Ichigo stretched out on the grass of the lawn, enjoying the summer sun.

Byakuya and Renji were both gone, doing whatever they did. Rukia had gone with them, and her latest set of lessons – dancing – were now being taught by a rather charming young man. He was getting his lessons in kido and also plenty of practice in fighting. His devil may care style was evolving into something that could actually be called a fighting style, rather than random insanity.

Just don't lose the random insanity, King. That's a tactic too. Ichigo chuckled at his hollow's voice.

"Oh, there's no danger of that." Ichigo had learned early on that being completely unpredictable could really fuck an enemy up. And by now, he was very good at it. He'd almost managed to nail his instructor yesterday with a tree. Fortunately, they hadn't been practicing in the manor grounds or the gardeners would have killed them both. "Mmm." But then his thoughts turned from combat to something more interesting.

It had only been three days since his near death episode, but Ichigo was already feeling much, much better. Better enough that he was sick and tired of his lover neglecting him. But Renji did have duties, which meant the only logical thing was for Ichigo to go to the Seireitei. And why not? Byakuya would be there and could surely arrange teachers for him.

I don't know why you want to be around that pussy. He sure as fuck couldn't beat you in a fair fight, why would you want him? Now that one with the spiky hair, he would be a worthy sire. Just imagine him pounding the hell out of you, whore. Ichigo rolled his eyes. That seemed to be his hollows' favourite term for him these days, and it was always accompanied with flickers of memory of all the times they had mated. Then he suddenly realized who the hollow was referring to and his eyes widened in horror.

"Zaraki Kenpachi? Are you out of your mind? Haven't you seen how big he is? He would kill me!" He exclaimed and winced as he felt the Hollow's ire.

Then you deserve to die you weak-ass motherfucker! He snarled and Ichigo sighed before laughing. It was either laugh or cry, and he wasn't much into crying.

I somewhat agree. Renji is only adequate. Ichigo's eyes widened as Zangetsu spoke. He hadn't expected this from the quiet and somber zanpakuto. But I don't think Zaraki would be a good match in the long run, although I expect you could have fun in the short term. Byakuya seems far more suitable.

"Bya… you're all insane! Why would Byakuya want me?" He demanded. Byakuya was an elegant noble and about ten times as handsome as he was. He could have anyone he wanted, why would he want a savage kid with more power than sense?

Because you have vast tantric sexual powers, duh.

Because you are… you. Ichigo growled at them both and pulled himself to his feet. Strangling his internal spirits had never been so tempting. Although he was going to have a go at putting at least one of them to sleep tonight.

His inner Hollow was resisting reunification. He needed to have sex with it to start the process, but his embarrassment was interfering. Everyone was going to be able to hear him. It had been embarrassing as all hell, but he'd finally asked his kido instructor if there was such a thing as a comfortable gag with silencing kido on it. He given the man a highly edited explanation to why he needed one, and he'd just gotten it this morning. Tonight, he was going to try it out.

Ha! I'm going to make you flare reiatsu like a bitch in heat. We'll see who doesn't notice! Ichigo grimaced and shook his head.

"Well, I can't stop you. But I am damned well going to put you back in your place." He said firmly. He wasn't quite the same when his hollow side was like this, and he didn't like it. His hollow contained his craziness, his love of fighting and his carnal instincts. He still had them even when the hollow was separated out, of course, but it just… wasn't the same. Also he was mouthy as hell. Ichigo couldn't wait to get back to blissful silence.

That ain't happenin', Chief. The hollow said, sounding serious for once, and Ichigo wondered when he'd gone from 'King' to 'Chief'. I like being able to tell you you're a pansy ass motherfucker. But I will merge with you a bit.

"I guess I'll have to take what I can get." Ichigo closed his eyes then, deciding to do a centring exercise. One thing his kido instructor was trying to teach him was how to mute his own reiatsu, and sense other people's. It was strange, because if Ichigo flipped over to his hollow methods, he could sense other people easily despite his own raging power. But if he used shinigami powers, he needed to mute his reiatsu first. It was worth doing, since his hollow sensing seemed to be severely limited in range. He carefully controlled his breathing, then focused on his reiatsu, trying to bring it down to a bearable level. The power would still be there, of course, just… stilled.

It wasn't easy. It was never easy, and Ichigo suspected his addiction to the reishi had a lot to do with it. His power was a raging torrent and did not want to become quiet. But he managed something like control and let his senses range out. He was surprised when the first thing he encountered was something very familiar.

"Byakuya is back!" He quickly sat up and tried to pinpoint the noble, but in his excitement he'd let his reiatsu flare out again. "Blast! Oh well." Ichigo put a hand over his eyes and concentrated a moment. The darker side of his power rose and he quickly pinpointed Byakuya. The range on it might be limited, but the manor was not that large. "Okay then." Ichigo muttered as he swept out of the garden. His eyes might freak the guards out, but that was just too bad. They should be getting used to it by now.

"Lord Byakuya!" Ichigo called as he popped into one of the many rooms in the house. Unfortunately, Rukia was already there, but that made him glad he'd remembered the 'lord' part. It kept her from giving him a catbutt face. "You're back!" He said with genuine pleasure. Things might have started a bit rough, but he was finding he really liked the noble. "How was work? Everyone still breathing?"

"Except for the hollows." Byakuya said with just the faintest trace of humor. "Speaking of which…" He tapped the side of his face and Ichigo blinked before figuring it out.

"Oh, sorry!" He put a hand over his eyes, concentrating. When he lowered it his eyes were brown again. "Can I talk to you when you have a minute?" He asked, glancing at Rukia. She wasn't quite glaring at him but she clearly wasn't happy with his presence, and he suddenly wondered if she was jealous. He was taking some of Byakuya's time, and she clearly felt he wasn't worthy of their attention. Still, it seemed like a very petty thing to be jealous over.

"Certainly. Will you be in the garden later?" He asked and Ichigo nodded. "I will see you there."

"Righty-o." Ichigo said, just to annoy Rukia. She hated those childish expressions. But he thought he saw another flicker of a smile on Byakuya's face before left to head back to the garden. He thought he would get some practice time in and work on his kido.

You're trying to impress him with your diligence, how cute. Ichigo paused at the sneering, mocking tone of his hollow's voice and sent him a mental picture of an upraised middle finger.

"Shut the hell up, Hiro." He growled afterwards and felt the hollow's surprise.

Hiro? He questioned and Ichigo grimaced, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, if you're going to be a permanent resident then you need a name." He hoped this wasn't a mistake. Maybe naming the thing would make it even more difficult to reunify. On the other hand, the hollow had already stated that he was going to resist, so it probably wouldn't make much difference.

A name for you to shout while we fuck? Excellent.

"God, Hiro, do you always have to be so crude… nevermind, don't answer that." He decided to ignore the squatter in his mind as he went to the target range. "Way of Destruction One: Stinging Bee!" The target exploded, which would have been more gratifying if he hadn't been trying to just do a spark. "I really need to get this power thing under control." He muttered, examining the wreckage critically. Ichigo's instructor thought the explosions were caused by his trying to force too much power through the kidos. Sometimes the supercharged kido worked, sometimes it exploded. And sometimes it didn't work at all, but that was becoming less frequent as he adapted to his shinigami powers. "Way of Destruction One: Stinging Bee!" This time it was a little better, and obliterated only half of the target. He was still working on that single kido when Byakuya arrived. Ichigo didn't notice him for a moment, too wrapped up in his latest attempt.

"Only a hole. Not bad." He said approvingly. It was still more power than should be going into that kido – Danica's level was actually about right – but it was infinitely better than he'd been doing earlier.

"You are trying to lower the power in your kido?" Byakuya's voice behind him almost made Ichigo jump out of his own skin. He turned to look at the noble and smiled. Byakuya was looking handsome as always and his hair was perfectly coiffed. Although Ichigo still wondered how those silver things stayed in his hair, exactly. He'd never seen his sisters wear anything like them.

"Yeah, Rodin thinks trying to jam too much power into it is why I have the explosions. He doesn't have any solution to the hollow mental block though." Ichigo admitted and Byakuya frowned slightly.

"I was under the impression that that issue seems to be resolving itself." He said and Ichigo half-shrugged.

"Yes, but it's not totally resolved and that's not the kind of thing you want to happen in a battle!" He pointed out and Byakuya nodded. "Also, um, it might get worse again. I really need to start reunifying my hollow. He might be a bastard, but I'm starting to miss him." Ichigo grinned as he heard Hiro make gagging sounds. "And the longer I wait the tougher it will get."

"Mmm." Byakuya sounded less than enthusiastic, and Ichigo didn't have to ask why. His hollow half creeped everyone out. He decided it was time to change the subject.

"So I was wondering. Can I come to the Seireitei with you and Renji?" Ichigo asked. "I promise to mind my manners and not pee on the carpeting." He added with a grin. Byakuya hesitated, looking at him for a long moment.

"Why would you want to do that?" He finally asked and Ichigo's grin faded. He hesitated, running a hand through his hair. This part was a bit difficult to admit.

"I want to get to know Renji better, and he's too busy to come down here regularly. And I'd like to hang out with you too, if you do that sort of thing." Ichigo wasn't sure at all about that. He somehow couldn't picture Byakuya hanging out at the mall with a group of friends. Did the Seireitei even have a mall? He could picture him hanging out at a tea shop though, enjoying some really nice tea and watching the people go by. But maybe that was just his imagination. "If that's okay?" He asked, frowning as he realized Byakuya had misgivings. There was no real sign on his face, but he could tell from how long the noble had been silent.

"Perhaps… Ichigo, the problem is your hollow powers." Byakuya said reluctantly and Ichigo looked at him blankly. "You do realize it is forbidden for a shinigami to have such abilities?"

"I thought that didn't matter unless I wanted to become a shinigami." Ichigo pointed out. Byakuya nodded but still seemed very trouble. "I'll try to be good, really I will. And they'll find out sooner or later anyway, right?" They couldn't keep him mewed up at Byakuya's manor forever.

"That is a good point." Byakuya acknowledged then grimaced slightly. "There have been requests to examine you. Perhaps it would be a good time to allow some of that." Ichigo sighed a bit at the thought. He wasn't interested in being a lab rat. He'd already spent way, way too much time in hospitals. But if that was how he was going to get to spend time with Renji, he would endure. "Very well. You can come with me to the Seireitei tomorrow."

"Excellent, thank you! I hope Renji will be glad to see me." Ichigo said cheerfully, and entirely truthfully. He did hope Renji would be glad to see him, and he wasn't at all certain he would be. After all, he clearly had someone else. What kind of a relationship did they have? Were they just fuck buddies or something more? Was what they had done just a temporary thing? Ichigo felt like curling his lip at the thought. If so, it was his own fault for being so damn easy. Not a mistake he would make again.

We'll see how long that lasts. Hiro said in a taunting tone and Ichigo ignored him.

"I'm sure he will." Byakuya said and Ichigo looked at him sharply. There was something odd in his tone, but it was impossible for him to pinpoint. "You might want to go pack. We'll leave early tomorrow." Whatever it had been was gone, which was frustrating. Ichigo nodded.

"I'll get started right away." He said, although there really wasn't a lot to pack. He'd been given new clothes when he arrived, and Byakuya's seamstresses had tailored a few formal outfits to him, but it still wasn't much. He wasn't the kind of person who collected stuff, so he didn't have much in the way of personal possessions at all. "Thank you Byakuya." He added with a smile and was pleased with Byakuya smiled back.

"You're welcome." They parted ways then and Ichigo had to find a servant to give him some kind of suitcase. It was actually a leather trunk, and he soon had all his things packed.

He couldn't wait to see the Seireitei.


Ichigo stood on the side of a building, gazing around his inner world.

It always struck him as a very strange place. The laws of physics had no hold here, and up could be down and down could be up. The skyscrapers were more understandable. If given the choice between the wilderness and an urban setting, Ichigo would always pick the urban. He'd loved living by the lake and the other people, but he didn't really miss the forest.

The part that really struck him as odd were the rooms. He could slip into a window of any of the buildings, but the inside would be mostly empty. Sometimes there would be random objects in the rooms, and sometimes they clearly had sentimental value, but sometimes he couldn't place them at all. Were they memories or bits and pieces of his imagination? Ichigo had no idea.

Right now, though, he was looking for his hollow side. And, probably just to be annoying, Hiro was being coy about it. He'd expected the hollow to attack him as soon as he appeared, but so far he couldn't find him at all.

"He's in there." Zangetsu appeared beside him and Ichigo followed the pointing finger to a particular window. It had been smashed out and the shards were coated with something that looked disturbingly like blood. "It's probably a trap." He added and Ichigo shrugged.

"Gotta do what I gotta do." He wasn't going to let Hiro stay like this. He leapt out between the buildings and twisted in midair so he landed feet first on the opposite one. Up was suddenly down and Ichigo knew that if this had been Soul Society, rather than his inner world, he would be feeling sick with vertigo. Fortunately, it didn't work that way in his inner world.

Crawling through the window was difficult. He almost cut himself on the shards and grimaced as they sliced his clothing. But he got through and looked around, struggling to see. This little room was dark, with only a thin line of light from the shattered window to illuminate it. That was unusual, most rooms in his personal world were lit with a warm, sourceless light.

Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly. A dark voice purred, and Ichigo swallowed hard. Hiro sounded incredibly sexy but it reminded him of poisoned honey, sweet and deadly. Come closer, Ichigo, I want to see you. You've grown so much since the first time I came for you.

"I'd be happier if I could see you. And when was that? When I died, or before?" He asked, genuinely curious. It was an interesting question.

Wouldn't you like to know? But I don't think I'm going to tell you. Now get over here, whore. We have some business. The sweetness was gone, replaced with the usual mocking tone that Hiro favored. Ichigo relaxed slightly and stepped confidently into the shadows, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

He wasn't expecting a sudden grip on his arm. Hiro jerked him around and Ichigo caught his balance, getting ready for a fight. But then the hollow shoved him away. He almost landed on his ass, but something wet and sticky caught him.

"What the…" Ichigo turned his head and his eyes widened as he realized he was caught in a giant spider web. "How did you do this?" He wasn't too alarmed yet. It looked like Hiro wanted to dominate him sexually, but that wouldn't matter for the outcome. A dead white hand came out of the darkness and stroked his cheek.

Hah! Like I would tell you. The rest of Hiro seemed to materialize out of the darkness, smiling evilly. Ichigo met the smile with one of his own. You're such a cocky little bitch. We'll see how long that lasts.

"Longer than you will." Ichigo taunted and had to jerk his head to avoid a fist to his face. Fortunately the webbing had some give to it, although he couldn't get free. He tested it and found it was flexible but incredibly strong.

Stop trying to piss me off, or I'll fuck you until you bleed. Came the cold threat and Ichigo blinked. That was new and unexpected. Hiro paused then smiled evilly. Actually, that was the plan anyway. Let's see how long it takes before you beg me to stop.

"Wait, what?" Ichigo said in dawning horror. It had never occurred to him that his dark side could rape him. Could it? Perhaps… and then maybe the outcome would not be what he wanted. Hiro laughed, his echoing voice empty of any compassion or sympathy.

You heard me, bitch. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he rummaged around his mind, trying to think of some way to turn the tables on his hollow. Cold hands were on him and one dipped past his clothes, fondling his limp manhood. Ichigo gasped as the touch froze and burned, without any trace of pleasure. Oh look, a little bird. Maybe I'll eat it.

"Little? Why you fucking bastard!" Ichigo snarled and acted on pure instinct. Hiro gasped as a scent filled the air. Ichigo took a deep breath, savoring it. It smelled like a combination of old spice, leather, sweat and semen. It should have been revolting, but it wasn't. Hiro's hand was still on his cock and while the touch still hurt, Ichigo found himself getting painfully hard.

You little bastard. Hiro's hand was in his hair, yanking his head up as far as the web would allow. Furious gold and black eyes looked into brown. That's mine, not yours!

"You're just a part of me. That's why I want you back. Come on, fuck me if you're man enough." Ichigo taunted his hollow, high on the scent he had released. It was a pheromone, he realized, and a powerful one. Hiro's pupils were dilated and the hands snatching off his clothing felt desperate.

Fuck you! You win, you pansy ass little bastard. Hiro growled just before their lips crashed together in a bruising kiss. I'll fuck you, and you'll enjoy it like the whore you are. But I'm still going to be talking at the end of it, and next time I'm going to make you fight me!

"I look forward to it." Ichigo breathed then arched in a combination of pain and pleasure as Hiro yanked down his pants and thrust into him in one brutal move. It hurt, hurt a lot, but then the darkness began to enter him and he moaned in ecstasy. Hiro's touch burned and froze and made him want to die for the pleasure of it. He wasn't aware of the blood on his thighs, or the way white fingers were ripping his back to shreds. None of it mattered. What mattered was the red sand, the howling wind and the fire of darkness in his soul. Hiro screamed curses at him as Ichigo began to feel both sides of the equation. He was the touched and the toucher again, and the sex became even rougher as he felt Hiro's anger and pleasure.

"Surrender your soul." He whispered into a white ear, not sure where the words came from. Hiro howled like a wolf.

NEVER! Ichigo arched as the pain and pleasure reached a peak of white hot agony. The dark room seemed to explode with light, illuminating them in a harsh glow as their souls merged as much as Hiro's resistance would allow.

They both came down from the height of merging, panting and staring at each other, their bodies still locked together, coated in blood and semen. Hiro leaned forward, planting one more bruising kiss on his lips. Ichigo looked into frustrated, angry, yet sated gold eyes and found that there was no need for words. They both knew he had won.

It wouldn't be the last time Hiro challenged him, but for now the hollow was his.


The flare of reiatsu woke Byakuya instantly.

For a sleepy, terrifying moment he thought the manor was under attack. The reiatsu in the flare stunk of hollow. It was followed by another, purer flare and that did not reassure him at all. It felt like a shinigami fighting a very powerful hollow.

Byakuya grabbed a robe and his sword before running out of the room. He almost ran into Rukia, who was still belting up her kimono. He felt a sudden chill and his stomach knotted as he realized the power was coming from within the manor. How had a hollow gotten past their defences?

It was dark and he was afraid, so perhaps that was why he didn't recognize the room he'd reached until he threw open the door. He froze in place at the sight in front of him and heard Rukia gasp.

Ichigo was completely naked, lying on the sheets of his bed, with a gag in his mouth. Byakuya could sense the silencing kido and spared a moment of anger towards whoever had put that on him. But there was no one else in the room, despite the blood on the boy's thighs and the way fresh marks were opening on his shoulders. Ichigo made a muffled sound and Byakuya's eyes dropped, stopping on his evident arousal. There was another flare of that dark reiatsu and Ichigo writhed as though in the grasp of a phantom lover.

"N-Nii-san?" Cursing to himself he glanced over his shoulder and saw that Rukia was staring at Ichigo, pale and shocked. "What… how…" She gasped and Byakuya's eyes snapped back as Ichigo arched off the bed until nothing touched the covers but his head and heels. The next reiatsu flare was almost mind-numbing in intensity and it felt as if the two powers had combined. Byakuya swallowed as Ichigo's seed shot out, splattering his chest. He couldn't even begin to deal with the emotions seeing this raised inside him.

"Rukia, we must leave." He wished he'd left sooner, but it was all too strange. Rukia needed no prompting and almost ran out of the room. Byakuya followed and stopped the guards that would have run in to confront the hollow. The power was already ebbing away, and there was clearly no danger.

But he would be discussing this with Ichigo tomorrow.