Gah! I haven't updated in so long! And I've had this chapter written for a while too, so I can't really blame it on being busy (although I have been). The problem is, I haven't written in a while, so now I'm only about one chapter ahead of what I'm posting. Gah! My story is catching up with itself! Anyways, honestly, I don't have an excuse. I'm sorry. Just for that I give you permission to bash it (which is what I like people to do anyway :D). From now on, I will try to update in a timely manner (which is what I was trying to do in the beginning, but sort of failed) because I know how annoying it is when people don't.

Review Replies:

SilverRedBlossom331: THANK YOU so much for the grammar correction. Everyone, please follow this example. :DDDDD

oxygen deprived: Thinking back, it's not toooooo fillerish. Like, it's still a bit of a filler in that it doesn't really move the story along, but it still has it's purposes in establishing the setting at the beginning of the story. Anyways, thanks for the review. :)

wutai flea: Well...I'm not exactly sure how to answer that. It WAS supposed to be a little less...happy...than I made it, but I wouldn't exactly call it a tragedy either. Basically, the story is going to get a little more serious (or it does in my head anyway), and I couldn't really find another category that fit better, so I just went with that. For the name question, it's actually explained in a later chapter (or it will be once it gets on paper...or computer screen). About the mask thing, she can still talk though, so why not eat? :)

AlleluiaElizebeth: Yeah, Grimmjow's awesome. Thanks for the review. :)

I don't own Bleach.

Take It All Away

Chapter 4: Inner Tempest

Ichigo stared in horror at the scene unfolding before him. He was in a dimension of black emptiness, just him and the girl standing in front of him although he barely had time to make this observation. Before either of them could say a word, black hands suddenly appeared from the empty ground, black, snake-like hands enveloping her, dragging her down into the abyss of nothingness. She struggled against the hands, reaching out her arm, calling out to him. He was frozen. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move; he tried reaching out his own hand, but he was uanble to grasp hers as she sank deeper and deeper, her cries getting softer and softer.

Lighning crashed; thunder roared. Ichigo jerked awake, his mind adjusting from the vivid terror of the nightmare to the dull interior of his bedroom. The sudden movement resulted in an aching pain from his injured abdomen which, after two months, was finally almost completely healed. As he slowly regained his composure, he heard a beeping sound over the crashing of the storm coming from the top of his desk. It took him a few seconds to identify its source as his substitute Shinigami badge. Good. Usually he was annoyed when it woke him up in the middle of the night, and it generally ended up thrown across the room while he rolled over, threw his pillow on his head, and fell back to sleep. But not tonight. Tonight, he didn't want to go back to sleep, uncertain of what his subconscious might show him. He grabbed the golden substitute Shinigami badge from the top of his desk and separated himself from his body. Hopefully, no one would try to wake him up while he was gone. "Where ya going?" Kon asked sleepily as opened his window.

"Out." He leaped from the window sill and disappeared into the night.

He didn't get the same enjoyment out of it as he once had. The thought that he was protecting everyone from danger. It was all a lie. A lie he had been telling himself to hide his own weakness. He couldn't protect anyone. He wasn't even supposed to have this power. None of them were supposed to have any powers. If it hadn't been for him, none of this would ever have happened.

He clenched his teeth as he blindly swung his zanpakutou, lightning reflecting off the blade with every stroke. He wanted to go back. With all his heart, he wanted to go back, but it was impossible. After the Shinigamis' retreat, they were put under strict orders to stay where they were. To seal the command, every possible way to travel to Hueco Mundo was shut, and Urahara was ordered to stay in Soul Society. Ichigo hadn't even been able to communicate with them since…since…

A stroke of lightning illuminated the face of the hollow in front of him. A flashback of another face appeared in Ichigo's mind. A face crying out in agony, as the individual it belonged to struggled against her inevitable fate. He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, bringing the blade down on the beast's head with all his might. It let out a screech as it faded away, only to be replaced by another. No matter how many hollows he destroyed, and thus saved, there were always more to replace them. It was hopeless. Everything he had done was hopeless. Ichigo ducked, narrowly missing a swipe at his head from the hollow's claw. Blood trickled down his face. He didn't care. He just swung his zanpakutou like he'd done so many times before. A mechanical movement. Another one faded into the night. There had to be a way.

"Remember me?" a familiar, jeering voice echoed around his head. No. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to remember that he had that power…that monster…lurking inside of him. The monster that only wanted to destroy and kill. The same kind of monster that had taken his friend away from him. "AHHHHHH!" Ichigo fell to his knees, a cry of frustration escaping into the night. Rain poured down from the sky mixing with the blood flowing from his head.

Suddenly, Ichigo caught a flash of light brighter than the lightning from the tempest out of the corner of his eye. He turned around just in time to see the remnants of an attacking hollow. "Uryuu!" he exclaimed in surprise as he recognized the white-clad figure whom he assumed had been the source of the light.

"What are you doing? Sitting and admiring the storm?" the Quincy asked sarcastically. Ichigo grasped his sword and stood up. "I didn't ask for your help."

"No. You never ask for anyone's help, but if I hadn't, you would be dead right now. That's all there is to it." Ichigo clenched his teeth in anger. He knew what Ishida was referring to.

"It was my fight! Mine. And if I died then so be it. But nobody should interfere in my battles! THAT'S all there is to it."

Uryuu turned to face the Shinigami. "No, Ichigo! That's not all there is to it! If someone saves your life it's because, one way or another, it meant something to them! If you're not going to do anything with it, then it wasn't worth saving in the first place!" He grabbed Ichigo's collar. "What happened to you?! What happened to the Ichigo I knew? The stubborn, thickheaded Shinigami who would throw himself into any situation to protect someone. Who wouldn't be WASTING HIS LIFE RIGHT NOW!" Ichigo shoved him away.

"What do you know?! You always go around acting all superior, like you're so much smarter than everyone else! Well, have you figured out a way?!"

"No! I haven't! But I'm not stumbling around, consumed with self-pity because-"

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! You weren't there! You didn't watch her throw all she had going for her away because of your own incompetence! You didn't have to watch as she turned into a hollow! No, all you did was run away, and drag me along with you. Coward!" Uryuu turned away.

"So, that's it then. You failed. It's over. Is that it?" He turned to face him again, "IS THAT IT?!!" A crack of thunder emphasized the exclamation. Ichigo didn't anwer. Silence reigned for a few minutes, save for the storm that continued to rage on. Finally, he spoke softly.

"Uryuu. It's different this time. And you know it. You're trying to hide your fear, but you know just as well as I do how different it is. Twice, TWICE, now she's protected me, regardless of the consequences to herself. The first time, I couldn't stop her from leaving, but I could go and save her. Now? I don't even know if I can even enter Hueco Mundo. And if I do? If I somehow figure out a way? What am I going to find when I get there?"

"I-I don't know," Uryuu answered uncertainly. "But what difference does it make?" He paused for a few seconds while the rain continued to pour down on both of them. "It was always you. The first to suggest the seemingly unfeasible. The first to jump right in and do it even when everyone around you told you not to. And although you didn't always succeed at first, in the end, you always found a way. Even if it wasn't apparent. Even if everyone told you it was impossible. Why is this time any different?"

The young Quincy deactivated his bow and started to walk away. "Ichigo," he stopped and turned his head slightly. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your fault. No matter how many times you turn it around in your head, and think about what you could have done, in the end, you know it yourself. You couldn't have changed what happened. The only thing you can change now is what you're going to do about it." With that, he disappeared into the darkness.