Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 3-

拒否(Kyohi) Refusal

"Why don't you consider being a shinigami?"

Naruto stared at him blankly. "Are you nuts?"

"No," Toushiro sighed exasperatedly. "I'm serious! Doesn't my face say so?"

"Your face says 'I'm about to puke at what I'm saying now.'" Naruto grinned, already deciding that this boy in front of him is mentally challenged. He had always been a good shinobi; he had witnessed all kinds of death, from illnesses to slaughter in various ways…all he had seen. He had even killed- he was a shinobi. Now, someone wanted him to help the dead. It was really ironic. Did someone wanted to tell him to atone for all those he had killed? He thought death was enough atonement already, it turns out he was wrong.

Toushiro groaned, already guessing the answer from Naruto's cynical and distrustful face. Well, it doesn't matter if he wanted to be one or not; precise orders are given to bring the blond back, no matter what the circumstances are. Asking just makes his job easier- for a lazy person like him. But of course, he didn't expect it to be that simple too.

"Well, do you want to become a shinigami or not?" Toushiro starting to get impatient with Naruto's lack of a response and a slight bit edgy and tense too. "I don't go around asking people this stupid, lame question everyday, you know! In fact, I've never even asked this dumb question even once in my entire life at all! So please don't ruin my pride and just say yes…"

"Relax, relax... You're spraying spit on my face already, disgusting." Naruto made a revolted face and pretended to wipe imaginary spit off his whisker marked cheeks. "So… what will it have me doing?" He asked, though only saying that because it looks as though the other boy would start screaming into his ear if he didn't at least appear to be interested. Which he wasn't in the least bit. He already knew the answer himself.

"A shinigami's duties includes leading departed spirits to Soul Society in a practice called soul burial and the cleansing of hollows, which are technically spirits that got engulfed in their on sorrow and misery and turned bad. The other duties of a shinigami are governing the flow of spirits between the human world and Soul Society." Toushiro said, all in one breath, as though he was reading from a script.

"One word.'Huh'?" Toushiro resisted the urge to smack him. 'Should I just whack him unconscious and drag him back...?' He found himself thinking. 'Hmm… that should make my job easier, though he'll kill me for that later. And he looks like the really persistent type.'

"In other words, you are to help save the souls of others and kill big fat monsters called Hollows, understand?" Toushiro summarized and managed to force it out through gritted teeth. It was like teaching a three year old, having to use this level of vocabulary to make him understand.

"In other words, I'm going to save the souls of poor spirits that got lost on the road of life and kill big fat monsters called Hollows?" Naruto asked, already skimming through the pros and cons of this job. Hmmm …Slaughtering doesn't seem like a too bad idea though. And since they're monsters and not human anyway …

"That's what I just said!" Toushiro started to shout, but stopped. "Wait. What road of life? I didn't say that!"

"You didn't. My sensei did." Naruto huffed, though somewhat absentmindedly, distracted by trying to think of an answer to tell the boy so that the other would not get mad at him. Obviously he did not want the job- he had other important things to do, like regaining full control of his body and then finding a way to use his jutsus again (if it was even possible in this world) and then finding Sasuke. Too many to count. Besides, he was loyal only to his beloved Konoha; no way was he going to serve the Shinigami organization. But judging from the tight jaw and tense posture, it seems that Toushiro was not going to take no for an answer.

"So are you going to accept it?" Toushiro impatiently shifted his weight from one foot to another; he wanted to get the job done as fast as possible. It was not his character to be begging people to register themselves after all, doing this made him felt very awkward.

"And if I say no?" Naruto asked bluntly, abandoning all attempts on sweet-talking his way out and eyeing the boy as though expecting some sort of attack from him. He should be.

"What? Why?" Toushiro turned and looked at Naruto sharply. That really was a surprise. First time trying to recruit someone and got turned down. Great. The entire 10th division will be laughing at their third seat soon. Hell, even unranked Shinigamis can enroll people much more easily than him.

"I didn't forget what you said, Toushiro. I just won't forget my friends! My memories are mine and I won't give them up, not for anyone or anything." Naruto snapped at Toushiro. "You did say that once you became a shinigami, memories of your past life would be deleted away, right?"

"I also said that even if you stayed here, your memories would still fade away! It's pointless to resist the enchantments set up here!" Toushiro said, exasperated, but bemused somewhat that despite what he looked like, Naruto could remember certain things well.

"But you said that there might be a chance that I can regain them!" Naruto protested. "So maybe if I could record it down and if I stay here long enough... I…I…"

"A slim chance! Slim! Don't you understand? One not even more than zero point zero one percent!" Toushiro groaned at his stupidity. "What makes you think that you're so special you'll be the only one able to regain them, huh? There are numerous others out there, all having the same mindset, and now what? They forgot too! And the worse part is, they even forgot that they had forgotten!"

"But there's still a chance." Naruto said in a low voice and looking down, not daring to meet Toushiro's critical face. "There's still hope, so I won't give up yet. In fact, I can't even afford to forget! Sasuke...Sasuke is still... I still have other things I need to do, dammit! You understand, right?"

"Just how much more idiotic can you become?! don't cling onto fake hope. The past is in the past. Just treat this as your new beginning in life." Toushiro advised him. "You are dead. So face it already and get used to it. The dead is not meant to meddle with the affairs of the living. If that is so, then the balance will be tipped in favor of the humans. That is why we Shinigami are here. To balance them out. There's absolutely no way you could help your friends back there now."

"Its not fake hope. It's trust. Loyalty. And if I can't find them, then I'll wait for them to come into this plane instead! I'll wait, okay? I don't care how many centuries will pass before that actually happens and to be frank, I don't really care! So shut up and go 'balance' someone else out!" Naruto yelled, while trying to digest his own words himself. Who really knew how long more it'll take for the entire Rookie nine to die and come up here with him? They were all still in their prime, and Naruto will seriously whack them hard if they died an early death like himself.

Toushiro seemed to share the same thoughts. "You moron! There are more than a thousand districts in Rukongai! Even if your friends die and come here, it'll be near impossible to meet any of them!" Toushiro cried, frustrated at this situation too. "Plus, the timeline between the two worlds are different! Maybe when they finally came, you'll already be long reincarnated! And then I'll laugh at you hard."

"We're all Shinobi! I'll...I'll try to locate their chakra pulses or something..." Naruto trailed of, pondering what he'll do next. First, he decided, he'll need to get himself a journal. He'll jot the days down, so that way he won't be forgetting anytime soon! Ha! Then next, he'll do some snooping around and try to figure out how to communicate with the other world.

Toushiro sighed. He could see that at any rate, Naruto would not come with him quietly without a fight. Naruto was already grasping at the straws, trying to convince himself that his memories would be safe with himself. In the end, it all comes down to this huh? No wonder Soul Society erased memories. Imagine if everyone were just as upset and loud as him. It'll be a big headache for Soul Society then.

Toushiro gave yet another sigh and stood up, turning to walk away. If he carried on, the shouting match would turn into a brawl soon. And Naruto will certainly not want to go Seireitei. "Fine, stay here if you want. In order to survive, you'll have to act like a civilian, you know? Just don't die begging for food."

"What? Don't they sell them?" Naruto blinked at the abrupt change of topic and behavior.

Toushiro glanced, disparaging. "No, only people with high spiritual power, or reiatsu, get hungry. Like us, Shinigami, for example. Food is hard to obtain at a low price." Toushiro stood up, brushed himself down, and walked off. Shame, really. Someone with that much spiritual power…what a waste. "I'll see you later." He said in an icy tone. Surprised at the sudden change of attitude, Naruto stood up and started attempting his walking exercise again.

"Leave all you want, Shorty!" He called to a retreating Toushiro's back. "I'd rather die on the streets than lose what's precious to me! If all Shinigami are a stuck up as you, then I'll really say 'no thank you' to this job! And killing monsters are lame!"

Toushiro twitched at the word Shorty but other than that, showed no sign of ever hearing him, just clinically striding down the ally. He was pretty soon engulfed into the shadows and not visible any more.

"Teme." Naruto growled and turned away. "Which shinobi is stupid enough to involve themselves with these kind of matters? Balancers my foot."

Two weeks later

Toushiro, stiff and bored, did his rounds again like any other day, although still a little bit sore at having blotched up the mission assigned to him. He winced and rubbed his still throbbing ears where his captain had practically screamed into. "You lost track of Uzumaki Naruto, who can't even walk properly by himself?!" He couldn't help it; he didn't want to use force to get Naruto to enter as a shinigami. He really was getting soft. Or was it Naruto's words? That guy really has his way with words. Scary.

Suddenly, he stopped short as he spotted a villager leaning against a broken down fence. His exposed arms were full of bruises and his clothes were staked with mud and bits of grass. Funny- someone lying so still under a hot, blazing afternoon sun. People would usually stay under shelters. Toushiro walked up to him and shook him roughly. "Hey, wake up. What are you doing here, lying down like that?"

To his surprise, the boy muttered something and turned away from him. And he thought he was unconscious. Realizing that the teen had only been sleeping, and he had actually showed concern for someone over a small matter, Toushiro, to save his pride, kicked the guy none too lightly. "Oei, wake up! This is no place to sleep!"

"I said go butt off and die, Toushiro." The blond angrily muttered and rubbed his eyes, and tiredly pushed himself into sitting position with shaking arms, though he was slouched all over the creaky, moldy fence.

"Naruto?! What are you doing here?" Toushiro asked, rather surprised. He had been searching for this boy for over two weeks, and he left no trace at all. And now, he was just snoozing here under broad daylight, for everyone to see. Toushiro mentally slapped himself. It's not like Naruto could hide himself fast enough, with his body being like that.

"I'm playing with the grass. Look, doesn't this one look like a senbon?" Naruto said sarcastically. Then he yawned and turned away. "Go home, Shorty. I already said I don't want to become a shinigami. And I'm not the kind which gives in to constant persuasion and nagging."

"I wasn't going to ask you about that!" Toushiro replied, indigent. "You've already declined; I'm not going to waste my time chasing after you just so you could sign the registration form. What? Do you think we Shinigamis are that low in strength that we have to stalk people to recruit them?" Though of course, half of his exclamation is a real big lie. Naruto had to come to Seireitei. The orders are absolute. Though he'd rather bring Naruto himself there than one of the men from Soifon's division to.

"Oh?" Naruto raised an unbelieving eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Very convincing, Shorty. Then why are you still lingering around my person? Don't you have better stuff to be doing, shinigami?"

"I just wanted to know where you got all your bruises in only a span of two weeks." Toushiro grunted. "Is it life really that difficult out there? The people here don't start fights without my approval."

Naruto grinned. "Oh them? I got them all from stealing food. And rotting stale ones, mind you." It was half-truth anyway. The majority was gotten from trying to walk non-stop without stumbling. It looked to him like there was little to no progress at all, and the entire subject itself was very maddening.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just came to me, baka." Toushiro said. "I could have given you some spare cash to spend…"

"I can carry my own weight, thanks." Naruto's reply came immediately, in a flat tone. He was already embarrassed about walking around with his body in this condition; he didn't want to rely on anyone else for help. Besides, shinobis were trained to live off from anything they could find; including snails and bugs, if it was a worst case situation.

"Your body isn't fast enough to react yet! See, you're all bruised up now- stop trying to push your luck." Toushiro exclaimed, prodding one off the many visible bruises on his left forearm. "And I'm offering my help here…"

"Nonsense." Naruto absently waved his bruised hand while stifling a yawn with his other. "It's fine; it's only a few bruises. It'll heal, so don't worry. "

Toushiro sighed in exasperation at the others' stubbornness and sat beside Naruto, silently handing him a few onigiri. Naruto looked at it warily before giving in to his hunger and bit into one graciously. They sat like this in silence for a while and Toushiro pounded on this strange boy beside him. Were his memories more important then his life? He was willing to throw away the luxurious life of a Shinigami, which everyone eyed, and spend it here, on the deserted harsh streets, like a beggar. Just for the sake of keeping his memories of his friends. That was...lame.

"…I'll ask you again. Do you really want to decline this job offer?" Toushiro asked. Half of him wanted to tell the boy to do so, to stop being this naïve and accept, while the other half wanted him to decline the offer; he really envied his unwavering determination and loyalty to his friends.

Naruto slowly chewed on his food as he reconsidered the proposal. He swallowed the last of the onigiri and wiped his mouth. "Fine." He said finally. "I'll accept it."

Instead of feeling a sense of achievement, Toushiro somehow felt disappointed at the boy in front of him. He thought Naruto was different from others. He thought that the blond was hard to break.

"But what about your precious memories?" He asked, finally, in a taunting tone. "I thought you treasured them!"

Naruto only stared back at him, looking magnificently confused. "I thought you begged me to…join. The deal's still on, right? …Is this some sort of hidden test?"

Toushiro growled in frustration. "Yes, but you would willingly throw what is precious to you, for a more luxurious life-?" Toushiro stopped halfway during his speech, shocked at his own words. 'What are you saying? You should be happy he finally agreed to come. This makes your job ten times easier!'

Naruto laughed. "You're a funny one Shorty! First you're all 'Join us, stupid! Do you want to die on the streets?' then two weeks later you're all 'Why did you join? You really are stupid!' You're contradicting your own words!"

Yes, it was strange. First, he wanted Naruto to follow him quietly to save the hassle, and do it out of his own will, but now, he actually wanted the blond to leave with a fight. He knew he would emerge the victor, but he wanted the blond to at least fight for his memories instead of just resigning and letting them go. Toushiro had simply given him a taste of luxury and the blonde's mindset had swung to a different direction altogether. Naruto's determination had turned out to be only half-assed. He stood up and stomped off. 'He's just like the rest…' He thought angrily. 'I was wrong to think of him as another. As someone different.'

"Well?" Toushiro turned around once sensing that Naruto had stopped following him. "Aren't you coming to get your comfy life?" Naruto slowly staggered to his feet and glared that the white-haired kid for forgetting him and not helping him out. 'Oh damn, I forgot his body is only two weeks old.' Toushiro thought. 'With the way he's acting and all that, you won't even know that the lower part of his body is still paralyzed.'

"Hurry up, slowpoke. I'll still have to let you meet with the captains and all that formal crap." Toushiro muttered and put one of Naruto's arms over his shoulders. He staggered a bit as his body got used to the taller boy's height. It looked slightly awkward to others, to see a very short boy supporting someone who was taller.

Toushiro started to take a step forward but stopped since Naruto didn't move, his face still flashing with many unreadable emotions. Guilt? Regret? Toushiro could not guess. "Hey, I thought you agreed to leave your memories behind. Having second thoughts now?" Toushiro sighed and shook the blond again. "You're doing this just to spite me aren't you? Well, forget it. I'm not treating you to any more ramen you troublesome idiot."

Naruto turned to the little kid beside him. "You sound like Shikamaru." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice and a barely visible smile forming on his lips. "But you don't look a thing like him though."

"What?" Toushiro blinked, confused at what the blond was saying. Had he already cracked and went mental? Toushiro hoped not. It would make his job even harder, explaining to the captains why Uzumaki Naruto can't even answer what was his name.

"Shikamaru." Naruto repeated each syllable slowly and clearly, like how you would teach a two year old how to pronounce the word 'umbrella'. If Shikamaru heard him misusing his name like that, he would surely be trying to escape from a kage mane by now. "You know? He's always going 'Oh, this is so troublesome.' And 'Oh, that is so troublesome.' And even 'Oh Naruto, why must you be soooo troublesome…?'" Naruto impersonated the shadow user's lazy whining and chuckled to himself at the memory. Temari had whacked him after that for being too 'noisy'.

"Having second thoughts now, Uzumaki?" Toushiro repeated smirking, knowing at least what he was talking about now. "Feel free to decline."

"Nope, I'm still going to be a Shinigami!" Naruto grinned widely. "Why not? Free food, free meals, free clothes, though I'd expect it'll be all black and white like yours, but never mind. And if ero-sennin were here, he'll say that they'll be free women too. But I'm not him, so I won't." Toushiro looked a bit disappointed. Naruto patted the boy on the head, earning him a glare, but he ignored it somehow. "But I'll have you know, even though I'm going to be a shinigami doesn't mean I'm going to throw my memories away."

"But your memories…" Toushiro wondered how the boy would be able to keep two things at the same time. It's impossible. And shinobi or not, he's still being affected by the enchantments for sure. Proof was already given. Him not being able to remember how he died.

"Are mine. Like I said, no stupid Soul Society is going to stop Uzumaki Naruto from losing his memories of his precious people!" Naruto announced firmly, and loudly. "I'd like to see them try."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Toushiro snorted at the return of the taller boy's loud attitude.

"Simple." Naruto picked up a shard of broken glass on the floor and shook back his sleeve. Toushiro gaped as Naruto carved a strange spirally symbol on his lower left arm. Blood was leaking out from the wounds, but Naruto didn't even flinch from the pain. He was just to absorb in carving that out.

"There! All done." Naruto said cheerfully, rubbing the blood off gently with his sleeve. Toushiro examined what had carved. It was hard to see through all the blood, but it looked like a leaf.

"What the heck did you just DO!?" He asked incredulously as his loosenedhis grip on the blonde. Naruto gazed fondly at his own arm. "Are you stupid? Having a new body and already destroying it! Carving pictures of strange leaves on your hand. Your body is not a tablet for you to draw on!"

"This is the symbol of Konohagakure, hidden village of the leaves, stupid." Naruto glared at the tactless boy. "And my home. So from now on, I wouldn't need to wear a forehead protector anymore. Cool huh?"

"And it's going to help? Just carving it onto your skin like that?" Toushiro scoffed. "What do they say in these cases...A picture speaks a thousand words?"

"Exactly. Of course it'll work! I'll see it everyday, right? I'll feel the pain and be reminded of everyone at home, right? Baka. It's now a part of me I won't ever forget." Naruto laughed cheerfully. "Yosh! Now let us head off to this Shinigami land…or whatever it's called!"

Naruto tried to take a step but fell, clumsily, on his face. "Damn those idiotic legs of mine…" He cursed. And then glared at the still shocked expression on Toushiro's face. "And damn you too! I know you're like...ten inches shorter than me, but at least you could support me or something right? And stop gaping down there like an idiotic goldfish! Help me up!"

Toushiro hastened to drag him back up to his feet, adding a rude comment as he did, but his thoughts were elsewhere. 'On second thoughts, maybe this guy really is different from everyone else…' He thought. 'Uzumaki Naruto…is really one of a kind.'

See you for the next chapter.