Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1, Bleach, or any of the characters contained therein. I do however own Jon's zanpakutou, the Kenbon sisters, and any other character you don't recognize from either fandom; so ask if you want to use them yourself. This idea just popped into my head and I've decided to run with it. I haven't seen much of the higher seasons of SG-1 so if the continuity is off you can bite me because I'm not killing Janet in this. That said, on with the fic!
Jon had no idea what was going on. One minute he was closing his fridge after putting the last of the groceries away and the next thing he knew he was in a field. This was no ordinary field however, as there was a very clear and yet invisible line of demarcation running across it as far as the eye could see to both his left and right. This line also happened to be dead even with the toes of his sneakers. As Jon looked around, he noticed that behind him was a meadow of flowers packed so close that he could see no grass, and every single flower had petals as black as the depths of deep space. Facing toward the other side of the line, he saw a never-ending grove of Cherry Blossom trees. He had seen them before, or Jack had seen them before at least, on one of his many visits to DC. Looking at the trees before him Jon spotted two figures coming his way; one wore old-fashioned samurai armor complete with the demonic mask, while the other had on black Japanese robes with a long white jacket that had no sleeves over the top. The two figures walked to the unseen divider and stopped about a foot in front of Jon, the man in black robes standing slightly in front of the armored figure.
"Ok, who are you two and what the hell is going on here? Why am I not in the kitchen of my apartment, which is where I'm supposed to be?" Jon was kind of proud of himself. Sure, he hadn't quite been able to contain the irritation in his voice but he had avoided yelling outright like he had originally wanted to. The man in front spoke then and even though Jon was sure the guy wasn't speaking in English that was exactly what his ears heard.
"My name is Kuchiki Byakuya- by your customs I suppose it would be Byakuya Kuchiki- this is Senbonzakura, he is my zanpakutou. We are as confused as you are in regard to our current location. As best as I can tell, this place is a fusion of your inner world and mine. Though I am quite curious to know how it is that you have an inner world in the first place. It is highly unusual for a living soul to be born with the powers of a Shinigami, and for that soul to be a Gaijin is even more of an oddity."
"Ok now I know enough Japanese to understand that you just called me a foreigner, but what are Shinigami and zapakutous? And for that matter are you saying that this is just some manifestation of my mind? God that is the last time I eat three day old leftovers from that cheap Chinese takeout place. I coulda sworn the Mongolian Beef smelled just fine!" the indignation could not be any more obvious in Jon's voice if he'd had a neon sign flashing above his head proclaiming the sentiment for all and sundry to see. Glaring as menacingly as possible at the strange pair in front of him, Jon shifted his weight slightly and crossed his arms as he waited for an explanation from one of the apparitions. The strangers looked at each other before the armored man spoke up.
"A Shinigami is much like your culture's concept of a Grim Reaper. Shinigami help wandering souls to pass on to the Seireitei-basically your purgatory-but they also protect those souls from creatures called hollows. These are souls that lingered for so long amongst the living that they became monsters, driven to consume other souls as a means of survival. Every Shinigami has a zanpakutou for we are a part of their souls. Zanpakutou are the weapons that purify the hollows and we are also the mean by which good souls are given peace. We do still have Hell, though I have never seen the gates to it myself as I have never sent a soul there."
Jon scrubbed his hand across his face, why did the weird stuff always happen to him? First the devolving thing, then the nanites that aged him well beyond his years, not to mention Machello's invention and Teal'c trying to SHAVE HIS HEAD! But then none of that had happened to Jon that had all happened to Jack. Jon really hated his life, most days he felt like nothing in it was real. He wondered if this meant that Jack had these powers too, would he lose yet another chance to be his own person if that was the case. If he hadn't been so lost in his own thoughts Jon might have noticed the ominous storm clouds rolling in over his field of black flowers, not to mention the new addition to the meeting along the boundary.
From off in the distance to his right, an imposing figure stalked calmly toward the impromptu summit. This figure was a man who stood tall at six and a half feet, though his lean build seemed to cut through the air like the edge of a blade. He had long hair pulled back into a tail that streamed behind him, propelled by the winds of the coming storm. When Jon finally noticed him he saw that the man was dressed in what looked like black BDUs with a charcoal gray duster over the top. The new apparition wore a black fedora with a gray band around it that matched the coat he wore, and Jon could not have told you the color of the man's hair because it seemed to constantly be shifting through a spectrum of blacks and dark grays. When he stopped and spoke, Jon was again reminded of the vast and ominous darkness of space in the deep bass voice he heard.
"Could you please try to not have the identity crisis now? Every time you get like this I have to put up with the howling winds, and I have begun to detest even the lightest breeze because of it. This meeting is even more of an anomaly than a trip through the quantum mirror to another world where you exist would be. We both know you're more than smart enough to figure out just how unlikely that would be so try to control your angst for a while."
"Who the hell are you and where did you come from?" Jon stared at the black clad figure with incredulity etched all over his face as he turned to address the newcomer. Beside him, Byakuya raised an eyebrow in such a way that Teal'c would have glowered in envy while Senbonzakura remained silent and still.
"I am a part of you and this is my home, you are the one who could be considered the intruder here. I would tell you my name but I doubt highly that you would be able to hear it. You're far too weak for that." A condescending look of amusement sat firmly on his face.
"Oh I'm weak am I? Why not try telling me your name and we'll see who's right. Who knows I may just surprise you."
"Fine if you can hear it my name is ---- Hana."
"Wait, say that first part again. I caught Hana but not what came before that."
Lightless black eyes widened in surprise, he wasn't expecting the boy to hear any of his name. The fact that Jon heard half of it shocked the man, and when the amazement passed he smirked at the other two figures in the field.
"Well congrats kid, you managed to hear half of my name. Must be more too you than I thought. Now why don't you introduce yourself to our guests, the Doc would kill you for forgetting your manners like this."
Jon grimaced, the man was right. Janet would stick him with the biggest needle she could find if she caught him being so rude. With a shudder at the thought of angering the Napoleonic power-monger Jon sighed and stuck his hand out in greeting before introducing himself. "The name's Jon O'Neill, pleased to meet ya."
As Byakuya reached out and accepted the offer of a handshake, something happened that neither he nor Jon was prepared for. An almost painful spark shot up the arm of each man as two sets of eyes lost focus. Byakuya was overwhelmed by the images and emotions flooding his brain. He saw all of Jack O'Neill's life, from the moment he joined the Air Force, to the death of his son, the first mission to Abydos, meeting the Asguard, the torture he had endured at the hands of Ba'al, Daniel's death and ascension as well as his return, and then the memories shifted to a younger perspective as he saw the world through Jon's eyes and felt the immense sense of despair and abandonment the boy before him had felt since practically the moment he came into existence.
Jon was not experiencing anything less intense himself as the memories of the Shinigami in front of him poured into his mind. Jon saw Byakuya's childhood at the Kuchiki estate, learning the stances for proper zanjutsu, the mechanics of shunpo and games of tag with the were-cat of the Shihouin clan, attending the Shinigami academy and learning countless kido spells, loving and losing Hisana, adopting Rukia and practically bribing Captain Ukitake to keep her from having a numbered seat in his division. Jon felt his counterpart's turmoil over the subject of Rukia's execution less than a month prior, he felt unadulterated rage at the traitors for fooling everyone for so long, and that rage came with a powerful thirst for vengeance against the men who unlawfully orchestrated the entire charges and punishment scheme against a sister he loved dearly.
As the two men finally separated, each trying desperately to process what had just happened, Jon noticed that his clothes didn't feel quite right. The worn sneakers were now combat boots, his faded jeans and Air Force T-shirt gone and replaced by black robes identical to the ones that Byakuya wore. He wasn't quite sure how that had happened, but Jon figured it meant he was a full-fledged Shinigami now because of it. He was rather impressed by how comfortable the new outfit was. He had never really liked overly baggy pants, but these –hakama was the term his mind supplied- were great. Composing himself, Jon brought his focus back to the present. If he had all of Byakuya's memories then logically the captain of the sixth division had all of his.
"Ok so now that I've seen your life and I'm pretty sure you've seen mine, you do know that-"
"That I can't talk about what goes on inside Cheyenne Mountain. Officially I will deny any knowledge of it, but you know that I will have to inform the Head Commander about this event." Byakuya responded calmly.
"Yeah, I figured that much. If I can get myself to Karakura and talk to Mr. Urahara, do you think you could make arrangements for me to get to Soul Society to train? If I stay on Earth and train, the chances of me being discovered increase."
"I'll see what I can do. For obvious reasons you won't be training with my division, but perhaps Captain Hitsugaya would allow you to train in his." Byakuya pondered aloud. At the very least his third seat might be eager for a new training partner. He chuckled inwardly, who would have thought that three different third seated officers from three different divisions would enjoy training together so much.
"Yeah that could work. At the very least maybe third seat Mutsu would be happy to have another guy to train with. Not that there's anything wrong with the Kenbon sisters, I just think he might wanna even the playing field some." Jon grimaced; Carter would kill him for that comment if she ever found out; assuming, of course, that Megumi and Midori Kenbon didn't beat her to it. He knew he couldn't leave the country without telling anyone though, so phone calls to Daniel and Dr. Frasier were in order.
"So, Captain, how do we get out of here?" Jon asked, not even bothering to resist the urge for sarcasm and snark. He was determined to cause some sort of visible reaction in the man, even if only another eyebrow quirk.
Before Byakuya could answer Jon's question, the mysterious zanpakutou smirked. With a chuckle and the snap of his fingers, both Byakuya and Jon were expelled from the fused world and returned to their lives.