Defense

Chapter Seven: Vaizard

DISCLAIMER: As before, all I lay claim to are my own ideas, not those owned by Kubo Tite.

Uryu had to give his two cents…yen and Captain Hitsugaya's group popped by to say hello with the icy-eyed Captain himself offering an apology to Ichigo for betraying his trust. Let's see where they go from there.

EDIT: (Placed in all chapters.) I've received a small fortune of complaints that readers get all of these confused, so I've decided, finally, to condense them into one story. I'm not editing them, so any and all errors will stay. I'm afraid that if I start going through, I'll want to change things instead of just minor fixes. When I wrote this story, it was one of the very first I had posted, and I don't want that "first" to change.

Break

Break

On the roofs of the houses, they battled against the soon-to-be-purified Hollows. "Geez, this one's fugly!" Akuji shouted to no one, blocking the clawed swipe with his white Zangetsu then using flash-step to slice an arm and a leg off. Splitting the mask with his blade, it fell in battle just as the others had. "Ichigo! Behind you! We got an unknown!" he sent to his other half

"Help me out here!" was the reply, causing the Hollow to look over and see the actual-hybrid battling four of the creatures.

"You suck, Ichigo," Akuji said after appearing at the teen's back to help fend off two of the soulless creatures. "I don't know who this guy comin' up is. Pft, might be a girl!" An insane cackle came from his grinning face as he split another Hollow Mask in half. "Here we go," he sent to Ichigo before spinning around and catching a blade on Zangetsu's edge. "And just who, exactly, are you?"

"Shinji Hirako is my name, figuring the mystery behind this is my game," a blonde man answered. Akuji filed him away under 'stupid' immediately. A red beam suddenly flew over Akuji's shoulder, passing by Shinji's as well, to pierce into a Hollow behind the blonde.

"What the hell was that?!" the Hollow yelled at Ichigo, who was floating just in his range of vision with his index and middle fingers' tips smoking slightly.

"If I knew, I'd tell you! I'm the one who's confused out of my mind about all this mess!" the Entity Hybrid shouted in return, slashing his nails through a Hollow's arm to watch the appendage fall away to the ground before disappearing in spirit particles. These things really are sharp as hell, he thought to himself.

"Oi! No spacin' out!" Akuji called to him before pushing Shinji off of his sword. Flash stepping over to his other, he shook him slightly. Ichigo still stared at his bloody nails. Damn it, Ichi! Wake the hell up! The Hollow pulled the hybrid to him, harshly biting into the teen's neck and earning a gasp for his efforts. "I knew something would bring ya back to Earth."

"Did you have to bite me?" Ichigo questioned even as the wound healed, thanks mostly in part to the rapid regeneration his Hollow self had imparted into him. Good thing it surprised me or we may have a few scarred individuals… he thought to himself with a mental grin, knowing that Akuji wouldn't even be bothered by his ideas.

"I already told ya I like the taste of your blood, Ichi," was the answer. "I could-a kissed ya…but I don't think everyone else would cooperate with the moment," the Hollow offered to him after a moment's deliberation. "That's beside the point. This guy here says somethin' about solvin' a mystery and I think he might be wantin' to talk to ya."

"Whatever. But we might want to kill these Hollows first," Ichigo returned before they shot back into battle, this Shinji Hirako helping them to make the battle end faster.

I really need to talk to this…Ichigo. I don't want to face death-by-flip-flop from Hiyori, Shinji mused, knowing the girl would beat the hell out of him if she knew the joke he'd just made about her. A few minutes later, all the Hollows were dead except for the one that was orchestrating the entire battle. A swift slash of Hyorinmaru sent it back to its makers. "Now, Ichigo… I need to talk to you."

"Well, talk."

"Privately, if you don't mind," the blonde retorted with a slight gritting of his teeth. Ichigo shrugged before motioning the mysterious man to follow him. After a little bit of running through Karakura, they arrived at Ichigo's bedroom. Quickly, Ichigo and Akuji went inside, leaving Shinji outside the window.

"Can you sense anything about this guy, Akuji?" the hybrid questioned. A look of concentration came over the Hollow's face as a slight pulse of reiatsu came from him. "Akuji?"

"He's…got a weird energy signature… It's between Hollow and Shinigami…but the Shinigami's more prominent. I don't really know what the guy is," was the pale other's answer. Ichigo's eyebrows became lost somewhere in his hairline as he merged with his body.

"You sure about that? Hollow and Shinigami?" he asked, getting a nod in reply. Sighing softly, he propped his leg up, setting his arm across his knee. "This just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Next thing you know, there's going to be a really big guy with pink hair that whines…"

"I have a friend that fits that description perfectly," Shinji cut in as he entered the room. "Nice place you've got here."

"It's my dad's clinic," Ichigo responded shortly. The guy was already annoying him, but, for many people, it didn't take long. "If you're going to beat around the bush, get the hell out."

"All right, all right…" Shinji said, lifting his hands defensively. He leaned against the wall as Akuji sat in the desk chair and Ichigo kept his seat on his bed. A soft, undetectable pulse of reiatsu came from the blonde man, causing all illusions to dispel. "We want you to join us, Ichigo. By 'we' I mean my fellows and myself. We're called Vaizard."

"And what, exactly, are Vaizard?" Akuji interrupted, taking a quick glance at his other before having to keep his mouth from dropping open. "Uh…Ichi? Your marks are showin'…"

"What? But…I had them hidden!" A growl came from the hybrid. "Bastard! What the hell did you do!?" A swift movement from his Hollow kept the teen from leaping from his bed to attack the self-proclaimed Vaizard.

A small smirk came to Shinji's face, but he answered the pale one's question with, "A Vaizard is a Shinigami who dabbled too closely to the Hollow side. We're, basically, half and half except we have to repress our Hollow halves or they could destroy us and reek destruction." The blonde then took a bit of time to feel out his company's presences. "You…Akuji, if I'm not mistaken… You're a Hollow…"

"Yay! He wins the grand prize! Congrats, blondie," the pale half of Ichigo replied, growling out the last part. "You're really startin' to piss me off. Hurry up and say what ya gotta say."

A sigh came from Shinji. "I've already told you. Shinigami with Hollows that have to be repressed are Vaizard. We want Ichigo to join us." He watched as Ichigo's eyes narrowed into slits, the angry red markings starting to glow in a blood color.

"I have no Hollow side that needs to be tamed. Akuji is his own person and I will not take that from him, no matter what you say or what you do. You can bring your whole gang if you want. I'm not going to do anything to him that may hurt him. Take your ideals and stuff them so far up your ass that even an x-ray can't find them!"

"Couldn't-a said it better myself, Ichi," Akuji said with a small laugh as he plopped down on the bed beside the teenager. The Hollow pulled the hybrid into a one-armed hug.

"At least give it a chance!" Shinji exclaimed at him, having learned from sources that the teen responded better to yelling matches than calm talks. "Wait. How about this? We'll fight and, if I win, you'll give it a try. If you win, I'll leave you alone."

"No," Ichigo growled, standing up from his other's comforting hold. "I won't gamble my Hollow's safety like that! Akuji matters too much to me!" The teen felt the Hollow's presence behind him as the patterns in the air changed. "What's he doing?" he asked his other before Akuji wrapped an arm around him. The familiar pattern of the Shinigami amulet pressed against his chest, expelling his soul from his body as an odd mummy-looking Mask formed over Shinji's face.

"He's invokin' his Hollow power. Do the same, Ichigo," was the answer.

"If you don't want to fight me…I'll make you," Shinji said, his voice echoing with the killer intent of his Hollow Mask.

Akuji lay Ichigo's body on the bed before straitening back up and walking over to his other, circling his arms around him from behind. Ichigo relaxed into him easily, feeling Zangetsu press into his back. "I won't accept your terms. I won't risk Akuji on a battle. Sometimes, swords are meant to be put aside…" he said to the Vaizard.

"You have to fight… Otherwise, I'll just kill you and be done with it." Shinji glared at the teenager fiercely while the bone-like material formed over Ichigo's face, creating his bleached white and blood streaked mask. "Hmm…You've managed to get Mask Manifestation? Very good! Maybe this fight will be worth my while after all! Any last words?"

"Yeah. Bite me," Ichigo answered, getting a snigger out of Akuji. "Not you, ass. Save that for later." He could practically feel the grin on his counterpart's face. He shifted his weight, bumping against the Hollow, telling him to back away. Ichigo pulled Zangetsu around in front of him. "Well… If we're going to do this, why not get it done? I don't want to miss dinner."

A slight squeak came from his door as it was pushed open. "Ichigo? Dad needs… Who are you?" Karin asked, having come into the room on the pretense of finding her brother. Quite suddenly, she found a sword at her neck with an arm around her stomach. "Let me go!" she shouted, watching as an odd mask collapsed from her brother's face. "Ichigo! Help me!"

A snarl escaped the teen as his younger sister was threatened. "So, you're stooping to harming my family to get me to join you?! You're just like that damn bastard – Aizen!"

"Oh…that hurts, Ichigo…" Shinji said to him with a mock-pained moan. "But I'll do what I must. We need you and we can help you."

"Ya wanna know what happens when ya threaten the family?" Akuji's voice asked from behind him as a black-bladed Zangetsu slid into his vision along his neck with enough force to let him know it was there. An insane giggle came from the Hollow. "I spill your blood 'til there's none left. So, how 'bout you put the girl down, hmm?" He giggled again, putting to light his intent of killing the Vaizard when he pressed the white Zangetsu's edge into the man's throat.

"Fine… I hope you know, though, this isn't the end between us." Shinji's statement was focused toward Ichigo, but the teen merely scoffed. The Mask on the blonde's face crumbled away before he flash stepped out of the window, quickly taking his leave.

"Good riddance," the strawberry-christened fifteen-year-old grumbled as he caught his sister before sitting her on her feet. "Sorry about that, Karin… I didn't think the dumbass would go that far to get me to join him." Letting a sigh escape him, he turned to his sister. "What did Dad want?"

"He wanted you for something, but I can't remember, so don't worry about it," she answered with a shaky smile. Kneeling down in front of his younger sibling, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm all right, Ichi."

His eyes shone with a soft sadness as he said, "I know, Karin…that's what I'm worried about." Gently, he pulled her into a hug. "You shouldn't be all right after having your life threatened…"

She smiled at his concern against his shoulder. "I'll be fine, Ichigo. I've had my life threatened before, remember?"

"Yeah…I know…" he replied and, after a few more moments, he let her go from the hug and watched her as she left his room.

"It'll all be fine, Ichi," Akuji's voice carried to him as he stood. "That Shinji guy's nothin' to worry about. Believe me when I say that."

Ichigo smiled slightly before turning toward the window to close it. After doing so, he felt arms slide around his stomach, one hand resting on his chest to pull him against the one behind him. "I'm sorry, Akuji. I can't help but be worried about it. That guy was prepared to use my family to get to me." His voice was unnaturally soft, but Akuji understood the fear Ichigo had of losing his family.

"Don't worry, Ichi. Let me help you protect those you care for." Akuji's tone comforted him like no other, enabling him to relax easier. "I know that you worry about this Shinji guy 'cause he was going to make you fight with me as the consequence. I know you don't want to lose me…but I'm not afraid of it, Ichi. You shouldn't be either. If we have to, we'll bust out Duex and let him take care of the meddling bastard."

Ichigo smiled a little as he said, "All right. But…what if he somehow defeats us?"

"Ya honestly think I'd let ya suppress me, Ichi? I'd just kiss ya and love on ya 'til ya couldn't resist the temptation of forgetting about it," the Hollow answered with a laugh, tightening his arms around his other. "Or I could just kiss and love on ya now to make you forget about it altogether?"

Ichigo leaned against Akuji with a smile before turning his head to kiss the paler of the two. The Entity Hybrid was very certain that nothing, nothing, could separate them at that point in time, not even a Vaizard focused on his own gain.

"Come on, Ichi… Lets go to bed," Akuji said, picking Ichigo up in his arms before laying the soul on his body, the teen merging with his human side. The eldest Kurosaki sibling sighed before pulling the Hollow down to lay beside him. "What's the matter?"

"You could've taken over, you know," he answered.

"Do you want me to?" the other asked, lightly tracing his nails over the hybrid's shirt-clad back. At his neck, where Ichigo's face was buried, he felt the nod of the teenager. "All right," he said softly. "Where's your amulet?"

"Last time I had it, I put it back," was the slightly muffled answer. Akuji lightly smacked him before pawing about with his hand over the nightstand, pulling the Shinigami amulet to him and gently pressing it to the living of the two's chest. He had realized that the transition was easier and less tearing when the amulet was used in the intention of being gentle. "Go for it, Akuji," Ichigo prompted his other, noting the hesitation. "Here," he added, taking the pale teen's hand and pressing it to his lifeless body's chest.

"Ichi-!" Akuji was cut off when he faded into Ichigo's body. Pain flared through the Hollow before his soul integrated with the body of his lover. "Holy hell… That hurt, Ichigo!" The normally paler of the two felt an odd sensation before Ichigo's body changed to be like the soul inhabiting it. "Ya know, Ichi, this can't be good for your humanoid self."

"If not, then it wouldn't be possible, right?" the orange-haired one asked with a small smile, watching Akuji clasp his hands into fists then release them. He did that a few more times before Ichigo asked, "Is it that wonderful of a feeling, Akuji?"

"Yeah…especially for someone who'd never had an actual body to call their own until now," was the answer. Ichigo leaned over and wrapped his arms around the pale teenager, laying down and burying his face into the Hollow-turned-human's neck. "Ichi?"

"M'tired…and you smell good," he said before the day's events caught up to him and he fell asleep.

"You're silly, Ichi," Akuji whispered before pressing his lips to his index and middle fingers then placing them against Ichigo's cheek. "Goodnight. Love you." Afterwards, he fell asleep as well, still reveling in the feeling of being human, if only in body.

"I-CHI-GO!" a voice shouted before Isshin Kurosaki came crashing through the bedroom window. Blood trailed down the man's face from cuts made by the glass before he gave a girly scream and clutched at his head. "Oh, Masaki! I'm ruined! My face is hideous and you'll never love me again! Masaki, my love-"

"Shut up! It's only a few cuts! You're a doctor! Act like it!" Akuji shouted, rolling back over and tightening his grip on Ichigo's soul form. "Ichigo. Your dad's just busted through the window again." He shook the teenager's shoulder every few syllables.

"But I don' wan' any pun'kin bed…" Akuji stared at Ichigo for a moment, wondering what the hell pun'kin bed was. Shaking him a bit more, the hybrid finally woke up. "Ugh… Good morning, Akuji," he greeted, kissing the Hollow in his body.

"Ichi, what's…pun'kin bed?" the paler of the two asked curiously, his eyebrows furrowed cutely. "I'm not cute, Ichigo!"

"Oh, sorry…um… It's pumpkin bread, maybe? Wait…was I talking in my sleep again?" Akuji nodded before laughing at the beet-red color that attacked his other's face. "Er…never you mind, Akuji…"

"All right, forget it happened. Anyway, your dad busted through the window so somethin' important must be going on," the Hollow informed him, getting impossibly widened, golden brown eyes in response. "Um…ya gonna let me in on this?"

"I forgot about school! Oh shit!"

"Calm down, Ichigo! Just gimme your amulet and you'll be in plenty of time to catch a fifteen-minute nap!" Soon, Ichigo was back in his body, dressed, and running out of the house with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. "Now, ain't ya glad for Duex's bit of interference with the Soul and Human integration bit?"

"Of course I am! I'll make it to school on time!" Ichigo could feel the grin coming from his Hollow. The same expression came over his own face as he appeared in a blur at the doors of the school, almost hitting someone, before he disappeared again. He busted into the classroom just as the bell rang. "I thought you said I'd get a fifteen minute nap?"

"Ya ever heard of a hyperbole?" Akuji replied sarcastically. "Ya know, known to be an exaggeration to us common people?" Ichigo mentally laughed as he took his seat, ignoring everyone as he settled his chin on his hand. "Someone's talkin' to ya, Ichi."

"Huh?" He looked up at the front of the classroom, realizing that the teacher was calling his name. "Ma'am?" he asked while Akuji cackled in the back of his mind in a helpless fit of mirth.

"Nevermind, Kurosaki…" the woman said, shaking her head as she continued with the roll. I swear, he drops off the face of the Earth more than Inoue, the teacher thought to herself as she stood to open the door. "We've got a new student today. His name is Shinji Hirako."

Ichigo jerked his head to face the blonde so harshly that his neck popped. What…? Why…

"Ichi, it's all right. We'll deal with him later," Akuji sent to him, manifesting beside him and glaring venomously at the Vaizard. He settled a hand on the hybrid's shoulder to calm him, causing Ichigo to look up at him and smile slightly yet softly. Akuji winked at him with a grin before vanishing.

"Thanks, Akuji," he whispered under his breath as the blonde sat beside him. Wonder what happened to Renji? Probably said that he was moving away, he figured, staring out of the window again.

The day up to lunch passed by in a blur, but it was at the end of lunch that the incident occurred. Ichigo looked up from his desk to see Orihime in one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. Shinji's arm was wrapped around her with Chizuru blustering about killing him.

"If she was having a problem, she'd do something about it," the blonde said to the fiery girl.

"She's too nice to say something that'll hurt someone! You are evil if you can't realize that!" Chizuru shouted, defending Orihime as the red-orange-haired girl bit her lower lip gently. "Let. Her. Go!"

Ichigo stood, pushing his chair back. Keigo and Mizuiro watched, stunned, as he took hold of the Vaizard's throat and slammed him against the wall. "Don't touch her," he growled, the entirety of his eyes blackening. "You will apologize to her…" Where his irises should've been lit in sky-blue, his spiritual power swirling around him for those who could see it. Those who couldn't see the white-sky-blue, blood-red aura shivered as it shoved its way through the room.

"S-Sorry, Orihime…" Shinji stuttered, staring into her eyes with sincerity before shifting them to stare into Ichigo's with fear, seeing his reflection clearly. "I-I apologized…l-let me g-go…" Ichigo watched him emotionlessly before tossing him to the floor and retaking his seat. He's… Ichigo is too far gone… That wasn't him… the blonde resolved, sitting at his desk beside the angered yet cold teenager.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the teen had left to his inner world. "Akuji! Why-" Ichigo gasped in pain as the Hollow hugged him too tightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" he whispered into the Entity Hybrid's neck, where his face was buried. "I should've been protecting you…I'm so sorry…"

"Akuji…what's the matter? What are you protecting me from?" Ichigo asked softly after the pale teen had loosed his hold, however slightly. Akuji didn't answer him, still murmuring apologies. Lifting his face with his fingers, the hybrid forced their eyes to connect. "Akuji…?"

"Something possessed you! It used your wavering emotions to its advantage and nearly killed that guy!" was the Hollow's shouted reply. "I should've been protecting you from that! I'm the reason nothing's possessed you like that before!

"I've always been with you, but I wasn't really myself until Urahara became involved… I let myself slip and…and…" The sorrowful teen was silenced by Ichigo's mouth on his own, a warm tongue finding its way between pale-as-death lips. Akuji let a soft breath out of his nose, melting against his other half. "Thanks," he said quietly, "I needed that…though I wouldn't mind ya doin' it again."

"Neither would I…but I want you to stop blaming yourself for a spirit possessing me before I do," Ichigo replied, his bronze eyes hardened into chips of topaz by his resolve to sooth his Hollow. Aforementioned Hollow bit his lip before raising his head to looked into Ichigo's eyes with his own yellow ones. "I would've beat the hell out of Shinji anyway, so don't worry about that."

A grin came over Akuji's face as he winked. "All right, I'll stop beatin' myself up over it and we can beat Shinji up over it instead. Sound fair?"

"Sounds fair," Ichigo echoed before running his hand through snowy hair to pull his other's face closer and kiss him again. "Love you," he whispered comfortingly.

"Love you, too, Ichi," was the reply, also quietly spoken. They merely held each other for a long while after that, Ichigo's thumb soothingly stroking the back of Akuji's neck. "I think…school's 'bout…over," the paler of the two mentioned, the feel of his strawberry-christened lover sighing disappointedly reaching him in his dozing haze. "I'll see ya in your room, Ichi…ya know that…"

"Yeah, I know," Ichigo replied and pressed a kiss to his Hollow's nose, chuckling at the way he scrunched it, before leaving their inner world. There was a person standing in front of his body when he came back to it, getting an inaudible groan from Ichigo. "What do you want, Hirako?" He doesn't deserve to be called by his first name by me.

"What happened to you earlier? Why did you act like that?" The blonde stared down at him from his standing point, though Ichigo's stare still made him feel inadequate.

"What? Want me to do it again?"

"Kinky," Akuji commented, getting a mental choke from the hybrid. Cackling, he appeared behind Ichigo and wrapped his arms around him. "Don't worry, Ichi. No one but this fruitcake is here that can see me. 'Sides, everyone else likes me," he reasoned, pressing his lips to the sensitive skin of Ichigo's neck.

"Manifesting your Hollow again, Ichigo?" Shinji sneered at him. "You can't really do anything on your own can you?"

"It's Kurosaki to you, Hirako. You don't deserve the right of those who've earned my respect." Ichigo stared at him coldly. "You think that just because Orihime didn't tell you to back off that she didn't mind. You're a damn pervert."

"He's back, Ichigo. Do you want me to let him in?" Akuji suddenly whispered in his ear. Ichigo shivered from the presence brushing against him and the feel of his Hollow's warm breath. The living of the two nodded. "All right. Be careful, Ichi." Akuji let him go as the spirit settled himself with Ichigo's mind.

"I won't hurt ya, kid. I just hate guys like him," a soft voice whispered to Ichigo.

I know how you feel. Use my power however you need…I only ask that you tell me why in return, he thought back to the male's voice.

"You got it," was the reply before the teen surrendered his body to the spirit.

Shinji found himself faced with black eyes and solid blue pupils and irises. Not again, he whimpered in his mind before finding himself pinned against the wall. "What's your problem, man?"

"You," the person said, Ichigo's voice having a gravelly quality to it. "It's people like you who cause young girls like her to get hurt."

"I didn't do nothin' to her 'cept put my arm 'round her!" Shinji shouted before finding the hand around his throat constricting.

"You're a damn pervert, ya prick. I've seen a sweet girl like her raped and killed right here in this school. I tried to help her and got killed, too. 'Course, the deed was already done. Her innocence was gone." The spirit was crying from the anger, causing Ichigo to cry as well. "Don't ever let me see something like that again, hear me?"

"Y-yeah…" the Vaizard gasped, wondering where the strength of the teen was coming from. Spirits don't have physical strength like this… It's all Ichigo… Shinji's eyes widened before he was thrown across the room again. Bowing slightly, he took his leave of the classroom.

Is there anything I can do to ease the pain? Ichigo asked softly of the man.

"Set a memorial for the girl…on the windowsill. Her spirit lingers here…and she feels so unimportant because no one remembers her. Let her know that she's loved… I'll rest peacefully with her…my sister."

Ichigo felt the spirit leave him and smiled softly. "Did she like chrysanthemums?" He felt an affirmative answer. "I'll set white…for her innocence… And orange for you; for the passion you have to protect her." He sighed quietly. "I hate humans sometimes," he mumbled, though Akuji heard him and pulled the teen into his arms.

"It's all right, Ichi. We all have our defects," the paler of the two replied tenderly. Ichigo sighed again before turning to bury his face in the shoulder of his lover's shihaksho. "Aibou…"

"Take control, Akuji. I want you to," the Entity Hybrid said, taking his amulet from his pocket and pressing it to his chest. "I know this is risky, being in school, public, and all that good stuff, but I really don't care."

"All right. Give us a kiss first, though," was the grinning reply, the request laughingly fulfilled.

"Silly asshole," Ichigo said afterwards, still laughing.

"Back at ya, King," Akuji retorted with golden eyes, fusing with his lover's human body before the teen could get hold of him. After the body finished changing, he felt teasingly light strokes from Hollow nails sliding along the flesh of his neck. "Woo shit, Ichi…don't do that here!"

"Revenge is sweet," Ichigo whispered against his other's ear then leapt from the window. Akuji followed without a hitch. Guess my body's stronger than it used to be, too. They both took off in flash-steps, though Ichigo stopped Akuji at a little store on the way to buy a glass vase. "Remember my promise?"

"Oh yeah…" Akuji mumbled to himself, looking for a little glass bottle among the knickknacks. Hmm…yen… Oh, those funny thingies Ichi told me about, he recalled, lifting the small creation in his snow-colored, black-nailed hand. Holding it up to the light, he watched as a rainbow of colors reflected through it. "Nice," the Hollow-turned-human commented before taking it up to the counter.

"Good heavens, child! Are you ill!?" the elderly woman asked, shocked. Ichigo busted up with laughter at the misfortune of his lover while Akuji groaned. "Child?"

"I'm fine, ma'am. The sunlight really isn't my thing, that's all," he answered, quickly throwing an illusion, like Duex, over his eyes, teeth, and tongue. Blue tongues really ain't good for calming someone, he figured, realizing the same for his teeth and eyes.

The woman looked up into warm, golden eyes and smiled softly. "If you say so, young man. Now, what've you got there?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Akuji scratched the back of his head as he placed the bottle on the counter.

"I've sold many of these lately… Oddly enough, though, I sold them to a young man who could be your twin…except for the paleness of your skin. He keeps telling me they're for someone special. What about you?" she asked, starting up polite conversation with him.

"Same here, ma'am. 'Sides, I've met the guy you're talkin' about. He's quite the generous soul to those who should-a been remembered," he answered, adding the last part with a wink.

"It's good that at least someone respects our loved ones who've passed on. Are you the same, child?" A sharp look entered the woman's eyes, sending a sweat drop down the side of Akuji's face at the swift change.

"Yeah. I'm quite a believer 'bout spirits hauntin' those who hurt 'em…whether they're dead or alive. A creature, however inhuman or not it may be, deserves the respect it's earned." A soft look entered Akuji's eyes, unbeknownst to him, as he cast his gaze out of the window. A big smile stretched across his face as he turned back, too cheerful to be real. "Ah, I'm goin' all dreary again, ain't I?" he asked as he paid for the glassware.

"Not at all." The elderly woman wrapped the bottle in many cushioning layers of paper before slipping it into a bag. "I hope the day treats you well, child."

"Same for ya, ma'am," Akuji said, tipping his head kindly before leaving. "She's awful nice, Ichi. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover, huh?"

"No. You can't damn an entire species for the action of one either," Ichigo answered, wrapping an arm about his Hollow-turned-human. "You know, Akuji, people are going to think that you're talking to yourself."

"Then what did they think of Rukia when she talked to ya while you were in Soul Form?" was the cheeky reply.

"She's nuts anyway," Ichigo concluded before finding himself being dragged into a dark alleyway and being pinned against the wall by his human Hollow. Turning them around to change the situation, he grinned up at his other. "You can't even wait to get back home before dressing me down, can you?"

"Nah… I've always wanted to see what being an exhibitionist is like," Akuji answered, but knew he wouldn't get his way because of Ichigo's love of privacy and secrecy. The scoff that came from his other half surprised him.

"All that happens is people stare at you like you're the filthiest thing on the Earth and, to top that off, like you're also the dumbest for committing a publicly inappropriate action." Ichigo spit on the ground, as if thinking people were stupid for that when they go to the cinema and watch two people do basically the same thing on a giant screen. "However," he grinned widely, "Going at it in the privacy of your own home guarantees you the pleasure of screaming as loudly as you want."

"I'll hafta say…that second one does sound more appealin'…"

"I thought so, too." After that bit of conversation for reasoning, they vanished in flash-steps back to the clinic. "Here's your cue," Ichigo said to Akuji before swinging the door widely open.

"WE'RE HOME!" the pale teen shouted, his watery voice echoing throughout the house before Isshin came flying through the hallway. Both his fists connected solidly with two abdomens, a fist each. Akuji and Ichigo, both, doubled over, wheezing. "What the…fuck…old man…?"

"What took you so long!? You knew we were having guests this afternoon and you rudely brushed them off!" Isshin ran back into the living room and bowed before the huge poster of his wife. "Oh Masaki! I have ruined our chances! My sons won't even come home from school on time! Where did I go wrong, my sweet love?!"

"Shut up!" Karin shouted from her bedroom. "You never told them we were having guests! You never even told US we were having guests!" She stomped out of her room and kicked her father squarely in the right side of his torso, sending him flying back into the kitchen. The man rolled in a pathetic ball around the table in the middle of the room. "Come on, you two. Let's let Dad wallow in pain for a while…"

"Sure thing, Karin," Akuji replied brightly, causing her to realize that her brother wasn't in the human form he was supposed to be in. "'Sides, our all-important guests are only Byakuya and Kenpachi," the Hollow supplied to his other as he was currently occupied from dodging his father's headlocks. The paler one rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Isshin's doctor's coat and slung him into the living room.

"Thank you! Someone finally has mercy on me!" Ichigo shouted before pressing many kisses to Akuji's face. A grin curved his lips when he pulled away from the Hollow, showing that he was playing on the theatrics of his family for the moment. Akuji leaned over and sealed their lips together, kissing him fiercely.

A throat was cleared near them. Akuji opened one eye to gaze at the shocked face of Kenpachi Zaraki and the stern, yet barely pink visage of Byakuya Kuchiki. "If you two are quite finished…?" the Squad Six Captain more demanded than asked.

"Nope, give us a minute," the Hollow replied. He and Ichigo flash-stepped into the teen's bedroom to continue their activities for exactly one minute before returning. "Now we're quite finished, Byakuya."

"It's Captain Kuchiki."

"Whatever. Ya know we ain't gonna call ya that, ya pompous ass," Akuji retorted as Ichigo stood to his side, each with an arm around the other.

"I didn't know you had a…twin?…Ichigo," Kenpachi cut in. "And, if so…isn't that incest?!"

"Er…no, Kenpachi… He's not my twin…thankfully. He'd drive me nuts if he was-"

"I drive ya nuts anyway."

"-But we're two of the same soul," Ichigo continued, speaking on as if Akuji hadn't interrupted him.

"I see. He must be the Hollow Captain-Commander warned us of," the heir of the Kuchiki clan filled in. That bit of information clicked in for Kenpachi and he grinned. "No battles here, Zaraki."

"Fine. I'll take this outside like a good schoolboy," the tall, powerfully-built man replied, his grin turning a bit insane. A wilder grin stretched across Akuji's face, showing off his fanged teeth. "I like this one. You could learn a lot from him, Ichigo."

"Believe me, I've learned enough," the hybrid mumbled, noticing how the two paid nearly no attention to the tattoos and other things that had changed about him. A slight squeak came from him at the pinch his bum received from his other half. "You bastard!"

Akuji only grinned.

Break

Break

End Chapter Seven

Ichigo: When the hell are you gonna leave us alone!?

When I'm done with you.

Akuji: I like her pretty well. She lets me kiss and love on you all I want behind the scenes!

Ichigo: You would like that. (grumbles) Damn sex-crazed vampire. (squeak) Stop pinching my ass!

Akuji: But you love it!

Ichigo: (still grumbles but has amused eyes)

Well! (claps hands) I think that's over! Make sure to leave a review and I'm GRIEVING because this took so long. My mind was just…clogged! (clicks save button while winking at Akuji)

Akuji: (grins while pulling Ichigo against self)

(whispers) This is gonna be good. (quickly locks door while listening to the nosebleed-inducing sounds erupting from behind the solid barrier)

Oi! Don't forget to review…PLEASE!