Ichigo's Insomnia
IchigoXYoruichi

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter Two

Three nights later….

Ichigo stood in his inner world, looking around. Part of him felt at peace for the first time in a long time. His battles were over. Grand Fisher had been defeated, his mother avenged. Rukia had been rescued. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had been defeated with their leader, Aizen, sealed away. And finally Yhwach had been slain at last, a hard battle won. And yet….

Something felt off.

Looking around, he saw nothing. Though he knew this to be his inner world, there seemed to be something amiss within the home of Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers. The sky was darkened into a dull grey and some of the buildings looked dilapidated, the windows cracked or broken. Looking around he saw the pole that Zangetsu usually stood on, only to find it mangled and warped. "What happened?" Fear claimed him as he spun around, looking for any sign of his zanpakutos. "Zangetsu! Old Man! Where are you!" he called out, hoping for some sign of his swords.

He heard something behind him. It was barely audible, just barely filtering in Ichigo's ears. Turning around, he saw both the Old Man and his inner hollow standing before him. He smiled when he saw their smiling faces and moved towards them. "You're okay…."

"Wrong."

Ichigo's blood went cold when a vicious had grabbed his head and yanked him up. It didn't take Ichigo that long to figure out who it was: Yhwach.

"They are mine, Ichigo." The Quincy King stared at his dark son with both contempt and amusement, his face twisted from absorbing the Soul King. "Everything you have, Ichigo, is mine!"

Suddenly it was Ichigo's darkest hour all over again. Black lines cascaded down his body and filtered into the ground. The sky darkened above him as lighting struck all over Ichigo's inner world. As bolt after bolt nearly hit him, Ichigo felt all of his power drain away. He reached out for his zanpakutos only to see them fade away before his eyes. Yhwach's laughter filled his ears as they vanished, the swords they left behind breaking to pieces before turning to dust.

Then it was over.

Ichigo hit the ground, Yhwach gone; death having finally claimed him. But the darkness in Ichigo's soul remained. More and more lightning came down on Ichigo's inner world. The once-great skyscrapers crumbled to pieces. This wasn't just about rain or despair as had occurred in the past. It was as if Yhwach had caused Ichigo's soul to cave in on itself. Ichigo stared at the ground while on his knees, numb from the empty feeling. He felt as if he'd lost more than just his Quincy and Hollow powers. Yhwach had left him as a shadow of his former self.

In the end, Ichigo couldn't even manage a whimper when a massive bolt of lightning came down on him, blasting him to smithereens.

"AHHHHHH!" Ichigo screamed as he bolted up, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe. Looking around he saw he was back in his room. "Just another dream…" he murmured as he looked out the window. It was raining again, the spring season continuing its deluge march. "Or was it?"

Something that Ichigo had been worried about was his decrease in power. Part of him had hoped that with Yhwach's defeat and demise that the powers stolen from him would return to their rightful owner. But instead, Yhwach had died while spewing some ridiculous nonsense that made absolutely no sense to him and didn't undo any of the destruction he'd caused. Ichigo still had no idea why Yhwach was so desperate for his power anyway. All he knew was it was gone. True, he was still a capable fighter and he could still achieve Bankai, or at least he thought since the occasion to use it again had yet to present itself, but he felt like a part of him was missing.

Looking around his empty room, Ichigo decided: He didn't want to be alone tonight. He needed a friend.

Twenty minutes later….

Ichigo stood outside Yoruichi's room, taking a deep breath. No matter how many times she told him otherwise, Ichigo always felt like he was bothering her with his own problems, which made him feel even more terrible. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door before entering. "You still awake, Yoruichi?" he said softly.

The head of purple hair turned and the golden eyes that always comforted him looked up at him with a kind look. "Of course, Ichigo. Bad dreams again?"

"Uh huh," he replied, feeling like a child coming to its mother scared of the bogeyman. He noticed his wet clothes dripping from walking in the rain and sighed. "Sorry for dripping onto the floor…."

Chuckling, the werecat got up and walked over to him, a welcome smile on her sublime lips. "I'll lend you an umbrella so that next time you won't have to get wet." She gently took off Ichigo's clothes and led him to bed. He sat on the comfy futon in his underwear and waited quietly while Yoruichi fetched another pillow for him. "Yoruichi…I…."

"What is it, Ichigo?" she asked while digging through her closet. Because Ichigo had stopped coming for the last three nights part of her thought that the nightmares had ended so she put away her spare pillow. "What were you dreaming about?" she asked once she grabbed the item.

Looking down at his hands, Ichigo's sighed, "Yoruichi…I feel empty."

Sitting down, the Flash Goddess looked at her student with concerned look. "Empty? I don't understand."

Ichigo's hands clenched into fists as he felt a feeling of frustration come over him. "I always felt them. Zangetsu and my inner hollow. But now… now they're gone." He hung his head as sadness washed over him. "Now I feel alone. I know my Soul Reaper powers are still there but I can't shake this empty feeling."

Sitting in front of him, Yoruichi took a hold of his hands and squeezed them gently, trying to snap him out of his depression. It pained her to see him so lost like his. "I know it's hard to lose so much, Ichigo, but know this: you're never alone." When Ichigo looked up at her she cupped his face. A sigh left Ichigo's lips when he felt the warmth of her soft hands holding him, his tired and aching body relaxing just from the sight of her golden eyes once more. "Your friends are with you. I am with you. I know that Yhwach has taken a lot from you but what was taken can be replaced. Kisuke has been working on some ideas on how to restore you to full power. It'll take him a while but I promise you this: I will help you however it takes."

Truth be told, Yoruichi had not wanted to tell Ichigo that Kisuke was working on a way to restore his lost Quincy/Hollow powers since she didn't want to give him false hope. Kisuke had theorized that he could find a way to restore what Ichigo had lost but said it was a long shot and would take much time for him to figure it out. But Yoruichi wanted Ichigo to know that he wasn't as alone as he thought and that his friends were, as always, by his side.

Her words sunk into Ichigo's mind. Ichigo closed his eyes and embraced his friend, his bare chest pressing against her robed body. Yoruichi soothingly ran a hand through his hair and buried her nose into Ichigo's orange hair. One of the perks of spending a century in cat-form was that her senses were heightened to animal levels and she could smell Ichigo's scent; a soothing fragrance that made her heart beat a little bit faster. When Ichigo heard a chuckle he opened his eyes and looked at Yoruichi. "What is it?"

"I just realized something: you smell like strawberries."

Ichigo's blush made her laugh more. "Sorry. I'd run out of shampoo so I had to use some of Yuzu's…" he quickly explained, his embarrassment shown on his face.

"Don't be," Yoruichi replied, patting his head. "I like strawberries. Now, let's get you to bed." She laid Ichigo down onto her futon and pulled the covers over them. It didn't take long for Ichigo to fall back to sleep, locked in Yoruichi's loving embrace. As Ichigo drifted off into the black void of sleep, Yoruichi watched him. Steadily his chest rose and fell, his breath heating up her neck. She kissed his forehead and ran a hand down his back, a kind smile on her lips. Having Ichigo in her arms, being the source of his comfort and respite, Yoruichi came to a decision.

She was going to have to do some packing in the morning….

The next morning

Ichigo woke up to see find that Yoruichi was gone, the spot beside him still warm. A letter was on her pillow and he picked it up and read it out loud.

"Ichigo, I've some things to do today but I'll see you later tonight. Remember the meditation exercises I taught you and keep calm today. Let Uryu handle any hollows for the day and relax. ~XOXO Yoruichi"

"See me tonight?" Ichigo questioned out loud. "Does she think I'll have another nightmare?"

Putting his questions out of his mind, Ichigo went down to Kisuke's secret chamber. Walking over to a rock, he sat down on it cross-legged and closed his eyes. He took deep breaths as he tried to calm his mind down.

After learning of Ichigo's sleeping problems, Yoruichi had decided to instruct him on proper meditation; a warrior's exercise that Kisuke had neglected to teach Ichigo while he was training him. Ichigo found that it did have a positive effect. However, this was the first time that he'd done it alone. Yoruichi was always with him, guiding him past his ghosts.

"In…" Ichigo took a deep breath, "Out…" he exhaled. He repeated it over and over again while he cleared his mind.

"Imagine a pool of water," Yoruichi instructed. She sat on a boulder opposite Ichigo. "Fix your mind to that pool of water, calm and peaceful.

One by one, Ichigo's thoughts came to a stop. Through the darkness of his closed eyes, he saw a clear pool of water. The sight of it calmed Ichigo. It was like looking at his soul, clear and bright.

But then the clear view of the water distorted when Yhwach's image appeared, cackling in triumph after stripping Ichigo of his powers. Ichigo's heart clenched in pain, the feeling of powerlessness coming back to him like a knife from the darkness.

"If any dark thoughts emerge in the pool, think of a drop of water to cleanse it away with the ripples."

In Ichigo's mind, a drop of water hit the pool. Yhwach's hideous visage distorted until it faded away. Ichigo felt calm return to him as his enemy faded. 'I defeated him. That is all that matters. Dwelling on my losses won't change anything,' he told himself.

As the waters became still, a new image popped into the young man's mind. Inside the pool of water was the reflection of Yoruichi, grinning her mischievous grin while staring at him with her golden eyes. The image made him smile and he felt calm and at peace with himself. All thoughts except for those of Yoruichi fled him and he continued to imagine his friend's smiling, beautiful face.

When Ichigo had finally reached a state of calm and relaxation he opened his eyes and stood up. He'd meditated long enough and he needed to get home. He forgot to write a note for his family that he'd be over at the shop so he figured that Yuzu and Karin were probably worried about him. He climbed up the ladder and put the trapdoor back onto the entrance. When he left the backroom he ran into Kisuke, who was busy munching on a waffle. "Oh, hey, Ichigo. Rough night again?"

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo sighed. "Yeah…." He didn't want to admit it but Kisuke could see through his lies and attempts to steer conversations about his nightmares.

"It's alright, Ichigo," the shopkeeper said while taking another bite from his waffle. "You're going through post-traumatic stress. It'll pass soon enough," he said.

"Kisuke, you make it sound like I'm a ticking time bomb," Ichigo said, hurt by the man's words.

Sighing, Kisuke leaned against a wall and frowned at the boy. "Ichigo, listen to me: you're seventeen. In the timespan of two years you've endured more than what most Soul Reapers have had to endure for centuries. You had to deal with so much pain and suffering while you were a Soul Reaper. Rukia's execution. Orihime's abduction. The final battle against Aizen. You've lost your powers, were tricked by Ginjo, regained your Soul Reaper powers and faced down Yhwach. That's a lot for one boy to take." Getting off the wall, Kisuke patted the boy's shoulder before walking past him. "Tessai made waffles. You're more than welcome to help yourself."

"Thanks…" Ichigo mumbled as he walked past him. He knew that Kisuke was only trying to tell him that he wasn't to blame for any of his troubles but he wished the shopkeeper would just learn to shut up for once. There wasn't anything Kisuke had said that Ichigo hadn't told himself a thousand times and it still didn't make him feel any better.

Grabbing a waffle from the kitchen, Ichigo left the shop and headed home. Reaching his house, he walked inside and closed the door. "Yuzu? Karin? Dad? I'm home!"

His younger sister, Yuzu, left the kitchen and smiled. "There you are, Ichigo! Where've you been? You missed breakfast!" she scolded like an angry mother.

Ichigo chuckled and patted her head. "It's okay, Yuzu. I just had something I had to do. That's all."

"Oh, well anyway an old friend of Dad's is staying here for a while, so be nice!" she said before going back into the kitchen to do the dishes.

"An old friend?" Ichigo repeated. "Is it one of the captains?" he wondered as he made his way up the stairs. "Better not be Byakuya…" he mumbled as he opened the door to his room…only to gasp when he saw Yoruichi sitting on his bed. "Yoruichi? What are you doing here?"

"What? Didn't Yuzu tell you?" Yoruichi smiled. "I'm your new roommate!"

To be continued….