(see the end of the chapter for spoilers/context)
When he wakes, it is to the sensation of drowning. All he can think is I'm going to die here as he struggles to breathe. The world comes and goes in waves of agony, blurring his vision in varying degrees of focus. It takes a moment to register that Zangetsu is all but yelling at him to move. Danger, he says. Run. Some of the pain is numbed and he feels more than hears Zangetsu's wince as he takes the brunt of it.
At his sword's urgency, he drags himself to his feet with the aid of a nearby tree, still drowning, pushing off of the thick trunk and forces his body to flash step, barely missing the dense scattering of trees in the process.
Faster, Ichigo.
He obeys, his legs moving of their own accord, until his lungs expel more air than they take in.
His shoulder is yanked roughly, and between one blink and the next he is crashing into another tree, splinters showering around him as his vision all but blacks out.
He feels his consciousness slip, the wall in his mind sliding away with it as something dark pushes itself to the surface with a guttural growl.
He feels his body move swiftly, coating the ground in red with a familiar but painful tug of his reiatsu, and doing away with the threat with a few well-placed strikes.
Exhausted, it recedes its control back to Ichigo with a vulgar insult, retreating to the depths of his mind once again.
The sudden change causes him to stagger and lose his grip on his zanpakuto, and he can feel the breaking of Zangetsu's wall protecting him against the worst of the pain. It hits him like a sledgehammer to the chest, the exertion making itself known as he collapses and the dark flicker of shadows from the trees' canopies fades to nothing.
Shinji doesn't really mind the late-night shifts of watch duty. The crisp night air helps to calm his nerves after the long months of hiding and being cooped up underground, and it is a good excuse to escape the almost claustrophobic space he shares with the others. They'd increased their security ever since⦠Well they just wanted to stay hidden longer than last time.
Shinji can't help but feel on edge tonight though, a twinge of caution rolling in his gut as he tries to calm Sakanade's growls in his head. A small spike of familiar reiatsu (Ichigo? No, he must be mistaken) and distant voices alert his senses, and he crouches low to avoid detection as a staggering figure crashes through the trees, a Shinigami patrol following closely behind with their weapons drawn. Wrapping his own reiatsu around him in a tight cloak, Shinji follows the patrol and the scent of blood clinging to the fleeing figure. Panic slowly rises in his gut; the idiot was going to lead them straight to the others.
Before he can catch up, the Shinigami reach the man, throwing him roughly through a tree and snickering as he struggles to get to his feet. A change goes through the man, his body going completely rigid as his bright (no one else has that colour, right?) hair covers his eyes, and he attacks the Shinigami with a sudden burst of speed. He rips through their ranks with a show of brutal force, and Shinji's gut churns as he watches the figure rip the arm of one of the Shinigami with a maniacal grin. He turns to Shinji's hiding spot and Shinji is startled to find golden orbs backed by black sclera staring right at him.
"Take care of him Shinji," the man grunts, as black fades to brown with a wince of pain, before he collapses to the ground in a heap.
Well, fuck, Shinji thinks, astounded. They've just found their missing Vaizard.
A soothing voice draws him slowly from a dream, coaxing him into consciousness. It's a familiar voice; warm and curls around his hazy thoughts like a protective blanket. But, he can sense that drowning feeling just below the surface and he fears that if he follows it it'll come back in full force.
Move forward, Ichigo, the voice whispers weakly, so quietly that he doesn't know if it was spoken or simply a stray memory floating through his mind. It comforts him, and he lets go of the fear, allowing himself to be pulled to the surface abruptly.
He throws his eyes open, immediately regretting it as he squeezes them shut again, gasping for air and gaging harshly on the coolness of it as it hits his lungs. He feels strong hands restrain him as he struggles to roll over to empty his stomach to the floor. Biting back the nausea (he still has some sense of dignity to not be sick on himself), he tries to peel his eyes back again, slowly this time. Blinking hazily, he struggles to bring the figure above him into focus. When he finally manages it, he's shocked to see that he's seen that face before, though his mind can barely string the familiarity together.
"It's ok," it says, "you're safe." He doesn't know why, but he believes it as he allows his body to relax. The figure smiles sweetly, bright hair falling prettily onto narrow shoulders, as they bring water to his lips, urging him to drink. He does, a little, but it brings the nausea back. This time, they allow him to roll to the side and there is little he can do to hold back the retching of his gut. Colour flushing to his cheeks, he weakly mutters an apology as the weight of his eyes force them closed once more.
It feels like it's a long time before he draws his eyes open again. This time though, he's alone. Ichigo takes the time to notice that he's in a small room with no windows, illuminated only by an oil lamp in the corner on the dusty floor. Slowly, he eases himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as his right side aches with the movement. Clutching at his side, he feels the bandages bound across his ribs, stained red where the pain was.
Shit.
When had he been injured?
Still not entirely focused, he draws his gaze to the familiar bucket-hatted man standing in the doorway.
Hesitantly, he brings a hand up in a wave.
"Uh, hey Urahara," he says, voice barely a croak.
...
[insert writer's block]
Ok, so context and spoilers (you've been warned - I've entered a bunch of lines just in case):
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So the idea here is that there's parallel universes/dimensions or whatever you want to call them. Things have turned south in the non-canon 'verse (lets call this dimension A) and Urahara A convinces Ichigo A to go to the other dimension (or time travel back and ends up getting stuck in dimension B or something where the timelines overlap). Ichigo A has turned against the shinigami cause they killed a friend/his sisters etc. and he's super bitter. Ichigo A gets ambushed and injured pretty bad (here I've made him get stabbed in a lung or something - poisoned blade? close to lethal but killing him off would be no fun). He leads the attackers away from 'camp' and uses the device Urahara A gave him - this is where stuff gets messed up. So, cause of paralax or something Ichigo A swaps places with Ichigo B and they're both stuck in each other's universes.
Ichigo B has no idea what's happening (they both black out and wake up in each others places) - and Ichigo B is now sporting Ichigo A's injuries - this is where I've kicked the scene off (from Ichigo B's POV)
The girl with the bright hair - I've planned for this to be Masaki (cause, wow, that would screw with Ichigo B). So in universe A (where Ichigo B is now stuck) Ichigo's sisters are dead, his mom's alive, and his dad I think I'm planning on him to be one of the bad guys.
