Chapter 1: A new world, a chance encounter.
A pure white figure watched passively as the world around him crumbled into ash. Once mighty skyscrapers not little more than sand endlessly encroaching on those few towers that have yet to fall. The figure turned his gaze towards the sky once clear and full of light now not even rainclouds showed themselves, it was just an empty void.
The figure sighed, one full of sadness and resignation. He briefly looked towards the spot his former companion once occupied. Regardless of their differences he felt oddly lonely now that he was no longer there. They got a long like fire and water but they both had the same exact purpose in life….and they had watched helplessly as they failed and now? Now neither of them could even make sure to do better in the future.
The old man had left him a while ago in order to attempt to keep true to his words…and to atone for his mistakes. He seemed to have succeeded in at least ensuring Ichigo's survival but like everything in life there was a price to be paid. The old man had known what would happen, of that the figure was sure, and didn't regret his chosen path. His only regret, and the only time in the figure's memory where he spoken to him with any amount of remorse, was keeping Ichigo from him and his lying about his heritage.
The old man's last words before burning his entire existence in an attempt to save Ichigo's life was that he knew he wouldn't be forgiven and if he could have he would have done things differently.
"The fool" the figure whispered. "King would have forgiven you. Hell, he probably would have ended up treating you the same as me, kid was just like that. You just let your guilt get in the way of what you know to be true."
After speaking out loud his thoughts the figure resumed his subdued vigil of his world. He didn't know how long he watched tower after tower fall, each one a reminder of the damage Ichigo's heart and mind has suffered. And how he no longer had hopes or aspirations of the future. Eventually his tower was the last one standing amongst endless white dunes.
For the last time the figure looked up at the sky and sighed.
"I never told ya did I King?" The figure said to the void. "It wasn't just the old man who hated the rain, if anything my hatred was even stronger. But this? I'd rather have endless rain than see this happen."
The figure paused as he heard his last tower crack and begin to tremble, groaning under its own weight as the endless sand washed against its sides. Turning to stare at the tower he recalled Ichigo's oldest and strongest dream.
The dream of family, of dating Orihime and bringing her back to his family to live with them. To grow older and watch his father hold his grandchildren in his arms as he cried and talked to his beloved wife's picture. Of seeing his sisters grow older and marrying the one they loved. Of watching his nieces and nephews grow up and call him Uncle. Of seeing his kids, all of them with the same warm orange hair as their mother, grow up laughing and happy calling him daddy while he watched them with his wife in his arms.
Now…the dream was impossible and Ichigo's very soul was crying out as it shattered, for the first time throughout the collapse the figure screamed. The scream was one of pure agony and suffering. The figure couldn't bear the pain anymore and turned away, no longer screaming but quietly crying as he prepared for the last act of his existence. Slowly his body appeared to catch fire starting from the bottoms of his feet and slowly crawling up the rest of his body. The process was excruciating even for the figure but he didn't make a sound as he solemnly stared out into the endless desert, anything was better than seeing the death of all he worked to protect.
"You know something King? All I ever really wanted was for you to accept yourself, all of yourself. If that meant always playing the role of your inner demon that was fine with me, as that is part of me as well. I wanted you to be happy. Whereas the old man wanted to protect you, I wanted to protect your dreams and if possible achieve them. Now they are gone and I don't have a purpose any more. I hope that it's possible for you to one day heal, but even if you do I won't be here. All I can do now is help the old man make sure you live, and make sure you have at least some power to defend yourself. Though I'm not sure if you'd even try to save yourself if given the option."
The last sentence was whispered so quietly no one would be able to hear it even if they were standing next to him. By this point the white man who looked like a bleached twin of his king was entirely covered in flames and his body started to fade away into nothingness.
"There is only one thing I wanted that was purely selfish King…I wanted to hear you call me by my name at least once. I know you can't hear anything I've said but I wanted to let you know what it is anyways. My name is…Zangetsu."
With those final words the figure known as Zangetsu, who Ichigo had once hated and feared as a monster completely disappeared from existence. Almost as if it had only stood upright for the figure's last moments the final tower crumbled and the world become nothing more than sand and darkness. All the while Ichigo continued to fall quietly through the dark void between worlds, protected by the dying wills of his spirits.
The void in between worlds, the endless dark expanse that Ichigo continued to fall through, was more than what people assumed. True it was the gap between all worlds, it was even in the Dangai though the Kōryū hid it from sight. But that wasn't all that it was. Instead of calling it the void between worlds it would be more accurate to call it the void between realities. Ichigo's 'world', the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo are special in that they are extremely close to each other and because of the proximity the reincarnation circle was somehow formed.
However, there are other realities, or 'worlds', that are in close proximity (relatively speaking) one of them being the Valley of Screams. But most of those are small, confined 'worlds' and not truly different (alternate) realities. In order to travel far enough through the void to reach one of these it would require one to cross an extreme amount of distance, and travel through the void gets harder the farther from your 'home world' you get. In fact, the distance needed to travel would ensure that even Kenpachi himself wouldn't have enough Reiryoku to make the trip.
Yet due to the actions of his spirits and his own inherent powers and reserves Ichigo after traveling an indeterminable amount of time was now reaching the border of one such reality. This 'world' was different in many ways from his home but the one that is currently important is how its bubble, for lack of a better term, works. Unlike Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, or Ichigo's Earth there is no hard shell that separates it from the void. Instead there are several layers that surround and isolate it that can be easily moved through if one had power. There was no need to consciously create a crack or hole to travel through, as long as one had a sufficient amount of energy, in one form or the other, the process was basically automatic, at least from the outside going in.
Ichigo, thanks to his protective shell, had just enough power left to do so and thus he crashed to Earth, though not the one he knew.
It was afternoon in Tokyo with about an hour or so before the sunset. Walking along a solitary road a black haired youth of about 15-16 years of age was walking along with a younger brown haired girl who appeared to be his sister. They had apparently just come from the grocery store as evidenced by the grocery bags both were carrying.
The young man was walking along silently, trying to tune out his sister, who appeared to be berating his character.
"I can't believe you Onii-san, how could you go and seduce that poor girl at the convenience store. You don't even know her! You're taking more and more after Jii-san each year."
The girl's brother sighs resignedly, apparently used to hearing this kind of complaint.
"Shizuka, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't hit on her all I did was greet her. Don't try to make me out as some playboy lady-killer, girls aren't even interested in me."
"There you go again you won't even admit what you're doing! Gah, I'm going to have to try harder to reform your lecherous ways baka-nii."
The brother was about to respond when he suddenly notices a figure lying on the ground in a side alley. That's when the smell hit, blood, and it was coming from the figure's direction. Now the young man didn't think of himself as someone who reacts decisively, or quickly, to emergencies but he was able to remain calm. He quickly rushed towards the figure and yelled at his surprised sister.
"Shizuka! Call an ambulance, now!"
Shizuka was too stunned by the abrupt change to respond but she was able to react to the command and quickly pulled out her phone. Meanwhile her brother had reached the prone figure and was checking for a pulse. Thankfully he found one, although it was weak, so the young man, who didn't appear more than a year older than himself, was still alive. He was however bleeding badly, as evident by the massive pool of blood underneath him.
"Onii-san! The ambulance is on its way, no more than 10 minutes!"
The young teen made no verbal confirmation of her words other than a grunt as he looked over the badly injured teen. The first thing he noted was the gaping hole in his back which if he looked closely, showed bits of bone and organs (something that nearly caused him to vomit). He quickly took of his school jacket and bunched it up in an attempt to at least slow the rate of blood loss, though it was amazing the stranger even had any blood left considering the massive pool he was in and the quick rate his various wounds bled.
While this injury was the most obvious, and thus the one he focused on, it was almost equally obvious that there were many wounds that look nearly as serious. Beyond the sheer number of injuries on his body the other thing that instantly drew his eye was his long red hair that was splayed out over the top of his head. Although on closer inspection the red seemed to be caused by the blood dying his orange hair, something that was mildly curious to him.
He was broken out of his observations by the sound of a siren drawing near, something he was quite thankful for. He noticed his sister standing in the entrance to the alleyway staring at the wounded man, something than made him cringe. He didn't want his sister to see this sight but it was too late now, he resolved myself to talk with her along with Jii-san later.
After about another minute of tense waiting as he continued to apply pressure to the man's back the ambulance arrived and he was greeted to the noise of quickly running feet. He looked up from the stranger's back and looked towards the sound. Apparently the paramedics were stunned by what they saw, which was understandable, but to their credit it didn't last more than a moment before they continued running to his side.
"He's been bleeding heavily since before I found him, the worst injury is on his back and is what I'm currently applying pressure to."
One of the paramedics nodded to him before reaching to take over for him as his partners prepared a stretcher. Their actions were quick and efficient as they soon got him on the stretcher before rushing back to the ambulance. The driver, who had been preparing supplies in the back, returned to his seat before calling out to the siblings.
"I'm sorry but the police will definitely want to talk to you about this, can you please meet us at the Hospital?"
The young man rather numbly nodded his head before taking his sister's hand, not noticing the large amount of blood covering him.
The driver just nodded in thanks and once the medics boarded his vehicle quickly drove off, sirens blaring.
Shizuka held onto her brother's hand tightly before asking quietly.
"Will he be ok, nii-san?"
"I don't know, but I hope so. You up to going to the hospital?"
"Yes…although I think we should stop at home first, you're kind of messy."
At this point the boy finally noticed his state and quickly agreed with his sister. It took them less than ten minutes to rush home and less than one hour before they were driven to the hospital, curtesy of their grandfather. Once there they announced themselves to one the nurses manning the front desk, who quickly pointed them towards a nearby police officer. Walking over to the officer the see him quickly notice them approaching and stands up to greet them.
"Hello, I'm officer Kururugi, I take it that you're the witnesses that I was told to expect?"
The two youth's grandfather took the initiative to respond.
"Hai, my name is Ichirou Kusanagi and it was my grandchildren that found the boy, though my grandson was the one who first noticed him."
The officer nodded and turned towards the young man.
"I see, thank you for coming here so quickly, what is your name young man?"
"Godou, Godou Kusanagi."
AN: And that's the end of the chapter mwuahaha. Anyways most of this chapter was the result of the first scene popping into my head as I was listening to music watching the snow fall (Cleveland is weird). I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I appreciate all the favs/follows and reviews that I've gotten already.
Ren