Chapter 1: Accept

Ichigo walked quietly on the sidewalk heading towards Urahara's Shop. Ever since his return from Soul Society he had been contemplating over what happened during his fight with Byakuya.

"What was that…thing?"

"Why is it inside of me?"

"Is he like Zangetsu?"

Ichigo continued to ponder over the innumerable possibilities until he reached the front door of Urahara's Shop.

He raised his hand to knock but didn't get the chance as the door slid open revealing the owner himself, Urahara.

"What brings you to my quaint little shop this evening Kurosaki-san?" he asked while waving his fan in front of his face.

"I wanted to know if I'd be able to use your underground training facility for a couple of hours" he replied.

Urahara narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, which went unnoticed by Ichigo, before replying with a smile, "Of course Kurosaki-san, you're more than welcome."

Urahara let Ichigo inside and led him to the underground facility before going back upstairs to do who knows what.

Ichigo sat himself about 100 yards away from the entrance for a little more privacy and began concentrating in order to enter his inner world.

Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself in his soul, his world of tall buildings and skyscrapers that could be seen as far as his eyes could take him.

"Zangetsu" he said, looking around for his Zanpakuto, only to find no one.

"Zangetsu!" he shouted, unsure as to why he wasn't showing himself.

"Hey there, partner" someone said behind him.

Ichigo turned with a look of shock on his face at who he saw, "What are you doing here, where is Zangetsu?"

"Zangetsu isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep" he replied maniacally before delivery a swift kick to Ichigo's ribcage.

"What have you done to him?" Ichigo asked while getting to his feet from the attack.

"I haven't done anything to him, because I AM ZANGETSU!" he shouted before bringing down a cleaver-like sword in an attempt to slice Ichigo in two.

Ichigo was better prepared this time and deflected the strike with his own sword, which was identical in every way to this thing's sword except the coloring.

"Are you a Zanpakuto?"

"Nope, but you're getting warmer!" it replied while swinging his sword around wildly.

Ichigo's eyes widened in realization, "Are you…a source of my power?"

The white skinned twin of Ichigo smiled even wider, "We've got a winner folks, let's show him what he's won…an ass kicking!"

"What is your name?" Ichigo asked while defending himself against the onslaught of attacks.

"I don't have a name" it replied

"Everyone has a name!" Ichigo replied in frustration.

"I don't know my name, so that means I don't have one!" it replied, finding humor in Ichigo's fretting.

"Well for the sake of preventing any confusion, your name is Hichigo!" Ichigo said while going on the offensive.

"Just my luck that I'd get someone whose stupid and lacks creativity" Hichigo replied.

Ichigo created some distance between himself and his copy, "If you're 'a' source and not 'the' source of my power, why do I not see Zangetsu?"

"Thanks for proving my point of how idiotic you are! Whatever is dominant is what you see; if someone dies then their body decays and is only left with bones, but if someone is alive then their flesh is intact and healthy! Understand?" Hichigo replied sardonically.

"I don't like having my power split up in that sort of way, its too…unreliable" Ichigo said with a solemn expression on his face.

"Well don't look at me like I'm the culprit, you're the one who made it this way, so you can make it however you'd like, but don't think you can get rid of me so easily…" Hichigo said before getting cut off.

"Who said anything about getting rid of you?" Ichigo replied, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Hichigo was at a loss for words, he was not expecting this from his partner.

Taking note of Hichigo's silence, Ichigo continued, "When two who do not trust each other fight together, they only damage each other's power. That is what Zangetsu said, and if there is any hope of protecting those I care about, I can't afford any handicap."

Hichigo had an ear to ear grind spread over his face, "So what do you plan on doing about it?"

"You and Zangetsu become one, this split personality thing will only make us weak, and so we can become stronger, together" Ichigo replied.

"I stand corrected, you're not as stupid as I thought you were, at least not as much" Hichigo said sarcastically.

"So how do we do this?" Ichigo questioned curiously.

Hichigo merely grinned, "Just sit back and enjoy the ride partner!"

Ichigo suddenly lost his vision and seemingly passed out, however, this wasn't the case outside of his soul, for his body was very much active, and changing…

Chapter 1: Accept

Author's Notes:

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in a review or private message.

-OSA