A/N: I hope everybody enjoyed the first chapter. I'll be honest with you all. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going yet. Like with the last one, it sort of takes a life of its own as I write, so the updates won't be consistent. However, I promise that I will finish the fic. It just might take a while.
Also, for anybody who is keeping up with the anime, this is going to be completely AU. I fully intend to use Ichigo's "true Hollow" (which is what I call the form in episodes 271 & 272), but it will, of course, have a totally different explanation. Not that the last fic wasn't AU, but I just wanted to warn everybody ahead of time. On a brighter note, thank you all so much for your reviews! They keep me motivated to continue writing this fic, and I hope that you all enjoy it all the way to the end!
Ichigo dreamed, and the visions flashing behind his eyes were anything but pleasant. Battle after battle flew across his mind, most of which had happened long before he was even born, in other countries. Battles caused by the demons, or by humans who had been influenced by them. Hollows featured in the nightmares, too, tearing through entire countries, devouring souls and creating new Hollows in their wake. No shinigami came to fight the Hollows, to save the humans.
His eyes snapping open, Ichigo sat up in bed abruptly, ignoring the dizziness caused by the sudden movement, his breathing short and loud in the quiet room. Beside him, Renji dozed, exhausted from battle, his dreams undisturbed this night. Ichigo shuddered, closing his eyes, but opened them almost immediately, giving up on the idea of sleeping.
Slipping out of bed, past a snoring Renji, Ichigo padded out of his bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and slipping them on before making his way down the stairs and out the door. He needed room to breathe and time to think, and he wouldn't get that sitting curled up in his bed.
Taking off at a light jog down the street, letting the warm summer breeze skate across his skin, Ichigo tried to sort through the day's events. The battle with the demons hadn't gone well for them at all. Ichigo and Renji were greatly outnumbered, and even if they had more power than the demons, they had been overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of their attackers in such a small space. They hadn't been able to risk calling out the fully released Zabimaru, lest they destroy the inhabited buildings surrounding the vacant lot.
When they had finally been pinned, their zanpakuto knocked from their hands, the demon lord's presence suffocating them, she had kneeled in front of the captive Ichigo and taken his chin between strong, bruising fingers. As the teenager had glared at her, she had smiled serenely back, her other hand brushing across his forehead before settling over his eyes, blocking his view.
A low murmur, and Ichigo had writhed under the spell, crying out. Memories and emotions that didn't belong to him had flooded his mind. This was the demon group mind, the unique force that allowed them to assess their enemy even as they died, giving the knowledge to the brethren that followed after.
Unaware of Renji yelling next to him, threatening the demon lord and trying to buck off the demons piled on top of him, oblivious to the knowledge that his eyes blazed with a tortured fire, even as his body writhed under the onslaught of the demon lord's spell, Ichigo had been stunned at the violence that waged war in his head.
The demon inside of him, attracted to the blood and power that raced across their shared mind, had come forward. Normally reasonable and protective, the demon had reached out for what was offered, and had embraced the pack mind. Ichigo had screamed then, his power flaring out, human and shinigami and Hollow and demon blending and roaring around him.
Every demon that touched him had perished in the flood of raw power, their bodies disintegrating under the onslaught, even as Ichigo grabbed his head between his hands and screamed, curling up into a ball and trying to hide from the knowledge that he could no longer escape.
He didn't remember much after that, having only a vague sense of the demon lord departing and Renji helping him to his feet. He was brought home, still in a daze as he tried to cope with the new demon pack mind. Eventually, Daemon seemed to get a hold of himself, and helped Ichigo put up his shields, setting up barriers between his mind and the ancient knowledge that he now bore.
The two lovers had gotten ready for bed in silence, before slipping between the covers, Ichigo instinctively snuggling into his red-headed partner, who held him tightly, his chin resting on top of Ichigo's head as they curled together comfortably, the familiar way their bodies fit together a comfort to them both. Renji's hands had smoothed across his back, warm and soothing, and they had eventually drifted off.
Ichigo sighed, feeling the shinigami's presence slipping up behind him. "I just needed time to think," he murmured, slowing to a walk as he justified his absence to Renji. The redhead just shrugged, unconcerned with the explanation, and they strolled down the street, not feeling the need to speak.
Eventually, though, Renji broke the silence. "You okay?" he asked gruffly. Ichigo turned to stare up at him, and saw what he knew would be there – concern, affection, and an unwavering loyalty. Even if he wasn't all right, Renji would stay by his side. He smiled up at the other man, letting his gratitude show as he reached up, his fingers brushing lightly across the tattoos that traveled up his lover's forehead.
"I'm all right, I think," he said. "Daemon helped put up shields, but they still come through when I'm asleep. I don't know if I can stop that or not," he admitted ruefully. Renji nodded, his expression considering as he stared down at Ichigo, who just waited patiently to hear whatever the redhead had to say.
Flashing a brilliant smile at the smaller man, Renji laughed, "Perhaps I should simply exhaust you to the point where you can't possibly dream." Ichigo blinked, then rolled his eyes, cuffing Renji's shoulder good-naturedly. Like that was going work, he thought. The exhaustion would probably make him more susceptible to the pack mind, instead of less.
"I don't think that's going to work. There has to be a solution, though," Ichigo frowned. He was trying to look at things objectively, but whenever his mind strayed towards actually thinking about the images that had wreaked havoc across his mind, he found himself shying away, wary and frightened, which in turn, pissed him off.
Renji was watching him again, with that concerned look that both pleased and irritated Ichigo. Sighing, he gave in. "All right. Let's go back home. We can fit in about…three more hours of sleep, and then we'll go see Urahara." The concession was a big one, because Ichigo was not terribly fond of Urahara's methods. The older man was far too fond of his secrets, and was often entertained at Ichigo's expense.
Renji just nodded in approval, and they turned around, darting back to Ichigo's home. Slipping in through the window, Ichigo quickly shed his t-shirt and jeans, climbing into bed in just his boxers. Renji didn't even bother with undergarments, and slipped, fully naked, into the bed a few seconds later.
Ichigo pressed himself firmly against Renji's warm body, one hand resting lightly on his waist and his head pillowed on the redhead's chest, so that he was staring at the boldest of Renji's tattoos. Renji's arm slipped up around his shoulders and held him, and Ichigo allowed the touch, closing his eyes and quickly drifting off. He'd have to trust Daemon to keep the pack mind from affecting him too badly.
Inside his soul, three beings rested as well. Zangetsu watched fondly over Hichigo and Daemon, even as the Hollow ignored him and the demon focused on trying to hold up the shields that protected them all from being overwhelmed with the demon pack mind. After all, if his shields fell, then Ichigo's mind would be flooded, and they'd all be lost in the nightmare until Ichigo himself could pull them out.
Zangetsu had no doubt that, given the time, Ichigo would be able to overcome even this obstacle, but even he had to admit that Ichigo was much better at fighting an enemy that he could see. For something like this, it would better if he had help until he could figure out to hope. That he was willing to go visit Urahara was a good sign, because while Ichigo might not appreciate the old man's methods, even he had to acknowledge that they worked.
And really, Zangetsu knew that Urahara truly had Ichigo's best interests at heart. Not to mention that the boy was powerful enough to destroy him if it came down to a real fight between them. Still, Urahara was probably Ichigo's best hope, he thought, tilting his head back to stare up at the sky, where dark clouds roiled and rolled, the turbulence and chaos they'd unleash barely held in check. The demon's pack mind would not be withheld for much longer.
But for tonight, it should do, Zangetsu thought with a sigh. Reaching out, he brushed across Ichigo's soul comfortingly, and the boy responded with a small smile. Ichigo was strong, and he would pull through this, as he always had. For now, all Zangetsu could do was be there for him, a sturdy rock in a sea of turmoil and pain. And he would be there, Zangetsu vowed, for as long as Ichigo permitted him.