Fruitcakes and Basket-cases

Chapter Nine

"How's Nova?" Chad asked, rising to his feet as Urahara stepped into the room. He held out his hand, handing the teen the stuffed toy that Nova used as his other body.

"He's fine, just overworked," Urahara replied, "I've transferred him into this body to help him recover quicker, but there's no telling how long it will take," Chad gave a silent nod and cradled the sleeping Mod-Soul, "Oh, where are Rukia and Uryuu?"

"They went home," Chad replied, "Rukia said she had to cover for Ichigo and Uryuu just left," The shopkeeper made a sound of curiosity in response.

"Do you think," Izuru began, his tone bearing the slightest hint of uncertainty, "that when he wakes up, he'll be able to bring them back?" The shopkeeper appraised him a moment, casting his gaze upon the gathered Soul Reapers, their eyes asking the same question.

"Honestly…" he began, his own tone expressing his concern, "I can't say for sure; even though I created them, it's Nova's powers that I understand the least," he paused a moment, deciding to express a theory he had been toying with, "I do have a theory, but it would help if Nova was able to tell me if I'm right or whether he's aware of it, after all, until now, I haven't had a reason to even consider such a thing,"

"Do you mind explaining," Renji said, a little exasperated, "I don't think anyone knows what you're on about,"

"Ah right, I was just thinking of the right way to put it," Urahara explained, "As I said, until now I haven't had a reason to think about this, but considering Nova can teleport and apparently carries another dimension within himself, what if, while teleporting within our world, he is able to temporarily pass between other dimensions?" Silence fell upon the group and he waited, hoping that they were attempting to make sense of his theory and that he wouldn't have to resort to explaining it. After several moments, Renji looked about to say something, when Izuru spoke up.

"I…think I get the idea," he said slowly, still mulling the theory over, "vaguely…" Shuuhei made a sound of agreement and Chad nodded silently, while Renji felt his face begin to redden.

"Well can someone explain it to me?" he asked a little heatedly, "Urahara's explanation is too abstract!"

"Heh, you don't have to be so snappy, Renji," Izuru said light-heartedly, "it is a difficult idea to wrap one's head around," the red-haired Soul Reaper glared back, obviously not amused, "Uh, right," the blond began, clearing his throat, "well to have this theory make sense, you have to assume that our world is one reality," he paused to see if his companion was following, only to be met with an unreadable expression and so continued, "with this idea, we have to assume again that there are other realities that exist alongside our world, occupying the same space,"

"Alternate realities," Shuuhei cut in, "it's not too hard a concept to grasp when you look at our world, which has three realities co-existing," understanding began to dawn upon the 6th Squad Lieutenant, and this was reflected in his expression.

"So…" he began cautiously, "you're saying that Ichigo and Orihime may still be here, but in another reality that veils this one?"

"Something like that, but not quite," the dark-haired Lieutenant replied, "rather than it being another veil of this world like Soul Society or Hueco Mundo, this is an altogether different reality, one in which the world may have developed differently and so is not connected with ours," Renji's brow furrowed as he absorbed the information and the colour suddenly drained from his face.

"But…that would mean they could be anywhere…" he said hoarsely, as the others' expressions became grim, "the world could have developed any number of times!"

"And then there's String Theory," Chad added sombrely, as the gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon them, "the idea that the world takes a different path each time a choice is made; in one world Choice A is carried out, while Choice B is what happened in another,"

"That's too many…" Renji uttered in defeat, "there's no telling how long it would take Nova to search through all of them…"

"Don't give in to defeat so quickly," Urahara chimed, "if you remember, Nova's ability isn't just teleporting," There was a pause as everyone seemed to let these words sink in.

"That's right!" Chad exclaimed, the realisation hitting him, "He can also sense reiatsu across dimensions!"

"But wait…" Shuuhei said, "wasn't that just to sense the Bounts?"

"That may be so," the shopkeeper sang, "but I'm sure with a little tweaking, or with the help of some special equipment I could rustle up, he may be able to tune in on their reiatsu, especially Ichigo's," he stressed, "since he's so easy to spot," Everyone in the room visibly relaxed, though there was a lingering sense of unease as they all looked towards the sleeping Nova.