Byakuya frowned and stared for a moment. "What?"
Shuuhei looked just as confused. "I don't understand. Why would his spiritual body actually deteriorate?"
The hollow Ichigo rolled his eyes dramatically, which had an odd effect since the sclera was black. "Do you people even think? First off, is Ichigo different than other Shinigami?"
"He has a living human body," Byakuya said suddenly.
"Yeah, and…" the hollow Ichigo continued.
"He shares his soul with an actual hollow?" continued Shuuhei.
"Give the boy a prize," the white Ichigo said with a huff, crossing his arms and flopping to the ground. "It's blaringly simple. I was passed from his mother to him. I am a fuckin' vasto lorde class hollow. But more than that I'm a created hollow but that's a story for another goddamned day. Yes, and I'm fuckin' badass when I go all out, by the way, which you've never seen," he said with a look at Byakuya.
"But anyway, the issue is, this is only part of his body. The rest is back in the world of the living with Kon renting space. I am a vasto lorde classed hollow, no matter how I came to be. Ask his dad about the hollow without a hole. And no matter what I tell the king here about taking over, I can't. Not permanently, anyway, because his body can't handle it. It's one thing when I'm pushing him and taunting him, and coming partially to the surface. It's another to be in full control like this. When I push the pure hollow to the surface…I'm not like this. This is what I look like in Ichigo's inner world. Not what I look like when I take control of his body, as you've seen, Byakuya. This is different. This is him switching places with me, which isn't supposed to happen. He can block me from the inner world, I can't block him. He can cut me off from Zangetsu, I can't do that. If I can't access the inner world, this goes to hell pretty damn quick, burned up like a candle," he said, gesturing to the body he was in.
"And frankly, I keep Ichigo's stupid ass alive, because I'm not keen on dying. So, we got some shit to figure out," he finished flopping down on his back dramatically.
"Nii-sama?" came Rukia's voice tentatively from the doorway. Byakuya turned to stare at her.
The hollow Ichigo didn't move, just stared up at the sky. Rukia came out and glanced down and back to her brother, eyes going wide.
"There has been…a complication," Byakuya supplied.
"Fuck you, you pussy ass cherry blossom bastard," the hollow muttered. "Complication my fuckin' ass!"
"Nii-sama?" Rukia asked, panic tinging her voice slightly.
"It would appear that Ichigo's Hollow self has taken over his body. And now we must deal with it," Byakuya supplied, hand clenching around his sword hilt.
"What? How is that even possible?" she gasped.
"Look, I'm tired of fuckin' explaining this shit. Now, one of you assholes hurry the fuck up and figure out how the fuck to drag his goddamned ass back out so I can get back inside and stop fuckin' dying!" he said, standing suddenly and with a burst of sonido landed on the railing of the bridge to stare at them through narrowed eyes.
"Dying?" asked Rukia, looking at Byakuya.
"It would seem that the hollow will burn out the body if he remains in this form. And neither we, nor the hollow, wish to see that happen," he said. "I'm going to the twelfth to request Kurotsuchi-taichou's help."
"That fucker is not getting his fuckin' hands on me. Go get Urahara," he said, crossing his white arms defensively. "Last thing I fuckin' need is that psychotic Mayuri poking and prodding me. No fuckin' way. I'll let Urahara do anything he fuckin' wants but I don't trust Kurotsuchi."
Byakuya sighed but left, leaving Shuuhei and Rukia with the transformed Ichigo. "Um," Shuuhei said, glancing up at him. "What should we call you? Do you have a name?"
He thought. "No," he said, thoughtful for a moment. "No one has ever bothered to name me."
Rukia and Shuuhei exchanged glances. "Um, how about…Shiro?"
He looked down and a smile split his face. "Shiro. I like that. We'll go with Shiro. I was thinking Hichigo, but I like Shiro better."
He hopped down with uncanny grace. "Now, I'm fuckin' bored stiff. I'm going out."
"Wait, you can't just go walking around like that!" Shuuhei said.
"Then come on, sixty-nine, because my white ass is movin', Ichigo may be fuckin' happy to feel sorry for his goddamned self and mope by a fuckin' pond, but I'm not. I wanna find fuckin' Zaraki…" he said with a wicked grin.
Rukia and Shuuhei exchanged worried glances. Shiro looked back. "Look, bitches, I give him power, remember? And I have all his power, plus mine. And Zaraki…well I missed that fight. Only got to fight cherry blossom boy."
Shiro walked ahead and Shuuhei noted the swagger he had, hips swaying when he walked in a fashion so unlike Ichigo. He also walked with a fluid grace that belied incredible confidence in himself. It was disconcerting to say the least. Shuuhei had gotten used to the quiet and comfortable silence that he had with Ichigo. And to see this…thing…take over made him feel strange.
Eventually they made it to the eleventh. Shiro vaulted the buildings and released a massive burst of reiatsu that felt like Ichigo but slightly different, and much more powerful than he expected. As expected, Zaraki and Yachiru showed up after a moment. Shiro stood in the middle of their training field, the lower ranking members of the eleventh cowering from his reiatsu.
Zaraki tipped his head to the side, and looked at Shuuhei and Rukia. "What's this?" he asked.
"That is Ichigo's hollow," Rukia said. "Apparently, Ichigo has given him control for some reason, and he's spoiling for a fight with someone. He thought you'd take him up on it."
No more words were needed. Zaraki reached up and removed the eye patch, a wave of immense pressure forcing many more of his unit to their knees. Without a word, they realized that Shiro was in Bankai and they clashed immediately. Neither Rukia nor Shuuhei had seen Ichigo's previous battle with Zaraki. Of course, they knew it had to be something because of the sheer amount of reiatsu they put out. But it was amazing. Neither one would give. And Shiro did some strange things that were completely unpredictable and there was no way he could be watched. He also had a cero that he used on the taichou. Before long, the whole area was surrounded by the eleventh division and Yachiru was yelling and cheering for both gleefully. Rukia didn't think she'd ever seen the taichou happier than fighting with the hollow version of Ichigo. It was different, certainly, but he still had all Ichigo's power plus the cero.
It seemed forever, but finally, they'd fought to a draw, neither of them able to stand, both laughing manically. To be honest, it was more than a little disconcerting. Ichigo's clothes were more red than white now, but as they watched, the red began to fade. Instant regeneration… By the time he sauntered back to Rukia, his shihakuso had mended completely and his wounds were gone.
"Refreshing," he said with a smirk.
"What is this?" asked Ikkaku who had come up with Yumichika during the fight to watch. "I thought Ichigo was out of commission lately at the Kuchiki manor…"
"Fuck Ichigo," came Shiro's reply, settling hands on his hips and winking at the pair of them. "I'm having fun for the time being without his boring ass. Wanna go get some sake? Maybe I can find that lush taichou and drink him under the table…" he said, twirling the strange white Zangetsu by the black wrapping at the hilt thoughtfully. "If I'm gonna die, at least I'm gonna have fun before I go!"
Rukia and Shuuhei followed and motioned Ikkaku and Yumichika to come along for an explanation. They really didn't want to lose Shiro out of fear one of the Shinigami would attack him. He doubted it would hurt Shiro, they were worried about everyone else. He was, at base, a hollow, so killing instead of incapacitating might not be farfetched for him.
They entered the bar and he grabbed a bottle of sake from the front and proceeded to drink straight from the bottle. "Shiro," Rukia said. "Ichigo doesn't drink; his body's not going to react well to all that alcohol…"
He grinned. "Yup! Gonna get drunk off mah hollow ass!" he announced and guzzled almost the entire bottle at one go.
Ikkaku looked at Rukia. "Ichigo's hollow. Apparently Ichigo, unlike the rest of the Vizard he trained with, doesn't just have an inner hollow, his is half of his soul. He was literally passed it from his mother. So, Ichigo, after the incident, has retreated. And now Shiro, what we're calling him, is stuck outside their inner world. If he can't get back in, the body will give out because he's a hollow soul, not a human one, and it can't contain him for a long period. And we can't reach Ichigo."
Yumichika slid into the seat opposite the hollow. "You fought taichou to a draw. Pretty impressive," he commented. Ikkaku, Shuuhei and Rukia also sat down to keep an eye on the body that belonged to someone else most the time.
Shiro looked at him with bleary, drunk eyes. "Hmm, yeah, nothin' gets mah blood goin like a good fight. Except a good fuck, but haven't done that a fuckin' age!" He leaned forward. "Ya'd fuckin' think a goddamned teenage boy would get some ass, wouldn't ya? Not fuckin' Ichigo. Goddammit. All the things I couldn't get him to do, finding someone to fuck wadn't one of'um." He smiled and swayed a bit. "Drunk is good. Don't hafta think. Say, pretty boy," he said looking at Yumichika. "I'd fuck ya, ya know, if shiny here ain't doin' it fer ya," he slurred with a lecherous grin.
Rukia and Shuuhei exchanged glances. "Shiro, I doubt Ichigo would appreciate you having sex with people without his permission," Rukia said, turning slightly pink.
He looked at her. "Wha? Ya just mad cuz he didn't wanna fuck ya. He'd rather have a nice cock than a pussy, ya know. I know. I see his dreams…" he swayed back and looked up at the ceiling. "He does dream…but never acts on it…just fuckin' dreams. Doesn't even fuckin' jerk off, celibate goddamned monk kid!"
Rukia's face had gone scarlet and the others were exchanging glances as Shiro's voice seemed to grow in volume. "Sheesh, ya'd think a healthy boy would like to put his dick in something. Nah, that's not it. See that's tha problem with this wholes sichiaton," he slurred then looked at them. "Yeah, see he wanted to be fucked. But then fuckin' Grimmjow fuckin' messes him up and he has it all screwy in here," he said, pointing to his white head. "He's got all kinds of messed up shit about it. What he wanted, whether he deserved it, whether he made it happen, whether he should have been smarter…never fuckin' seen someone hate himself so goddamned much and be so afraid everyone else hates him even more…" he said thoughtfully. "And I can't fuckin' reason with him! He won't fuckin' let me!" He slammed back the rest of the sake and stood on unsteady legs.
"Fuckin' hell, fuckin' bastard…take it all and screw it up…" he muttered and headed toward the door.
Rukia and Shuuhei got up and went after him, catching him as he almost fell out the doorway. He glanced up at Rukia. "Sista Rukia," he slurred. "That's wham he thinks a' ya. Like his sister. Renji's his brudder, ya know. But well, others aren't as close and he admires from afar…" he said with a sigh. "Like you," he glanced at Shuuhei. Shuuhei started and frowned.
"He likes ya, thinks yer strong after Tōsen's betrayed ya. And hot. Specially with that tat. But ya know, don' matter now," he slurred and slumped even heavier. They got him back to the manor and into a bed where he promptly passed out.
Shuuhei stared at him for a long while and shook his head. "Do you think he was telling the truth about all that stuff he was saying?" he asked Rukia finally.
Rukia shook her head. "I don't know…I mean, he was drunk, I can't see him being able to lie well under that much sake…"
There was a knock and they looked up to see Urahara.
"Urahara-san!" Rukia said standing.
"I hear you're having quite the adventure lately…" he said. "I just came through from the world of the living, what's happening?"
"This," she said, and brought him in to look at Ichigo.
"What in the three worlds…" he muttered.
"Shiro, that's what we're calling the hollow, has taken over. He says Ichigo has buried himself and won't let him even come back to their inner world. He's convinced he'll burn out their spiritual body if he can't return, and they'll die. So today, he fought Zaraki-taichou for almost two hours, and then proceeded to get drunk off a whole bottle of sake, then passed out, after trying to convince Yumichika to…rendezvous because he's mad that Ichigo wasn't sexually active… Went on this tirade about how Ichigo hates himself and thinks everyone else hates him even more, and that he's always been interested in men, in particular, um, I don't know how to explain it…" she said, blushing at the though.
Urahara nodded. "He was interested in being the receiving person in a relationship with another man," he supplied.
She nodded thankfully for his tact. "And when Grimmjow…" she paused, closing her eyes to take a breath with much effort. "When he hurt him, now he's doubting everything, and I'm guessing he just shut down, and then even that was too much for him, so when he sank into his inner world, he just didn't come back out of it. And Shiro took over like he does when he's in danger."
Urahara nodded and went to the passed-out form of the hollow Ichigo. He cast a few diagnostic kido and then hummed to himself. "I'll go confer with Kurotsuchi. Byakuya said that he refused to see him."
Shuuhei nodded. "Adamant that he wouldn't go near him. He said you could do whatever, but Kurotsuchi-taichou wouldn't put a finger on him."
"Perhaps Ichigo's experiences with him tainted the hollow's view. How is he, this hollow?" he asked, glancing at him.
"Opposite of Ichigo in every way. He's vulgar, crass, rude, lusts for battle and sex and alcohol…he couldn't be more different," Rukia said.
Urahara smiled. "Is he really that different or is he everything that Ichigo just doesn't let the world see inside himself?"
Urahara stood and left them, still confused and unsure what they were going to do. Shuuhei offered to stay, but Rukia said he should go on since she and Byakuya were there and could handle anything Shiro had to offer. So Shuuhei grudgingly went on and wandered back to get a drink for himself. He walked in to find Renji and Kira already there with Ikkaku and Yumichika. They waved him over to their table and he went, sitting down and accepting a drink.
"Hisagi!" Kira said with a smile. "Madarame was telling us about your fun with this hollow Ichigo! He propositioned Yumichika, even!"
Renji looked over with wide eyes at Yumichika who had blushed slightly. "Really? That brazen?"
Yumichika nodded. "Yes, and quite…vulgar about it."
Renji looked Shuuhei. "You were there, what the hell happened?"
"He just changed; it was weird, like all the color leeched out of his skin, face and hair, then his shihakuso too. And the Zanpakutō even changed color, inverting… Really strange. And saying all sorts of strange things, like when we were walking back to the manor he told Rukia she was his sister and you were his brother but there were others Ichigo admired from afar…" He stopped, his own face coloring a bit, but it could have been the sake.
"Oh, like who?" Ikkaku said, grinning.
"He said he liked me a little," he admitted, arching a brow.
"Must be more than a little for him to say something," Yumichika said with a grin. "Oh my, I think our substitute Shinigami might have a crush on you."
Shuuhei shook his head. "Doesn't matter, he's not even himself right now. Who knows if what that hollow says is true anyway? Maybe he's not even interested in guys."
"I doubt that," Renji supplied, getting everyone's attention. Renji looked at them all.
"Come on, I've seen Orihime practically throw herself at him, and while he'll do anything for her as a friend, he won't even come close to touching her in a romantic way. And Rukia was living in his closet for pity's sake. And not a move one the entire time! Then he's got this friend Tatsuki, he's had since childhood, and nothing between them. I've seen him spend more time watching guys around him than girls, I know that…" Renji said with a small grin.
"And the hollow said that he had zero experience," Ikkaku said quietly. "Like not even…" he held up his hand and wiggled his fingers.
Renji's eyes bugged. "No, really?"
Ikkaku and Yumichika nodded together. "Not even once! The kid's never had one. And he wanted to be the bottom in a relationship, he said, too. So, when that Espada raped him, he took his virginity and threw him into a tail spin because he hadn't even come to terms with his own sexuality!" Yumichika explained, sitting back in his chair triumphantly.
"And how do you know so much, smart ass?" asked Ikkaku.
Yumichika straightened his hair. "Because beautiful people must learn to accept our own beauty, and that includes the more carnal beauty of our lives. And I must admit, our orangette has a certain beauty to him." He rolled his eyes. "And perhaps I understand a bit of where he's coming from. Admitting what you want is hard sometimes. And if he hasn't accepted himself, then it is possible that that's what is driving his depression and isolation."
Of course, everyone knew that Yumichika was gay, and Ikkaku was his partner. Everyone knew that Yumichika was also quite happy in the role he filled in their relationship, and wouldn't change positions with Ikkaku if he could. Everyone also knew that Ikkaku wasn't gay. He loved Yumichika, and that was that. He hadn't fallen in love with his gender, it was Yumichika himself. Gender was meaningless, in the end after all. Just the outside bits of a person. In the end, being satisfied with the inside bits was far more important. And so Ikkaku and Yumichika had come together.
"I think perhaps I should talk to Shiro and see if I can't get through that beautiful skull of Ichigo's that there's nothing wrong with accepting himself…" Yumichika said thoughtfully.
"But if he's hidden himself…" Shuuhei said softly.
"Then I'll hope he can hear me," Yumichika said with a sigh. "I'll go by after lunch tomorrow, give him time to throw off that horrid hangover he surely has. Unless that hollow regeneration works on that too…"
The rest of the night they talked about various things but as they were leaving Shuuhei grabbed Ikkaku by the arm. "Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked, slightly bolder than normal due to the sake.
Ikkaku swayed a little. "Yah, what's up?"
"I was wondering, I mean, I know you and Yumichika are in love, have been for a long time, because he followed you to the eleventh and all, but how did you know you…you know, felt stuff for him when you don't normally like guys?" he asked tentatively and in a rush before he lost nerve. He really needed to sort this out.
Ikkaku seemed to sober a little. "It made sense. Seeing him all the time made me happy. I looked forward to it. And he seemed to do the same. I knew he wasn't straight, and he thought I was, so he never said anything. But when I started to feel like I wanted more I went to him straight away and asked if I was messed up since I was straight and all. He said, well, kiss me and see what happens. If you don't like it, no harm, if you do like it…then we see what we can do about it. Turns out he kisses better than any woman I've been with, and it just didn't matter anymore after that. The kiss sealed it. I knew then. I'll never love another man, I love him though," Ikkaku grinned drunkenly. "Speaking of which, I gotta get back before he goes to sleep…if ya know what I mean…"
Shuuhei shook his head and wandered back to his own unit. As usual, aside from those he'd just left, most of the Shinigami left him alone, ignored him, or at worse, talked behind his back. They all speculated about him and Kira and whether they were involved with the traitor Shinigami. And it was so hard. He realized that in two days he was supposed to sit with Ichigo again. But Ichigo wasn't going to be there in two days, and he suddenly realized that it made him ache at the thought he wouldn't be able to see him and wouldn't be able to walk the Kuchiki manor's grounds with him, silent as he was. He was comforting, and didn't judge him.
He sat on his bed heavily then flopped back into a fitful sleep filled with half formed dreams of orange and white.
