I'm so, so, so, so sorry for not updating this fic! ...ShiroIchi just hasn't been on my mind for the longest time and I got stuck ^^; Anyway, hope you enjoy!

14- Split Identities

The morning came too soon for poor Shirosaki, since for starters: he wasn't used to getting up this early just to go to school, that was originally Ichigo's job. And two: he hadn't gotten much sleep.

Mainly because he missed Ichigo waking up, kicking his father square in the jaw and shouting in a hoarse voice, still trying to wake up.

Turning on the bed, the teen stared out the window far away from his bed that was in the corner, a simple request he had asked Urahara to help with, though the blond man complained throughout the whole ordeal.

Shutting his eyes, the albino let out a long, regretful sigh. This was not going to be fun, he could tell.

888

Ichigo rose out of his bed with a puzzled look on his handsome features. Shirosaki hadn't spoken to him last night and not even to say "Good morning," like he did when Isshin hadn't attacked him.

Maybe Hat-and-Clogs said something to upset him, he thought bitterly, thoughts trailing back to the white haired kid he had met the night before, it's just a coincidence, I'm sure.

Getting out of the warm comfort of his bed, the lightly tanned teen stood and raised his arms up, bending his back, causing his shirt to raise a little, showing his stomach.

Lowering his arms after a while, the eldest Kurosaki sibling turned and headed toward the bathroom, slightly hoping that his family would come home soon. More his sisters than his father, but still.

He shut the bathroom door behind him with his foot, unzipping his pants and doing what was dubbed as: nature.

Not the perverted one, the regular one.

Flushing the toilet, he re-zipped his school pants that he had put on before slipping back into bed. Turning towards the sink, he reached out and turned the cold dial, letting the water gush out and slowing to a nice, gentle, stream. Running his hands under the clear liquid, he then cupped his hands, gathering some and leaning his face down, splashing the substance onto the warm skin.

With a shiver, Ichigo turned the dial until the flowing water stopped.

Sighing, the vibrant haired teen reached for the towel, smearing it on his face to get the droplets off. It was refreshing, and woke the High Schooler up, that was for sure.

888

"Shiro, don't forget your bag!" the exiled shinigami called, lifting the black and white checkerboard designed bag. The albino's left eye twitched and slipped the one strap on his shoulder, looking at the blond with a bored look.

The school uniform did not suit him, not one tiny bit. It was white and tan, bad combination in his opinion. Shaking his head, the teen slipped out the door before Tessai came to give him the 'See you after school' hug that the red haired brat warned him about earlier.

Slumping his shoulders he walked at a steady pace towards the school, thanking silently that he had paid attention to Ichigo's memories when he was inside the representative.

Shirosaki's sneakers scrapped against the dirt ground, kicking a rock out of the way on impulse, feeling his heart sink slowly into his stomach as the cloud lifted and then fell. Looking to the side, the golden eyed Hollow blinked, finally realizing he was near the street, and seeing Ichigo and his friends head towards the corner where he had stopped.

When brown pools connected with his own, the white haired teen looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets, trying to pretend he hadn't seen the vibrant haired Kurosaki.

"Hey, Shiro,"

The pale figure turned his head to look at Ichigo, seeing that the brown orbs were shining with joy. Must've gotten enough sleep last night, the demon thought as a smile broke out on his face, completely normal. At least he's not grumpy.

Ichigo lifted his left hand and pointed at the tanned Mexican, "This is Chad," Over to four-eyes, "that's Uryu," Now to the annoying shinigami, "Renji and Rukia," Over to the giant breasted girl, "Orihime," And finally to the two…idiots, "Keigo and Mizuru."

Shiro grinned and took his right hand out of his pocket, waving at them. "Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Shiro."

Renji shrugged, Rukia using him as a crutch since she was still assigned to the area. Violet eyes lifted and connected with his own, a soft smile playing across her lips. "Hello, Shiro."

Chad hummed, Uryu nodded, Keigo sprouted weird sentences while bounding around the Hollow and Mizuru smiled warmly.

"Oh!" the orange haired girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together and looking over at Ichigo. "He looks exactly like you, Ichigo! It's amazing!!"

Both look-a-likes stared at each other, the snow white teen looking away first with a half-hearted shrug. Yet Ichigo continued to stare, taking in the boy's features and staring at the gold in the eyes.

It's a coincidence. he reminded himself, walking over to the pale form and placing a hand on the slumped shoulder.

"She's always like that, you'll get used to it." the orange haired Kurosaki commented, smiling slightly while looking over his shoulder with a frown. "C'mon, let's go or we'll be late!"

Nods were the only reply as they observed how…nice…Ichigo was being to the white haired Hollow, as though they've known each other for the longest time and just got reunited.

If only they knew…

888

School was officially Hell in Shiro's opinion. The teachers wouldn't leave him alone, had him read in front of the class, and his English was too far advanced for everyone's tastes. Well, he could pin the blame on his, once, other half, but can't.

"Hey,"

The white haired youth glanced over his shoulder, glad that lunch had rolled around, but was ready to slam his fist into his locker from irritation, that's how annoyed he was.

"I-Ichigo," he stammered, "didn't see you. How's it going?"

Instead of answering, the young Soul Reaper grabbed hold of the teen's wrist and dragged him along towards the roof, golden orbs shimmering with confusion as he tried to catch his footing every now and again.

"Hey, Ichigo, slow down!" Shiro protested as they made their way up the stairs, the vibrant haired teen pushing the door open and tugging the pale form up, releasing his wrist and slamming the door shut. "…what's wrong? You were pulling me around like a rag doll, what the hell?!"

The Hollow nursed his wrist with his left hand, seeing that the shinigami had held onto him with too much force, blinking and looking up at the High Schooler once again when he turned and stared at him with half-lidded brown eyes.

"Shiro…we need to talk."

The golden eyed teen quirked a brow, plopping onto his bottom and veered down to his wrist with a confused expression. Whatever it was that the lightly tanned teen needed to talk to him about, he was certain it wasn't good.

"W-what for?" Shiro asked, backing up a bit and gnawing on his lower lip. This was bad…did Ichigo notice already? Was he mad? No…he was sure he had hidden his 'real' self well.