Meanwhile, in their inner world, Ichigo was finally beginning to wake. Shiro was softly stroking his hair as he held him close. Zangetsu's body was asleep nearby, having still not woken up yet.
"Where? Shiro…" Ichigo tilted his head back to look at Shiro, who merely hummed in response. "So my powers...are starting to return." He tried to sit up but he had no strength. "I was lonely without you two to talk with."
"Shh King, you still need to recover. I took control for a while to get you to Urahara's where your body can be watched over until it recovers. Zangetsu had yet to wake fro his clumber as your hollow powers are the first to recover."
"Nobody's control my body huh, I thought you mentioned that was a bad thing in this state," Ichigo asked, finally managing to sit up.
"It's only been half an hour since the last time I checked in, you can take your body back if you wish now that you are awake. The others are still wary of me, well, aside from Karin."
"Thank you, Shiro," Ichigo murmured, hugging him despite his weakened state. Shiro returned it and motioned for him to get going. "Watch over Zangetsu and let me know when he awakes." With that, he was gone.
When Ichigo became aware of his surroundings, the first thing he heard was hushed voices coming from the other room. A quick glance at the window it clear he was out for a while, as it appeared to be earlier morning. And he had passed out around midday. He managed to gather enough strength in his limbs to sit up and eventually stand, but not without help from the wall. He wanted to see his friends again, it had felt like such a long time since he'd been able to see Rukia and Renji. He pulled open the door and gazed at the scene before him. The air was tense and he could feel the spiritual pressure radiating from everybody clearly now, which felt a bit overwhelming after having not felt it for months. Rukia and Renji were eating with Urahara, but it seemed as if the rest had gone home.
"Hey guys," he didn't speak very loudly, most become his couldn't, but they still heard him. "How long have I been out?"
"Only about a day and a half. The others went home, and Karin informed the rest of your family of what happened." Urahara answered, looking at him closely. "You shouldn't be up yet, Ichigo.
"I wanted to see everyone." Ichigo was beginning to feel weak again so he casually sat against the wall, a bit winded. "Besides, I feel a bit better than before." He managed to smile.
"I can't believe you've actually recovered your powers," Renji commented, holding out a bowl of food. Ichigo waved it away dismissively. He couldn't stand the thought of food right now.
"Sorry Renji, I'm not very hungry at the moment," He grimaced as he spoke as if the thought of eating pained him. Renji didn't push it, recognizing that there was no chance of Ichigo eating anytime soon.
"Uh Ichigo, have you looked at yourself recently?" Urahara seemed to notice that Ichigo had yet to ask why his body looked the way it did."
"Hmm, oh this?" Ichigo motioned to the fact that he looked nearly identical to Shiro, "I'm not surprised. Shiro said my hollow powers were the first one to stabilize so the physical manifestation of them would probably last a bit, although," Ichigo frowned deeply at whatever he was thinking, "If they are the first to stabilize, I'm wondering if my powers will go berserk again."
"They won't, but you might be in some pain as your body fully hollowfies. They might want to to take you to the training room when that happens." Shiro commented, speaking to the entire room, "The first thing that'll happen is the hole in his chest."
"Good to know," Ichigo muttered, running a hand through his hair. "But the sooner it finished stabilizing the better, cuz I hate looking exactly like Shiro."
"I take offense to that King," Shiro muttered.
"Oh shut it would ya? All white is your style, not mine." Ichigo snapped, aware that because of this everybody could hear Shiro.
"Does he talk to you all the time?" Rukia asked as she set her plate down, fully turning to face Ichigo.
"Mostly yeah, the first time he actually spoke to me was during my fight with Byakuya, when he forcefully took control of my body the first time. Then the fight with Kenpachi, one of the bounts...and a few other times before I went to the Vizards for help."
"Hey, I just didn't want ya to be weak," Shiro put in, "zangetsu told me to push yeh a bit so I did. By pissing you off."
"Yes yes, I am aware Shiro." Ichigo sighed, his eyes closing for a minute before he snapped out of it. He was beginning to feel worse again. Urahara seemed to take notice and gently grabbed his arm.
"Perhaps you should go lie down Ichigo, you're still sick." Ichigo didn't protest as Urahara helped him up. The others didn't follow, probably still trying to figure out how this happened he fell asleep almost immediately, but it wasn't peaceful or calm like it had been before. Instead of going to his inner world, he was sucked into a nightmare.
