Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto.
Summary: I will begin by explaining that this story shall go no further under my direction. I do not have the drive nor ability to take it further. That said some explanations.
I consider myself now to be more of an idea's man than a writer because every once in a while I'll come up with an idea I think is interesting for a story and I'll sit down to try and write it but I'll only get so far before everything stalls for months, or even years, on end. Therefore I present this as an idea, as a potential base for others to work from should the chose to adopt this fic as their own.
The premise of this was formed in the recent Bleach arc where we learnt something about Sasakibe Chojiro and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's back-story. Before Yamamoto himself was killed – in a manner that still annoys me today – Sasakibe was killed off by that manga's author, and I wanted to make a story where Sasakibe was one of the main characters.
I could have gone down any route I wanted with the story, but I was in a crossover mood and I quite liked the idea of Sasakibe becoming Naruto's teacher in the Shinigami arts, partly, I have to admit, because I have always liked the idea of Kurama the Kyuubi being Naruto's Zanpakto and his Shikai becoming similar to Abari Renji's Bankai – in so much as Naruto gets a costume with some kind of Fox pelt – and his Bankai being the fox-cloak with each of the nine-tails representing a power-up – so that he would only have one tail when he originally acquired Bankai but nine when it was fully mature.
As for how Naruto was to get to the Bleach world, I was not entirely sure of that. I imagined some cataclysmic destruction of his own world caused by Uchiha Madara and Obito forcing him to loose his life and his memories and be flung into Rukongai as the only survivor of his world. But I wouldn't hold anyone to that idea should they choose to adopt this fic.
And the title was a last minute addition so could be changed by anyone who wants to adopt it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
/\/\/The Lightning Maelstrom\/\/\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chojiro Sasakibe, Fuku-taicho of the 1st division of the Gotei 13 was, unusually for him, on patrol in Rukongai. Usually when it fell to his division to patrol he would send lower seated officers, but this day he had decided that he wanted some time off from his paper work and a stroll around the streets of Rukongai was a pleasant enough experience most of the time.
It was as he was passing through the 78th district that he felt a spike it reiatsu so powerful that it matched his own. Natural curiosity drove him to seek the source of such power, but this was a harder task than one might expect, for whoever, or whatever, the power emanated from was somehow capable of masking his full strength.
For hours Sasakibe searched the district, but in every corner he looked his search was fruitless. At last he came to a forested area near a river and stopped to rest and regain his bearings. Perhaps the search had taken more out of him than he first realized for he soon fell asleep.
An hour or so later Sasakibe was woken by the rustling of branches and a splashing sound from the river. Sitting up he glanced around to find the source of the noise. It came from a boy, looking no older physically than his teen years, only around 5 foot five inches high and relatively sturdy of build, blonde haired and dressed in ragged white clothes. He appeared to be fishing with his hands, as, every once in a while, he was swipe at the water and send a fish onto the bank.
"A boy?" Sasakibe blinked in surprise. Rising up slowly and as non-threateningly as he could approached the boy. "What are you doing out here?"
The reaction was not anything that Sasakibe would have anticipate for rather than respond to his inquiry, or adopt the traditional deer-in-the-headlights look, or run away, as other children would have, the boy spun on the spot, hands and feet on the floor and back arched, and bared his teeth at the Fuku-taicho and begun growling deep a low, as if he was some kind of animal. "Grrrr!"
Sasakibe, taken somewhat aback by this behaviour, endeavoured to present a non-threatening appearance, holding his hands out wide in an attempt to show he was not about to reach for his zanpakto. "Stay calm child. I mean you no harm."
Sasakibe's attempts, however, were to prove fruitless for the boy was not calmed by them, instead he seemed to become enraged. The growling coming from the boy became lower and more guttural, and he shrank further back into himself as if in pain.
Sasakibe, who was a caring individual in truth, grew concerned that the boy might have been hurt and began to walk towards him, intending to offer him aid, but as soon as he took the first step the boy leapt at him, making a "Grragh!" sound, and swiped at him. As the boy advanced his reiatsu swelled and grew, and around his hand formed a visible claw made up of the spiritual energy.
"What?" Sasakibe uttered as he ducked the boy's swipe. He turned to where the boy had landed to see five gashes out of the forest, cutting through everything that stood in its path up to some fifteen meters. Sasakibe could only stand in shock as he felt the boy's reitsu continue to swell. "…what power. His reitsu is easily captain level." He muttered to himself, and then he drew himself up to his full height and observed the growling boy with some trepidation. "Who are you?"
He received no response. Instead the boy continued to growl and began circling him. Several more time the boy leapt and swiped at him, other times he snapped his teeth, after some minutes the entire area was looking like a war zone and the boy showed no signs of relenting.
Such a wild, uncontrolled way of fighting proved no challenge to a man such as Sasakibe, but if things continued it could cause problems for the spirits in the nearby district, or any lesser Shinigami who happened by. Sasakibe thus felt it his duty to address this situation fully to prevent such an occurrence.
"I have to restrain him before he causes any serious damage." He said to himself as he ducked and dodged the boy's wild swipes and bites. He raised his hand and begun chanting silently then declared "Way of Binding No. 4, Hainawa!"
A golden coloured rope of reiatsu sped from Sasakibe's hand and surrounded the boy, binding his arms to his body mid-jump and resulting in the boy landing harshly on the ground.
Sasakibe approached the boy as he snarled and thrashed and attempted to remove the binging spell "Now; will you calm yourself? Where did you come from child? How long have you been in Rukongai? It cannot have been long, for someone of your potential will have been discovered quickly. Can you even understand me?"
The boy refused to respond, instead he continues to snarl and growl, and thrashed even more violently in his bonds. "It is no use struggling. You will not be able to break free of my Kido as you are." Sasakibe chided. Even one possessing such reiastu as this boy could not break free of a well formed Kido from someone of Sasakibe's power without refinement. But while this was true the boy refused to listen and continued to struggle. "H-hey! You'll hurt yourself if you continue. Hey!"
Then something happened which Sasakibe had not predicted. The boy's reiastu spiked and doubled itself. The golden ropes of Hainawa began to flicker as the boy's power assaults it, until it dissipated and the boy once more swiped at the Fuku-tachio, forcing Sasakibe to leap away as the ground surrounding the boy was reduced to a crater. "What?!"
No sooner had Sasakibe escape the blast than the boy was upon him again, swiping, clawing, scratching and biting at him, it took all of his concentration to avoid being hit, but this was not to last. Sasakibe was caught by a left handed swipe and found himself flying several feet away and crashing through several tree.
He wiped some blood away from his face and marvelled at the boy who had inflicted the wound as he rise. "Incredible. You potential is…extraordinary! I'll have to resort to stronger methods to contain you. Ugate Gonryumaru!"
Thus Sasakibe drew his Zanpakto and released its shikai form. It transformed into a rapier and with the speed increase granted to him by the lightning blade he was able to dodge and deflect the boy wild attacks with ease. He had no intention of hurting the boy but he needed to use his shikai to give himself enough of an edge to prepare a stronger binding spell.
After some minutes of chanting, dodging the boy's attacks as best he could – a task that became more and more difficult as the fight progressed, Sasakibe spoke his spell once more. "Way of Binding No. 63, Sajo Sabaku!"
A golden reiatsu chain descended on the boy and tightly wrapped him, once more forcing him to the floor. Mere power could not break such a spell, and power was all that the boy possessed at this time, so Sasakibe was sure this would contain him. He approached the boy again as he lay bound and growling and addressed him. "You are strong, but unrefined. By your behaviour you could be seen as a danger to Soul Society and it may be safer to finish you here, but I will not be the one to end such potential. Eijisai-Dono will decide your fate."
At this moment a black-haired woman darted from the bushed carrying a baby girl and leapt between him and the boy. "Don't hurt him!" she cried.
Sasakibe regarded her for a moment. "…why do you wish to protect this child?"
The woman looked nervous and worried but she bowed low and spoke quickly and clearly. "Please Shinigami-sama! I know he's not exactly sane but he's a good boy! He's been protecting me and my sister for months, and Rukia-Chan would have starved if he hadn't been with us. I beg you, please, don't hurt him."
Sasakibe could see the tears this woman cried in desperation to protect the boy, and he was not a heartless man, he cancelled his shikai and placed his Zanpakto back in his belt. "…I cannot guarantee that he will not be hurt, but I assure you that I have no intention of causing him any further pain."
The woman looked up with hope and gratitude in her eyed. "Thank you! Thank you Shinigami-Sama!" then she paused and regarded him. The nervous look returned to her face and she stuttered out a question. "Are – are you going to take him with you?"
Sasakibe nodded his head. "I have to. I cannot leave him here. If he remains here he may unintentionally cause harm to those around him simply with his unrefined reiatsu, not to mention his animalistic behaviour. He needs training to control it, and, if possible, I wish to see that he gets it."
The woman blinked in surprise. "You want to make him a Shinigami?"
Sasakibe bowed his head and closed his eyes in contemplation. "That is my hope, but it will be the decision of the Soutaicho. If he is as bestial as he appears then all hope will be lost."
"I know he acts like an animal, but he is a good boy, honestly. I've never seen him attack anyone that hasn't threatened him first, or threatened us." The woman protested, and the desperation in her voice was palpable as she defended the boy's character.
Sasakibe could only regard her with curiosity. "I wonder why he chose to attack me."
"Please don't judge him by that. I don't think he's ever seen a Shinigami before, you probably startled him, and with my sister and I so close by he probably saw you as a threat. He can be quite possessive." She said in worry, though a fond look entered her eye as she glanced back at the boy.
"Then I pray you are correct. I would not wish to see someone with such unforfilled promise ended before his time." Sasakibe answered and silence once more fell.
After a moment or two the woman once more broke the silence. "So you're still going to take him with you?"
"Yes." He confirmed.
"Then…then, can we say goodbye to him." She bowed her head as if she expected a refusal.
Sasakibe regarded her again, and wondered if Shinigami had such a reputation in these parts that they would be seen as heartless. "…I would not refuse such a request, but you must understand that I will not release him." The boy had attacked him after all.
"I understand. And thank you." She answered and bowed again in thanks. She turned back to the boy immediately and knelt down beside him, placing the baby on the floor so that she could reach out and raise his head to look at here. "Hey there, um, I want to thank you for everything you've done for me and Rukia these past three months, we wouldn't have survived without you, but you'll be better off with the Shinigami, they-they can help you far more than we can. I will always remember you, and I'll always love you as a brother, and I'll make sure Rukia never forgets you either. So, err, thank you and goodbye." She quickly embraced the boy and turned back to Sasakibe
The woman approached him and, with some resolve, spoke to him. "You'll do your best to keep him safe? And, and look out for him?"
"I will do what I can." Sasakibe conceded with a bow of his head.
She scooped up the baby into her arms without looking at the boy and turned her back on him, then spoke once more to Sasakibe "I-I think its best if you go now."
He nodded once more and walked past her to pick up the boy. He lifted the boy over his shoulder and began to walk away. The last thing he heard was the baby's voice crying out "Bye-Bye Kit-Chan" as he shunpoed away.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Taicho of the 1st Division and Soutaicho of the Gotei 13, was disturbed during a quiet moment of contemplation over tea with an urgent message from his Fuku-taicho to meet in the 1st Division's assembly hall.
Sasakibe was not one to make a fuss out of any small event, and Yamamoto knew this, so he assumed the matter must be of great importance to disturb him. Thus he places aside his tea and walked to the assembly hall in relative haste.
Upon entering the room he spotted his lieutenant standing over a boy bound by a Kido. The boy was thrashing in his bonds, but apart from that there seems to be no urgency in the room at all. The boy's actions were attracting curiosity from others but little more than that, while Sasakibe stood looking eager but worried at the same time.
Yamamoto say at the head of the hall and struck the floor once with Ryujin Jakka and waited for the echo of that action to die down before speaking.
"What is the meaning of this Chojiro?" He said and regarded his Fuku-taicho through half-lidded eye.
Sasakibe collected himself and bowed before his captain. "Eijisai-Dono, I found this boy in Rukongai, he possesses the greatest potential I have ever seen. He was capable of pressing me in battle, I was forced to activate my Shikai to best him, had he not been so unrefined I may have lost."
Yamamoto sat unmoving, the only movement came when he opened his eyes fully to regard his lieutenant closely. "And what do you intend to do with him?"
Sasakibe remained bowed as he spoke, his answer coming in quick and precise word. "While he possesses this potential he is, unfortunately, a beast in behaviour, I am not sure whether he can even speak, and he could present a considerable danger to Soul Society if left unchecked." Sasakibe paused, and it was this moment that Yamamoto realised how nervous his subordinate was, and, in some ways, Yamamoto knew what his lieutenant would say next. "Eijisai-Dono, if possible, I want to train him."
Yamamoto sighed inwardly. "Chojiro…if he has no reason then it would be better to be rid of him now, and avoid future problems."
"I understand that Eijisai-Dono. I know he may be uncontrollable, and I know that what I propose is risky, but I – I cannot bring myself to kill one who possesses such promise." Sasakibe stubbornly refused to raise his head.
"Hmph." Yamamoto could only regard his Fuku-taicho and let his thoughts play in his mind. If Sasakibe was going so far with this matter then he would at least humour him. "Let me look at the boy closer." He said and rose to walk to the bound boy. Glancing down he locked eyes with the boy and stared deep within them. "Do you understand me child? Look in my eyes. What do you see? What thoughts do you possess?" Moments passed uncounted, silent and tense, until at last Yamamoto turned away and looked to Sasakibe and, with a somewhat resigned tone, he said "It is as you say Chojiro, he is like a beast, there is no sentience in his eyes, no understanding…I cannot allow him to be trained."
"Eijisai-Dono…" Sasakibe at last lifted his head and in his eyes was the glimmer of regret and disappointment.
Yamamoto realised this must have been a blow to his friend and subordinate but he could not all that to sway him on the matter. What he did, he did for the good of Soul Society, and he could not allow a friendship to cloud that Soutaicho stood, glanced at the boy as he spoke. "Understand, I do not make this decision lightly. I sense his potential easily, and I know he could be a great asset to the Gotei 13, however, as he is now, there is no certainty that he would not simply bite the hand that feeds him. If there was a shred of reason to be found in his mind I might have condoned it, but there is not."
Sasakibe hesitated to reply, which intrigued Yamamoto. "...I'm not so sure."
"Hmm?" The Soutaicho raised and eyebrow.
"When I found the child he was foraging food. It may have been for himself but shortly after I subdued him a woman and child emerged and spoke for him. It appears that he had been their protector and provider for the past three months." Sasakibe spoke with some enthusiasm.
Sasakibe's enthusiasm forced Yamamoto to pause even further for thought. He contemplated the statement for a moment and regarded both his subordinate and the boy. "…and you believe this is proof enough that he possesses some rational thought?"
Sasakibe squirmed a little as he devised his answer. "Perhaps not rational thought, but, perhaps, a compassion and desire to protect the weak that could be nurtured and used to control him and, in time, help teach him."
"Hmm." Yamamoto threw the idea into his mind, and dwelt on the matter for a time. "I do not have your faith in this matter."
Sensing he was about to lose his chance Sasakibe bowed low once more and, thought it would shame him to admit it, he begged for this opportunity. "Please Eijisai-Dono! All I ask for is a chance. Let me attempt to train him, if I fail he can be dealt with however you see fit."
Such conviction from his usually reserved subordinate took Yamamoto by surprise, and he could not help but wonder why Chojiro was going so far to advance the case of the boy. "You are prepared to go to such lengths for this child?"
"Yes Eijisai-Dono!" the Fuku-taicho's response came immediately, with firm conviction and at a considerable volume.
The Soutaicho could not help but feel a little cornered. His Fuku-taicho rarely went to such lengths, and never before over the issue of a potential student. "Hmph. Very well. I shall condone you in this endeavour, but the boy must be leashed. His power will be bound and restricted until he proves himself either worthy or unworthy of trust, and you shall be responsible for his actions."
Sasakibe glanced up with a grateful look."Yes Eijisai-Dono!" he said and bowed low again.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The binding ritual was performed shortly thereafter. Eight members of the 1st division with reiastu the general level of a Fukutaicho formed an octagon around the boy, chanting eight different kinds of binding spell, while Yamamoto himself performed the final binding. The result was eight different tattoos, each rectangular in appearance, appearing around the neck on his chest and back. These would remain until he had either proven his loyalty and they were released or until the man who imposed the seal upon him died – which was precisely the reason Yamamoto had insisted that he had to be the man to perform the binding.
It was a painful procedure and the boy cried out in agony during the whole two hours it took to perform it, and once it was finished he was drained of all energy. It was a simple enough task for Sasakibe to take the boy away to the barracks and prepare rooms next to his own for him.
Entering the room that was bare save for a futon, a chair and a table Sasakibe addressed his new student. "These will be your quarters for the time being. You will not be allowed outside without an escort, and you will meet with me every morning for lessons, but tomorrow I shall take you to the Forth Division to receive a medical, maybe they will be able to discover a cause for your mental state."
The boy would have growled at him again but all energy had left him. Instead he settled for a half-hearted glare as he collapsed on the futon. This done the boy expected Sasakibe to leave him alone but instead he hovered in the doorway.
Sasakibe regarded the boy, who was now his student, and felt that he could not continue to think of him as some namely wild-child, and the boy would need to know his name, so he spoke to the boy.
"I know this is somewhat late in coming, and very rude of me I must admit, but introductions are in order. I am Sasakibe Chojiro, Fuku-Taicho of the 1st Division of the Gotei 13" He bowed.
The boy didn't even move and inch from where he lay and Sasakibe turned his head in thought. "…I cannot keep calling you child. What was it that girl called you? Kit-Chan?" somehow the boy found the effort to rise up and snarl at him. Sasakibe could only shake his head. "No, I don't think either of us would be happy if I used that term."
"Would you be happy with Kitsuhiko?" The Fuku-taicho asked after a moment. The only reply the boy gave was a huff of air before he collapsed back onto the futon. Sasakibe shook his head again at the response. "At any rate it will suffice for now, we can discuss names in greater detail later. Get some sleep Kitsuhiko, tomorrow will be a busy day for both of us."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The boy dreamt.
In his dreams he was in a large sewer system, wet and dank and dark. He moved through these sewers endlessly, running as if he was being chased by some unseen assailant.
He turned a corner and suddenly he was falling. Falling though a clear blue sky into a city build before a mountain with five faces carved into its side and surrounded by a red wall. When he hit the ground he felt no pain.
There was no one in this city. The streets were empty, the parks abandoned and the shops and stalls closed. There were not even any animal to be found. The whole place was empty.
He wandered this city, aimlessly and without purpose, curious about the strange familiarity he felt but bewildered by it. Inexplicably he was drawn to the large red tower by the mountain and found himself entering it. He searched the building room by room and came upon an abandoned office where a large wooden table sat piled high with paperwork and a chair stood unoccupied save for a large red pyramid shaped hat.
He approached the chair and regarded the hat with a turn of his head. The hat was something which plagued his mind. It was something he felt he should know, something he thought was important. He poked at it, then took it in his hands and examined it closely. It was something really important to him…something he used to dream about…but what was it.
The boy couldn't remember. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he strained his mind he just couldn't remember why the hat was important or what it represented.
He threw the hat back on the chair in frustration and left the room and the building. Once more wandering aimlessly around this empty city he found his way to the top of the mountain and sat upon the fourth head. From here he could look out across the whole city, and still he felt a nagging sensation that he knew what this place way but that's all it was, a feeling in the back of his mind, no memories were forthcoming.
Suddenly the light from the sky was blocked out as a large shadow cast over him and the city. Before he could react he was held fast in an enormous paw and lifted high above the mountain. He turned in the paw and came face to face with the largest fox he could ever have imagined, a fox with nine enormous tails.
The fox smiled at him, a wide toothy smile which held no malice at all. "Do you remember me gaki?" The fox asked jovialy.
"Grrr." The boy growled and snarled and twisted in the fox's grip.
The fox laughed loud at the boy's action. "Ha! Your foolish attempt to intimidate me won't work. I have seen far more fearsome things in my existence than a child pretending to be an animal. Speak. Or have you forgotten how?"
Something stirred in the boy's memories. Thoughts formed pictured and pictures formed into letters which formed words. No great number of words but they were there, within his grasp. Still the boy could not help but growl and snarl again as he tried to form them. "Grrrr…who?"
The fox gave a short cheer of triumph "So you can speak! Then, gaki, continue, speak your mind." The fox grinned down at the boy
"…who…am…I?" the boy forced the words out and gazed up at the fox in desperation. The burning need to know overwhelming everything else, and, for come reason, he felt pity coming from the fox in return.
"So that Uchiha really did a number on you, to make you forget even your own name, and reduce you to this. Your name is Uzumaki Naruto. Never forget it!" The conviction behind the words touched the boy's soul. The name. It formed his very fibre. He was Uzumaki Naruto, it was so right, so undeniably right, that it hurt him to think of it, a pain so deep that it touched every corner of his heart and soul.
"I am…Naruto…" he spoke in wonder and some despair, and repeated the phrase over and over again in his mind, until at last he returned his gaze to the fox. "…who are you?"
The fox's eyes were sympathetic and he turned his head to one side to regard the boy fondly "You know me. We share a connection deeper than blood; our very souls have been linked since the day of your birth, though when I was sealed I never expected this to happen. Remember me Naruto, I am _"
"…."
"You cannot hear my name?!" The fox roared at the boy's blank stare. The sympathy, pity and compassion it had shown previously erased by anger and hurt. "Have you fallen so far?! Have you lost everything?!"
The boy felt his own expression melt into one of sadness and confusion. "…I…do not understand…"
With a movement far swifter than he could ever have imagined the boy found himself brought within touching distance of the fox's eye, close enough that the anger within it was palpable, almost a physical form in and of itself. "Then you are a fool! And this is a waste of time!" This said the fox cast the boy back to the mountain top. "Go away gaki! And when we speak again I will expect better of you!" and with that the fox turned away and allowed one of its nine tails to strike the boy, sending him flying back up into the sewers as the city began to fade.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Day light shone into the barracks of the 1st Division of the Gotei 13. The blonde headed boy stirred little, a small twist and groan every once in a while but nothing major. He seemed comfortable, almost content.
At least, that's the way Sasakibe chose to interpret it as he walked into the room to wake his new charge.
"Wake up Kitsuhiko." He spoke as he walked over to the window to draw the curtain and let the light in. "Unohana-Taicho is a busy woman. We cannot keep her waiting."
The only noise that came from the boy was a "Nnnaarrr" as he twisted onto his side to face Sasakibe.
The Fuku-taicho merely shook his head at the boy's sluggishness and moved to the boy's side. Casting off the boy's covers he reprimanded him gently. "Snarling will not make things any easier. We have a schedule to keep, and lying in bed all day will do nothing to help."
The boy gaze at Sasakibe with a more rational look than he had ever displayed before. It was almost as if, should you look closely, you could see the cogs of his mind turning and forming the thoughts he needed. "..Narrruuto."
"…Na-ru-to?" Sasakibe blinked in surprise.
"…I….am….Narruuto! Uzumaki Naruto!"