The Little Pill Who Could

Nnngh... what's happening to me? His thoughts felt sluggish, uncomfortable. ... Where am I?

He was surrounded by white. It was foggy white, reminding him of clouds (but what are clouds?) or marshmallows (but what are marshmallows?) The clouds were soft and should have been soothing. But they did not soothe him at all. To the contrary, he felt like the white was smothering him, sapping his strength. They were making him less than what he should be. (But what should he be?)

Who am I? He asked the uncaring whiteness, but did not recieve a reply. He felt so blank and empty, his mind a void waiting to be filled. But when would something come to fill it?

He settled in to wait. There was nothing else he could do.

"What am I to do with this thing?" Urahara sighed, rolling the gikon between his fingers.

It was a very unique soul candy, and it had been created in a unique way. Soul Society was quiet. The Quincy had been crushed, and Ichigo was preparing to go to University. But his hollow had still been present and things had gone critical one evening when Ichigo had decided to have a few beers. The resulting weakness in his mental barriers had almost freed the menace in his mind, and it had badly injured three men. Truthfully, they were lucky to be alive after picking a fight with Ichigo and rousing his hollow half.

But Kurosaki hadn't seen it that way. He was afraid his hollow would win, control him and go on a rampage. Urahara was certain he was right to be afraid of that, but he still wasn't sure this was the correct way to handle the problem. The soul candy in his hand pulsed softly, as if it agreed, and the shopkeeper sighed again.

He'd managed to seperate out Ichigo's hollow half and store it in a gikon. Of course, that lowered Ichigo's power considerably. He'd suggested to the teen that he could take the soul candy and save it for when he needed his powers the most, but Ichigo had rejected the idea. And for good reason. Urahara had heard the hollow screaming just before he'd finished sealing him into the soul candy. It seemed the process had been painful and he doubted the hollow would just forgive and forget.

But what was he to do with the gikon now? Urahara stopped rolling the little ball and just stared at it for a moment. It was a highly unusual soul candy. Instead of the usual, matte surface, this one was a swirling white. It lightly perfumed the air with a not entirely unpleasant hollow reiatsu. He wasn't sure why, but it fascinated him. So instead of putting it in some kind of secure storage, he rolled it between his fingers one last time. Then he set it into a small candy dish.

"Just stay here for now." He said to the candy as though it could hear. And perhaps, on some level, it could. "I'll examine you more thoroughly tomorrow." Standing up he decided it was time to go to bed.

The soul candy could wait until tomorrow.

The gikon pulsed softly in it's candy holder.

White light flickered with every pulse, creating more shadows. The spirit inside the soul candy was nearly senseless now, overwhelmed by the white that was its prison. But it was not entirely asleep and something inside perked up as someone new entered the room.

Urahara's shop was not easy to burglarize. In fact, for most people it would have been impossible. But it was a little known fact that kido repulsions and barriers did not work well against those who were extremely intoxicated. Or in this case, strung out on drugs. The young thief's mind was so addled that the kido had been unable to tell him from a harmless squirrel, and had allowed him to pass through unharmed.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, though, and a secondary defense went into effect. The teen yawned, his eyelids going heavy. The simple sleeping kido often worked well on those who were intoxicated. But some drugs had effects that could cancel it out, and the boy shook his head as he noticed the gikon in the candy holder.

"Candy." Any normal person would have noticed that it was glowing, but the strung out teen just picked it up and popped it in his mouth. He didn't try to chew, or he would have noticed the 'candy' was hard as a rock. He swallowed it whole and his eyes abruptly went wide. "Hck!"

The hollow inside didn't really mean to devour his soul. But he was operating purely on instincts, and for hollows devouring other souls was an instinct. And this boy was no Ichigo. There was no resistence at all as the hollow gulped the soul down and abruptly found himself awake and aware inside a human body.

"What just happened?" He murmured, resting a hand on the desk and glancing around. Brown eyes had suddenly changed to black and gold. "..." The boy frowned to himself. All he could remember was scavanging in the streets, stealing for his next fix. He'd broken into this place to steal things, he'd eaten a candy and something had... happened. But what? Looking down at his hands he could see the skin was a normal peach color, and that seemed... wrong. "Need to get out of here." He had a bad feeling that if someone caught him here, something terrible would happen. He wasn't sure what, but he needed to get out. Abandoning any thought of theft, he quickly left the shop.

He was not going to give up his freedom so quickly.

Following routines that were deeply graven in his brain, the teenager went to find one of his hideouts.

It wasn't a very comfortable place to sleep. Just a pile of dirty blankets on a torn, dirty mattress in an abandoned factory. The boy curled his lip at the smell. When he'd been completely high on something, he'd pissed on the mattress. The fact that he'd still slept on it said a lot.

But his mind was completely clear now and he found the thought of sleeping in his own waste appalling. Snarling, he kicked aside the mattress and frowned. Where else could he go? Memories told him that he'd burned his bridges with most of his friends. But newer instincts said that friends weren't the only assets. Enemies could be useful as well.

Smiling viciously, he left the building and began walking through Karakura town. It didn't really take him long to find the run down apartment of one of his suppliers. Normally, the boy would have avoided him like the plague. He owed this man quite a bit of money. Now, he didn't give a fuck.

"Braigan! Open up." He snarled as he pounded on the door. "Braigan!" The door opened and the man within stared. He was a slightly older man with black hair and hard brown eyes.

"Takashi, you little motherfucker!" A fist flashed out and the teen evaded it as easily as breathing. The drug dealer looked briefly surprised before scowling. "Do you have the money you owe me, you little bitch? And what the fuck happened to your eyes?" The boy - Takashi? - ignored that. He didn't know what was wrong with his eyes.

"Not a fucking penny." He said, then giggled. It was a high pitched, unnerving sound. "I need a place to crash. Let me in or I'll stand out here screaming all your secrets to the whole neighborhood, hehe."

"I think I'd rather beat your face in." Braigan said with refreshing directness. Takashi (was he really Takashi?) grinned wickedly.

"Oh, please try. I'm dying for a good fight." He pounded his fist into his other hand, glancing down at himself. His arms and body looked firm and toned, which was a bit strange. His memories seemed to be saying he should be stick thin and sickly.

"Stupid fuck!" Braigan launched the first punch and to the other teen it was a laughably stupid attack. Grabbing the idiots' wrist and tossing him over his shoulder was easy as pie. (what is pie?) Then he grinned and got busy. A few sharp blows and he had the other teen's arm twisted behind him as he threatened to break it.

"Who's your daddy?" He said in a singsong tone as the other teen cursed violently, his face white with pain. "Who's your daddy?"

"You are! Oh my god, stop!" He writhed and Takashi snickered before releasing his arm. The teen squirmed away and he let him go. "Where the fuck did you learn how to fight?"

"I ate a little pill. Just a little pill." He giggled, still feeling almost high with the pleasure of the fight. "And don't think about cutting my throat in my sleep. I sleep very lightly, hehehe." The other teen got to his feet, sullen, baffled and just a touch afraid.

"Fine. When are you going to pay me what you owe me?" He asked as they went back inside. Takashi glanced around, curling a lip at the mess. He preferred an orderly home (nest) but at least there was no stench of bodily waste.

"How much do I owe you again?" He asked, idly curious. Maybe he would pay it back. Braigan glanced at him with a frown.

"A thousand bucks with interest, asshole." He snarled and Takashi sneered.

"I don't pay interest. How much do I owe you, asswipe?" He said and smiled dreamily as the other teen clenched his hands. Something about that smile made him go pale and look away.

"Fine, three hundred. What was in that pill, another person?" He said sullenly and Takashi blinked, then grinned.

"Got me. But I sure do feel different." Before, he'd lived in constant fear and need. Need for the drugs, the desperate obsession with his next fix. Fear that one of the people he owed money to would find him, or some gang members would decide to play with a street rat. And sometimes, he'd thought about his family and felt pain at how they had rejected him. Now, everything was different. The need was gone, and he felt only disgust at the thought of weakening himself with drugs. He feared nothing and no one. As for his family, a lot of it made him giggle. They'd deserved what they'd got for trusting him. Perhaps he could use that, though. His bridges weren't entirely burnt with his sister, and she might give him an opening to reconnect with his parents. "Got any food?" He was hungry. Braigan scowled but pointed him towards a half-eaten pizza. Takashi tried it and frowned. It tasted okay, but it seemed to be lacking something. Shrugging to himself, he ate it anyway. It eased the hunger a bit, but only a bit. "Have to figure that out later." He muttered to himself.

The answer would probably come to him in time.

The next morning, he was ravenous and Braigan was looking tasty.

Takashi wasn't bothered by the thought. Now that he was hungry enough, he could tell there was something inside the other teen (soul) that called out to him. He briefly considered taking it, but then decided against it. Braigan might be useful again someday. And there was something far more tasty outside.

"Later man. I'll try to get you the money I owe you." He said, only half meaning it. But maybe he would square his debts away eventually. Or maybe he wouldn't, who knew? Braigan just grunted and Takashi slouched away, his mind in the clouds as he tried to seek out that feeling that spelled sustenance.

It didn't take him long to find it, and he began to track (hunt) it down. When he found it, he stopped and stared. It was a big, monstrous looking thing, sitting on the edge of a bridge and scratching its' ass. It had a big mask of bone and vaguely reminded him of a bullfrog. Then it noticed him staring.

"What the fuck are you?" It asked and Takashi blinked, a bit taken aback. This thing talked?

"I'm not sure. What the fuck are you?" He asked directly and the creature laughed.

"I'm a hollow. And you look tasty." It licked its' lips and Takashi laughed, throwing his head back.

"You're fucking hilarious!" The bullfrog shot its' tongue out at him but the boy jumped over it neatly. Then he kicked the monster in the face, making it fall off the bridge. He grabbed the tongue with a manic grin, reeling the monster in.

"Ow fuck! Let go you little bastard! The bullfrog writhed, unable to escape. It began charging up something red and the boy just looked at it for a moment before holding out his hand. A matching red light began to build in his palm. "Oh shit! I'm sorry! Please let me go!"

"No can do. You look tasty." Takashi said with a wicked little giggle before unleashing his power blast. (cero) It cut down the middle of the creature, neatly dispatching it and he was able to finish hoisting it up by the tongue. "Mmm, fresh meat." Pleased with his catch, he devoured it. It filled the hole in his gut much better than his frenemy could have. Finishing with the creature he belched loudly and considered his next move.

Taking up the vacated seat on the bridge, Takashi swung his feet and thought. He needed a place to stay, a real place, not just a place to crash. He could take some of the little hideouts he'd made for himself and revamp them, make them appropriate for his current mindset. Or he could try to make up to his sister and parents. Takashi favored the latter. He didn't really give a damn about them - they existed to be used - but he could use them far more intelligently now. His previous conduct baffled him and the boy frowned. Why had he stolen a hundred dollars in cash and several hundred more in electronics from his parents? He remembered the need for the drugs, but it still seemed shortsighted. Having a reliable place to sleep was worth more than a momentary high.

"Whatever." Shrugging the mystery aside, Takashi jumped down and went to go see his sister. She'd probably be busy at her job, but he could demonstrate his change of heart right there. He was not allergic to the opposite, in fact. Something he couldn't remember said he'd always needed to work hard for the little he'd gotten in life.

He could work hard at sucking up too.

"Tanis!" Takashi called, grinning at the odd sounding name. But his mother was half Japanese, half European, and she'd named her daughter after her grandmother. "You want some help girl?" He paused to watch her, amused by the antics in front of him.

His sister was the executive chef at a very busy restaurant. She'd often slipped him food, when he came by the back. Only cheap pasta, of course, but his taste buds had been shot anyway. Sometimes she'd paid him a bit to wash the dishes. He was hoping this would be one of those times.

"Takashi! Yes, one of the busboys called out! Take over the dishes!" She screamed at him, necessary to get her voice over the din of the busy kitchen. Takashi noticed she wasn't looking too good, red faced, sweating and possibly pregnant. Either that, or she was getting a bit heavyset. He wasn't going to make a guess, he vaguely remembered that that could go badly. "Nyoki, take the front!" The current dishwasher abandoned his place with alacrity and Takashi grinned as he took over. The dishwasher didn't get any tips, but the busboys did.

A lot of what he was doing involved loading and unloading the dishwasher. However, a lot of things had to be done by hand. The dishwashers were meant to accommodate huge volumes of plates and glasses, not pots and pans. Those he scrubbed by hand. Takashi remembered working very hard to get anything off, but today things were different. He ripped through the dishes like there was no tomorrow, and felt no real strain. Even the heat of the kitchen didn't bother him. If anything, it was welcome, helping to remove an everpresent chill from his bones.

His contribution did not go unnoticed. It was hours later before the dinner service was done, but when it was finished his sister brought him a plate of food and some cash. But Takashi wanted a bit more than that.

"Can we talk?" He asked and she looked at him suspiciously before nodding. She took off her cap, hanging it on a hook and removing her chef's coat. Then they took a seat in one of the back boothes, resting from the day's trials. "I'm off the junk." He said shortly as he tried the food. It was okay, but again, he knew it wasn't doing much to fill him. "I was wondering if you had a job and a place to stay." She was frowning at him, her expression slightly unnerved.

"I didn't notice in the kitchen, it was too busy, but what happened to your eyes?" She asked andTakashi frowned. He still hadn't gotten a look at those.

"I dunno, what do they look like?" He asked and she sorted through her bag for a moment before pulling out a compact and flipping it open. Takashi took a look at himself and blinked. "Huh!" His black and gold eyes were certainly weird, nothing like the brown he remembered. Yet strangely, they seemed right. "Strange. Heh, I ate a little pill." Takashi grinned as Tanis frowned. "I thought it was candy, but now I don't know. I just know I feel better than ever. So you got a place for me?"

"A job won't be a problem. Our dishwasher is close to being fired." She said with a scowl and Takashi wasn't surprised. The dishwashers were usually students trying to earn a few dollars and far from reliable. "But a place to stay... my husband might not like it after what you did to mom and dad. Can you prove that you're off the drugs?" She asked and Takashi laughed, a high pitched, tittering sound.

"Do I look like an addict?" He said mockingly before pulling up his shirt sleeve and flexing his arms. Her eyes widened at the sight of hard, powerful muscles. "I'll take a blood test if you want, but I'm clean." Takashi knew he'd taken drugs fairly recently, yet he was sure they wouldn't show up in his system. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted the feeling.

"Well, you can stay tonight." Tanis decided. "Yoshi won't mind. But we'll need his approval to make this permanent." She cautioned him but Takashi could see the hope in her eyes. He knew his sister and family had never really given up on him. And now, he could give them some of what they wanted and get some of what he needed in return. It seemed like a fair trade.

So that night, Takashi had a nice little guest room to sleep in and he got to know his young niece. Tanis seemed absolutely shocked when he played with her and gave her horseback rides, even making horse sounds for her. Takashi was a bit surprised by it too, especially by how hilarious it seemed. When her husband Yoshi got home he was less than thrilled to see him. Takashi ignored the low voiced discussion between him and Tanis, just concentrating on playing with little Yuki. She seemed to love his eyes.

That night, when everyone was asleep, Takashi slipped out of the house. It didn't take him long to find another of those hollow creatures. This one couldn't talk and it seemed rather weak and confused. Takashi caught and ate it then returned home, all in less than an hour. Then, with a proper meal in his belly, he settled in to get some sleep.

Tomorrow would be a big day.

"You what?" Ichigo stared at Kisuke in shock. The shopkeeper grimaced a bit behind his fan. The teen was right to be upset.

"Someone broke into the shop and took the gikon." He said patiently. "I suspect they may have eaten it." That worried him, deeply. He wasn't sure the rogue soul candy would act like a normal gikon. What would happen to the soul of the person who ingested it? Nothing good, he was sure. "I'm still trying to locate it. However, it's proving very elusive." There were plenty of hollows in Karakura town, and how would the gikon react with a human body? Kisuke just couldn't know. He was trying to search using Ichigo's reiatsu signature but so far he'd found nothing.

"Kisuke! That... thing is a monster! Do you know what he'll do if he gets free?" Ichigo demanded and the shopkeeper sighed.

"Eat pluses and other hollows, just like most hollows do." He said and Ichigo shook his head. "No?"

"He threatened to eat my friends, my sisters, even my father." He said in a low tone and Urahara blinked. That explained why Ichigo had been so keen on getting rid of his hollow. "He's a horrible menace."

"Well, perhaps he was just saying that to alarm you." Kisuke said cheerfully and Ichigo scowled at him skeptically. "If someone ate the gikon immediately, he's already been free nearly a week. And nothing has happened to your friends and family, I've been keeping an eye on them."

"A week?" Ichigo went almost white at that piece of information. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He demanded and Kisuke just shrugged. It was an eavesdropping Jinta who supplied the answer.

"He was hoping to find it so he wouldn't have to tell you. He finally decided that wasn't gonna happen." Jinta said and Ichigo muttered something about immaturity and elders acting like little children. Kisuke pretended not to hear, although his more honest part admitted it was true.

"Just keep an eye out for the gikon. I'm going to keep trying to find it." Kisuke instructed the teen. He had a theory that, as part of Ichigo's power, the inner hollow might be attracted to him. But it was just a theory and could very well be incorrect. "I'm sure it will turn up sooner or later." He said optimistically.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about." Ichigo groused before leaving the shop. He would have to inform all his friends about the problem. They needed to know to watch their backs.

He wasn't sure if his hollow had just been trying to scare him, but he wasn't going to take a chance.

"Hey Yuki, you want a..." Takashi slowly perused the ingredient list of the little bar he'd been planning to offer his niece. "Ew. What the hell is this shit? Are we even supposed to eat this? Parrafin product? It sounds like something we should be setting on fire." He muttered and Tanis sighed.

"Why are you reading the labels on everything? You never used to do that." She complained, fanning herself. Takashi grinned before opening the little wrapper and extracting the rather peculiar, jelly bean like bar inside. Then he pulled out his lighter and flicked it on before holding the candy over it. "Takashi!"

"What? I want to see if it'll explode - holy shit!" He exclaimed as the candy caught fire. Dropping it, he hastily stomped on it to put it out. "Was it supposed to do that?" He asked as Yuki laughed, quite pleased with the show. Tanis just shook her head, amused and exasperated. "Sorry Yuki, the candy was flammable. Who knew?" Grabbing a kleenex off a nearby table, Takashi began cleaning up the mess. Fortunately, the floor was linoleum.

Right now they were waiting at the Kurosaki clinic, getting some test results. Yoshi had some rather stringent but sensible requirements for letting his brother in law stay. He had to take regular drug tests and pass each one, as well as paying a small amount for rent and a larger amount for food. Takashi was okay with that, although he was hoping to get a better job than dishwasher. It was going to take him forever to square away his debts at that job.

He'd already had a few run ins with his old suppliers, and he'd made it clear to a few others that he wasn't paying interest. For a while, Takashi had seriously considered putting together a gang (fraccion) and getting into the business of drug dealing himself. But he'd finally decided against it. He wasn't sure who you dealt with and the only way he knew to figure it out would be to start as a low level dealer, and that was just bullshit. Low level dealers hardly got to keep any of the money they made and they were the ones who got swept up in stings. Braigan was one of that sort, and Takashi had nothing but contempt for his choices in life.

So instead, he was going clean and trying to do honest work. Right now he was looking in the help wanted section, looking for something better that a high school dropout could do. If nothing came up, though, Takashi had a plan. If he kept demonstrating his new work ethic to Tanis, he could eventually become a busboy and then a waiter. Or he could learn to cook and become a line cook, then a sous chef. Either way, the wages would be a hell of a lot better. With that kind of money he could get his debts taken care of and start to save for... what? He wasn't sure yet, but he'd likely think of something.

"Tanis?" The receptionist called and Tanis stood up, grunting slightly. Takashi stood, wondering again if she was pregnant. "The doctor will see you now."

"Thank you." She said gratefully and Takashi picked up little Yuki, putting her on his shoulders. She giggled and gripped his hair. Takashi had noticed that the deep brown color had begun lightening, becoming a sandy blonde. It was almost as if he'd been in the sun a lot, but he knew he hadn't. They all went to the back and Tanis offered the doctor a hand to shake with a smile. "Dr. Kurosaki?"

"Yes indeed!" He beamed at them before tickling Yuki under her chin. The child loved it, giggling and squirming. Takashi had to hold her legs firmly to keep her from falling off his shoulders. "We have the results of your blood work." He told Takashi, who nodded. "Here you are. You can look over it at your leisure, but to give you a quick summary, the results are completely clean." He told Tanis who looked extremely relieved. "And we also did several other tests at the same time. You appear to be a very healthy young man. Remarkable, considering your history." Dr. Kurosaki told him and Takashi nodded again. He certainly felt healthy.

"What about his eyes, Doctor? Did you find out what is causing that?" Tanis asked and Takashi frowned. He was wearing wraparound sunglasses now, to prevent people from seeing his eyes. He could see just fine but many people who saw the shades assumed he was blind. It was rather annoying.

"No. His liver tests came back just fine, and the back irises aren't typical of jaundice anyway." The doctor admitted as Takashi put down Yuki. She was squirming a bit too much now. She tugged on his hand, silently asking for a swing, and he grinned before gripping her tiny hands and swinging her. That made her squeal in delight and Dr. Kurosaki smiled at her. "I would suggest seeing an optometrist, especially if you start having any problems with your sight."

"You don't have to, Tanis. I'm feeling fine." Takashi said, still playing with his niece. He knew that Tanis and Yoshi were comfortable, but nothing more than that. He didn't want them to spend all kinds of money on tests he sensed would be fruitless. Tanis hesitated then nodded.

"Let me know if you have any problems, please." She said as she put the papers from the blood work away. Takashi nodded, placing Yuki on his shoulders again. "Thank you, Doctor."

"It was a pleasure!" The man said with a smile and Takashi paused, struck by a strange feeling of familiarity. Then he shook it off. His family had been seeing Dr. Kurosaki for quite some time, of course he felt familiar. They went back to the waiting room and Takashi waited patiently as Tanis unfolded the stroller. Then he put Yuki in it and went to open the door -

"Oh shit! Sorry!" He exclaimed as he opened the door and a teenager with orange hair almost stumbled into him. He'd clearly been just about to push the door open when Takashi had opened it from inside.

"Oh, it's nothing." He righted himself, blinking, and Takashi had another feeling of familiarity. This time it was much, much stronger and for a moment he stared, wondering where he knew this guy from.

Then he remembered and flushed. Back when he'd been an addict, he'd tried to join a gang once. They'd sent him along with five other guys to accost two teenagers as an initiation rite. At the time, he'd thought it would be easy. Six against two, how uneven could you get? In retrospect, Takashi realized they hadn't wanted any of them in the gang and sending them out against two experienced street fighters had been the gang leader's way of getting rid of them. They'd gotten their asses kicked and Takashi had been too ashamed to ever show his face there again. This kid had been one of the two teenagers he'd faced off with. He'd only been fourteen at the time.

"Yeah well, sorry. I'm Nagamura Takashi." He introduced himself, mainly so the other kid would introduce himself. He wasn't sure why, but Takashi found he was really interested in him. The teen frowned, then gave him a small smile.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. It's nothing, thank you." He said and went through the waiting room, heading for the back. Takashi kept holding the door open so Tanis could get the stroller through, and mentally noted the name. Kurosaki Ichigo. He had to be related to Dr. Kurosaki, which was interesting.

Shrugging it aside, Takashi followed Tanis out of the clinic. There was going to be a long dinner service tonight and they both needed to get Yuki to her grandparents. Or rather, Tanis would take her to them. She was going to wait until he had at least three clean drug tests under his belt before she mentioned him to their parents. Takashi thought it was a good idea, they had a lot to forgive.

But they would all get there, he was sure of it.