A/N: these short, drabble-like one-shots are kinda fun to right. I'm already working on chapter two…

No tienes nada, OK? and I'm not putting anymore disclaimers after this.

Instinct. That's all it was doing now, talking about instinct. Ichigo could feel it radiating off his inner hollow like poisonous gases from an unlit stove. He decided to follow its advice and use some of that strange compulsion to kill, and focused on allowing a little bit to seep in. The hollow smirked at him, that titanic smirk that split its face like a razor, sharp teeth glinting in its strange excitement. Ichigo felt the odd sensation of that small dose of instinct, and something seemed off when he realized how stunningly right it felt.

He took more

.

And more.

He kept sinking deeper, and before he knew it, the hollow's smirk was only inches from his ear. He gasped, feeling a foreign emotion take over him, something dark and sadistic. The hollow lifted his chin with a single thumb.

"Do ya like tha', aibou?" It whispered demandingly. Its voice was only a catalyst to the slowly spreading black in the teens sclera.

Ichigo nodded, and the hollow gave him a little pat on the head. It ran its icy, slender fingers through the teens fiery vermillion tufts.

"Mine." Was all it said, as it shot more instinct through the already disoriented substitute shinigami. Ichigo shuddered and convulsed, writhing now as he realized just what he'd done by following the instincts. Those instincts were his hollow. And now he'd just thrown out his last chance of standing against this white darkness before him. He could feel the instincts growing stronger within and without him, the urge to kill and mangle overriding all else that once crossed his mind. He held on to one thought as long as he could.

Protect.

Must Protect.

I am he who protects, damnit! If I can't protect myself from my own inner darkness, then what good am I?

"None, Ichi. Yer of no use ta anyone, except me.'' He pulsed more instinct into the strawberry and watch the teen slowly relax, a smirk beginning to replace his typical scowl. "Tell me, Ichigo, who is tha king now?"

"You."