Ichigo sat up and dragged his fingers through his hair, blinking in the dim light and glancing at his clock. It was four in the morning. He tried not to groan in frustration. He felt a tugging in his subconscious that he knew would not allow him to return to a peaceful sleep. It meant that he had been having a bad dream, and Zangetsu had gotten sick of the rain.
With an irritated sigh, he got out of bed, slipping down the stairs and in to the kitchen as silent as a ghost, even in his human body. He took a seat at the table after starting the coffee maker and closed his eyes, dropping in to his inner world and scowling at his albino counterpart, who scowled back all the harder as his hair continued to drip from the recent downpour.
"Where the hell is the Queen? It ain't fair. She's a damn hero too, why is she doin' paperwork for those baboons upstairs?" Zangetsu growled, stomping in a circle around Ichigo, gesturing wildly as he ranted.
"Calm down. They are still recovering from the war and they need all hands on deck, you know that. Her captain nearly died. I'll be back there in a week, I promise. I just wanted to spend some time with my family." Ichigo sat cross legged on the side of the window. "I know you missed them too."
"Not the point! They keep you plenty happy during the day, but as soon as you go to sleep, the sky starts leakin'!" Zangetsu flopped down in front of him with remarkable grace for such an abrupt and jolting action. "Hey, King?"
"Yeah?"
"Think any of these buildings have got doors?" Zangestu turned his head to look at the ground to their right. A rapid series of flash steps and they were both dropping through an open glass door. "The Old Man is a total ass hat... He coulda told me about this ages ago... No wonder he hasn't been showing himself when it rains!"
"You never thought to see if the buildings have doors? What do you do when I am not here?" Ichigo shook his head.
"Lotsa important stuff... Mostly break stuff." Zangetsu stiffened. "Someone's comin'. I feel Shinigami and Hollow, but it ain't one of the Visored..."
Ichigo opened his eyes to the kitchen ceiling just in time to hear a knock on the front door. He was there in dash that rivaled a beginner's flashstep and flung it open, ready to deliver a powerful blow to any attacker. His eyes dropped a few inches and he stepped back, relaxing as he recognized the messy white hair of the Tenth Division captain.
"Toushiro? What are you doing here?" Ichigo was alarmed to find the young captain shaking and clutching his own arms.
"Kuro... Ichigo..." Toushiro looked up at him and gave him a look full of pain and fear. "I'm dying."