Capítulo Tres: Anteriores Olvidado

Chapter Three: Forgotten Past

The last chapter felt kind of rushed to me, so this chapter is going to have a few flashbacks, before continuing on with the story.

"Demon speaking"

"Human/Hollow speaking"

'Thinking'

"Flashback within Flashback speaking"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (belongs to Masashi Kishimoto) or Bleach (belongs to Tite Kubo).

On a side note, remember that Naruto's Arrancar body is the same size as when he died, making him shorter than any of the Espada.

Naruto sighed, watching the clouds always reminded him of back when he was alive, even though he knew the clouds were just an illusion. As he lay on the hard stone of Las Noches, he started remembering exactly what he had to go through to get where he was now.

Flashback – Slightly more than five years ago…

'Oh fucking peachy, out of all the possible Vasto Lorde I could have found first, it has to be one that has even more power than I do!' Naruto's plan to ambush a Vasto Lorde was what all other Adjuchas would have called suicidal in an instant. Vasto Lorde were known to have much more strength than even the strongest Adjuchas, and this one was abnormally strong even for a Vasto Lorde. 'Still, I seem to have hit the jackpot, his energy is so great that he can't even detect me! This should make it easy.'

Utilizing this, Naruto waited until he was just in range of the Vasto Lorde to attack with his tails, while still being hidden. His first tail was aimed about a foot to the left of the Vasto Lorde's leg, while the second one was meant to pierce his face when he turned to look at Naruto. Surprisingly, this plan actually worked, as the Vasto Lorde was most likely the dumbest lug in Vasto Lorde. As Naruto devoured him, he couldn't help but feel as if he had cheated again, though he wasn't sure why.

"Kid, when it comes evolving up the chain of hollows, take any shortcuts. Though, you are the highest level now, so that makes it moot point."

'Still no idea what this voice is, but perhaps it is right.'

End Flashback

Naruto couldn't help but let off a chuckle as he remembered, he felt like he had actually done the Vasto Lorde name a favor by taking out that idiot. Of course, he then remembered that the Kyuubi had been wrong, there were more shortcuts to power, like accepting Aizen's use of the hougyoku on him had been a very good decision.

Flashback – A few days before

Naruto's excitement at being at the top hadn't lasted very long, and now all he had done for five years had been randomly snipe Gillians with barely charged ceros. While doing this, he noticed a massive, white beast that had Gillian masks for fingernails using a Negación to pull something through a Garganta. As the strange beast finished, he noticed three figures that he had hoped to never see in Hueco Mundo.

'Shinigami, shit, and by the looks of their outfits, all three of them are captains. But what are they doing here, and how the hell did they get that strange beast to use Negación to bring them here. Might as well try to find out…' At this, Naruto gave a massive leap, landing directly in front of the three Shinigami.

"Well now, what do we have here? Looks to me like you guys are lost, forget to take a turn at Albuquerque?"

"Well now, this one seems to have seems to have quite the sense of humor, eh Aizen?" The white haired Shinigami said, his fox-like grin on his face that seemed to just irritate Naruto even further.

"We are, well, were, Shinigami Captains, as you may have guessed, before we came here." The one that Naruto guessed to be Aizen said.

"So, you guys are traitors hmmm? If there's one thing I hate more than Shinigami, it is traitors. And you guys just happen to be both at the same time, so I have all the more reasons to hate you." At this, Naruto's tails began to coil, preparing to spring out when the time came.

"I can assure you this, Vasto Lorde, we had a perfectly good reason why we left Soul Society, one that even you would have to agree is a good reason." Aizen spoke again, something about his voice began to make Naruto relax.

"What exactly is that reason, and it better be good."

"Soul Society teaches that hollows are nothing more than mindless spirits, bent on killing and eating randomly just to cause mayhem. Because of this, the Shinigami are sent to kill them, no matter what they are doing. More often than not, a hollow is simply in the real world to remind itself what it even looks like, before they are ambushed by the Shinigami and 'purified'. In a sense, the Shinigami way teaches that if something is different, that it is evil and must be destroyed. Do you understand now?" Unbeknownst to Aizen, Naruto seemed to empathize with that.

"Yeah, I guess you're right on that one. I can't help but feel like I know how that feels." Naruto's sullen speech was quickly picked up by Aizen, along with the fact that he had to deal with it while he was alive.

"So, Vasto Lorde, what do you say, do you wish to join me on my quest to end their ignorance? If so, simply tell me your name, and help me strive for a greater peace."

After a short wait, Naruto replied. "My name, how I wish I could remember that. It's been five years since I became a Vasto Lorde, and I can hardly ever remember a moment of what life was like that before then. If it wasn't for my hollow instincts and the voices in my head, I'd be dead somewhere by now."

Aizen sighed, another Vasto Lorde with no memories? 'Oh well, if it worked with Barragan, it should work with this one also.'

One day later – Las Noches

Naruto sat in front of the three former Shinigami, remembering what they had told him about themselves.

Kaname Tousen, his path of least bloodshed way of life was cool and all, so was the fact that he was blind, but Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was looking at Neji before the chunin exams.

Gin Ichimaru annoyed Naruto and Kyuubi right off. Between the fox-like grin and his constant sarcasm made Naruto all the more irritated.

Sosuke Aizen was pretty much the only reason why Naruto was still even around. Aizen had explained his plans of trying to make a new Royal key at the cost of Karakura town, but had gone further in explaining that it was actually a hoax to draw out the Shinigami captains and use their spiritual energy, while not killing most of them, though some might be lost in the battle, to make a new Royal key with minimal loss of life. Though, Naruto had a strange feeling that either he wasn't being told everything, or he had been told more than there was.

Then there was the Arrancar, hollows who had removed their mask in order to gain the power of the Shinigami. They gained an ability called resurrección, allowing them to access their original hollow form for a massive increase of power. Then there was the Espada, a group of the ten strongest Arrancar that, as Gin put it in his description, ruled over Las Noches with an iron fist.

"So, Vasto Lorde, what do you say, do you wish to become an Arrancar?"

"Might as well, I feel like I can trust you enough to do this correctly."

For the next few minutes, Naruto went through the most painful experience of his afterlife. Once his mask was removed, Naruto feel to the ground, gasping for air.

"So, what is your name?" Aizen asked, his grin barely suppressed

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well then Naruto, I welcome you to the Arrancar, you will be tested on if you are worthy to become an Espada."

As Naruto stood, getting used to no longer having the fur on his body and the tails behind him, he fell on his face. As he tried again to stand, his mask fragment seemed to glisten in the illusionary sunlight.

A simple headband shape with a strange spiral leaf design on it.

"And what If I don't want to be an Espada? Sounds like too much work to me."

Naruto's question was the last thing Aizen expected to hear. Even Stark had wanted to be in the Espada, what made Naruto different?

"So, Naruto, why do you not wish to be an Espada?"

"For one thing, it sounds like a group of elitist bastards from what you've told me. I'd rather sit back in the shadows of this operation, only appearing when needed. And for another thing, aren't all the slots for the Espada full? I wouldn't want to take away someone else's chance of being in the Espada."

"Well, I cannot force you if you do not wish to, but at least consider the offer open if you ever wish to challenge into the Espada."

Naruto's mutters barely caught Aizen's ear. "As if I'd ever want to do that, geez."

Time Skip, One Month Later

In one month, Naruto's time as an Arrancar was anything but dull, especially with his meetings with the Espada.

Naruto was thoroughly freaked out by Aaroniero's ability to transform how his body looked, and also hated how Aaroniero seemed entirely overconfident in his own abilities. Szayel reminded him way too much of Orochimaru, both in love for experiments and uncaring for subordinates. Zommari's arrogance ticked Naruto off, but his dislike for the Shinigami's mindless slaughter was refreshing. Naruto and Grimmjow caught up on what had happened since Naruto had left, and Grimmjow had finally taken Naruto's advice and had lighted up. When Naruto met Nnoitra, Naruto simply punched him in the face for insulting him, before running for his life from the seemingly demon-possessed Espada.

Ulquiorra's seeming lack of emotions reminded Naruto of Shino, and Naruto made it his personal mission to annoy Ulquiorra as much as possible. That didn't last long, as the instant he attempted to annoy Ulquiorra, he found himself pinned by the neck to the wall.

"You may have power, Uzumaki, but you lack control, focus, discipline… Without them, you are no match for even me, the lowest ranked Vasto Lorde in the Espada."

Neliel's childish behavior, along with greeting Naruto with a prank, caused the two to become fast friends. Barragan demanded the Naruto bow down to him, at which Naruto called him a grouchy old man and left.

Upon reaching Stark's room however…

"HIYA! Take that you intruder!" Naruto was kicked against the wall by what appeared to be a teenage girl with light-green hair and pink eyes with a one-horned mask covering the top of her head and her left eye.

"What the hell! What do you think you're doing you midget?"

"Midget, who are you calling a midget, you midget!"

On the nearby bed, a groan was heard. "Lilynette, could you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep."

Lilynette's response was simple drop-kick to his stomach. "Stark you lazy bastard, you can't sleep now!"

By this point, Naruto had escaped the room, fearing for his sanity.

As Naruto was walking through the halls after escaping from Lilynette, he passed by Gin.

"So, Naruto, what do you think of the Espada?"

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"Oooh, that bad? So, was it Lilynette that scared you that bad, or did you run into Loly?"

"Lilynette."

"Oooh, I pity ya, though you should also not bother Ulquiorra. He doesn't tolerate annoyances."

"I noticed…"

Later that night…

"So kid, why the hell did you ask us to meet you here in secret?" Grimmjow asked, his confusion being shared by the other members of the assembled group of four Arrancar. Naruto simply frowned, before beginning the explanation.

"To simply put it, I don't trust Aizen. Back when I was alive, I was a master of hiding my true intentions and powers, though it got me killed in the end. It was hard to figure it out, but my gut instinct is that Aizen's explanation of draining the Shinigami captain's powers to form the Royal key is nothing but a lie. He seems to be using that only as a cover up for the hollows who might actually care about the Shinigami's safety, meaning he truly plans to sacrifice one-hundred thousand souls in order to form it."

From next to Naruto, Nel Tu gasped. "Aizen told me the same thing as he told you, and now that you mention it, it makes no sense. Even if he drained the power of a hundred Shinigami captains, it wouldn't even begin to compare to energy of that many souls."

Grimmjow's look of annoyance grew even larger. "I don't really mind killing Shinigami, especially if they put up a good fight, but even I'm not heartless enough to kill off one-hundred thousand innocent people just to try to rule over all of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. And besides, if he ruled, then he'd also be in my way to becoming the king! I'm in for this rebellion of yours."

"Same with me, that many people being sacrificed to further one's power is insanity!" Nel Tu shouted.

"So, what about you, are you in for it?" Naruto asked the fourth figure, who was sitting in the shadows near them.

"…Sure, why not, even I don't like being used like a mindless puppet." Ulquiorra spoke, solidifying his alliance to the rebellion.

And so it was set…

Chapter Three complete.

Started school today, and decided it would be good to finish this half-written chapter tonight, before the school-work became too intense. I'm still looking for a beta reader!

Updated 10/12/09: Felt like Naruto simply not trusting Aizen was no reason not to tell him his name, so I simply made Naruto forget. Added a couple sentences here and there also. Another thing, Ulquiorra is one of my favorite characters, so of course he's not gonna be evil!