Okay, I want to warn you first that there's a rather confusing part at the end, but bare with me, it'll make sense in a few chapters. Promise. Also anything in between the "// \\" marks are inner thoughts. Kind of playing around with what should and shouldn't be an inner thought, so please let me know if it's too distracting or not. Thanks.


The gray-haired man scowled at him. "'Cause this 'Other Me' you've become so friendly with, is a hollow."

Ichigo blinked up at the man incredulously. "Other me...is a hollow?" he repeated dully.

"Great," Rukia-taichou shook her head from the side. "I knew I should have been the one to tell him."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, blinking out of his stupor. "I have a weird monster-thing inside my head?"

//Hey!\\ Other Me shot out. Ichigo ignored him.

"Weird monster-thing?" Hirako-san asked, then raised an eyebrow in Rukia-taichou's direction.

"Apparently he met his first hollow today," she muttered the explanation.

Again, Ichigo felt himself to be the center of attention. "Wait, you've never seen a hollow before today?" The big man named Hachi (at least Ichigo thought he was named Hachi) asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Well this'll be fun," Lisa-san muttered as she opened her book again and began to read.

"Don't read that in front of Ichigo," Rukia said, her eyes wide in horror at the cover of Lisa-san's book.

The dark-haired girl shook her head. "If he's really 28, then it doesn't matter."

"He can't be a hollow," Ichigo insisted, interrupting the conversation and returning the attention to him.

"Why not?" the Muguruma asked with a pointed look.

"Because he said he's apart of me. I don't wanna eat people, and I still have a heart, so I can't be a hollow, so he can't!" Silence fell over the room as everyone stared at the kid. His logic had been pretty solid for someone who hadn't known about the situation before hand.

Finally, Shinji turned to Rukia-taichou. "How old did you say he was?"

"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "Sometimes I wonder myself."

"I'm eight," Ichigo pouted, folding his arms.

The green-haired girl (Ma—something) suddenly came up to Ichigo. "You're so cute, chibi-berry-tan!"

Ichigo blinked at her, leaning away as she invaded his personal space. "I'm not cute!" he scowled.

"Urahara," Hirako-san spoke up, his eyes never leaving Ichigo, "you can explain it the best, so you set the kid straight."

Urahara-san opened his fan and brought the other hand up to his head. "But I'll use words he won't be able to follow."

Hiyori let out a set of words that made Ichigo's eyes widen, and she sent the sandals (which she'd somehow found again) at the man's head again. "Tell him what you know, baldy!"

"I'll do it," Lisa closed her book and cracked her neck before she walked up to Ichigo. She knelt down and looked him in the face for several seconds. He scowled back at her, refusing to look away. Finally, she stood up. "On second though, I won't."

"Well someone's got to explain it to him!" Rukia-taichou stated in exasperation.

"Then why don't you?" Hiyori immediately turned on the captain. "You high-and-mighty Shinigami Captain who knows everything!"

Ichigo felt his fists ball. "Don't talk to Rukia-taichou like that!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it, brat?" Hiyori growled, narrowing her gaze onto him.

"Alright," Urahara stepped up, his fan never leaving his face. "I'll explain it." He looked down at Ichigo who gulped. His whole aura had changed almost instantly from a happy-go-lucky shop keeper to a very dangerous man. It had only taken moments.

"So," he started, "Ichigo, do you know how you met Rukia-taichou?"

Ichigo nodded. "I was attacked by a hollow and she saved me, but got hurt and gave hi—er, me her powers. That was illegal, so she got arrested and I had to go rescue her."

"Correct," the shopkeeper said. "But did you also know that they took your shinigami powers away when they came for her?"

Ichigo cocked his head. "But then...how could I go save her?"

At this, Urahara closed his fan with a snap, letting his hand drop to the side. "You chose to train with me. We had to sever your soul chain in order for you to gain those powers."

"Wait," Rukia-taichou cut in suddenly, "you killed him?!" Ichigo felt his face drain of color.

Urahara turned, his goofy grin coming back. "Of course I did!"

"That isn't a joke!" she yelled. "How could you do something so risky?!"

And that quickly, his serious demeanor returned. //Is he bipolar?\\ Other me muttered in his head.

"We did what was necessary," he commented, turning his back on her and facing Ichigo again. "After that," the former captain continued, "we put you at the bottom of a hole that sped up the disintegration of your soul chain. You had to gain your shinigami powers by the end of three days, or you'd turn into a hollow."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he gulped at those words. "But," he started, "I wouldn't want to be a hollow..."

Urahara nodded. "Which is why, when the three days were up and you started your transformation, you resisted. That's how you were able to find your own shinigami powers."

"Oh," Ichigo relaxed slightly. "So I just became a shinigami, right?"

"Mostly," Urahara conceded.

Ichigo cocked his head again. "What does 'mostly' mean?"

Urahara whirled around, advancing on Ichigo. "The opposite of a shinigami is a hollow. The opposite of a hollow is a shinigami. The only way for you to gain those powers was to expose you to the opposite. That would force your natural shinigami powers to the surface, but it would also mean that a part of you would latch onto the evolving hollow powers, and that part of you would become a hollow."

Ichigo shook his head. "Rukia-taichou told me he—I had to beat the hollow in my head, but I don't get it. Shinigami and hollow can't be in one person. That doesn't make sense."

Urahara took a deep breath and looked up. "A Shinigami and a hollow can't be one person, but they can both be a part of a person."

"Huh?" Ichigo scratched his head.

"The psyche, or mind, will split into two parts and form a double personality. Two people sharing the same body. Two people who used to be the same person. One will be a shinigami, and the other will be a hollow. Then, the two minds will try to take over the other and become dominant."

//Whoa,\\ Ichigo's other self said suddenly, causing Ichigo to jump. //That last part, don't believe it.\\

//Wait,\\ Ichigo suddenly felt his legs go weak, //What about everything else? Is it true? Are you a hollow?\\

Other Me laughed. //You really are pathetic sometimes, Ichigo. Yeah, I am.\\

Ichigo collapsed onto his knees as the world around him faded out. //But...I don't want to eat people, and I still have a heart,\\ he reiterated.

//Yeah, you do,\\ Other Me said dryly. //I don't.\\

//Do...you want to eat people?\\

Ichigo could almost feel the shrug. //Sometimes, though I've never actually done it.\\ The eight-year-old suddenly felt sick. A part of him wanted to eat other souls. The very thought turned his stomach.

//Oh get off it,\\ Other Me shot. //I am what I am. Doesn't stop the fact that I've saved your life. You'd be dead without me.\\

//They said you'd try to take over. You said not to believe that. Why won't you? How can I believe you?\\

This time Ichigo felt the anger inside of the other personality rise. //This is exactly why we had issues the first time. You were too scared of me to be of any use!\\

//If you want me to believe you, then answer me!\\

//You really wanna know?\\ the hollow asked. //Fine. I won't try to take over because it's in my nature to gain more power. It's how hollows survive. It's how they live. It's also a fact that you and I are more powerful if we work together.\\

Ichigo tried to wrap his head around that one. //Why?\\

The hollow rolled his eyes. //You don't remember, but the times we were able to get stronger were the times you would do anything, even team up with me, to win.\\

For some reason, this seemed to make sense to Ichigo. //Oh.\\

'You'd better pay attention,' the hollow murmured //Outside, I mean.\\

"Ichigo!" Ichigo looked up to see Rukia in front of him, her hands on his shoulders. "Ichigo, answer me!"

"Huh? Rukia-taichou?" he said.

"Oh, thank goodness."

"Well," Shinji muttered, "guess that proves that."

"What?" Ichigo asked, not liking the look on the man's face.

The former shinigami cocked his head at him. "That you need training again."

//No! You...wait,\\ Other Me faded off, contemplating for a moment. //On second thought, yeah. Tell him you'd like that.\\

//Why?\\ Ichigo asked, suspicious in spite of himself.

//Because it will get them off your back,\\ he replied coolly.

//But I don't even know what kind of training it is.\\

//Then why don't you ask him, genius.\\

Ichigo nodded and looked up at Shinji. "What kind of training is it?"

"It's difficult, but it'll help you to control that voice."

"But, he's never hurt me before," Ichigo insisted.

Shinji shook his head. "It's only a matter of time, Ichigo. Do you want to still be able to choose what you do in life?"

"Yeah," the boy muttered.

"Then you have to do this, okay? Trust me."

//Tell him you do,\\ Other Me nudged.

//But that's a lie!\\

The hollow growled. //Goody two-shoes. Fine, just tell him you'll train. That's the truth.\\

//Okay,\\ Ichigo said, focusing back on Shinji. "Okay, I'll train with you."

Shinji smiled, immediately making Ichigo want to take back his words. "Excellent," the older person said. "Let's get started then."

xXx

"A week, he said," Rukia seethed at Urahara. "One week! I can't stay away from the soul society for an entire week! Not on such short notice like this!"

Urahara shrugged from behind his fan. They'd both gone back to the shop where Urahara had taken a seat behind his usual wooden table while Rukia paced back and forth across the small room, her feet tapping a hard rhythm on the floor.

"It seems that is what must happen to help Ichigo," Urahara pointed out.

"Couldn't we do it in a few weeks? I could schedule the time off," she muttered with her chin in her hand.

"Do you want to do that?" Urahara asked, serious for once. Rukia paused and looked over at him. "Now that his hollow knows what we're doing, he'll stop gathering strength and try to take over again. Do you really want to wait those weeks and risk his sanity?"

Rukia sighed in frustration. "I know," she said, "but I can't just take a week off like that! Hinamori-fuku-taichou is a very capable person, but that's not fair for me to do that to her, not to mention it would tear down a lot of the trust I've been able to coax out of her."

The shopkeeper watched the captain with an unreadable expression. "Who has been watching him when you are on duty?" he asked suddenly.

"Hanatarou," she muttered absently and then seemed to realize what she'd just said. "You aren't suggesting that...I don't know if he could handle the Visored. He's not exactly the most sturdy shinigami in our ranks, even if he is a sixth seat."

Urahara shrugged. "Then why did you want him to watch Ichigo to begin with?"

"Because he's honest, hard-working and earnest, not to mention Ichigo trusts him and he could treat any wounds if Ichigo hurt himself and..." again she seemed to realize what she was saying and shot a glare at Urahara. "Fine, I'll send him in my place, but only if he gets free room and board, and you don't take advantage of him."

At this, the man looked utterly horrified. "Would I do such a thing?"

"Your word."

"Very well, then," Urahara raised one of his hands. "I promise I will not try to take advantage of him."

"Good," Rukia stood, and her gaze wandered over to the trap door. "Well, I'll set off, then," she muttered. "I will be back in one week to collect him. They'd' better understand that too."

"I'll inform them," Urahara grinned, fanning the air in goodbye as she slowly left the room. Once she'd vanished, he leaned his head down onto the palm of his hand, elbow now resting on the faux wooden surface of the table. "Now," he said to himself turning to look out of the open doorway at the cold, spring night outside, "with all of this taken care of we can afford to spend a little more time on that."

xXx

The world around them began to fade in from the blackness they'd grown so used to. Even this small light made them squint in pain. It continued to steadily grow brighter, fortunately slowly enough for their eyes to adjust. Then, for the first time in what had to be the equivalent of decades and centuries, they felt ground beneath their feet.

Not daring to believe their luck, he clumsily scratched their arm just to make sure he wasn't dreaming again, just as the sounds of Earth bombarded their ears. Distant honks and beeps from cars, the hum of electricity and the movement of the small animals that could thrive in a city metropolis.

"Che," he muttered to himself, then began to mumble, as if moving his lips were difficult. Despite this, his thoughts came through to those he came with loud and clear. //I can't believe we're here.\\

Then he mumbled something else, answering himself in a completely different voice, //Why not? We spent enough time piecing it together again.\\

//You idiot. Time didn't exist. We couldn't have spent any time on it.\\

He stuck out his lip in a pout. //It existed to me,\\ he muttered, his words barely legible, but becoming more so the more he talked.

Then the figure spoke in yet a third, higher pitched voice, his words still running together. //Will you two shut up? You're bugging him and me too. Let's just go find him, 'kay?\\

//So, are we like souls, or humans?\\ the second voice asked. Out loud, it sounded more like "Sssa aaw we wi sows 'r umuns."

//Who cares?\\ the first voice retorted. "Ooo airs."

The second voice from the figure glared ahead of them, mentally directing it at the first. //I don't know about you, but I don't exactly want to go walking around naked now that there are people to see us.\\

//Hey!\\ the third voice broke in cheerfully, //I could almost understand the words you just said. Maybe it won't take us too long before we can actually talk again. So, are we all way back? Can shinigami and souls see us?\\

The first voice shrugged their shoulders. //No clue. So long as we can touch shinigami and they can hear us, I don't really care.\\

//But,\\ the second voice said again, //if he can see us, then how will we get him to trust us if we're walking around in the buff? People didn't used to do that for a reason.\\

//Fine,\\ the first voice conceded with a growl. //We get clothes for us, and then we find him.\\ He started to move their legs, and immediately collapsed, almost falling through the ground but managing to stop themselves half-way.

The second voice broke into a rough laughter, his voice sounding as if it hadn't been used in decades. //You can't even control our body?!\\

//Like you can do better!\\ the first voice shot back.

//Ooo, lemme try!\\ the third voice broke in eagerly.

//Stop it, all of you,\\ a fourth voice calmly broke in, easily speaking the most clearly out loud and leaving no room for discussion in his tone. //The body is difficult to use because it has been so long to our minds, and we have not yet completely materialized here. We must all relearn to use it. We are all representatives, and we all must complete this task.\\

//And that means you get to try it first, doesn't it gramps?\\ the first voice accused with a sneer.

Silence came from the half-buried figure before the fourth voice spoke calmly. //What would you suggest?\\

//That you all get outta my way!\\ the first voice growled, moving their hand experimentally.

//Control freak,\\ the second voice muttered.

//Watch it, human,\\ the first voice threatened. One hand lifted out of the ground carefully.

//So, we're not...\\ the third voice spoke up, obviously trying to come up with the word he wanted. //We're not solid yet?\\

The second voice answered. //That's what he said.\\

//Will we become solid like this?\\ The voices seemed to contemplate this in silence, and their body stayed motionless, still sticking half out of the ground.

//We do become more solid by the second,\\ the fourth voice pointed out.

//Get us out of here!\\ the second voice insisted.

The first voice called the second voice several colorful words, causing the third voice to gasp.

//You don't remember how to use a body, but you remember those?\\ the second voice asked incredulously and with more than a little annoyance.

//Shut up,\\ the first voice rounded on both the third and second. //You've heard worse.\\

//Not since The End!\\ the third protested.

All four voices fell silent for several seconds, as if remembering something unpleasant.

//Our feet were solid,\\ the third voice broke through the uneasy quiet. //Let's try to get back like that.\\

//Shutup, brat!\\ the first voice snapped.

//Hey!\\ the second voice broke in, //don't talk to him like that!\\

The fourth voice sighed. //He would be correct. It would be best to return to that position.\\

//Whatever,\\ the first voice grumbled concentrating on making their hand solid enough to remain on the ground instead of sinking through it, and only partially succeeding.

//Hey, it didn't sink in as much that time,\\ the second voice spoke up.

//Good for it,\\ the first voice said just as it started to slide more.

The third voice spoke out, in a slight panic. //We're sinking again!\\.

Just for one moment more, the fourth voice had control of the mouth again and chose to take the opportunity to mutter something in almost perfect clarity before he retreated to the back of their minds. "We're doomed."