Strawberry Protector

Chapter 8: What is Personal Space?

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye but the two boys and their hollow companion hardly noticed. The passing of so many months was certainly the last thing on Shiro's mind at the moment as he watched the kids from where he lay in the grass. Uryu was showing off his archery skills with a toy bow and suction cup arrows upon a small target stand he had brought with him when they met up that day. The hollow had to admit that he had some skills since most of his shots landed near the center and Ichigo was clearly impressed by the display, wanting to give it a go himself.

But the corrupt soul was only really half paying attention to the pair due to his tired state of being. And when he got tired that meant he needed to feed since he didn't need sleep normally. That meant he would probably need to go hunting that night for another source of spiritual energy to feed off of. He found this to be a rather hard task since most of those with spiritual energy were either right in front of him, two good at hiding their presence, or didn't possess enough to hold him over very long. The hollow had even tried feeding off of the energy he felt hanging in the air but it wasn't nearly enough to sustain him.

Letting out an extended breath, the lizardlike hollow closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax so that he wouldn't needlessly expend what energy he had left. But upon abruptly feeling something smack into, and stick onto, his mask he was quick to snap back to full alertness. Just barely did he spot the suction cup arrow that sat between his eyes.

"That's what you get for letting your guard down Shiro." Came the slightly teasing voice of the dark-haired boy as he adjusted his glasses with a wide smile on his face. However, Uryu was expecting the hollow to retort but was surprised when the white being simply pulled the item off and tossed it aside before settling back down. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Don't worry about it Uryu, he gets like this from time to time." The orange haired child assured his friend as he moved over to retrieve the discarded projectile that Shiro had tossed aside. "That means that Shiro will be going out tonight to go somewhere." This wasn't the first time that Ichigo had seen his monstrous friend like this since the hollow would hold off going to feed for as long as possible, although he didn't know that.

However Shiro had no idea that the kid ever noticed his absence and popped back up slightly to stare at his charge in surprise. "Ya know about that?"

"Of course I know." Came the answer without hesitation as he turned to fully look at the white guardian. "I woke up a few times to find you gone but it took a few more times before I realized you were always tired right beforehand. Where do you go by the way?" It was something that always puzzled him and partly made him worry if the other was gone for good, however the hollow always returned.

"Somewhere..." Shiro was certainly in no mood to give answers right now because he knew he wasn't good at keeping his mouth shut when he was like this.

A slightly knowing look lit up on Uryu's face as he stared intently at the hollow with a deep frown. "You don't go out and... Do what other hollows do... Do you?" He didn't want to say exactly what it was and hoped that Shiro would understand what he was talking about.

"What?" Inquired the lizardlike hollow as he shifted his gaze to glasses with a hidden frown. Then he spotted the look the other was giving him and realized what he was trying to say. "No! Hell no! No I don't devour other souls. It's one of the thin's that makes me different... No... I feed off spiritual energy WITHOUT killin' the source." He put emphasis on the word 'without' as he allowed himself to settle back down, his eyes halfway closing but his gaze remained focused on the boys in front of him.

Shiro didn't really register that the pair had shared a glance and only vaguely registered they had taken up seats in front of him. "I remember you telling me this a while back." Commented the orange haired boy offhandedly as he leaned back on his hands.

"So you don't need to eat other souls to sustain yourself?" Uryu couldn't help but inquire, the curiosity obvious in his tone of voice and the hollow answered this with a slight shake of the head. "Is it really that hard to find a source of spiritual energy?"

"Yeah... I'm able ta find one or two humans occasionally with small portions of spiritual energy, enough ta hold me over for a bit... I could return ta the world of the hollows, even the air there is filled with more energy than this place but I don't wannna go there. I'd rather never go back there... Nothin' good comes from that place..." The last two parts were spoken out loud to himself but the children were close enough to hear his words.

"You came from there, so not everything that comes from there is bad." The comment through off the corrupted soul as he opened his eyes a bit more to focus on the orange haired kid who was giving him a warm smile. One which he subconsciously returned beneath his mask.

There was a moment of silence after that until the dark-haired boy spoke up. "We both have spiritual energy, Ichigo more so than me. So why haven't you...?"

"Because I don't wanna do that either of ya." Came the quick reply in a slightly harsher tone than intended as he cut off the the child's question right there. Shiro could see that the pair were curious and knew that questions would follow, so he decided to continue speaking. "It would leave ya both drained and tired. Ya'd regain yer strength in a day or so but I don't want ya, either of ya, ta go through that process. I..." Here he hesitated as he struggled with the thought of telling them or not.

"Come on Shiro... Just tell us, all we want to do is try and help you any way we can." The honesty and general concern in Ichigo's voice once again through off the white guardian.

He was so used to being used and abused in the past that moments like these still felt so foreign to the hollow. After another moment he let out a heavy sigh, closed his eyes and turned his head away from them. And for a moment they thought he wasn't going to continue the topic, then he spoke. "I'm like... A leech... Or even a mosquito... But instead of blood, I feed of energy... But like those two bloodsuckers, I have my own way of... 'Latchin' on' ta what I'm feedin' off of... One of my abilities allows me ta enter the soul of another, this of course allows me ta do more than just feed off of the energy of my target... It also hides my presence from possible danger... And... If I wanted ta, I could attack my host from the inside although I've never used it for that. Of course the process of me enterin' and exitin' my target isn't exactly... Pleasant... It's not harmful, it's just not somethin' I want either of ya ta have ta go through..."

There was another extended moment of silence as the boys absorbed and processed this information. "Is that the only way you can feed off of spiritual energy?" Finally questioned Uryu in a slightly hesitant manner but other than that his voice held nothing but curiosity.

In response to this the lizardlike hollow shook his head as he spoke. "No it ain't, I can also feed off of spiritual energy in the air. Or even leech off the energy of those who possess it within a set range. But that would be like drinkin' through a very small straw instead of drinkin' it straight from the glass." Even though he had never really used either of these two objects, he knew that the example would fit what he was trying to get at and that the boys would understand this concept easy enough.

A look of realization suddenly lit up upon the orange haired child's face as he spoke what was on his mind. "That's how you were able to lose the Shinigami that one time... You hidden in someone else until they left." There was a slight pause on Shiro's end before he gave a nod to show that the boy was correct. There was another moment of silence until... "I don't care."

"What?"

"I don't care if it's unpleasant. You said it's not harmful and you need spiritual energy to survive, right?" Another moment of hesitation before another nod was given then Ichigo continued. "We're friends and friends help each other out, so I want you to feed off of my spiritual energy. And if any other Shinigami show up then I can help hide you." The corrupt soul opened his mouth to protest but the boy continued to speak before he had the chance. "Please Shiro... You're always there for me, so let me be there for you for a change."

"We both know Ichigo's too stubborn to take no for an answer." Chimed in the little archer which caused the hollow to look at him, only to see the child give him a shrug.

Shiro took in a deep breath and let it out in the form of an irritated growl, the tip of his tail flickering a bit to show his mood. "I don't like it... But it's hard ta say no when ya give me that face... Fine..."

"Good." Stated the orange haired boy with a broad grin, he was too happy at being able to help his friend to allow the hollow's words to phase him. "How do we...? How do you...?" Now the kid was at a loss for words and he didn't know how his friend's ability worked.

"What? Ya want me ta do it now?"

"Well yeah. I mean... You're tired right now and it's not like we're doing anything that would make me more exhausted than I'm probably going to be after this." They really didn't have anything big plan that day since it was one of their random hangout days and not one of their training ones.

"And I take it ya're gonna keep pushin' this..." Upon receiving a nod, Shiro let out a heavy sigh as he slowly picked himself up. "Fine... Guess this would be a better place ta do it in case ya over react ta it all. Then again, most I do this ta don't have enough spiritual energy ta even see me..." This part was said offhandedly and more to himself than anything else. With a quick shake of his head, the hollow returned his focus to the task at hand. "Open yer mouth and brace yerself." Upon receiving a questioning look, he let out a huff of irritation. "I'm not just gonna phase inta yer body like I phase through walls, I need an entry point and that's the mouth."

Almost simultaneously both children made an 'eww' sound causing the corrupt soul to roll his eyes. "I said it was unpleasant. Havin' second thoughts? Ya still have time ta change yer mind." Shiro couldn't help but hope that his charge would decide against it but when that oh so familiar determined expression settled on the boy's face, he knew there was no going back.

Letting out a heavy huff, the lizardlike hollow made a motion with his hand to indicate that Ichigo should comply with what he told the kid to do moments ago. This time there was no hesitation as the orange haired boy opened his mouth and closed his eyes, only to slightly open one seconds later.

What happened next startled the children as they watched Shiro's form lose its solidity. The few colors of his body fading to white as he seemed to liquefy before them. Even his features were lost during the shift, make him look more like a white slime monster from some sort of movie. Then the white mass that was their hollow friend moved forward and began seeping into Ichigo's open mouth at a quick pace.

The orange haired boy had tensed greatly when the process began and once again closed his eyes tight while his other friend watched on with wide eyes. Within seconds it was over and Ichigo couldn't help the shutter that ran through his body as the sensation finally ended.

"Are you okay Ichigo?" Inquired Uryu in the silence that followed once it seemed that the other boy had somewhat recovered. "That looked... Unpleasant..."

"That was weird... That was really weird..." Was the first thing that he said while shuttering once again.

'Course it was weird. I'm an unusual hollow after all.' Sounded the matter-of-fact tone of Shiro from within the orange haired child's head.

"Shiro?" Ichigo was quick to question, to which he received a questioning hmmm in return. "I can hear you?" He shared a confused glance with the dark-haired child as he spoke.

'Course ya can hear me, I am in yer soul after all. Think of me like a voice in yer head at the moment, one ya can't exactly block out. Unless I choose not speak that is. Although ya might wanna get outta the habit of speakin' ta me out loud, especially around those who don't know about me. Don't want people ta think ya're crazy right?' There was a slight teasing tone to his voice before the corrupt soul continued. 'Anyway, I can hear yer thoughts as clearly as ya can so ya can communicate ta me that way.'

"That's... Actually kinda neat. I can hear him talking to me in my head and he can hear my thoughts." He was quick to explain when he spotted the questioning look of his human friend.

"Huh... Okay." Was all that Uryu could think to say on the matter at that moment. He was only somewhat familiar with hollow abilities and it had been stated a number of times that Shiro was an exception to many rules. This left him unsure of what to make of the situation but one thing he was sure of was that the lizardlike hollow would never do harm to either of them. "How's he doing?"

'Better actually.' Their monstrous friend responded before the question could be repeated. 'Oh! I can also hear and see everythin' that ya do.' He added in as an afterthought since he figured the question would come up.

"He says his doing better. He already sounds better in fact." Answered Ichigo easily, a slight bit of relief in the tone of his voice.

"How are you doing?"

Here the orange haired child took a moment to consider as he tried to determine if he felt any different, his eyes on the ground. "I feel fine. Not even a little bit tired yet." He finally admitted with a shrug as he returned his gaze to the little archer.

'That's because I severely underestimated the amount of spiritual energy that ya have...' There was a slight tone of realization in the hollows voice when he spoke this time. When Ichigo was trying to determine his own well-being, Shiro had taken a moment to examine the boy from the inside. And he was quick to discover that there was a vast pool of spiritual energy still sleeping within the kid that was nowhere near the surface.

"What do you mean Shiro?" The orange haired child couldn't help but question in confusion, unintentionally speaking out loud.

'What I mean is, the energy I felt from ya while on the outside probably isn't even a quarter of what's in here. It's dormant but it's still here. With how much energy ya have I could probably gorge myself and ya wouldn't even feel tired! It's kinda crazy actually... Makes me think that ya'll be a powerhouse once ya learn how ta tap inta all of this!'

This information brought a wide grin Ichigo's face and he was quick to pass on this information to his dark-haired friend. After that the children began speaking about what kind of abilities he might have or possibly eventually develop, at this point Shiro chose to remain silent and simply listen.

Eventually Uryu excused himself because he had his own training session with his grandfather that evening. So the orange haired boy decided he was going to go home and spend some time with his family. Along the way a realization hit him that made him grin from ear to ear. "Now you get to spend time with me and my family! And I could take you to school with me to!"

'I guess, technically... Yeah...' There was obvious hesitation in his monstrous friend's tone of voice. 'Don't forget ta use yer inside voice.'

'What's wrong? Don't you want to?' His charge thought to him after the gentle reminder.

'I wouldn't mind at all but this is the first time I've used this ability on ya and ya're already talkin' about next time. It's like none of this is even phasin' ya...' It rather confused the corrupt soul as to why the child wasn't more disturbed by it all. 'Doesn't any of this bother ya?'

'Not really... I mean at first it was... Weird... And I'm guessing it feels the same the other way but right now it doesn't feel like you're even here. So it's not bothering me at all.' Not knowing what to say in response to that the hollow fell silent.

The conversation ended there when Ichigo noticed a bit of movement that attracted his attention. Glancing that way in curiosity, he spotted another black robed figure standing on top of a light post down a branching street, their back to him. A wide grin spread a crossed the child's face as he remembered that Shiro was hidden like this from that figure down the way. Taking a moment to stick his tongue out at the oblivious Shinigami, Ichigo hurried on his way home in high spirits.

That concludes another chapter and now you guys get to see a glimpse of the abilities I've given Shiro that makes him so unique. It should only be one more chapter before I make the big jump to Rukia's first appearance.

On a different note, I haven't really been replying to reviews because I didn't want to have giant textblocks at the end of my chapters if I could avoid it. But there are a few questions that have popped up in the past few days that I will answer. Both Chad and Orhime are only going to make very brief appearances in the large time skips that are coming up and you'll understand why next chapter.

And someone also made a comment about Ichigo leaving his mother's body there, this is something else I will also address. Being that he was a child at that point, there would be no way for him to actually move her body. So his only choice would be to go and get someone who could do something for her remains. Not to mention it was still raining extremely heavily at the time and if Ichigo continued stay out in that whether he could've very easily gotten sick. Of course due to Ichigo's state of mind at the time, he was to distressed to even think straight. So that left it up to Shiro to get him somewhere safe and to someone that could do something for his mother's remains.

And that covers that, until next time. R&R.