"Oh man," said Ichigo, "Where am I?"

The room was dark. Curtains covered the window by his bed. The cold of the floorboards greeted his feet. A light from underneath the door caught his attention. The hinges creaked open. And daylight surrounded the teen.

He turned around to see Minamo smiling, both eyes closed. She seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't hear her. Ichigo noticed how happy she looked underneath the sunny sky. The tall buildings around him tried to touch the sky, but they only came so close.

"Come on Ichigo," said Kurosawa. "You're supposed to be having fun when you're on vacation with me! We need to go do something special, just the two of us…. Come on it'll be fun!"

"Okay."

Ichigo walked towards his older cousin. The distance between them seemed to increase with every step. How far away is she? I've been walking for a while now. His skin started to burn under the hot sun.

"Come on Ichigo," said Kurosawa, "I'll get you some ice cream if you get over here. Maybe we can even go to the beach. Spend a day swimming and just hanging out."

That sounds pretty good. The sun above slowly kindled the sky, casting its rays far across the heavens. Ichigo noticed something appear behind Minamo. A dark figure approaching from behind. Kurosawa seemed to be oblivious to the man behind her.

"Hey Minamo," said Ichigo, "Who's your friend?"

"What friend?" asked Kurosawa, "We're the only people here," said the woman, as a sword shot through her chest.

Blood ran down in rivers from the edge of the blade. Kurosawa's eyes became dull, vacant houses forgotten by all. Her color slowly drained away from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers. The shadowy figure came into the light.

"Why hello there Ichigo."

What the hell?

"I didn't expect to see you here." The person who had killed Minamo, was himself.

"Why did you do it Ichigo?"

"M-Minamo?"

The pale body walked towards him, pulling itself free of the blade. "Why Ichigo?" asked his cousin, "Why did you kill me?"

"I didn't."

"Why Ichigo?" Her pale form stood in front of the young man. She looked like a corpse, one that had yet to feasted upon by the carrion consumers of the grave. "I welcomed you into my home, but you killed me anyways. You took Zangetsu and ran it straight through my heart. Did I do something wrong? Did I anger you, Ichigo?"

"I didn't, I didn't do it!"

"Why are you lying to me Ichigo?" she pointed behind her. "You're standing right over there, holding Zangetsu who has been stained with my blood."

"That's not me."

"I am you," said his look-alike.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" he screamed, "I would never hurt my family!"

"What's wrong Ichigo?" asked Isshin.

"What?"

He was sitting at the dinner table in his house. His father Isshin had a strange look on his face. Karin and Yuzu, his baby sisters gave him strange looks as well. He turned his attention to the food on his plate. Oh well, he thought, I guess it was just some kind of hallucination. His orange hair shook from side to side as he tried to remove the image of his cousin, dead, in front of him.

A blue light smashed through the window. It sliced Isshin and his sisters in half. Plates flew against the wall where they shattered. Curry dripped down the wall in slow viscous lines. The tinkle of shattering glass filled his ears.

"Why Ichigo?"

Not again.

"Why did you kill us?"

"Yes Ichigo," asked his look-alike, "Why did we kill them?"

"You bastard!" screamed Ichigo, "You killed my family!"

"You only have yourself to blame," said the black robed man, "I was simply following your orders."

"No," Ichigo said to himself, "I would never do that." But for some reason the words sounded empty to him; as if they had no strength to give them meaning. This isn't right, he thought, I would never do something like this!

"Why Ichigo?" asked the corpses, "What did we do wrong?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Calm down Ichigo. Everything is going to be alright."

"Mom?"

Ichigo noticed that he had shrunk, or to be more accurate he had become a kid again. He felt his hand against his mother's as they walked together. The rain poured down on his head and face, yet his mother's presence kept away the cold.

"What's that girl doing?"

An older girl was standing near the banks of the river. The water level rose as rain plummeted down from the dark sky. She started to walk towards the center of the stream.

"Oh no! She's going to fall in!" The young boy raced down the hill towards the girl.

"Ichigo!" yelled his mother, "Come back! Where are you going?"

As he ran towards the girl, a thought crept into Ichigo's mind. Wait, haven't I been here before? The girl walked into the center of the stream, yet she did not fall in. Yeah, I have been here before. He turned around to see his mother come down the hill after him.

"Wait Mommy!" yelled the child, "Don't come down here!"

A dark shape appeared behind his mother, Masaki.

No, I won't lose her again! Not to Grand Fisher, not to anyone!

Masaki stopped as a glinting light shot through her. The curved blade seemed to glow like the moon. She looked down at her son.

"Why Ichigo, why did you kill your mother?"

"I didn't."

"Why did you kill me Ichigo?" asked Kurosawa.

"It wasn't me."

"What did your sisters do to you Ichigo?" asked Karin and Yuzu. "What did we do that was so terrible that we had to die?"

"Why did you kill your father Ichigo?" asked Isshin, "Don't you know that I love you?"

"I didn't kill any of you!" the small boy cried. The tears flowed down his face in glistening streams. Their voices continued to assail him as he tried to cover his ears. "Why Ichigo, why?" He could still hear them. Just go away he thought. I didn't do it.

"Stop your crying."

That voice.

"I'm glad to see that you remember me. It has been a while hasn't it?"

Everything around Ichigo had turned black. Except for a lone figure clad in white. He turned around to face Ichigo, his black mouth open, and his yellow eyes grinning evilly.

"Oh Ichigo," said the hollow, "Why are you always so afraid? Is it because of me? Is it because you know that you're not as strong as me?"

Ichigo sat on his knees. His mouth seemed to be shut with a deep primal fear. He couldn't look away from the demon's eyes. Right beside the yellow pupil sat the blackness of hell.

"You're right to fear me Ichigo." The corpses appeared around the hollow, but this time they didn't speak. "This is what you have to look forward to," said the being. "When I gain control of your body I'll destroy everyone who is precious to you. And anyone who gets in my way. Your strength will become mine Ichigo. One day soon."

"SHUT UP!"

"Ichigo!"

"M-Minamo?"

"Ichigo what's the matter?"

He looked at his hands. It was all a dream? He looked out of the apartment's window at the moon. It was more like a nightmare.

"Are you okay?" asked Kurosawa.

"I'm fine."

"Come on," said his cousin, "Get off the couch, I have a more comfortable place for you to sleep in."

"Okay."

Ichigo followed his cousin down the hallway to the room he had slept in the night before. He watched as she fluffed up the pillow that sat at the head of the bed. He was still slightly shaken from his nightmare. The white face of his inner hollow filled his heart with despair.

"What happened Ichigo?" asked Kurosawa.

"Nothing, it was just a bad dream Minamo."

"Okay, well good night." She left the room, closing the door behind her. The dark hallway seemed sinister to her now. The young teacher shook the thought out of her head. I just hope he'll be okay, she thought as she got into bed. I've never heard him scream like that before.

Ichigo knew that it had only been a dream. But he could still see those yellow eyes. The eyes that made him feel like prey.