It was warmer than it had been yesterday, but Ichigo barely noticed as he leaned against the railing on the roof, looking out over the preserve. He wasn't seeing the trees, but images kept flitting across his mind, residues of the dream he'd woken up too.
Ino and him were
dating and it wasn't like it changed anything that had been going on between them. It had changed something in his mind and Ichigo didn't know if the dream he had came from himself or if they were fed to him by the hollow.
It didn't matter. There were no hollows here and so Ichigo didn't have to leave his body and didn't risk losing control. He was king. No matter what Hirako had told him. No matter what. If you continue as a shinigami, you'll slowly be devoured by the hollow inside you and lose your mind. Your own power will destroy everything. Your friends, your future and yourself...
[[Open if you don't mind dealing with a cranky shinigami.]]