Here's chapter two! I'm doing my best to make it different than any other crossover I've seen. I have a plot in mind, too, so don't worry. I failed to mention in the first chapter that I do not own Naruto or Bleach. Though it would be awesome if I did, wouldn't it. Haha. If only.
Anyways, enjoy?
"You don't even know how to get home? Baka!" She interjected, whacking him on the back of the head like she always did Naruto.
Ichigo stumbled forward, rubbing his head and grinding his teeth. "What the hell was that for? You mad woman!"
Sakura puffed out her cheeks, exhaling her irritation out and away. "You're just a dummy, that's all." She told him, crossing her arms. She ignored the dangerous look he gave. "What kind of person doesn't know their way home? This is 'Konohagakure' for crying out loud! We're the most powerful shinobi village in all of the great nations! Just walk a few miles left and you'll enter another awesome nation!"
The orange-haired boy coughed up his surprise, choking on her words. "Shinobi? Great nations?"
The female raised her eyebrows, giving him another look. Now that she thought about it, he definitely looked like a foreigner. That thought alone was enough to make Sakura wonder where he had come from. However, this was neither the time nor the place to deceiver all of that. "Yes, shinobi. Surely you're a ninja yourself. With that huge sword, you have to be one of the Seven Swordsmen from the mist, right?"
Ichigo shook his head. "I wish I knew what that was."
She narrowed her eyes. Was he lying to her? Everyone knew about the Seven Swordsmen! Everyone! Ichigo should not have been the exception. She felt he was being incredibly dishonest. There had to be something she was missing…
After a brief moment of nothing but silence, her companion stopped. Sakura turned to him, wondering and curious about his reasons.
"If I'm going to figure any of this out, it's certainly not going to be with the likes of you." Ichigo told her, brushing her off as if she was a hair.
As a natural result, she was fuming. "THE LIKES OF ME? What's so wrong with me? I'm an incredibly talented shinobi from Konohagakure, you should be admiring my mere presence!" She barked at him, catching up with a defiant look to her face.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll pass. Besides, I still don't know what you're talking about. And there are plenty of reasons why I don't want to be near you."
His words only made her angrier. "Well then fire away and explain to me!"
Ichigo sped up his walking pace. He just wanted this dragging conversation to be over with. "You're loud." He told her, making a sharp turn in an effort to lose her. His efforts were futile; Sakura was always right next to him, waiting for an explanation. He sighed. He saw no reason not to humor her. "You're demanding, rough, unkind, and incredibly violent!"
This time his effort had succeeded. She stopped her brisk pace, coming to a close on her thoughts. Was that really her? Was that how complete strangers saw her? It was so incredibly hard for her to believe. Had people told her this before, and was she listening when they did? Annoyance bubbled under her skin, and she was prepared to demand an apology from Ichigo. However, it seemed there were more pressing matters. Already, her new acquaintance was heading for the Land of Fire's borders. They were in unsafe territory.
"Wait, Ichigo!" She called after. He did not turn around, or even take solace in knowing she was finally a good distance away. He had already blocked her out of his mind. This caused her to huff, cross her arms, and argue with herself on going after him. In the end, she decided to do the right thing. She once again caught up to him, reaching out to his shoulder. Her touch inevitably stopped him, making him turn around to look at her.
"Stop right there! Don't go any further!" She told him.
He sneered, "Why?"
Something in the forest was moving. The wind was not the only thing ruffling the bushes, and the trees. Sakura's eyes widened. 'Shit! How far have we gone?' She asked herself. Ichigo noticed the change in environment as well. Both people tensed, prepared to fight whatever there was. Prepared to give their lives to take down the assailant. The two stood back-to-back, slowly turning to get a full view of everything and anything they faced. To Ichigo's right something whizzed passed them. To make matters worse, Sakura heard a growling noise smack-dab in front of her.
It wasn't long before five or six huge, gleaming wolves stepped out from the trees and the vast foliage. Their sharp teeth were barred, their fur glowing in the brief flashes of sunlight that passed through the trees. In all of their magnificent beauty, these creatures were incredibly dangerous. Sakura recognized them clearly as specially trained ninja dogs. Yet not the normal type of summons. Each one of them was a beefy-looking wolf the size of an Inuzuka canine. The dogs slowly surrounded the duo, growling all the way. Just being around them was menacing.
Ichigo had never seen such huge wolves in his life. (Well, except for that one captain with a wolf-head back in Soul Society, but he didn't feel that counted.) He looked towards Sakura from the corner of her eye, wondering he per chance she knew anything about this.
To his amazement, the girl had more strength than she violently let on. Without a moment's notice, she rushed foreword and punched the closet wolf in the jaw. The animal sheepishly winced, being hit with such a force that sent him barreling into nearby a tree. As if that wasn't enough, Sakura dashed to the next wolf and gave the same delivering blow to the stomach. Only this one knocked out a second wolf that had been wandering behind it. Ichigo was pleasantly surprised to have met her. In this strange place, he wasn't sure he could take the wolves. And he wasn't prepared to use his Bankai on anything without knowing what he was facing.
Though he couldn't watch the commotion any longer, he needed to do his fair share of fighting too. Even if he wanted to watch what Sakura did, a third wolf did not give him the chance. The wolf jumped right to him, its hands clawing for his face as it jumped through the air. Ichigo clasped his hand onto Zangetsu, the wraps releasing. He swung his blade at the wolf, slashing it cleanly and sending it reeling back. Ichigo was readily prepared for a rebound from the wolf but it was out cold. A curious sight it was to see. As much as Ichigo wanted to stick around to bask in his glory of taking down such a huge monster in one shot, he was distracted by Sakura. So effortlessly she had run to him, grabbed his hand, and zoomed away.
"Let's get out of here!" She told him, her feet so wild they kicked dirt numerous times into his face.
He coughed, wiping his eyes. "Why? I still have to look for someone!" He told her, doing his best to tear away from her grasp. Yet her strength was surprisingly strong for a girl. After a good amount of time wasted trying to tear away, Ichigo inevitably gave up. He held Zangetsu behind his back, allowing it to fasten itself to the red rope he had around his torso. It was so magnificent how Zangetsu could just wrap and unwrap itself when needed.
When they seemed a fair distance away, Sakura slowed down, loosening her grasp enough for Ichigo to pull his hand back and inspect the damage. "Damn, my skin is all red. You nearly cut off my circulation." He mumbled, sending her very disapproving looks.
She waved her hand dismissively. "I can fix that later. Who was it you say you're looking for?" She asked.
He didn't seem pleased on this topic. "Eh, nobody really important. He can handle himself."
"Good, because we're not stopping." She told him, once again firmly taking his hand and rushing forward. Only this time, it didn't work. Before she could successfully latch to him, he forcefully pulled away. Her brows were furrowed as she looked over her shoulder, her eyes gleaming with something similar to irritation. "What?"
"Who said I was going with you? I'll find my own way home!" He told her. His words sounded as if he had spit in her face. His voice laced with disrespect for Sakura.
"For your information, I wasn't planning to take you to 'your' home." She told him, once again reaching out for his hand. He promptly slapped her hand away with her own. She huffed angrily, sending a few loose hairs flying up in front of her face. "FINE! Stay out here alone and die for all I care! Just remember that while you're here freezing, I'll be safely hidden away in a village –a village that always accepts poor refugees- that you'll never find without my help."
He ground his teeth together. "I'm not poor, and I'm no damn refugee! I told you already, I got lost fighting a Hollow and ended up here! But whatever, like I need your help!" He countered, swiftly turning the other way. This whole disagreement between the two of them reminded him faintly of a childish argument. Sakura reminded him so much of Rukia. Who was, no doubt, somewhere safe in Soul Society whereas he was in unknown territory, with some strange girl.
Sakura stormed off, sending the dirt to his face purposely this time. Ichigo watched her retreated form with malice. Though the more he stood there, utterly alone, the more he realized something. Whether or not he liked her, he needed her help. She was right. He couldn't just remain in his shinigami form forever, and when it came time to switch back into his body, he'd once again be a helpless human that needed food. Just where could he find food in a forest? The Substitute Shinigami bit his lip, his mind debating against itself on what to do. He didn't want to die, but he didn't want this 'Sakura' girl to tell him 'I told you so'. To his displeasure, his pride would have to take a back seat if he was going to survive in this strange place.
"Wait, hey, wait up!"
Naruto felt guilty. Really guilty. Sakura had made such a compelling point. Yet his idiocy prevailed. He really wanted to see Kakashi's face, and would resort to any amount of trickery to see it. As he arrived back through the village gates, he was careful to evade the eyes of others. Although Sakura had not seen the book inside of his orange windbreaker, there was no telling what someone else would do if he was approached about the book. There were countless ninja in the village that wouldn't refrain from ordering him to empty out his pockets.
Though, wasn't he betraying Sakura's trust by ignoring her wishes to return the book? 'Ah, well, it doesn't matter! She'll thank me when I get that picture!' He thought to himself, pumping a fist in the air encouragingly.
The boy swiftly sauntered through the streets, eagerly looking for one of his favorite places. He'd sniff at the air, aiming to smell the familiar delicious scent. The closer he got, the more he felt his fingers tingle. Ichiraku Ramen was so very close. Naruto considered it a blessing that after Pein's attack, it had been rebuilt so quickly. He quickened his pace, determined to get there soon enough. He busted through the doorway (or more like archway) and plopped down onto a stool.
"Pork ramen, please!" He asked. Very quickly was he given the bowl of ramen, which he hastily slurped down. The fact that it was steaming and hot did not stop him. After everything that had happened, he needed some food to fill his empty stomach. It tasted wonderful, that eventually he ordered a second bowl. The happiness never ceased, even when he heard approaching footsteps. Familiar footsteps… Slightly angry footsteps… Naruto chuckled as he turned to see none other than Kiba Inuzuka walk right into the shop. No doubt Akamaru was waiting outside, he was far too big of a dog to fit inside of the shop.
"Yo, Naruto, what's your problem?" He spat, taking a seat next to Naruto and slamming a fist down on the counter's surface. "Kakashi is looking everywhere for you. He's ordering us around left and right, telling us to find you and get his book back. Why the hell would you take Kakashi's book? What were you thinking?"
Naruto sniggered. "I was thinking 'let's blackmail Kakashi into showing me his face'."
Kiba's face lit up in interest. "Do you think that would work?"
"Of COURSE it wouldn't work."
A startling voice entered the shop, and both boys turned to look at Ino. Good kami, she could get annoying sometimes. Ruining their fun moment like that!
"Everyone knows Kakashi loves that sultry. It's not blackmail at all. He's such a well-known ninja that his guilty-pleasure is so insignificant to the rest of the world." She told them snidely, crossing her arms and swaying to sit on the other side of Naruto. "Don't forget Naruto that even you're Sage Mode wouldn't be able to fight off a Kakashi hungry for some reading."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh shit!" He mumbled.
Ino felt proud that she had proved her point. Whereas Kiba felt stupid considering he had not realized something so obvious sooner. Kakashi was one hell of a ninja. No matter how strong Naruto had gotten after his special training there was no way he could fight his sensei in such a context.
"Point proven, Ino. Thanks for ruining all the fun." Kiba mumbled.
"Anytime." She refuted. Her eyes rolled at the worried Naruto. "It's no big deal, Sakura will get to you before Kakashi will, anyways."
Naruto shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
"Why's that?" Kiba asked.
He gulped. "Well, because… I, uh, sort of…left her out in the forest. She saw something, and got distracted, and then I booked it out of there."
"You did WHAT?" Ino blabbered. "You nincompoop! I'll be damned if Sakura goes down before our big rematch! She is my enemy, after all!" The platinum blonde quickly stood up from her seat in a very wobbly fashion; she didn't look barstools. She was about to walk out of the shop when she swiveled around and retreated back to Naruto. She poked at his chest. "If I was Sakura, I'd be running as fast as I can back here to give you a can of whoop ass. Then again, I'm not Sakura. Just remember, if I'm asked to look for you one more time by Kakashi, taking time away from my precious day, heads WILL roll." With that she turned on her heel and strutted out and away.
Naruto loudly exhaled breath he had been holding. "She's nearly as scary as Sakura…" He mumbled, turning back to his ramen. Kiba cleared his throat, causing Naruto to turn his attention back to him.
"You should just return the book, dude. It's an honorable thing to do. You are the hero of the village, remember? What will all those kids do when they hear the guy who saved us all from Pein was running around stealing mature books and allowing crazy ladies to attack him?" Kiba told him, shrugging as if he knew what he was talking about.
Naruto sighed in response. Suddenly, he was not that hungry anymore. He put his chopsticks down dejectedly. "If I did that…" He trailed off.
"What?" Kiba asked.
"Do you think Sakura might like me?"
Kiba's face fell. All the tension was for nothing. "That's not really my place to say anything. But hey! If it'll get you to give Kakashi back his book, than it sure will!" Kiba was extremely tired of Kakashi's threatening orders.
Naruto lit up, nodding eagerly. "Right, right. Thanks Kiba!"
A smile played on Kiba's features, he felt as if he had done some good. That smile seemingly faded as Naruto left the shop, not a glance back, leaving a two empty and unpaid for ramen bowls on the counter.
With all of those thoughts tracing through his mind, Naruto was quick to start his search for Kakashi. He let a few Kage Bunshin clones free to search for Kakashi as he travelled to the village gates. That way when Sakura returned, he could tell her all of the good he had done while she was gone. Kakashi arrived soon enough; fairly glad to see Naruto had come to his senses. Of course, Naruto was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head. Still, the realization of his good deed seeped in as Kakashi thanked him and was then on his way, the book open in his palms. Naruto chuckled at this; it was just like his sensei to quickly divulge back into the book after only an hour of being separated.
His mind mainly consisted of Sakura's reaction. He was eager for her approval, anything to show she forgave him. 'And maybe even a small kiss, too~' he thought to himself, grinning stupidly as he stood in front of the gate, his hands behind his back. He saw no reason for Sakura to deny him that pleasure. He was the hero of his village! And he was one hell of a ninja. With all of his excitement, he would have never envisioned the way which Sakura would return. Thus, you can imagine the look of pure surprise and shock on his face as he watched two figures walk towards the village gates from far away.
Two figures. Not one. Two separate people, one of them looking distinctly like Sakura. (Anyone could recognize her short hair cut from miles away.) The person next to her was a good few inches taller than her, no doubt taller than Naruto himself. His hope short-circuited on itself as the two came closer, and he got a better look at this stranger. A male stranger, roughly their age.
The less Ichigo spoke, the more she liked him. He tended to be kinder when he didn't say anything. The fact he didn't retort anything back after a few minutes of walking was greatly appreciated. For a brief moment, Sakura had felt as if his voice was the worst sound in the world. Completely ridiculing, and unkind! Whenever she made a slight mistake with her words, or left out one important detail, he would bark about her small attention-span, claiming she did not hear everything he'd said/asked. After moments of countless bantering, the two agreed to disagree. Not another word was spoken. Sakura refused to tell him anything more about Konoha. (For that was what she had been doing before and during his heartless remarks.)
More or less, Ichigo felt the same way. Overrun by her incredulous petty pride. (He denied having any pride relatively similar to hers. He couldn't think of himself as proud as Sakura.) He submitted himself to silence after he simply could not take it anymore, crossing his arms. He was still annoyed that this was all happening. Gradually, he became more annoyed about more things. For one, it irritated him how Sakura could see him. Nobody was supposed to see him! He couldn't help but feel this whole issue could have been avoided if Sakura had just been a normal human. That fact alone was enough to spike his interest, only a person that was aware with spirituality could see him. Something like that would definitely come up in conversation, especially since they would soon enter a village in which only Sakura could see him. (That's what he expected, at the very least.)
Ichigo was suspicious about this 'village' Sakura had been going on and on about. If it was some great 'village', why was it a 'village' and not a 'city'. He expected her village was a filty, run down place. It was logical conclusion. Ichigo was unaware of the fact that he was nowhere near Karakura town any more. Nowhere close. That would become apparent soon, however. All in good time. This 'Konohagakure' would provide many answers to Ichigo's pestering questions.
Very far in the horizon Ichigo began to see something. A very proud look overcame Sakura, and she pointed to the gates. "That is my village, and you better respect it."
Ichigo was astounded by the gates. "Holy hell, just how big are those gates?" He asked out of surprise, not really wanting to know. Thankfully, Sakura let him be surprised on his own and did not disrupt the moment by snidely answering his question like she felt the urge to. It was nice for her to bring an outsider to the village who was amazed at the gates. Now came the trouble of showing him the still-repairing inside of the village. It would take a while until they'd get the village back to its former glories. Sakura was just glad that the all "observant" Ichigo hadn't noticed the eerie inside of the village. He was still intently focused on the gates.
Her pleasure was quick to leave when she saw a familiar head of blond hair at the gates. The familiar anger from earlier welled up inside of her. She pushed up her arms (acting as if she had any sleeves) and pulled her gloves tighter.
Ichigo noticed this. "What are you preparing for?" He asked suspiciously.
She waved his question off with one gloved hand. "Nothing you need to worry about. Just, stay a fair distance away." She told him, giving him a fake smile. She quickly looked to Naruto, stretched out her shoulders. 'He's going to pay for his wrongdoings.' She thought to herself, rushing her foot work to walk all the bit faster. That walk eventually turned into a sprint, which then turned into an all-out run. She went her highest speed towards the blond, the wind rushing her short pink hair back.
Naruto knew what was coming, and backed away a few steps as if that would stop her. She was a flash of pink. Before he knew it, or could stop it from happening, she was upon him. Her fury was eminent as she jumped into the air and pummeled him to the ground with a swift kick. "NARUTO!" She called, her kick causing him to fall to the ground. He picked him up by his collar, holding him up off the ground. "I never finished talking, Naruto!" She barked at his, her other hand forming into a hard fist.
Once again he raised his arms defensively. "H-hey Sakura-chan…heh…heh…" He mumbled. He was fearful for his face. He didn't want a black-eye.
