Chapter 10

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. He was lost at first, looking around the forest he stood in.

"I had so much faith in you…"

Ichigo turned, his eyes widening in disbelief when he saw his mother. Her usual smile had vanished, her eyes downcast with regret and sadness.

"I had hoped my love would stop you from repeating my mistake. I had hoped so much…"

Ichigo was confused, his legs shaky and unbalanced as he took a step towards her.

"Mother I… I couldn't stop myself."

Stop himself from what?

"But, how can a mother not forgive her son?"

Ichigo's eyes burned with tears, his legs shaky as he stood. His mother's smile returned, her arms opening wide to accept him.

"It doesn't matter what you have done, I will always love you!" Ichigo fell into her embrace, clinging to her. He didn't want to let go. He didn't want to lose her again.

"Remember, whenever you need me, I'll be right here. Don't you ever forget that."

Ichigo sobbed against her bosom, holding her tighter.

"I will always be here for you. Always Ichigo." Ichigo's eyes snapped open. That wasn't his mother's voice.

"I'll take the pain away."

Ichigo gasped when his hand sunk into her bosom, feeling something inside of her grab his hand.

"I won't ever let you go, Ichigo."

He looked up but her face was still the same, Ichigo screaming when his arm began to sink into her.

"Accept me, my child. All your worries will be washed away."

Ichigo's eyes were wide with fright, his body struggling against hers.

Ichigo screamed when whatever was pulling him in burned him, raising his other hand and putting it to her face.

"You… Are not my fucking mother!" A blast of electricity erupted from his hand, his mother's screams agony to his ears. He was released, Ichigo stumbling away from her. Her hands held her face as she screamed, her hands moving away to show half her face melted.

"You weren't supposed to do this. You were supposed to love me!"

Ichigo fell back onto his ass when a sudden thing erupted from his mother's chest, the black thing twisting tightly around her. It consumed her body and grew bigger, Ichigo gasping as it towered above him. Half her face still hung from the black blob, blood pouring from her eye. Her eye searched like that of the bloody mary, her lips tearing at the seams to expose sharp teeth.

"This is what you've done!"

The black blob screeched as it erupted in flames, Ichigo covering his eyes from it's brightness. It burned!

Ichigo screamed as he was engulfed by fire, his eyes shut tight as he curled into a ball.

"I had thought that my love would lead you down the right path. I had thought, that when I died, you would prove all those who had doubted you wrong. Why? Why did you betray me?"

Ichigo managed to open one eye, clawing the ground as he pulled himself, trying to get away.

"I didn't! I would never betray my mother!"

"Then explain all of this!"

The flames became hotter, burning his skin but not leaving any marks. It was so hot, so painful, all he wanted to do was escape.

"It wasn't me… I couldn't stop…"

"Was my love not enough?"

Ichigo felt blood rush down his cheeks and chin, his claws digging holes into the darkness, smoke rising from the small pockets.

"After being turned, my love for you still did not die. I watched you wake up and grow up before my very eyes. I knew in my heart you were my son. But this morning, as the sun hid behind the moon, where had my sweet little boy gone?"

"Ichigo!"

Shiro?

Ichigo forced his eyes to open, his hands shaking as he once agains raised them, clawing the ground and slowly pulling himself. Shiro's voice was a mere whisper in his mind, his voice sounding like it was drowning in water. But his words were firm.

"Ichigo you have to snap out of this! You can't let it control you! You have to wake up Ichigo! Wake up now!"

Ichigo pulled himself again, panting as he looked up with watery eyes.

Shiro. He wanted…

Memories passed over his eyes. There were good times and bad times. But each memory held something he had believed to have lost many years ago. His mother, no, the thing spoke to him, sounding frantic and angry.

"He had saw a monster. Only I could see the real you Ichigo. Only I could, and because of this I will always be there for you. I'll always be here for you Ichigo. All you have to do is set me free for good. Release me and I'll give you everything you desire. Everything"

"No."

The fire receded just a tad, his mother's face appearing in the flames.

"My son, why reject my love?"

Ichigo grit his teeth when the flames tried to enter him, Ichigo fighting against it.

This wasn't love.

"He had tried to kill you! They all did!"

No.

"It has always been you."

The face of his mother shattered, Starrk's face remaining. He seemed shocked as Ichigo got to his knees, his bleeding eyes looking up to him.

"My family, my friends. They had always loved me. Shiro loves me. So get out of my mind. Because whatever you want, the power I have, will always know that it was created with love. I am not a monster, and I will not let you turn me into yours."

Starrk smirked, the flames became a whirling tornado. They receded away, forming the shape of a person.

"Do you, Ichigo Kurosaki, want what your soul has offered to you? Not only the power, but do you swear that you shall cherish it, what little you have left?"

Ichigo stared into the flames, seeing all those he had lost and loved. He would cherish it. Always.

"Yes."

The sound of Shiro's voice pulled him out of his nightmare. His eyes opened to see him close, his eyes wide and frantic, yet understanding. His nose was bleeding and his clothes were covered in dust and blood, but his hand was in Ichigo's.

His hand was small compared to Ichigo's, but warm. Ichigo blinked down at him, seeing his body was small compared to him. Ichigo looked into his eyes for his reflection, seeing wide red eyes with slitted pupils, and a large snout. Smoke escaped through his nostrils with each pant, Ichigo shocked to see what he saw.

He looked down to his body, making a small noise of confusion. His body was covered in hair, thick black hair that covered large muscles and dark skin. He released Shiro, letting him drop to the ground in sudden shock. His hands were large with dark thick padding on his palms, his finger's ending with long claws that were as black as night.

He screamed in horror but instead of hearing a scream he heard a howl, his eyes shutting tight as he put his hands to his head, feeling soft ears that perked up.

He fell to his knees, looking to Shiro with wide eyes of shock and fear.

"What's happening to me!" he roared, the sound coming out as a vicious growl, Shiro swallowing thickly.

Inside his head, Ichigo heard him speak.

'You are not a monster Ichigo. You have chosen not to be one when you fought against your darkness and won. This is the power it has given you. But you are still Ichigo. My Ichigo.'

"Shut up!" Ichigo roared, tears streaking down his fur.

"It's okay to be afraid… I know it is hard to understand. But this is your soul, and only you have the ability to control it. This is you."

Ichigo covered his ears, crying out his pain and suffering. His fur shed away, carried away in a soft breeze. Smoke rose from his body as it began to return to normal, his cry of suffering dying with a choking sob.

He fell to his knees when he was back in the body of his human self, tears gushing down his cheeks and onto what remained of the tile floor to their home, his body shaking with each gut wrenching sob.

"You're not a monster."

Ichigo lifted his gaze when Shiro grabbed his chin, his smile tired but happy.

"It's okay to afraid. But no matter what I will stay by your side."

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond, but his throat was dry and sore. He felt like he had swallowed fire, his eyes closing. For now, words were not necessary. With his last conscious thought Ichigo fell into Shiro's arms.

Shiro smiled, running a hand through his now black hair. But it became ash and burned away, leaving his orange hair behind. Shiro looked around to the devastation around them, his eyes flashing red at the signal of a threat.

Slowly the moon crept away from the sun, the light slowly creeping towards them. Shiro was prepared to die. All those years ago, when the Battle at Malaga just begun, he had not been ready to die. After a whole week stuck at sea, his life was about to end. They had been surprised attacked, and after a bloody battle, Shiro lay on the deck of a sinking ship, shrapnel lodged in his stomach and head. He had no idea how he was still alive, but as the water of the sea burned his wounds, he realized he wasn't ready to die. He had sunk, holding his breath for as long as he could, reaching up for the surface.

He wasn't ready to die. Not then.

He looked down to Ichigo, that same feeling returning. No. He wasn't ready to die. Not now.

He got to his feet and began to run, the light always one step behind him. Ichigo was held close to his chest, his body limp in his arms. He tried to run faster, seeing a sewer with no lid. He made a sharp turn for it, gritting his teeth when he felt the sun burn his back. It slowly crept up to his shoulders and arms. so close to touching Ichigo. With a scream he threw him in there, jumping in after him. The light shined in as the sun was fully unveiled of the moon, Shiro lying on the ground, his entire body shaking.

He could see Ichigo laying not far from him, his eyes closed.

"Ichi-Ich-" Shiro tried to call for him, his body too weak. They had to move, it wasn't safe here. He reached for him, his arm shaking. His skin was burnt to far for even him to heal.

"Ichigo… Wa-Wake u-" his arm fell into the sewer water, his eyes slowly closing as he lost all power to control his body. Together they laid there, a shadow appearing. More followed, red eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Brother Shiro, what have you done?"

Author's note: The Battle at Malaga happened in 1704. It was the largest naval battle in the war of the Spanish Succession.