AN: OK, so this idea just came up and bit me in the butt tonight…it's probably only going to be a two-chapter piece, but I may see fit to add to it as ideas come to me, just like my other fic. For those that are waiting for updates on King's Division: I haven't forgotten it in the least. It's just that the computer I was using kind of up and died on me about 7 months ago…and my techie-brother hasn't had the time to pull my plot and pre-done chapters from the hard drive yet.

Also, this is my first attempt at a crossover. I am by no means an expert in SG1, I just have a passable knowledge…that morphed into this beast that has kept me up for most of the night. It has also been inspired by several other SG1/Bleach crossovers on the site…so if you see something familiar, that may be why.

Disclaimer: As always, I do not in any way, shape, or form own Stargate: SG1 or Bleach. They and their characters belong to their respective owners.

~*~The Life after Death~*~

It was on a bright, seemingly summer-ish day that it happened. It was as the team composed of American soldiers, an archiologist, and one alien who housed an infantile symbiote decided that the ruined planet they were visiting held nothing of interest for them, or for the greater good of the peoples known to the rest of the Universe as the Tau'ri. The only thing that Colonel Jack O'Neill really found interesting was the fact that the planet had several very good lakes that, if found on Earth, would have made fantastic fishing holes. What interested one of his best friends, however, was the fact that the entire planet…was a city. A city that, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be a tribute or a monument to Death, capitol "D" included, according to what he had deciphered from the Ancient texts located at the entrances to many buildings and on what Jack started to call, "Glorified Ancient Signposts."

"OK, Daniel…let's start packing up. It just looks like this group of Ancients decided that they liked to study Death. A lot. Actually, this place is kinda creeping me out." Jack exaggerated a shiver as both Daniel Jackson and Major Samantha Carter rolled their eyes at their commanders theatrics.

"Sir, pardon my saying, but this place may have a lot to teach us about the Ascension process that the ancients used. Yea, there's no technology really to be found, but if we could only decipher what's on these blocks and those pillars-," here Jack started to cough, sounding suspiciously like 'signposts,' "-we may even be able to discover how to recreate other facets of their technology."

"Let's not forget their culture either, Sam." Daniel scratched the side of his nose, unintentionally getting graphite from his pencil that he was holding in the same hand along his cheek. "I mean, I haven't seen anywhere quite like this place that the Ancients built, or even the specific dialect that they used when writing all of this, which suggests that they created this place before any of the texts we have now. Yea, plenty of other cultures were fascinated by death and what happens beyond, but-"

"Alright, alright! I get it. I guess Teal'c and I will stand here. Out of your way…but only for an hour more. Then we have to at least check in…and I would rather I get a jump-start on my leave time than wait until you all decide you have decoded the entire planet." Jack kicked a rock off to the left of the two scientists, and everyone, Jack especially, was surprised by what that little motion did to the infrastructure of one of the buildings.

It was a one-level building without any writing or windows visible from the outside. There was only one door, and after checking it earlier, they discovered that it was locked either from the inside or—more probably—by a force that Humanity didn't understand quite yet. However, that one, eye-sized rock caused the entire external part of the building to change the moment it came into contact with the middle of the wall. It was like watching glass break from a giant panel into a million tiny pieces, all falling in itself. It peeled away the brown material that created the siding of the building to show a vibrant white rock wall. The moment it was uncovered, all the nearby tech and generators sparked—all strangely in the opposite direction of the building—then died, as if all the power inside then was pulled or pushed out of the devices. Jack stood stone-still, then, with a sheepish expression on his face, said, "Oops?"

Teal'c, who up to that point had been silent, merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Indeed. However, I must point out that you kicked that rock towards the building on purpose, so any destruction will be solely your fault."

The corner of Jack's mouth quirked up. "Teal'c! Did I just hear you make a funny?"

Teal'c's face was still frozen with one eyebrow quirked.

"Forget that, Jack. Did you see what it did to our equipment? I think that we need to take the materials—a flake of the wall insulated by chunks of the siding and some of the dust, too—and take them back to SGC to be analyzed. And look at the writing that was covered up by this…insulation?" Daniel looked at Sam to see if she agreed as to the purpose of the siding material. At her nod, he continued. "I mean, this isn't Ancient at all, but a very primitive form of Japanese and Chinese mixed together. I can only read a few words, but the ones I can make out are very promising."

Jack stared at Daniel, then looked at Sam. "Am I the only one that can appreciate the fact that Teal'c made a joke, no matter how dry? Really?"

Sam shook her head and smiled, watching as Daniel pulled a few of his archaeological tools out of a case. "Sorry, Colonel," she said, patting him once on the shoulder. "Sometimes we find things more interesting than humor."

This thoroughly baffled Jack enough that he was quiet, contemplating how to seek revenge—and, of course, proper understanding of practical jokes—against and for the two science nerds once they got back…and after his long-awaited fishing trip.

~~*~~Meanwhile, in Urahara Shouten~~*~~

"Maa, maa! Yamamoto-taicho! What brings your lovely voice to call my shop on this fine, handsome day!" An eccentric shopkeeper, also known as Urahara Kisuke, had just picked up the phone without even so much as a "hello" or looking at the caller ID. Sometimes the black cat who was resting on one of the cushions in the living room had to wonder how he did that…then she remembered that she had trained him all those long years ago, and everything became clear. Now if only he would use that training for more important matters…

As Yoruichi was contemplating this, Kisuke had continued his conversation. It was when his voice became serious that Yoruichi became interested in the conversation again. "Really? And the American Death Reapers can't handle it because they don't have someone as slick as I am with the current technology? Oh, and they don't have a substitute like we do? Interesting…So how do you want us to infiltrate? Uh-huh…hai. I still have my clearance from when I went into the military 5 years ago for that stupid research project that went belly-up…do we need Gigai or no? Yessir. Understood. Bye-bye, Old-man Yamamoto!" Just as Kisuke was putting down the receiver you could hear the Captain-commander yelling at him to not take his name and title so lightly. "Man, I think that Toshiro has been hanging around the Captain-commander for too long…either the younger picked up the older's habits, or vice-versa." Kisuke was scratching his chin for a moment.

Yoruichi couldn't take the suspense anymore. "So? What's going on? What prompted the Captain-commander to call you in person?"

Kisuke pulled out one of his many paper fans from a pocket dimension (how, Yoruichi was still trying to figure,) and unfolded it in front of his face. "Well, he wants me to collect Ichi-kun and go to America. Ichigo was picked for the fact that, right now, the kid is our main ambassador to the Living, and me? Well, because I'm just that cool." At Yoruichi's glare, he dropped the fan and held a hand out to block the incoming attack of claws.

"Maa, maa! OK, I'll tell you! It's due to the fact that I have military access. It's how I was able to build my underground training room, and how I get some…less legal living world materials I need for my experiments. They want us to investigate a spiritual disturbance near or in a complex called Cheyenne Mountain. They have some really heavy technology in the mountain that every time a Death Reaper—you know, our American counterparts—comes close, the entire mountain goes on lockdown.

"Reiatsu messes with some of the sensors and other devices that they use to scan people, and when no one is coming through and the devices go haywire…you can see their problem. And no one in their 25 branches who are stationed in the World of the Living can get the clearance to get in. I guess that we are in league with whatever program is being done in the base, so viola! My protégé and I are now going to America…after I contact my people, and they contact theirs and so on."

Yoruichi rested her black feline head on her forepaws. "Well, I can already tell you one thing."

"What's that?"

"Ichigo's not going to like this one bit."

…and that's as natural place as any to stop it. Please review! If no one does, then I can't get better as a writer. ^_-

EDIT: Minor spelling/grammatical error changes made on 11/30/12