Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto or Bleach
Chapter 2: A New Awakening
Naruto's eyelids were extremely heavy as he opened his eyes for the first time in years. He could feel some sort of hard ground under his back, and everything around him was pitch black except for a tiny speck of light that seemed very far away. Where was he? What had happened to him? Why did his body feel so empty inside? He asked himself these questions over and over for what seemed like forever as he stared at the small speck of light. No answer came to him.
As he lay there, he had no real desire to move. For some reason he felt content to simply remain on his back in this unknown place, but he knew that he would never be able to answer the questions running through his head if he did. Slowly, Naruto lifted his right arm and reached up towards the light. His arm felt heavy, as if it were weighed down by something. Strangely, the source of the light was much closer than he had originally thought; it was only a half arm's length away. Naruto pressed a finger to the light source and something gave way to the pressure he exerted; a little more light passed through what seemed to be a hole.
Naruto had noticed that what he seemed to push was a corner of something. The light was coming from something above him and shining through the corner of whatever was separating Naruto from the source. He lifted both hands and placed them just inside where the corner had gave way; he was going to push all the way through. His arms were so heavy that Naruto felt that this motion alone was enough to exert almost all of his strength. He knew that he had only one chance to make it out into the light. He counted quietly and took a deep breathe between each number, "One… Two… Three…" Naruto pushed up with all his might and the cover, a shallow wooden plank, was pushed off. A loud crash rang out around him. The bright light filled Naruto's eyes, but he no longer had the strength to lift his arms so he squinted his eyes.
"What was that?" Naruto could hear the question come from a good distance away. Who ever the question belonged to seemed to be running towards him and the source of the crash as Naruto could feel everything around him shaking. He must be a heavy man, Naruto thought. The shaking stopped. Whoever had spoke out before gave a laugh, it was a childish laugh but it seemed to come from an adult. Naruto became scared. He had no power to defend himself from whoever was there; he couldn't even move. What was he going to do? Naruto's eyes, still unaccustomed to the light, stared up towards the ceiling waiting for the person he knew was very close.
A small shadow formed next to Naruto, and he could hear footsteps that were growing louder. Naruto's heart beat fast against his chest. Above him flashed a green hat with blonde hair protruding from the sides of a goofy smiling face. "If I knew you'd be finished sooner, I'd have moved that table."
Naruto was forced to sit in the corner of a strange room. The blonde man with the goofy smile, after scaring Naruto half to death, had removed several other wooden planks and pulled him out of what seemed to be a hidden hole in the room's floor. He had placed Naruto in the corner because Naruto did not have the strength to hold himself in a sitting position. Naruto's fear had quickly faded as he saw more and more of the smiling blonde man. He did not know this man, but for some reason he believed inside that he could trust him. After sweeping up the remnants of the table and broken glass that had been the source the large crash, the blonde man walked up and stood in front of Naruto. "Now," the man's voice was light and lively, "can I ask you some questions?" The blonde man smiled down at him.
Naruto had wanted to ask the blonde man the questions still running through his head, but he knew that he was in no position to object to anything he was asked. He tried to nod, but couldn't. "Umm… yeah," was all he managed to spit out.
The blonde man smiled at Naruto's answer, "There is no point in asking if you remember your name Naruto, because it is universal fact that souls can never forget their own names." At this, Naruto's heavy eyebrows raised slightly. Naruto knew that he should be somewhat surprised that this man knew his name, but strangely, it didn't seem to matter to him. Maybe it was because his own name was all Naruto could remember about himself. Naruto didn't know what to feel about this, so he felt nothing. "So," the blonde man continued, "Do you remember your own death?"
Again, Naruto was hit with the sense that he should be shocked by this, but it was somewhat easy to accept. He was dead. Was that why he felt empty inside? Was that why he couldn't remember anything? He really was dead, but he was all right with it. "No," Naruto said again without feeling or bothering to try remembering.
This caused the blonde man to raise his head slightly; his eyes shone bright in the shadow of his hat. "Hmm," he grabbed his chin, "Do you remember Hinata, Naruto?" His voice seemed desperate.
Naruto knew that even if he tried he wouldn't remember. "No," he repeated emotionlessly. The name meant absolutely nothing to him.
At this, the blonde man's head dropped, "If you don't remember Hinata, that means you've lost your memory. The damn gigai must have been defective!" The blonde man's voice had grown angry and he irritably pulled out what looked like a walking stick; which he swung at Naruto. Naruto tried to block the attack, but his arms barely moved. The tip of the blonde man's weapon struck Naruto in the forehead, but there was no pain. Instead, Naruto's body shot up into a standing position. His body felt light, as if whatever was weighing it down had disappeared.
Naurto walked around the room smiling and waving his arms. He felt great. The feeling of extreme lightness was so incredible that he had forgotten all about the blonde man's attack. This feeling stayed with Naruto only briefly. As he finally circled the room he saw something that made him freeze and truly shocked him for the first time since he had awoke. On the floor, in the corner of the room, was him. Naruto could see himself, hunched over and dead looking. His jaw dropped as he stared in horror.
The blonde man did not seem to notice Naruto's expression. He kicked the body laying in the corner and mumbled something like, "I thought I worked out all the kinks." Naruto did not understand. He looked down at his own body and placed his hand on his chest. It was firm. He was real; he was the real him. That was somewhat a relieving thought.
The blonde guy clapped, scaring Naruto. He spun around and Naruto, now pale faced and confused, looked up into his goofy smile, "Well, that's ok. You'll find out soon enough. Now," he turned and started walking out of the room, "we have to get you ready for Soul Society and the Shinigami Academy." With this the blonde man left the room.
Naruto remained stuck in place. His head now swam with even more questions than when he awoke. He looked back down at his body laying the corner and gave a dry heave. It was scary looking at yourself as if you were dead. "Naruto?" He heard the blonde man's voice from far off. His body felt heavy again, but this was different. Should he follow the blonde man, or should he run the other way? He was confused, he was scared, and he had so many questions. Once again, he decided that if he wanted his questions answered he would have to move forward; he would follow the blonde man. He took one last disgusted look at his dead looking body and left the room.
Naruto was able to dodge, but just barely. Their attacks were getting faster now. Today was the fifth day since Naruto had awoken from his hidden space under Kisuke's floor. Every day since then, he had walked out into the pristine, dessert like training ground under the shop. The blue sky stretching for miles and the landscape littered with mountains, trees, large boulders, and even rivers. Every night, Naruto had left the destroyed and mutilated training ground battered and bloodied.
The first day, Kisuke had tried to explain to Naruto all about Soul Society and the Gotei 13. It took quite a while, but Naruto seemed to grasp the concepts. Soul Society was where souls went after their body died. It was where Naruto would be right now, lost and without memories had he not been rescued by Kisuke. Kisuke, however, failed to mention exactly why he had rescued Naruto, and only said that he would learn in time.
The Gotei 13 was something that Naruto seemed genuinely interested in. 13 squads, each with a captain, vice-captain, and lower members, that protected Soul Society and eliminated hollows and others that threatened both the living and dead. After hearing about this, Naruto immediately set a silent goal: to become a captain in the Gotei 13. To protect other people was something that seemed inherent in his mind. First, however, he would have to go into the Shinigami Academy. Kisuke had explained to Naruto that their training in the very near future would help him graduate faster than if he had joined completely inexperienced. That was only the beginning of the first day; then the training started.
The rest of that day was spent trying to simply dodge Kisuke's attacks, at which Naruto failed miserably. This was obviously because Naruto lacked any fighting experience. What he lacked in experience, however, he made up for with heart, determination, and a very strong chin. Even after being knocked down for what seemed like the hundredth time, head pounding and all, Naruto got back on his feet and tried to dodge again. By the end of the day, Naruto was a bruised and bloodied piece of meat.
The next morning brought a welcomed surprise. Naruto had lain down the previous night feeling sore and injured, but when he awoke he felt just fine. He sat up and looked down at his body. Most of the bruises and scratches he had endured were gone, and only the most intense ones could barely be seen. Somehow, during his sleep, his body had seemed to heal itself rapidly. Was this normal? Could all souls do this? Naruto decided he would ask Kisuke. He rose, eager to get an answer to his question, and ran down to the once again pristine training ground; Kisuke was waiting. Naruto yelled out, "Hey Kisuke…" Those were the last words spoken for hours.
Upon Naruto entering the training ground Kisuke leapt towards him, his walking stick aimed at his head. There apparently was no time for asking questions, only training; and Naruto, despite not getting his question answered, was quiet content with that. This second day, Naruto's innate physical abilities began to show themselves. He had managed to dodge or deflect most of Kisuke's attacks and at end of the day he had only been knocked down 68 times. This, to both Naruto and Kisuke, was a major step forward in his training. As Naruto improved during the day, so did Kisuke's speed and attack power. Naruto fought to keep up, but at the end of the second day he was again a bloody wreck and his mind was completely blank. He fell asleep almost instantly.
That night, Naruto's dreams were terrible. His mind's eye was completely filled with a bright red light that seemed to scream at him; a horrible howl that pierced his ears. It was like a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery, but doing so was impossible. And then the howling stopped and there was only darkness. It wasn't darkness; his eyes were closed and there were tears falling from them. Something in his mind told him that he was now outside. He couldn't move his body; he didn't even want to. He was holding on to something but he didn't know what it was; it felt like a person. Then there was pain, and sadness, and anger.
Naruto's body shot up into a sitting position. His nightmare had caused him to break into a cold sweat and he was freezing. It was very dark so he thought it must still be very late at night, but he could hear two faint voices coming from the other room. He silently edged towards the wall. He recognized Kisuke's voice, but the other voice, a woman's, he didn't know.
"It seems he's forgotten everything."
"That's unfortunate."
"Do you think I should keep it from him?"
"I think so. Telling him now may stress him beyond his current capacity. Besides, he'll find out eventually."
"You know he forgot about 'her' too."
"Oh! That is very unfortunate. But I'm sure we can have something arranged."
"You know he still wears the ring?"
"Is that so? I know she still has hers as well. I guess some bonds even death can't break."
"I believe he holds one more bond from his mortal life. His wounds heal fast. Too fast. I think, NO! I know, that he still has some sort of connection to 'it'."
"Interesting. I'm sure that will come in handy."
Her? It? Naruto had no doubt that they were talking about him, but what did any of it have to do with him? And what ring were they talking about? If it was a ring, and he was wearing it, it would be on one of his fingers, right? Naruto looked down at his right hand and there it was: a dark red jade ring glowing from his ring finger. Why had he not noticed it until now? But he had noticed it, and he knew it. When he had pushed himself out of the secret room under Kisuke's shop he had seen it; when Kisuke had knocked him down for the first time he had glanced at it; and when he made his silent promise to become a captain of the Gotei 13 he had stared directly at it. He had never noticed it because it seemed more like a piece of his own body than an accessory. It had obviously meant something very important to him during his life, but what? He couldn't remember.
"Did you hear that?" The female voice rang out in his direction; Naruto's thoughts stopped instantly and he darted back to his bed. Eyes shut and pretending to sleep, Naruto heard the door slide open. "You know he's heard most, if not everything we said. Right, Kisuke?" The female's voice didn't seem angry, only informing.
"Ha. Yoruichi, I think you overestimate our Naruto."
"Kisuke! I think you underestimate him."
"Trust me, I don't."
Naruto could hear their voices from the open doorway, but after a short while they stopped. He had tried so hard to pretend he was asleep that actual sleep had crept up on him. The dream of the bright red light and the pain did not return. There was only peaceful slumber.
Naruto awoke the next day to another surprise. When he reached the training ground he was not instantly attacked. Instead, he was presented with a wooden stick. "This," Kisuke explained happily, "is your weapon." Naruto grabbed the weapon and looked examined it; the wooden stick looked like it would break in half with one good hit. That belief was quickly put to the test as Kisuke lifted his walking stick into the air and swung down hard at Naruto's head. Instinctively, Naruto raised the wooden stick to block the attack. The two weapons met with a force that dropped Naruto to his knees. "Now," Kisuke withdrew his sword and looked down at Naruto, "you learn to attack."
Although the training that day had been different, the end result had been the same. Naruto lay in bed, battered, bloodied, and exhausted. Next to his bed lay his weapon, the wooden stick, still fully intact. It had been used mostly to block Kisuke's attacks, as the few times Naruto did manage to swing in Kisuke's direction he missed terribly. Tomorrow would be a different day, Naruto told himself, and it would be.
The next few days of training progressed exactly as Kisuke had planned. Naruto's sword skill had gotten only slightly better, but his speed, agility, and endurance had increased greatly. More importantly, Kisuke had managed to significantly increase Naruto's spiritual power. Naruto, however, failed to notice this as the more his spiritual power rose, the more intensely Kisuke attacked.
"Today," Kisuke greeted Naruto one morning after less than a week, "will be your last day of training." He still wore his idiotic smile and spoke in a joyful tone. Naruto did not see this news as good at all; he had really learned to enjoy and welcome his training. The idea of getting stronger and improving his abilities seemed to resonate within his brain. Naruto was let down, but he still had one more day of training ahead of him; he leapt at Kisuke and swung as hard as he could. Kisuke watched Naruto's attack coming directly at him; the smile still etched on his face.
Just as Naruto's attack was about to connect he was thrown backwards on to his back. In shock, he looked up at Kisuke. His walking stick was still held down at his side. "Now, if I may continue," Kisuke said happily. "What I will teach you today will take some time to learn, but you will be able to practice on your own."
Naruto got to his feet. He was shocked and excited at the same time. He wanted to know how Kisuke had sent him flying with no effort at all, but even more, he wanted to know what he was going to learn. "What is it?" he asked excitedly.
"Close your eyes," Kisuke demanded. Naruto had not expected this, but he had learned to just accept the weird things Kisuke said. Eyes closed, Naruto could only hear Kisuke's voice. "Now, what do you feel, Naruto?" Naruto tried to think. The answer, he knew, could not be completely obvious. He could feel the sand firm under his feet, the wind blowing through his hair, and the heat from an unseen sun glaring down on him. These things could not be what Kisuke wanted to know and Naruto's face showed that feeling. "Naruto," Kisuke's voice changed to one of encouragement, "What do you feel inside?"
Naruto changed his mode of thinking, but inside, he really felt nothing. He had tried for days to understand why he felt this way inside, but he could not understand it. "Nothing." Naruto said dully. His voice bordered on anger.
Kisuke had known it was too much to hope Naruto would understand. "Naruto," Kisuke's voice was still encouraging, "can you sense the energy within your body?" From Naruto's confused face he could read his reply. "Hmm… Well, some spiritual being have a high level of spiritual power that can be released as reiatsu." Naruto's confused look hardened. Kisuke decided that it was easier to teach Naruto by showing him exactly what he meant.
As Naruto tried to piece together Kisuke's last sentence he felt something strange. It was as if the density of the air had increased; it was heavy and seemed to weigh down on his body. Naruto opened his eyes. To his amazement, Kisuke's body was surrounded by a green aura that seemed to be releasing itself into the air. The sight awed and terrified Naruto. Kisuke looked powerfully fearsome; even horrendous. It was a far cry from the idiocy that he usually portrayed, and that only scared Naruto more. How powerful was Kisuke, and what else could he be hiding about himself?
Just as fast as the air around Naruto had changed, it had returned. The terrified thoughts in his mind, however, remained. "That," Kisuke said, seemingly pleased with his show, "was reiatsu." Naruto couldn't help but be amazed. He wanted to learn how do it himself, and Kisuke seemed to understand that. "First, you have to harness the spiritual energy within your soul. You may not remember, but you had become very skilled at this during your lifetime, except you called it chakra." Naruto did not try to remember, he knew he wouldn't be able to. "Just try," Kisuke encouraged, "just because you don't remember doesn't mean your soul won't."
This struck something inside of Naruto. He, in his current memory, had not had any combat experience, but during his training he noticed himself dodging and attacking in ways that seemed natural and practiced. Maybe he would be able to do this, since he had apparently known how to during his life. So he tried. He closed his eyes and tried to feel for something inside of him; not feelings or emotions, but something else. As he searched inward for some unknown source of power, something else came into his thoughts. The bright red light once again filled his mind, then pain, and anger; a very strong anger.
Naruto's mind was racing, but his body seemed be being squeezed by the air around him. He opened his eyes and saw something even more amazing than Kisuke's earlier showing: the air around him was glowing a bright red; and it seemed to be compacting the air. Kisuke stood before him, his face was utterly terrified. Naruto had achieved what he had wanted, but now he wanted it to stop; and suddenly it did. The air returned to normal and the feelings of pain and anger were gone, but Kisuke's face remained shocked and body stood rigid.
"That… That…" Kisuke was stuttering and his eyes were focused somewhere above Naruto. "That was umm… powerful," he was finally able regain to his composure. "How about we try to tone it down a notch for right now?" His eyes were still looking up.
Naruto silently agreed; that feeling was extremely awkward and it felt very hard to control. It was strange, some thing foreign to him; and the look on Kisuke's face told Naruto that what he had seen was most likely dangerous. The next two days were spent trying to recreate a less spectacular showing using something other than the thoughts of his nightmares. That was very hard. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, Naruto couldn't get it right; nothing every came to him. Every time he seemed to get close he would fear the same thing would happen, and he held back just slightly.
Kisuke had known of Naruto's fear the entire day, and he knew that Naruto would never learn to release his spiritual energy if he wasn't fully concentrating. He watched Naruto fail time and time again, but never told him thing. Kisuke needed him to overcome his fear of the fox on his own. It had become apparent to him that Naruto and the fox, even though it was no longer inside of him, still had some sort of connection, and that connection was most likely the key to stopping Aizen. When Naruto failed to release more than a bit of reaitsu by the end of the day, however, Kisuke knew he had to do something.
When Naruto met Kisuke the next day he was filled with a mixture of eagerness and fear. He wanted to learn how to release his reaitsu so much, but what had happened yesterday when he had actually done it still haunted him. The first words that Kisuke spoke, however, killed both his eagerness and fear and filled him with a sense of urgency: "Naruto, tomorrow you leave to Soul Society." Naruto's face was sullen, Kisuke's remained smiling and joyous. Naruto had thought that their training would last longer be more detail oriented. After all, how were a few days jumping around and swinging a wooden stick going to help him graduate the Shinigami Academy and get into the Gotei 13?
Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but Kisuke cut him off, "So, that means you have to learn how to release your reaitsu today. And," Kisuke lifted his walking stick, "today we commence your combat training." With that he leapt at Naruto, who was not prepared. Kisuke nailed him on the side of his head and he went flying into a giant boulder. This was not the start that either of them had expected.
Naruto began to get really aggravated after several hours. He thought it was impossible. Every time he tried to release his reaitsu he would think of the red suffocating light and pull back, and every time this happened he would get mauled by Kisuke. Kisuke too, seemed to be becoming irritated with Naruto's lack of improvement. This irritation came to fruition when Kisuke gave Naruto a moment to breathe and he noticed a slight hesitation in his eyes. Kisuke leapt at Naruto and swung his walking stick at his head, but he ducked, "DON'T!" He swung directly down on him but Naruto managed to block it, "HOLD!" Kisuke, blazingly fast, grabbed the back of Naruto head and pulled his face only several inches from his own, "BACK!" This was the first time Naruto could clearly see Kisuke's face. It was terrifying, demanding. Then Naruto was thrown back.
From his back Naruto looked up expecting another attack. Kisuke stood before him, his body glowing with the strong reaitsu; he looked very angry. "Naruto," his voice was not cheerful or joyous; it was monotone and grim. "You will not dodge my next attack," he paused to let the words sink in. This was something he knew he had to do; but he had faith. "Even if you try to block it, my sword will slice through your weapon and your body if you cannot release your reaitsu." He whipped his walking stick into the air and what seemed to be a sword sheath flew up, revealing a very sharp, very real sword.
Naruto was scared but he forced himself to get to his feet. Despite the stupid face Kisuke often wore, Naruto had yet to hear him speak anything untrue, and this new demeanor he wore proved that Naruto would die if he couldn't release his reaitsu. He had to do it now, but why couldn't he do it before? The dream! He had always been so afraid of red light and the pain and anger it brought with it that he always forced himself to stop before he could release his power. That had to stop now or he would die!
Kisuke leapt at Naruto; his weapon met Naruto's and, true to his own prediction, stopped dead. Naruto's eyes were closed shut and he still looked afraid, but he had managed to release a tiny bit of reaitsu. It was not like the glowing red show it had been before; it was nothing more then a mere fraction of that, but he had done it. He had managed to release his spiritual energy. He was happy, he was alive, he was lying on the floor unconscious. This was the end of his training.
Naruto awoke the next morning feeling awkward. Today was the day he would be leaving for Soul Society. He had not exactly liked or felt comfortable in Kisuke's place, but it was all he knew. What was this Soul Society place going to be like and how would he feel being surrounded by other dead souls? He had very little time to think about this as Kisuke was calling him from the training grounds below.
When Naruto arrived, Kisuke was standing next to a large square; it looked like a very large picture frame. His smiling face and joyous tone had returned, "Ahh Naruto! I have some things to tell you before you leave." Was this his good bye, Naruto thought. Is he just going to say some last words and be done with me? It seemed very selfish to Naruto, but Kisuke did not seem to notice. "Your name has already been registered with the Shinigami Academy, and this Senkaimon will transport you there." Naruto turned towards the giant frame. Apparently this thing was going to take him to Soul Society.
"Can I ask you a question, Kisuke?" He was still looking at the large frame and the words had escaped Naruto's mouth without him thinking. He turned back to Kisuke, who had now walked a little aways from him. He had wondered about this for some time now, but he was scared about the answer. Now that he had mentioned it, however, he had to ask.
"Ha!" Kisuke laughed, "Of course, Naruto. But," he raised a finger up towards Naruto, "I need you to remember this name. This person knows about your situation and will help you. The name is Kuchiki Rukia." The name resonated in the air and through Naruto's brain. Someone in this strange place already knew about him. "Now, your question Naruto?" Kisuke feigned interest as he opened the gate.
Naruto couldn't help but notice the picture frame behind him activate. It had transformed into an old sliding door and gave off a noisy humming sound. Naruto needed to know the answer to this before he left so he asked, "Kisuke, how strong are you?" There were so many things that he knew Kisuke was hiding but there had to be some reason. His strength, however, was something that Naruto did not think Kisuke had any reason to hide. So why was he doing so?
Kisuke laughed happily as the sliding door opened into pure whiteness. In a flash, his body appeared right before Naruto's and he whispered the answer into his ear. At the end of his answer, Kisuke planted his foot right into Naruto chest and launch Naruto through the open doors of the Senkaimon. Falling backwards, Naruto could see Kisuke waving at him at him; and he was gone.
"Kisuke! Do you think we should have sent him so early?" Yoruichi walked out from behind a boulder. Her black cat appearance abandoned.
Kisuke did not take his eyes off the now empty picture frame. "Naruto has plenty of time to hone his skills in Soul Society. The fox still has a little more than 5 years before it will be able to enter Hueco Mundo or Soul Society." The fake smile had left his face. "Besides, I believe that she is connected to this as well."
Even if Naruto wanted to, there was no way back. He was on his way to Soul Society, and the whole time he walked the strange road towards the new place Naruto could only think of one thing: Kisuke's answer to his question. Into his ear, Kisuke had whispered, "Not as strong as you can be."