I own nothing, including this image. Bleach & Fate/stay belong to Tite Kubo and Type Moon respectively.
24 hours. It had been 24 hours since Rukia had left, 24 hours since he had fought those Shinigami, 24 hours since he Byakuya Kuchiki had taken his powers, and left him to die. 24 hours ago, Urahara had found him, bleeding out in the rain, and gave him a choice. He could return to a normal life and forget everything that had happened. The easy path. Or, he could take the hard path. Risk death over and over again to regain his powers, so that he could throw himself back into battle to save Rukia and repay his debt to her. Recalling that encounter, he wondered he ended up here. Wearing boxing gloves and the "Headband of Justice", and having just been nearly killed by a little girl? Oh, right. He had chosen the hard path.
Urahara spread his fan."Well, Kurosaki-san," he said to the panting teen, "Congratulations on passing the first test. We're on a tight schedule, so why don't we go right on to the next test? Unless you're too tired?" he taunted. Ichigo scowled, and stood up with a fire in his eyes.
"After that ordeal? I can handle anything!" he shot back. Ichigo was unsettled by the sudden look of sorrow on Urahara's face.
"How about death?" Urahara replied. "Do it, Tessai." Ichigo whipped around in time to see Tessai sever his Soul Chain with a huge axe. Ichigo fell to his knees, his head ringing. "Ururu, open the pit!" Urahara shouted urgently. Below Ichigo, a huge pit opened, and he fell. Just before he hit the bottom, he blacked out. Urahara peered down. "Good luck, Ichigo." he murmured. As an afterthought, he added, "You're going to need it."
Down in the pit, Ichigo slumbered, unaware of was going on both above, and within his own head. In his inner world, two beings looked on in shock and anger.
"Damn you, Urahara." said one of the beings, a bleached white Ichigo. "You have no idea what you've done." The other being, a tall man with white, spiky hair and a long, red overcoat, scowled.
"His Shinigami powers haven't matured yet." he said. He turned to the other being. "Shiro. Can you give him his zanpakuto as it is now?" Shiro scowled.
"No.. If I were to give him his blade now, his ... other... side would be released with it. His blade is unique. It needs two opposite and equal powers to be introduced to be forged. Once that is done, I would need a spirit to whom to give the blade to, to be his zanpakuto spirit. His shinigami powers and other powers were never meant to be mixed, like they are in me." The being in red gave him a questioning look.
"Isn't Rukia's power enough for one of the two powers required for its forging?" Shiro shook his head. "Her powers are vital, but they're not enough by themselves. I need more like hers, and I still need an opposite power. Without that, he will always be severely limited. " The red figure thought for a second, then held out a hand. In it, formed a plain zanpakuto.
"What if you were to give him a basic set of powers through this?" he asked. Shiro took the blade, and considered it.
"This could work," he mused, "his Shikai would be... and his Bankai would be... huh, not too bad for a temporary blade." He looked the red figure in the eye. "There's one problem though. This blade won't last through a fight with a captain. You'll need an asauchi to imprint it on. The problem is that, we don't-" The figure in red stopped him.
"No. If we use an asauchi for this, he'll always be limited to this blade. I'll teach him my tracing techniques instead. That way, he can replace the blade if it breaks, in mid-battle if need be." Shiro thought it over, then frowned.
"He doesn't have magus circuits. Your tracing only works through them. How are you going to get around that?" The other being gave him a grim smile.
"I'll give him some, of course." Shiro's eyes widened. He tried to come up with an alternative, but he released they had no choice. Urahara had forced their hand. He looked the red figure in the eye.
"I hope you know what you're doing, because you're taking a huge gamble."
"It's our only shot at getting through this."
"I know, I know." Shaking his head, Shiro tightened his grip on the blade. It glowed black, and he dropped it. It disappeared before it hit the ground. "The blade has his temporary powers. You don't need me for this next part, so I'm out." He turned, and disappeared.
The figure in red smiled. Shiro always had to have the last word. The being closed his eyes. Focusing hard, he pulled Ichigo from his unconscious state into his mindscape. He opened his eyes, and there he stood, looking wary, and more than a little confused. He smiled at him, and said "Hello Ichigo. Welcome to your mind."
Ichigo woke up in an endless, red field. The sky was the color of dawn, and overhead, giant gears hung silently in the sky. The most striking feature though, was the swords. In every direction, as far as the eye could see, was swords. They had no end. They were beyond counting. He got up, and saw a tall figure in a red overcoat standing there with his arms crossed. The figure gave him a small smile, and said, "Hello Ichigo. Welcome to your mind."
"My mind?" asked Ichigo warily. "If this is my mind, then who are you? What are you doing here."
"Me?" said the being,"I'm an avatar of your power." Ichigo suddenly remembered his battle with Renji. Specifically his sword. What was that he had said? Oh, yeah. " Do you even know the name of your sword?!" he had taunted.
"The name of my sword, huh", he muttered. The figure smiled, and shook his head.
"No Ichigo. Your sword is not ready yet. You are strong, but your sword still needs to mature before you can use it's true power." Ichigo was confused.
"So if you're not my sword, then who are you? What powers do I have anyway?" The being hesitated for a moment, then relented.
"Your shinigami powers come from your father, Ichigo. I am one of the powers you inherited from your mother. You and I are something similar to Quincies. Your mother was the next stage of a Quincy Ichigo. She was a magus."
"A Magus?" said Ichigo incredulously. "And Goat Face was a shinigami?!" The figure held up his hand.
"Ichigo. If you want to know the full story, you will have to ask your father. As for my origin, I was placed in you by your mother. When you were born, your mother sensed something within you. A cursed presence. A parasite who had fed off the life forces of the Quincies for a thousand years." he scowled.
"What was it?" asked Ichigo.
"Within you was a shard of the soul of the Quincy king, Yhwach. Your Mother could not stand that that monster was feeding off of you, but she also knew that it was the base of your powers. Desperate to save her son, she used an experimental summoning circle, and brought me across the dimensions. She bonded me to your soul. I burned out the shard of Yhwach's soul, and became the center of your Quincy powers. I am the one who will train you to use them, and teach you the basics of thaumaturgy. My name is Emiya Shirou, but in my world, I was known as Archer."