Created: 4/07/15

Croix de l'Chrysalis

by

Raining Sky Guy

AN. My first try at time travel! Bleach. cywscross' fics make my mind wander a lot. Don't own the individual images, but the cover was made by yours truly. It, of course, got butchered up by the wonderful image editor but the link to the full version can be found on my profile. Edit: Actually just go to my (new) tumblr: rainingskyguy, it's one of the first posts.

With a shrill and ungainly scream of fright, Kurosaki Ichigo was dumped on the ground.

"Oof!"

…Or more like, on top of some unlucky bastard.

Disoriented in more ways than one, Ichigo ignored the wriggling body underneath his as he waited for the sky to stop spinning….and return to its usual blue.

His head that had started pounding since hours ago still ached, but it was ignored as the teen finally crawled his way off the other.

He had already jumped back, Zangetsu drawn and poised as his battle instincts kicked in— barely second after his mind became the smallest bit lucid.

The unlucky bastard was barely just noticing there was a blade pointed at him and shrunk away, his bum still connected to the ground.

Then the world finally became one in his vision and Ichigo realized he was pointing his sword at a weak little Rukongai soul. His stance dropped as he muted his reiatsu even further —he was so glad he kept it in tight rein out of habit, he knew he could have obliterated everything on a five kilometer radius otherwise.

But anyway, back to the— fuck it's just a kid.

"Uh… I-sorry. For falling on you and all that." He mumbled awkwardly, fumbling slightly as he realized he better sheathe his sword. Wouldn't it just be awful if the kid died of a heart-attack with him waving the katana around like-

"You're a shinigami?"

An instinct borne out of hatred, fear and his own hollow side sparked to life, overriding every other sensitive thought and Zangetsu was already striking, blade covered in a cover of protective kidou as his reiatsu skyrocketed and his feet pivoted in a way Aizen would get taken by surprise and with some luck he'd die long enough to rip the Hogyoku-

His foot had somehow managed to down the megalomaniac and Zangetsu was inches away from gouging the place where he knew the Hogyouku resided when the clothes ruffled , showing unmarred skin and the smaller than usual god-wannabe started convulsing as if the strength of his reiatsu was somehow overwhelming-

'Ichigo.'

The sealed zanpakuto drove itself millimeters away from the crying and frightened face of the kid as Ichigo's mind caught up to what was happening, the serene voice of Zangetsu steadying him enough to reign in his reiatsu.

Both souls stared at each other; one glossed over with tears and fear behind spectacles, but still somehow curious and the other completely horrified at having almost eviscerated some random kid.

For what seemed like the nth time so far, Ichigo's mind did a double take. Blood roared in his ears as his hands once more itched to move the sword. The kid seemed too alike. No, not really, it must be some play with the light, his mind was too tired and-

Impossible.

Ichigo reeled back, horrified and stunned and too many things to notice, his reiatsu falling down to tolerable levels per Zangetsu's orders while they all tried to work their minds on exactly what was going on.

First off, it could be a trap. So he would not sheathe his zanpakuto just yet. The kid was panting, as the pressure on him was removed.

Dark brown eyes gave him a once over, before Ichigo turned away—if he wasn't Aizen he did not deserve to see such pure loathing on his face. But there was no denying the kid looked like him.

Who he was kidding.

He knew Aizen's reiatsu in his sleep. Even if this right now was not tainted with hollow or the mumbo-jumbo of the Hogyoku nor was it as strong as he remembered, but it was essentially the same.

The battle-worn, hardened side of the twenty-year-old wanted to kill the bastard right here, right now. This was what he was sent back to do, anyway. It shouldn't matter that he was sent to the time where Aizen was just a kid. If he needed to be dead, he'd be dead. Ichigo had known, either way that he had been sent back to commit cold-blooded murder… what difference did it make that it was to a child-Aizen?

Actually this might even be for the best, this way they would all avoid any possible repercussion of the many ploys Aizen had built over time. Everything had started once he was a shinigami, so if he never became one…

This was better.

And maybe if, when, he found a way to go back to his time… Karin would still be alive. Karin and Toushiro and Renji and Byakuya and Hiyori and Shinji and—a whole slew of people that had had no reason to die, except Aizen.

"U-um… who are you?"

Ichigo twitched but did not answer. He better get this over, quick.

Decided and slightly despondent, the iconic figure of the war spun in place and in a burst of Shunpo he was standing behind Aizen, sword raised high to deliver the blow of grace while the small soul was still staring at his afterimage.

How would his sisters hate him if they knew.

With that sorrowful note, the blade descended.

'Ichigo. It was for the best.' Zangetsu was telling him. Ichigo did not know what to think yet. His zanpakuto spirits never seemed to condemn him for anything he did or stopped doing. They could get mad-pissed at him, yes, but they had never —would never— abandon him.

Even if he had just failed everyone.

'Stop beating yourself for it, Aibou. You chose a path, now stick with it.' His Zanpakuto's other persona —who he still called Shiro for clarity's sake— spoke up with a wry sort of tone in his voice. Somehow, humor crept back on his voice, just as always— 'you'd want to take that foot outa' fire though.'

With a hissed cursed, Ichigo focused back on the small fire he had built for the night and pulled his feet away from the heat. The movement sent the jutting branch that had been hovering over his foot back to the fire with a crackle and a small burst. The light grew momentarily and dark brown eyes were drawn to the lying figure by it.

It still wasn't too late. He could still get up and throttle him. Ichigo thought half-heartedly, but he knew he wouldn't do it. Not anymore.

Aizen had crumpled to the ground just as Zangetsu was descending on him and the humane side of Ichigo couldn't bring himself to murder. It wouldn't be the first time he killed in cold blood, but knowing that the kid, no matter how messed up and evil and crazy his future self would be, was innocent…

He should have allowed someone else to go back in time.

Volunteers hadn't abounded but there still had been other options.

But he was the strongest. This nobody could deny.

Well… at least after Yamamoto Genryuusai had died on them.

In the end, though, it turned out there was no need for the monstrosity of a power known as Ichigo. Both mad scientist's calculations spoke of a century… just before the hollowifications. Before everything started to unravel. And since nobody had been sure how strong and unpredictable Aizen would be even then, Ichigo had played the better-be-safe-than-sorry card.

His face started aching and he rubbed at it, irritated. Right now his mind was too laden to think of anything properly. He needed time to settle down. Maybe calmer he would be able to kill Aizen properly. He tried not to recoil at the thought, trying to steel himself to the possibility. But right now, he had time. Something that had been scarce in his present. Between trying not to die and trying to kill Aizen that was. Which actually made his current dilemma all the more ludicrous.

This Aizen-in-diapers could never run away from him.

Images arose in his mind that had the battle veteran standing up in a flurry of movement. He just kept getting more stupid. He sheathed the sword he had drawn without any conscious thought and instead extended his arm, gathering reiatsu on it as he tried to remember the words. He didn't know this Aizen— he had no clue at which point he learned to be the manipulative jerk he had been known to be.

Who was to say this boy right now wasn't pulling wool over his eyes?

Ichigo started chanting under his breath, assessing the lying figure. Not even in the academy. No way to materialize his Zanpakuto either. Not that Kyoka Suigetsu would have any effect on him anyway. Not anymore.

His hand started glowing as the specific kidou Kisuke had insisted he learnt before his trip crackled to life. It hadn't exploded on him, so he assumed he had gotten it right for once. He stared at the crackling kanji dancing on his palm, making sure it matched Kisuke's description —if it was unstable it might still blow up.

The young man strode for the limp figure, lowering the neck of his shirt on the back and pressing his open palm between his shoulder blades. The boy whimpered and his skin seemed to burn, but did not wake and when Ichigo removed his hand there was a seal embed in the other's skin.

There. Now the kid had no way of hiding away from him.

He blinked in surprise at the sizable amount of reiatsu that little thing had required. Not enough to even slow him down a fraction, but it still was surprising. Or rather…

Ichigo blinked, his now-usual extra sense picking up something at the back of his mind, like he felt his dual Zanpakuto, but… dormant?

The battle veteran sighed tiredly, finding that annoying, even more so because Kisuke had barely mentioned the effect it would have on him. Ichigo cracked his neck, as he did his best to wrap his mind around that sensation and get used to it.

His eyes stayed trained on the baby Aizen as he moved around with the silence of the night itself, practicing cheap katas just to move around. As soon as his mind was otherwise engaged, the nagging feeling of having something stuck to his brain faded.

Ichigo then closed his eyes and focused on the little extra baggage in his mind and sure enough, it pointed Aizen's way. The seal worked alright.

'Ichigo. You should rest. Whatever it is you decide to do, can be decided in the morning as you yourself stated.' Zangetsu then decided to cut in and suddenly, Ichigo could feel the years weighing on his shoulders.

'We'll keep watch. Now get a nap, ya' baby.' Shiro quipped in. The vizard snorted but easily complied, just jumping away from Aizen. He perched himself atop a tree and succumbed to sleep.

The little boy stirred and yawned loudly as he returned to the land of the living, blinking all around him in dazed confusion. Despite his inner nickname for him, the child looked at least ten years old, baby fat rounding up his cheeks slightly, but since he was a soul, he could already be a few decades older than Ichigo himself. He looked in perfect health and his gaze was clear and curious of the world around him. Ichigo really appreciated (even if it took him a while to realize) that the boy's shaggy brown hair was not slicked back and instead fell partly on his face. Every single thing that differentiated him from the maniac overlord was deeply appreciated.

The boy being currently scrutinized got up and grabbed the old, thick-framed glasses as he looked at the ashes of last night's fire. It was already late morning and a long while since Ichigo himself had woken up, eyes immediately seeking his target.

Ichigo's hand tightened on his katana. He could still do it.

'Ya don't have ta.' Shiro suddenly spoke up, startling his wielder. His Quincy counterpart was also listening closely, almost expectantly. 'There should be 'nother way ta prevent all this kaput.'

Aizen's stomach grumbled from down there and Ichigo looked down in time to see the boy clutching at his own belly in surprise, before he started actually looking around, probably for food.

"D'you suppose I can?" He asked to his spirits, the full meaning conveyed without anything more. He felt unsure. Not killing Aizen was failing everyone he knew. Not killing him was refusing to avenge his sister and friends. Not killing him meant that far in the future, there would still be a hardened and heartbroken Yuzu taking up the bow to avenge her dead sister while Ichigo was stuck on the frontline. Not killing him was returning to see her remaining sister broken after her first dozen kills and knowing he had failed his family.

'Not quite,' Zangetsu said, answering his dark thoughts, eager to take his wielder's mind off such business. Zangetsu too had been devastated then. It had been too abrupt of a development and Yuzu had almost not made it when her meager, awakened Quincy powers fought with her latent shinigami blood. Ichigo had discovered even zanpakutos could feel suicidal. 'Not doing anything certainly will amount to the future we come from. But killing Aizen is not the only way to change things.'

That would mean preventing Aizen from becoming evil.

Was it possible?

Was he willing to try?

Ichigo finally jumped down, resolve still half-assed, making his presence known. As the boy started at the sound and promptly fell on his butt upon spotting him, Ichigo consoled himself.

If anything happened, he could always kill him.

"Why are you giving me food?" Aizen-in-diapers asked as he nibbled at the roasted fish in his hands. Several meters away from him, Ichigo crouched, tense.

"Weren't you hungry? Why are you complaining?" He replied with the light bad mood he had been so well known for in his teenage years. Or at least he tried to keep it like that. The little buzz of Aizen's presence in his mind did not help at all.

"But weren't you here to kill me?"

Every single muscle of the shinigami froze almost funnily. The scary face of the other got even worse as he pinned him down with a glower. "Mind telling me how you reached that conclusion?"

The kid blinked innocent brown eyes at him. He pushed his glasses up as he answered. "It happens. It has happened twice since I've been alive. Even though I don't think it should be that common." The brunet boy paused as he cocked his head in thought. "But they don't kill them here. They take them away to Seireitei."

The former substitute shinigami blinked in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask, but promptly closed it. What if the other was lying? What would he gain from that?

Make a (supposed) shinigami officer suspicious of his own organization? Suspicious enough to be willing to betray it? To make undercover work for Aizen, to pledge loyalty to whatever fucked-up-ideology suited him best?

He couldn't be sure. He could never be sure with Aizen. He had no clue when exactly he became who Ichigo knew. Identifying this would be key to Ichigo's decisions.

If he was already off the deep end, he'd better end his life now and start looking for a way back to his time.

"What do they do to them, shinigami-san? And what will you do to me?" Aizen-in-diapers (because he simply could not call him 'Aizen' without feeling murderous) continued asking, still curious rather than frightened.

As Ichigo was pondering on his words, what would be safe to say in case this was the manipulative bastard he knew when he was mentally kicked, courtesy of the white Zangetsu.

'Stop thinkin' yaself in circles. Don't say anythin' stupid, but answer the kid already.'

"I don't know about any others." Ichigo relented, carefully. He eyed the attentiveness of the other and wondered if it was an act. "But I was out here taking a stroll. You gave me one hell of a scare." He half-lied.

"Did you knock me out?"

"Uh, no. You fell unconscious on your own." Ichigo answered, even if he knew it might be partially his fault. No need for details.

Aizen-in-diapers hummed in thought. He then raised his head again and asked, with the curiosity any children could exhibit. "What is your name, shinigami-san?"

Once more, Ichigo mentally reeled back, his mind going a mile per second trying to guess any ulterior motive behind the question and knowing that his particular surname was a big giveaway.

The name Shiba was recognized in all four corners of Soul Society after all.

And saying Kurosaki might arise some problems in the future. Given his luck, it was almost certain.

...

"…Ichigo. Just Ichigo." He grumbled under his breath, having reached a decision so fast the other didn't even notice a pause.

The boy arched an eyebrow at him. "Why do you have such a girly name?"

A vein visibly popped up on his forehead. "Oi, oi, Mr. Certified Genius, try again." He mentally winced at the puzzled expression on the other and it was Shiro who supplied him an answer. "Don't go getting on a high horse, kiddo. I mean it as an insult."

"How would 'genius' ever be used as an insult?"

"When you meet very smart people who make very stupid decisions." Ichigo supplied, picturing himself throttling Kisuke for the nth time. He clicked his tongue when the other didn't seem to be thinking very hard. He was not a strawberry goddamit! "My name means-"

"'One who protects.' Right?" The brunet exclaimed eagerly enough, jutting out a finger to the air. Ichigo nodded curtly, somewhat relieved that it was hard to correlate this child to the overlord yet very creeped out this was the baby that would make the universe itself collapse. "It's a nice name. Ah-! I'm Aizen Sousuke. Nice to meet you, Ichigo-san."

He couldn't quite hide the cringe this time.

He swore in his mind at the hurt expression of his future-nemesis.

"I'm sorry. I too think it's weird calling you by name." The boy said, looking at the floor —fucking fidgeting. "But you didn't give me a surname."

"Don't have any. Sorry kid. I just- It's been a while since I've met a stranger."

What kind of face would he make if he said he was a Shiba?

Ichigo's thought process reached a sudden halt.

Fucking hell, what was the point in hiding his surname if he looked just like the reincarnation of a certain Shiba Kaien!? Even if the other was probably still unborn they would reach a point in time when Aizen could and would connect the points. Once more, before he could start panicking it was Shiro who whacked him into gear again.

'Kaien did not have a kidou sword lodged on his skull. Nor a regular sword impaled on the face. I woulda said somethin' if ya didn't look like a three-year-old played with a knife on your face.'

Ichigo did not appreciate the mental image, but he calmed down nonetheless. He just hoped the ragged crisscrossed marks on the center of his face were enough to mask his parentage…Though coupled with the claw marks of an especially lucky hollow that forever tilted his mouth downwards and his several-times broken nose and the ever present dark rings under his eyes…

Yeah, he supposed he didn't look like his perfect-faced cousin at all.

"I'll call you shinigami-san, then." Aizen-in-diapers spoke up in what must have been a very awkward silence. Perhaps a night hadn't been enough time to settle his mind. But to be honest, Ichigo doubted a century would be enough time anyway.

"Sorry, kid." Ichigo replied, with what he hoped was an apologetic smile, not knowing what else to do. By the subsequent reaction he supposed he hadn't done it any good, but shrugged it off. He wasn't here to coddle anyone.

But still, he eased his marred and ever scary features into something more neutral, preparing himself for having a civil conversation with the Aizen-lookalike. If he needed to determinate Aizen's crazy levels, he'd need to hear him out. For that, the kid needed to be used to him and for that, well, introductions were in order.

"Let's start again. I'm Ichigo, a shinigami on temporal leave of duty. Nice meeting you, kid."

"Haha, you're so strange! Likewise, shinigami-san!" A smile spread on blasphemously innocent lips. And even as Ichigo managed to maintain his calm demeanor, inside both of Zangetsu raised their guards, ready for anything as Ichigo's hand leisurely came to rest upon his blade.

Aizen-in-diapers then proceeded to roast the last two fishes Ichigo had caught for him before offering one to him. He grinned at him across the fire, pushed up his frayed glasses and continued eating in blissful ignorance.

Dark and inscrutable, Ichigo's eyes flashed gold as he kept track of his nemesis' every move.

If there was the smallest incongruence, he swore.

Even the tiniest fact that didn't match or the smallest cruelty perceived…

He'd personally ram his sword through the infant's chest.

Either way, he wouldn't fail. He wouldn't fail his family again.

And nothing else mattered.

To be continued.

AN. So what do you think? You'll get to know more backstory in other chapters, this is more of an introduction. Poor Ichigo, he's a lot paranoid xD. It'll take a while for him to get used to this new settings of his.

I'd love to know what you thought about the story and the cover xD, and what do you think the title means? Edit: In English it's the Cross of the Chrysalis, so I'm talking about the meaning behind that. It does carry a symbology.