Stroking the soft white hair on his sleeping brother's head, Ichigo sat on the side of his bed wondering when his twin might awaken. He knew Shiro tended to sleep in a little bit more than the average person, but then, Shiro wasn't exactly average nor was he acting like himself lately. Honestly, Ichigo didn't know what to think. He recalled his argument with the doctor when he had suggested that Shiro might not wake up again, that keeping him alive might just be useless.

That didn't even make sense. Even the doctors had had no idea what was wrong with Shiro. They'd all been making assumptions on what they didn't know. To say that…it made him feel sick. They threw around a lot of words. They could label it as a coma or whatever but they didn't know. It was thanks to their father that they'd been able to get away with what they had. They were lucky.

It wasn't like comas were a rare case, the news didn't cover every single one of them on TV or anything, but Shiro was unusual. A twin born as an albino, with sclera as black as coal, garish yellow irises in their centers-not even to mention his past- slips into a coma. People were already after him for studying with his impossible eye colour, hell knew what would happen if the people from school found out. He didn't need that; he was discriminated enough because of his albinism.

The first two days were horrible. He was put on a shabby little life support system-which would forever haunt Ichigo's nightmares- and he was put in a private part of the hospital, an area he was sure shouldn't even have existed. It was like being in a horror movie. Everyone was so secretive and tense. The doctors and nurses walking in and out would eye him over, comparing him, glaring at him, looking like they were sorry and occasionally demanding that he leave. He made enemies fast and it wasn't long before their gazes passed over him entirely, like he was nothing more than a part of the wall. Just the kid's twin brother, ignore him.

Ichigo had refused to leave Shiro's side for those first days. It wasn't until Isshin had gone down and forced him to go home, telling him that his sisters needed at least one of their brothers and promising he'd take his place until morning, that Ichigo had finally left. He had felt guilty, seeing his father with the ever growing circles under his eyes but Isshin insisted he was fine and that Ichigo was looking far worse than himself.

They had told Isshin, at least, Shiro's rating on the Glasgow Scale but they would not tell Ichigo. Isshin merely hinted that it wasn't great, which only caused him to become more anxious than before. It felt as if he were holding his breath, like all the oxygen in the air had suddenly gone. He sat at Shiro's bedside, he called his name, he threatened him that if he didn't wake up he'd kick his ass- then let out a dispirited laugh, moving on to tell him a falsely animated recollection of his day, how the family was doing and how he finally agreed with Shiro about how much he thought the hospital sucked; there was no response, nothing. He shook his head and sighed, squeezing his brother's pale limp hand in his own.

Days later Shiro's eyes opened. Ichigo shot up from his chair and practically dove for his brother's hand. He shook it enthusiastically trying to get his eyes to move away from the ceiling and in his direction. Shiro didn't so much as twitch and it only took Ichigo a moment more to notice the glazed, empty look in his eyes. Vegetative state, one doctor said. Shiro was taken off the life support.

He didn't close his eyes, and it unnerved some people at how little he blinked, Especially with the way they already had thought he'd had 'demon eyes'. Ichigo overheard one nurse talking about it with another woman he didn't know. He glared at her furiously whenever he saw her from then on.

Ichigo hadn't known how to react when Shiro started moving one day. It wasn't uncommon for a person in his state to twitch their limbs and such but Shiro had actually managed to lift himself up in the bed and started trying to remove his feeder. Without a second thought Ichigo called for a nurse to come in but found himself regretting it, if only a little bit. Shiro didn't struggle, oh no, once touched by the nurse he fell limp almost instantly, but it was the greatest sign of wakefulness he'd seen from his brother in the longest time. The small incident caused Shiro's eyes to change direction but once; they then faced Ichigo's seat straight on and Ichigo discovered one more thing that would haunt him forever; his brother's staring, blank eyes. As if he were dead.

Another day later, Shiro was sitting up again, this time rather than trying to remove his feeder he tried to climb out of bed. No one knew what to say to this anomaly. Shiro was moved to another section and one of the nicer male nurses helped arrange a plan to allow some of Shiro's mobility. Ichigo was grateful.

Shiro responded to nothing but the tug of Ichigo's hand in which case he was led blindly in every which direction. They didn't think they could consider Shiro as in a Vegetative state anymore but other than his walks he didn't move. He was a zombie in many ways, still Ichigo had never imagined…

"You must really hate this, huh?" he mused mostly to himself as he knew Shiro wouldn't answer. "Stuck in a hospital; I kinda hate it too."

He pulled his lifeless brother along, going in a circle around the room. "I know it's hard but all it takes is for you to say something, just prove that you're really awake, and we can leave."

Ichigo stopped moving and stared down at the floor and felt his brother stop too. He looked up at Shiro and was met with a reflection of himself within the flat gold of his irises. He stared deep into his brother's eyes but couldn't see anything past. It was like Shiro was looking through him, like he wasn't really there. Ichigo felt a shiver move down his spine.

"Geez, it's cold in this room. You know, you'd think they'd have better air conditioning, huh? C'mon, let's go over where there's sunlight."

He pulled Shiro over toward the large cream framed window-the only one in the room. Outside the sun shone exuberantly piercing through the vast array of different coloured clouds, all painted in the orange hue of the sunset. The sky had been looking indecisive all day, torn between whether it wanted to be bright and blue or to continue on into the end of its cloudy, rainy season. Ichigo perched himself on the sill's edge looking outward with a sigh before turning back to Shiro. He wondered how much Shiro was really aware of what was going on. His eyes didn't absorb anything whatsoever, they only reflected. He wondered if he could get Shiro to sit down and reached for his hand again. It felt abnormally cool in his own. He frowned. That wasn't normal was it?

He shifted around, stood and put his hand to Shiro's forehead and felt his eyes widen. He coughed and lifted Shiro's hand looking for a specific point on his wrist, shaking as he did so. It couldn't be possible, could it? He fumbled the wrist and it fell limply to Shiro's side. Ichigo swallowed, hard. Hesitantly he lifted his own hand up to a point on Shiro's neck and held it there. Nothing.

"N-no way…no…" He grabbed Shiro's wrist again and yanked him along, calling for someone to come as fast as they could. When a few arrived Shiro was quickly forced back onto the bed and Ichigo was rushed out of the room. With a panic, he called for their father over a pay phone and he arrived at the hospital practically moments later. Ichigo couldn't comprehend what was happening from there on. He entangled his hands in his hair as he sat waiting.

People flew by him, back and forth, in and out of the room. Shouts, commands, curses, still no answers. He heard some muttering; 'impossible'.

Ichigo ground his teeth together. Shiro couldn't be…he couldn't be…dead…He was alive! He'd been moving around on his own! How then…? When had it happened? A few minutes before? Even earlier? It didn't make sense. He knew it was stupid and selfish of him to think but Shiro wouldn't die on him. Not like this. Hadn't they just found each other?

The lights around him shone too bright. They were burning his eyes. He choked despairingly and buried his face into his hands.

He wasn't sure how late it was when he felt Isshin place a hand on his shoulder. He looked up dully at his father. Was it normal to feel this numb? Isshin looked down at him with an expression Ichigo couldn't describe.

He spoke softly, as if afraid speaking too loud might cause his eldest son to break. "His heart's not beating right. We don't know what's wrong with him. We don't really know what to do here. He's still alive, though…somehow." Isshin shook his head his head with a frown at the next part, "He's been hooked back up to a heart monitor and they're still trying to get some more equipment in there. They've decided to give him some things to make him sleep."

"What!? They can't! If he…he'll die!" Ichigo cried out. "If his heart's not beating and they make him go to sleep he'll die!" His hands curled into tight fists and the only thing stopping him from getting up was Isshin's strong hand on his shoulder. His father shook his head grimly, as if to say he agreed but there was nothing they could do about it. Ichigo felt as if he'd dropped from a thousand feet.

Why Shiro? Why always Shiro? In his mind, all Ichigo could see was the pale inanimate face, the once flaming golden irises, dead. If it were anyone else Ichigo could've just looked to his side for help and Shiro would be there. He'd make a crude joke and tell him to relax, that it wasn't the end of the world, things would get better. Then, if he didn't listen, he'd smack him in the head and tell him he was being pathetic. Ichigo's lips twitched up for a mille-second then his face twisted in pain. His brother…

Shiro fell back into his coma. The doctors and nurses had done what they could- so Ichigo's father had said. Ichigo had been bitter around everyone. He wanted to hate someone but he didn't know who, And if he did would it be because they hadn't recognized Shiro's problem before? Or because they'd screwed up now that they had? Did it even matter? He hated them all anyway…even himself.

He said nothing, until that one day, that one stupid doctor… He could feel the pure rage bubble up from his core; it tasted like acid in his mouth. He screamed at the man, argued with him that it wasn't true until he finally lost it and connected his fist with the man's jaw. Almost; Isshin had caught his son's arm before it managed to inflict any damage and pinned it behind him, preventing any further attack. Ichigo growled furiously and turned his argument on his father.

"So you're going to listen to that bastard, then!? Huh!? Shiro was getting better! You hear me, bastard?! He was getting better!! You put him back into a coma and now you're saying he's not gonna wake up!?? Fucking BASTARD!!!!"

"Ichigo, calm down, don't lose your head!"

"No! Don't you realise that Shiro might've woken up if we'd left him alone!? He could've been home by now! He has no right to be spouting shit like that! He said it was useless! Did you hear him? It's not useless! He's going to wake up again, just watch!"

"Ichigo, Ichigo, I understand, I heard what he said but you have to calm yourself! You're not the only one upset here; your sisters, me, even Tensa-san has been calling non-stop, rushing to get down here. I don't agree with what's been said but I don't agree with your actions either."

"Why-"

"I'll get him home, Ichigo, I promise, the moment he wakes up, regardless of what state he's in, I'll make sure he makes it back home. Will you swear to me not to let this happen again?"

He swallowed. "……I swear."

Ichigo shut his eyes and let out a slow breath. He'd kept his promise and Shiro had made it home. He'd used his 'connections' was what their dad had said, to get Shiro out of that despicable place. They had the equipment if necessary and Isshin was highly qualified after all. Plus he mentioned that whether it was here or there neither person knew what to do about Shiro's randomly fading heartbeat so it really wouldn't make a difference where he was.

The ordeal was stressful, and that hadn't changed once from the beginning to the end. Shiro's unusual state of being had never calmed and levelled out after he'd gone back into his coma. Ichigo wished he could say he'd never had doubts but when does a heartbeat do that? It faded in and out, just barely staying in existence and there were several times when Ichigo would be awakened by a long, continuous beep only for it to suddenly make the smallest of rises on the glowing green heart monitor. He couldn't even have imagined what it would've looked like if someone had properly kept track of all the times his heart stopped beating. He could see the doctors and nurses had given up hope for him, and why not? Oxygen can't get to the brain if the heart's not pumping and if oxygen can't get to the brain then in simple terms, you're dead. What Shiro had been doing defied everything. Alive but dead? It was exactly as they had said; 'impossible'. It was something they didn't know, something they didn't understand and because of that they were afraid. That cowardice led them to lose hope. It infuriated Ichigo, but more than that, it had scared him. He didn't want to lose hope. Of all things, He felt losing hope would somehow mean losing his brother, and there was nothing-nothing he wouldn't do to avoid that. But he'd lost him anyway, hadn't he?

Ichigo shook his head. No, he hadn't; Shiro was right here, right beside him, at home, where he belonged.

Ichigo stared down at his unconscious twin, the sunlight coming in through the curtains of his window dancing playfully on his features. His ivory skin seemed to glow in the morning light. Ichigo brushed a stray hair out of his brother's face and smiled crookedly.

He had his brother and if nothing else he was happy. The doctors had said that he wouldn't wake up and now he was here. It was better than anyone could've expected. Shiro wasn't injured; in fact he hardly had a scar but for the big one that his hair covered. He did have some brain damage but nothing so severe so that he couldn't function. Other than his memories and maybe his level of strength, Shiro was fine.

That was one other promise he'd made; that when Shiro woke up-no matter what happened- he'd act as if everything had been normal. They'd all-Dad, Yuzu, Karin and him- made that promise to some degree. None of them were good with dealing with things like that; it was why they never talked sadly about Mom.

His initial reaction when he saw Shiro awaken actually had been something along the lines of what he'd said but the thought was quickly trampled by the sudden urge to embrace his finally conscious twin-even if it was only the zombie Shiro. Somehow, he wasn't sure, he'd kept his cover, even restraining himself when he saw his brother's vivid gold irises flare in his direction, full of life and perhaps even a little irritation from him smacking him. He was proud of himself- right up until Shiro started talking all crazy. Actually, even then it had been surprisingly easy to play along despite the pitfall of disappointment in that Shiro seemed to have forgotten who he was.

Well, He remembered some things, it seemed, it was just that he confused them. With really weird crap.

Ichigo would've liked to know what the dream was but his brother wouldn't tell him all at once. He was always like that when he was on his last resource; coveting, secretive. He knew that somewhere in the back of his mind, it frustrated Shiro. He always liked to have a sense of what was going on, some control, but with his memory wiped and replaced by some dream, there was no chance of that.

But either way, Ichigo had a sneaking suspicion that Shiro's dream might actually be a new version of his old memories- same plot, different story. As horrifying as it sounded from what Shiro had told him, getting him to retell his story might trigger some of his older, real memories as well. Ichigo wondered how Shiro would react to such sudden recollections. He guessed it was like Shiro had said about the dam thing.

Which reminded him of his idea-There shouldn't have been any protest for it; No one was supposed to be home today and Shiro had said that he'd be fine going so it was worth a shot. His condition shouldn't have affected him too much, if anything, it proved Shiro wouldn't be held down. Ichigo would be there for guidance if he needed it, so if luck was on his side, he might actually force a memory out of Shiro today.

He felt his brother shift on the bed and his focus was drawn back to the sleeping albino. Still stroking the silvery hair, Ichigo wondered if Shiro was in the middle of another dream. His open mouth twitching up into a relaxed smile told him something of the likes. Or maybe he just liked being petted.

"Mmm…"

Ichigo grinned. "Wake up, sleepy. We've gotta get ready."

"Ah...hmm…?" Shiro's pale eyelids fluttered and opened to reveal the dazed golden orbs that had hidden behind them. He squinted up, sleepily, the soft smile still on his face. His eyes looked over Ichigo's face then stopped.

The black gold eyes widened and Shiro jolted, flinging his twin's hand away. He lost his balance and fell off the other side of the bed with a yelp. There was a hard thud as he crashed to the floor, trapping himself between the bed and the wall where Ichigo couldn't see him.

"Shiro!" Ichigo jumped back onto the bed and stared down at the other side where his twin sat rubbing his head, disoriented. "You Okay?"

"mm…fine," he groaned. He rubbed his face tiredly and then stared ahead of himself, with a blank expression which in turn changed to a frown. Ichigo wondered if maybe waking him up like that had been a bad idea. The albino pushed his fingers against his eyelids.

"Ya' scared the shit outa me," He admitted. He stood up and looked around the room.

"Hm, still not back yet, Surprise, surprise," He muttered to himself, seeming not to care whether Ichigo heard him or not. "'Cept…this is your room…"

"You fell asleep on my desk," Ichigo sighed, moving over to the pile of clothes he'd placed on the dresser earlier. "And I wasn't gonna carry your sleepy ass back down the stairs to your room at whatever-the-hell-it-was AM." He listened as Shiro choked on that information but said nothing to deny what it implied. "Oh, and Yuzu's pissed at you."

"Huh? Why?"

Ichigo turned back to face his brother who had sat down warily on the edge of the bed again after climbing over it. "You ate all the food last night didn't you?"

Shiro's face visibly fell at that. "Oh…shit."

Ichigo himself had been a little surprised by the discovery this morning as well but he wasn't nearly as caught up about it as Yuzu. She'd had a bit of a mini-fit, threatening to go and wake Shiro up, until Karin reminded her of yesterday's events and that if she woke him up he might attack on instinct, thinking it was their father. She also made note that he had cleaned the dishes after and the food had been made for him anyway. She decided that rather than wake him up, she would yell at him later. Ichigo had decided to be merciful.

"Don't worry, I grabbed your clothes for you so you don't have to back down there," Ichigo said, tossing the bundle in his hands. Shiro caught it and began to unravel the mess.

"No collar this time?" he smirked, his black-gold eyes narrowing in amusement. Ichigo frowned and ignored the tease. He turned away from his brother and began to fumble with his and Shiro's backpacks, making sure they had what they needed, while Shiro changed into his uniform. There was a light snort behind him and in the next second Shiro's pyjama shirt had collided with the back of his head. Ichigo picked it up with a growl and peeked over his shoulder only to see Shiro innocently putting the fresh shirt on. He tried to focus back on the bags, attempting to ignore the albino's "prude" comments. And failing slightly.

"Hey, relax will ya? You're all tense," Shiro purred, jumping up onto the desk and staring down at him. "My first day of school, don't ya' wanna keep me from gettin' nervous?"

Ichigo gave him a flat look. "You've been to school before and we're sixteen years old; I don't need to help you with anything. And get off my desk."

He swatted at the albino forcing him to jump back onto the bed. Shiro laughed. "Oh really? You've been awful helpful despite what you're saying. You forget; I'm not used to this. What will you do if I get the wrong idea?"

Tired of the mocking tone, Ichigo launched Shiro's backpack at his head. He picked his own backpack up and hung it over his one shoulder.

"Quit playing around, we're already gonna be late because of you," he growled.

Shiro rolled his black-gold eyes. "Tch, Yer no fun, you know that?"

"What? I am so- Oh whatever. C'mon, and try to be quiet too. You're gonna have to sneak if you wanna make it past Dad and Yuzu." He began to walk out of the room when he realised he had forgotten something. He went through the drawer of his dresser and pulled out the reflective black glasses. He turned to face his brother.

"Oh, and don't forget your sunglasse- Shiro!" Before Ichigo had the chance to even move toward the direction of the window sill, his brother had already jumped. He collided against its edge and just caught as his brother agiley landed on the grass with a crouch. He looked shaky for a moment before he stood up and turned to give Ichigo a shit-eating grin. Ichigo stared down at him incredulously.

"Pass 'em down!"

Ichigo realised what he was referring to and shook his head wearily tossing the sunglasses out the window. Shiro caught them with ease and slid them over his black-gold eyes with a smirk.

Looking smug, Ichigo watched as his brother walked away, the messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Ichigo had no idea what had compelled him to jump out the window but he had to admit he was a little impressed-but more annoyed. Then Shiro's legs gave out and he fell forward onto the grass.

"Just wait there! I'll be out in a second," he called, exasperated. He should've known better. Shiro always seemed to think he was superman for some reason. Hopefully his weakness would be a reality check for him when he realised that he couldn't jump out windows. It was tough being his older twin sometimes.

Back when they were younger it had always been Shiro looking out for him, strangely enough. Ichigo guessed age didn't mean anything to Shiro, especially when it was only different by a few minutes. Strange that Ichigo should be thinking of that now; of the time he'd first lost him. It didn't matter though, they couldn't be kept separate; they always found each other somehow, whether they wanted to or not. Except maybe it was the first time he was the one searching when Shiro was lost.

He would get his brother back; he would find Shiro's memories for him, then, maybe, they could finally move on, away from all the lunacy and confusion. He wouldn't lose his brother again; He promised.

---------------------------------------------

"Just wait there! I'll be out in a second," he called, exasperated.

I cursed and then began to right myself into a sitting position on the grass. Well, it had worked at first; if I weren't so weak it probably would've been fine. Though it still hadn't worked out that bad; I didn't have to face Yuzu or Goat chin and my only compromise would be a couple of grass stains and an overprotective Ichigo. Nothing new with that one, except that it was me was being protective about. I still couldn't quite comprehend that.

I took the chance to check my pulse while I waited for him. My jump had caused it to shoot around a bit, but it was still going at a fairly steady rate. It was an awkward thing; it seemed to have no consistent rhythm at first, but then as you listened long enough you could find a distinct pattern in its beats. I wondered if Ichigo's was the same as mine seeing as we were twins and all. I'd almost been afraid it would be gone by this morning. Hollows just don't get lucky breaks like this, but…as long as it was still beating…

Except maybe it wasn't so much a lucky break as I thought; I felt exhausted. Like someone had literally drained all the strength out of my body and kicked me aside. More specifically, they had decided to stomp on my head, smash my face in, gouge at my eyes a little and then steal all my energy. I remember this feeling from before when my mask shattered. It would have to be for a different reason here, my lack of strength and energy couldn't just be explained by a shattering mask. Probably didn't help that I had fallen asleep on Ichigo's desk.

This place was weird. He'd actually gone out of his way to make sure I was comfortable. I had already figured that this Ichigo wasn't as big a jackass as the former but really? To go as far as…put me…in his bed…with…him…I wasn't sure whether I was flattered or highly disturbed. It explained the warm-oh no that was too weird. Definitely was rearing toward disturbing. But it was…nice of him all the same, if only for me being less tired for school.

To be honest, I was actually a little anxious. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't give a shit what any of those pathetic weaklings-ignoring the fact the I was one at the moment- in school might think of me, but the personal humiliation if I messed something up…I didn't want to have to face it. Being a 'little voice' in someone's head myself I knew how nasty they could be. And it wasn't as if my ego hadn't suffered enough already.

I heard Ichigo's footsteps on the grass behind me and I turned to squint up at him against the bright sun. Apparently the sunglasses were useless for anything but seeing your own reflection. "'sup?"

"Are you stupid? You jumped out the window. Can you even tell me what the hell was running through your head?" Ichigo scolded me. I rolled my eyes from behind the glasses.

"Jus' how much I'd always wanted ta' learn ta' fly," was my sarcastic reply. He struck out his hand and I stared at it for a moment before he changed his mind and decided to grab my wrist and pull me up himself.

"C'mon, let's go before the old man decides to ambush us," he said.

"Moron; what did ya' think I was doin' before?" I sneered.

He paused dramatically. "Being a moron?"

I glared at the back of Ichigo's orange head as I picked up the backpack that had fallen onto the ground beside me. He stopped walking suddenly and then turned to me.

"Hold this for me will you?" Ichigo asked, handing me his bag. I hung both over my shoulder, around my neck like the way I would Zangetsu. Distracted by the task I didn't notice him when he grabbed my legs until I was suddenly lifted of the ground. I yelped and haphazardly threw my arms into a chokehold around his neck.

"Hey! Wha-What're ya' doin'?!" I gasped in alarm.

"I'm carrying you," He answered simply with complete nonchalance. "In this world it's called a piggyback."

"It's also called degrading!" I hissed in agitation. Did he not understand…? He was carrying me! It was pathetic! I hate being pathetic! Stupid bastard, Ichigo…"Put me down! My legs aren't broken; I can walk on my own!" I dug my ebony nails into his shoulders in a useless attempt to get him to drop me- If it hurt him, he didn't let it show.

"If I put you down we'll never make it to school so suck it up for a little while," He huffed, hitching me up higher on his back without so much as a warning, causing me to grit my teeth in frustration. "This is what you get for not going to sleep at a decent time like I told you to."

I frowned and grumbled into his hair, giving up my futile struggling. This body was useless; seriously, I share a body with the King so I know useless. It was useless and weak. For the first time in my entire life I found myself wishing I had the shared usage of his body back instead of having my own. Well, that wasn't really true; this body wasn't actually mine after all, it was Shiro's. My body was hiding somewhere beneath the skin waiting to tear out, mask, claws, tail and all. And you know what the first thing I had planned to do with it was gonna be? Destroy this worthless, piece of crap, excuse for a body.

I glowered at everything we passed, my cheek resting on Ichigo's soft tangerine coloured hair. Despite popular belief he didn't smell like strawberries-just that same warmth that was currently annoying me with how fast it made me calm down. Our school bags swung softly from my shoulder with every step Ichigo took and I made a low guttural growl every time he stopped to hitch me up higher along his back.

"You're moody," Ichigo noted quietly after a long bout of silence, as if he thought I should suddenly just burst into song from sheer joy and happiness. I wrinkled my nose, distastefully.

"You're carrying me," I grumbled. "I don't care what happened to your brother; this is pathetic. You're stupid if ya' don't realise that."

"You are my brother," he answered automatically, saying nothing more as he turned the corner.

I grimaced. "I don't understand. If it's gonna be like this I should've just stayed home. Why do I even have ta' go to school, anyway?" It's not like its valuable knowledge for me. Alls I need to know how to do is swing Zangetsu and kill whatever gets in my way.

"You need to do something besides sit on a bed," Ichigo sighed. "And anyway, I can't just leave you at home. You can't be left by yourself like this and the house is gonna be empty today; Dad's working down at the main hospital all day and I can't miss another day of school."

"So bring the coma kid with ya'? Yeah, that sounds smart," I scoffed. I muttered under my breath about how much of an Idiot he was and Ichigo hitched me up higher causing me to yelp and then curse at him.

"Can't you do anything besides insult me?" He asked, irritation beginning to form in his voice. I kicked his side in response and he winced but decided to continue speaking, softening his tone. "Why don't you tell me more from your dream," he suggested. We weren't far from the school now.

I laughed harshly. "Why should I?"

"Because you owe me one for your question last night, about how long you were in the coma or something like that," he replied coolly. I cursed under my breath. I hadn't thought he'd remember that let alone that he would use it against me-Which, of course, was stupid because that's what he did best. I said nothing for a long moment, feeling the breeze play with the hair in front of my face.

"I'll give ya' one later. I'm pissed at ya' right now."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

I kicked him again.

I…wasn't even supposed to be here. I should've been where I belonged. Or, well, not exactly belonged, but…I don't know. This place was confusing the hell out of me. It was a little frustrating that just when I'd finally begun to get an understanding of my existence, I ended up getting semi-killed and then awakened to something else, completely different. Not unfair, but frustrating. And hell knows what happened to Ichigo's brother.

I just didn't understand how this could've happened or where he went. Was he wandering around somewhere? A detached soul? Maybe he'd try to fight me for his body back…except, it'd be useless to him if he were already dead. Maybe he had become a hollow. He might come back then, and if he knocked me out of this body I could fight him in soul form. But, a regular hollow doesn't stand a chance against even half a vaizard; the fight would be over before it even started.

I huffed. This was useless. I didn't know how to get out of here- I didn't even know if I could.

"…A month…?"

"Yeah, that's all…"

"A month is still a while, Ichigo…"

I narrowed my eyes and buried my face into Ichigo's hair. What if I really was his brother? Not saying I actually thought so, but what if I was? What then, if I didn't have anything at all? There was nothing I'd wanted, I realised. Only to crush the King, take control and…what? Wing it, I suppose. Life seemed some much more exciting when you actually had to fight for it, I noted with a bitter laugh.

I could swear it hadn't been a dream. I'd felt the frustration, the thrill, the betrayal and I could still recall the way the blade felt in my hand, catching it from crashing down onto the king's head. The rush of power and of hunger that came next, the agonizing pain of having my mask ripped off, the rain; it was all real to me, there hadn't been one second when I had doubted in its existence. How could I possibly ignore all that? It was as clear as day. What made this place real? If anything it was even more unbelievable.

"Shit…"

I lifted my head up at Ichigo's curse and peered at him curiously. "What's wrong, partner?"

He stood frozen to the spot, staring stupidly at a single black vehicle with dark tinted windows trailing slowly down the road towards us. He looked as if he wanted to break for it but at the same time there was only one direction 'we' could run. I wondered if perhaps this idiot had managed to figure out a way to piss off a local yakuza.

He swallowed rather loudly and spoke in a choked whisper. "…I-It's…Zangetsu…Ossan…"

As if on cue, the driver window rolled down to reveal a calm-but rather angry looking man with dark visor-sunglasses and thick, wavy, brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. He drove the car up to where Ichigo stood on the side walk and looked up at us with a frown. I shot him an awkward grin from Ichigo's shoulders.

"Are we going somewhere in particular? This is not the usual route you take to school. Is it that you wanted to get there late, that you wanted to enjoy the morning, or that you are avoiding someone?" Zangetsu inquired coolly, clearly already knowing the answer. I raised an eyebrow and smirked down at Ichigo's stunned expression, gaping mouth and all-I had to hand it to him; he really knew how to look brainless. Funny, I hadn't even realised.

"A…ah-ha-ha-ha…Uh…we, uh…" Ichigo trailed off as Zangetsu gave him a flat look that stated simply; he wasn't falling for it. I rolled my eyes. You fail, Ichigo. You just fail.

I heard a click sound from the car's door and he gestured for us to get into the back seat. And then I heard something that I would definitely have to add to the list of things I had never thought I would ever hear come out of Zangetsu's mouth; "Busted."

Things are revealed! If not a coma, what was really wrong with Ichigo's brother? Is Shiro's world really just a dream? What about Ichigo supposedly losing Shiro before?? And will I ever shut up and stop asking these irritating questions???? We'll find out, next time on-*is shot*

Okay, I personally apologize for this chapter. 'You made them wait all this time for this???'-that's what the voice in my head is saying. I'm sorry. And I know there are probably mistakes in it. I try to fix them, I really do, but I miss things and force you lovely readers to suffer through it, because I'm horrible like that.

I also discovered-stupid me- that my initial calculation of Shiro being a month old is a few days off. I cannot give an exact date (since Kubo doesn't pay attention to how he writes his time frames apparently D:) for when he does his fight with Ichigo but I can say (roughly estimating) that Shiro's official birthday, or more, anniversary is July 26! YAYS!!! (If there is any news of some sort of…I dunno…cataclysmic disaster on this date in the area of Keswick/Sutton, Ontario Canada…it wasn't me!)

Thank you, to my reviewers! Seriously, I would be nowhere without you guys! Seriously…