When she opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, in an unfamiliar bed, she didn't so much as blink. Just another stress-induced "I have 10 assignments due this week" dream. Last week, a giant crab blob chased her down an endless winding staircase.
Time to see what'll chase her this time around. Maybe she'll see a cell phone and trigger The Grudge. Her dreams were always elaborate and detailed, down to brands on random objects to the type of wood used on cabinets. Seeing Japanese-style architecture was a lovely change of pace.
She got out of bed. Odd. She could feel the tatami. See her feet.
'I only see my feet in chase scenes.' She thought to herself, not bothering to open her mouth. You don't talk in dreams. Your voice projects out of you. You hear nothing, your brain just tricks you into thinking you hear things.
At the same time, she felt that something was missing. Like she had forgotten something important. It'll come back to her when she wakes up. It always does.
She walked out of the room and into a hallway, tatami swapping for wood. It was only halfway down did she notice another strange event.
The camera was steady. Very rarely will her dreams be still and focused. Always blurring, always changing. No, this was smooth.
She reached the restroom without realizing that was where she went. Oh great, where's The Grudge's son? Toshio! Come out here you meowing lil' freak so I can punt a bar of soap at your head!
Then she turned around and spotted a mirror. In it, she was face-to-face with pale blond hair, large eyes with minuscule blue irises, and… masculine everything.
Flat chest, sharp face, broader shoulders.
A man.
Well, this was unpleasant.
He looked familiar, but she couldn't put a finger -why is his finger moving with hers?- to it. Well, whatever. Time to wake up, grab her piplup plushie and alter to a happier dream. Maybe one where she Christmas shops for her friends, she needs inspiration before the winter rush.
The girl closed her eyes, inhaling sharply, then opened her eyes.
The man stared at her with equally wide eyes.
…
That was another first.
She tried again, and again. Then she reached up and pinched the most sensitive spot on her face, the skin between her nose and upper lip.
The man in the mirror made the same stupid face. She let go of her face.
"No…" Her voice was deep and the man's mouth moved too. Too deep. She looked at her hands with long, skinny, pale fingers. Blond hair swept down from the side and finally coated half of her vision. She looked at the mirror again. "No... No no no no!"
She was looking at Izuru Kira. Her favorite character in the Bleach franchise.
Her mind began to flash. Meeting her friend for the first time, the sweet taste of her drink, the cracking of her neck as she mimicked Aizen's movements, the freaky bus driver with a dual voice and empty eyes. The rage that broiled within her when her friend went missing. The man's words.
"You are dead."
"No!" She dug her fingers into the short blond hair, pulling at it. It was a wig, it had to be a wig! She wasn't dead and neither was her friend! This was a dream! It had to be an elaborate dream!
There was no way she was in the Bleach world. There was no way she was Izuru Kira.
"You won't have a say in who you wake up as, but you'll have your memories."
She fell to the ground, heart hammering in her throat and it was almost foreign. She had almost forgotten what a heart was supposed to feel like because she and Tanner walked in that forest and- No! She was alive! She'd spent too much of her life being cautious to suddenly have someone tell her she was dead!
"Would you like a second chance at life?"
"I WANT MY LIFE BACK!" She- he screamed into empty air. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS?! WHO ARE YOU?!"
But there was no response. Of course, the bus driver didn't say his name.
A guttural scream escaped from her- his throat.
Her… his family, his friends! He was so close to finishing school and getting his degree and certification. Enter a classroom where small voices would greet him every morning and he would help them learn.
It was all taken away.
Falling to the side, he tucked his knees to his chest and pressed his face against knees that shouldn't be his. A sob wrecked through his body. Nothing could make this feel better. Dying and being dropped into someone's body. But what made it worse was that it was Bleach, a world he was only just now putting in the effort to learn. He had read Bleach when he was 12, actively enjoying each chapter as they were released. But once Aizen was defeated, and he saw how the characters' designs had changed, the manga was dropped and wasn't touched until almost ten years later. But even then, he didn't remember anything past Aizen's defeat in detail. Just the order of events, a couple new characters and their powers, and the fact that Izuru… his new body, got a third of his body blown up and got turned into some… cyborg.
Oh god, he died only to be fated to die in the future.
Another scream ripped through his throat.
He lay there in the bathroom, curled up in a ball as his energy slowly drained. A stinging sensation from his side made him look up and a raspy curse escaped him. His white yukata was stained red from the side.
Izuru must have gotten an injury. Wouldn't have surprised him if this version of Izuru succumbed to this injury and that bus driver must have seen this as some kind of karma for all of the insults and threats.
He -might as well go by Izuru now given the circumstances- hissed as the pain started to flow through him. He'd have to heal this or find someone to help redress the wound. Zero medical experience and a possibly large flesh wound were a bad combination.
Where… and when, was he?
"Lieutenant Kira!?" A man's voice called from the hallways, "We heard screaming, what happened?!"
Footsteps, several of them running towards him. The door flung open to reveal three men, all looking at him with wide, concerned eyes. Well, at least Izuru knew he was a Lieutenant, meaning he was in Squad 3.
"Damn, looks like his wounds reopened," A man with pale blond hair in a braid cursed. He knelt in front of Izuru.
Izuru's eyes widened and he took a swipe at the hand aiming for his side. "Don't touch me!"
The three men paused and Izuru felt the pit of his stomach grow cold. Did he do something wrong? Was this not how he was supposed to act?! What if they got suspicious of him?
"I think he's in shock," The blond man seemed to conclude. "Someone get a healer from Squad 4 and get the Captain-!"
Please have Aizen already be defeated and the Captain is Rose.
"-I'm sure Captain Ichimaru can snap him out of this!"
Izuru could have screamed and cried right then and there.
He did.
The other two men ran off in different directions while the blond stayed behind. Izuru's head spun and breathing was starting to become more difficult. His white clothes were growing redder with each breath but he'd be damned if he let this guy touch him. What if he was that bus driver in disguise? That cracked skin… it had to have been some kind of possession. Was he actually in the Bleach world, or was this some elaborate illusion? How long before he would wake up in his true body, only to find herself in a situation where death would have been preferred?
Someone was at the door-!
"My my, this is an unpleasan' sight~!" Gin stood in the doorway, a smile plastered on his face and looking down at Izuru. "I'll take care of Izuru, Riku. You can go."
"Yes, sir," The blond -Riku- squeezed past the captain and left, probably to attend to whatever duties Izuru would have done.
Izuru curled more into the wall as if hoping he would be swallowed into the wood and hide away from Gin. That didn't work, and Izuru found himself with his face grabbed and looking into two icy blue eyes.
"Poor thing, tha' hollow really did a number on ya. Do ya remember where ya are? How 'bout yer name?" Gin tilted his head, but Izuru remained frozen still. What could he say? Nothing. Izuru didn't know where he was, he didn't even know when he was. "Yer Kira Izuru, my Lieutenant of ten years. Yer in your home in ta Squad 3's barracks. I'm yer captain, Ichimaru Gin. 'here we go, yer breathin' normally now."
Izuru took a slow breath, wincing at the pain, and started to uncurl his body. Gin's eyes returned to their narrow slits and his smile became familiar again.
Gin stepped out of the room as several Squad 4 members rushed in, leaning against the hallway wall while Izuru was being tended to. The wound was closed and rebandaged, and Izuru was taken back to his room to be changed and returned to the futon.
"Well, now 'hat yer in bed, get some rest, Izuru," Gin ordered in a tone that Izuru could only describe as playful, poking the tip of Izuru's nose. "I'll come back later ta make sure yer not dead… yer spiritual energy just up and vanished fer a moment. Don' wan' ta have ta find a new Lieutenant, so no dying. M'kay?"
Izuru could only nod, closing his eyes. He was going to kill that bus driver for dropping him off during a moment when Izuru was injured, instead of literally any other time.
(linebreak)
'Wake up…' A voice buried within his mind ordered Izuru, and he opened his eyes. The room was dark, with the exception being a lamp that was on.
He turned his head towards the light to find Gin sitting at a low table, reading a book with a plate of something next to his arm. He lifted his head and his grin grew. "Slept well?"
Izuru opened his mouth and no sound came out. Was he broken? Why wasn't he speaking?
'Say something, you idiot!'
"Yeah… Uh, thanks for earlier?" Was this right? This felt right so that had to be it.
"Anytime, Izuru! Shoulda told me you were hurtin so much." Gin got up and went to the futon. "Got some color in yer face. Need help gettin' up?"
Izuru, deciding this was a test, rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up. Arms stretched out to the side to regain his balance.
Gin clapped his hands slowly. "You passed~! Good timin', wakin' up when ya did. A Hell Butterfly came in and help is requested."
Izuru quirked an eyebrow. "Am… I needed?"
"No, I could probably take care of it myself. But ya need fresh air." Gin tucked his hands into his sleeve. "Think ya can get ready?"
Izuru placed a hand on his side, hissing slightly. "I should be fine… Captain Ichimaru." The word was odd on his tongue, but he almost called him "Gin" instead of his official title. That voice in the back of his mind was shouting at him, but Izuru shoved it aside.
"Great! Be quick!" Gin all but skipped out of the room.
Izuru's body seemed to move on its own, automatically going for where the Soul Reaper… uh… robes, are.
'Shihakushō.' The voice corrected him.
'Yeah, I won't remember that name,' Izuru thought to himself, wondering why he had a little Jiminy Cricket in his mind and why his body just seemed to know how to put on the clothes. Just like the clothes, his body marched over to a pedestal by his futon, where a katana was waiting for him. "Well, hello Wabisuke."
Picking up the Zanpakuto felt right, the weight just light enough to maneuver, but heavy enough to remind him that this was a weapon. It was almost disturbing how natural this all felt to his body.
Gin was patiently waiting for Izuru when he stepped out, putting on his sandals. Following the captain, Izuru chalked this up to muscle memory and not his own free will in deciding what he would do. It would be better this way, at least until Izuru learned how to function in this body.
When they reached the destination point, it was hell on… well, not Earth.
"Jus' stand on the sidelines and heal the wounded, Izuru," Gin ordered before shooting forward to provide the killing blow to a hollow about to consume who, according to the voice in Izuru's head, was the squad's 5th seat.
This… was all real. The hollows were monstrous creatures of so many shapes and sizes, and there were many of them. Gin was making quick work of the bigger guys, leaving the smaller ones to the squad members.
'Heal the wounded.' The voice in his head hissed, and Izuru bent down to heal their third seat, Riku. His body acted on its own, instinctively using his spiritual energy to heal him. Information flowed through Izuru's mind as he pieced together what he knew and didn't know.
He was in the world of Bleach… this isn't a dream. He was Izuru Kira and he was the Lieutenant of Squad 3, with Gin Ichimaru as his captain. But he doesn't know how to fight! He's never picked up a sword in his life and the closest thing he'd ever done that would be considered violent was punching his friends in the arms! He doesn't know how spells-
'Kido.'
-Kido works, let alone how to activate his Zanpakuto! Would Wabisuke even accept him as its master?
'It will, you just have to make it accept you.'
A ball of fire shot past him and he followed it as it burned a Hollow just about to take a big chomp on his back.
"Focus, Lieutenant Kira!" Their 4th seat shouted at Izuru. "Riku's healed, so give us a hand!"
"... Right… uh…" Izuru backed away from Riku and unsheathed Wabisuke. The katana was both familiar and unfamiliar. His body knew how to hold it, but his mind was screaming, telling him that he didn't know what he was doing. He was going to die tonight, useless and powerless.
"MENOS!" Someone yelled.
Blood drained from his face as a massive black pillar forced its way through the portal the Hollows were piling out of. It was almost like looking at a child's sock puppet. A face void of personality, but the gaping maw of generational fear. Who was this before they became a hollow, to have grown to such a creature? How do you fight one of these things?! He didn't… he didn't remember-
'Let your body fight. Picture the fight in your mind and move!'
"Raise your head… Wabisuke." Power rushed through Izuru and he watched as the Zanpakuto shifted and morphed into an angled fishhook. If there wasn't a Menos in front of him, Izuru would have been giddy. He had always wanted to own a replica of someone's zanpakuto, and now, he had a real one.
Izuru's body rushed forward, jumping into the air. He could imagine it now. Wabisuke was not designed to cut. It was made to make things fall. He had to- no, wanted to make it fall from the top.
"What are you doing, Lieutenant?! Leave the Menos to Captain Ichimaru!" Someone shouted.
Ignoring the shouting, he kept going higher and higher. Kido barriers formed under the feet to act as platforms as the light turned red from the Menos' Ceros was charging. It was fixated on Gin and not paying any mind to the Soul Reaper heading for its mask.
With each wish in his head, Izuru's body moved accordingly. Each wish was granted until he was beside the Menos' head and Wabisuke slammed onto its mask. The Hollow didn't so much as shriek and Izuru knew that if he kept making long-winded strikes it wouldn't take long for the Ceros to change and kill everyone in the area. Well, everyone but Gin, no doubt.
Well, when in doubt, shaky wrist syndrome: Activate!
In a borderline comical fashion, Izuru repeatedly tapped the Menos' mask with Wabisuke and it began to screech a symphony of unholy noises as it toppled forward. Its boneless body crunched underneath its immeasurable weight like a slinky as he followed after the head, continuing to hit it without mercy.
Suddenly, Gin was before him and the Menos. "Pierce, Shinsō."
Gin's tiny Zanpakuto elongated, piercing through the Hollow's mask and Izuru jumped to the ground to watch the Menos be sucked into a large gate. Huh, guess that's not going to the Soul Society then.
"That was amazing, Lieutenant Kira!" Unknown number 6 said, running towards Izuru. "I've never seen you do that to a hollow before!"
Oh, crap. Seriously? What's Izuru's fighting style anyway?
"How did you know that would work?" Another asked.
"I uh…" He backed away from the group. He couldn't run, not when Izuru had no idea where the hell he was. But his space was being invaded by a bunch of strangers who apparently all know him. "I just acted?"
"Tha' was very reckless, Izuru." Gin walked to us, his trademark smile being wiped clean off his face. "Yer still hurt. I though' I tol' ya ta stay back?"
"Sorry, sir. I don't know what came over me." If the voice in the back of his head would shut up, he probably would have obeyed.
"Well, no one was killed and you helped. Okay everyone~ Injured go to Squad 4, everyone else gets some rest!" Gin ordered and began to walk. "I'll take ya home, Izuru. Can' have my Lieutenant collapsin' on his way home."
"Yes, sir?" Izuru avoided the squad member's gazes as he followed Gin.
If this was going to be his life now, Izuru needed to learn how to fight and fast.
Double Update! Now we do have the first 10 chapters written and the first 20 planned out. This is gonna be a long one and we're not even nearly done planning out this story. From here on out we'll be posting one chapter at a time. Please be patient with us as this is a slow-to-update story. It will not be abandoned! We have tons of ideas for this story to make it last well past 20 chapters for sure.
Let us know what you think! Reviews fuel the flames of inspiration! Leave a fave and follow if you enjoyed as well!
