Chapter One: Dimensional Extensions
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, bleach, or any music, poetry, or affiliates in this story.
Sakura wove through the maelstrom of weaponry tossed by her teammates with all of the feline grace the gods had so kindly allotted her with.
'Not even…' She thought as she twisted around a kunai and flexed, jack-knifing and pulling around as she brought her leg down.
"Move!" Sasuke cried as he hauled Naruto into the trees.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The Jinchuuriki yelled as he formed a seal.
Even through the debris, Sakura knew it was Naruto. Only he would be foolish enough to call the name of his jutsu as he activated it.
Flicking a tag into the dust, she cartwheeled into the nearby trees, trailing a line from each of her slender fingers.
"Where is she!?" Naruto growled in frustration.
"Watch out!" Sasuke snarled as he registered the chakra signature of an explosive tag.
The two shinobi barely skirted the blast, sprawling awkwardly before recovering enough to attempt a landing.
"Alright! Enough!" Naruto cried as he fell back on the grass in mock-exhaustion.
"Alright, alright…" She giggled as she brought out lunch from her pack.
Ulquiorra watched from the cover of a nearby grove. He would have to move swiftly without leaving behind any evidence. This dimension's people rivaled the strength, skill, and intelligence of his own. 8
A soft step on the grass alerted Cell Seven to the presence of a visitor.
Turning to greet who they assumed was Kakashi, they were horrified to find a white-clad man…with a hole in his throat.
"What the…" Sakura trailed off, her eyes registering the armor that appeared fused to his skull.
"Who are you?!" She demanded, regaining her poise.
"It doesn't matter. But it does matter who you are." He replied, "Haruno Sakura."
"How do you know my name!?" She demanded.
"That is not of importance. My master desires you and therefore that is all I desire."
"Sasuke, Naruto…alpha formation."
They didn't respond.
"Sasuke? Naruto?" She cried in alarm as she turned to find them staring back at her through glassy eyes.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" She narrowed her eyes dangerously, "What did you do to them!?"
Ulquiorra was impressed: His spiritual pressure was literally crushing her comrades but she seemed impervious to it. But he could analyze her later, he reasoned as he moved, appearing behind her and hauling her over his shoulder with enough force to shatter her arm before she realized he had moved.
Tearing a rift in the dimensional space, he slid through the swirling vortex with the struggling kunoichi crying out to her friends.
Sakura screamed as she slid through the rift, a white horizon rushing at her with the same sound a shuriken made as it tore through the air. And then it flashed…and she found herself a urban street.
"Dammit." The strange creature holding her sighed, and then she realized they were surrounded by…shinobi? Samurai?
Whatever they were, they each wielded a sword that seemed specific to them.
"Attack!"
She couldn't see who gave the order, but she wasn't about to lose the chance to escape from the monster's hold: Twisting, she writhed from his grip and fell into a feline crouch, sprinting away from him before he could seize her.
'I'll have to return for her later.' He thought with mild irritation as he slipped back into the rift.
Sakura held her injured arm to her side, backing away from the strangely dressed individuals.
"What are you?" She wondered aloud quietly.
And then they moved in, each gripping their sword with undeniable blood lust radiating from several.
"Wait!" An orange-haired girl pressed through the crowd. "Let me help you.
Like hell.
"Stay back!" Sakura snapped, circulating chakra into her good fist.
Feeling the build of energy, Ikkakku gave the order to attack.
Sakura slammed her fist into the ground, sprinting around the disoriented Reapers.
"Stop her!" A particularly striking female yelled, as she unsheathed her sword.
Sakura moved, diving under an arrow of what she could only assume was chakra she lunged for the rooftops.
"Grow, Houzukimaru." Ikkakku ordered, whipping the staff at the kunoichi.
Sakura bounded back, flipping around a projectile that radiated a strange aura that reminded her vaguely of Tsunade's chakra.
She was attack from behind by a smaller female sporting sharply cropped black hair. Twisting, she slammed her fist into the ground at the Reapers' feet.
"Enough of this."
Sakura barely ducked under the kick that came from her left, amazed that such a lithe woman could put so much into an attack while still maintain a speed that rivaled that of anything she had seen in the shinobi world.
'Focus! Don't use your eyes, use your instinct!' Sakura told herself as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel the world around her.
Yoruichi slipped behind her, flash-stepping with enough speed to elude Byakuya, but still, she just couldn't land a hit.
They stopped suddenly…unexplainably…because of the pressure coming at them…
"Hallow!" Toshiro called.
Sakura wondered what exactly he was talking about.
She didn't have to wait long: She saw a space waver and shadowy figure sporting a skeletal mask lunged at them.
"Save the girl!" Rangiku called as she appeared before the Hallow.
The creature brushed the lieutenant aside and charged the girl.
"No!" Ichigo yelled as he vaulted over a nearby wall.
'They'll never make it….' Sakura thought as she lunged between the creature and the helpless girl.
Drawing her arm back, she drilled her chakra-powered fist into the monstrosity's jaw with a satisfying shatter.
And then she felt the attack at her back. Spinning the child away, Sakura braced for an impact that never came.
"Scatter, Zenbon Zakura."
She found herself awash in a sea of pink cherry blossom petals, and when it cleared she found herself face to face with a man who had the same eyes as Sasuke…
"Call of the attack." He said.
Dimly, she realized he obviously held rank or authority of some sort.
"Thank you!" Rukia said as she sent the girl to the next life with the blue seal her sword emanated.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Sakura asked.
"We're Shiningami. Furriers' of souls from this life to the next." The orange-haired boy replied.
"Let me heal you." A girl with the same fiery hair said as she pushed her way through the crowed.
"I can do it." Sakura replied as she formed an orb of healing chakra.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but they never left her side—on the contrary, they guarded her while she gave herself over to the healing process.
She fell back against her arm some time later, gasping for air.
And then she faltered, feeling herself fall back. But she didn't hit the ground.
No, she found herself pressed lightly against a man with blue eyes that shone through the lenses of his glasses.
"My name is Uryu." He told her as she closed her eyes, "And you are among friends."
She had no doubt she was.
TBC