I forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter, so here it is.
I do not own Naruto or Bleach, there, are you happy?
"What's the big idea?" Ichigo growled out.
"As I mentioned earlier, I'm going to steal that thing behind you." The Mizukage repeated with a flat look.
"Mizukage-sama?! What's gotten into you?!" Chojuro yelled frantically. Ichigo tried to analyse the situation as best as he could. He had headed to towards the Mizukage's tower as instructed and ask for temporary residency and the Mizukage seemed to have been complying for the most part, until she noticed Saiyako behind him that is.
The moment she saw her, Ichigo swore he saw her eyes go from emerald green to murky black. And by the way her assistant was frantically trying to stop her, this must not have been what she was normally like. Ichigo didn't have much time to think, as suddenly, Mei started to run her hands through some seals. Ichigo's eyes suddenly widened when a plume of lava spewed out of her mouth and fly right towards him.
He quickly grabbed Saiyako and dodged out the way. "Shit that was close." Thought Ichigo. "A second later and I might have become a bloody mess on the floor…" without wasting any time he quickly summoned both his Zagetsus and dashed right behind the Mizukage with the intent to incapacitate her.
But unfortunately for him he was quickly parried by the blue haired man with shark like teeth. "P-please stop! Don't harm her, she isn't normally like this!" Chojuro pleaded trying his best to stand up against ichigo's monstrous strength.
To his surprise Ichigo grabbed him by the shirt and threw him to the side, then quickly, the Shinigami swiped his blade swatting the lava upwards onto the ceiling that had been previously aiming to take both Chojuro and Ichigo out both at once.
"M-Mizukage-sama?" Was all the shocked boy could utter. He had just witnessed the woman he had devoted all his life to work under and protect, try and reduce him to molten ashes.
"Hey kid, stop gawking like an idiot and get the hell outa here! I'll deal with her!" Ichigo roared across the room still fending off more streams of lava.
"P-please don't hurt her too much, I'll try and get help!" He steeled his resolve dash straight out of the room.
"Alright lady, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but I'm gonna have to kick your ass." Ichigo stated confidently.
"Hoh? Is that so? Then how about this?!" Mei then began to quickly race through a different set of hand seals before she took a deep breath. Ichigo expected more lava to come rushing out of her mouth, but he was surprised to see steam instead, which was oddly disappointing to him. The lava looked a lot more threatening in his opinion.
But before he could think about that any further he suddenly felt like he was being burnt alive, as if his skin was boiling of his body. "Super-heated steam?!" Ichigo thought whilst reflexively activating his Blut to protect himself from any further damage. Not wanting to stay on the defensive Ichigo charged forward and cocked his fist backwards before smashing it right into the Mizukage's stomach causing her to blast straight out of the tower and land all the way over to the far side of the village near the gates.
"Ichigo, I think you may have over done it…" Saiyako commented dryly look at the destruction a single punch from the teen had caused.
"I tried to hold back as much as I could." Ichigo responded surprising the Bijuu. "Though I can still sense her, so she must be alive, so its fine."
"Ichigo your skin is peeling off on your face!" Gasped Saiyako, noticing all the scorch marks that littered his face.
"Ah yeah, that steam she used was insanely hot, but don't worry I ca-" He was cut off when he saw Saiyako form a bubble in-between her hands, before letting it go. It slowly drifted towards Ichigo landing directly onto his wound. Less than a second later, the bubble popped and ichigo's wound had been healed to the point where not even the tiniest remnant a scar remained.
"Woah, you can heal wounds?!" Ichigo asked, clearly impressed.
"Of course! I don't mean to brag, but I have the best healing techniques in all the elemental nations. I can pretty much heal any wound in an instant as long as the patient is still alive!" She stated with a prideful smile. "But that doesn't mean you should go around getting injured mister!" She scolded noticing ichigo's relieved look.
"Haha, I'll try not to get too many injuries." Ichigo replied sheepishly, putting emphasis on the try part.
"Ichigo, aren't you forgetting something?" Saiyako asked poking him in the chest causing his eyes to widen in realization.
"Oh shit, I forgot! The Mizukage!" Ichigo spun on his heel and leapt right off the edge of the Kage tower and headed towards the direct he had sent the Mizukage flying. When he arrived he noticed Mei was still inside the crater lying lifelessly. "No way, did I kill her?" Ichigo began to panic, if he had accidently killed her, he'd have all of Kirigakure on his back for the rest of his life, things didn't look too good.
Fortunately for the fiery haired teen the Mizukage started moving, though not in a healthy manner. Her previously lifeless body started to spasm violently as black liquid gush out of her mouth like a fountain.
"That doesn't look good." After a few seconds the spasms died down and the black muck that had been seeping out of the Kage's mouth slowly took human form. "Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo questioned with a snarl.
"Hmm, does it matter who I am?" The tall fully cloaked figure questioned in a playful mocking tone.
"I guess not, since you're gonna die right here." Ichigo retorted with a scowl. The man was so heavily clothed in black robes he couldn't even make out a single feature. Did he have Scoptophobia or something?
"You took the words right out of my mouth!" The black hooded man flicked his wrists, pulling what looked like to be a short black Wakizashi with a red hilt and guard, wasting no time he dashed right towards Ichigo aiming for his throat. The Shinigami quickly intercepted the attack with his Khyber like blade and tried to knee the cloaked intruder in the stomach only for him to jump nimbly away.
Ichigo didn't get a chance to breathe as he was assaulted by a flurry of Shuriken which he skilfully deflected with his longer sword.
"You are quite skilful, for a brat." The cloaked man complimented, though Ichigo couldn't tell if it was a compliment of a sarcastic insult. "It seems I'm going to have to get a little more serious." Before Ichigo could retort he felt a spike of what could only be Chakra.
"Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku!" A giant tidal wave of flames raced towards the teen scorching the earth as it did.
"Shit, if I dodge the civilians behind me will get roasted to death! I've got no other choice!" bringing his shorted sword up to waist height Ichigo made a horizontal swiping motion.
In an instant a torrent of light blue Reiryoku blasted its way towards the sea of flames completely nullifying it, though it didn't stop there, once it tore through the raging inferno it continued surging forward with immense speed.
"Such power." The man marvelled. He quickly slammed his hand into the ground and yelled, Doton: Doryuuheki! This in turn caused a large portion of the earth to tilt upwards. When ichigo's attack met the slab of earth it was redirected into the sky, parting the clouds in the sky as it did. "I must say, I'm thoroughly impressed. Never have I seen such an attack like that." The intruder admitted casually.
"Kurosaki-san! I've brought reinforcements!" Chojuro appeared next to Ichigo in a swirl of water along with about 10 other people all wearing blue masks. Each representing a different sea animal it seemed.
"Seems like I'm outnumbered." Stated the mysterious man.
"So you gonna flee with your tail between your legs?" Ichigo retorted with a smirk.
"How can I flee from this place, when I'm not actually here?" Before they could ask what he meant the man started too crumbled into dust, leaving only a pile of black soot behind.
"A bunshin?!" Chojuro gasped. Ichigo was just as confused as the blue haired teen.
"People can make freaking clones of themselves? This world is fucking nuts." Ichigo had seen some crazy things in his time but the stuff people were pulling out in this world was on a whole other level.
"Mizukage-sama!" Chojuro dashed over to the seemingly lifeless body of the auburn haired woman frantically checking for a pulse. To his relief she was alive, but barely. He quickly ordered the masked men behind him to get her to the medical facility as fast as possible. The assistant then turned towards Ichigo and bowed deeply. "Thank you very much for saving the Mizukage, I owe you a debt of gratitude that I may never be able to repay!" He spoke sincerely.
"If that's the case, you can repay me by letting me stay here for the night, I could use some sleep." Ichigo told him yawning as he did. "Two rooms would be nice, one for Saiyako as well."
"I-is that all you want? No money? Just a place to sleep?" He asked with a surprised look, causing Ichigo to take up a thinking position.
"Now that you mention it, I could use a little money for food once I head out again." The teen requested after a moment of thinking.
"Alright then, I shall prepare it for you right away, if there is anything else you require please feel free to ask." With that the spiky toothed teen disappeared in a swirl of water.
"Haaah, today was tiring as hell…" Ichigo groaned out as he slumped his shoulders forward. He had completely ran out of energy, all he wanted to do now was to collapse on a nice soft bed and sleep for a month.
Unknown Location.
"You're back earlier than planned, Kyouji…" A gruff, inhumane voice echoed through a dark cavern.
"Well, there was an unexpected miscalculation, so it couldn't be help." Spoke the fully black cladded man as he briskly made his way into their hideout.
"Oh? What happened?" Asked the shadowy figure curiously.
"Well, a certain orange haired boy managed to stop me from acquiring the Rokubi." Kyouji answered honestly.
"A single boy stopped you? I find that hard to believe." The unknown figured scoffed.
"It's true, he was extremely formidable, and I could tell he was holding a lot back. The funny thing was he had no Chakra, quite the peculiar specimen if I do say so myself…" The hooded man could only grin in anticipation. "It seemed things are getting rather interesting" He thought to himself, almost giddily. "Anyway, how things on your end, Akutoku?"
"Unlike you, I have already capture the Nibi and I am already in the process of capturing the Gobi." The newly named Akutoku Boasted. "And I managed to steal 3 of the 5 artefacts from different hidden villages, now we only need 2 more, which only leaves the ones at Konoha and Kiri."
"Oh my, you sure are competent~" Kyouji retorted sarcastically, causing his partner to growl in annoyance.
"Shut your annoying trap you worthless swine! You better capture the Rokubi at the next chance you get, and don't let some carrot haired punk get in your way either, otherwise the boss is going to kill you!" Akutoku snarled causing Kyouji to wave him off.
"No need to get so angry my friend, I'll be sure to capture it in due time. After all, this is all for the sole purpose of completing that plan." Kyouji spoke ominously before slowly disappearing in a swirl of black smoke and ash.
Next day with Ichigo and Saiyako.
It was 2pm and Ichigo had just had the most relaxing night ever, is what he wanted to say. But his night had been anything but relaxing… After he and Saiyako managed to get a place to sleep at a local inn. He had fallen to sleep with relative ease, what the annoying thing was, was the fact that he kept being plagued by nightmares.
He saw the same scene repeating itself, over and over again. A scene where he'd be defeated by Yhwach, and then left to slowly die whilst watching everything he held dear be reduce to nothingness. Every time the morbid dreams ended, he'd always wake up in cold sweat panting as if he had been running a marathon.
"Ichigo, are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep last night, I could even hear you all the way from my room." Saiyako asked with a concerned look as they headed downstairs to get breakfast.
"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about. Just a few bad dreams is all." Ichigo replied waving her concern off.
"Well, if you say so…" And with that they were left in a comfortable silence, simply just enjoying their prepared meal and each other's company.
Once they had finished their meals, Ichigo and Saiyako headed towards the market district. Saiyako had told Ichigo that they could use a few sets of clothes to change into. Ichigo didn't really see the point but he was dragged along anyway.
"Hmm, that blue haired guy gave us some money, but I have no idea what the currency in this world is or how it works…" Ichigo mused fiddling with the bag of money in his hands.
"That's fine, I can handle that." The Bijuu told him taking the bag from him before quickly counting the amount inside. "So the boy gave us 100,000 Ryo, that's quite a lot. He must have felt truly indebted to you after you saved the Mizukage." She mused aloud. "Anyway, let's go to that shop over there!"
Before Ichigo new it he had become a bag carrying slave. Though he couldn't complain since Saiyako was just trying her best to get some supplies ready for the next time they headed out which would most likely be later today. They had bought 2 sets of clothes for each of them and some rations, such as energy bars and nutrient supplements. They also found a watch, which Ichigo was quite pleased about. Now he didn't have to try and guess the time by looking at the sun.
"Hey Saiyako, that guy from before said he wanted to capture you? Do you know why that is?" Ichigo decided it was a better time than ever to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while.
"I believe he may be after me because, essentially what I am is a giant mass of sentient Chakra, if he is after me then that would also mean there's a high chance that he might be after my brothers and sisters too…" Saiyako explained with a worried look.
"Next time I see that bastard, I'll be sure to rip him a new one." Ichigo growled out. He didn't like the idea of some deranged guy trying to cage other living things for his own benefit, it just didn't sit right with him. As they continued with their idle chatter Ichigo noticed Chojuro making his way up to them.
"K-Kurosaki-san, Saiyako-san, good afternoon." The timid teen greeted shyly.
"Good evening…"Ichigo trailed off.
"Ah, sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Chojuro of the Seven Swordsmen of The Mist, nice to meet you." He said taking a slight bow.
"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo and this is Saiyako, nice to meet you too Chojuro." Ichigo replied taking a small bow as well, followed by Saiyako. "So what's up Chojuro?" The dual wielder asked trying to start a conversation.
"I was wondering how long you two would be staying." The meek boy asked.
"Well, I was thinking about heading out later today, why do you ask?" Ichigo inquired.
"W-well I was wondering if you could stay an extra day or two. The Mizukage wishes to speak with you. She should be out of the hospital by tomorrow, so I was wondering if you two wouldn't mind staying an extra day." Ichigo made a "Hmm" Sound before he replied.
"Sure, I got something I gotta' do as well, this will give me an excuse to get it over with."
"G-great! I'll inform her right away!" With that the youngest of the Seven Swordsmen dashed off to the hospital.
"What is this something you wish to do Ichigo?" Saiyako asked curiously.
"It's training, Zangetsu said he would teach me how to use a certain technique he demonstrated before me and you met." Ichigo briefly summarized to her.
"Zangetsu?" She repeated tilting her to the side.
"Ah, you haven't met him have you? Well when we find an open space I'll introduce you to him." Ichigo replied with a knowing smirk. She was definitely going to be surprised with what she was going to see.
Northern outskirts of Kiri.
"This place will do." Ichigo had found a large grassy plain just north of Kiri. It was a little damp and foggy but it was a perfect place for training. Ichigo glanced around checking if anyone was watching and noticed no one other than Saiyako. He manifested his shorter black blade in his left hand before quickly tossing it in the air.
It spiraled in mid-air for a moment before it glowed a light blue and morphed into the form of a human. Ichigo could only smirk when he heard the surprised gasp coming from behind him, which undoubtedly belong to Saiyako.
"So I assume you wish to hone your Quincy Techniques, Ichigo?" The Yhwach clone asked knowingly.
"Yeah, since we got a whole day to burn I was thinking you could teach me how to do that thing you did before, where you made a replica of that map." Ichigo asked with a slight hint of excitement in his voice.
"Very well." The aged man nodded. "But first we need to talk about the principle, and theory behind this technique." Ichigo nodding in understanding letting Zangetsu continue. "The idea behind this technique is to manipulate the Reiryoku in the air and give it a tangible form. But you must have a clear understanding of what you intend to create, and a clear mental picture too." Zangetsu paused to let Ichigo absorb the information.
"So for example if I wanted to make water, all I'd need to know is that it's made out of H2O, whilst also having a clear imagine in my mind?" Ichigo questioned.
"Yes, but that is only part of it. While something as simple as water requires minimal effort and knowledge to produce. If you wanted to replicate a weapon, take a sword for example. You would have to know the reason why the Sword was created in the first place, what's its purpose. Otherwise it is just a piece of metal with no cutting edge." Zangetsu explained.
"I don't quite get what you mean by purpose." Ichigo replied honestly.
"Ichigo, what is a sword used for?" Zangetsu questioned.
"For attacking someone?" His simple answer caused Zangetsu to sigh.
"A sword isn't simply made for attacking. It defends, cuts, and most of all it kills. That is the true nature of a sword."
"Ah I see, so knowing the purpose of what I intend to create is just as important as knowing its composition?"
"Precisely."
"Alright then, I got something I want to try out." Ichigo stated taking a deep breath. He extended his arm and began to concentrate. Slowly but surely wisps of light blue energy began to gather into the palm of his hand. At this point a few beads of sweat began to form on Ichigo's brow, due to the sheer amount of concentration it took. "Seriously? How did Zangetsu make this look so easy?" Ichigo thought to himself.
A second later, the cluster of Reiryoku burst apart blasting Ichigo backwards as it did. "Damn…That hurts like hell." Ichigo grunted, lying flat on his back.
"Are you alright?" Saiyako questioned giving him a hand.
"Yeah I'm fine, this technique is harder than it looks, that's for sure." Ichigo sighed taking the slug Bijuu's hand and hoisting himself up into a standing position once again.
"You had the concept down, but you were forcing the Reiryoku too much. You need to let it flow into your hands and not try and bend it to your will. Think less about the Reiryoku and more about the object you intend to create." Zangetsu explained.
With that fact cleared up Ichigo tried again. This time he did as Zangetsu instructed and let the Reiryoku come to him whilst he imagined a clear mental imagine of what he wanted to materialize. To his shock, almost instantly an exact replica of both his Zangetsus appeared in his hands. There were key differences he noticed about the forgeries.
They felt weaker and more brittle, they didn't exude overwhelming power like the originals did. They just felt like regular weapons. Ichigo found it rather irksome, he had been wielding the real Zangetsus for a long time and holding these two blades felt extremely out of place for him.
"Well done Ichigo, you managed to grasp the technique on your second attempt, I'm quite impressed." Zangetsu praised.
"Well I figured since I know you guys a lot I thought it would be the easiest thing I could create." Ichigo explained a little sheepishly. Zangetsu nodded in understanding. He had to start somewhere, so might as well start with something you were comfortable with and then work your way up.
For the remainder of the day, Ichigo had been training to improve the time in which it took to create the objects he wanted, he also tried to make different things, such as; Long Swords, Spears, Lances and even daggers, though the weapons were extremely fragile he could still find some use for them in battle. He also found out that once he created them he could freely manipulate them with a simple mental command. He had to admit it was truly a fascinating and handy ability.
Night time later the same day.
The spiky haired teen lay exhausted on the ground, taking in huge gulps of air. "Never again." Was all that he was thinking right now. You might be wondering what he was referring too. To put it simply, it was Zangetsu's hell like training. He had not let Ichigo take even a single break, always telling him to get up and try again when he failed to do something, or had been beaten down.
Once Ichigo had gotten the basics of the technique Zangetsu had told him to put it into practice in actual combat. And to put it bluntly, it was hard as hell.
Concentrating on your opponent whilst trying to create a mental imagine of the weapons you wanted to create and simultaneously moulding the flow of Reiryoku was no easy task. It had been mentally and physically draining to say the least.
"Ichigo, I forgot to mention something." Zangetsu said walking up to the exhausted teen.
"What's that?" Ichigo questioned turning his head to face his mentor.
"I forgot you aren't just a Quincy." Ichigo would have tripped in a comedic fashion right then and there if it hadn't been for the fact he was already on the floor.
"What the heck do you mean? How could you even forget that?!" Ichigo yelled up at the aged weapon.
"I have been teaching you how to use Heilige Gebilde as a Quincy and not as a Shinigami." Seeing the confused look Ichigo was giving him, he decided to elaborate. "I'm sure you've heard the fact that Quincy's cannot produce Reiatsu or Reiryoku right?" Ichigo nodded, he had been told by Kisuke about that a few years ago, he had also noticed that fact too when he fought the Quincy's. "Since you're a Shinigami you don't need to use foreign Reiryoku to create things with the Heilige Gebilde technique, you can simply use your own, which should be a lot easier for you to handle since it is your own."
Ichigo face palmed, who knew Zangetsu could make mistakes or even forget something as important as that? Ichigo sure as hell didn't.
"I shall take my leave then, it's getting late so make sure to rest up." Zangetsu spoke before dissipating into shreds of blue light.
"Wow, Zangetsu-san sure is a strict teacher, I thought you were going to die at one point." Laughed Saiyako as she walked over to him with a smile.
"Haha, laugh at my pain why don't you." Ichigo grumbled with fake anger. He got up and dusted himself off, he then took a quick glance at his watch and noticed it was already 1am. They had been out here for quite a long time it seemed.
"We should head back to the inn, it's really late." Said the teen. Saiyako just yawned in a very un-lady like fashion, causing Ichigo to chuckle.
"Oh btw Ichigo, you did show me who Zangetsu was but what exactly is he?" Saiyako questioned through a yawn.
"He's my weapon, the shorter one to be precise. The longer one is another Zangetsu, who's a total prick." Ichigo explained. He swore he heard the white clad Zangetsu curse him from his inner world.
"So you have sentient weapons, that really is something amazing." She comment.
"To be more precise, they are both me, though just different aspects of my power and my desires." Ichigo told her holding both the blades in his hands giving her a good look.
"I wonder which one's your carnal desires, perhaps the longer one maybe? Ufufu~." Ichigo's face instantly turned beet red before he started to sputter things incoherently, only to be laughed at some more by the Slug Princess.
The pair continued to exchanged banter and idle chatter whilst heading towards the inn to get a good night's rest, neither of them notice a near invisible presence watching them intently from the shadows.
"So this is the kid huh? Very interesting…"
Next morning.
"Hey Saiyako hurry up, we gotta go meet the Mizukage in about 10 minutes!" Ichigo yelled from outside her room, tapping his foot impatiently as he did. Seriously, why did all girls take so long getting dress? It was probably one of life's greatest mysterious.
Today, instead of wearing his black shihakusho Ichigo was now sporting the clothes that Saiyako had picked up for him. He had a deep red t-shirt on with the number 15 firmly planting near the left breast, a white zip down hoodie, black combat trousers and a matching pair of black pumps.
5 minutes later, Saiyako emerged from her room finally ready to go, much to Ichigo's relief. She had also changed out of her immaculate white kimono into some fresh new clothes. She adorned a stripy black and white t-shirt, which rested under a creamy coloured cardigan. She had a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a pair of red sneakers to finish the look.
"You know Ichigo, it's not very gentlemanly telling a girl to hurry up when she's getting ready." Saiyako scolded the teen with a stern look, both hands on her hips. Ichigo could only sigh. He lazily replied with a simple "Whatever" before continuing walking down the path towards the hospital.
"I wonder what the Mizukage wants to talk about, since you've already been rewarded for your efforts, what else could she possible want to see you about?" Saiyako questioned, resting a delicate finger on her chin as she did.
"Who knows? Maybe she knows something about that guy who attacked us?" Ichigo said shrugging his shoulders.
After a few minutes of walking, the duo arrived at the room where Mei was being treated. Ichigo entered first, he noticed Mei sitting upright in her bed looking peacefully out the window.
"Mei, you asked for us?" Ichigo spoke trying to gain her attention. She turned her head to face her visitors and offered a friendly smile.
"Ah yes, I do believe I asked Chojuro for both of you to see me today, I have something of upmost importance to discuss with you two." She explained motioning for them both to take a seat.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"First I'd like to confirm something, Saiyako-san, are you a Bijuu?" The question nearly threw both Ichigo and Saiyako of their seats. "Before you ask how I know, I'd like to remind you that I'm a Kage level Shinobi and I have witnessed battles between Bijuu before, and your Chakra is undeniably that of one."
"It's true, I am the Rokubi." Saiyako honestly admitted. In all honestly she expected Mei to tell her to leave her village or even try and capture her to use her as a weapon. But none of that happened, instead she received a smile from the Mizukage.
"Thank you for being so honest, I just wanted to confirm that, that is all. You don't have to worry about me trying to capture you, the times where humans enslaved your kind is long gone." She said easing the Bijuu's worries.
"What do you mean by enslaving?" Ichigo asked with slightly narrowed eyes.
"You don't know?" Mei asked, her voice filled with surprise only for him to shake his head. "When the elemental nations first established themselves with hidden villages, the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju shared the Bijuu between each village as a peace treaty." Mei explained briefly.
"So what you're saying is, you captured beings that had their own will and just enslaved them because it was convenient for you?" Ichigo spat angrily. Mei lowered her head in shame upon hearing that, sure she wasn't the one who had done it, but her predecessor had set down that law and she had followed it through without thinking much about it.
"Well, it's all in the past now, so why don't we just let it go?" Saiyako interjected trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.
"I know, we have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we're trying to rectify them as best as we can." Mei spoke with a new fiery passion, causing Ichigo to sigh.
"Well that's good, just don't try that sort of shit again and we'll be alright." He told her with a small smile.
"Ah, it seems we have gone a bit off topic, let's get onto the main reason why I called you here." The auburn haired Kage said. "Last night Chojuro explained the situation to me. It seems I had been under control by that hooded man you fended off."
"Yeah, it seemed that way, at the time I was really confused as to why you randomly became hostile." Ichigo admitted.
"For what it's worth, I am truly sorry about such an inconvenience and putting you both in danger like that." She apologised lowering her head as she did.
"You don't need to worry about it, no one got hurt so its fine." Ichigo told her. "Do you know who that person was, or why he attacked?" Ichigo questioned, trying to keep the flow of the conversation going.
"I shouldn't be telling you this, but after what you saw the other day I believe I have no choice, please make sure not to tell anyone, you too Saiyako-san." Requested Mei seriously.
"Our lips are sealed." Ichigo replied.
"Lately there have been a strange group of people targeting certain ancient artefacts from all the major villages, along with the Tailed beats too. We have no idea what their objective is but it can't be anything good." The Lava release user briefly summarized.
"Ichigo, didn't the guards tell us something like that when we first arrived at the village?" Saiyako mentioned thinking back to that event.
"Oh yeah they did, didn't they? It was the reason why all the major villages are on high alert right?" Ichigo said, also remembering that discussion.
"Yes indeed." Mei confirmed.
"By the way, what are these artefacts everyone keeps mentioning?" Ichigo asked, he had heard both Mei and the guards speak about them, but he didn't know what they actually were.
"They are five keys, their original origin is completely unknown. When they were found they were considered scarred and were shared between each of the major village as a symbol of power and long lasting peace. Though that is all I know about them, as for why these people are stealing them I have no clue." Mei confessed sighing in frustration.
"Well, when the time comes I guess I'll just have to kick their asses." Ichigo stated as it was the most simple of solutions.
"You know, you remind me of Naruto-san, Ichigo." Saiyako commented, letting a small giggle out.
"I do?" Ichigo asked with a quirked brow.
"Yep, you're both headstrong idiots, who don't think a single thing through!" She laughed, causing Ichigo to growl at her.
"We'll see who's laughing when I wipe the floor with those punks and show 'em who's boss." Ichigo replied stubbornly.
"Is that so? Maybe I'll have to take them down before you do~. Saiyako shot back with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, you are so on!" The conversation Ichigo and Saiyako were having over such a serious matter only served to leave Mei stunned out of her mind. These two were making a sport out of a matter that could put the entire Shinobi world at jeopardy. "Mei, don't sweat it, humans normally come together when their existence is being questioned. So even if these guys try something funny, I'm pretty sure all the elemental nations will unite to try and stop it." Ichigo reassured the flabbergasted Kage.
"Who knew you were so philosophical Ichigo, you're just my type plus, you're handsome to boot." Mei stated flirtatiously giving him a quick wink, causing Ichigo's cheeks to redden.
"Ooh someone's face has gone completely red~." Saiyako teased with a sly smirk.
"Shut it." Ichigo grumbled under his breath, muttering something about stupid Slugs.
And the second chapter is done!
I'm really glad this story got so much love so quickly. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and those guest reviewers that I can't reply to, thank you as well.
If there are an Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works fans here, you probably have noticed how similar the Heilige Gebilde (Meaning: Holy Construct) is to Archer's Unlimited Blade Works. I simply drew inspiration from that and incorporated into Ichigo's Quincy abilities.
If you guys have any questions about the story feel free to ask, as long as it doesn't involve me giving you spoilers that is.
Also someone asked for another Naruto girl to be paired with Ichigo. To that I say, just be patient I have someone in mind.
Anyway, as always please leave a review.
ForsakenHate out.