I was bored... so here, another chapter! WhOO!

Chapter 2
Put Me To Sleep

My breath was shaky, my body cold where I sat in the alleyway. A week had passed. It was hard to believe that I had been on the move for that long, but at the same time, things had gone so fast.

I shivered faintly beneath the coat that I had bought not long after fleeing, tucking my knees closer to my chest and pulling the scarf up around my face. I had managed to get back to my flat once after I had been forced to run from there, finding only a few moments to slip inside and take my wallet and badge and change my clothes for warmer ones. It had been a close call, getting out before anyone had noticed, but I had done it.

A gust of wind blew past me, and I curled into a tighter ball, trying to conserve warmth. I knew that I should probably get moving, find some place to stay for the night, but already it was late, and I could sense the reiatsu of the shinigami moving throughout the town, looking for me. At this point, I needed to stay in one spot and remain hidden.

Shiro's presence rose in my consciousness, and I automatically pushed my reiatsu down again. I was glad that I had been taught how to do this not long ago, because now it worked to my advantage and I was able to stay out of sight and sensing abilities.

Are you okay, King?

Just cold. It's nothing that I can't handle.

As if to deny that statement my stomach growled rather loudly, and I shifted uncomfortably.

It's been a while since you've eaten. We need to find something.

I know that… But they keep showing up everywhere! I didn't think that they'd be this… dedicated when Toshiro told me that they were supposed to track me down.

Maybe they'll slow down after a while. I'm sure that they're only this excited because you've only been gone a week. Most likely they expect to catch you pretty soon.

I nodded faintly, my fingers twisting in the fabric of my coat sleeves. Yea… I hope that they start leaving me alone… I hate being out in the cold.

Aw, poor King, all out in the cold.

I growled faintly, glaring at the stone wall in front of me. Shut up, Shiro.

His voice was mocking as he answered, but somehow I could hear the gentleness beneath his tone. As his majesty commands.

With that he went quiet, andI sighed, pushing myself to my feet and pulling my coat tighter around myself. I knew that there was no one in the immediate vicinity, and so I started out onto the street, my eyes scanning for the hotel that I knew to be nearby. I needed to get out of the cold fairly soon, already I was starting to lose feeling in my fingers.

I made it far out into the streets before I sensed the flash of someone close by, and I ducked into an alleyway, hoping to have avoided being seen. To my dismay the shinigami came closer, eyes narrowed while they scanned the dark alley.

Damn… I don't even know this guy, either. Shit, what do I do…

I shifted backwards, trying to push myself further into the corner, but something banged loudly beside me. Swearing, I leapt to my feet, running for the opening at the end of the alley, trying to get past the lingering shinigami.

A zanpaktou flashed out in front of me, making me slide to a stop while I dug in my pocket for the badge that I knew was there.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you are under arrest!" the man said sharply, his zanpaktou pointed towards my chest. "Don't move, or I'll be forced to harm you."

I growled, my hand tightening around the badge in my pocket, trying to pull it out. As I moved the zanpaktou's sharp point touched my collarbone, pushing until I felt blood running down my chest from the gash that was quickly widening.

Geez, King, can't do anything without me, can you?

There was a surge inside of me, and then a white form appeared, reaching out to punch the shinigami in the face. An arm wrapped around my waist a second later, lifting me off my feet and running out of the alley and down the street.

The street flashed by faster than I could watch, and I shifted, closing my eyes and pushing my face against the rough fabric under my cheek. We slid to a stop some time later, and I was put on my feet before the white shadow vanished from my sight. I looked up to see the glowing sign of the hotel, and I swallowed thickly, glancing back out into the night.

Go on, King, get inside. It's only a matter of time before they start looking this way.

Swallowing my questions about what had just happened; I entered the lobby, making my way shakily to the front desk. I carefully pulled my coat over the bleeding wound on my collarbone as I paid for the room for a few nights, quickly moving through the hotel and to the room. Once inside I threw off my coat, collapsing into the large couch. I pulled the wad of tissues from my pocket, pressing them firmly to the wound on my collarbone before inhaling deeply, sighing.

What felt to me like seconds later I heard a voice echoing through my mind. King? King, you need to do something about that wound.

I groaned faintly, my head rolling to the side of the couch cushion. I felt light, slightly nauseous and floaty.

King. Are you okay? King!

"'mm fine…" I mumbled softly, right before the world faded to black.

I sighed, rubbing a hand through my white hair as I felt King's consciousness fade. Concentrating, I willed myself into existence, using the power that flowed from both myself and King to appear beside him. He was pale, and blood was soaking down the collar of his shirt. I swore faintly, turning to hunt through the room for anything that would help me.

After a moment I grinned to myself, reaching for the phone and dialing down to the front desk. I was momentarily glad that I had learned everything that Ichigo knew, going through his memories when I was bored. I tried my best to lower the tremble that I knew was in my voice, ordering some food for my King as well as requesting bandages. I got a bit of a confused response at that, but the woman told me that it would be up shortly.

In the meantime I tried to find a way to disguise myself, digging Ichigo's gloves out of his coat and throwing the jacket over my shoulders and raising the hood to hide my white hair. I knew that I wouldn't be able to completely disguise my appearance, but I hoped that this would be enough to stop the person from freaking out.

A short time later there was a knock at the door, and I moved carefully over to open it, keeping my head down. The man wheeled the table inside, and I thanked him quietly before ushering him outside and closing the door and locking it.

My fingers were clumsy as I unraveled the bandages and moved to where my King was draped limply across the couch, concern touching my features. I was gentle as I removed King's bloody shirt, cleaning the wound as best I could before bandaging it. King was shivering lightly, so I pulled the blanket from the bed and draped it over him.

His face had smoothed a bit from the pained expression that he had had earlier, making him appear the 15 year old that I had first known. My fingers were gentle as I smoothed the damp orange hair away from his forehead, moving with a softness that I never had. He shifted slightly and I flinched violently, pulling away and sitting back as his chocolate eyes fluttered open.

He blinked slightly, a confused look on his face for a moment, and then his eyes widened in shock. "S-Shiro?.! What… What are you doing here? How… What?.!"

I grinned lopsidedly, tilting my head slightly at him. "I'm taking care of you, King. You can't do it yourself, so I had to get out here and help you."

Ichigo stared at me for a moment, and then winced as he tried to push himself up, glancing down at his bandaged chest. "You did this, Shiro?"

I pushed out my lower lip slightly, though I wanted to grin widely. "What had no faith in me? I know everything you know, King, and you grew up in a clinic."

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, you dolt. Why did you do this? Wouldn't it just be easier for you if you'd left me alone?"

"King!" I admonished. "I can't believe you'd think that of me! After all we've been through together!" I grinned. "I've told you plenty of times; it would be a pain for me if you died. Besides, I kinda like having you around."

He raised an eyebrow at that statement, folding his arms. "Really now? I can't believe I just heard that come out of your mouth."

"Heard what?" I asked innocently, cursing myself faintly at the same time.

A solid smack connected with my shoulder and I swore, flashing a glare in his direction before my face softened at the pained expression on his face as he touched his wounded shoulder. I knelt down, reaching out to skim my fingers across the bandaged area. "Does it hurt badly?"

Shocked chocolate eyes met mine, and then flashed away. "N-No. Not really." He looked back up at me, and I blinked as a delicate blush moved across his cheekbones. "Um, Shiro…"

"Yea, King?"

He smiled faintly. "Thanks. I don't know what I would have done without you."

I snorted, shaking my head at that. "You couldn't survive without me, King, and you know it. I saved your ass back there when that shinigami showed up."

That got me another eye roll, but he had a smile on his face nonetheless. He shifted on the couch, and then sighed, holding up his hand to me. "Here, help me up, oh mighty Shiro. I can't get up without pulling on my shoulder." I rolled my eyes, tsking my tongue, but pulling him carefully up. He settled in the bed, sighing tiredly as he curled up under the covers.

"King!" I said sharply. "Hey, I got you food and everything, you need to eat it!"

He waved a hand in my direction. "M' not hungry right now, Shiro… Just tired…"

I sighed, but didn't press the issue, feeling the exhaustion slipping through his reiatsu and through our link. I left him be, though I fidgeted uncomfortably where I stood beside the bed.

After a few moments a heavy sigh came from the bed and Ichigo sat up, crooking a finger for me to come closer. I did so cautiously, letting out a faint yelp when he grabbed my wrist and yanked me bodily into the bed. I landed with a faint thud, the wind knocked out of me as Ichigo growled faintly.

"Don't just stand by the bed, get some rest you dunderhead."

I swallowed uncomfortably, and then growled faintly, rolling around and trying to get comfortable under the sheet. After a moment there was a faint grumble from beside me and then an arm was suddenly thrown over my chest, pinning me to the bed. I blinked in shock, and then my King's tired voice echoed in my ears.

"J's shu' up an' go to sleep, Shiro…"

I blinked, and then smiled faintly, closing my eyes and trying to settle down. The least I could do was get some rest while it was available and not dangerous.

From this point on most of the story will be in Shiro's point of view. I think there's one other section that isn't, but other than that... Anywho, I really hope that I get Shiro right. The only thing that you guys need to remember is that this is set 5 years after the series; Shiro has changed quite a bit. He doesn't feel nearly the same way as he did before, and I'll try to make a point of mentioning the way that things have changed in the chapters. Let me know your thoughts!