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I Am The King	By : HollowedRose Category: Bleach > General Views: 9190 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. They are a work of fiction. I do not make any money out of this.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17 - Ruined Soul
"Ulquiorra, once Aizen-sama doesn't need him anymore, can I kill him?"
"No Yammy, you can't. Aizen-sama gave the Shinigami to Grimmjow as a gift."
"That's bullshit, I saw him first!"
"There is nothing you can do about it, so better forget about Kurosaki Ichigo."
Yammy grunted in iritation and entered his room while Ulquiorra kept walking towards his own.
He couldn't stop thinking about what happened in Grimmjow's room. He was called a honorless beast, which was in fact false. They were enemies, they were meant to fight each other and even though he called him trash on numerous occasions he never did anything to intentionally hurt or humiliate him for no reason. Each time they met he was only following orders, which was actually starting to irk him just a little bit, as much as he hated to admit.
To some level he could understand why Aizen gave the Shinigami to Grimmjow but at the same time he couldn't. It wasn't his place to question his Lord's actions though. The worst part was that he had to keep an eye on Grimmjow at all times and that was the biggest problem he was faced with. Grimmjow was too unpredictable, his actions were random and having to protect the Shinigami from Grimmjow wasn't something he particularly enjoyed doing. The Shinigami had been right about one thing though, both Yammy and Grimmjow closely resembled some mindless beasts, the proof being all the unnecesary violence, especially Yammy's outburst which led to the Shinigami's hands being rendered useless once again soon after he managed to move his right one enough to eat by himself.
If he was to be honest with himself, Ulquiorra was surprised when he saw the Shinigami being able to move his right arm so soon. He was planning to call someone who could help him eat but first he wanted to see how fast he was healing or if he was healing at all. He doubted he would be able to properly hold a sword again and fight but even so it was impressive considering the damage Grimmjow inflicted on him. Or at least that was before the incident with Yammy.
Just as he almost reached his chamber he figured it was best to report what had happened. His orders were to protect the Shinigami from Grimmjow alone, but that didn't mean Aizen would not be interested in this new development. Grimmjow was truly an idiot who couldn't even keep his own pet safe.
He wasn't surprised to find Aizen in the room where he kept the Hogyoku, he spent most of his time there anyway, and it was usually by himself. He knocked on the door and entered once Aizen gave him permission.
"Yes Ulquiorra, what is it?"
"Aizen-sama, there was an incident involving Kurosaki Ichigo. Yammy attacked him and further injured him."
"That is of no importance. How did Grimmjow react?"
"He was upset that Yammy touched what, in his opinion, belongs to him."
"I see. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?" asked Aizen when he had a feeling that Ulquiorra was hesitating in telling him something.
"Yes Aizen-sama, I do. I am not sure if it is wise to leave Kurosaki Ichigo with Grimmjow. Besides the fact that he is constantly injuring him there is also the possibility of him accidentally killing him or not being there to save him in case someone else attempts to kill him."
"You almost made it sound like you care," said a very amused Aizen and throughly enjoyed the look of shock on the 4th face even if it was for a fraction of a second only.
Ulquiorra was indeed shocked because he never expected Aizen to say such a thing. He did not care, he merely wished to not be forced to consider so many out of control factors when it came to the Shinigami's safety.
"I do not, but I do not wish to fail my mission."
"Then don't fail it."
"Yes, Aizen-sama," spoke Ulquiorra and left.
Ichigo slowly cracked an eye open. It appeared as though he had been sleeping but it didn't feel that way to him as he felt more exhausted than when Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and Yammy were in the room. The more he opened his eyes though the more it looked like he was not where he was supposed to be.
"I see you're finally awake", he heard someone speak and before he even managed to move a muscle he found himself flying through the air after he got kicked in the back, right into what appeared to be the ruins of a building.
The wall further cracked on impact and Ichigo was surprised he didn't lose consciousness from such a powerful hit. He snapped his head up angrily to look at the one who dared to attack him in such a cowardly manner and was surprised to see who it was.
"You! What... where are we? Why are you here?" stammered Ichigo who was extremely confused.
"Why... am I here? Are you so stupid as to not know where you are? Look around you!"
And that was exactly what Ichigo did, he looked around. Everywhere around him were ruins, some snow still visible on some of them and it was somewhat dark, like it was about to start raining at any moment. He concluded that he had no idea where he was.
"How did you get out?" asked Ichigo confused.
"I didn't get out. I'm surprised Ichigo, I didn't think all those beatings would lower your intelligence so much. Let me tell you where we are then: we are in your inner world."
Ichigo's eyes widened and he looked around trying to see if he could recognize anything, but he didn't. Everything was in ruins, and the fog wasn't helping either. He didn't want to believe his inner world turned to ruins, because if it was true it meant his soul was in ruins, something difficult to accept, and not only that but something else was also definitely wrong.
“Where is old man Zangetsu, what did you do to him?" yelled Ichigo at the bleached version of himself, his shaky tone betraying the panic he felt at that moment.
The Hollow tilted his head to the side and looked at Ichigo like he was some kind of idiot.
"I am Zangetsu," he said after a few moments of silence when he figured Ichigo was close to going into full panic mode, not because he cared about him, but because he didn't want the last building still standing in his world to be completely obliterated by the owner's weak soul.
"I don't believe you!" screamed Ichigo, this time breathing heavily while trying to pick himself up. "What did you do to old man Zangetsu?" asked Ichigo again, his question sounding more like begging than anything else since Zangetsu was the last thing he had from his old life and he didn't want to lose it as well.
"Like I said, I AM ZANGETSU!" said his Hollow and this time there was a sadistic smirk on his face which only a few seconds later turned into a frown when Ichigo seemed unable to move or speak, and just stared at him in shock.
Seeing Ichigo so pathetic made him feel disgusted towards the one who had control over the body which, in his opinion, should've been his the moment he spurred into existance. Ichigo was not worthy of keeping it any longer.
"What is the difference between a King and his Horse? And I'm not talking about a stupid answer like "one is a person and one is an animal", or "one has two legs and one has four". If their form, ability and power were exactly the same, why is it that one becomes the King and controls the battles while the other becomes the Horse and carries the King?"
Ichigo only stared at him unable to comprehend what he was talking about, still shocked at not being able to see the old man Zangetsu anywhere and not wishing to believe his Hollow's words about him being Zangetsu.
"Instinct! You are no longer fit to be the King, so I will take what is rightfully mine and then you will stay here in the inner world and be the Horse. Ichigo, you disgust me," said the Hollow and before Ichigo's brain could process what had just been said the Hollow shunpo-ed in front of him and punched him in the face with as much strength as he could muster.
He wasn't done though, he kept going, not giving Ichigo any opportunity to fight back. Then again, Ichigo couldn't fight back even if he wanted to. For the first time in his existence, the Hollow watched the King come into his inner world carrying the injuries he had outside of it, and that was just one more reason why he absolutely had to take over. Ichigo lacked the instinct to fight back his cursed fate any longer and to get revenge, and that was something he, as a Hollow, would never allow it. He wanted revenge on Grimmjow so much that it hurt, he felt agonizing pain each moment of his existence for being denied the pleasure of torturing the one who humiliated him in such a way. He tried not to think about what happened that night but he couldn't, the pain Ichigo suffered still resonating through his body as a memory he couldn't erase no matter how hard he tried. And his pain too, he had absolute control over his King's body for a few seconds, and yet at the same time he had none as the one truly in control back then had been Grimmjow. He, the Hollow, was the one who was weak, he was the one being violated, he was the one who failed to stop what Grimmjow was doing to him and he was the one who was the coward that felt relief once he lost control. He was disgusted with himself as well, not just with Ichigo.
"Zangetsu..." muttered Ichigo and his Hollow stopped his assault.
"I am Zangetsu, get that through your thick skull!" said the Hollow, and smashed Ichigo's head into the wall.
A few seconds later there was fresh blood trickling down it, but Ichigo's mind seemed lost, his eyes weren't even looking at him. There were no words to describe how much the Hollow hated his King at that moment, how much he wanted to beat him to death, or so he kept lying to himself, because that wasn't the whole truth. What he truly wanted was for Ichigo to fight back.
Ichigo's attitude disturbed him, he was not used to seeing Ichigo just laying down and take a beating without even attempting to fight back. As much as he hated to admit they were one and the same, he was a part of Ichigo and Ichigo was a part of him, and he couldn't stand seeing that part of him, the one that so easily gave up on fighting back.
Finally, after a long silence, Ichigo asked once again where Zangetsu was as he refused to believe that the Hollow thing was his old friend who helped him in battles and gave him strength on numerous occasions in the past, both mentally and physically.
"Ichigo, maybe you're not aware of this, but Zangetsu and I were originally one and the same. Both Zangetsu and I are your power. I was part of Zangetsu. When many forces influence the body, its appearance changes depending on which force is strongest. When life is in control, then the person is made of flesh. When death takes control, he turns into bones. It's the same concept. My powers grew, I gained the right to rule and Zangetsu became a part of me," said the Hollow who was intently watching his King's face to see his reaction.
To his own horror, Ichigo knew his Hollow's words were true, he could feel it somehow, old man Zangetsu really wasn't there anymore and it made him want to scream in frustration and anger but all he did was close his eyes and take a deep breath to calm himself. His old life was truly and utterly gone and there was nothing else he could do to change it. At that moment, he was nothing more than Grimmjow's toy, as much as he hated to admit.
The resignation the Hollow saw on Ichigo's face made him want to continue punching him until he couldn't see his disgusting expression any longer but there were more important things to do besides messing up his King's face. He quickly got up and pulled Ichigo by the arm along with him and then he proceeded dragging him to a place that, in his opinion, his King had to see.
Ichigo didn't struggle and instead followed as much as he could. He pressed his forearm to his nose trying to stop the bleeding that his Hollow caused, but to no avail, the blood just kept pouring out, so he didn't care any longer, nothing mattered anymore.
The more they walked the more Ichigo wanted to sit down and not get up again, he felt exhausted, and if it wasn't for his Hollow keeping him on his feet he would've collapsed on the ground and stayed there for as long as he was still in his inner world.
After what felt like an eternity the contour of a tall building started to form before their eyes and Ichigo briefly wondered why it wasn't in ruins as well, like everything else there. His question was answered by his Hollow who seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.
"It's the only one left, everything else has been destroyed. I did my best to keep it standing and not let it get destroyed along with everything else, so you can call it my will, your hope, or even ours, I don't care what you call it as long as you admit that you still have some hope left in you, some desire to get revenge for what he did to you."
They both looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds until Ichigo broke eye contact and lowered his head, his bangs covering his defeated expression from his Hollow's view.
“He's too strong, I will never be able to escape him."
The Hollow was seething, his King truly was an idiot. He shook him a bit, anger getting the best of him.
"Do not say that again! I refuse to believe that I will not get my revenge! How dare you decide by yourself?"
"Why do you care? You're just a Hollow like him anyway."
At his words the Hollow couldn't contain his anger anymore and backhanded Ichigo across the face after he let go of his arm, making his already weakened King fall to the cold and covered in ruins ground.
"How dare you insult me like this? Perhaps you've lost the pride you once had but I still have it and I refuse to let that bastard go after what he did to me!"
Ichigo chuckled darkly, his right arm covering his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I take that back, you're an Evolved Hollow, just like him. Besides, he did nothing to you, you were safely haunting my soul while I was being humiliated in the worst possible way."
Ichigo would never find out how close he was that time to being beaten within an inch of his life, but with great effort his Hollow managed to calm himself enough to only pull him up then went back to dragging him towards the building.
To Ichigo's surprise, the more they got closer the more he saw how the building looked almost intact, the only out of place thing being that one of the windows was cracked.
"I managed to keep the building intact except for that one window. I couldn't stop it from cracking while you were losing yourself but at least the destruction didn't go any further," muttered the Hollow through gritted teeth.
For a second Ichigo didn't know what he was talking about but then he remembered the dream he had before he woke up in Hueco Mundo. Well, what he thought was a dream, because apparently, it wasn't. He mostly forgot about it since his thoughts were filled with fear of Grimmjow, but he still wondered what the Hollow kept trying to write on the window which back then he assumed was a mirror.
"What were you trying to tell me?"
"Revenge," answered the Hollow in a surprisingly calm tone.
"Impossible, or must I state the obvious reasons why it's impossible so that you will finally understand and leave me alone?"
"If you give me control I'll destroy them all, I'll make them suffer a fate a thousand times worse than what you went through, so give up your control, it'll be faster than me slowly taking over. You know it will happen sooner or later anyway, so why delay the inevitable? I will quench your thirst for revenge if you'll just let me."
"You might really think you can win but I am telling you that you can't win. I don't even have my zanpakuto anymore, so how could I ever even fight any of them?"
Ichigo's voice was filled with sadness.
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I am Zangetsu!"
At the other's words Ichigo's heart skipped a beat, but then he remembered something.
"You forgot about the collar."
Ichigo saw how lips moved to form a smirk that perfectly suited the white being, yet one that would look so unnatural on his own face, and he wondered what other crazy thoughts ran through the mind of such a twisted creature.
"Aren't you talking to me right now?"
"Unfortunately I am," muttered Ichigo under his breath, tired of arguing.
"You obviously shouldn't be able to talk to me. Get it now?"
The wheels finally started to turn and the idea of escaping crept once again only to be pushed back into the deepest recesses of his mind.
"I'm not interested, unless you can guarantee an escape. Unlike you I have people I care about and I don't want to do anything that will cause their deaths. Besides, even if you manage to kill Grimmjow, there are 5 other Espadas stronger than him and also Aizen and the other two Shinigami Captains. Whatever you have in mind it won't work, it's simply impossible. You are not stronger than all of them."
The Hollow was actually quiet for once, trying to figure out if he could beat all of them. Perhaps at that moment in time he couldn't but with some effort from both him and Ichigo they could.
"If you just give me control I'm sure I can-"
"I said NO! Now leave me alone!"
No matter what the Hollow said or did afterwards Ichigo refused to talk, or even move. It was driving his Hollow mad, that disgusting cowardly attitude. He'd give Ichigo some time, but he'd never give up, not when he wanted revenge so badly. He finally sat on a rock and merely stared at the one who held the power to their futures until he saw him shivering in fear and then disappearing from his inner world. Grimmjow was probably back, thought the Hollow and spat on the ground with disgust.
TBC
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I Am The King