I do not own Bleach or Naruto. This story is solely for entertainment. Please support the official release. –Purple-rain20

"No, you're lying. You have to be lying!"

A man with pale blond hair, and an even paler face, lay on his bed looking at his best friend with sad eyes. He never wanted her to find out, especially in this way. But he knew it was going to happen anyways. He smiled at his friend sadly, "Yoruichi my dear," he said weakly, "I didn't keep this from you to hurt you. I just wanted to…protect you." The woman named Yoruichi glared at the man through tears, "Idiot," she yelled at him, "If you had said something sooner, it wouldn't be like this! Why do you have to do this to yourself, Kisuke? Answer me!" The man named Kisuke now had a solemn expression on his face, he coughed slightly and answered, "I wanted to make a difference in the shinobi world." Yoruichi gave him a strange look, Shinigami and shinobi didn't associate in any shape or form, and each held a small amount of contempt for each other. The last few centuries were nothing but war between them, but the newer generations simply dismissed them as a myth. They hadn't interacted with each other since then. "What does the shinobi have to do with your condition, Kisuke?" she questioned angrily, "You're laying here dying before my eyes and you want to mention ninja?" The blond man smiled at his friend's tirade and sighed, "When a Shinigami dies, their Zanpakuto dies as well," he paused as he coughed, "I figured out a way to challenge that, so when I die, Benihime stays alive."

Yoruichi's eyes widened at her best friend's words and lowered herself back into her chair, "What? That's not possible! Benihime is a part of your soul!" The cat woman couldn't wrap her mind around what her lifelong friend was telling her. "After Ichigo defeated Aizen, I was messing around with the Hogyoku," Kisuke explained as he coughed more, but this time he coughed up blood. "Kisuke!" Yoruichi exclaimed fearfully as she rushed to his side. He waved her off gently, "It's al…right, I'm fine," he said quietly. "I wanted to do more test on the Hogyoku, I wanted to see if I could materialize the Zanpakuto itself into its being by the will of their wielder," he chuckled lightly, "it didn't work as well as I thought." Yoruichi frowned heavily, "You have to be kidding me! You risked your life for a stupid experiment!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, her closest friend, and her lover (on random occasions), he was withering away right before eyes over something stupid he did, and she couldn't do a thing about it. She started to cry and Kisuke held her hand to console her, "It's alright, Yoru-chan," he whispered, "please don't cry." Yoruichi blinked back tears, "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked as she willed herself to stop whimpering. The blond man smiled softly and pointed towards a closet door, "Could you open the door and take out Benihime for me," he asked weakly. A few moments later Yoruichi came back with Benihime, Kisuke had turned it back to its katana form. He took it from her and laid it down beside him. "Well, here's the real thing I want you to do," he said, "I want you to go to the World of the Shinobi, and give this sword to a boy named Naruto Uzumaki. And train him in the way of the Shinigami." Yoruichi immediately protested, "Are you crazy? You want me to give Benihime to a ninja? Old Man Yama will rip me apart!" The cat woman was staunchly against Kisuke's final request, but still knew she needed to do this anyways. Urahara chuckled as he played with his paper fan, "Heh, you're right, but look at the big picture. We know already that the Quincy's are coming back for revenge, and by giving the boy my Zanpakuto, we could possibly earn the shinobi's trust for the upcoming war."

Yoruichi scowled as she tightened her hands into fists, the damned Quincy's announced only a few months ago that they were going to take over the Soul Society in the upcoming years. When they were going to do it, no one knew. That's why preparation was vital. "What's so special about this boy?" she questioned him. Urahara put on a serious expression, "He has the Kyubi inside of him, and if you mix that power in with Benihime's power, he will be immensely strong. Perfect against the Quincy's." Kisuke waited for Yoruichi's response, he knew that she wouldn't like the idea of that, just turning over the power of the Shinigami to a bunch of knife-throwing brutes. "So he's basically a tool? A tool of war? That's insane!" Urahara coughed violently for a few minutes before answering her, "He won't be a tool unless he wants to be, he'll be the link between Shinigami and Shinobi, and he will end the conflict between us from the last centuries. He's special, Yoru-chan."

The purple-haired woman resigned herself to the fact that this Uzumaki kid could save the world if she does this. "What does he look like?" she asked curiously. Urahara hummed playfully, "Ok, let's see: blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks on his face, huge temper, oh my. He'll be a handful for you to train, alright. Sort of like Ichigo." Yoruichi chuckled, training another Ichigo, albeit a temperamental, was going to be a challenge. Kisuke rummaged through his pajama pocked and took out a picture of the kid and a white-haired man. "This is Naruto-kun…. and his guard…ian, Jiraiya. I've spoken to Jiraiya a few times… and he knows what you're….going to do." he said as he gasped for breath Yoruichi took the picture and put in in her pocket and stroked Kisuke's cheek, "I'll do my best, Kisuke-kun, I promise." Kisuke smiled, "Thank you, Yoru-chan. I…know. I…love….you," he said with his dying breath. Yoruichi let the tears that were forming in her eyes now fall freely as she sobbed into her deceased friend's chest.

"I love you too, Kisuke."

A little while later, Yoruichi left Kisuke's room and was immediately confronted by Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad. "How's Urahara?" Ichigo questioned quickly, "Is he-?" Yoruichi put a hand on his shoulder to interrupt him, "No, Ichigo," she said quietly, "he's gone." Ichigo's face twisted up in grief as he punched the wall, "Damn it!" Rukia turned to console Orihime, who was starting to cry. Chad and Uryu kept silent, still shocked by the news.

Yoruichi sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, "I'm going to be gone for a few years, Kisuke wanted me to finish a mission of his." Rukia looked at her curiously, "Like what?" Yoruichi put up one hand that had Benihime in it and the other hand that held the picture, "He wanted me to give Benihime to this boy, with it, he can save the world."

Ichigo gave her a puzzled look as he examined the picture, the boy was wearing a headband with a weird squiggle on it. "That's a shinobi head band," he murmured, "he wants you to give the Zanpakuto to a shinobi?" Yoruichi nodded, "This boy is special, I have to leave now."

As Yoruichi headed for the door, Ichigo called out to her, "Aren't you at least going to stay for a funeral?" he question angrily. The purple haired woman turned around slowly as the tears started their course down her cheeks, "I wish I could, but this can't wait. He'll understand. If I need help, I'll send for you."

Yoruichi left the shop and shunpo-ed her way to the Land of the Shinobi. Even as fast as she was, it would at least take a month to get there. "Don't you worry, Kisuke," she thought as she traveled.

"I won't let you down."

I was dying to write this story! Thanks for reading!