Author's Note:
I won't waste time with another disclaimer for this chapter, as it's redundant after the first chapter. Unlike my other main story (The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion) I'll address all questions and future notes at the end of the chapter.
Without further ado, here is the next chapter.
x X x
Chapter 2: Unusual Spirits
"So where do we go?" Kiba asked as he looked at the sky. "There isn't much to do as a spirit."
"How about Konoha?" Sakura asked as she rubbed her forearm. "We can find out something there."
"We can also check the hideout," Kiba said with a frown. He glanced toward the direction of the collapsed area as he added, "There may be some information there."
"Who cares about that?" Ino said as she clenched her jaw. "Let's go back to Konoha!"
"I don't know Ino," Hinata said. After a sigh, she added, "I saw some of the Akatsuki leave."
"I agree with Hinata and Kiba," Tenten said as Ino glared at the Hyuuga. "Sasuke may be dead, but the others may still be a threat. We have to find out so Konoha can—"
"How?" Ino said as she placed her hand on her hip. "No one can see or hear us!"
"Oh," Tenten said as she grabbed the back of her head. "I forgot about that."
"In that case, we should go back to Konoha," Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes. "While we're there, we can find out a few things since no one can see us."
"That's right!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air. "Since no one can see us, we can get away with so many pranks." Sakura and Shikamaru, frowned as Naruto added with a giggle, "Maybe I can sneak into the women's bath house."
"I'm with you on that one!" Kiba added with enthusiasm as he grinned with Naruto, rubbing his hair for thinking of the creative idea. "Let's go to Konoha now!"
"Peeking at the bath house?" Tenten said through her teeth as she reached behind her for a weapon, only to remember she didn't have any. She gave the two potential peepers an icy stare. "Perverts!"
Kiba and Naruto glanced at the other women. Hinata attempted to conceal a heavy blush, while Sakura and Ino balled their hands into fists, with the pink-haired woman shaking hers toward Naruto.
"Before anyone beats up the perverts," Shikamaru said as he noticed the stares emanating from the three women. Ino relaxed her hands as he added, "We should start going back. It takes two days to travel there." The women nodded in agreement, as Kiba and Naruto walked ahead.
x X x
On the outskirts of Konoha, an open grass field existed inside the dense forest. Many Konoha shinobi used this area as a reference point while traveling around in patrols. However, experienced shinobi avoided this area, as it left them as a clear target for any potential enemy shinobi.
The wind in the area picked up as a purple portal opened near the center of the field. As the portal continued to widen, Kisuke and Yoruichi stepped out of the dimensional gate.
"This world looks like the forests in Soul Society or the living world," Yoruichi said as she glanced around the area.
"The other world I saw also had forests," Kisuke said. "This doesn't surprise me."
"Something feels odd though," she said as she kept her hand close to the hilt of her zanpakutou. "There's reiatsu nearby."
"Now that is a surprise," he added as he pulled out a device. After pushing a few buttons on it, he continued, "There's several readings in this area."
"How strong?" she asked.
"From what I gather in these readings, they're at least the level of seated shinigami." He blinked as he added, "That's unusual."
"What is?" she asked as she glanced at the sky, taking in the scenery.
"Besides that the scanner works outside of Soul Society and the living world?" he said as his eyebrows furrowed. "The scanner says the souls are pluses."
"Let's investigate," she said as she raised her eyebrows. "There seems to be no apparent danger—"
"Wait a second," he interrupted as he held out an open hand. Looking at the scanner, he added, "It picked up a hollow."
"Why am I not surprised?" Yoruichi said with a smirk as she flexed her fingers.
"How come?" Kisuke asked as he put away the device, pointing west.
"If we're able to get here," she responded. "It shouldn't be a surprise that hollows can reach here as well."
"Point taken," he said. "It's heading to an area where one of the pluses are. We should hurry." With a short nod, they began to use shunpo to travel to the area.
x X x
Meanwhile, the spirits made their way to the Hokage tower the following morning, managing to get through with surprising ease. They were also surprised that they arrived in less than a day.
That is, until Shikamaru reminded them of their status as ghosts that allowed them to travel through inanimate objects.
Looking around the office of the Hokage, they saw Tsunade napping on her desk with paperwork piled around her. None of the shinobi considered that a surprise, considering each of them caught her in this act at least once, with Sakura and Shikamaru catching her on numerous occasions.
"Tsunade-sama!" a woman yelled from behind the door. Without warning, said door flew open, with Shizune running in.
"I'm working on it!" Tsunade said, snapping out of her nap. Three papers stuck to her face as she lifted her head off the table, which received a laugh from Naruto and Kiba, and a soft groan from Sakura.
"I have some news," Shizune said as Tsunade snatched the papers away from her face, placing them in front of her desk. "It's about the unauthorized rescue team."
"I take it they back," Tsunade said with a smirk as she placed her elbows on her desk, with her fingertips touching near her chin. The souls in the room winced before they remembered she couldn't see them. "Bring them in. I want to hear their report before—"
"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said. Taking a step back, she added. "I'm sorry, but the report isn't good news."
"What happened," Tsunade asked as she dropped her hands.
"The Akatsuki base was destroyed," she said. Placing the scroll on the desk, she lowered her head as she continued, "A team of Konoha ninja searched the rubble, and found the bodies of the team. They also found Naruto's body."
"What?" Tsunade shrieked as she slammed her fist on the desk, which shattered in half. Everyone in the room widened their eyes while various papers scattered around the room. "Is this a joke Shizune?"
"I'm afraid not," she replied as tears flowed down the women's cheeks. "The bodies are with the medical exam team."
"I see," Tsunade said as she winced. "Are the funeral arrangements set?"
"No," Shizune said with a frown, "Their families have been contacted and are on their way."
"Great," Tsunade said. "Anything else I should know?"
"There is some positive news," Shizune replied with a hesitant tone. "None of the remaining Akatsuki members made it out alive. We managed to recover their bodies as well, including the body of Sasuke Uchiha." The spirits in the room let out a sigh of relief.
"I'll contact the other leaders to let them know the threat is over," Tsunade said.
"I understand," Shizune said as Tsunade nodded. She added, "What do we do with the body of the Akatsuki—"
"Let the examiners have fun with them," she said in a vicious tone. "Then burn the bodies. I don't want the remains anywhere near the village."
"Understood." Shizune said with a nod. "What do we do with Naruto?"
"Leave his ashes near his mom and dad," Tsunade said with a half-smile. Naruto raised his eyes as she continued, "Minato and Kushina would want that."
"Minato?" Naruto whispered to himself. "He's the —" He was interrupted by Shikamaru, placing his finger near his lips to keep him quiet.
"I believe that is best," Shizune said. "But what if the villagers—"
"They have to be blind not to see the resemblance," Tsunade interrupted. "The spiky blonde hair, the blue eyes, their smiles?" Everyone turned to Naruto, who eyes remained wide open at the news of his heritage.
"I'm going out for a walk," Tsunade said as she bit her lip. She eased off her chair as she added, "Need a drink."
"I understand," Shizune said as she bowed, not arguing that it was only seven in the morning. "I'll get a replacement desk and have a genin team rearrange the paperwork in the meantime." Shizune left the room, followed by Tsunade moments later.
The spirits turned to glance at Naruto, who still absorbed the news.
"My father is the fourth Hokage," Naruto whispered as he glanced at the portrait. "How come no one told me?"
"This is news to us too," Shikamaru said as Sakura held the hand of her teammate.
"I'll say," Kiba said with a smirk. "Naruto is Konoha nobility like Hinata." The Hyuuga blushed at the statement.
"Nevermind that," Ino said as she and Tenten looked at the portrait of the fourth Hokage, then at Naruto. "How did any of us miss the resemblance?"
"It was too troublesome to look into it," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Let's go. There's more stuff to do." Everyone left the room, except for Naruto.
He took one last stare at the portrait before releasing a slight smile.
x X x
Sasuke awakened in the forest outside of Konoha. Noticing a chain on his chest, he scoffed as if it were something odd. However, as he tried to pull at it several times, he realized he couldn't get it off. He prepared to use a jutsu to break the chain, but heard the leaves rustle nearby.
He attempted to activate his Sharingan to find the source of the sound. To his chagrin, he could not activate it.
"Such reiatsu," someone said in a deep voice. A creature dropped from the trees, and landed on its feet. With its vines waving, it continued, "I'm going to enjoy devouring you and making you my subordinate!"
Sasuke merely raised his eyebrow as he noticed the odd mask and the hole in the chest of the creature. Without hesitation, he kicked the creature in the face, making it stumble back several feet.
"I see you can fight," the monster said as he regained his balance. Sasuke sneered at him as he continued, waving his vines in the air. "Looks like I can't play with my food this time."
"I'm nobody's meal," Sasuke said as readied himself in a fighting stance.
The monster stayed in place as four vines surged forward toward Sasuke. He successfully evaded three of them, but it turned out to be a feint.
The fourth vine wrapped around him successfully, snatching him in the air.
"That was too easy," the hollow said with a laugh as Sasuke struggled to free himself. "Did you think you could predict my moves?" Sasuke cringed upon hearing that comment as the hollow slammed the dead shinobi on the ground several times, until he was barely conscious.
"Now that you're taken care of," the hollow said with a cheerful tone, "it's dinner time!" The hollow brought Sasuke to his mouth.
With one gulp, he ate him.
"He tasted like chicken," the hollow said in a cheerful voice. "There's more reiatsu nearby ... they were right. I can find a ton of food here without any shinigami to bother me!"
x X x
"So where do we go from here?" Shikamaru asked the group.
"We could stay in the village for a while longer," Hinata responded as she played with her fingers. "Maybe we can see everyone one last time." While everyone agreed with the former heiress, Naruto began walking away.
"Naruto?" Sakura asked as she turned to her teammate. "Where are you going?"
"I need some time to think," he replied in a whisper as he kept walking.
"What's with him?" Ino asked. "He's not acting like—"
"Let him be," Shikamaru said in a serious tone as he folded one arm across his chest. "He just found out who his parents were."
"I should see my parents, although they can't see me," Sakura said, breaking a brief silent moment. "How about we meet near the southern gate in an hour?"
"Who's going to tell Naruto?" Hinata asked.
"I'll do it." Sakura said. Hinata glared at her as Sakura walked away. "I have an idea where he went."
"My home is this way," Kiba added as Sakura broke into a sprint. "I'll catch you guys—"
However, he stopped talking when he noticed the approach of two villagers.
"Did you hear the news?" said one of the villagers. "The Kyuubi is dead!" The five deceased shinobi raised their eyebrows as Hinata clenched her teeth. As her hand unconsciously formed into a fist, the villager continued. "This is the greatest news I heard since the Yondaime defeated the fox!"
"I know," the second villager said. A low growl emitted from Kiba as the villager continued, "I can't believe we kept that thing here. That punk should've been slaughtered a long time ago."
"I heard that Sasuke did it," the first villager said with a smile. Ino grinded her teeth as the villager added, "He'll be hailed as a hero."
"Maybe that's why he left the village," the second villager added as Shikamaru closed his eyes in disgust. Hinata noticed her right arm twitched in a violent manner as the villager added, "He needed all that training from somewhere else to do something that the fourth couldn't do."
"What was the fourth thinking, leaving that monster alive?"
"I don't—" however, both villagers clutched their stomachs in pain.
"What the hell was that?" the first villager said as he crouched to the ground. "It felt like someone struck my stomach."
"Maybe it's something we ate?" the second villager said as she raised herself off the ground.
If they could see spirits, they would've realized that Hinata and Kiba punched them hard in the gut.
"You didn't have to do that," Tenten said as she watched an ANBU dropped from the tree above.
"I know, but I wanted to," Kiba said with a feral smile as the ANBU shinobi arrested the two citizens for breaking the S-ranked law. He turned to his teammate and added, "Right Hinata?"
Hinata nodded, albeit blushing at her unusual actions as they watched the ANBU and the two citizens exchange heated words.
"The law isn't in effect anymore," the first citizen yelled. "That piece of shit you call a shinobi is dead!"
"Tell that to the Hokage," the rankled ANBU officer yelled. "I won't have anyone disrespecting the memory of a shinobi saved the village twice."
x X x
Naruto arrived at the memorial stone. Glancing at it, he saw the newly etched names on it, including his. He glanced upward, noticing the name of Minato Namikaze.
"I never knew you were my father," Naruto said to the stone. "I also know you were the one who sealed the Kyuubi within me." Shifting his gaze to the sky before returning it to the stone, he continued, "I understand you couldn't ask anyone else to use their child for the seal, and wanted the villagers to treat me as a hero."
He rubbed his nose as he glanced around. "Things didn't work out that way, but I know you meant the best for the village and for myself when you sacrificed yourself." With a sigh, he added, "For that, I'll forgive you."
A tear dropped from his eye as he felt a hand touch his shoulder from behind. He turned around, and saw a familiar face.
"Sakura?" he asked with a half-smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come to the memorial," she said as he nodded. "I also knew to find you here. We're meeting at the southern gate in thirty minutes."
"Thank you," he said in a sincere manner.
"Remember when we first became genin, after the test?" Sakura asked as grabbed his arm. She smiled as she added, "The first time we were at this memorial?"
"Oh yeah," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I said I'd have my name on it someday. I also didn't know it was a memorial for those killed in duty."
"Ironic, isn't it?" Sakura said as she glanced at everyone's name on the stone, including her own.
"Not too long ago, the Rookie Nine was talked about as a group of legendary shinobi," Naruto said with a sad tone. "Now we're all dead."
"I have no regrets," Sakura said as she embraced Naruto in a hug. "All of us went on that mission to save you."
"I know," Naruto said as he returned the hug. "Thank you Sakura."
As they released their embrace, they heard someone approach the memorial. To their surprise, it was Kakashi. They smiled at their sensei, but realized he couldn't see them or hear them.
"I haven't visited here for a few days," Kakashi said in a somber tone as he glanced at the memorial. "It seems I have two more reasons to visit every morning."
"This is why you're always late for everything sensei?" Naruto and Sakura muttered at the same time.
"Seems like I failed again Obito," Kakashi said to the stone. Naruto and Sakura listened as he continued, "My other two students died because I let the first one get away."
"That's not true sensei," Naruto said with a quiet tone, clasping his hands in front of him. "I made the choice to leave."
"In the process, I couldn't protect Sensei's son like he wanted." Kakashi sighed as he added. "Naruto, Sakura ... forgive me."
"There's no need for forgiveness," Sakura said. As she and Naruto walked away, she turned back to her former sensei and added, "Like you said sensei, those who abandon the mission is trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."
However, Kakashi couldn't hear those words. Instead, he left their hitai-ate at the stone.
x X x
"Everyone's here!" Sakura shouted as she and Naruto arrived at the gate. "How did everyone's visits go?"
"Found my dad is at the bar with Inoichi," Shikamaru said with a lazy tone as the group walked out the gate. "My mom isn't nagging at him to come home." He paused for a moment before he added, "Maybe she wants the time alone to grieve."
"My mom is at the flower shop, preparing for the funerals," Ino said with a vacant tone. "I'm usually helping her, but it's so different." She sighed as she added, "Like Shikamaru, I also saw my dad at the bar with Shikaku."
"Mom and Hana aren't doing great," Kiba said. "They're usually loud, but they're quiet."
"I went to visit Lee and Neji in the hospital," Tenten said when the focus shifted on her. "They didn't know we're dead yet. They spoke about how we'll succeed in stopping the Akatsuki, and that they were upset they couldn't go on the mission too." She looked down at the ground as she added, "I saw Shizune entering the room as I left, so they probably know now."
"My family was handling the funeral arrangements, and they spoke about—" Hinata said. However, she never finished her sentence when she stumbled forward. Fortunately, Naruto caught her before she fell onto the ground.
"Hinata?" Naruto asked as Hinata formed a slight blush on her face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said with a nod. "I tripped over something." She attempted to activate her Byakugan to find the offending object. However, to her chagrin, her optic kekkei genkai didn't activate.
"What's wrong Hinata?" Tenten asked, noticing the widened stare from Hinata.
However, their thoughts ceased when an odd plant creature appeared from out the bushes.
"More delicious reiatsu," the creature said. "This world is great! I'll never grow hungry here!"
"What the hell are you?" Sakura asked as she eased herself into a combat stance. "Why can you see us?"
"Why does that creature have a mask and a hole in its chest?" Ino whispered as she turned to Shikamaru. As he shrugged, the creature launched his vines toward Ino, and entangled her.
"Let her go," Naruto said as he clenched his fists. "I'll tear you apart, you overgrown weed."
"How are you going to do that," the plant creature said as he used another vine to push Naruto to the side. "Seems like you're flat on your ass." He then used six other vines to entwine all of the shinobi.
"Seems like you're just punks like that other brat," the plant hollow said as Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto tried to punch their way free, but to no avail. "I'd give you a chance to run, but I'm hungry again, and I have no time to mess around with chumps!" He opened his mouth wide and continued, "At least you'll make interesting hollows." It brought Ino closer as it said, "I think I'll start with this blonde."
However, instead of devouring her soul in one gulp as the creature planned, someone sliced the vine holding Ino. As he screamed in pain, he dropped the others onto the ground with a negligent thud.
"Who the hell did that?" The plant creature screamed. "My vines take years to grow!"
"Then you shouldn't have tried to eat that soul," a woman wearing black garb with a white haori yelled to the plant. The plant creature winced as she screamed to the spirits, "Get to safety! You can't fight this creature!"
"You can see us too?" Naruto yelled as he and the others ran to get Ino.
"I'll explain later," Yoruichi yelled to the blonde in a serious voice as she ditched the haori. As Naruto stared at the woman, she continued. "Get to a safe area! Now!"
"With all due respect," the plant-like hollow yelled as he launched a vine toward the retreating group, and another toward Yoruichi, whom he caught. "I can't let a meal get away!"
However, he received two unexpected surprises.
A crimson shield blocked the vine going after the group.
Yoruichi faded like an illusion as the vine tightened around air.
"How the hell did you get here?" the plant creature whined aloud as he saw his main course run away. "There aren't any shinigami in this world!"
"Wherever there's hollows, there's shinigami," Yoruichi said in a serious tone as she folded her arms. She smirked as hollow stepped back, "You should know better than that!"
The hollow winced again as Kisuke appeared near Yoruichi.
"Are you sure you want to take us on?" Kisuke said. The plant continued to step back as he glanced at the woman, then to the haori on the ground, remembering what that signified for shinigami.
"You bastards ruined my main course!" he said as the sky began to break open. "However, I'm not stupid enough to fight a captain, so I'll bid farewell."
"That's what they all say," Yoruichi replied in a deadpan tone as she unsheathed her sword to attack the hollow. However, she stopped her attack when she noticed light bathing the hollow.
"Next time, I'll be stronger," the hollow said as he floated to the sky. "I'll eat all of you!"
"Find those pluses," Yoruichi said to Kisuke as the hollow disappeared in the sky. "We must use konso on them."
"They're not from the living world," Kisuke said as he scratched his head. "I'm not sure if it will work."
"We have to try," she said as she folded her arms in disgust. "You felt their reiatsu, right?"
"Yep," Kisuke said. "Their reiatsu is stronger than a typical shinigami. The girl you saved was at least a rookie third seat, and she's the weakest of the bunch."
"You believe they're on your level Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked as they began to sprint through the woods.
"With training and some experience," Kisuke said with a smile, "They have the potential to surpass some of the captains."
"I see," the female shinigami said with a serious tone. "More reason to use konso. We don't need them becoming hollows."
"Or Arrancar," Kisuke added.
x X x
As the shinigami caught up with the shinobi spirits in the open field, an awkward silence ensued.
"Thanks for saving," Naruto said with a smile. "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Kisuke Urahara," the male shinigami said. He pointed to his comrade and added, "The lady over here is Yoruichi Shihouin." She waved at everyone with a smile. "Now, do you mind telling us who you are?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the blond said. "The most unpredictable shinobi on this continent!" Yoruichi and Kisuke raised their eyebrows while he remained silent for a moment as he remembered his situation. With a puzzled look, he added, "Or at least I was." Sakura palmed her face as Kisuke glanced at Yoruichi, who shrugged.
"I'm Sakura Haruno," she said to break the odd silence, and introduced everyone else. "The others are Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Tenten." She glanced at Yoruichi as she added, "We're all shinobi from—"
"Why doesn't she have a last name?" Kisuke interrupted, pointing to Tenten.
"I don't acknowledge it or use it," she responded as her eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem with that?" Kisuke backed away, holding his hands in the air.
"Now that we're acquainted with each other," Shikamaru said as he scrunched his eyes closed for a second, "we have a few questions."
"Fire away," Kisuke said while Yoruichi nodded.
"What was that monster that attacked?" Ino asked.
"That was a hollow," Kisuke said. "They come to living worlds to feed on the souls of the dead." As everyone glanced at each other, he continued, "They have a tendency to target powerful souls because it sedates their hunger for long periods of time."
"So why did it attack us?" Tenten asked. "We don't have any of our abilities from when we were alive."
"Because your souls are powerful," Yoruichi said, which caused Naruto to emit a giggle. "We'll explain that part later."
"So what are you guys?" Kiba asked.
"We are shinigami," Yoruichi said in a serious tone. "It's our job to—"
"You two can't be a shinigami!" Naruto said as he pointed at them. While Yoruichi turned her face to an unamused frown, he added, "Shinigami are supposed to be big, ugly and intimidating! They don't look like a man who woke up out of bed and a beautiful woman! That monster who attacked us looked more like a shinigami!"
"Have you seen a shinigami before?" Kisuke asked as Sakura and Hinata glanced at Yoruichi before returning their gazes to everyone.
"Er, no." Naruto said with a sheepish tone.
"Then how do you know what one looks like?" Kisuke added. Naruto sat to contemplate that thought.
"Like I was saying," Yoruichi said, "It's our job to guide good spirits to Soul Society before that," she glanced at Ino and pointed to the chain on her chest, "disappears."
"Soul Society?" Kiba said with a quizzical tone. "What's that?"
"Have you heard of heaven," Yoruichi said with a smile. When everyone in the group nodded, she added, "That's another name for it."
"What happens if the chain on the chest disappears?" Sakura asked.
"Then you become a hollow," Yoruichi said. The shinobi winced at the thought of turning into a vicious monster.
"There's just one problem," Kisuke said.
"What problem?" Tenten asked.
"We're not shinigami from this world," Kisuke responded with a smile. The shinobi groaned as he continued, "We happened to stumble upon it while undergoing a research trip."
"So do we wait for another shinigami to from our world to send us to Soul Society?" Shikamaru asked.
"Not exactly," Kisuke said with a serious tone. "We're going to try something else. An experiment to be precise."
"An experiment?" Kiba asked. "Why?"
"To be frank, the reiatsu levels coming from you are expansive," Yoruichi said in a serious tone. "They exceed that of a typical shinigami. We also don't know if there are shinigami in—"
"Yes! We have a ton of reiatsu!" Naruto interrupted. However, his cheering stopped as he asked, "What's reiatsu?"
"Spirit energy," Yoruichi said with a frown. "It's what holds a spirit together, and allows shinigami to do their job. The more there is, the more powerful a soul may become. This includes both shinigami and hollows."
"So how much reiatsu do we have?" Sakura asked as she leaned forward.
"I would say each of you has the reiatsu level of a high-level shinigami," Kisuke said. He grabbed his sword, and tapped the hilt on Shikamaru. As Shikamaru flashed in a light, and vanished, he added with a smile, "But you'll have time to learn about that later."
"What did you do to him?" Ino screeched, as everyone looked at the empty space with wide eyes.
"Don't worry," Yoruichi said. "He sent him to Soul Society." As Ino opened her mouth in surprise, the female shinigami added as Kisuke performed konso on Hinata, "It's too risky to leave you here. Since your reiatsu levels are high, hollows will continue to pursue you if you stay here."
Everyone remaining nodded in agreement. One by one, Kisuke tapped the foreheads of the shinobi with his zanpakutou.
"Well, this is an interesting development," Kisuke said. "Hollows have access to another world."
"How is this world not overrun with hollows?" Yoruichi asked. "This place should be another Hueco Mundo."
"It's because of beings like myself," A voice whispered behind them. The shinigami turned around, only to see a woman with red hair.
"Who are you?" Kisuke asked the woman.
"I am Kyuubi no Kitsune," the woman said with a feral smile, bearing her fangs at the shinigami.
"So how do you protect the world from hollows?" Yoruichi asked, as she and Kisuke remained unfazed by the bijuu.
"Glad you asked," Kyuubi said as her smile disappeared. "Since there are no shinigami in this world to slay hollows, Kami created myself and eight others to protect this world from them."
"Kami?" Yoruichi said as she widened her eyes. "You mean—"
"The king?" Kyuubi said with a smirk. After Yoruichi and Kisuke nodded, she continued, "After we defeat the hollows, their souls are reborn in the living world you call Earth. However, over some generations, our job has been ... compromised."
"What do you mean by that?" Kisuke asked, glancing around the area.
"Some of the humans in this world managed to sealed us inside objects or humans," Kyuubi said. "The last blonde you sent to the afterlife? I was sealed inside of him thanks to assistance from a hollow spirit."
"That explains his enormous reiatsu," Kisuke said. "If he had training, he could take on some of the captains in Seireitei now." Yoruichi nodded at the statement.
"The people in this world believe the hollows are shinigami," she said as she rolled her eyes. "They strive for knowledge, and even used some powers of the shinigami, but they remain ignorant."
"Now that you're free," Yoruichi said, interrupting the fox's rant, "You can handle your job, correct?"
"Yes," Kyuubi said. "Humans can see us, but as long as we remain in our human form, only spirits and those with high spiritual insight will notice the difference."
"Then we'll leave this world to you," Yoruichi said as Kisuke opened the dimensional portal.
"May I ask for one last favor?" Kyuubi asked.
"Sure," Yoruichi asked.
"The blond brat. Can you make sure he stays well?" Kyuubi said with hesitation. "Everyone treated him bad because I was a 'demon' sealed inside of him."
"We'll do what we can," Kisuke said as Yoruichi stepped through the gate. "He has the potential to be one of the greatest shinigami."
x X x
Author Notes:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter – especially to those who contributed beneficial critique that will assist in improving this narrative for future chapters. With that in mind, I want to answer some of the questions from the reviews.
I respect the recommendations for the harem combinations, because it indicates that people are interested in the story – or in the worst case scenario, the sexual scenes with said characters. However, in the planning stage of the story, I already picked the women for the harem. To change the women, would mean to change the basis of the story. That is something a writer cannot compromise without being called a sellout.
Furthermore, there are suggestions of up to twenty different women for the harem. (Seventeen by one reviewer.) Considering that this is a crossover fic, the "suspension of disbelief" is precarious enough. Adding the fact that harems aren't normal, the "suspension of disbelief" is close to collapsing. Any harem with more than four or five women (with apologies to authors who write as such) destroys the "suspension of disbelief," causing some to lose the reader.
With those two factors in mind, I will not change the story to add more women to the harem. I hope everyone understands this.
The world Kisuke visited in the first chapter was the world of Final Fantasy VII. Throughout the story, you may find some references to other media. Some, you'll have to look harder, while others are more blatant.
To answer the question of having a lemon with Sakura and Naruto in the first chapter, this is two years after current manga events, which gives more than enough time for feelings to develop. Throughout the story, their friendship/relationship will become a major theme, as you'll get pieces and bits of a puzzle to a hidden past.
Some thoughts about this chapter. The scene with Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Kyuubi (in her human form) is an enormous (if not obvious) hint for what may happen in the future. Of course, I'm sure that as the reader, you are smart enough to figure it out. If not, or you're just too lazy, wait and see.
Next up is Chapter 3: New World Awareness. All I have to say is the first experience in a new world isn't necessarily a great one.
Until then, I ask that you give honest and fair critique for the story and that you enjoy the rest of your day – or night, depending where you are.