AN: "Anzu" in japanese means "apricot".

ANZU

Ichigo had been acting strange. Not that anyone but his inner spirits noticed – the strawberry acted the same as usual with his friends and family. But they could tell something strange was going on.

Zangetsu was rather worried – normally he and Ichigo shared everything; memories, joys, pains, feelings, even thoughts, so strong was their bond. Ever since they'd truly united in fact. But now…Ichigo had been carefully hiding from him.

Not physically, or in any noticeable way. He still talked and trained with Zangetsu, and had dropped by many times in his inner world for a spar or a simple chat. But he was still hiding. Some thoughts had been carefully shielded in recent weeks, feelings quickly suppressed and contained. It made Zangetsu somewhat sad, that his wielder would shut him out like this.

The hollow was not as deeply affected as the Zanpakuto – he'd always said he hated the King, and whatever thoughts were going through his head weren't very interesting in his opinion. And it's not like they sat down to chat and have tea on a regular basis – the hollow had always preferred fighting to talking anyway.

Well ok, since a while back their "relationship" had gotten somewhat better. He'd still taunt the King, and insult him, but they had come to an understanding of sorts. He'd even given the shinigami some pointers for his technique – which wasn't much since the hollow's technique was wild and instinctive, but hey, it was better than nothing. Fast learner or not, the Kind would get himself killed out there if he kept leaving himself open like that, and that just wouldn't do. Couldn't let him die before he killed him right? (Given his method was to keep on cutting the other until he learned to protect himself better, it wasn't exactly obvious he was giving pointers in the first place. )

However, even the hollow thought the shinigami was being strange.

While he had no actual interest in Ichigo's thoughts, he'd tried to access them. Pure boredom really. Except he'd been blocked out. That wouldn't be cause for concern though – Ichigo wouldn't trust the hollow, that's just how it was. What did weird him out though was that the block had been…gentle.

Why was that weird? Because before, anytime the hollow tried to access anything of Ichigo's without his permission (which was many, many times) he'd run into a metaphorical wall and been thrown back brutally from whatever his goal was. This time though…this time, it was more like a metaphorical wall made of cotton. Or cushions. Like someone gently pushing another back a couple paces.

Which, considering what had happened in the past, and who was concerned, was extremely weird.

Then there were the stares.

Sometimes, Ichigo would drop into his inner world, sit down somewhere, and stare at them. Yep, even Zangetsu. And it wasn't a "I'm thinking of something else and staring into space" kind of stare. Nope, it was a focused, "I'm thinking really hard right now and it concerns you" kind of stare.

It weirded the hollow out.

To be fair, it weirded even Zangetsu out, which made him feel marginally better about the whole situation.

And it's not like the hollow could even attack Ichigo to stop the staring. Sometime during the last two years, the King had somehow figured out how to use kido in his inner world (outside was still more or less a disaster in waiting) and so a strong shield usually popped up around him when the staring occurred.

So yeah, Ichigo was acting very strange.

There was a flicker of light, like the sun suddenly shone brighter for a millisecond, and then…the hollow resisted the urge to sigh. Looks like King was back.

Sure enough, Ichigo suddenly appeared in his inner world, looked around for his inner spirits and after finding both a short distance away, sat down in his usual pose – crossed legged, with a hand on one knee, and the other elbow first and under his chin.

Great, more staring, the hollow thought in disgust, glaring at the King.

"Anzu."

The hollow blinked – and so did Zangetsu.

"The hell King? What's apricots to do with anything? Ya finally gone mad or sumthin'?"

Zangetsu didn't say a word, but the raised eyebrow did all the talking necessary. And then Ichigo shocked the two spirits yet again – he laughed. Not a chuckle, not a snicker, not even a mocking laugh. No, it was a nice laugh, like he rarely did even with his friends.

The hollow was enraged. What the fuck was the King laughing for? With a snarl, he took the white sword from his back and charged, intent on stopping the laughter – not even the fucking barrier was going to stop him this ti-

"That's your name."

The hollow screeched to a halt, eyes widening more than usual in surprise, then narrowing in anger. "I told ya, King! I don't need a fucking name!"

Ichigo shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "Don't matter. I'm not gonna have one of my partners-"

What?

"-go without a name, so you're now Kurosaki Anzu."

Silence. The hollow stared at the shinigami like he had gone mad, then shot a quick, semi-panicked glance at the other spirit, but even Zangetsu seemed shocked. His head whipped back towards Ichigo, eyes wide in disbelief and mouth flapping noiselessly in shock. The fuck…?

Ichigo had stood up, still smiling that slight smile. "I figured I should keep in with the tradition, so…" he scratched the back of his head, then turned around, vaguely waving at them even as he disappeared. "Welcome to the family, I guess."

For a long time after the teen disappeared, the hollow stared at the spot where he'd been standing and vaguely wondered what had just happened. Movement on the side drew him out of his shock.

"The fuck just happened?"

Zangetsu shrugged a little, but there was a small smile on his lips as well – Ichigo had sent him a private thought before leaving.

'That goes for you too, Zangetsu. It might not be written anywhere, and maybe no one but us will ever care…but you've always been a Kurosaki, and you always will be. Partner.'

The zanpakuto spirit had never felt quite so warm and content before. Nothing, he believed, could top the feeling that had come over him when Ichigo had called him partner and part of his family. Although the shell-shocked expression on the hollow's – Anzu's – face was a close second.

"I believe, Anzu, that you just got named."

The newly named Anzu blinked in bewilderment. Ichigo's announcement had been enough to knock all his usual attitude and anger out of him. Anzu? Kurosaki Anzu? The King…considers me family? And the King had also called him... "Partner?" He whispered softly. Sure, he'd used the word on Ichigo before, but never once before had the shinigami ever…

He sat down where he was, holding his head in both hands and staring off into the distance as he tried to process this. He wasn't quite sure what to think of all this. It wasn't really in his nature – he worked best from instinct after all.

But…

For the first time since coming into existence two years previous, Anzu felt warm.

The end

AN: Mostly fluff. I might continue this. Maybe not. I suck at finishing stories, so one-shots are generally safer…Anyway, constructive criticism and reviews are welcome!