A/N: It's me again! Sorry for those of you looking for another chap of my other story, but I honestly hit a wall on that one (a small one, thank goodness...I REALLY need ta get back intouch w/ mah beta...she's probably forgotten my name by now, lol.). I should be up and running...sometime...meh, but RL kicks up now and again, forcing me to be a REAL person...I know, annoying isn't it? NEways, this i dea has been kicking me in the teeth for at least a year now, along with another I shall post soon.

Please Note that the story is un-beata'd as I want to get a feel for where you all stand on the story and my base, unsharpened writing style!

^_^V

Summary: Nearly any time you see a Naruto/Bleach crossover, people think "ZOMG! Naruto's gonna be a Super-awesome, Uber-badass Captain/Arrancar/Vizard/Half-demon God of War of Giant proportions!". I can unabashedly say that I have read some Excellent stories that start off with this idea (see favorites). This is not one of them. Instead I used one of the most vile, evil, Utterly deadly, and surprisingly riddiculed villains of the Narutoverse.

That's right, Orochimaru.

In a strange land, far away from all he knew and held dear, the feared White Snake begins a new journey. He knows nothing of his former life, save the painful yet brief flashbacks and fleeting, half-imagined senses of Deja Vu. Reborn as a young child, what awaits our favorite snake, free from all the evils of his own world and the seductive purr of encroaching madness? Not all is as it seems in this realm of guardian spirits..and monsters. A great evil has all ready taken hold to the little white snake, plotting to use him for vile ends. Only time can tell of the path he shall tread, though any open to him have their own set of dangers, silently lurking in the shadows...

A Cycle, Vicious

A/N: This story starts 8 years after Yorouichi and Urahara left Seireitei.

Prologue: Unexpected.

Unohana Retsu, captain of the 4th Division of the Goteijūsantai, didn't completely understand what had drawn her out of her quarters and on this wild chase tonight. Neither she, nor any of her division, had participated in it, as she deemed it a foolish waste of time. Years later, she still had no answer, although she was glad that it had happened.

The 'chase' had started four years ago. Near the end of the Shinigami Academy's school year, a tremendous surge of fluctuating spiritual pressure was detected coming from the forests just outside the 80th district of South Rukongai. Usually, being located in the worst district, most of the more bloodthirsty residents would be scouring the countryside for such excitement, but this was not the case. The intensity of the spiritual pressure was so great that it sent most students-as well as half the Rukongai-into mass panic.

But most intriguing to her (not to mention a few other Captains) was in fact HOW the pressure felt. There was a shinigami's spiritual pressure, which felt crisp .in a sense. It weighed down upon one's own sou,l depending on the strength of it. Captain level pressure can even cause the affected to see things that aren't there, just from the sheer stress on the mind.

Then there was a Hollow's spiritual pressure. Despite the many different types of hollows, the pressure remained relatively the same: Raw, overwhelming, and primal in nature. A strong hollow's reiatsu can be especially unnerving. It gives you that feeling, as if you've just walked into a den filled with lions. And that's only the B-class hollows.

This signature though, had attributes of both.

Anyone sensitive to reishi could feel it. Then, after three days, it suddenly disappeared, and for months the 2nd and 5th Divisions lead a search for the source of the massive reiatsu, but to no avail.

Since then, ever year at a random point, the same massive wave of spiritual pressure would make itself known for a couple of days, before sliding back under the radar. What was peculiar was that it was always in just outside the 80th district of South Rukongai. The Kidoshuu, who were in charge of the gateway between the human world and Seireitei, speculated that it was a focus point for built-up reishi, which is emitted by everything to a certain extent, compounded by the arrival of new souls. There were, in fact, several of these 'focus points' around Sereitei, though they couldn't' be felt by anyone lower than a vice-captain. Of course, no one really believed that. There was something...alive...about this spiritual pressure. In the last couple years, it had become more of a sport; rookie shinigami and anyone else looking to make a name for themselves would go in search of this mystery. Somehow she knew the Kidoshuu was trying to cover up something they couldn't explain, everyone did, but no one ever confronted them about it. Many that joined the chase were part of the 11th Division, which naturally said enough.

But tonight she was going, for reasons she couldn't quite comprehend.

As she made her way out of the 4th Division's compound, she released a miniscule burst of reiatsu. The next moment she felt her vice-captain, Kotetsu Isane, land beside her.

"Unohana-taichou, I-I was just finishing some last-minute paperwork. I did not mean to disturb you." She babbled on, until Unohana held up a delicate hand. The young woman had the decency to blush at her rambling.

"It's quite alright, Isane. You didn't disturb me." She said said with a serene smile, "I called you here to accompany me on a small trip to the outskirts of the South Rukongai's District 80. I have a small matter to attend to there." She said as she started walking towards the exit, slow enough that her vice-captain wouldn't have to run to catch up.

"But Taichou, the 80th district is where that strange spiritual pressure is located. Surely there isn't..." Then it hit her.

"Yes, I am aware of that Isane. Tonight, we're going to hopefully put an end to this madness. In the very least, I hope to ascertain the cause of it." She said in her soft yet firm voice.

Isane's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Unohana-taichou was the one that told the rest of the division that they "Would not be a part of this foolishness". For her to be the one to go out into the fray, something must have changed greatly.

"Taichou, if I might ask, what brought this on? I thought you said we weren't going to get involved."

There was a moment of silence, and Isane feared she might've overstepped her boundaries, before Unohana finally spoke up, "I have a...hunch of sorts." She said, effectively ending their conversation, though not unkindly.

Only her tone betrayed the fact that she was deep in thought.

This caused Isane, who could safely say that she understood her captain well enough, more than a small bit of nervousness.

Madarame Ikkaku, 3rd seat of the 11th Division, sighed to himself for the thousandth time tonight as he stealthily made his way through the forest of the south rukongai. With him was his 4th seat, Ikkanzaka Jiroubou (real blowhard, that one, but he did have SOME skill) and his best friend and 5th seat, Ayasegawa Yumichika. Ten hours ago, they'd begun the search for the source of the disturbance, just like they do every year when the presence is felt. Only this time...

They'd found it.

Two Hours ago.

It was a nightmare. Spiritual pressure akin to that of a Captain, it was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Most of the officers, seated and unseated alike, were rooted to the spot. A few of the unseated officers passed out. Another was babbling and blubbering like an idiot. Even Ikkaku himself was affected to an extent.

"W-what is this?" one shinigami said whilst trying and failing to get up off of his hands and knees.

Then someone drew their zanpakuto, which prompted the others to do the same.

At that moment, the spiritual pressure increased and spread out even more.

This of course scared some of the higher ranked officers, one of which fired a kidou spell of in a random direction.

That's when stuff started to go downhill.

Out of nowhere some...force...collided in to the officer who fired the kido spell and the shinigami around him, sending them blasting away, only for some of them to very painfully collide with trees in the surrounding area.

Then suddenly, a deep and vicious roar filled the air and even more of them were thrown back (it nearly threw Ikkaku off of his feet, had he not used reiatsu to strengthen his limbs); though this time, they sported several gashes and cuts, not to mention torn robes. Ikkaku himself had a few cuts and scrapes, but was relatively unharmed when it died down, as were his two subordinates. This in turn caused mass panic and dozens of kidou spells were fired off in every direction. But, when someone shot a Sokatsui into a nearby group of trees, the unthinkable happened.

From that spot a small shriek came, before everything went quiet again.

Suddenly, near that same grove of trees, a tiny orb of white light appeared, effectively stopping all movement.

It grew and grew, finally stopping once it was the size of Omaeda-fukutaichou's head (at least 4 times larger than a human head!).

Then, faster than anybody could react, it fired like a column of pure spiritual energy, striking the same shinigami and propelled him through several trees before stopping, unmoving. The smell of burnt flesh was in the air and his body was bent at an odd angle.

For a while, no one DARED move, their shock preventing them from doing anything other than struggling to breath. Gradually, the spiritual pressure lessened until it was no longer felt. On the edge of his vision, the 3rd seat saw a small black...blob...move away from their position slowly, before swiveling and disappearing with what looked like shunpo.

His musings on what exactly it was were cut off, as a chorus of thuds reached his ears. Turning around, he saw that many of the officers were on the ground, panting and gasping for air. Some had finally passed out due to stress, while the ones that were standing tried to come up with an explanation for what they'd just witnessed. Most looked like they'd lost the will to fight. 'Great.' he sighed to himself.

"M-Madarame s-sir.w-was that a-a," stuttered Jiroubou as his dark eyes shifted around in nervous twitches, "I-I mean, that w-was ."

"Yes, it would seem so..." said a more composed Yumichika. He and Ikkaku were exposed to their captain's spiritual pressure on an almost daily basis, so they were more or less prepared. Though shaken, even Jiroubou seemed to be alright. 'Though he's still such an UGLY creature.' The feminine-looking young shingami thought to himself.

Looking at his friend, he asked the question that most feared would come, "Ikkaku, are we to continue pursuit? Granted there are wounded, and Ryuuzaki is dead, but a couple of the seated officers should be able to handle that." the morale, of course, dropped even lower. Sensing this, Ikkaku weighed his options. 1) Take more than 15 scared-out-of-their-fucking-minds shinigami that will be more hindrance than help, or 2) Take Yumichaka and that asswipe, Jiroubou, while the rest head back to the 11th division HQ with the wounded..

Not so much a hard choice.

Turning to the group, he gave them a grim look, "Alright, listen up you maggots!" he barked with a tone that spoke of his authority. Those that still could immediately snapped to attention, awaiting their commanding officer's orders.

"As of right now, this situation has become too dangerous for us as a unit to continue the pursuit of . As it stands, Yumichaka, Jiroubou, and myself will continue tracking the target. As for the rest of you, you shall return to division head quarters and inform the vice-captain of what happened. Gohda," here he turned to one of the seated officers, "Take four others and escort Ryuuzaki's body and the wounded to the fourth division to receive medical attention. Is that clear?" After a few shaky nods, he turned his back to them, still speaking, "Good. I advise that you go as quickly as you can without further injuring those that are heavily wounded. There's no telling if or when that thing might come after you." With that, the rest of the 11th Division departed, making their way back to the Seireitei, wounded comrades in tow.

"Oh my," Yumichaka chirped, "I do so enjoy hearing you talk with eloquence when giving orders! It lets me know that my lessons and hard work aren't going to waste!" he punctuated this with a rather effeminate giggle.

Ikkaku merely grunted, "You make it sound like I'm stupid."

"Stupidity, not being able to speak civilly, is there really a difference? Aren't you happy to have a friend like me to help with such debilitating problems?"

Ikkaku sighed, before turning to his two remaining subordinates, "You guys, this is dangerous. I have no clue what kind of hollow we're dealing with, or if it's more than one. I advise you to be on absolute guard. As CO, I'm authorizing release of zanpakutou. That thing fired a fucking Cero at us...It's time to stop messing around." With that, he drew his blade and headed in the direction of the concentrated reiatsu, Yumichika and Jiroubou following silently behind him.

In that same forest, a small black-haired child with wide and tearful golden eyes ran for dear life, stumbling here and there as he ran past the huge trees, which looked every bit as menacing as the people pursuing him. His small, under-developed mind could not comprehend the reason for their pursuit, just like what had happened when one had shot the big blue ball of hotness at him. All he remembered was it coming at him through the bushes and hitting him in the he saw white, and he felt his mouth open really he felt tired. They were still there, so he ran. 'Why, why did they chase him?' his heart cried. And the scary man, with the brown head, and the squares on his eyes. with the empty smile and the red ball in his hand. Every time the boy saw the head hurt, and he'd wake up, only for the man to be gone...then the bad people came.

He stumbled on a root and tumbled to the ground, scraping his cheek. As he struggled to get up of the ground, his little body instinctively seized up with fear, and he looked up through teary eyes. It was the brown-headed man...

He held out the red ball, and squeezed it. The little boy's eyes golden orbs glowed, a look of vacancy taking root.

Pain threatened to nearly rip open his head.

His chest rumbled, and his mouth opened wide.

All bled white, the forest shook.

Alright! That's a wrap for now! Tell me what you think? should I continue it? What ideas could i add to it? Let me know. R&R plz!

Thanks for reading *bows at the waist*,

J.A.