Alternis Universo

Chapter 2: Not a kid, not an Old man

Disclaimer: I do NOT own bleach. I barely own a computer, don't go making crazy assumptions here.

The first thing Ichigo registered was the sense of free falling from a very high place. For some reason, he felt it was a warm sense of deja vous; just like that time he came back from rescuing Rukia and Kisuke had caught them on that flying carpet thing because the senkaimon had appeared in the sky —as always. But as he extended his reiatsu, he came to the terrifying conclusion that it was defiantly not like that time. He opened his eyes forcibly, feeling the gush from the wind pressure his body and make it hard to move upright. But once he finally did, Ichigo gazed down to see where he was, before his eyes widened in shock.

"What. The. Hell."

The sight that greeted him was not unlike what he had seen on the machine back in his lab. And as he finally scanned the whole area, he came to the bone chilling conclusion that it was soul society. His breath caught in his throat when he realized how destroyed the Rukongai was. The rubble and blood staining the lands, all the way into the horizon. Honest to god, he had never seen that much death gathered in a single place —the Quincy war notwithstanding, that place was a massacre. However, he was so enhanced with the view, he didn't notice the rapidly reaching ground until it was too late.

He blinked, a nano second away from the ground before he noticed a small, orange-haired boy with big brown eyes one foot away from his landing point. The two stared at each other, time seeming to freeze as the small shinigami stared curiously at the falling man that was staring just as intently. And then, time renewed and Ichigo fell with enough force to leave a crater. The impact making a loud, explosion-like sound that resounded deafening in the abandoned battlefield.

The small orange head blinked with unhidden surprise in the direction where he had seen the falling person. He tried to narrow his eyes to see past the smoke to no avail and decided to walk slowly into the dust and see if the man was okay.

The small boy knew it wasn't a very smart move. He was currently at the edges of the battlefield and anythingor anyone could ambush him at any given moment. However, this person he had barely glimpsed at before falling, gave him a certain sense of relief that didn't make him feel threatened in the least. So without a second thought, he continued, small waraji clad feet taking him forward until he stopped in front of the mysterious, orange haired man.

He was spread eagle-wide in the middle of the crater. His cloths impeccable —as if he hadn't fallen from the sky- eyes open and gazing at the sky in deep thought; almost as if he couldn't understand his situation. He wore black, fingerless gloves in his hands; tekkō they were called -if he remembered correctly. But what really caught his attention, was the mop of bright orange hair on his head.

The boy crouched down, his feet at the stranger's head as he leaned in to catch the others eye "Mister, are you alright?"

Ichigo blinked in surprise at the meek, yet firm voice. He glanced up, his eyes falling on the small boy he had seen not-so-long-ago before they widened in size. Honestly, the kid could have passed as his double if her were still ten years old. Everything, from the shade of orange hair, to the unique brown eyes were practically identical. However, all of a sudden the boy's words registered in his hazed mind and he couldn't help but scowl.

"Who're you calling 'mister'?"

The kid tilted his head innocently "Who else would I be referring to? It's only you-" He pointed at Ichigo "-and me" he ended pointing at himself "But who cares about that. I-"

The small boy was abruptly shut up, his jaw clamping shut when Ichigo stood up with a menacing smile and placed a hand on his head, hard.

"Listen well kid." Ichigo muttered through clenched teeth as he lowered to his eye level "I'm not a mister. I'm a young person. Do you understand? Young."