Ichigo Kurosaki & Hollow Ichigo/Zangetsu

I do not own any of the characters, nor Bleach.

Summary: The two Zangetsus have finally found their balance. Reforged into two swords, for Ichigo to use. But Zangetsu, the Hollow, can't just leave things as they are. He can't just let the king walk around without a word or two. The King will hear him, and he, in the end, shall kneel.

**This is, in a sense, probably OOC? I don't know, you be the judge!

IN THE END, I KNEEL

Ichigo found himself standing on grass, surrounded by tall buildings that reached for the sky, looming high. He stared at the structures, noticing how some seemed to miss parts of them, but there was no debris covering the grass that stretched until it meet the root of the trees that seemed to surround this place... He blinked away the sluggishness of his mind, and slowly came to realize he was standing in his inner world, or what looked like, anyways. His brown eyes scanned the area, and the mirthful laugh that came behind him made him turn, his hand reflexively going to reach for his Zanpakuto.

"Yo, partner."

His inner Hollow, Zangetsu, stood before him, bare-handed and with just a smirk to flaunt.

"As you can see… there's more green in here. I'm glad that's the case… all those skyscrapers would've been a dull sight to see right now."

Ichigo's lips twisted as he frowned. He did not know what to make of this Zangetsu, or what to think of his inner world as it was now, different to how he had last seen it. What he did know, though, was that his encounters with this Zangetsu had always been a fight-to-live, and he knew he couldn't trust his… instincts. No matter he held both Zangetsus on his back. Was it okay for him to trust this mix of Shinigami and Hollow power? He noticed the Hollow's attire was the same as usual, and he blinked. "Huh?" Forgetting to keep his defense up, he let one hand rest on his hip while with the other he pointed at the being in front of him. "What's this, what's this? Why're you wearing that Shihakusho?"

"Ahhh?" The Hollow's expression grew annoyed and confused, and he found his mind going blank. All this time… and that's Ichigo's question to him?

"Yeah, well. You see…" Holding his chin between index and thumb, Ichigo looked up, trying to come up with the proper words. "Mine has changed. And you're Zangetsu, right? Hollow Zangetsu… or… Shinigami Zangetsu? Well, you're a mix of the two so I dunno how to classify you…" Ichigo trailed off, his thoughts moving too fast as he tried to make sense of what the Hollow-Shinigami was.

Zangetsu felt his patience crumble, as he couldn't believe Ichigo's behavior for this meeting. "So what with that?!" He blurted out in annoyance, pointing at Ichigo with an an accusatory finger, "I chose not to change my appearance because you, apparently, wouldn't even recognize me!" He hollered, remembering how Ichigo had not been able to recognize him back then when Tensa Zangetsu had forced him out.

Well, maybe that was a different case, since he had his Hollow mask on, and his clothes were similar to Ichigo's when he used bankai, not to mention he had longer hair. Besides, Ichigo had never seen his Hollow mask like that. Still, shouldn't his distinctive white color give him out? Ichigo was just that thick, it seemed. He fumed as he caught himself completely out of the subject at hand. This was not why he had called Ichigo now!

"Arghh, just forget it, Ichigo!"

"Sorry, sorry." Ichigo laughed and waved his hands in front of him in a stupid manner, silently apologizing.

Zangetsu huffed loudly, crossing his arm over his chest as he closed his eyes. Seriously, how could their— his— how could the king behave like that, when there was such serious matters to be discussed? Ichigo's goofy attitude died out when he looked once again at him in seriousness. The Shinigami mirrored the emotion, and he let a small smile grace his pale lips, devoid of the usual haughtiness it might have had in one point in the past. It was a more laid back smirk, which he could now put on upon recognizing how far the king had come.

"This place, Ichigo… It looks more lively, does it not?" Zangetsu asked, looking around him, to the green that covered the ground, looking at the tall skyscrapers, some in a pitiful estate, some standing tall and proud. Things here… they had changed in the little time Ichigo had last been here.

"It does." Ichigo agreed, "I don't understand why things are this different… why—?"

"It's even hard for me to understand this, honestly." Zangetsu answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he gave thought to things. He had not bothered to think as to why life had begun to bloom at the summit of the tall buildings, nor why did it seemed gravity in this place had suddenly changed. It probably had something to do with the fact Ichigo had come to terms to who he was, what he was. "My most wild guess it's that… things have finally begun to find a balance."

"A balance?"

The Hollow's face settled into a scowl, but he wasn't feeling particularly violent today. He did not seek a fight, and he did not feel up to making witty remarks. Fact was, ever since Ichigo managed to forge his new Zanpakuto, he had become more… tame. His impulses of trying to overthrow the king had thinned.

"Before… everything was askew, was it not? You could say the skyscrapers reached for the skies. To an uncertain point, they reached. But you're not reaching up. By how things were before, you simply kept growing, linearly. You followed a straight path, up ahead. Glued to te ground." His brows rose up as he noted the irony of it. Now, the skyscrapers reached up above, but the green scenery stretched linearly, to all sides, glued to the ground. "But no matter what happened, you'd never fall to the ground. You could stand, and defy gravity. Defy the logic of things." He neared the building near them, and carefully placed one hand on the concrete of it for a moment, before letting his hand fall away to the previous position in a soft caress. "I'm not sure if you could stand on one like you did before simply by wanting or trying. But… Ichigo…", his eyes found the Shinigami's, and he smiled at him, "I'm… sorta glad I finally come to see more green."

Ichigo was taken off guard by the smile of the Hollow. His cheeks got a faint pink color and he crossed his arms, looking away. "Yeah, you know… my-my pleasure." It stood as a truth, though, that Ichigo did not know why the scenery had changed all of a sudden, but he'd take Zangetsu's thought on it.

"You should know by now, Ichigo." He begun, calm and controlled, "I'm your true power—I've always been. Zangetsu, the one you and I knew, was nothing but a front for quite the time. I'd allow him to look over you, and when he deemed it necessary, I'd step into the scene in order to see you grow stronger."

Ichigo's small smile was accompanied by a hint of gratitude in his brown eyes, "Old man Zangetsu told me that much. He was just the embodiment of my Quincy powers. Thank you for… you know, saving my ass whenever I was about to kick the bucket." And the smile that grew bigger on Ichigo's lips was sincere.

"Ack," Zangetsu gripped at the cloth around his arms, gritting his teeth as his features settle into a scowl out of embarrassment. This wasn't his forte. This sort of exchange of emotions was not something he was used to, and he had never looked for the king's gratitude, he had been doing what he was supposed to, to save his and Ichigo's ass. "Shut your trap, partner." He mumbled out, still feeling uneasy at the sudden show of emotions of the orange-haired Shinigami. Ichigo's smile did not falter. "Anyway, it's not like I could just stand idly as I watched you get your ass handed to you… The fact I never tried to lend you my power, and only thought of overcoming your will…" His eyes deviated, falling to the ground, and the faint feeling of being ashamed bloomed in him, before disappearing as soon as it had come.

It had become a mutual understanding between the old Zangetsu and himself. He wouldn't try a thing as long as old Zangetsu was around. That had been the old Zangetsu's wish. The Quincy Zangetsu, the one who resembled Yhwach a thousand years ago. He hadn't fought, hadn't whined when the petition came out of the serious man. He just let things be. After all, wasn't Zangetsu the one who didn't want Ichigo to become a Shinigami, for the sake of the youth's sake? To keep his limbs and his emotions untouched? And he was fine with it, his instincts back then had told him to devour Ichigo, take possession of his body and become the true king. They didn't tell him to help the boy grow stronger, nor did they tell him to go against the old Zangetsu's words. He had no reason to. If Ichigo lacked proper power, if he lacked the power to stand for himself, and continue moving forward, things would be simpler for him. He'd have the frail soul under submission in no time, and he'd accomplish what his instincts had told him.

Alas, the tides had turned against them both, had they not? Ichigo's same will to get power, the power to stand for himself and help his friends had been what had changed their initial plans. The young orange-haired boy had grown so much, enough that old Zangetsu's powers no longer sufficed, enough for him to have to step in and lend Ichigo his power, allow the king take his rightful place and let himself be the horse. Ichigo had, little by little and battle after battle, gotten the power to not stop fate itself, but to fight the gears that moved it and shatter them. Ichigo's desire to win, to come victorious from the fights he had… all of that, for the sake of his friends, the sake of those he wanted to protect, the sake of becoming stronger.

He looked up, eyes conflicted. He looked at the calm Shinigami, who awaited for him to speak once more. He had an easy-going smile on him, as if there was nothing to worry about, as if he said "trust me, I'll win. I'll save everyone." Zangetsu wanted to laugh, let his uneasiness bleed away along with his laugh.

So he did. He let whatever worry, whatever tension he might have had hung to after Ichigo's encounter with Yhwatch and his Sternritters, bleed away. How had he forgotten things so fast? Ichigo had told him, had he not? He shook his head, letting his worry fall away. What point in doing that? He did trust his king. He trusted his partner's abilities. Ichigo needed not his help in this fight, nor the old Zangetsu's. What he needed was to realize the power he truly held as his. Come to the realization of what Ichigo had always been, and is capable of.

"So you know your Shinigami powers mixed in with the Hollow inside you, isn't that right partner? And the old man Zangetsu's powers had always been with me, as much as mine had been at his disposal in the past. Now, though, they're unified, Ichigo. Your Hollow and Shinigami powers, they're well blended, and can be used both together at your whim." And he gave a pointed look at the hilt of the swords that protruded from Ichigo's back. The swords that represented both Zangetsus, that were tell-tale of their powers, Ichigo's power. "But Ichigo, don't be fooled! So far, you've only been using your Quincy and Shinigami powers!" He said, and his smirk grew wide.

"Ah…? Well, I'm unsure if you noticed this, Zangetsu… but…" his eyes moved up to the sky, and he rubbed his chin, a bit embarrassed about things. "I'm uncertain if I'm able to call forth my Hollow power…?"

Zangetsu laughed, softly this time. Of course Ichigo would need to hear it. Had he not called him here, the moron would have made sense of things much later, probably. "Of course you can't, not now anyways. And you won't be able to, if you do not find the proper conditions for it to happen."

Ichigo's look morphed to that of confusion, and it was obvious by his expression he was trying hard to come to an answer. Always so open, letting himself be read like an open book. It was okay, he had let go of the bitterness he held against the king's so-called weakness. What his brain failed to give right away, Ichigo made up by his quick assessment of situations, and how he'd come to the conclusion sooner or later, as he kept his head held high and his will to keep fighting going. Zangetsu sighed and took seat, feeling himself grow tired. Ever since Ichigo found out about his roots, it had been as if the gates had been opened, and the flood had came in, washing away everything with power, of his Reiatsu. Even for himself, whose powers had always been kept suppressed and at bay, it was a new sensation to have all that power. Which just went to prove how much had Ichigo grown in the past few days. The youth looked as fresh as a daisy.

"Huh? Zangetsu, something going on?" Ichigo inquired, worry seeping out of his voice.

Always the caring type he was. "Ichigo…You are me." He spoke, soft and with his head hung down as he looked at his lap. "I'm you." His smile grew tired, and he struggled to keep Ichigo in this world. He just needed a rest, to get used to this new power. That was all. A quick nap and he'd be good as new.

"Oi… what's that supposed to mean?"

Always so dense. He looked up, meeting the king's eyes. "Heeeh. And you were just thanking me for that a moment ago. You said so yourself, didn't you, king?"

"Thank you? You mean, for saving me when I…?" And his eyes widened as the fact dawned on him, "When I was at my limits and pushed myself harder… when I was about to die." Now that Ichigo thought about it, Zangetsu did have a habit of appearing whenever he was in a pinch.

The Hollow closed his eyes and grinned in pride at his partner's quick take on things. "I'll tell you a little secret, partner. Now, I don't take pride on this as of now, mind you, but it's when old Zangetsu and I found it hard to get a middle ground between us, that it was easier for me to use my influence over you." He laughed at the distant past. Oh, how had he longed after the king's body so many times. "Remember your encounters with the Arrancars? That Yammy guy and Grimmjow. Boy, did I want to tear them to pieces! But old Zangetsu had told me to not act. Tch, he even knew Ulquiorra would undoubtedly kill you if you killed Yammy, and that you'd be no match for Grimmjow as you currently were."

It was those times, were their truce was briefly called off, that he'd come to surface, that he'd use his power to subdue Ichigo's consciousness. Because if the old Zangetsu was not enough, he sure as hell was. If old Zangetsu dared to let Ichigo put a feet in the grave, he'd lose it. He wouldn't have such thing. Of course, back then, he was driven only by the need to keep his own self alive— and if that meant saving Ichigo, so be it. After all, he had not let old Zangetsu do what he wanted only for all of it to blow on his face, for the opportunity to overtake Ichigo's soul to disappear just because of that. If Ichigo had been weak those times, then he'd be responsible to take the task Ichigo couldn't overcome. Of course, time after time, the human would come to his senses and wouldn't let himself be the horse: he'd knock Zangetsu off and take his place as the king. As it had proven out, it only served to help their growth.

"Those last times I appeared," He spoke, with what seemed a hint of melancholy at the distant memory of him trying to consume Ichigo, trying to get some well deserved fight against the Arrancars, "Me and old Zangetsu were really having our fight in here. It made it all the more easier for me to try and take your crown. He was not enough, and I was. And as you're aware now, my power far surpassed old Zangetsu's. He tried to keep me at bay, though, telling me he'd make you stronger. And you were of no help to me, trying to act as if you were strong enough and face off against those Arrancars by your own."

He stopped to take a break, and looked at Ichigo's face, wanting to see what the Shinigami was thinking. He hummed in approval when he saw Ichigo was carefully taking all his words in, trying to see the reason to them. After all, he did not spoke just because he enjoyed his voice.

"Me and the old man had no problems if we had a middle ground were to stand, if we could be okay with each other's actions. But the moment something I didn't like happened…" he snickered, remembering those times they'd have their quarrel, just to see who'd get to be the dominant spirit inside of Ichigo. "When we lost our balance… It's when one side can't keep it up that I've gotta make for it, you know? After all, I couldn't let you die just like that." He pushed himself to his knees, and looked up at Ichigo with a wide grin. "Ichigo, we're no longer fighting each other, and I've recognized you for your prowess."

Ichigo's eyes and smile softened, understanding Zangetsu's words. So that's how it was. The reason he had been unable to feel his Hollow powers come forth upon his calling, the reason as to why he couldn't seem to use it to his will was that. The Hollow Zangetsu was no longer lending him his power. Ichigo wasn't taking part of that power to help himself. Zangetsu, as he was, was fully Zangetsu. No power shared by two spirits. He wasn't being suppressed. Zangetsu was his power, Zangetsu was himself. He was Quincy, Shinigami and Hollow, all in one. And the function his Hollow had assumed in the past —and probably had assumed now that they all had found their balance—was to help Ichigo grow stronger, of making sure he wouldn't be overwhelmed in the fight. Of making sure he wouldn't kick the bucket.

Zangetsu leaned forward, and raised one knee to let his arm rest there. He was kneeling before Ichigo, his King, one hand on the ground. His eyes told Ichigo what his words could not, and he exhaled through his nose as his eyes fell to the ground. "Partner, I think I'll be taking a rest, until you decide to call my—", he caught himself, letting a small huff of amusement escape him. What was he saying? Ichigo had said so himself, hadn't he? "I'll fight for myself.", had been Ichigo's clear words. So then, there was absolutely no reason to fight a fight that wasn't his, "—your power." He corrected himself.

His chest swelled with a warm emotion, and Ichigo stepped closer to Zangetsu. He trusted his power, Zangetsu, to be there for him if he were to need it. It had always been there, and it had always been him, he had come to realize that just until now, though. "Zangetsu…" He spoke, voice low and smile on place. The Hollow looked up slightly, waiting in silence. Ichigo outstretched his hand.

His eyes widened for a fraction, before going back to his posture, letting his eyes close in satisfaction. Reaching out to take Ichigo's right hand, Zangetsu allowed himself some rest, muttering some last words before Ichigo could leave his inner world. "Until next time, King."

Don't give in into despair, Ichigo… I don't like to see the rain here… keep moving, find your sword, your strength.

Ichigo gave a soft squeeze at the pale hand of his Hollow, eyelids falling slightly as he saw how Zangetsu slowly faded away into the wind. "Thank you."

As the figure of his Hollow slowly chipped away, he felt his eyelids heavy, and closed his eyes to continue his fight.

.

And, once again, my writing went everywhere but where I wanted it. I can't bring myself to be concise and... not steer away my focus elsewhere. This originally didn't even touch the "change of scenery of Ichigo's inner world", but ultimately I thought it'd be so out of place to keep the same scenery, given what happened when Ichigo confronted the old man Zangetsu.

Anyway, this is just (one of) my take of Ichigo's last talk with Zangetsu- Hollow Zangetsu. I'm partly unsatisfied with the end result, but I also believe there are parts worth telling :).