a week, so it is looking good. That's all for now, sports fans. I'll check in on you again in a few weeks with some other stuff.