Title: Shards

Rating: T+

Pairing: IchiHichi if you squint

Disclaimer: KivaEmber doesn't own otherwise Hichigo would appear in practically every episode.

Summary: The shards just won't stop laughing at him, those inhuman golden eyes promising nothing but power. Mild IchiHichi. ANGST! ONESHOT

A/N: Shiro is a walking reflection of Ichigo, and after reading philosophical novels this idea was born…man I need a life.

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"Mirror, Mirror on the wall…who's the fairest of them all?"

---Snow White

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SHARDS

The shards were red.

He could still hear the echoing laughter of that twisted white mirror as he clenched stained fists round broken shards of glass, narrowing brown eyes at the multitudinous fragmented reflections that were still laughing!

Breathing harsh, he raised his foot and grounded his clothed heel into the shards, ignoring the stinging bite of the razor sharp edges of splintering glass, the distorted laughter finally fading away into the deep recesses of his mind. But he could still feel It shifting beneath the surface, black nailed fingers scrabbling at the edges of his mind.

He relaxed his grip round the shards still in his hand and watched with detached interest as drops of blood splattered onto the remaining intact shards. Breaking the mirror was stupid. The Thing was in his mind, not possessing his mirrors. He absently picked the tiny shards of glass from his torn hand. It's just in his mind. Not true, just a shard of himself twisted and demonised into something…primal.

"If I don't exist then neither does you."

No. No, he existed. He turned away from the stained red shards and desperately looked round his room. He wrenched his eyes away from the window when golden reflected eyes laughed back at his fear.

"Hm. Then I exist too."

He ruffled his orange hair, uncaring of the streak of red from his bloodied hand staining his bangs. It couldn't exist, or possibly exist as part of him! He could never be this twisted, sick, monstrous white mirror!

"As cliché as it sounds, King." The voice was soft, barely above a whisper as Its distorted voice made panic press against Ichigo like a smothering blanket. "I am a reflection of the darkness of your heart. I'm the hate and twisted desires incarnate."

Ichigo's panicked brown eyes locked onto translucent golden ones.

"Relax, King. A bit of sin isn't all bad. I know there are people you wish to kill and make suffer…though Grand Fisher could hardly be called a 'person'." High pitched laughter. "To kill and climb the mountain of corpses to be the best!" He could feel the fervour in his inner Hollow's words.

He felt sick.

The Hollow's presence pressed all around his, caressing him mockingly gently. Ichigo couldn't wrench his eyes away from the sadistically amused ones. "You want it." It hissed. "Stop running!"

Stop…running? It was a concept Ichigo had never thought of because he didn't realise when he started running. He gripped his head tightly with his bloodied hand and whimpered softly, eyes finally tearing themselves away from the golden demonic eyes and desperately scanning the room to escape, escape the laughter, escape the fucking shards!

"Escape me?" A dangerous tone coloured Its amusement. "My precious King-of-mine, you can't, won't escape from me." Ichigo's eyes met the golden ones again, and the orange haired Shinigami stumbled back, body pressed against the wall in a cocktail of panic and fear.

"You need me…you want me…" The golden eyes narrowed and Ichigo forgot to breathe as the Hollow's presence crushed him and all there were was was those fucking eyes staring and staring and laughing!

Laughter rang in his ears and he clamped his hands, one bloodied, over them, attempting to muffle the high pitched deranged giggles, those golden eyes still staring and laughing even when he squeezed his eyes shut, flashing teasingly within the darkness.

He gasped as black nailed fingers gripped his trembling wrists and pulled them away, the giggles changing smoothly into distorted chuckles, golden eyes narrowed sadistically at wide brown ones. "Ah, ah! No running, now!"

It released Ichigo's bloodied hand and wrapped itself gently round the orange haired teen's throat, squeezing tightly enough that it impaired breathing but not enough to choke. "Say it." The hand squeezed just a little tighter. "Say it. You need me. You want me. A King can't go without his horse."

Stubbornness flared throughout his body and the teen planted his free hand round the Hollow's pale white wrist. "I…I don't need you!" He hissed, wincing when the hand tightened to the point where he knew there was going to be bruising.

"Ahhh!" It sounded pleasantly amused now; leaning forward until all Ichigo could see was black sclera and golden irises staring hungrily at him. "But you want me…" It tilted Ichigo's chin up and the Hollow's breath ghosted over slightly parted lips. "I know that…"

"I…D-don't…" But even to his own ears that lacked conviction.

"Stop running, Oh King-of-mine. Lying is a bad habit." Another burst of disturbing high-pitched giggles. "Naughty King-of-mine! I should be the one lying!"

Ichigo struggled, stars exploding behind his eyes as that hand squeezed even tighter, he fruitlessly tugged against the hand clamped round his throat and choked, glazed brown eyes glaring at sadistic golden ones.

"Call me when you've stopped running Oh King-of-mine."

The hand was gone and Ichigo gasped in air greedily, throat raw from the Hollow's harsh grip. The orange haired Shinigami slid down the wall and curled up, bloodied hand twitching spastically into a fist as he imagined wiping that smug grin off that albino's face.

He was going to crush those laughing shards into dust.

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Wow. That turned out totally different then what I planned…