Scatter the Illusions of Life

Disclaimer: BLEACH and belongs to Tite Kubo and related distributers.

Summary: Dreamseers know intimately that sleep is merely a facsimile of death, and that illusions are shadows of dreams, making it ridiculously easy for them to alter the tapestry of existence in the realms of the dead. For this reason, it is forbidden for a Dreamseer to interfere in the affairs of the dead. Until a retired shinigami captain's son began to dream true dreams….

Prologue

"Do you want to save your family?"

"Yeah."

"Then place your heart over this blade, and I will pour my power into you."

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Bourbon eyes opened and the ginger haired teen shifted as a dark haired man's kick connected with the mattress where he had been lying only a few seconds before.

"Good Morning, Ichigo!"

"Damn it, goat face!" he yelled. "Would it kill you to not attack me for once in your life?!" He paused and frowned. "Hinoto said we are not involved with Shinigami Affairs… But my dream… This changes everything…"

"Ichigo?" Isshin asked, "What is your dream about?"

"You were a shinigami once," he said, "Why did you leave them?"

"Shouldn't you already know why?" Isshin asked his son.

"I know," Ichigo said," But soon, this family will be closely involved in the affairs of the shinigami. If one day, a young girl with poor understanding of human culture were to come to our home, would you take her in and treat her as your own daughter?"

Isshin frowned. "Would something like that ever happen?"

Ichigo shrugged. "When it will happen, I don't know, but I do know that it will happen and perhaps very soon."

Isshin gave his son a strange look and said quietly, "I would take her in as my guest if shelter she needed."

Ichigo grinned. "I'll be holding you to that, dad."

Isshin frowned, concern etched into every line of his face, and he said, "Right. Well get dressed and come down before the food gets cold."

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"So, why is a shinigami sleeping in your closet?"

Ichigo grinned at his father. "I told you, we will be involved in shinigami affairs soon enough."

Isshin sighed. "The same affair that you've been dreaming about for two years straight?"

Ichigo stood up and glanced out the window. "Yes" he said calmly, "and it will change the way spiritually aware humans and the realms of the dead see each other forever."

"This is dangerous," Isshin said, "Dreamseers don't interfere in the realms of the dead for a reason."

"Then why do I dream of my own involvement?"

Isshin sighed. He didn't claim to know everything about Dreamseers despite his son being counted among them, but he knew enough to know that a dreamseer only dreamed of their future when they were destined to be involved.

"Because it is your destiny to be involved," Isshin replied reluctantly, knowing that it was the truth.

Ichigo smiled at his father. "As long as you recognize Fate's hand in all of this," he said calmly.

Isshin shook his head with an amused yet resigned smile as his son left the kitchen and climbed the stairs to his room with a plate of food for the not-so-secret-secret-guest.

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Rukia sighed and leaned back against the wall as Ichigo took the empty plate and cup downstairs. Cobalt eyes were contemplative as she stared out the window at the darkened sky and considered what she would do now. Her powers were gone, she had no way to contact Soul Society, and while being a few hours late could be overlooked, being missing for more than a day would mean that she would be labeled awol, and a shinigami officer would be dispatched to investigate, and once that was done, they would no doubt find out about Ichigo, who would be either executed or have his powers destroyed. She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that she had simply killed the hollow instead of shielding Ichigo. If she had, maybe the boy wouldn't be in his current position…

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she never noticed the sigil of a Dreamseer materialize briefly above her before vanishing.

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Ichigo's eyes fluttered open and he sighed as he leaned forward cautiously and glanced around the corner at the street where Rukia had been confronted by her brother and his Vice Captain. Once sure that the street was empty, he sealed his shinigami powers and lay down where the illusion of himself was last, and waited. Not long after, a pair of geta appeared in front of him. Ichigo closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into the silent water like darkness of his dream.

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Yamamoto-Genryuusei Shigekuni had lived a long life, and an even longer afterlife. Much of his memories of his life in the living world had been long since forgotten and much of the early days of his afterlife were well on their way to being lost also. One of the few things of his life that he had not forgotten, however, was an encounter when he had been a child with a pale haired woman who was blind, deaf, and unable to walk, but was quite obviously powerful and had the power to dream of the future, past, and present. She had died a while ago, and had moved almost immediately into the cycle of reincarnation. Despite the time since his meeting with the Dreamseer Hinoto, he never forgot the silence and living dark of the dreamscape, so when he was drawn into a dream, he was not in the least surprised to see a young man with waist length ginger hair clad in a simple green yukata with the sigil of a dreamseer on his forehead.

"This certainly is a surprise," Shigekuni said quietly.

The Dreamseer inclined his head and said softly, "Forgive me, but I had to warn you. Your people are in grave danger."

"Danger?" Shigekuni asked sharply.

"There is a shinigami due to be executed, a punishment far too heavy for her crimes," the Dreamseer said, his eyes troubled, "if you can find the true intentions behind her execution, you will find the threat. I'm afraid, however that it will be too little too late." The Dreamseer sighed, "I would have issued a warning sooner, but I was not able to do so until recently."

Shigekuni reached out and patted the Dreamseer's hand comfortingly. "I understand that there are lines that cannot be crossed," he said, "Thank you for the warning."

"There is one more thing before I go."

The aged Captain Commander nodded, "Yes?"

"The children that will come to aid the shinigami in question… Do not alienate them or hide things from them. They are the key to the continued existence of Soul Society as you know it."

Shigekuni bowed. "Duly noted."

The Dreamseer smiled and his body scattered in a storm of black feathers. "Sleep well, Sotaicho-dono. I'm sorry to say that this will be the last good sleep you will have in a while."

Shigekuni knew better than to give a snappish reply to a Dreamseer who had gone out of his way to deliver a warning. "Thank you for the warning," he said, "One last question if you please. What is your name?"

Most of the Dreamseer's body had scattered by now, but there was enough of his face for Shigekuni to see a sad smile. "I am called Ichigo," he said quietly, and then the last part of him scattered into black feathers which fell to the glossy black, water-like floor and drifted away.

Shigekuni was jerked awake when the alarms indicating an intrusion went off. He glanced out the window of his office pensively and fervently prayed that none of the children would be too severely hurt in the inevitable confrontations with is subordinates. It would be a terrible tragedy if children were killed before their time, and even more so if the key to Seireitei's well being was compromised because one of his captains got overexcited and killed one or more of the children. He sighed as he wondered if he would get the chance to speak to Ichigo again. Little did he know…

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TBC…