I watched the sun rise and a new day awake.
The single question, that summed all my problems up, was still stuck in my brain, like a leech.
I couldn't find an answer to it, nor could I make up any plans on how to confront Ichigo with the fact that I was a Vampire.
So the hours went by, until I maybe found the will to move, get some of my fast-food and gulp it down, before I went to meet with the embodiment of my problems.

When I arrived at the park it was still half an hour left, before Ichigo would appear and I could feel my heart pick up it's speed with every minute tick by.
The fear to lose him grew with my heart rate.
Prompt on midday he stood in front of me, greeting me with a meek 'hi' and his body fully tensed.

Ichigos POV

I saw him sitting like usually on the park bench, nothing seemed to be different from usual, until he entered my sensing-bubble.
I knew that I had told Urahara that he and Shiro felt similar, but I hadn't been aware of anything than.
Now the feeling I got from Shiro, let my hand instinctively twitch toward the small knife that I carried with me, when I wasn't 'on duty', like Urahara had said.
Shiro is dangerous, on a much higher level than the Vampires I had met before, but my gut told me that it didn't mean that the albino was one of them, which my brain tried to refuse and failed miserably.

It's true that I didn't know Shiro completely, or even remotely long enough, but still it was safe for me to say that I love him, since the moment I met him.
So I won't make any hasty decisions, but observe and than decide what to do.
When I stood in front of him, I tried to hide my alertness and failed, my voice being a little chirping and every muscle in my body tense, there was no way that Shiro wouldn't notice.

Normal POV

Ichigo sat beside the albino, his fingers digging in the fabric of his jeans, to hide their tremble and Shiro watched him, trying to ignore the uneasiness of the orangette.
"I promised to stay away from Urahara, you know that, right Shiro?"
The young man said after some minutes of silence and turned his head to look at the albino, who nodded as response and smiled reassuringly.
Ichigo eased up a bit, than let out a sigh and brushed through his hair.
"Somehow, that's harder than I had thought. You know, when we parted, because you had some business, he confronted me. I'll skip the whole ordeal and get right to the point. It seems that I'm some kind of heir of a group he belongs to. He told me that I couldn't change this fact, but choose whether I join them or not."

Shiro let the information sink in, understanding to the fullest what Ichigo was talking about.
"What did you choose?"
He asked, rising from the bench and facing away from the orangette.
Ichigo didn't give him an answer, but asked a question himself.
"You're a Vampire, right?"
Shiro tensed for a moment, before he pulled up a facade.
He let out a short laughter and turned around to Ichigo.
"I thought we have gotten over the Twilight stuff."

The look Ichigo gave him let him falter and he had to turn his gaze away, from the piercing brown orbs.
"What gave you the impression, things like Vampires even exist?"
He asked, feeling his heart sink down to his belly.
"I met two, not long ago and if it hadn't been for Ishida to help me, the first would have gotten me and I'm sure I wouldn't be with you now."

'So the cat was let been out of the bag.'
Shiro thought.

"If I am one, what will you do?"
Now Ichigo stood up as well, they locked eyes for some seconds and than the younger embraced the albino.
"I don't know."
He told into Shiros chest, enjoying the warmth of the other.
"But if the books you hate so much tell the truth about one thing, than it is that not all of you are bad and that you aren't mindless monsters. I still trust you Shiro. You didn't attack me even one time and you could have done it so often."

Shiro felt a weight being lifted of him, that he thought would crush him any moment now and he wrapped his arms around the other, snuggling his nose into the crook of his neck, his fangs elongated as Ichigos scent invaded his nose and they brushed against the sensitive skin.
"Hey now. Don't lose your self-consciousness. That wasn't a license you could do it, you know."
The albino pulled himself away and looked apologetic at Ichigo.
"Yeah I know, but I can't help myself. Your scent pulls at the strings of my self restraint. I haven't felt for someone like this in my entire life. I love you, from the bottom of my being, Ichigo."
"Somehow, this is like a play of Shakespeare. Two persons that aren't allowed to be together, but still they meet secretly. I wish there would be a way to convince the others that not everyone of you are monsters."

"Therefor they had to learn to listen to us, before they aim their weapons at our necks."
Shiro told him, taking his hands in his own pale ones, than he suddenly froze.
He gave Ichigo a quick kiss and said before running off.
"Seems like your guards have found us, my lovely Juliet. I meet you when the nightingale sings."

Moments after Shiro was gone, Ichigo felt Urahara approach.
"What are you doing here at this time of day Ichigo?"
The blonde asked him, with a big smile on his face.
"I could ask you the same."
When he didn't get a reply he huffed and answered.
"I came here to think a bit. Don't you think that there are Vampires among the ones you kill, who aren't evil? Wouldn't you feel guilty if that was the case?"
"You seem to have a hard time making up your mind. Why does it bother you so much? You decided to follow us, so you shouldn't worry about it and just do what is asked of you."
Ichigo began to feel frustrated.

Shiro was right, the slayers didn't know how to listen and he was sure that it would be more than just hard, to teach them to.
"If you would just try to think of it. Humans aren't all good and innocent people, there are evil and cruel persons among our own kind, so why shouldn't there be good ones among theirs? When you took me on the hunt, there wasn't any reason to attack the first Vampire. In fact he had just left a grocery store and maybe was on his way home. You attacked him a few streets away and he only fend for his life. The other one was on a hunt, that's why I killed him. As you said, it was either him or his prey. Didn't you also say that in the past the elders of our clan forced the new and young to join them, but now you refrain from doing so?"

Urahara nodded.
"So?"
"Than change your ways around the Vampires as well. Don't just go around like terminators and kill everyone of them that appears on your radar. You have to see what they are doing and if that gives you the right to end their life."
Ichigo was finished with his rant and walked past the blonde, with some last parting words.
"I'll see you tonight and I hope you'll think about it. Otherwise I'm afraid that I'll stray from your group and solve the problem in my own way."

Shiros POV

When I arrived back at the mansion I called Shinji and asked him about any news he got.
"I heard that they found the nest that was building, down at the south of the town and planned to erase it. They might make their move in the next days."
"Fine so will we. Tell the others that I don't want the slayers killed, but caught."
I saw Shinji raise an eyebrow at that and answered the unasked question.
"Ichigo is one of them now, but he desires peace as much as we do. For his sake, let's try and talk it out with them."
Shinji nodded and left me alone with my straying thoughts.

There was a possibility that everything failed and one of us would end up dead on the ground.
I'd rather have it that it would be me, than the youngster.
I didn't want to see someone close to me die in front of me again.

Chapter 12
End