1

The Hollow saw the Quincy standing at the edge of a building looking out over the void of Ichigo's inner world, no flag pole in sight. He glanced around superstitiously to see if Benihime was anywhere nearby. She was nowhere to be seen. For the first time in a long time he and the Quincy were alone together. The Quincy obviously wanted to talk.

Scowling much like Ichigo would, the Hollow hunched his shoulders and trudged up next to the Quincy. This was going to piss him off. He could tell already. He eyed the Quincy out of the corner of his eye demanding without words that the Quincy get on with it.

The Quincy said nothing, just waited.

The Hollow took a deep breath and let it out a a low growl. "Ya make me cry, an' I'll kill you," he said. He wished that Benihime was there. It always seemed easier to talk to his other half when she was there to translate.

"Ichigo is growing up," the Quincy said.

The Hollow crossed his arms and waited out the obvious statements. For some reason the Quincy always assumed that he needed context, or was an idiot. It was like the Quincy didn't understand that they lived in the same head sometimes.

"He is not how I pictured him being." The Quincy went on after a short pause. "There was once a time where there was hope that we would be able to work together."

The Hollow hunched over protectively. Mom always did give them a reason to at least trust each other.

"I felt that I could abandon my allegiance then, but now I see Ichigo becoming less and less like her," the Quincy said. He turned to face the Hollow. He glanced down at the white hand gripping the zanpakutou. The Hollow's eyes where narrowed in anger.

"Don't go turning on us now, Quincy. I wont let King become a puppet. An' she didn't believe that Old Bastard either. Ya know that. It might hurt like hell, but Ichigo could rip you outta 'im. Go'in full Arrancar would be harsh, but we'll survive it," said the Hollow.

The Quincy shook his head. "I do not want that either, but I do think that it is time that we told him the truth. He should know the difference between his powers."

"Because he isn't having enough trouble already," the Hollow said.

"I feel that Ichigo's Quincy abilities have been neglected because of his ignorance." The Quincy said and received a snort in response. "And he doesn't understand his hollow powers because he thinks they are alien to him." He said and almost rolled his eyes. "It is a betrayal that he does not know what he is fundamentally. Like the legacy she left is slipping away."

The Hollow let go of his zanpakutou and let out a low whine. As often as he had wished the Quincy would cease to exist, he knew that the Quincy was a gift from mother to son along with the ability to see spirits. Deep down he wanted to protect the Quincy. The only thing left of her after his mistake.

"It is also the last thing she would want," the Quincy said with a sigh. "I blame myself. We should have pushed forward with Ichigo's training after it became clear that he could not tell the difference between a spirit and a human. I regret holding back at that time."

The Hollow looked at the Quincy in surprise. "Ya sure it wasn't me pissin' off into his subconscious when I certainly would have rung a few alarm bells? Hell, I woulda possessed the kid and eaten that hollow given half the chance."

They both stood silently for a moment. The Quincy lost in thought, and the Hollow blinking back tears as he tried to judge the Quincy's response to him kicking him off the side of the building.

Stupid, sappy, painful emotions.

"Things are going to change drastically soon," the Quincy said.

The Hollow rolled his eyes. They were back to the obvious statements. Too bad the Quincy was much sturdier than he looked. He just wished the Quincy would get to the damn point.

"Everyone accepts Ichigo as he is," the Quincy said. "But Ichigo barely knows who he is."

"Everyone that matters, you mean." The Hollow corrected.

The Quincy nodded. "There is a niggling doubt though."

The Hollow scoffed. Everyone was fine with both Ichigo's hollow tendencies and the fact that he was gay. Even mom would have been fine with it. She might brutally murder Kisuke, but Ichigo was her precious little boy, always.

The Quincy was right though there was that doubt. He could feel it seething just below Ichigo's conscious even as Ichigo breezed through the last of his eams. mom would be proud of them; the Hollow knew it. She might even give Isshin a cookie for not screwing up completely.

The Hollow reached down a pulled up a glass window. "I got something I gotta go kill," said the Hollow absently. He tried to pinpoint exactly where that bit of doubt was coming from. He sighed and wished that Benihime was there too. She hadn't been gone long, but he already missed her and the buffer she provided between him and the Quincy.

"Ya comin'?" Said the Hollow.

The Quincy started in surprise. Then he nodded slowly, unsure his help was actually needed. He held his gloved hand out and a black blade identical to the one Ichigo wielded appeared. The Hollow grinned as the Quincy jumped into the abyss. Finally through with the useless talking, they were going to go kill the problem the Quincy had been trying to dance around with his words.

2

Ichigo knelt before his mother's grave his hands clasped in prayer. He was early this year. Kurosaki Masaki had died in June and that was when the entire family took a day every year to come and visit one of the most important people in their lives. He didn't even have anything to offer this time.

It was more of a spur of the moment decision on his part to leave his friends chatting about how well they did on their finals and come here. He scratched the back of his neck embarrassed at his sudden decision to come here.

Ichigo knew all too well that he could not see everyone who may be watching him at the moment. He glanced around the grave yard anyway glaring at any suspicious looking bushes or trees nearby. Kisuke was getting paranoid about the whole hollow invasion that seemed to be going on and had admitted that he had asked Yoruichi to keep an eye on him just in case. Hopefully she would keep her distance at the very least if she was out there.

Ichigo turned his attention back to Masaki's grave with a rueful smile. "Hi mom," he said to the grave stone. "I know I'm early this year, but I have some great news that just couldn't wait. I'm graduating from high school this year, third in my class. I tried really hard, but Orihime is a lot smarter than she pretends to be. I also think Ishida may just be a computer." He grinned at the grave. "Actually it's not that bad. I know for a fact that our scores are very close.

"Eh, I know graduating is great news and all, but there is more," said Ichigo and, he took a deep calming breath. His mother had been the first person he had told that he was gay. He had come out here on his own like he had today. There he had spent hours explaining to her, and himself, how he was starting to see the other boys in his class. He had imagined his mother being supportive of him as she had always been when she was alive. Sometimes he still wondered how she really would have felt. In some of his darkest moments the revelation hadn't gone so well, but Ichigo chose to stick to an optimistic view of the situation for the most part while morning the fact that he would never really know the truth.

"I have a boyfriend now too. Dad hates him," said Ichigo. He sighed. This was a lot harder to say than he had thought. "Well that's not exactly right. They are friends, of a sort. It's hard to explain, but basically Dad is against the relationship. He says Kisuke is bad for me. You remember Urahara Kisuke?

"Yeah, the same one that turned me into a Visored?" Ichigo paused. He really could almost see his mother's shocked face. For some reason it was funny to him. He grinned as he continued. "Then he sent me up against a mad man turned god for the purpose of revenge...

"You know saying all of that out loud makes it a lot easier to understand why people react so funny when I tell them about it, about us. Though Yuzu's reaction takes the cake, literally. She threw me an actual coming out party with cake. Is that normal for girls? I worry about her and Karin sometimes. I mean they actually have a normal life, but is that a good thing?"

Ichigo shook his head. He had gotten way off topic.

"I know coming out as gay would have been less dramatic if it had been Chad or someone else like Renji, maybe. Yes, I know Renji's tattoos are stupid, and I can do much better than a wanna be delinquent," said Ichigo as he ran a hand through his hair. He leaned back on his heels and stared at his mother's grave sadly.

"I wish I really could hear your opinion o this. Did you even like Kisuke? How would you react to me dating a man old enough to be my..." Ichigo counted on his fingers. "Very great grandfather," he said lamely. It still blew his mind that Kisuke had been around during the Meiji restoration.

Ichigo rubbed his eyes to keep from crying. He wanted to know for sure, damn it. Would his mother be proud of him? Would she accept his choice in a lover? Would she kill Kisuke even though he was there for Ichigo in ways that everyone else just wasn't? Ichigo for sure knew his dad wanted to.

"It's probably not the best choice I could have made. Thinking about it for two seconds puts the whole relationship into question," said Ichigo. "Did you ever question your relationship with dad? I mean a Quincy and a Shinigami doesn't really look like a match made in heaven on paper. I'm not even sure Kisuke and I will still be in a relationship once I move to Tokyo for university."

Ichigo brightened and said, "I got into TouDai. Don't ask how. Kisuke helped, but I'm still recovering from that. It was very unpleasant." He shivered at the memory of the gleam in Kisuke's eyes when he asked for help on the entrance exam. "It turns out Kisuke is an alum of the school and knows how they make their tests. It was worse than cram school to be honest.

"So yeah, Kisuke and I have had a lot of time to get to know each other," Ichigo said switching topics again. He knew that he was dodging questions that were never asked, but he still felt nervous saying all of this out loud. "And no, we haven't had sex yet," he said and blushed bright red. Ichigo had no idea why he had even said that. For a split second he was grateful that his mom was dead, then immediately felt ashamed for thinking it. Though he couldn't help thinking that he never would have said that if his mother had been alive and able to respond.

"I am going to give Kisuke my virginity and whatever happens after that... well it will happen," he said. His face was so hot it was starting to hurt. "I know your probably not thrilled about that. Dad isn't either, and I haven't said it in as many words to him." Ichigo sighed. That part probably wasn't for his mother, but whatever.

"I love you mom. I just want you to be proud of me," said Ichigo and bit his lip anxiously. "And that you can at least accept my choice to be with Kisuke."

Silence answered him, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I just want to know for sure," he whispered.

3

After visiting his mother's grave Ichigo wandered around the streets of Karakura in a feuge until he felt like talking to living people again. He somehow ended up at Kisuke's instead of home. He shrugged to himself and entered the private side of the residence, waving at Tessai as he passed him. Tessai nodded silently in return and jerked his head toward the kitchen.

Ichigo stared at him for a second not understanding the signal. Shaking his head he turned toward the kitchen. Through the door he could see Kisuke sitting at the table picking at a plate of food.

"Am I interrupting dinner?" said Ichigo as he sat down next to Kisuke.

"Just mine," said Kisuke as he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth. The blond man was practically drooping over the meal.

"Oh, that's fine then," Ichigo said and laid his head down onto the table.

Kisuke put down the chop sticks and tried his best to look interested in whatever conversation Ichigo wanted to have, but the boy didn't move after laying his head down. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Ichigo said. "Well, nothing fixable anyway."

Kisuke managed to shake off some of his lethargy and stroke Ichigo's hair. "And what might that be?" He said.

"I went to visit my mom's grave today," Ichigo mumbled into the table. He looked up at Kisuke as the man stopped stroking his hair. "I guess I just wanted to tell her about everything that has happened," he said. "You know graduating, going to university, us, but she's not really here. She's not even in the Soul Society. I guess I just miss her."

Kisuke sighed. Evidently he wasn't going to be able to fix everything for Ichigo. And that was a bitter pill to swallow. He never liked not being able to fix something.

"What's that look for?" Ichigo said.

"Hard truths," Kisuke said as he poured a cup of saki. He offered it to Ichigo. "Here, you can have one cup."

"Only one," Ichigo said in a teasing voice. "Afraid my dad will find out?"

"Not at all," said Kisuke primly. "I want to drink the rest of it."

Ichigo smiled and pushed the cup back to Kisuke. "You go ahead. I don't need your problems as well as my own," he said.

Kisuke hummed in agreement. He liked that Ichigo didn't want to drink. Not having him randomly finish off his sake made the future of their relationship look a little brighter. He holds the sake cup up. "To you passing all of your exams," he said and took a sip.

A small pleased smile spread across Ichigo's face. "Thanks," he said. "You are coming to my graduation."

"Of course I am," said Kisuke.

"That wasn't a question. I'm leaving the time with Tessai along with orders to tie you up in a sack and drag you there if he has to," said Ichigo.

Kisuke pouted at him.

"Kisuke, You've been to my inner world recently. how is Zangetsu holding up?" said Ichigo.

"He's holding up about as well as you are, just a lot more violently," Kisuke said.

Ichigo frowned and said, "It's hard to think of the Old Man being violent about anything. Broody sure, but not violent..." He trailed off and glared at Kisuke. "You mean the hollow."

Kisuke pulled his hat low over his eyes. "I'm too tierd for this," he said.

Ichigo snatched his hat off his head and stared into his wide blue eyes. "You think the hollow is Zangetsu?" Ichigo said. An old memory crept up of the hollow yelling that he was Zangetsu in his face. Could it be true?

"Well yes,"said Kisuke. "Building an inner world is a specific technique used to manifest a zanpakutou. Any being you meet there is your zanpakutou."

"When were you going to tell me this?" Ichigo said slamming the hat back down on Kisuke's head.

Kisuke pulled up the hat with a sigh. He really didn't want to fight right now. He wasn't even giving it a half hearted try. "I thought it would be better for your father to tell you," he said lamely. "Specific events that involve him and your mother are the reason you are the way you are."

"He told me," Ichigo said. For a second Kisuke thought he was talking about Isshin. "That damn hollow told me that he was Zangetsu, but I didn't believe him." Ichigo looked away. "Would I have believed you if you had told me? Or would I have even believed my own father? I've been afraid of the hollow for years. I thought the Old Man was Zangetsu that he was actually helping me."

"He was helping you, Ichigo. And you are not wrong. The Old Man is Zangetsu too. He was helping you. Neither of them are stupid. They knew that you were not ready," Kisuke said. He scratched his chin and tried for a grin. "It probably won't make you feel better, but as someone who has a complete manipulative bitch as a zanpakutou if Zangetsu didn't want you to know the truth you wouldn't know how to comprehend being told the truth."

"So I really am a hollow or at least my zanpakutou is," said Ichigo. "But the old man..."

"He is the manifestation of your Quincy powers," said Kisuke.

Ichigo chewed on his lip. Fuck, was he messed up. "But don't Quincy and hollow powers, uh, cancel eachother out?" He said as he started to comprehend the insanity of his true nature.

Kisuke smiled again, "Just go home and thank Isshink for being a Shinigami," he said.

Ichigo did't like the look of the smile. "Why?"

"His reaction should be interesting," Kisuke said trying to be innocent.

"I am not going to torture my dad for you," said Ichigo. "Or is that a subtle hint for me to leave?"

Kisuke shook his head and threw an arm around Ichigo's shoulders. He said, "Not at all. I was actually hoping you would stay for dinner. Tessai will be cooking, I promise, and the children would love to see more of you."

Ichigo smiled, "And you would be sad if I left."

"You make it sound as if I would start crying," said Kisuke. " But I will admit it would be a lot more fun if you stayed."

"I'll stay," Ichigo said.