A.N. Merry Christmas everyone! And as a christmas gift, I am updating all my stories! Yay! Hope you guys like. And I know it's short, but considering I'm writing for seven stories, I'm doing my best.

He didn't kill. He butchered. It was so much more fun then a quick death. Blood was a drug, pained screeches music. Why Ichigo hated this, Zangetsu didn't know. Perhaps it was his hollow side, or maybe it was that sadistic part of him that was always there, but Zangetsu loved death. Loved pain.

Life wasn't worth much without the thrill of battle. The ability to fight for survival, to prove you deserve existence, not those weaker than you.

Ichigo might be the king of their body, but Zangetsu was Vasto Lorde, the ultimate hollow. He was above them all, stronger, faster, smarter.

So it was with great joy and exhilaration that he butchered the hollow that dared hunt in his territory. Dared threaten what was his.

The beast he fought was a powerful one, on the verge of becoming a gillian. A few more souls and the beast was destined to evolve. Something like that posed a threat to Ichigo's family and friends. And what belonged to Ichigo, belonged to Zangetsu. What the King would give his life to protect, the zanpakuto would kill for.

He might have been born with Ichigo, laying dormant until a certain someone was stabbed with a reaper's blade, but it wasn't until Ichigo was hollowfied that Zangetsu was truly awakened. And when he was, the first thing he felt was the desperate need to protect. It had been ingrained in his very soul. It was who he was.

And so Zangetsu fought.

The hollow he battled roared in pain and fury as it was slowly sliced to pieces. Zangetsu returned the sentiment with an insane cackle and another slash with his sword.

The crazed sword spirit danced around the wounded hollow, stabbing and slashing to inflict the most damage possible.

With a mere flick of his wrist, Zangetsu severed the hollow's hand from its wrist. The creature shrieked, backing away from the blood thirsty predator.

The sword spirit pursued, shark grin bared, double tone voice laughing.

Zangetsu felt the Old Man stirring in the back of his mind, displeased with his act of butchery, but grudgingly accepting that this was a better outlet for Zangetsu's violent tendencies than other, more disastrous, activities.

The colourless being laughed all the more, taking great pleasure in slowly mutilating the pathetic excuse of a hollow.

After a quarter hour of one sided battle, the hollow was rendered a quivering bloody mess, too weak to even lift its masked head.

Now bored, Zangetsu put the beast out of its misery, cutting its head clean in half. The hollow vanished in a shower of ash.

Zangetsu glanced up. The moon was slowly fading and the sun was reaching out its thin fingers toward the horizon. It was time he got back, else Ichigo wake up and find his inner hollow in charge of their body.

Sighing in disappointment of his play-time's end, Zangetsu headed toward the Kurosaki clinic.

Sneaking back into the King's room, Zangetsu was careful to remain as quiet as he was when he escaped.

Sighing, he fell back onto the bed, slipping into Ichigo's human body as he did, and relinquished control.

There was always tomorrow... he hoped.

"Gah... why am I so sore?' Ichigo moaned. He rubbed his shoulder as he and Rukia entered their school.

"Maybe you were sleep walking." Rukia supplied sarcastically. Her lips were turned up at the corners in a smirk.

"Haha." Ichigo toned humorously. "Very funny. And I guess I've been going out and killing hollows in my sleep?"

The near silent echoes of laughter in the back of Ichigo's mind had him freeze momentarily.

'What is he doing now?' Ichigo thought with raising dread. However, the laughter merely faded into the background of him mind. That only served to make him even more anxious.

His thoughts were soon interrupted with his and Rukia's arrival to class. The room was rowdy as ever, waiting for their morning class to begin.

Ichigo greeted his friends as always, with a nod to Chad and Ishida, a half smile Inoue, and a arm to the gut for Kaigo.

Normal as normal can be.

The two shinigami took their seats as class began. The teacher then proceeded to announce the arrival of a new student. Ichigo didn't bother looking up when said student entered the room.

His inner hollow, however, began to stir. Ichigo's brown knit in concern. He'd never felt the creature act like this. The hollow's mental racket grew louder until it was practically howling in his brain.

Ichigo shoved his darker half as far down into his consciousness as possible and slammed up his mental walls. With one last shriek, his head was finally silent.

Ichigo glanced up to see what might have caused the bizarre (and painful) behavior. His eyes finally landed on the new student who seemed to have taken ownership of the formerly empty chair next to Ichigo.

The blonde boy flashed him a smirk. Ichigo immediately felt on edge. Something was off with this guy.

"Name's Shinji," the boy introduced himself. His piano grin grew wider. "And I think we should be friends... Ichigo."