Title: It

Rating: G, action

Pairing / Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Byakuya, Yoruichi, Jyuushirou and Shunsui

Word Count: 978 words

Warnings: Nothing

Summary: Ichigo encounters 'it'

A/N: The monster isn't what I wanted. Feh.

Ichigo lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A shinigami… his annoying, pathetic, loser of a father was a shinigami…

'It's not right,' he mumbled. 'It's just not right…'

Watching him in action, Ichigo had felt the strangest of sensations – pride, awe, happiness – and for the life of him, he didn't know why. Perhaps it was because he was no longer alone, perhaps it was just because he didn't have to hide what he was doing anymore.

Ichigo sat up abruptly, realizing something. There was a slim possibility that he hadn't managed to hide anything in the first place, that his father had known all along.

It raised some interesting questions with regards to the night he had left for Soul Society; certainly his father had been more serious than was normal, going to far as to be… concerned.

Ichigo's lips twisted. 'Bastard. If he knew where I was going, why the hell didn't he say anything?'

'maybe because he believed you could handle it,' a sneaky voice in the back of his head answered.

'Shut up,' Ichigo told the voice, and flopped back against the pillows.

Screaming.

The chilling sound echoed in the silence of the night as a terrified soul sprinted down the empty streets, sobbing.

'Help me… someone please help me… don't let it eat me… don't let it… don't let it…'

Ichigo heard the screams and was already leaping out of his bedroom window, Zangetsu in hand. As he landed lightly, running out of the garden and into the street, the soul collided with him, nearly knocking him off his feet.

'Help!' the young woman sobbed. 'Please don't let it get me…'

Ichigo grabbed her wrists, trying to loosen the death grip she had on his robes.

'Let go… let go of me… LET GO DAMMIT, I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU!'

Ichigo reversed his grip on Zangetsu, tilting the handle downwards and tapping it against her forehead, performing a very hasty soul burial. His eyes were narrowed as the soul slowly disappeared from sight, wondering what it was that had frightened her so much.

A hollow? A Menos? Something else altogether?

Ichigo heard the soft scraping, and tensed. Whatever it was, it was big – and it was heading in his direction…

Whatever it was slowly rounded the corner, and Ichigo adopted a fighting stance, Zangetsu angled across his body.

It didn't creep so much as shuffle, and when he saw it, the blood drained from his face. Zangetsu fell to the floor, but Ichigo didn't notice.

All he knew was that he couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't look away, couldn't –

His pupils dilated, fear coursing through him at the mere sight of it.

Tall, nearly hollow-size, the creature slid towards him, thick glutinous liquid spattering the torn rags it wore.

Strips of flesh hung from a rotting skull, fat, pale worms writhing in eyeless sockets. The gaping cavity that on a living person would have been a mouth opened, and Ichigo's stomach clenched at the sight of blackened, razor-like teeth and the many striations of muscle that held the maw together. It screamed, a thin, high pitched sound, and Ichigo could smell the slightly sweet stench of decay as it did.

He couldn't move.

It was as though he was dying, no, as if he was already dead, already being eaten alive by the thing before him. He could almost feel the sharp teeth ripping into his flesh, and his breath hitched painfully in his throat.

Every instinct was telling him to run, to get away from the house and a sleeping Karin and Yuzu, and at last, he forced his limbs to move. Scooping up Zangetsu, Ichigo fled for his life, the terrible entity right behind him.

Kisuke poured himself another cup of sake, leaning over the table and refilling both Shunsui's and Byakuya's cups. As he tilted the bottle towards Jyuushirou, the white haired captain shook his head and said instead 'Shouldn't Isshin be back by now?'

Yoruichi stuck her head into the room. 'He got back about five minutes ago, and is with Jinta. He'll be with you in a minute.'

Kisuke's eyes gleamed. 'Come on, Jyuu-chan, one more drink won't hurt you.'

Jyuushirou sent him a dry look. 'It does when you're around, Kisuke. I'll pass.'

Kisuke and Shunsui turned mournful expressions on him, and laughing, Jyuushirou got to his feet, walking over to the window.

'How like the old days this is,' he mused. 'We were always telling Byakuya to come and join us, and he always declined…'

'Ah yes,' Kisuke said dreamily. 'The wine, the women, the song…'

'And the three of you would have drinking competitions,' Byakuya remembered. 'Kyouraku always had the most terrible hangovers afterwards…'

'Oh, shut up,' Shunsui muttered as Byakuya chuckled.

'Remember the first time you got drunk, Byakuya? Even though you never ate anything, I think Unohana is still wondering how you managed to –'

'Never mind that,' Byakuya interrupted in a panicky voice. 'That's not really important, is it?'

'Shunsui,' Jyuushirou chided him gently. 'Don't be so awful.'

Shunsui just grinned, and tilted the sake cup to his lips.

The mantra pounded through his brain. Run… fight… run… fight… run… fight…

Ichigo did neither; in his blind panic he didn't watch where he was going, and consequently fell down the flight of stairs in the darkness.

Pushing himself up painfully, Ichigo knew he wasn't going to make it. his head ached where he had hit it, and Zangetsu lay a few feet away from him. Panting, Ichigo crawled towards his zanpakutou, the blood from his scraped palms slippery on the gravel.

Another high pitched scream from somewhere behind him made Ichigo freeze again.

'Help…' he whispered. 'Someone, anyone help me…'

In the darkness of Karakura, mere blocks away from Urahara Shoten, a second, hysterical scream rang out.