My sister has informed me that since she is writing a story for me, I will have to update this one much more often than I have been. So, since the last chapter was for my own Ichigo's birthday, this one is for the real Ichigo's birthday! Satisfied, imouto-kun? (Although somehow I doubt Ichigo will like this present as much as mine liked hers...)

And it still isn't smut.

Anyway, onward to the angst.

xx

Smiling in anticipation, the hollow turns his attention back to the girl. Now that the King is awake, it is time to break her. Because once he has done that, the King will never be able to regain control.

He brings up his sword, and prepares his attack.

xx

Rukia curses silently as his blade meets hers once again, the impact forcing her backward a few more inches. Her breathing is still shaky and rasping from the earlier attack, exhaustion causing her vision to waver as she glares up at the smirk that flashes across his familiar features. He presses his sword-and himself-closer to her body, and her wrists burn as she holds Shirayuki in place, a barrier between herself and the man standing before her. She knows that if her grip falters, his blade will push hers out of the way and mark her flesh once again.

He gives her sword one last shove, knocking her off balance as he backs off, his unnatural laugh echoing through the night as she stumbles against the curb. Catching herself before she falls and hits the cracked asphalt, she readjusts her grip on the pure white hilt and braces for his next assault, her mind racing.

The hollow is strong. There is no denying his power, his abilities, the reiatsu that makes her feel smaller and more insignificant than she has ever felt before. His strength is beyond anything she has experienced, and she instinctively knows that neither she nor Ichigo will be able to defeat it. Their only chance will be to strike together, to push their teamwork to its limits and take advantage of any weakness the hollow may reveal.

Rukia bites her lip, forcing herself to focus. Thanks to the hollow's earlier taunts, she knows that Ichigo is watching this battle. And she knows there has to be a way to get through to him.

The hollow vanishes from before her again, but this time she is ready to meet him as he reappears behind her. Spinning, she unleashes the bakudou she has been preparing. The hollow has no time to dodge; the spell hits him and he freezes in place, sword held out before him as his attack is halted before it can begin. She knows the respite will only be temporary, but she hopes to use the small window of time she has created to give Ichigo a chance to regain control.

The hollow leers down at her as she approaches him. "You know, Rukia-chan, you didn't have to do this to get close to me. All you needed to do was ask..."

Rukia ignores him, moving closer until she is less than an arm's length from Ichigo's body. Pushing his sword aside, then sheathing her own, she leans in and takes his face in her trembling hands. She looks directly into his eyes, searching them for a trace of the boy she knows and...

Loves?

The realization hits her suddenly, as she stands before him with their bodies almost touching, and her lips part in a silent gasp. Somewhere within her, she knows that she has loved Ichigo for a long time, but has refused to let herself see this until now. Now, as he fights an enemy no one had foreseen, all because he had loved her enough to give his life for her. Now, as she stands here, holding him, almost close enough for her to...

But the other thought that she has kept buried in her soul for so long, that he is once again fighting for his life because of her, comes to the forefront of her mind now, insidious and sickening. She hears an inner voice, the same one that speaks to her of Shiba Kaien in her darker moments, whispering that she could once again be responsible for the death of the person she loves most. Tears beginning to prick at her eyes, she takes a deep breath and forces the voice and the thoughts back again, knowing that now is not the time for weakness.

She blinks the tears away, then looks back into the hollow's black-and-yellow eyes, willing herself to see past them to the soul she knows is still there. Her hands pull his head down slightly, and she stretches to close the gap between them to mere centimeters, her lips not quite touching his as she speaks his name.

"Ichigo."

xx

The hollow is not worried. The binding she has put upon him will not last for long, he knows, and once it dissolves she will be unable to block his next attack. He smiles in anticipation of feeling her blood on his sword, hearing the King scream her name as she falls at his feet.

The smile falters as she steps closer to him, her eyes unafraid. Damn her, doesn't she know when she is defeated? He wants to see her realize that she cannot win, to see those violet eyes drowning in despair. Anger furrowing his brow in an unconscious echo of the King, he prepares to snap the bonds holding him and lash out against the girl before him, who dares to think she has a chance of success. She will never be able to force him to give up control of this body. He has won the right to it with blade and blood, and he will not tolerate any attempts to take it away from him again.

And then she moves closer, and she leans toward them, and she speaks his name.

The effect is instantaneous. Emotions the hollow is barely familiar with rush into his mind-fear for her life, trust in her abilities, and, above all, the overpowering need to protect her from harm, to defeat anything and anyone who dares to hurt her. The feelings come from somewhere deep within him, so deep he is suddenly unsure of who he is. For a moment, he sees her as the King must; she is the person he cares for more than any other, the one who gave him the ability to protect. The one who changed his world.

Gasping, he wrenches his thoughts away from her, swearing silently. He should have realized when he had set this trap for the King that it could work both ways.

He clears his mind, rage building as he realizes she is still standing there holding him, still unafraid of what he might do to her when he defeats her bakudou, freeing the body he has taken. He wants to break her, to taste her blood, to stand over her and laugh as she screams. Merely killing her is no longer enough; he wants to destroy her.

Narrowing his eyes, he gathers his reiatsu and prepares to lash out against the power holding him in place, feeling the King doing the same thing somewhere in the back of their mind. For the first time, he begins to worry that this takeover may not work as well as he thought it would. If he doesn't finish this confrontation quickly, the King might be able to regain control, and all of the hollow's careful planning will have been for nothing.

And then he stops for a moment, his smile returning slowly.

There is more than one way to end a battle. And more than one way to break someone.

xx

Do you have any idea how hard it is to write this sort of story with a nine-year-old trying to look over your shoulder?

...

...Yeah. Anyway, I love you all.