Disclaimer: Bleach and all affiliated characters and settings are the creative property of Kubo Tite and all companies holding title to its distribution. Used for non-profit entertainment purposes.

Warnings: mild language

I was told that I pulled a fast one on at least 3 people with this. I assure you, that was a rather happy accident. xD

July 13 Prompt: Bullying/Intimidation

Tyrant

One of the most valuable lessons Ichigo learned while growing up was how to defend himself in the face of people who – quite frankly – were larger and stronger than he was. His mother used to shelter him from these people when he was small, but after she'd died, he had to learn how to deal with them on his own.

Of course, the growth spurt he had in middle school helped a lot. So did the fact that one of his sisters was an aggressive tomboy, and though he always heard from others that she was trying to take after her big brother, he had a feeling that he might have picked up on some of her tenacity as well. And once his reputation at school had grown, he went from being the bullied to having the full capability of intimidating others who dared pick on him (or anyone he felt the strong need to protect).

It worked for him, for many years. There were times when he got himself in trouble because his reputation sometimes preceded him, but for the most part, he felt confident that he would never go back to being the one cowering in the corner, whimpering and pleading for help.

And it worked until his found the one person who could scare him more than any of the fiercest bullies he'd ever encountered. His old method had been to run and hide from those he knew would take advantage of his weaknesses, but... old methods, in this case, just didn't work anymore. Not that he was accustomed to running from his problems these days.

But fact of the matter was, the only person who could back him into a corner and make him beg for mercy... was himself. Or, at least, the other creature that dwelled in him and threatened to take over at any weakness he might show.

In his own mind, he was called King, but only so far as he could keep the other more frightening half at bay. The fact that something he couldn't entirely control had that much power over his thoughts and actions was scary as hell. And it wasn't so much the fact that he knew that maniacal voice that constantly taunted him from the back of his mind was indeed a powerful foe; it was more the fact that if that side of him ever came out, he wasn't sure if he could protect others – especially those precious to him – from himself.

That was the scariest, most intimidating thought of them all.