I felt my head grow heavy as the weightlessness of my sleep came to an end. My arms instinctively moved to stretch, one reaching upwards and the other down, while my legs cracked as a result of sleeping on solid ground. My left hand then moved to examine the sudden pain I found in my neck when it came across something rough and scab-like.

My eyes were opened in an instant.

I tried to stand up, but he had reacted faster. Shiro's hands took hold of mine and pulled me down to my knees. I assumed the fear on my face looked funny because he laughed while his eyes scanned my face. I couldn't help but to stare into Shiro's eyes. They were different from last night, not as blood thirsty. Instead what I saw in his eyes was joy mixed with playfulness.

'Mornin' Ichigo.' I though his grin couldn't grow larger, well I was proven wrong. 'Are ya ready to get outta here?'

Much to my surprise, I nodded. Shiro stood up and cracked his neck all without letting go of my hands. He gave them a good yank, nearly popping my shoulders, before I flew up off the ground and landed in his arms. It kind of frustrated me that Shiro was treating me like some sort of puppet, but then again I fully gave up the right to be King so he could really do whatever he wanted. I also couldn't fight back because I gave in freely, it would just feel wrong to take back something you gave willingly, right?

'Well then, I s'pose I'm gonna wait inside our head 'till ya need me. I'm sure that ya're capable of breaking walls by yerself.'

I reran what Shiro had just said through my head, something didn't sound right to me. 'Hang on a second,' I said. He raised an eyebrow. 'You're going to wait around in our head until I need you?'

Shiro chuckled. 'That's what I just said isn't it?'

'Well, yeah…' I felt stupid. 'But, didn't you say you wanted to be King? And didn't you also say that we swapped roles?'

'No, though it's true that I'd like to be Kin', if I was then ya'd be dead. What I said was that we switched roles, not that we swapped roles. Rather than ya becomin' horse an' me becomin' Kin', we've both become equal. So ya an' I are gonna work together, unless ya'd rather be dead?'

I was about to answer, but that's when I heard a loud noise. The lights came on and Shiro vanished all while the door creaked slowly open. The person who walked in was a girl with orange hair a slighter darker shade than mine. Her kind features were ruined by the icy stare on her face and by the tense position she currently held.

Orihime.

She was different from the eight year old picture I had of her in my memories. I think she's taller and maybe more muscular? But honestly it wasn't much of an improvement.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." Orihime said my name like it was filth. She was really starting to piss me off. "You have been sentenced to life in prison, however new orders have arrived and I am here to inform you that you shall be moved to the Repentance Tower to await your execution."

"My execution," I repeated with a laugh. Really? They were going to execute me? Ha! I'd like to see them try.

Orihime gave me an odd glare. It was as though she was contemplating killing me herself, but the look faded and she went back outside the door.

What had happened in the past few years to make her this angry at me? I was only locked in here because that bastard Yamamoto died and his replacement got scared. He ordered the captains and lieutenants to capture me and to put me into prison, but I had never done anything to make Orihime mad, so why was she? And why was she a Shinigami now?

'She's probably scared of ya.'

'Huh?' I had almost forgotten about Shiro. 'Why would she be scared? Orihime wouldn't be mad because she's scared.'

'No, but she'd be scared if the Seireitei had convinced her that cha could become a monster at any second an' she'd be mad that ya never told her 'bout me. It's probably why they've scheduled an execution too. I'm surprised that it's taken them this long to make that decision.'

'Right, because lying to my friends and locking me in jail wasn't enough. When did you suspect this?'

Shiro shrugged. 'Don't know… Since yer fight with Kariya, maybe? That's when Rukia an' Renji found out 'bout,' he laughed, 'ya bein' part hollow.'

"Ichigo!"

There she was, the last person I wanted to see, and just like Orihime she was mad (though she was doing a pretty good job a hiding it). The raven haired girl with grey eyes and her infamous lieutenant badge.

Rukia Kuchiki.

"Let me guess, Byakuya's got you and Orihime running around doing his dirty work again? Funny how he wanted you to be the one to bring me to the Repentance Tower," I growled coldly. I'll admit, I was being kind of rude, but I guess that's proof that hollows are bad role models.

Shiro laughed at that.

"Bite your tongue Ichigo," Rukia replied. "You're right however, and I am here to take you to the Repentance Tower. That's where you'll sit for thirty long days until the Sokyoku is released and your execution will commence."

'Follow Rukia for now,' Shiro planned, 'from now until the tower will be the best time to observe our surroundings. If we're lucky, an' that's a big if, we might find yer Zanpakuto. However, if we don't we'll have to wait out tha thirty days in the tower 'till ya're strong enough the get out.'

'Why can't you just break us free right now?'

'I was goin' to, but now that ya've got an execution on yer head it complicates things. If no one had entered yer cell today than that would have meant hardly anyone was watchin' te make sure ya don't go free. We probably would have gotten to a Senkaimon with ease an' maybe only five Shinigami would've blocked out path. Now though we've got the entire Seireitei watchin' ta make sure ya don't break free.'

Oh.

'Got it?'

'Yeah.' I returned my focus to Rukia who had just begun unlocking the highly complicated door. After another forty seconds she had finished and was walking towards me with a red collar. I could remember that collar easily as the one Rukia was wearing when I rescued her from being executed. I wondered if she remembered too.

With an easy click, Rukia had gotten the collar around my neck. I felt slightly more drained than usual, but it was hardly any different than from the way I was feeling before. Four more Shinigami entered the room and surrounded me, each of them carrying long white poles. These poles all seemed to snap onto the collar, but honestly I didn't really care. I wasn't going to fight them, but it wouldn't have been worth my time trying to explain that.

We exited quickly, only stopping briefly to allow Rukia to shut the cell door. She walked us outside of the building where ten more Shinigami stood waiting. I recognised one of them as Orihime, but none other was familiar.

Orihime along with three others took to the front and the other six took to the back as we walked up the hill away from the tiny building. I took a great liking to the breeze; it felt so much better than the tiny draft I was getting from a crack in the wall. The buildings were nice too; I liked the yellow on white color of the bricks. I hadn't remembered the Seireitei being so colorful, but then again I had been locked up for a good eight to ten years.

Once we reached the top of our climb we reached a bridge. We walked across it towards the tallest building in the Seireitei, the Repentance Tower. It was a cylinder building with nothing but pure white walls and beige roof. The windows were like cat slits that spread up the tower a great distance apart from the other windows and would barely fit a butterfly through, let alone a human body.

It was then that I noticed the bad news. Despite the fact that I had been sentenced to execution, I had just now fully grasped the idea that I didn't have Zangetsu. My sword being gone for eight years, it had either been lost or destroyed. Personally I had hoped Rukia would show me where my Zanpakuto was as a way to try and torture me more, but I guess not even she could be that mean. Either that or Zangetsu had actually been destroyed. Then what would I do?

"You thirty days start now Ichigo," Rukia stated. The four people with poles pulled against the collar and it snapped in four. "Take this time to recall all your good memories and to regret the bad. These are your final days to live."

She left just after the fourteen others did. Wow, fifteen people had to escort me to a giant white tower? Was I great or what? I let loose a little laugh at that. I guess I was going to need it if I ever hoped to survive these next thirty days.

But I guess I've got the upper hand against the Seireitei because I don't have to spend thirty days alone. They'll never understand me, they'll never understand the strength I have and they'll never understand that a Shinigami can have a bond with a hollow. And now, whether I choose to believe it or not, my life depends on my own hollow and the monster within.

. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : .

There, I think I've got it established now. Shiro wants Ichigo (duh!) and he also wants to be King, but unless he kills Ichigo that won't happen. So now I've got the two boys working together, AND I've got the dark fic and battles getting set and ready to play! xD

Also, thirty days alone with a powerful hollow and little-to-no Shinigami powers… I guess our little monster within is going to start growing. (epic evil smirk)

I'm also going to try and update this story weekly, no promises though! And if I get stuck, I'm screwed! So if you have any ideas, any what-so-ever! PLEASE leave them in a review! I need ideas and it doesn't even have to be for this story, if you want a whole other story based off of an idea that you have, I'll do it! Also I LOVE hearing from you guys!

Until next time, R&R and I'll see ya around! DG