My apologies everyone. I smacked face first into a huge plot wall. I'm now discovering the disadvantage of publishing before finishing. But on with the story.

Lesser Evil- Chapter 10

By: Raicheru

Ichigo was warm and comfortable. Snuggling deeper into the blankets, he could feel the weight of someone shifting under the covers with him. His eyes snapped open as recent memories welled up to slap him awake. Looking back over his shoulder, he could see pale white hair.

Thrashing his way up off the futon, he scrambled over against the far wall. His hollow was crouched in a defensive stance, sword drawn and golden eyes wide. When his gaze settled on Ichigo, he lowered the blade and frowned.

"Holy shit, you scared me. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me?! You're the one who decided to get all touchy feely." Rubbing his shoulder absently, Ichigo looked around. He recognized one of the back rooms at Urahara's shop. "How. . .?" the last thing he remembered clearly was sitting on the couch with Grimmjow. Heat spread across his cheeks as he thought of it.

"Not really sure. You just kind of appeared out of nowhere." The hollow sheathed his sword and sat facing Ichigo. Waiting around for this past week had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. As soon as he'd felt the faint shimmer of Ichigo's presence in the human world, he'd taken off leaving a surprised Urahara blinking in his wake.

He'd found him in lying unconscious in a nearby park, shirtless and wearing only a white hakama. Looking around, he hadn't seen or felt anyone, but he could have sworn there was someone watching. Gathering Ichigo up in his arms, he'd taken off the way he had come. If there was no immediate threat, nothing else mattered. His King had come home. Ichigo and his pale double both looked up as the screen door slid back revealing Urahara standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun. You're awake. So nice to have you back with us." Ichigo sighed.

"How long have I been gone?"

"Almost 10 days."

"What? What about my family. Dad and my sisters, are they. . .?" Urahara snapped his fan open.

"Relax, they think you're getting special tutoring here. The didn't even really know you were gone."

"And everyone else?" "They've obviously been extremely worried about you. But I've managed to keep them from doing anything reckless like try to rescue you on their own." Good. They were safe. Kon peered around the edge of the door. Ichigo looked him up and down trying to figure out what felt different. Then it hit him. Kon was in his body. Looking down, he could see his black shihakusho. Over on the futon, his hollow wore its white opposite.

"How come I'm not in my body?" The hollow sneered.

"Same reason I'm not in it dumbass." Ichigo glared but didn't reply even though he had a dozen nasty things to say.

Urahara spoke up.

"It appears that your soul body was damaged during your last fight. Neither one of you can enter your human form until that is repaired." Ichigo was mildly relieved that his hollow hadn't been able to run amok looking like him.

"So how do we do that?" The hollow laughed suddenly, catching Ichigo's eyes with his own and he leaned forward.

"You gotta let me back in King." Ichigo's immediate reaction was a flat refusal. His thoughts were interrupted by Kon who leaned into the room.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked, indicating the hollow.

"Nobody asked you, teddy bear."

"Bite me asshole!" The hollow hissed at him and he yelped, ducking back behind Urahara. He muttered to himself in the relative safety of the taller man's shadow. "I'm a lion, not a bear." The fan flicked shut.

"I know it's not the most desirable option for you Kurosaki, but you won't be able to enter your physical body again until you two get back together. Neither of you can exist in your current state." Ichigo frowned and looked over at the pale copy of himself.

For the first time, he noticed the cuts and bruises. One nasty one in particular sliced across his left eyebrow then faded into an ugly bruise along his cheekbone. Even when they had fought in his inner world, he'd never seen the hollow injured. There were dark smudges under the golden eyes as if he hadn't slept well in days.

"What are you staring at?"

"I've never seen you get hurt before. At least not so that I noticed." The hollow looked away.

"He is the embodiment of your power, and he can't wield it effectively without you."

"Speak for yourself old man. I'm not just a part of him. I have my own thoughts and feelings." The silvery words were spat angrily in Urahara's direction, but there was more denial than malice in the tone.

"That may be true, but you still couldn't handle even the weakest of hollows on your own." The hollow continued to glare. Turning to Ichigo, Urahara regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "Let me guess. You didn't have any power to call on when you were in Las Noches."

"No." When he caught the shop owner staring at him, he became a little uncomfortable. "Now what?"

"Aside from a few minor injuries, you seemed to be relatively healthy when we found you. That was unexpected. The last reports of your fight implied that you were badly injured at the time." Reddening slightly, Ichigo shrugged.

"Yeah, well Aizen seemed more interested in keeping me around than letting them kill me."

"Them?"

"The arrancar. He's got quite a few over there. I didn't know there were that many."

"That's quite worrisome. I'm sure the Soul Society would want to talk to you about it."

"Look, I doubt there's anything I could tell them that they don't already know." Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. He had no intention of telling anyone the whole story. "I. . .I don't really want to talk about it."

"I see. Don't worry about it for now. Nobody knows exactly where you've been except for that you've been missing. With the exception of those in this room of course." Getting to his feet, Ichigo headed out the door and towards the ladder that led to the training room below the shop. He felt an incredible urge to move. The hollow trailed after him. Good. He could use someone to beat his frustrations out on. As he set foot on the bare rock of the floor, the hollow shouted from above.

"Hey King! Catch." Ichigo instinctively caught the sheathed blade that was hurled in his direction. The plain katana felt awkward in his hands. He was used to a much larger blade. The hollow stepped up to him. "You look a little distracted there. How the hell have you survived this long?" Ichigo barely managed to dodge the swing of the other sword, its pale blade just missing him.

"Careful. You trying to kill me?"

"Get a grip. Don't think I'm going to take it easy on you just because you let yourself get kidnapped." Ichigo felt the heat of his anger rise. This always happened. Nobody could piss him off as much as this pale version of himself that stood grinning maliciously at him. Drawing his own sword, he lunged to attack. "That's more like it. Almost thought you'd forgotten how to fight."

They traded blows for a while, the clang of the metal blades echoing in the large space. For once, they seemed totally equal, neither getting the upper hand. Both had broken out into a sweat as they danced across ground. A loose stone slipped under Ichigo's foot and he staggered briefly. It was enough of an opening for the hollow to pin him against an outcropping, their swords sparking as the tension shifted them against each other. The pale face leaned in.

"You think I don't know." The silvery whisper breathed between them. Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "You still smell like him."

"What?" Shoving the hollow off, Ichigo darted to one side only to be intercepted.

"What happened exactly? Did he touch you?"

"It's none of your damned business!" Ichigo lashed out making the hollow laugh in his face.

"It had to be more than that. You had this lost look when you woke up like you were expecting someone else." Ichigo's blows were parried easily. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a little disappointed." They both stopped for a moment. "He fucked you." Ichigo said nothing as they stared at one another. The moment lingered. Was he disappointed? Maybe. Just a little.

The hollow's expression sobered. "Better not get too attached. They're all gonna die." Ichigo's head snapped up. "Don't look so shocked. The Soul Society may be full of idiots, but in the end they're gonna win. You really think they're going to let any of the arrancar survive?" They wouldn't. Ichigo knew they'd be disposed of like any other kind of hollow. But the arrancar were different. They weren't mindless beasts that killed out of instinct. Did that make them better or worse for understanding their actions? He shook his head not having the answer to that.

"I don't know. But what I do know is that I can't help anyone as I am now. I need you. For better or worse." Moving forward in a flash of motion, Ichigo stabbed out. The startled hollow fought to defect his strike, but didn't quite manage. The slim blade dug in deep, running him through completely.

"Careful what you wish for King." With a short nod, he indicated the white sword that was buried in Ichigo's middle, a mirror image of his own body. "We're in this together." He started to fade away, traces of him swirling around Ichigo like a pale mist. As he was absorbed, a trailing silvery laugh rang quietly. "Just remember King. No matter who's on top, I'm always inside you." Ichigo closed his eyes and ignored the comment.

When the air cleared, he was alone. The stab wound in his chest completely gone as if it had never happened. His raietsu surged through him and he threw his head back with a breathy laugh. How odd was it that he needed his hollow to feel whole again? Drawing Zangetsu's huge blade up before him, he swung out.

"Getsuga-tensho!" A blinding flash of energy ripped out, tearing a great welt in the ground. With a relieved sigh, he settled the sword on his back. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what he was going to do now, but at least he was better equipped to do it.