Fracturing Skies Bleach 8675-309

by ShilaMazeri

Ichigo Kurosaki finds himself in a mess of a world that needs his help. As the newest incarnation of the Avatar, he must find a way to bring balance to the timelines and rectify the destruction done on a cosmic level, no matter if the damage done is far beyond his current power…

15

Fracturing Skies

BLEACH 8675-309

Arc 1 Introductions

Chapter 1 Soul Reaper

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WELCOME to Fracturing Skies V2!

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Here is the start to the Bleach version of events for Fracturing Skies. This will be updated alongside the D Gray Man story arcs. This will tie into my old Fracturing Skies post, working that story into this one. When I get that far, I will be taking that version down (since it would essentially be a duplicate, with this one being the revised version).

I decided to start working this storyline in because things later on will tie directly into the D Gray Man characters and those stories. Not to give too many spoilers, but each timeline's stories build upon each other in some way, or otherwise reflect the changes in those realities. There will be a separate Stargate story, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Soul Eater stories that I will eventually be writing and putting out, so stay tuned to when I start pumping those arcs out. I put a lot of time into building a coherent timeline that works, so I am looking forward to sharing these stories in time.

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SUMMARY:

Worlds that never should have met become one. Things that should never have happened, occur. And with all these fractured universes combining, Ichigo Kurosaki finds himself in a mess of a world that needs his help. As the newest incarnation of the Avatar, he must find a way to bring balance to the timelines and rectify the destruction done on a cosmic level, no matter if the damage done is far beyond his current power…

And he isn't the only hero in peril. Edward and Alphonse Elric, Yusuke Urameshi, Maka Albarn, Allen Walker, and the SG-1 team are struggling as well. In a world full of Hollows, Demons, Kishin, and Akuma, (and a galaxy seemingly overrun by the tyrannous goa'uld), along with other darkened spirits from an altogether different universe, the heroes of six different original universes must find a way to fix their broken realities.

But how do you know to fix something if you don't even know that it is broken?

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Fracturing Skies

Conversation Guide

Note here that I am keeping the overall guide the same as the rest of the Fracturing Skies stories.

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Normal text.

Thinking.*feelings*

/*instincts*/

"Spoken out loud."

'Magic Weapon speaking. *feelings*'

'White Zangetsu speaking. (the true Zangetsu) *feelings*' This will also be how Soul Eater Weapons communicate with their wielder when in Weapon form.

'Old Man Zangetsu speaking. *feelings*' This will also be how Soul Eater Weapons communicate their feelings via their wavelengths. Meisters can communicate mentally with their Weapons in this manner as well.

'Junior's personas speaking when inside his mind. *feelings*' (I'll get into this in the story, but any 'voice' that is not in control but is inside his mind speaks this way. I'll tag each voice in a way so you all can understand what is going on, but there aren't enough bold/underline/italics combinations to make 49 separate ways of writing and this site doesn't allow for different fonts. Sorry)

'Werewolf 'mind' speaking.'

"Speaking a different language, but it is written in English."

Mental communication outside an imprint. *feelings*

Essence ribbon/Spirit ribbon sensing. *feelings*

'Essence Aura/Spiritual Pressure sensing. *feelings*'

"Imprint communication. *feelings*"

"Pack Link. *feelings*"

I think they are thinking this with their face. Also used for telepathic glimpses of information, like when one individual reads another's mind.

"Recalling what someone else said."

I am dwelling on what happened. *I am dwelling on how I felt.*

"I am recalling what I said."

I am recalling something I read to myself. Blood Memories are written this way. Recalling rumors I heard. *feelings from Blood Memories*

"I am reiterating what I read or heard about out loud. Blood Memories are talked about out loud this way. Rumors are shared this way." (rumors)

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION/ANNOUNCEMENTS

*"speaking through a communication device (NOT like nonverbal communication or announcements over an intercom"*

/copied words to pull the reader to the next scene, oftentimes used when having flashbacks that can distract from a current event. /

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Without further adieu, I do NOT own Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Avatar, Yu Yu Hakusho, Soul Eater, D Gray Man, nor anything in the Stargate universe (books, movies, and tv shows included).

I ONLY own the characters from Chronicles of Seraphia, as well as my own twists to each of the original characters and timelines, and any OCs I add.

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I am marking this story with M for Mature. There will be swearing, detailed depictions of fighting, sexual themes, etc. throughout. This story is written in the same vein as the current D Gray Man Fracturing Skies storylines, so expect similar writing and intensity. There is a REASON that it is marked M for MATURE.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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ARC 1: INTRODUCTIONS

CHAPTER 1: SOUL REAPER

BLEACH AU

Timeline: 8675-309

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May 14th, 1999

Ichigo Kurosaki

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Ichigo gave a group of four good-for-nothing punks a taste of his fury after coming across the broken vase they had left behind from their careless skateboarding. Beating the hell out of them had tempered his irritation slightly, although his blood still boiled in rage just thinking about their lack of respect.

Being dead was hard enough without someone desecrating one's memorial.

He glanced at the little girl hovering beside him, noting the punks scampering away, their hasty apologies fading as they high tailed it down the street as fast as their legs could carry them. Splintered wood and scattered wheels laid surrounding him on the ground, the destroyed remnants of their skateboards smoldering from the flames he had doused them in. Wrecking the offending objects had seemed like a good idea at the time but bringing the authorities down on his head for illegal fire bending (provided if those worthless shits reported him for his actions) wasn't his goal.

"Sorry about your vase," he offered, his apology encompassing both the vandals' actions and his own. He wasn't certain if his behavior had frightened her, not that anyone would have been able to harm her in her current state even if they had wanted to. The apparition was see-through, and he couldn't tell what color clothes or hair she had, but her pig tails bobbed as her head moved, her focus once more on him now that her grave's defilers were successfully driven off.

She shook her head and with a small, shy smile, she said, "No, that's okay. Thank you for making them go away." Her small fingers played with the chain attached to her chest, her eyes refusing to meet his. He didn't know what that chain meant, and part of him wondered if maybe he really ought to find out, but for the moment, he knew that he would have to settle for not having the answer to that particular question.

He was the current Avatar, and he knew that that title brought with it the responsibility of 'maintaining balance in the world', but it wasn't like he had a detailed guidebook explaining what exactly he was supposed to be doing (nor was there anyone alive that he could ask about it). So, he simply went with his gut instincts, which pressed him into guiding lost spirits to eternal rest.

He patted the little girl's spirit on the head, noting that if he concentrated, he could feel what her hair had probably felt like when she had been alive. "I'll bring you by some new flowers tomorrow." It was the first time he had directly made contact with a soul in all his years of trying to help them, but it felt right. She reminded him of his younger sisters. He just hoped that his act of kindness would help her to move on. He didn't know what happened to a ghost that lingered too long, but something about that scenario set his teeth on edge.

Could it be that he just didn't want to see someone suffer when peace was so close?

"Thank you," the little girl smiled. "I think that maybe now I will finally be able to rest peacefully."

A warm glow trailed up his spine as he watched her dissipate. "No problem," he replied as he walked away, throwing a casual wave over his shoulder, "After all, you deserve to rest in peace."

He couldn't force a spirit to 'move on' and there were quite a few that had refused in the past, but it always felt good whenever he managed to help one along.

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As Ichigo wandered home, he wondered if he would still be able to see spirits if he hadn't been the Avatar. As the Avatar, he was the medium between the spirit realms and the living world, the 'bridge' between the two kinds of beings. According to the books his mother had left for him to read (willed to him after she had been killed), the Avatar (him, in this case) was instrumental to keeping peace in the world.

Somehow.

He didn't know how to connect with his past lives, nor could he use any bending beyond Fire (his go-to bending art), and Earth (way too damaging for casual use). And despite his supposed 'role' in the world, he didn't believe in any of that fate or destiny crap. Things didn't 'happen for a reason', not in the magical way that people touted it. Somethings bad things happened because you were stupid and/or did something dumb. And sometimes, you were plain lucky (or unlucky) and there was nothing else to it.

He put those thoughts away as he opened the door to his family's home and small medical clinic (the source of his curiosity about whether being entrusted with the lives of the living would have given him the same ability to see spirits even if he hadn't ultimately ended up as the Avatar), announcing, "I'm home," as he entered.

Immediately upon his arrival, he found himself being kicked upside the head by his nutjob of a father, Isshin Kurosaki, the man knocking him flat to the floor without so much as a greeting in response.

"You're late for dinner again!"

"You jerk!" Ichigo spat as soon as he could get in his old man's face. "Is that any way to greet someone who just risked his life to help a spirit find peace?!" He wouldn't openly admit it, but he was laying it on pretty thick. Those four punks from earlier didn't stand a chance against him in a real fight, non-benders as they were (plus, they were just pathetic).

"Oh, so it's the ghost's fault, eh? Maybe you should show some discipline and start taking responsibility for your choices?"

Getting assaulted by his dad all the time drove him nuts, but it did help his fighting skills. Isshin threw the first punch (as per usual), Ichigo blocking it with his right arm. As he deflected his father's strike, he struck back. Isshin tackled him to the floor in retaliation, but before his old man could successfully pin him, he flipped the older male over, slamming him into the floor.

While they were brawling, Isshin was running his mouth, whining about not sharing the same ability to see ghosts as him. While it seemed true that his father lacked the power to see spirits (and he also lacked any bending ability), Ichigo barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man's wailing. It was the same old song and dance, but while his father was a nutcase and constantly whined, the man wasn't being serious with his griping.

"Stop fighting, you two, and eat your dinner," Yuzu scolded from the dinner table. She had light chestnut brown hair and brown eyes and was the fraternal twin sister to Karin, who sat beside her eating rice. Yuzu took after their mother in appearance and behavior, looking after the whole family and taking care of the housework. The scent of Yuzu's cooking graced his nose, making his stomach rumble in anticipation.

"I gotta tell ya, dad. A seven o'clock curfew is not cool!" Ichigo yelled at Isshin, tuning out Yuzu's objections. He was careful not to shout about his status as the Avatar, about his 'supposed' duty to help lost spirits find peace, and so was his family, ever worried that someone might overhear their fights. His mother had warned him (and his siblings), just after discovering what he was that he needed to keep himself and his abilities hidden until he was old enough to defend himself. She had never specified why, and he had never gotten the chance to question her about it because she had been killed shortly afterwards, leaving him with questions without answers, questions he couldn't ask anyone else about.

At the time of her death, he had already been learning karate, but afterwards, he had thrown himself into martial arts training of various styles, all with the publicized desire to protect his sisters. But he had confided in his family that he thought their mother's death had been all his fault, that his lack of strength (he hadn't even seen what had killed their mother) had been the reason she had died, and if he could only get stronger, then he could prevent that from ever happening again.

No one had blamed him and despite refuting his culpability, they had all supported him in his desire to get better at fighting. Even his father, in his own crazy way, had helped, with him 'attacking' Ichigo at various intervals to keep his instincts sharp. In the process, he used his newfound skills to help whatever lonely spirits he could see, sending them off to the spirit world whenever he had the chance. An earth bender ally (they weren't necessarily friends since he was a punk running his own gang) from a nearby school would point out stuck spirits whenever they crossed paths. Kuwabara was good for guiding him to the particularly stubborn ghosts or the ones that fled from his presence.

Ichigo would send the lonely spirits off to one of the various spirit worlds whenever he had the chance, not that they particularly left him alone if they got attached to him. They were sometimes very insistent on getting his attention.

"Hey Ichigo, speaking of uncool, you've got a new one," Karin pointed out. She had black hair and black eyes, taking after their father, Isshin, with her physical appearance. She played sports and stayed out of trouble (well, as much trouble as she could stay out of with him as her brother). She had the ability to fully perceive spirits, much like him, but since she wasn't the Avatar, they tended to leave her alone (at least, as far as he could tell).

Ichigo felt the tell-tale sensation of a spirit latching onto him as his sister spoke, a slight shiver that ran through his body. He glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough, he saw a disembodied soul floating behind him. He swiped at it, unamused, growling, "Take a hike, will ya?!"

While he enjoyed helping some spirits, the whole 'all-the-time' thing was starting to grate on his nerves. It was getting harder and harder keeping the secret from his classmates, particularly when a ghost would be nearby trying to get his attention. They could be quite insistent on badgering him until he would give into his frustration, swiping at them and making his friends think that he was losing his mind. No one outside of his family knew that he was the Avatar (although he suspected that Kuwabara had his suspicions), making him have to rely on the whole 'we run a medical clinic and deal with death' excuse for why he saw ghosts (which he was formulating for when he would eventually have to explain, since he wasn't deluded enough to think that he could avoid it forever).

Karin snorted in exasperation at the table and muttered, "Dad or ghosts, it's always something with you."

"I think it's kinda cool that you two can see spirits," Yuzu piped up, a look of awe in her eyes. "I can sense their presence sometimes, but that's about it." She hadn't been able to see ghosts clearly yet, one step above their father in the spirituality department, although that wasn't saying much. Ichigo was glad that Yuzu didn't have to deal with spirits, even if she wished that she could. It was bad enough that Karin could see them. It worried him, what their abilities would mean in the future, if it could get them targeted by whoever his mother was worried about.

"Be glad that you can't see them," Karin replied grimly. Ichigo knew that she didn't like being able to see and sense ghosts. It made them 'special' and was about the last thing that Karin wanted. His sister desperately wished for whatever 'normal' was, like him, a 'regular' life full of mundane challenges as opposed to supernatural.

"But, why would you say that?!" Yuzu cried despairingly. She had wanted to be part of 'the group' ever since Karin shared her knack for seeing spirits like Ichigo. She felt left out and was oblivious to the potential danger hanging over their heads. Sometimes, he wished he could be so naïve.

As Ichigo watched the exchange, Isshin snuck up behind him. With a yell of, "You dropped your guard!", the old man swiftly pinned him to the floor, effectively derailing the conversation. Ichigo growled in annoyance before flipping Isshin into the wall, having had enough of his father's antics for the night.

"Forget dinner, I'm going to my room," he snarled before turning and heading up the stairs. He wasn't hungry anymore, anyways.

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Once in his room, Ichigo leaned against his bedroom door, pressing the palm of his hand against his face. Why is my family so messed up? After a brief moment where he lamented the lack of food, he collapsed onto his bed, draping an arm over his eyes. He could feel repeated shivers running up and down his spine as multiple other spirits latched onto his soul. Thankfully, they were either far away or choosing to be quiet (aside from the one pest he was desperately trying to ignore). He didn't feel like dealing with anything else today. All he wanted was to rest.

He'd deal with them tomorrow between classes or after school (or, in the case of the super annoying one, as soon as he got up in the morning).

It was exhausting and frustrating. He had to deal with wayward spirits all the time, and it was just getting worse. He didn't know what the deal was, if he was just becoming more sensitive to their existence as he got older, or what, but it felt like there were more all the time. Kuwabara had commented that it had seemed like his spiritual presence had gotten stronger, comparing his soul to a magnet for ghosts. He wondered if the other guy was right.

A soft flutter made him uncover his eyes. He glanced up, seeing a black butterfly fly through his open window.

What the hell?

Immediately afterwards, a woman slipped into his room. She had shoulder-length black hair, purple eyes, a sword strapped to her hip, and was dressed in a black robe. Her presence felt…big. As he let his eyes wander over her, he felt what he would equate to a low-level static charge zip through his body.

What is this…sensation? She feels different.

Is she a strong soul or something?

Ichigo rubbed his chin in thought, noting how she seemed oblivious to his presence. Come to think of it…there's another kid at school that feels similar although not quite on the same level…

The woman was muttering to herself, completely ignoring him, even as he tried to get her attention with increasingly scathing remarks. With a huff of frustration, he finally kicked her, sending her flying across the room.

"What the hell, jerk off?! Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!" He folded his arms across his chest, glaring down at the intruder. He kept his voice low, not wanting to get his family's attention. The last thing he wanted was for them to get caught in the middle of whatever this was.

She looked at him from her place on the floor with wide eyes. He couldn't read her expression, but she seemed shocked and…torn? There was a sadness there that he'd have to be blind to miss, even if she clamped down on her reactions a split second afterwards. "Y-you can see me? And…you kicked me?" Her expression shuttered, confusion slamming down in place of whatever he had thought he had seen.

He had to admit that he was pretty confused himself. She must be some type of soul then, if she's this surprised about it. There were quite a few instances where ghosts didn't expect him to be able to see and interact with them. Sometimes, there was a lot of denial involved. Seemed that not all of them could tell that he was the Avatar.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I can see ya. And yes, I booted your midget ass across my room." The woman slowly stood up, her brows furrowing as she stared back at him warily. He sighed. "So, what the hell are you, anyways? You're not a regular soul." The way she felt to his senses told him as much. She felt…more…than a typical spirit. He didn't know how else to explain it.

Her eyes widened in shock for a moment before she schooled her expression. "I'm a soul reaper," she answered.

It was his turn to scrunch his face up in confusion. He hadn't expected an actual answer, not that he understood the response she had given him. He had never heard of a 'soul reaper' before.

Just what the hell was that supposed to be?

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The woman explained, sitting on the floor across from him as she did, and it was all he could do to either not bust up laughing or boot her out of the house. It was…absolutely insane. But…he had to give her credit for originality. The concept of a spirit guide wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility (considering his actions as the Avatar), but to have an entire society based around the concept did still seem like a step too far.

However, he found that he couldn't entirely argue with her, even if 'soul reapers', as a whole, didn't seem too believable. He knew that there were different spirit worlds (from his mother's books) and that souls themselves did exist, but he had never seen anyone dressed like her before now. Although, while her getup was a bit over the top, he couldn't deny that her presence felt large, more pressing than a simple spirit…

…he supposed he could admit that maybe she wasn't totally full of shit, even if he hadn't seen anything that looked like a fallen spirit (not that he even knew what that was supposed to look like), but he wasn't about to let his skepticism go that easily. He sighed, "You expect me to believe all of this?"

"How can you not believe?" the 'soul reaper' retorted in disbelief. "You've admitted to being able to see spirits, yet you don't believe in the presence of spirits that guide others to the afterlife?!"

"I've never even heard of soul reapers until now," Ichigo grumbled in response. "I'll admit that you don't feel like a typical soul, but I'm not entirely convinced that you're something special. I don't believe in things that I can't see."

In the distance, he thought he heard a roar, but he shook the sound away.

Probably just the wind.

The woman frowned before standing up. As she rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, he tensed, only for her to say, "If you want proof, then I'll simply show you." He got to his feet as she unsheathed her sword, but while she was purposely brandishing a weapon, he didn't feel any malicious intent. Preparing to fight anyways, for he wasn't about to let her cut him up without at least trying to defend himself, he was surprised when she pressed the butt of her sword's hilt into the forehead of the pesky spirit Karin had noticed earlier in the night.

A glowing emblem appeared on the apparition's head, bathing the room in a pale blue light. "N-no…please don't. I don't want to go to the underworld," the spirit whimpered. Tears pooled at the corners of the dead man's eyes as he pleaded to stay. Ichigo felt a warm tingle rush up his spine.

The black-clad woman gave the ghost a soft smile, "You needn't worry, for your soul is heading to the Soul Society. There, your spirit will find peace."

As the man's soul disappeared in a bright flash, Ichigo associated that feeling with the same one he had gotten after helping the little girl pass on earlier, as well as each other time he managed to get a spirit to move on. The warmth faded as the apparition dispersed, leaving a black butterfly in its place that fluttered away into the night sky. Even though he suspected that he knew what had happened, he had to ask anyways, "What did you just do?"

The woman sheathed her sword, answering, "I performed a konsō, a soul burial, sending him to the Soul Society. People here sometimes call it 'passing on'. It is one of the main duties of a soul reaper."

Ichigo relaxed as the 'threat' went away, leaning against his school desk with his arms crossed over his chest. "One of…?" He was trying to evaluate whether revealing his status as the Avatar would be a good idea or not. While his mother had advised him and his sisters to keep it quiet, if this woman was the spiritual equivalent of him, then it couldn't hurt to tell her. Right? He eyed her curiously, wondering if she would answer his question or ask one of her own, wondering if she could be trusted with his true identity.

She nodded, replying, "Yes, there are two main duties for soul reapers." She held up two fingers before pulling out a pen and a pad of paper from her robes. What's she doing with those? "The first is to lead wholes, normal spirits like the one I just sent on, to the Soul Society through konsō. The spirits you've seen were most likely this type." Is she seriously doodling right now? He watched the pen fly across the page in front of her, whatever she was currently drawing obscured from his sight. "The second is to exorcise Hollows whenever we find them. Fallen souls such as them eat the living and dead in order to absorb their souls, which is my currently assigned mission." She paused and turned the notepad towards him, showing off the drawing she had made to explain the differences. "Any questions so far?"

Ichigo stared at her drawing, blinking with what he had to imagine was a dumb look on his face, but he seriously couldn't help himself. Her doodle was full of what he supposed were rabbits and…something else, a mixture of hearts and lightning bolts combined in a confusing display that he couldn't make heads or tails of. Her explanation made sense right up until she showed him her drawing. Frowning, his eyes flickered between the picture and her face before he asked, "Uh…yeah. Why do your drawings suck so bad?"

He had never needed to filter what he had said in the past, but maybe he should have at least tried this time. She was across the room in an instant, burying a fist into his stomach in retaliation, her face contorted in anger. He doubled over as she retreated, wheezing from her well-placed strike.

I never even saw her move. Maybe she really is telling the truth about being a 'soul reaper'…

She gritted her teeth before admitting, "There is a hollow nearby that I am hunting, but I haven't been able to sense it for a while now."

"Well, why not?" Ichigo croaked as he leaned against his desk with an arm over his stomach, struggling to get his breathing back under control. She had hit him hard enough to wind him, something he didn't expect from a girl with such a small frame.

There was another roaring sound, closer this time than before. He frowned. Something felt…wrong…about that howl. Could that be a hollow? It certainly wasn't the wind. That much he was sure about, now.

"For some reason, my senses are being jammed," she admitted, an embarrassed look crossing her face. "I don't usually have an issue sensing them. This is unusual for me."

While he didn't fully understand what she meant by that, he could tell that it wasn't entirely comfortable for her to reveal that. He frowned, feeling an itch settle between his shoulder blades. Something about the sensation made the hair on his arms stand up. Something's not right. He pushed off his desk, tense, casting his senses out even though he had no clue what he was even looking for. The woman glanced at him curiously.

Then, a bloodcurdling howl cut through the night, making Ichigo's stomach drop in dread.

"That's a hollow!" the woman exclaimed in horror, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword as she spun to face the cry.

There was a loud crash coming from downstairs, and before his mind could catch up to his body, he was running out of his room. He nearly plowed over Karin, who collapsed in his arms, covered in injuries and blood from fresh wounds.

"Karin!"

"I-it happened so fast," Karin gasped in pain. "Dad's back exploded, and he fell…then it went for me and Yuzu." She stared at him, panting in his arms, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. "It was so fast. I came here to warn you to run away." Her eyes fluttered closed, breathing evening out as she fainted. Ichigo felt the tingle of her soul in his arms and released a sigh of relief. She was alive, and if he had anything to say about it, she would stay that way. He gently set her down before tearing down the stairs.

From behind him, he heard the soul reaper shout, "You idiot! What do you think you're doing?!"

It was a good question, one he wasn't about to take the time to answer. He ignored her, sliding to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced around for their dad, seeing him unconscious on the living room floor, grateful for the gentle tingle of Isshin's soul. That presence slid through his panic, but he couldn't help his shout of alarm as he looked outside and saw Yuzu.

The…monster…held her in its grasp, turning to face him after he yelled. It looked like an overgrown fish with arms and legs, a dreadful white mask, and a hole in its chest. Just staring at it filled Ichigo with a chilling sensation that ran down his spine and pooled in his feet. It was a nameless dread that rooted him in place. All he could do was stare. Even feeling the gentle thrum of Yuzu's soul wasn't enough to snap him out of it.

He could feel his legs shaking. This thing felt awful, like an empty void of despair and anguish. Hollow indeed.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring as the soul reaper alighted on the ground beside him, he pulled on the heat in his body and the earth beneath his feet. It didn't matter that fighting with two elements would reveal his status as the Avatar, he couldn't leave Yuzu in that disgusting thing's clutches for any longer than necessary. With a stomp of his foot, he pulled up a small earth wall, calling the stone from beneath the house up through the floorboards. He didn't typically fight with Earth because it was so destructive, but at this point, he felt that he had nothing left to lose. The house was wrecked anyways.

He began punching, forcing the earth away with blasts of searing hot fire, aiming carefully to avoid hitting Yuzu. The woman beside him gasped in shock. Then in the next moment, he flew through a hole in the wall, colliding harshly with an interior wall and sliding to the floor.

He never even saw what hit him. How the hell can I fight this thing?

The floor creaked and he looked up, struggling to breathe. The hollow was suddenly towering above him, arm raised and poised to strike, seemingly unaffected by his earlier attacks. Out of nowhere, the soul reaper flew past him, cutting through the creature's arm with a swing of her sword. He forced his battered body to move, jumping forward to catch Yuzu as she fell, freed from the monster's grasp.

He again felt the pulse of his sister's soul and cradled her limp body against his chest. She's okay. Thank God. Reluctantly, he laid Yuzu down next to their dad before joining the soul reaper outside, not about to step aside and let her do all the fighting even if he hadn't a clue about how he could realistically help.

Once beside the reaper, he confirmed, "So, this is a hollow?" He was fairly certain of the answer already. The feel of its presence was telling.

The woman didn't look at him, keeping her eyes on the monster as it shrieked in pain from its lost limb. "That's correct, Avatar."

Ichigo resisted the urge to sigh. Seemed like the soul reaper had been paying attention after all. "Figured me out, did you?"

The woman shrugged casually as the hollow continued flailing. "Wasn't too hard to figure out. As far as I know, the only person in the world capable of using multiple bending techniques is the Avatar."

Ichigo hummed his assent. That's what he had learned too, although he knew that magic existed in the world as well and could easily be mistaken for bending if what he had learned in school was correct. "So, now what do we do?"

"You do nothing. Let me handle this," the soul reaper replied. She spared him a glance. "You're too important to the world to let anything happen to you."

The hollow stopped its flailing, hissing in rage and pain.

He rolled his eyes even though he kept firm attention on the fallen soul, objecting, "Oh, come on. The Avatar hasn't been around for the past three hundred years. It isn't like me dying now will cause the world to end."

She turned to face him, back towards the hollow, her face set into a determined frown. "You don't know that. The Avatar is important, and if what you just said is true, then keeping you safe is of the highest priority!"

The next thing he knew, the woman was flying through the air, colliding with the wall across the street from the clinic. The hollow had slapped her away at a speed too fast for him to track. He hadn't even had a chance to warn her that it was approaching.

Again, I never even saw it move.

"Soul reaper!" he shouted after her, worried about her well-being. She had only turned away from the hollow to argue with him. Her getting hurt was his fault…

I've got to do something, but what the hell can I even do? My bending had no effect on it. I can barely see it move. And it knocked that soul reaper aside with no effort at all.

Dammit!

He refused to run away, but he was painfully aware that he had very few options available to him. It was probably possible for him to tunnel to safety, but that would necessitate him abandoning his family and leaving the soul reaper to die, things that he just could not abide. He wasn't a scumbag, and he wasn't a coward.

The hollow looked his way. For the briefest of moments, Ichigo could see it move, launching towards him with its mouth outstretched, saliva dripping from its mask. But just before the creature could reach him, the soul reaper leapt into the way of the attack, the hollow's huge mouth closing around her upper body. He heard her groan in pain and watched in horrified awe as she managed to free herself, slicing partway through the monster's mask. She fell to her knees immediately after, blood pooling around her.

The hollow recoiled, screeching in pain.

"You…stupid fool," the woman gasped. "We c-cannot risk losing you. You need to run, before you become its food."

Ichigo crouched in front of her. What did it matter that the hollow was to his back? He couldn't dodge it anyways. "No," he argued. "I am not going to just stand by and let that thing kill you and my family. There has to be a way to stop it before that happens."

The soul reaper grimaced as she leaned forward, "There might be a way…"

As she maneuvered herself into a seated position, he asked, "How?"

The woman lifted her sword and aimed it at him, her arms shaking. "You must become a soul reaper yourself." Ichigo stared at her in shock, not expecting her to suggest something like that. "You must take my zanpakutō and run it through the center of your being, so that I may pour my powers into you." She panted, sweat pouring down from her hairline. "I can't guarantee that you'll live, but if it doesn't work, it won't matter."

She must have come to the same conclusion that I did.

"Then give me that blade, soul reaper."

She gave him a pained smile. "My name is Rukia…Rukia Kuchiki."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." He grinned back.

Then she stabbed him.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So, I am finally working on the main Bleach 8675-309 storyline again. Sorry for the long delay here. Getting all the various timelines synched up is exhausting and there's some stuff that I haven't even gotten around to finishing. *shrug*. Oh well, but I've got most of the main dates for the Bleach timeline settled and tied those into my concurrent DGM storyline so that the dates all line up. Lots and lots of micromanaging lol, but it's all well worth it.

I tried to keep Ichigo and Rukia in character, but with the changes to this universe, I felt that Ichigo wouldn't necessarily have been quite so antagonistic to Rukia during their first meeting, since he is the Avatar and has some experience dealing with spirits. And with some prior warnings from his mother, he would have been more distrustful and careful when interacting with a potential threat. While he did end up revealing himself when his family was in danger, in my head canon, he would have given up secrecy if it meant saving them.

This storyline runs concurrently with the D Gray Man 8675-309 timeline story that I am writing. Note the dates I have given during each story. This version of Karakura town and Ichigo's school also runs alongside the Yu-Yu Hakusho universe, with the schools in each series acting as rivals in this AU.

Kuwabara is one of the main characters from YYH and directly mentioned in this chapter. Given that he had a certain spirituality even before Yusuke became a spirit detective, I felt that the interactions I hinted at in this chapter between him and Ichigo would be within his character as well.

In this storyline, Ichigo and Rukia both assume that because Ichigo can wield more than one bending element that he is the Avatar. While he is the Avatar, remember from the DGM storyline that some direct descendants of the original Bookman Clan can wield multiple bending elements (although none could use all four until Junior/Lavi). Because the Bookmen are well known in name but not necessarily with all their specifics, that's how I figure Ichigo and Rukia would come to the conclusion about him being the Avatar. They wouldn't know about the specifics of the Bookmen, only about the widely accepted belief that only the Avatar could wield more than one bending element.

I kept this chapter as a hodgepodge between the anime/manga with my own twists and tried to keep from simply copying everything that happened. I tend to write from a 3rd/1st person perspective (1st person without the use of 'I'), so I skip over things that the current character wouldn't see/experience. I don't do the overall general narrator POV very well. It feels too broad to me (that and/or I just suck at writing it lol).

This storyline/timeline will eventually catch up to my other version of Bleach Fracturing Skies that I have published (on fanfiction .net), at which point, that 'story' will be taken down.