Lei walked back to the 11th division with a bounce in his step, a weight off his shoulders, and a wide smile on his face from his spar with Ikkaku and Yuchimaru. He had just deposited the two off at the 4th division after a spar to some concerned looks from the medical staff, and while the thought that his reputation with the 4th division was getting even lower crossed his mind, thinking about how the two seated officers won't bother him for a least another month, hopefully two, made his smile even wider.
At this time, an 11th division member turned the corner and saw Lei. A yelp of fright came out of him, and he quickly turned around to avoid the co-lietenant.
Looking at the subordinate's fleeing back, he laughed, "This day keeps getting better and better."
It was in this euphoria that Lei found himself back in his office, ready and surprisingly energetic to finish the paperwork. Walking over to the desk, glancing at the top document, he stopped cold.
"Rukia Kuchiki – transfer of sentence to execution confirmed. Date: imminent."
He blinked, the euphoria quickly draining away. Then blinked again.
SHIIIIIIIIITTTTTT
He'd lost track of time, and the main story had already started!
That was the problem with being dropped into the timeline of a series he once watched with popcorn and internet memes. Days had blurred into years, and in between everything, he hadn't realized how dangerously close everything had gotten.
Pacing around the room, Lei started preparing himself. "It's still not too late. If I make contact with Ichigo now, before they reach Seireitei proper, I might still be able to shift things. Maybe train him a little so his fights aren't so close... Yeah, that's a good idea. Close fights make me nervous. I just need to figure out how much time, and I can-"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Racing towards the window, Lei looked at the source of the tremors shaking the room: a giant gaping hole in the surface of Seireitei's massive barrier. Smoke curled in white tendrils around the center of impact, several distinct lines shooting out in different directions and landing among the buildings below.
SHIIIIIIIIITTTTTT
Concentrating, he scanned for the highest spiritual pressure. Normally, he'd expect Ikkaku to be there already, serving as the ideal growth checkpoint for Ichigo. But unfortunately, *cough* someone *cough* had been a little too excited while sparring. Worse case scenario meant that Ichigo had no one around him - he was going to face Renji (or worse, Kenpachi), without the gradual tempering he experienced in the anime.
God damn butterfly effects
Racing to intercept what he dearly hoped to be the right pick, Lei arrived at the location just as the body landed.
BOOM!
Debris scattered and smoke rose from the collision. And as the dust settled, heart beating hard, Lei looked on in anticipation for what he hoped to be the right choice. There, in the gaps of the smoke and mirrors, he saw him. Distinctive, bright orange hair, flaring in the sun like a parrot in the jungle, stood Ichigo Kurosaki. The protagonist. The walking cheat code of the Bleach universe.
Counting the time that he was stuck in the Bleach universe, it had been nearly a half century since Lei had connected with the Bleach fandom. But seeing the progonist of the entire series was a surreal experience nevertheless. Half in awe, half in stunned silence, Lei just stood there. It was one thing to know the story. Another to see the protagonist in person.
"Well, I'll be damned..."
For his part, Ichigo froze when he saw him. The two stared at each other in the settling dust, neither moving. One in awe. One in shocked surprise. Tension thickened in the air. Somewhere in the distance, a piece of debris clattered to the ground.
BAM!
"ICHIGO!"
Clocking Ichigo right in the jaw, another figure jumped out of the pit. The man had a muscular frame and wore a green bandana around his forehead.
"You piece of shit! You almost blew us all up! Just wait! I'm going to - " New eyes replaced Ichigo's in making eye contact, and his stammering voice slowly tampered off to a fade.
"I'm going to... W-wait a sec..." Seeming to examine the figure in front of him closely, his face went through the a wide variety of emotions. Recognition. Shock. Fear.
"You're -"
"GANJUUU!" Flying from the side, Ichigo returned the punch with his own favor: a double flying kick. Perhaps expecting his antics, or simply more ready for combat, Ganju blocked the attack with arms crossed in front of him, merely moving back several steps and letting Ichigo land easily in front of him.
"Idiot! Can't you see we're busy? This is no time to fight among ourselves!"
"Yeah, well maybe you should have thought of that before you started a fight." Cracking his knuckles, a smile-not-smile grew on Ichigo's face.
"Stop! This isn't any riff-raff. This is the lieutenant of the 11th division!"
That stopped Ichigo in his tracks. Taking a more careful look at Lei, the main character evaluated the officer. "...So lieutenant right? That's like the red-haired bastard I fought before?"
After a short pause, Ichigo added a small remark, "Well he does feel strong... but I don't feel like I'm going to lose."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ganju was dumbstruck.
Lei was dumbstruck.
Yoruichi, who was watching from somewhere, was dumbstruck.
...is this the main character syndrome? Ichigo doesn't even have Bankai at this point...
Lei mentally face palmed. Sure, he wasn't the best fighter, but even in his unreleased Zanpakuto state, he could narrowly out maneuver Kenpachi Zaraki. The same Zaraki that almost cut the cocky man in front of him in half.
"God damn it. It looks like I have more work ahead of me than I thought." Disbelief showed up on Lei's face as he partially shook his head, partially muttered under his breath. Then paused as a terrible thought came up in him.
Wait... more work?... more WORK...? MORE WORK?????
Like a virus, the angry anime forehead marks that were on Ichigo and Ganju when they were fighting floated through the wind onto Lei's scalp. And he decided to let the tap on his Reiatsu run.
--------
"Well he does feel strong... but I don't feel like I'm going to lose."
Ichigo Kurosaki looked at the stocky man in front of him and boldly evaluated. Less than a couple months ago, such a statement against a Lieutenant of the 13th division would have seemed crazy. But when he thought about how he let that red-haired gangster and the pretty boy take away Rukia from him, his blood boiled.
And it wasn't like he was talking out of his ass completely. Although the man had a weird smile, he didn't have the same sense of foreboding he had when initially facing the red-haired gangster.
Not to mention that I technically won against the ginger. That meant that this officer could only be wea-
It hit like a tidal wave. The air crackled. Dust lifted off the ground. Ichigo froze in place. Blood was rushing through his head, pounding against his ears, a drum going off in the hollow skull between them. His chest felt like it was simultaneously imploding and exploding.
Ganju had collapsed to one knee besides him, teeth gritted. "W-what the hell…?"
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Faintly, Ichigo was aware of a single drop of sweat slowly, almost miserably, rolling down the side of his forehead. Past his temple. Past his jaw. Falling freely through the air until it landed heavily against the marbled floor in a small splat, a brief chime against the percussion of his heartbeat.
Damn were my thoughts always so loud?
The man in front of them adjusted the edge of his glove and walked forward slowly, his pressure bearing down like a thundercloud. As he came closer, the racing thoughts converged into one short sentence.
I am so fucked