It had been a normal day, or at least as normal a day as one could expect in the Kurosaki household. But Rukia knew later, much later that she should have sensed something, known something. But she had not.

Ichigo was a little more subdued than usual, slower to take offense. He didn't seem to really be putting his heart into arguing with her, he was distracted. But Rukia had assumed that his distraction and moodiness had stemmed from the battle with the Arrancar the night before. A battle where she had been injured and he had… lost. After all, it wasn't exactly out-of-character for Ichigo to be moody in the first place. In retrospect, she should have known. But she hadn't.

After all, she trusted him, maybe even loved him. Not that she would ever admit that of course, or at least not that she would ever admit that unless he admitted his feelings first. She'd had no clue, no suspicion. All day at school he must have struggled, but he said nothing, and she never expected that what happened would happen.

It had been as normal a night as it had been a normal day in the first place. After reaching home, she'd sensed a hollow nearby, and had decided that dealing with a typical hollow would be a good way for Ichigo to work out his frustrations. So she had punched the substitute-Shinigami in the face to free him from his body, dragged him, protesting, from his room, and forced him to carry her, in spirit form, to the hollow's location. It wasn't until the hollow was gone that she sensed something off. Perhaps it was because he chose to go Bankai when it was completely unnecessary for him to do so to defeat such a minor hollow, perhaps it was the fact that he hadn't gone Bankai until after the hollow was dead, or perhaps it had been the laugh of sheer glee before he turned to her, zanpaktou extended in threat, and face half-covered with the mask of a hollow.

She fought her hardest, but he was fast, too fast, and stronger even than Ichigo himself. And in the end, the best she managed was to tear the mask from his face as he closed in, embraced her like a lover, and slid his zampaktou into her torso.

In the aftermath, the mask was broken. And beneath it was a sight more terrible than the existence of that hollow mask in the first place. It was a face. His face. Only it was terribly, horribly wrong. Twisted with madness and glee and homicidal rage. And now, even worse, now that he held her subdued on the ground with cold steel piercing her body, she saw something else in those glowing eyes, something worse than the rage and murderous intent she had seen before.

As she lay, pierced by Ichigo's blade, defeated by his hollow, and helpless she saw possessiveness, and lust. It chilled her far more than the cold floor beneath her, or the blood seeping from her wound. But perhaps if she could goad him…

"Finish it," she grunted "or don't you have the strength?"

"But Rukia-mine" came a voice that was eerily reminiscent of that of the young man she knew so well, yet as twisted as his face and smile "I have no intention of killing you, I never did. What would be the fun in that after all?"

"I'm a Shinigami, you're a hollow. Of course you want to kill me. You hate everyone, everything" she told it.

"I'm a hollow, but I'm also him. Just like he's also me. Surely you knew that. Surely you could see me peeking out from the corner of his eyes sometimes. I could see you Rukia."

"What do you want with me?"

"Nothing so tame as what He wants with you. Shall I tell you his fantasies Rukia? Of how he professes his love for you and then you two make sweet love?" He smiled cruelly. "Of course I want nothing that tame." His smile deepened, and Rukia repressed the urge to shudder, "My fantasies would give you nightmares, and I'd much rather show you anyway…"

"Hollows have no emotions. You couldn't possibly feel anything for me" she interjected, cutting him off. She couldn't bear to hear Ichigo's private thoughts picked apart for the hollow's entertainment, and although she did not fear pain or death, or at least tried to tell herself that she feared neither, she didn't wish for the hollow to go into any detail about his desires either.

"I feel possessiveness, lust. Love is for humans and weaklings, but never doubt that I want you and that I have you now."

"He'll never let you stay in control"

"Probably not. What I'll do to you will anger and horrify him so much that he may well break free from my control. But even so, you'll still be mine, and even if he makes you his later, you'll still be mine first and always"

"I'll kill you before I …"

"Shhhhh Rukia" he whispered, placing a finger against her lips "Of course you'll try, but you won't succeed. This isn't the same as before Rukia. He's still in here, and he can break free, and be himself again. Maybe he can even subdue me forever. This isn't like Kaien. Its nothing so definite and easy as that. And so I know you will always hesitate to strike a killing blow, because Ichigo can be redeemed."

"Kaien" whispered Rukia, beginning to feel as though she was in some terrible nightmare. Her vision was becoming blurred, darkness hovered on the edges of her vision and a sense of lassitude was stealing over her. But with such a vision of darkness hovering before her as Ichigo's twisted face, she dared not give in to the blackness for fear of what she would see when she awoke. "How do you know about Kaien?"

"Rukia-mine, didn't you know that you gave him far more than your powers. When he leached almost every ounce of spirit force from your injured body he took everything. Your powers, your experiences, and your memories."

Rukia was horrified.

He laughed in delight at her expression. "Didn't you know? He's closer to a hollow than you think. He almost killed you. Of course he doesn't know that, he doesn't even know that he has your memories. But they're all stored in his mind, and although he is King, in his mind I am the ruler." He paused looking down at her.

No matter how much she tried to fight it, no matter how she refused to succumb, blackness was setting in around her. "Ichigo" she murmured pleadingly, hoping desperately for some salvation, some hope and for an instant, imagined or not she could have sworn his eyes wavered back to almost normal.

"No Rukia-mine" said the hollow. "He can't come out yet. Not when I've gone to such trouble to weaken you enough so I can play with you and claim you without killing you. I've planned this for a long, long time now. Waiting until the time was right, until he was weakened and distracted. Sleep now, and when you wake I'll have bound your wounds and secured you" he said with a smile, almost tenderly, before he twisted the zanpaktou piercing her torso, and, with a flash of pain, everything abruptly went black.