Part of Your World

By: Crim

This Drabble was written for Rukia's Birthday Drabble Contest at fuckyeahichiruki on Tumblr. The prompt was Vikings. Please do not distribute on any other site. Characters belong to Tite Kubo.

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Something just didn't feel right. A part of him felt out of place. Whatever it was might be related as to why the Substitute Shinigami's powers weren't at 100%. His Getsuga Tenshou felt somewhat weak even against the most minor Hollows. He couldn't even feel his inner Hollow's presence. Even though that might be a good thing, what if something happened to old man Zangetsu too?

Since his partner was away to do Zanpakutou training of her own and the house was empty, Ichigo Kurosaki needed the peace and quiet to perform Jinzen in order to check on the well-being of his zanpakutou. Zangetsu usually wouldn't lend his powers to his master whenever he was plagued with doubt and a weak heart. Ichigo was too lively and determined to feel that way this time.

The young master's eyes were in disbelief at the world before him the moment he opened his eyes from meditation. Was this really Zangetsu's realm? It looked like a magical unicorn ate a box of crayons and threw it up all over the place. The vertical clouds in the sky were replaced by rainbows and swirls over a pastel backdrop. But something about it felt somewhat familiar.

"Old man Zangetsu!" Ichigo's voice echoed, but there was no response. Instead, it signaled a pack of bunnies and bear cubs to stampede in his direction. What the hell was going on? This couldn't have been his world. This foreign land looked like it came from the mind of a toddler or just a really bad artist.

Following the trail of woodland creatures were what may have been two figures racing from the distance. "Oh ho! Look, it's Ichigo!"

Ichigo tried to register what he was actually seeing, with his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. His half-pint partner came toward him wielding her pure white zanpakuto and donned a stupid looking helmet on her head. The image was even more awkward because his Hollow Form that he was searching for was giving Rukia a piggy back ride. "Rukia? What the hell are you doing? Why are you even here?" The endless questions could go on, but Rukia didn't waver.

"Hm... I was using Jinzen, but for some reason Sode no Shirayuki and I wound up here. Maybe we fought together so long that our zanpakuto started to connect." Rukia pointed in the distance, to reveal Sode no Shirayuki and Zangetsu underneath a cherry blossom tree enjoying afternoon tea together.

Ichigo raised a brow and scratched his cheek. That was the only seemingly normal thing he has seen so far. "And why the hell is he giving you a piggy back ride?" Ichigo looked at his counterpart with embarrassment. Even though he wasn't his biggest fan, that Hollow was still a part of him. This degrading image reflected on Ichigo as well. Shirosaki was ready to let Ichigo get an earful, but before he could open his mouth, Rukia chimed in.

"Nuh uh. Horses... Don't speak." Rukia shook her index finger with a smug smile on her face. Shirosaki gritted his teeth and scrunched his lips to hold back his angst. Ichigo was a little confused himself. "You see, Ichigo. This guy gave me a hard time the minute I got here. He went on about some story about a king and his horse. So I figured if only a strong king could subdue him, I decided it'd be a pretty fun game to make myself his queen!"

"... And you call that a crown?" Ichigo pointed at the cheap looking Halloween prop on her head.

"Fool! This is a Viking helmet. Your Inner Hollow is primal and is driven by instinct. It was just fitting, for what would be more savage and primal than a Viking to subdue him into being my horse!" Rukia's eyes were glistening throughout her zealous speech. "... Besides, this helmet was the closest thing to a crown that I could find here. Heh heh." Her chuckle faltered a bit, but she continued to laugh it off as if she had planned for things to go that way.

Ichigo's body fell to the ground after listening to all this madness. He was aware of the countless times he said that Rukia changed his world, but this was getting too literal. He'd go mad if his inner world became a living portrait of Rukia's terrible drawings. "Rukia! You need to get out of here!"

…

SMACK!

"IDIOT! You get out. Some people are trying to sleep!"

When Ichigo opened his eyes, he saw a disheveled Rukia in her pajamas holding the slipper that met his face. He was back in his room, in his own bed. Ichigo frantically looked at his surroundings and finally felt at peace. "That was some crazy Inception shit that went on," he mumbled to himself.

"Ah, so you were in the middle of a dream? Maybe if you go back to sleep now, it can continue where you left off." Rukia teasingly smiled at her roommate before shutting the door to her closet room. "Sweet dreams!"

"No, thanks. I think I'd rather stick to reality."

End.

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Author's Notes: Sorry this wasn't my best. The prompt made it a bit difficult for me to correlate with IchiRuki. I tried my best even though I still feel iffy about it overall. Hopefully it wasn't too boring. Thanks for your support!