"Are you well?" Jun heard the voice but it was oddly distant. Groaning softly, he struggled to open his eyes. It was a fight, for certain.

"What happened?" He muttered as he tried to focus on the face in front of him. The last thing he remembered was… "Mayuri?" No, this was definitely not him. There was a huge lack of face paint. The young man smiling down at him seemed oddly familiar…

"I'm sorry, no." Jun blinked at the way the other man was speaking. It sounded… strange. An accent? Yet it was like nothing he'd ever heard before. "Let me…" A hand gently touched him, helping him sit up. Jun gripped his head, feeling a headache coming on. Also a strange pain in his… what? Jun grimaced before resting a hand on his chest. It wasn't his body, he could sense that. This pain was in his soul.

You should not be here. The voice that seemed to always be weeping said. Beneath the tears she sounded concerned.

It is very wrong. The burning voice agreed and Jun grimaced. He was gradually learning to listen to them without experiencing pain, but right now they were aggravating the feeling of wrongness. The person beside him was looking at him strangely.

"Forgive me, are you a new student?" He asked and Jun blinked as he realized the other was wearing a uniform quite similar to his own. It was slightly different, though. The cut and the emblems were just a touch off.

"Um… yes." He said although that wasn't true. At this point in time, he was on his final year of the accelerated program. He'd even learned the name of his zanpakuto and made full contact with them. Jun looked into the other man's face, examining him for a moment. He had shoulder length brown hair and a small beard. He also looked so incredibly familiar… Jun's breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened as he realized why. "Shunsui?" He asked, stunned. The other looked taken aback.

"Why… yes. How did you know?" He said as their eyes met, grey to brown. "Have we met?" He questioned and Jun swallowed, hard. Shunsui seemed ageless but Jun had never had any doubt that he was much older than him, even when they first met. However, now… he had the distinct feeling Shunsui might be younger than him. The feeling of age and experience was gone. What was going on?

"Y-Yes. I'm sorry. I'm… Haru." He made that up on the spot. "Shimizi… Haru." Somehow, he thought giving Shunsui his real name might be a mistake. The other man smiled, mildly puzzled.

"My apologies, I don't remember you." He said and Jun was absolutely certain that was true. "If you're a new student you should be in classes."

"Uh, right." Jun muttered as he desperately wondered where to go. Nothing was familiar. This looked like the Rukongai but he couldn't recognize a thing. "I'm… I think I'm lost. Could you show me?" He asked and Shunsui smiled. It was friendly but there was something calculating beneath it, something that put Jun on guard. It reminded him of how Shunsui looked when they were sparring, in fact.

"Right this way." He said before gesturing. "Walk beside me." He said and normally, Jun would have interpreted that as an intimate thing. Right now he saw it as an expression of distrust. Sighing to himself, he walked confidently beside Shunsui.

He had no idea what was going on but for now, he just had to make the best of it.


The Academy was nothing like what Jun had expected.

"It's small." He muttered to himself, stunned by the size of it. It was about a quarter the size of the building he was used to. And it was in a completely different part of the Seireitei, a location that was far less central. And that wasn't the only difference.

Jun felt like he'd stepped back in time. He'd thought that Soul Society hadn't moved with the years, but now he knew that wasn't true. In the place he knew it was possible to see hints of modernity, everywhere. A gas powered grill, that a street vendor would be cooking sausages over. A group of youths playing with a boom box, making it work with tiny bits of kido. Shinigami with cell phones tucked into their belts, for when they went back to the Living World and wanted to talk to each other in a land with cell phone towers. Bedazzled shirts and combs.

There was none of that here. Jun noticed the lack when he saw a man using a charcoal brazier to cook his food, and noticed it more as they walked through the Seireitei. None of the shinigami he saw had cell phones, and they didn't look the same either. The uniforms they wore were… not uniform. And that was saying a lot, considering that the dress code was rather lax to begin with. It was like there WAS no dress code here, aside from the color black. And even that was dubious.

"Well, it is rather new." Shunsui said cheerfully and Jun bit his lip. New? Even shinigami wouldn't call the Academy a 'new' institution! But hadn't Shunsui and Juushiro been among the first classes…?

"Sweet kami." Jun breathed. He'd gone back in time, somehow. What had Mayuri done? And if Shunsui was right about his status as Juushiro's reincarnation then… "No wonder I feel strange." This had to be an incredibly unnatural situation, two identical souls existing in the same space. And even if he wasn't Juushiro's reincarnation he was probably someone's reincarnation.

Yes, this is not good. I wonder what the long term effects will be? The angel said thoughtfully.

There had best not be a long term. The fire demon said firmly and Juushiro nodded, rather agreeing with her. You must go back.

"I know." But how? Was there anything he could do at all on this end? And he couldn't tell these people what had happened. Shunsui certainly hadn't remembered him, not like that! Theoretically, maybe he could tell Juushiro. He'd died before Jun had been born. But would that be a good idea?

"Tell me Haru. What noble house are you from?" Shunsui said and Jun blinked, responding without a thought.

"I'm not a noble." To him that wasn't odd at all. Nobles were actually in the minority at the Academy he knew. A sizable minority, but still a minority. There was a pause and Jun realized he might have made a mistake as he looked at Shunsui. He was looking at him with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh, I see. You must be in the most recent class then." Shunsui said and Jun felt like he was walking through a minefield. "What district are you from?"

"Uh…" Briefly, Jun wished he was a better liar. "Fifty-four." He said and there was a soft laugh beside him.

"That's very far out!" Shunsui said cheerfully and Jun relaxed a little. It looked like his 'friend' was buying it. "You have an odd accent, too. Well, here you are." There was a hand on his back and Jun found himself ushered into a room holding a group of students. They looked at him in puzzlement as he took a seat, trying to look like he belonged. Shunsui vanished and the instructor gave him an odd look before continuing her lecture. Fortunately, it was mathematics. Jun had learned things more complex in high school, so he just let it roll over him. As he did, he tried to think of what to do.

It was hard to imagine what he could do.


"Juushiro, I think we have a very inept spy on our hands." At first, Shunsui had been worried. Now he was seeing the hilarity of the situation.

"Um? What do you mean?" Juushiro looked up from his books, surprised. Shunsui couldn't help but grin as he remembered the exchange.

"I met a boy named Shimizi Haru…" He ran through the first of the encounter, including the almost-but-not-quite Academy uniform. Then he got to the punchline. "He said he wasn't a noble and when I asked what district he was from, he said fifty-four."

"What?!" Juushiro looked like he couldn't believe it as Shunsui grinned. There were only thirty-eight districts in the Rukongai. "…Is he mentally deficient?" He asked wonderingly and Shunsui scratched his head.

"No, I don't think so. Just very confused, which makes things more interesting." Haru seemed to have no idea what he was doing. "He must be from the Living World." That was the only explanation for such thick-headedness. Juushiro frowned slightly.

"Even that's strange… we need to tell Yamamoto." He said and Shunsui nodded. They were last year students and they'd already helped Yamamoto extensively, through the very tough years founding the Academy. Students from the Living World weren't allowed yet, although they had hopes from the future. Perhaps that was why the young man had lied… but even so, fifty-four? That was simply idiotic.

They would tell Yamamoto. He would know what to do.


For Jun, the next few weeks were both boring, difficult and fraught with tension.

The boredom came from his classes. Basic didn't begin to describe them. It seemed they assumed most of the students coming in were just barely literate. That seemed odd to Jun, given that almost all the students were nobles. But the standards of the day had to be a bit different.

The difficulty came from adapting to his new circumstances. There were so many things he was used to that were completely lacking, like shampoo. He'd tried washing his hair with soap but that simply didn't work… his hair developed a horrible film. Finally, he'd realized that the answer was just to use nothing but water. For a few days his hair was extremely greasy before coming to an equilibrium. Without any blow driers to make it fluffy, Jun simply parted it and let it be.

There was no deodorant either. A few inquiries had made people think he was insane… Everyone washed with soap in the morning but body odor was just something you lived with. If you really wanted to cover it up, there was perfume. Many of the young nobles used it but Jun had quickly realized it was out of his price range. Perfumes were not cheap, here. Gradually, he grew so used to the scent that he didn't even notice it anymore.

There were also no modern razors. After realizing that he would have to shave with a straight razor, Jun immediately gave up and started growing a beard. It wasn't the best beard in the world and he hated the way it itched, but he hated the thought of cutting his own throat by accident even more.

Then there was money and the fact that he didn't have any. The Academy he knew provided a small allowance. Jun had used it for frivolous things, and Shunsui had paid for most of their outings. This past Academy was quite different. The noble students got allowances from their families and the non-noble ones… who were very few… also get money from their families. Students like him, from the Living World, simply did not exist. Jun wondered why not. Powerful shinigami were reincarnated and sometimes came back directly, rather than being reborn as a baby soul. Yet at this time, they seemed to be barred from becoming shinigami.

So he couldn't socialize much with his fellow students. Not that he really wanted to. As one of the few non-noble students in the group, he was something of a pariah. Jun had quickly made friends with the other two non-nobles but they were an ill-treated little group. Which led to something quite unfortunate.

"…Not that filth like you would know anything about shikai." One of the nobles said, his nose firmly in the air. He'd been pontificating, loudly, about the achievements of his noble clan. They didn't sound that impressive to Jun, but in his time the education was standardized and finding shikai likely wasn't as difficult, if you had the potential for it at all.

"No, I wouldn't know anything about that." Jun agreed with deep sarcasm. "I only have one." He'd achieved it last year, in fact. Since then Shunsui had been training him with it, along with his instructors at the Academy. There was laughter from the nobles in their little clique.

"Oh, tell us another one!" A particularly annoying specimen said. Jun couldn't remember his name although he'd been told they were a fairly major clan. Which likely stank for them, given that he was fairly sure they were no longer prominent in his future. Jun's eyes narrowed and he dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword. He could feel his zanpakuto's anger, burning like a fire in the back of his mind. It encouraged his own anger, something he needed to be wary of… but it was so hard, sometimes.

"Haru, don't." The girl beside him said, tugging his arm. Jun blinked before relaxing his grip and smiling slightly. She was right, this wasn't worth it.

"You may believe what you like, but I still have my shikai." He said lightly to a chorus of hoots. Then the instructor came in and the lessons started.

This was the one class Jun had to pay close attention to… the history of Soul Society. The events were not even remotely current and hadn't been covered that thoroughly in his own classes. He also enjoyed learning about these things. So many of the events they went into in depth were considered ancient history in the current time.

Later that day they had weapons practice and that was where things got awkward. Apparently, word of his boast had gotten around and some people, at least, were inclined to take him seriously.

"So, Haru!" Shunsui. Jun looked up from his kido practice with a smile. That smile faded a bit, though, as he saw the slightly predatory air his… would be lover had. An arm was flung over his shoulder and unfortunately, it didn't really strike him as a friendly gesture. Jun saw another young man watching, this one with white hair and brown eyes. Their eyes met and for a brief moment, he felt an intense connection. From the look on the other's face, he felt it too. Shunsui was still saying something but Jun completely lost track of that as they stared at each other.

Then a hand waved in front of his face and Jun blinked. The moment was broken and he looked at Shunsui, almost speechless. Shunsui was frowning at him now, glancing at the other man. He had a hand over his face and looked a bit faint.

"Juu, are you alright?" He asked, concerned. The white haired man looked up with a wan smile.

"I'm fine. It was just… strange." He said and Jun swallowed, realizing who this had to be.

"Ukitake Juushiro." He murmured and they both looked at him. Juushiro seemed thoughtful but Shunsui's face held confusion and deep suspicion. Jun winced at that expression. "I'm sorry." He said, wishing he could explain what he was apologizing for. "What were you saying?" He asked to head off any difficult questions.

"I was saying, I'm told you have a shikai. That's unheard of for a non-noble student." He said, which immediately annoyed Jun. He knew it was reflected in his face, although he tried to hide it. "Could you show it to me?" Jun bridled a bit at the insinuation. His eyes narrowing, he opened his mouth to ask if Shunsui thought he wasn't noble enough to have a shikai. Then Juushiro spoke and that soft voice drew his attention instantly.

"We haven't had many non-noble students. The Academy hasn't been founded long… many like to say that non-nobles simply don't have the spiritual pressure to achieve anything great. It would be good to prove them wrong." He said and Jun blinked at that, unable to fully keep the disbelief of his face. Although for someone who had been trained on stories about Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia – who was certainly not noble by birth – that sounded completely ludicrous.

"Um… right. I'd love to see someone say that to… nevermind." Shaking his head, he took a step back and gripped his swords more firmly. "Rage down destruction, twisted fire demon. Weep bitter tears, suffering angel." He said the brief incantation before speaking their name. "Kokoro no Itami." Heart's Pain.

His weapons immediately changed. He fought as Shunsui did, with a long sword and a short. The long became curved, although not nearly to the degree of Shunsui's swords. It became more elaborate, thicker and wider, and took on a reddish hue. The back was pronged, wicked projections that were designed to pull insides out, when it was withdrawn from a body. The hilt also changed. The wrappings had been simple red, but now there was a chain that connected it to his short sword.

The shorter weapon had also changed. It covered in a gel-like substance that gave it an odd, greenish sheen. That gel sometimes oozed off in droplets, hissing where it hit the ground. That was a very good indication of the nature of its power.

"Is that sufficient?" Jun said tersely. He didn't want to go any further with this. Shunsui had told him before that keeping the powers of one's shikai and bankai mysterious was very valuable. Of course, that meant they wouldn't accept just that.

"Oh, you have to show us what it does Haru!" Shunsui coaxed him and Jun blinked rapidly for a moment. That was the exact same tone Shunsui always used, when he was trying to talk him into something a bit silly. It suddenly made him want to cry. He missed Shunsui. Not the young man he had to keep secrets from, but the older man who made him feel safe and secure. Looking at Juushiro, Jun saw understanding but also a silent challenge and he knew they wouldn't accept it if he didn't show them more.

"…Fine, I'll show you something." He finally surrendered, well aware that the other students and several teachers were watching. Pointing his long blade at a target, he unleashed a small burst of flame. It was a weak shot, but that was deliberate. Nothing more was needed to incinerate his target. Then he turned to another practice dummy and issued a mental command. The chain snapped from the hilt of his red sword and Jun used it to twirl the smaller blade. He'd practiced this so many times… then he used the chain to throw the weapon into the target. The chain lengthened, which was part of its power, and when the blade hit the dummy the gel splashed over it. It immediately started to smoke and ooze. Jun reeled his weapon back in as the practice dummy began to turn black, wide holes forming as the material was eaten away. "That's enough." Jun said firmly. His weapons had far more tricks than that but he was not interested in sharing them.

"Interesting. That is most certainly a shikai. And your power jumped considerably when you released it." Juushiro said thoughtfully and Jun dearly wished he could get to know his… other half? Predecessor?... better. They were in completely different classes, though. "Thank you. That was helpful." He said politely and Jun watched as he and Shunsui walked off, clearly discussing something. He frowned a little, wondering what was going on.

"Grandstanding." Someone said derisively and Jun longed to give them a boot in the ass. Taking a deep breath – this place seemed to be bringing out the worst in him – he forced himself back to calm and turned to his own practice.

He wanted to go home.


"That was very interesting." Juushiro said in a low tone and Shunsui glanced back at the young man. He was practicing, utterly absorbed in what he was doing. The movements and skill behind them were very good. It was the same style he used, so he could tell Haru was well versed in it.

"Yes. What was that, when he looked at you?" Shunsui couldn't help but feel mildly jealous. They hadn't been lovers long and he couldn't help but be a bit insecure at times. Juushiro flashed him a smile, but it was troubled.

"I'm… not sure. It was strange. It felt like I knew him but more intense than anything I've felt before." He said slowly, which did not reassure his lover much. "Like a long lost brother? It was very strange."

"Hrm." Shunsui suspected Juushiro had picked that comparison to reassure him, but it did work. "Well, we need to inform Yamamoto. He'll be taking an interest now." Before this, he'd told his instructors to keep an eye on the boy as well as asking Shunsui and Juushiro to watch him a bit. But for a first year student to have a shikai… it was just as absurd as the rest of Haru's story. Everything about him was untrue, but it was so obvious it wasn't truly threatening. "What is he hiding?" That was an interesting question.

"Genryusai sensei will get it out of him." Juushiro said confidently and Shunsui nodded. He thought that was likely.

"Maybe we'll be there to see it!" That would be rather fun. And it was quite possible.

They were heavily involved, after all.


Jun swallowed as he took a seat on the cushions.

He'd been called to a meeting with the Soutaichou and current headmaster of the Academy, Yamamoto. Jun wondered how he could hold both posts, but supposed it was necessary. This was early days in the Academy's founding and it likely needed a personal touch. That certainly explained how Shunsui and Juushiro had become his personal protégé's.

What really shocked Jun, though, was Yamamoto's appearance. He'd seen the old man in the present, although only spoken to him a few times. Yamamoto was clearly skeptical of his possible reincarnation status and concerned for Shunsui. That had faded, as their relationship proved stable, but Jun knew he still had concerns about their differences in age and experience. That didn't really bother him. It was definitely a May-December romance and he could see why those close to Shunsui would be concerned.

Now, though, Yamamoto looked exactly the same. There was no difference at all that Jun could see and that was downright bizarre. A thousand years had passed and he was still…?

"How old are you?" He murmured, then blushed as he realized he'd said that out loud. "Uh, I'm sorry Soutaichou!" He quickly apologized as the old man just stared at him for a moment. Then he chuckled, a low, rumbling sound.

"Older than you, youngster." He said, amused, and Jun's blush darkened. He ducked his head, feeling like a complete idiot. Then Shunsui and Juushiro joined them, taking seats on the cushions behind Yamamoto. Jun bit his lip, afraid this was going to be an interrogation.

It was, although it didn't go very well from the beginning.

"You have been lying to us." Yamamoto said sternly and Jun winced. "There are only thirty-eight sections of the Rukongai." That made him flinch. He'd messed up from the very beginning? "Who are you, boy?"

"I… I can't tell you." Jun said more bravely than he felt. But he simply could not tell Yamamoto. He knew the old man did not remember him in his present. If he had, he would have acted completely differently. "It's for your own good." He said, firmly this time.

"My good? I will be the judge of that." Yamamoto said just as firmly and his reiatsu rippled with irritation. But Jun met it with the absolute conviction that he was doing the right thing. His own reiatsu flared with it and he could see Shunsui and Juushiro both wince at the clash.

"No. You can't know. Shunsui can't either." He said before hesitating. "…I can tell Juushiro. But the two of you must not know." That made the two young men behind Yamamoto exchange a surprised glance.

"Why is Juushiro different? Is it that connection between you?" Shunsui asked as Yamamoto frowned. Jun sighed, looking down.

"I can't tell you." He repeated. "Any information is too much." Shunsui didn't remember him either. Of course, it had been a thousand years and his face wasn't that memorable. But if he told any stories about time travel and reincarnation, he would be certain to remember. Jun had no idea what that would do to things, but he didn't want to take the chance. "I'm sorry. I'll tell Ukitake my secrets but no one else. He can decide what to do. You trust him, don't you?" Jun asked, knowing they did. Shunsui frowned at him as Yamamoto seemed to mull it over.

"…Very well. You will tell Juushiro your secrets and he will decide what must be kept." Yamamoto said and Jun had the distinct feeling the old man expected Juushiro to tell him everything. Jun very much doubted that would happen. The two of them left the room, leaving him with the white haired young man. They stared at each other for a moment and Jun felt that connection again.

"…Well?" Juushiro finally said, breaking that feeling and Jun blinked before swallowing.

"I… don't know where to begin." This was going to be a lot to lay on anyone. Juushiro smiled, a warm, gentle expression.

"Why don't you start from the beginning? What is your name?" He asked and Jun smiled. Perhaps that was a good place to start.

"My name is Shimizi Jun, and I'm from Tokyo in the Living World." He said softly before sighing. "I'm not supposed to be here. Mayuri must have done this to me… he was trying to determine if might be your reincarnation." Juushiro's eyes widened and Jun swallowed at the look on his face. Shocked and a touch horrified. "There were some hopes that such tests could be used in the future, to identify powerful souls and awaken them." It was just a pipe dream right now. They weren't even sure it would be wise. But Kurotsuchi had been interested enough to investigate. "Shunsui is the one who found me, after you died. He's fairly sure I might be you, but he says it doesn't really matter, I'm remarkable either way." Jun smiled, a touch shyly. "Yamamoto just thinks he's being an old fool." He said wryly and Juushiro blinked. "Neither of them remember me." Jun was absolutely certain of that. "You can't tell them. If they hear a story about reincarnation and time travel, they'll certainly remember after you… pass on." He said and Juushiro swallowed.

"That's… a crazy story." Juushiro said and Jun nodded. It did sound insane. "…How long do I have to live?" He suddenly asked and Jun realized he hadn't specified how much time had passed.

"A thousand years." He said and was surprised to see an expression of massive relief on his predecessor's face. "Juushiro?" The young man across from him blinked and shook his head with a smile.

"I've always been afraid I would die young, from my disease. A thousand years? I'm happy with that." He said lightly and Jun blinked before smiling.

"I see what you mean." A thousand years was a good length of time. Sure, shinigami could live much longer but very few did. The job was dangerous. "…I want to go home." Jun said softly, looking into his tea. "I miss Shunsui." To him, the younger version was just not the same. There was no trust between them, no connection. And even if there had been, Jun could sense that the dynamic between the two of them would be very different. Shunsui was not the older man, the wily captain who had lived through so much. In this time, they would be peers. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing but it would take some adapting to. A hand gently touched his wrist and he looked up to meet understanding brown eyes.

"It must be hard. Things must have changed a great deal." He said softly and Jun nodded sadly. "So there will be students from the Living World?"

"Oh yes. And at least one bankai wielder." Jun said and Juushiro looked surprised. "I probably shouldn't tell you too much about that. If I do, you'll know too much." His other self had certainly been alive when Kurosaki Ichigo came into his powers.

"I see… well, that just proves we're doing the right thing. What year were you actually in, before you were sent here?" Juushiro asked and that, Jun was glad to answer.

"The final year of the accelerated program. That's a special course of study for students with higher potential." He explained as Juushiro looked puzzled. "I imagine it was created to handle students like you and Shunsui." Right now, having Yamamoto as a mentor was feasible but that kind of personal touch just wouldn't be, when things really got off the ground. Juushiro nodded thoughtfully.

"That makes sense…" They continued talking for a while and Jun gave the other general information on how things were structured in the future. He didn't feel like he was altering things. After all, this needed to happen. Things weren't perfect in the Seireitei but he had a feeling they were better than what was going on now.

Soon, though, they were interrupted. Yamamoto and Shunsui had been playing shogi but still, they could only wait so long.

"Well?" Yamamoto rumbled, giving Jun a severe look. Juushiro sighed, pushing back a bit of his hair before meeting his sensei's eyes with utter conviction.

"He's right. You can't know the truth of why he is here." He said firmly and Shunsui looked taken aback. Yamamoto was hard to read but he didn't seem happy to Jun. "But we should have him tested and probably put in the final year classes. It's ridiculous, keeping him as a first year student."

"But… Juu… what in hell did he tell you?" Shunsui sounded quite upset and Juushiro looked down as Jun winced.

"I can't say. But I can tell you he's not a spy. He's just… not supposed to be here. We'll have to make the best of it, for as long as he is." Juushiro said and Jun nodded. That was about the best they could do.

"Hm… I see." Yamamoto said slowly and Jun wondered what he was thinking. But he suddenly came to a decision. "I will trust your judgment. Very well, we will have him tested. Shunsui, fetch Osan. He would be the best to come up with such tests." Shunsui gave Juushiro a betrayed look before leaving the room. Jun bit his lip, hoping he hadn't created a rift between the two of them.

But if he had, there wasn't much he could do.


"Juushiro, what the hell's going on?" Shunsui was upset with him. Juushiro had known he would be but there was just no way around it.

"Shunsui, I just can't tell you." He said patiently. "It really is for your own good." Juushiro was still absorbing some of the things he'd been told. Haru… Jun was his reincarnation and Shunsui's future love interest? The only thing that made it remotely plausible was that intense connection between them.

"What does that mean? How can be being kept in the dark be for my own good?" He demanded and Juushiro sighed.

"If I told you that, you would know too much." He said, holding tight to his patience. It wasn't Shunsui's fault, really it wasn't. "Please, you have to trust me. You'll understand someday." Although not for a thousand years, if Jun could somehow be returned to the time he belonged. Juushiro smiled to himself at the thought.

He honestly wasn't distressed by the thought of his future demise. He'd always known his time was limited. He was very happy to find out that he would live so long, with Shunsui by his side. And he'd learned some very valuable information on how best to structure the Academy in the future. An accelerated program… he would definitely have to mention that to Yamamoto. Juushiro didn't question the truth of Jun's story at all. Somehow, he knew it was completely true. The strange resonance between them assured that.

"Juu… I trust you but…" Shunsui looked at him with troubled eyes. "Don't you trust me?" He asked, turning it around and Juushiro shook his head.

"I'm not hiding from this because I distrust you, Shunsui. I'm hiding it because you simply can't know. Haru's right, it would do you no good and possibly a great deal of harm." He said gently and Shunsui frowned. "The same is true of Genryusai sensei. Someday, you WILL understand." He said firmly and Shunsui was finally forced to accept it. Not happily, but he could tell that his friend and lover was not going to budge.

"Well, you better prove to me that you like me more than him." Shunsui said and Juushiro couldn't help but laugh at the thought. With what he knew now, he would never consider touching Jun that way. They really were like brothers, only moreso. It would be very wrong.

"If you need proof, I'll give it to you." He said teasingly and brought Shunsui close. They kissed passionately and that quickly led to other things. Any thoughts of the future or the strange boy who'd been dumping in their laps quickly vanished.

They would worry about that tomorrow.


Jun concentrated hard as his blades clashed with Juushiro's.

Sparring against his other self was difficult for them both. The problem was that they could both completely anticipate the other's movements. The result was something more like a dance than a real spar and it was becoming frustrating. Finally, Juushiro was the one who called a halt to it.

"We just can't do this. It doesn't work." He said and Jun sighed, wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead.

"I'm afraid you're right." He admitted, shaking his head. "My zanpakuto doesn't like it, either." They were both grumbling off and on about the utter wrongness of the situation. Jun was sure they were right about that but it wasn't really helpful.

"Why don't we spar, Haru?" Shunsui offered and Jun hesitated, glancing at Juushiro. He was frowning, looking at his friend. "I won't hurt him Juu, I promise!"

"Hmph. You should worry about yourself." Jun teased him with a small smile. "Why don't we practice with our shikai?" He'd noticed they rarely seemed to do that. Shunsui's eyebrows arched at the suggestion.

"That would be rather dangerous, wouldn't it?" He said and Jun blinked.

"Um… well, a bit. We could certainly be hurt but… oh." Then he knew. They must not have the kido spell the instructors at the Academy he knew used. For a moment he debated not telling them but then decided, why not? It had to have been invented sometime… why not now? "I know a kido spell designed to help shikai users practice safely." He explained as they both looked at him. The arms master was listening too, now. "It reduces the power of your blows to roughly ten percent what they would otherwise be. It's nearly impossible to kill someone with it on." Not completely impossible, but you had to really be trying hard. That would be unusual for a spar. "You can be hurt, but nothing a few healing kido's won't take care of." And his instructors had always felt the bruises and cuts were part of the learning experience.

"Incredible. Can you show us?" Juushiro asked and Jun nodded, sheathing his weapons. Then he looked at Shunsui.

"Can you go to shikai, please?" The spell needed to be cast when the weapons were already unsealed. Shunsui frowned but muttered the incantation and Jun watched as his blades changed. Then he began to cast the kido. All the students were taught to cast it, so the instructors wouldn't have to handle it. A rune glowed brightly on Shunsui's blade for just a moment before – "HEY!" The rune shattered in golden sparks and Jun glowered at his target. "What did you do that for?" Shunsui had just undone his work.

"It's not much of a seal." He said dismissively and Jun rubbed his forehead for a moment. "I broke it easily."

"It's not a prisoners' seal, Shunsui." Jun said with pained patience and Shunsui suddenly looked taken aback. He couldn't know it but in that moment, his resemblance to Juushiro was pronounced. "It's meant to limit your power unless you direct that power against the seal itself. Then it will break. That's so in case the Academy is attacked, you won't be crippled at an important moment."

"Oh. I… see. That's well thought out." Shunsui said slowly and Jun winced. Maybe he shouldn't have done this. "Can you do that again, slower this time?" It was too late to hold back. Jun demonstrated the seal again, taking it slow so they could see how the kido worked. Then he had them practice it on each other. Jun was no kido master but he was reasonably good at teaching and his audience was motivated. Soon, they had a grasp of it. "Good. Can you cast it on me?" He asked and Juushiro nodded. "Although I need to…" Jun concentrated hard and the gel like substance on his second blade vanished. Shunsui gave him a quizzical look and he explained. "I'm forbidden to use that in spars. Acid burns don't respond well to kido." He said and they both winced. "We have to do a bit of roleplay… if you get hit with that weapon in a non-vital area, it's disabling. If you're hit in a vital area, you're dead."

"In other words, don't let you hit me with that." Shunsui said with a crooked smile and Jun smiled back. Then Juushiro cast the seal and they readied themselves. Jun was vaguely aware of many other students watching but that was unimportant.

Soon they were clashing and Jun thought their skill levels were roughly equal. That really wasn't surprising. They were both last year students, after all… but Jun had a crucial advantage. He knew all the powers of Shunsui's shikai. His lover hadn't been shy about showing him and Jun had returned the favor. So now…

Jun gave Shunsui the opening deliberately, although he wasn't certain the other man would take it. The huge downside of Shunsui's shikai was that he could only play the games his zanpakuto chose to let him use. Right now, though, she must have seen the opening too. Shunsui drove his sword into the shadow just as Jun leapt to the side and lashed out with his chain. Its power was entanglement. And it did just that, whipping around Shunsui's blade. The surprised man couldn't hang onto it as Jun jerked violently on his chain, claiming the weapon for himself.

"Damn… Bushogoma!" That made Jun blinked. He hadn't been aware Shunsui could do that with only one weapon… he made a mental note to himself that 'his' Shunsui had been holding out on him before the tornado of air hit him. It caught the chain of his dagger and nearly dragged it out of his hand. Cursing, Jun forced every bit of power he had available into his fire sword before plunging it into the tornado of air.

The air abruptly went red before blasting outwards in a wave of fire. Fortunately it was very weak and dissipated quickly but Jun looked up, knowing where Shunsui's attack would come from. The other man did not disappoint and he knew he had to stop that. If Takaoni landed, it would cause an explosion. Pointing up with his fire sword he unleashed another attack.

"Fire flower." He commanded and fire erupted from the tip of his sword. It was a wide, unfocused attack, meant to distract more than harm. It effectively forced Shunsui to give up the high ground, which was what Jun needed. Throwing his dagger came as easily as breathing and Shunsui just barely dodged the flying piece of metal. That was just a feint, though… the real attack was the chain, which attempted to catch his opponents' ankle. But Shunsui seemed to feel it and sonido'd away before he could be caught. And unfortunately, he managed to snag back his other weapon. Jun mentally cursed himself for letting the chain get too close to him.

The fight got fiercer but finally came to a close after Jun scored a good hit on Shunsui's shoulder with the dagger. They continued a bit longer after that, until Jun made another cut on his chest. Then he leapt back, lowering his weapons.

"You've taken a hit on your shoulder from my acid blade, and now your chest. You're disabled if not dead." He pointed out and Shunsui paused, utter frustration passing over his face.

"How can you fight like that? It's like you know all my attacks!" He said angrily and Jun smiled, a touch sadly. That was part of it, although it wasn't just that. To his eyes, Shunsui hadn't fully settled into his style of swordplay and he wasn't working well with his zanpakuto, either. They had a long way to go. So did Jun, but his zanpakuto were more naturally aggressive than Katen Kyokotsu.

"I do have an advantage." He said lightly. "Don't worry about it. It can only make you better." Sparring against someone who was onto his abilities could only make Shunsui cleverer.

"Hmph… you should try sparring against Yama-jii. He'll show you exactly how much you have to learn." Shunsui said with a scowl and Jun smiled at the thought.

"Oh, believe me, I know I have plenty to learn." The 'real' Shunsui could put him onto the ground as often as he liked. Jun had managed to surprise him several times but hadn't come close to defeating him. "But I would like to see how quickly Yamamoto Soutaichou could put me in the dirt." His guess was very fast. Then Jun blinked as he heard a chuckle behind him.

"I am glad to see you have a realistic appraisal of your own skill, youngster." Jun winced a little to himself as he turned and bowed to the Soutaichou. "Perhaps you would like to see how quickly you can eat that earth, then?"

"If you wish to show me, sensei." He said respectfully and raised his weapons. Yamamoto didn't bother with his shikai, but he didn't need to. A few moments later Jun was on his back, seeing stars. There was laughter from the watchers, but he didn't mind. It was a very familiar sensation.

Some things just didn't change.


"I'm almost starting to like him." Shunsui admitted as Juushiro smiled. "He's a lot like you."

"Yes, he is." Juushiro murmured as they watched Haru pick himself up for the third time. Yamamoto had made a point with the first bout, but now he was teaching the young man. He was very dedicated, concentrating hard as the Soutaichou advised him where he was going wrong. "He'll be great, someday." Although he would never really know. That would be up to Shunsui. That thought made him suddenly hug his friend, surprising him.

"Juu? What's wrong?" Shunsui said, concerned and Juushiro just smiled at him.

"Nothing's wrong. In fact, something is very right." It made him feel happy, knowing that they would be together for a very long time. And even after he was gone, Shunsui would be happy again.

That was priceless.


Jun wasn't expecting things to go so incredibly wrong.

They had all been sent into the Living World for a training exercise, clearing the area of hollows. But then giant ones began to appear. They were too much for most of the students but he, Juushiro and Shunsui could handle them. They covered the retreat for the others. Jun was highly suspicious, though. This kind of behavior was not at all typical of hollows.

Jun knew quite a bit about hollows that Shunsui and Juushiro just couldn't know. That was courtesy of Coyote Starrk. The arrancar had been captured alive and kept as a kind of trophy. He wore a reiatsu limiter but didn't seem to mind, and gave guest lectures at the Academy on the nature of hollows, hollow behavior and abilities in general. It was informative and amusing, particularly when he stopped midway through to take a nap and his little friend kicked him awake.

"What are they doing here? There's no food for them here." He muttered. These creatures were all verging on Gillian class and should have been predating each other on the edge of the Menos forest.

"What do you mean? We're food for them." Shunsui pointed out and Jun shook his head.

"But we weren't here until a few hours ago. They must have been here before us and there's no food here. Something has attracted them to this location." Jun licked a bit of sweat off his upper lip as Juushiro used his shikai. Flashes of lighting bisected a lumbering hollow, reducing it to nothing. "We need to get out of here…" But they couldn't, not until the other students were gone. They were still making their way through the senkaimon.

Jun stiffened as he felt the air around them suddenly fill with an oppressive reiatsu. That worried him, deeply, because it felt stronger than him. And, by association, stronger than Juushiro and Shunsui.

"Well, well. So you are the ones." The voice was vaguely scratchy and they all readied themselves, searching through the shadows for their opponent. The giant hollows pulled back, almost fearful? Then something new showed itself.

It was a hollow, but human sized. That immediately put Jun on guard. Starrk had told them, in an uninterested way, that human sized adjuchas were rare and human shaped adjuchas were even rarer. Almost always, they had an animal like form. This, though, was no animal. It looked like a man but covered in bone, with very nasty looking, curving blades on his arms. Bright red eyes looked out at them from behind a visor of bone, cruelly amused.

"Vasto Lorde." Jun muttered. That was not good.

"What?" Shunsui sounded perplexed and Jun hesitated. The incredibly rare Vasto Lorde probably hadn't been classified at this time. He didn't get a chance to speak anyway. The hollow was talking.

"Foolish little children, to have so many enemies." He said in a sing-song tone and Jun bit his lip, wondering why HE was here. What business would a Vasto Lorde have in the real world? None… unless someone had convinced him otherwise.

"And which of those enemies bargained with you to come here and risk your life?" He returned, his voice cool. He saw Shunsui lift his eyebrows and Juushiro shoot him a surprised look. Too many shinigami thought of hollows as mere beasts, and many were… but not Vasto Lorde. And, to a lesser extent, Adjuchas. The hollow just laughed.

"Why should I tell you that?" Then he attacked. His powers were fire and darkness based and very quickly, he had them on the defensive. It was like they were facing a taichou and all three of them only had shikai.

But it was three to one and their potential was high. Gradually, they got used to his attacks and began to coordinate against him… or so they thought. Things went very bad, very quickly when the hollow abruptly unleashed something new against them. Black wolves, like animate shadows with eyes of bright red, attacked them mercilessly. They were a distraction, though, and Jun grit his teeth as he saw the Vasto Lorde launching an attack on Juushiro.

"No you don't!" He snapped the chain free and used it in an effort to entangle the powerful hollow. To his surprise, it worked. The acid blade buried deep in the creature's shoulder, making it howl in pain. Jun leapt forward, his fire sword leading the way.

Just in time for the chain to snap. Jun tried to abort his lunge but it was too late. An arm plunged into his body and he gasped as the blade tore upwards, through his chest and lungs. The Vasto Lorde gripped the end of the broken chain, jerking him forward and Jun sensed that it meant to take his soul. But…

"Pyrrhic victory." He whispered as the blade in his hand flared. He could feel his skin blistering, hear the yells behind him as Juushiro and Shunsui sensed the building power. The Vasto Lorde's eyes widened and it tried to let go of the chain, but it stuck to the bone, determined to see this through. Then he plunged his sword through the creature's chest.

The explosion was localized but intense. A great pillar of fire erupted, shooting towards the sky. Juushiro and Shunsui both shielded their faces from it, their robes whipping in the wind generated. When the blast ended, they both lowered their hands to look. There was nothing left but a charred circle and a few fragments of white bone, which quickly vanished in a sparkle of black.

"Haru…" Shunsui whispered as Juushiro swallowed, his brown eyes filling with tears. "He just…"

"Yes." Glancing around, Juushiro saw the giant hollows they had been fighting them had all fled. Apparently, the one Haru had defeated had been the leader. That made him frown. They'd never encountered hollows working together before. What had that creature been? "Vasto Lorde." He murmured, remembering what Haru/Jun had called it. "I hope…" He hoped that somehow, Jun wasn't dead. That he'd gone home, to his time and space. Shunsui looked hopelessly for anything they could take back before shaking his head.

"There's nothing. No sign of his body at all." He said sadly and Juushiro nodded.

"We need to get back." And figure out who could be dealing with hollows. What had been promised to this one? Probably souls. Juushiro felt a surge of rage at the thought but knew it was quite possible. There were nobles that would do such a thing, in their quest to stop Yamamoto's reforms before they could begin. "And find out who was behind this."

"Oh yes." That made Shunsui's eyes flare with anger. Moving purposefully, they departed for Soul Society. Behind them, a rain started and the few fires the explosion had set gradually went out.

Nothing remained.


"Nnn." Jun blinked, feeling strangely heavy and tired. Yet, he must have been sleeping. Why was he so tired? "What… happened…?" His mouth was very dry. He tried to sit up and discovered he was connected to several pieces of equipment. "Um…" Some of it was beeping, now.

"Shimizi-san!" He looked up with a blink, seeing a very tall woman with pale hair, smiling at him. She seemed very relieved. "You're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked with concern, quickly checking him with her hands and kido. He watched her, bewildered as his mind processed all of his recent memories.

"Err, fine." Was he in the present or the past? He didn't know her so he honestly couldn't know. "What happened?" That question should tell him when and where he was.

"Mayuri ran some kind of test on you. He swears it shouldn't have harmed you but you fell into a trance." She said and Jun smiled in pure relief. He was home. "It's been a week and no one could wake you. Do you feel well?"

"I feel wonderful." He said warmly. He was actually feeling quite good, as his body fully awoke from his enforced rest. "Forgive me, I didn't catch your name?" And he didn't know her at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Kotetsu Isane." She apologized and he blinked at the last name. "You know my sister Kiyone?"

"Oh, yes, I most definitely do." He said with a smile and she laughed, a soft, sweet sound. "Can you let Shunsui know I'm awake? He must be worried." He could only imagine how that had played out. Jun was absolutely certain that Mayuri had gotten leaned on, hard. Isane nodded rapidly.

"Of course!" She called up a hell butterfly and sent it off with a message before going to fetch Unohana. Jun just relaxed, waiting. He would need them to unhook him from the monitoring equipment.

They were in the process of doing that when Shunsui appeared. He flashed stepped in so abruptly that Isane flinched and Unohana gave him an admonishing look. He didn't notice, though, too focused on the man in the bed.

"Jun!" Jun found himself soundly hugged and smiled in pure relief as he rested a hand on Shunsui's shoulder. This was the man he knew, pink kimono and straw hat and all. "Kami, what happened? I've been so worried." He said and brown eyes met grey. The grey were filled with intense emotion and Jun swallowed, feeling deeply touched by the concern.

"I… went on a spiritual trip. It wasn't bad. In fact, I think it was meant to be." What would have happened if he hadn't been there? Would Shunsui and Juushiro have prevailed, but at the cost of one of their lives? Jun supposed he would never know, since it hadn't happened that way. "Shunsui, do you remember someone named Shimizi Haru?" He asked and Shunsui stared at him.

"…No… wait… wasn't that…?" Shunsui's eyes widened as he abruptly remembered. "Sweet kami! Jun, that was you?!" With his memory jogged he could see the resemblance. Jun laughed, nodding with a smile.

"You see why we couldn't tell you the truth." He said gently as Shunsui swallowed, looking overwhelmed. "I am definitely Juushiro's reincarnation. I don't know how Mayuri sent me into the past, but I know that now." That intense connection between them could mean nothing else.

"Sweet kami." Shunsui whispered then suddenly smiled. "I can't wait to see the look on Yama-jii's face when I tell him!" He sounded almost gleefully and Jun laughed. "…I always regretted his death. Your death. How did I not recognize your shikai? I'm an idiot." He said softly and Jun shook his head.

"It was a long time ago." It was no wonder Shunsui had almost forgotten about that incident. "Mmm… you know, now I can honestly say I defeated you once." He said teasingly and Shunsui gave him a severe look before smiling again.

"Really? Well, let me give you a piece of advice. Never grow a beard." He said and Jun choked. "You looked absolutely awful."

"Oi!" He protested as Shunsui smiled. "I couldn't help it. Those razors you used back then were terrifying!"

"Ah, Jun, that's what barber shops are for!" He said lightly and Jun considered smacking him. "But you didn't have any money, did you? There were no recruit allowances back then."

"No, I was completely broke." He said and Shunsui laughed. "Can I get out of here? I want to go home." Home to the Academy, to Shunsui's place… back to his life. Meeting his past self and a young Shunsui had been a great experience but he was so relieved to be where he belonged. Even his soul felt better and Jun could feel the satisfaction of his zanpakuto. Shunsui nodded, sobering a bit.

"We should get you to the Academy first. Everyone has been very worried." He said and Jun nodded. He could imagine. After a few more kido tests, he was allowed to leave. He smiled as they launched into shunpo. Shunsui was faster than him, which was how it should be.

Everything was how it should be.