It began with darkness. Alone, and for the first time in a long time, I felt afraid. Afraid of what might happen next, afraid of being alone. Even though my eyes were open, I saw nothing; while I reached out my hands, I felt nothing; though my head felt like it was going to explode from sound, everything was silent.

This has to be a dream, I thought to myself. It has to be…

There was light, dim and far off in the distance, but there was a light nonetheless. As I made my way towards it, there was a sound, a soft voice calling for me.

"Toushirou…"

The voice was so familiar, and yet, so distant. I couldn't put a name to it, no matter how many times it called out to me. The light grew brighter, nearly blinding me as I escaped the darkness. A hand reached out to me, and when I looked up, I gasped at the familiarity of the smiling face and dark purple eyes.

"Kusaka?!"

My old friend's smile became brighter, making the light around him seem dull. "Toushirou… it took you this long to notice me?"

I watched in horror as the scar began to form over the right side of his face and blood dripped from his forehead and his lips. There was a new sound; a dripping. I looked to the ground, my eyes widening at the pool of blood that spilled from the wounds that stained his kimono. "Kusaka…" I muttered with fright. "You're bleeding."

Kusaka still smiled warmly as he replied. "I know. You did this to me. You remember, don't you?"

Drawing back my hand, I realized he had a firm grip on it; as I struggled, the grip became tighter around my thin wrist. "Kusaka, you're hurting me!" I cried.

"Trust me, Toushirou," Kusaka replied. "This is nothing compared to what you did to me." With his free hand, Kusaka drew Hyounimaru from its sheath, holding the ice cold blade to my neck. "Now… it's your turn to pay for your sins."

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Someone, please… help me. This has to be a dream… but it's too real… someone… Ichigo…

"Ichigo!"

The light shattered as I cried out. Kusaka's painful grip released its hold as my friend disappeared into the darkness. I was alone again in the dark, back where I was before. Turning, I saw him standing behind me. Ichigo. A look of concern spread on his face as I ran to him.

"Toushirou… what's wrong?"

I didn't reply, but clung to his black kimono, letting the tears fall like never before. A large hand rested gently on my head, giving me the warmth and comfort of knowing he was truly there.

"Ichigo… Don't leave me… Don't you dare ever leave me," I bawled, my words muffled by the kimono.

"Don't cry, Toushirou. Everything's going to be okay."

The words seemed empty for reasons I didn't know; I looked up to his eyes, searching for any emotion. There was none. "Ichigo… something's different about you."

His kimono and skin turned deathly white as his hand clamped down on a fistful of hair. Yellow eyes bored down at me while a blue tongue moistened the white lips. "You idiot," this new Ichigo stated. "I'm not that suck up who fucks with you every night."

When I began to back away, the Hollow pulled me by my hair, making me wince. "Ichigo, let go of me!" I shouted, not out of fright, but out of anger.

Ichigo grinned. "Why're you afraid of me? While that selfish bastard's been having all the good stuff, I've been left in the dark. Since I can't fully control him, I'll just take away the most cherished thing that bastard's got!"

I gasped and threw my head back in pain as the familiar feeling of a blade being driven in paralyzed me. Looking down, I saw the katana, deeply rooted in my gut; the blood that dripped onto the white blade shone brightly in Ichigo's yellow eyes. "Yes…" he whispered huskily. "Die."

The blade pulled out and the hand let go; for a few seconds, I stood frozen, staring blankly up to Ichigo as warm blood filled my throat and trickled down my lips. "Why…"

I fell back into darkness, the fall feeling like an eternity. When I finally did land, I splashed into a large pool of blood. As I lay dying, I feel the thick liquid seeping into my clothing and hair. My skin becomes stained with it. My vision turns red before I realize that I'm sinking, drowning. Before my face went under, I saw the Hollow turn away from my dying form… I had never felt so rejected.

"Ichi…go…"