Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Chapter Text
Needing to get his mind off his current preoccupation with his teammate/rival/friend, Ishida Uryuu attempted, for once, to actually take said man’s advice and try to relax. However, after a good hour of attempting via the usual methods… i.e. practicing marksmanship and sewing, it was quite obvious to the archer that that avenue was a complete and total failure. That was likely why he relented to reading a manga he’d found lying about his flat while trying to clean the place… of all the invisible dust particles that may or may not have existed in the first place. He couldn’t remember where it had come from, exactly, though he had a strong suspicion a certain orange-haired shinigami had left it during one of their study sessions. Not that that much helped Uryuu get his mind off said shinigami, but it was the only option he could find, really. Of course, it might well have been one of Renji’s too, as the red head had taken an almost obsessive liking to manga during his many trips to the living world. Actually, based on where it was, it was probably something stashed away on his last trip back to the Soul Society, Uryuu thought. He was just glad that Ryuuken’s mad attempt to restore his powers was successful. Not paying it any more attention, the Quincy sat down on his couch to read the tale of a young ninja, his comrades, and their adventures.
He must have fallen asleep while reading, as when he awoke Uryuu felt as though his head was about to explode. “I must have fallen off the couch or something,” he thought to himself. That is, of course, before realizing he was no longer on the couch, that is to say he was no longer in his flat, nor anywhere close to Karakura town that he could recall. Instead, he found himself resting in the branches of an ancient, mossy tree. Trying to stem his panic, he opened his senses and tried to discern his location from the area’s ambient reishi… which was a complete failure. On a positive note, he didn’t sense anyone else around, though this compounded the issue of what the hell he was doing in the middle of a forest in what looked like Edo period clothes. They seemed oddly familiar to him, though he couldn’t think why at the moment. Deciding to rise from his current sprawl, the archer balled his left hand so as to better aid his rise from the branches, except there was, he noticed, something in his hand. A note, from the looks of it, though he didn’t recognize the penmanship… until he actually read it.
To whom it may concern,
If you are reading this, my plan has been a success and you have both considerable spirit energy and a strong will. You will be met with challenges and character-building exercises that aren’t completely guaranteed to leave you alive, but you should be ok for the time being. The data you generate will be of great use to me and my research. It’s much appreciated, I assure you. Isn’t it a great feeling to contribute to science like this?
Sincerely,
Kurotsuchi Mayuri
Squad 12 Captain and Second Generation Head of the Department of Research and Development
It would seem that the Seireitei’s resident mad scientist had found an ancient ninja sealing tag that still worked and made a sort of …trap with it. Joy. His luck was just flipping fantastic.
Well, thinking he should probably get moving and figure out what all the psychopath had done this time, Uryuu jumped from the branches and nearly landed on a bespeckled young man with silver hair tied back in a ponytail. At this, the archer’s mind whirred, bringing to mind images of a character in the manga he had been reading before falling asleep… only as he thought about it… no. Not even he would… ok, yes, yes he would if he figured a way how. With an internal sigh, though maintaining his attempted mask of stoicism, he greeted the other man.
“Hello Kabuto. What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you that Sasuke. Lord Orochimaru has been looking for you.”
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Summary:
After not hearing from Uryuu for a few days, Ichigo gets anxious and goes to visit him. He does not find things as he expects to.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Two days! It had been two freaking days since he had seen his friend and secret crush and Ichigo had become even more grouchy than usual. It wasn’t like the other boy to skip class… at least when there wasn’t some kind of crisis or hollow alert and there had been no recent activity… at all. Which was, to say the least, a bit odd in itself. There had been a strange presence though… not a strong one really, just a bit off. It all came to a head the third day of a certain archer’s absence though when Orihime came to school with an almost haunted look in her red-rimmed eyes. Seeing the obvious distress, Ichigo led her through the halls, back to the courtyard, the very place Rukia had verbally bashed sense into his head and where he had confronted Shinji, a symbolism not lost on him. In the slightly chilled air, the girl beside him seemed to regain some equilibrium, turning a strained smile in his direction that did not reach her pained eyes.
“Orihime, what happened? What’s wrong?” he asked in a gentle voice.
“I… I went to see him, to make sure he was ok. I brought some food over, because when you’re sick you don’t feel like cooking and can’t really leave the house and I thought…”
Seeing his friend begin to hyperventilate, Ichigo rested both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“You went to see who?” He had an idea of the answer, though he had to make sure.
“Uryuu.”
Hearing his name, Ichigo closed his eyes, trying to regain his own calm. Something was definitely seriously wrong if Orihime, one of the strongest of them, was in this state of almost panicked shock. Looking back at her after a moment, he said simply, “Tell me.” and it was as if a dam had burst.
“I went to see him, because he hasn’t been in class and I thought he might not feel too good, you know how he gets when he’s sick – all grouchy and irritable and he doesn’t eat right – so I brought some food over and knocked on the door and no one answered so I knocked a second time and the door was pulled open really hard from the inside and…” At this, she stopped to take a hitched breath, before continuing on more sedately, as if the words had to be forcibly pulled from her throat. “And he stood there, but it wasn’t him. It wasn’t him, I know it wasn’t him!”
If anyone else had made that statement, Ichigo may not have believed them, but Orihime had always been able to tell, even before she could see the shinigami, she knew when he switched with Kon to go off and fight hollows during school hours. Knowing this… knowing of the existence of konpaku, he started, wondering if perhaps their friend had been attacked by some strange method, something that forcibly shifted the soul, even when still firmly attached to the physical body. Any other option was not acceptable.
Bringing himself back to the present, he asked in as calm a voice as he could, “What do you mean, Orihime?”
“He didn’t recognise me. When he opened the door, it was like he was doing it for the first time, like he didn’t know what to expect on the other side. The look in his eyes… Oh Ichigo!”
At this the girl threw herself into his arms and clung to his chest, sobbing out her confusion and pain for her friend.
“He was lost, Ichigo. So lost. There was a darkness there, but it wasn’t him, it wasn’t Uryuu. His spiritual pressure was… strange. It was similar, but different and …cold almost.”
This brought back to mind his initial notice of an odd spiritual pressure a few days ago… something he couldn’t place. With a feeling of dread, he realised it had probably been this… thing with Uryuu he had felt. Sickened that he had, in his mind, abandoned his friend, his love, he firmed his resolve, stepping away from the girl before him.
“I’ll go see him, Orihime. Cover for me, will you? I’ll try to get back soon. I just need to check something.”
“Be careful, Ichigo,” she called, as he darted away, down the streets of Karakura Town between their high school and Uryuu’s home.
Upon reaching his destination, he thought how best to approach whatever might lie on the other side of the door. They had faced hollows, some that had invaded the bodies of their hosts… damn Aizen and his machinations… at that thought, a cold sense of dread spread through the orange-haired substitute shinigami. No! he thought. I will not let that happen! That can’t happen! With a deep breath and firmed resolve, he placed himself before the door to his friend’s flat and flared his reishi, just a bit. It was a test, he knew. He had to see if the person inside the flat noticed it, recognised it. He was hoping against hope that that familiar voice would lash out and scold him for being careless and unable to control his own energy, that he was giving the other man a headache. But no sound came. No scolding, no groan of annoyance, and Ichigo felt his heart drop. There was still something there though, something he couldn’t quite describe. He felt his friend’s energy, but there was something else there too. Raising a hand, he knocked on the door, willing it to open to the exasperated face he so longed to see.
Orihime was right. The eyes that stared back at him when the door opened were cold, a mask of indifference in place and one arm raised, holding a vicious-looking sword to his throat. Wait… a sword?! He had known something was seriously off about the whole situation, but this – this was an entirely new level, especially with how vehemently the archer was opposed to his suggested use of bladed weapons of any kind. It wasn’t the Seele Schneider either. He would recognise that anywhere after the number of times the Uryuu had used it in Hueco Mundo. No, this was reminiscent of a zanpakuto, a further slight against Quincy honour that had he been in his right mind, the archer before him would never have stood for.
Staring down the blade into the shuttered eyes so devoid of that beautiful spark Ichigo so longed to see ignited, he firmed his resolve and closed his eyes for a moment. He did not know if this would work, if it could work, but he had to try. He had to make sure it was not hollow possession that did this, and though he was loath to admit it, he had to see for himself that he had not indelibly maimed some part of the man before him during their unintentional confrontation above Las Noches.
As he had done several times before, Ichigo sought the spirit ribbons. He knew his own was red, as were those of the other shinigami stationed in Karakura Town, and that the others were white. What had him in a state of shock, though was in front of his face, for the ribbon emanating from Uryuu was not its usual white, well… that is not entirely accurate. There was a white ribbon wrapped around his left arm, torso, and right leg… like it was clinging to his body, trying desperately to regain control. Dominance, however, had fallen to a strand of brilliant blue, shining like lightning in the night sky and crackling just a violently. Despite what the others thought, Ichigo did have an analytical mind, he just felt he worked better in the moment most times, plans be damned. However, here, he was just glad there was not a void, there was not a hollow infesting his friend’s body. There was definitely something else there, something menacing, but it, whatever it was, was not a hollow, and that was something.
Opening his eyes and looking at the figure in the doorway who, menacing as he appeared, had oddly not attacked, nor moved from the sanctuary of Uryuu’s domain. Looking closer, he saw a strange light in the other’s eyes.
“Who are you?” Ichigo asked.
“Why do you care?” the other replied.
Turning a pointed stare on the other apparent swordsman, he stated flatly, “You are currently inhabiting my friend’s body. I would like to know whom I am addressing.”
A slight widening of the eyes was the only betrayal of the other’s emotions and even then it was only brief. Not sensing antagonism or malice from the strange orange-haired man before him, the swordsman withdrew his blade into the flat, speaking with caution. He was, after all, distinctly out of his element at the moment.
“Uchiha Sasuke.” Not seeing recognition in the other’s eyes, Sasuke though maintaining outward calm, was highly agitated. He must be far from the shinobi lands, indeed if his name’s notoriety had not stretched this far.
Distracted by his internal battle and having partially removed himself from the doorway upon withdrawing his sword, he was startled by a gasp from deeper within the darkened dwelling. Turning, he saw the stranger standing beside a low table, holding a book, one that looked quite reminiscent of the manga the dobe used to read. Shaking his head to rid himself of those once buried thoughts, Sasuke advance, closing the door behind him. Once level with the other man, dark eyes saw a look of shock and abject confusion on the other’s face, for as Ichigo looked at the manga in his hands, he saw a ribbon of violently crackling blue lightning extend outward toward the body of one of his closest friends.
Looking between the two, he carefully opened the text, seeing the ribbon acting as a bookmark, attached to the drawing of a character in Edo-period clothing who appeared to be speaking with a bespeckled man, not much older in appearance than either he or the person beside him. Taking a calming breath to try and steady his now shaking hands, Ichigo turned the book to face the man gazing at him with a wary antagonism, seeing shock and hints of fear leak through the carefully constructed mask.
His suspicions confirmed, Ichigo gently closed the book, holding it between his palms, as he took a seat on the plush couch in a room to which he had never before been allowed entry.
Sasuke, unsure of what exactly was happening and shocked for the first time in years, sat beside the strange man who still had yet to introduce himself beyond the information that he was the friend of the person who’s body he was now in. That fell far too close to what he had heard regarding Orochimaru’s reanimation jutsu. A man who, from the looks of things, was now confronted with the prospect of living his life, the life of a ronin in an unfamiliar place. A life that, apparently, existed on the inked pages of a book, at the whims of an artist’s mind.
Confusion and exhaustion eating away at him, Sasuke fell against the back of the couch, closing tired eyes and releasing a breath.
Setting the book in his lap, Ichigo placed his head in his hands and growled in frustration.
“Well, shit.” He said into the silent room. The dark-eyed man beside him just nodded in agreement.
Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto ...some things may be different if I did, but I don't, so meh.
Right... for continuity's sake [SPOILER WARNING], this tale begins before Sasuke kills Orochimaru in Naruto Shippuden and after the Hueco Mundo expedition in Bleach... Aizen is dead (supposedly), but Ichigo still has his powers.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Summary:
Identities revealed, the team must assemble to retrieve Uryuu. It's an involved process. And Kurotsuchi's an ass.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ichigo was still trying to remember why he had thought going to Kisuke had been a good idea. Old Mr. Hat and Clogs had never really been much for direct information, after all, so it really shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did, but getting a grand total of “Hmm… that sounds a bit like an anime I once saw” when confronted with the prospect of one of their comrades being trapped in a fictional land of ninja was really not appreciated right now… at all. It didn’t help his sanity that Sasuke-as-Uryuu was presently sitting beside him, giving him weird looks. Remembering what he had seen regarding the spirit ribbons and the apparent similarities between the konpaku transitions and the …whatever was happening to his friend, Ichigo pulled the manga out of his pocket again and, concentrating on the spirit ribbon, opened it to the corresponding page. Except, this time, the page was different. As he watched, the ribbon moved along the pages, as though attached to a film reel. With wide eyes, he looked up, gaze locking with Kisuke’s and asked plainly, “Is there any way someone could force two souls to change places across a dimensional barrier if something… an object is used as a conduit?”
Seeing Kisuke’s look of befuddlement at what he just said, Ichigo’s already frayed nerves combusted.
“What?! What’s that look for? I can’t come up with decent plans or something? Is that so hard to imagine?!”
“Ichigo, I was just thinking about who might be capable of doing something like that. Do you have any ideas?” Kisuke responded in his usual, irritating almost bored tone.
Thinking for a moment, Ichigo spoke. “Aizen? But he’s supposed to be dead! I was there. We were all there!”
“While Aizen Sosuke may have had a hand in this, I do not believe he is still alive. If anything, it would have to be one of his subordinates, but as Tousen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin were also killed in the battle, it would have to be one of the Arancar and that… I have my doubts. Who else do we know who might be interested in playing with reality, hm?” Seeing Ichigo’s blank look, the former captain decided to provide another clue to the teen. “Who do we know who likes to conduct experiments?” …still nothing… riiight… “Experiments involving your dear friend Ishida Uryuu over there,” Kisuke finished, tilting his head toward the silent presence in the room.
Finally seeing comprehension dawn on the often clueless teen’s face, Kisuke waited for the anticipated reaction… in three … two …
“It’s that nut job, Kurotsuchi, isn’t it?”
“Bingo.”
At the sharp intake of breath from the teen seated next to him, Ichigo turned to Sasuke, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that while the body was familiar and voice only slightly altered, the soul within was vastly different from the one he so wished was there. Seeing the slightly glazed look in the other’s eyes and the minute emotions that flitted across Sasuke’s near-emotionless mask, the room’s occupants were all suitably and understandably startled when a loud “Ichigo! What ‘er ya doin here?” was called from across the room.
“Renji!”
Coming to join the three seated men, Renji carefully took in the morose and slightly tense atmosphere, trying to work out exactly what it was that had everyone so agitated. Glancing at each of the three in turn, his crimson gaze focused on the book in Ichigo’s hand and, eyes widening slightly, emitted a sound of triumph as he reached for the manga. …Which Ichigo promptly held far, far away from the tattooed redhead.
“Oi tha’s mine, Ichigo!”
Seeing an opening, Kisuke spoke in his calm, yet piercing manner, “And where, pray tell did you acquire it, hmm, Renji?”
Thinking back, the shinigami spoke, “Nemu gave it to me at the last Lieutenant’s meeting. Why?”
At the collective sigh, from the other three men, Renji looked around startled. “Why? What’s the big deal?!”
Emitting another sigh, Ichigo spoke up, “Renji, look at Uryuu,” he said, gesturing to the man seated on his right.
Not comprehending what was being asked of him, the redhead perplexedly looked at the still silent member of the group. “Well, he seems quieter than usual, I guess and his posture’s a bit off. Why?”
“Look, Renji. Look for the ribbons.”
Knowing that something drastic had to be going on for Ichigo to use that tone of voice, Renji closed his eyes and focused. He knew that unlike orange-topped man before him, he was usually unable to see spirit ribbons without considerable time and effort while in the living world. But this was important. From the sounds of it, something had happened to the moody archer and, he’d be damned if he let a friend suffer when he could help. Opening his senses to the reishi around them, Renji started to sense the ribbons, though he could not as yet actively see them, concentrating harder on the task at hand, the Quincy’s form appeared in his mind’s eye, an ordinary spirit ribbon of pure white wrapped around his lithe frame… wait… That’s not right! Looking closer he saw that what he had initially thought was a flash of spirit interference, static if you will was instead a ribbon of vibrant blue, crackling like lightning and extending from his friend’s chest.
Hearing Renji’s gasp, Ichigo raised the manga in his hand, ensuring it would be in his line of spirit-sight, slowly moving it to draw the other man’s attention to the oddity surrounding the book.
Blinking open his eyes, Renji looked between the manga and the seated man before him, trying to make sense of what his mind could not fully comprehend. He had thought he had become used to the impossible happening with Aizen’s defection and subsequent war in Hueco Mundo. But this… this was… Hearing Ichigo’s fingers snap in front of his face, Renji managed to pull himself together slightly, closing his gaped mouth and sitting up a little straighter.
“So… you saw it, did you?” Kisuke ventured in his lazy drawl.
“I saw something. Wha’d I see though? It was like a …like an electric bookmark almost connecting Uryuu to the manga.”
“And here we get to the crux of the matter.” Kisuke replied.
“What do you mean?”
“This young man before us is not our friend Uryuu.” Seeing Renji’s shock, he continued, “Have you read the book Ichigo is holding, hmm?”
“Well, yeah. It was interesting and the characters were pretty cool… why? Was I not supposed to or something?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. I just means that our dear head of Research and Development had …plans, shall we say.” Hearing this, Sasuke’s eyes widened marginally, thoughts clicking together like the pieces of a many-sided puzzle.
“What do you… Wait. No. You mean something happened to Uryuu because I let him borrow the book after I’d read it? But that’s …that’s …”
“That’s entirely something Kurotsuchi would do and you know it. You know how much he wanted to mess with Uryuu in Hueco Mundo. But cheer up, Renji. All is not lost!”
Looking at the man lazily swing a cane about the place, he attempted to give his best WTF are you on look, though from the maintained grin, he failed miserably. Suddenly, something clicked, something back in the recesses of Renji’s mind that had not been accessed since his earliest days at the academy when they were learning the history of Kido development.
“It was a reishi trigger, wasn’t it? It was only set to activate at a certain time and only if a specific individual was handling it.”
“Right you are.”
“But what does that mean? What happened?” Remembering Kisuke’s earlier words, the tattooed redhead turned to the seated form of his friend. “If you’re not the archer, than who are you?”
Clearing his throat, Ichigo took over introductions, “Renji, this is Uchiha Sasuke, Sasuke, this is Abarai Renji, Lieutenant of Squad 6.”
Still staring a bit bug-eyed at the seated man, Sasuke… wow that was a …wait. Processing everything he knew of character Sasuke, his now apparently missing friend, and the situation they now found themselves in, Renji turned toward Kisuke. “Uryuu’s in the book, isn’t he?”
“It would appear so, yes. Ichigo managed to chart the movement of the ribbon across the page, almost as if it was attached to a film reel.”
Looking at the others, Ichigo thought hard about potential solutions, discarding each as they appeared. Finally, it was his hollow that put things into perspective, giving him a mental kick in the rear. They got on significantly better since the travesty above Las Noches, Ichigo having firmly reclaimed his seat as king in their battle of wills. Shifting his gaze to Sasuke, he asked in a very mater-of-fact tone, “Can you hear him?”
“What?”
“Ichig-“ Putting his hand up to stop Renji’s questions, he repeated his query.
“Can you hear Uryuu in the back of your mind, Sasuke? His spirit ribbon is still there, yours is just more prominent at the moment. You should be able to communicate with him if you concentrate, if you meditate.”
Knowing Ichigo was speaking from experience with a combination of his own hollow-bound issues and the shinigami’s connection to their zanpakuto, the other two let the orange-tressed shingami handle the situation.
After what seemed an age of held breath and hopeful wishes, Sasuke spoke.
“I can hear him.” At those words, the rush of relief was almost enough to overwhelm Ichigo, though he saw the other man begin to speak once more and stilled his actions. “It is faint, but I can hear him and he sounds rather angry.”
“Could you let him know we’re trying to find a way to fix this?”
Relaying the information through the still weak connection, Sauske felt himself chuckle for the first time in a considerable while, before going deathly still.
“Sasuke? Sasuke, what’s wrong?” Ichigo asked.
“He said to tell the idiot to damn well get on with it, but that this by no means means he is siding with the shinigami.” A small laugh escaped those assembled at the oft repeated and very …Uryuu prase.
“He also said he has taken on my form and is in the company of one Yakushi Kabuto.” Of the three gathered, it appeared only Renji had any idea what this meant.
“He’s being taken to Orochimaru, isn’t he?”
“You... Of course you know. It’s in the damn book.” Releasing a sigh, something he was doing with greater frequency than he ever had in his own… reality, and didn’t that sound strange in his head, he looked to Renji and continued.
“This Kurotsuchi fellow, how likely is it he is somehow tied to the Orochimaru of my world?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you know by now the… nature of some of his …experiments. It seems that they are very similar in nature.”
Adopting a thoughtful pose, Kisuke steepled his fingers together in front of his face and spoke the damning words: “It sounds like you need to head back to the Soul Society.”
Notes:
I've got all three chapters up now. Waiting for a bit of inspiration and time to re-watch episodes. It will happen eventually, but just not today... or tomorrow. Hopefully soon though.