I'm back and boy am I happy.
33 followers? :) I'm really grateful to you guys
When I look back I had this idea in my head for a while but never really got around to presenting it so without any further delay here's the new chapter
XXX
(Previoulsy)
"I'm going to be stronger than you anyway" stated Ichigo as he ruffled Kaien's hair playfully
"Nuh uh I'm totally gonna kick your ass in the future" exclaimed his younger brother
"Who knows, fate and life works in mysterious ways" smirked Ichigo as he opened the gate to the estate.
XXX
"Man I hope they actually show up on time" muttered Ichigo as he left his house to head towards the training grounds to train with his teammates.
"I hope they're on time cause I really wanna let loose" muttered an annoyed and frustrated Zangetsu as his wielder was walking through the village.
"I don't think letting loose is possible" stated the old man who too was seemingly saddened at the prospect of not 'letting loose'.
"You do realize that they're Genin fresh out of the academy and not all powerful beings of unparalleled power right?" asked Ichigo as he fastened his pace in order to reach the training ground on time.
"True/True" were the simultaneous replies he received from his Zanpakuto
"Ok and we're here" stated Ichigo as he stopped at the middle of a clearing which was training ground three.
"Hey, Ichigo you're finally here. Man what took you so long we've been waiting for ages!" exclaimed an excited Naruto to his friend as he got down from a tree branch but was hit on the head with a stone thrown by his other teammate "Don't lie dobe we've only been here for five minutes" stated Sasuke who was smiling at his teammate's antics.
"I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!" exclaimed Naruto as he tried to get back at the Uchiha but was stopped by the voice of his other teammate "Are we here for training or squabbling?" asked Ichigo in an annoyed manner
"Where'd you get the sword from?" asked Sasuke when he finally noticed the sword which was in a sheath and was slung across his back.
Naruto too noticed it right after he had calmed down "Yeah when did you get that?"
Ichigo then removed the sword from its sheath and what surprised the two Genin was the fact that the blade was completely black and was so dark it looked obsidian, the cross guard was even more unique as it has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji.
"Oh you mean Zangetsu?" asked Ichigo
"Can I hold it?" asked Naruto in a wistful manner but was disappointed by the answer "No, I'm sorry Zangetsu is personal property and besides he doesn't like strangers"
"He!?" thought Naruto in confusion as he thought his friend was going crazy
"Next thing I'll know is that he hears voices in his head" looked on Naruto with amusement
"Don't you do the same thing Kit?" replied a deep voice laced with humor
Naruto then blushed in realization and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a grin on his face.
"Umm guys aren't we here for something?" stated Sasuke who is at the time annoyed by the amount of time his teammates have been wasting
"Oh right the training, Ok listen up!" exclaimed Ichigo
"While the both of you may have exceptional skills for Genin, the both of you lack in the physical department. So, from now on you're going to try to increase your raw physical strength as much as possible" stated Ichigo in a nonchalant manner as he walked up to the nearest tree and proceeded to grip it's trunk with the palm of his hand stretched outwards and in an instant the tree was pulverized buy the force exerted on its trunk
Both of the genin looked on with faces of awe "Wow that's just like Tsunade baa-chan!" exclaimed Naruto with a smile on his face
"No, it's not" stated Ichigo which earned confused looks from the both of his teammates
"Sigh" "Ok, did you sense any chakra building up in my arms when I destroyed the tree" asked Ichigo to the other Genin.
Both of their eyes widened as they realized that their teammate's raw physical strength was off the charts
"Ok so now that that's cleared let's get on with the training" said Ichigo while taking out a few slips of paper out of his pants and gave one each to his teammates
"Seals?" asked Naruto to his orange haired teammate who only nodded in reply
"Attach them to any part of your body and pass chakra through them" ordered Ichigo. His teammates complied and did the same and then duly fell down to their knees due to the strain on their bodies
"Wha-what the hel-l?" thought Sasuke as he struggled to even look straight
"Oh shit weight training seals!" screamed Naruto as he was in the same predicament as Sasuke was but was more vocal in his reaction
"Yes weight training seals" confirmed Ichigo who had a grin on his face that didn't sit well with his teammates
"Since you're only beginners, I'll go easy on you. Each of those weigh 200 kilograms, so you better get used to them and you'll have to change them every three days or so" stated Ichigo to his surprised teammates
Naruto then managed to stand up with sweat dripping down his face as struggled to get used to the sudden weight and was then followed by Sasuke.
"We'll settle for basic exercises for now" said Ichigo to his struggling teammates
"Run 5 laps around the village" ordered Ichigo
"5 laps!?" exclaimed Naruto and for once Sasuke had to agree with his blonde haired teammate
"This is the best way for your muscles to adapt to the constant strain it's put under so, NO ARGUMENTS!" exclaimed Ichigo in an annoyed manner
"Ye-s S-sir" stuttered Naruto as he mentioned for Sasuke to join him in their teammate's version of training
2 Agonizing Hours Later
"Huf-Huf, We shou-ld do this more often" breathed out Naruto which he found to be a very difficult thing to do at the moment
"H-Hnn" stated Sasuke painfully as he tried to catch his breath
"I see that you've completed the exercise" observed Ichigo as he looked on with approval as he took out a bottle labeled 'Chakra Pills' as he took out some and gave each of them a few to restore their stamina
Naruto and Sasuke immediately felt better as the pills had taken the desired effect on their bodies.
"Can we take them off?" asked Sasuke who looked at Ichigo with new found respect
"No, keep them on" replied Ichigo
"Oh man I don't think I can take much more of this" stated Naruto as he walked towards Ichigo.
"Really? Well you look pretty alright to me" smiled Ichigo as he pointed out the fact that his blonde haired teammate had walked towards him without a problem.
"Wait really? I'm awesome!" exclaimed Naruto as he grinned at the accomplishment and even earned a smile from his black haired teammate
"He's here" stated Ichigo suddenly as he sensed a familiar chakra signature walking towards them in relaxed manner
As stated by Ichigo the silver haired Jonin did appear in a few mintues at their current location
Kakashi looking at Naruto and Sasuke's conditions and the condition of the tree behind them "Maa Maa someone's been busy"
But he did not receive any confirmation of the sort from any members of the team
"Sigh" Kakashi then pocketed the book and then mentioned his three students to follow him to the Hokage tower for their first mission
X X
'Knock-Knock' "Come in" was the reply that came from within the office as team seven's leader had knocked on the door politely.
"Ah Kakashi, your team is here for your first mission huh?" asked Minato in a playful manner.
"Hai, sensei" was Kakashi's reply at his former sensei's attempt at a jab.
"Ah let's see, well the Hokurashi have twins that need to be babysat, Tora the Daimyo's wife's cat has gone missing, and the farmers on the other side of the village need their weeds picked. So what is it going to be today?" asked Minato in a cheerful manner to the three Genins who at the time were staring on blankly with disbelief painted all over their faces.
"WHAT THE HELL? THOSE ARE CHORES NOT MISSIONS" shouted a very peeved Naruto at his father/hokage.
Sasuke and Ichigo were thinking the same thing although were better at suppressing their emotions.
"DON'T TALK BACK TO THE HOKAGE YOU BRAT" exclaimed Iruka who was sorting the mission folders at the desk.
"It's alright Iruka you don't need to scold him" stated Minato in a manner more suiting of a hokage than a father.
"You are Genin and hence you will be treated as such and that applies to the missions that are assigned to you" stated the Hokage in a much more firm manner to his disgruntled son and his teammates.
Naruto kept his mouth shut clearly not satisfied at the thought of doing menial tasks such as baby sitting and weeding someone's field.
Kakashi looked pretty bored during the whole ordeal and finally spoke "We'll take the Tora mission". Iruka at the mention of the cat's name winced and looked on with pity at the team in front of him. Minato too made a face at the sensei's request.
Team 7 looked on with confusion, thinking why the hokage would look a bit worried at their sensei's request.
"Are you sure Kakashi?" asked Minato to his former student and received a nod and an eye smile as a reply.
"All right, sources say that she was last seen in the western part of the village" said Minato while reading a few documents. "Madam Shijimi is a bit worried for the cat's wellbeing so if I were you I'd be going on my way".
"You can count on my team sensei" eye smiled Kakashi while mentioning said team to follow him out of the room.
15 minutes later
The team was walking towards the Hokage tower with a variety of emotions written all over their faces with Ichigo comforting the cat by rubbing its fur lovingly causing it to purr and Naruto and Sasuke who were still amused at their sensei's reaction to the completion of their mission.
5 minutes into the past
"Ok, since you're new to how missions work. I'll give you a brief explanation of the task at hand" said Kakashi in a more serious tone while pocketing his book while failing to notice that his genin were not behind him anymore.
"Meow" Kakashi then turned back and looked on with shock as he saw his students with a cat in one of their arms.
Ichigo then smiled in an innocent manner which screamed fake and continued to pet the cat and run his hand through its fur which got a purr in response from the cat.
Naruto and Sasuke just smirked at their sensei who at the time was staring at them with his mouth wide open and eyes reaching comical proportions.
"What's wrong sensei?" asked Naruto in an innocent manner.
"Did we do something wrong?" asked Sasuke in an even more innocent manner.
"N-No y-ou haven't done anything wrong" stuttered out Kakashi who broke out his shock at his students' accomplishment.
"Well then let's go back to the tower then sensei. I'm sure the owner of would be worried sick right now" stated Ichigo as he and his teammates walked past Kakashi towards the Hokage tower.
"Haha Oh my God did you see the look on the scarecrow's face" laughed out Zangetsu who loved it when his wielder messed with peoples' heads. The old man silently agreed with a playful smile of his own.
The Present
"Knock-Knock"
Kakashi then opened the door to the Hokage's office and came into the room making a weird face every now and then.
"Ahh I see that the mission was a bit hard in that case I'll cha-"
"Meow" came a voice as three of his former student's students came into the room with the cat in Ichigo's arms.
The Hokage dropped the pen on his desk and stared on with shock as Tora leapt out of the teen's hand and started leaning on said teen's feet.
"Oh Tora my baby there you are!" came an excited voice from the door way as a corpulent lady dashed into the room and snatched the cat away and started hugging the poor thing to death.
"No wonder it ran away" thought Ichigo with a bit of pity at the animal's predicament.
"Thank you for catching him dears. I'll be off now Hokage-san" said Madam Shijimi as she left the room to get back to her own personal matters.
Minato just stared at them with a more calculative gaze "You know you guys broke the record for the time it takes to catch that cat right?"
The Genins just looked impassive except Naruto who had a grin plastered all over his face at their accomplishment.
Minato was still in denial on how three Genin fresh out of the academy had managed to do the impossible even if it was a measly D rank which just happened to haunt the memories of most if not all the seasoned Jonin in the village.
Kakashi tried to break the silence with a cough which worked and snapped the hokage out of his thoughts.
"Ahh yes the payment" Minato then took out an envelope which was put in the mission folder and handed it to Kakashi who in turn tossed it to Ichigo who pocketed it.
After the details were sorted out the team left the office but was stopped by Kakashi "There will be no missions tomorrow and as such get to training field by 10 am" he said as he left the team to gather their own thoughts about the matter
Ichigo then took the envelope out of his pocket and split the money three ways and gave his teammates their share as they parted ways.
Xx
Ichigo was walking around the village when he noticed a noisy team without a sensei coming towards his way.
"Shut up Bakiho!" screamed the pink haired member of the team at her teammate who looked just as pissed
"I was only telling the truth forehead!" exclaimed the red haired girl at the screaming banshee
"I think you're both ugly" came a voice behind them as their other teammate looked on with a smile on his face.
"Oh shit" thought Ichigo as he saw the female members of the team getting ready to kill the person who insulted them with a smile on his face.
"SAI!" screamed Sakura as she punched him in the face knocking him back a few meters with a sizable bump on his head.
"As I was saying, Sasuke will never acknowledge you if you continue to dawdle away in your fantasies" stated Akiho in a kinder voice.
"As if you know anything about boys with that ridiculous hair of yours it's no wonder none of the boys like you" exclaimed Sakura in an enraged manner as he left her teammate to go on her way home.
"Says the girl with hair that can give princess bubble gum a run for her money" muttered Zangetsu in annoyance at the girl's stupidity.
"Just what have you been watching on your TV?" asked Ichigo in amusement.
"None of your business" was his only reply as he left the conversation.
Tears threatened to fall down her face as Akiho looked down "Hey, you alright?" came a voice laced with concern in front of her. She looked up and saw that it was her brother's best friend Ichigo.
Ichigo then mentioned her to follow him "Are you hungry?"
He didn't get a confirmation but knew that the girl was following him at her own pace said girl was surprised when she saw him entering Ichiraku's.
She immediately felt better at the thought of steaming hot ramen
"Ah Akiho-chan. The usual?" asked Ayame as she started to prepare the noodles and received a smile and a nod in response
Akiho pulled up a chair and sat beside Ichigo who was staring at her as if expecting her to say something.
"Thanks" she said softly as she stating slurping up the noodles that were just served to her.
"No problem" Ichigo smiled as he started to devour his own order.
Bowl after bowl was consumed until Akiho realized that her mother wouldn't like it if she spoiled her dinner by eating too much and so after the fourteenth bowl she took out her purse and proceeded to pay for the food but was stopped by Ichigo who just got up from his seat "I paid before you ordered so don't worry about it"
She then smiled to herself and joined the orange haired genin on his way out and a few minutes into their walk she noticed that he was staring at her hair for a while
"Is there something wrong with my hair" asked the puzzled girl as she felt her hair to see if there was something wrong with her hair.
Ichigo blushed and looked away "Kingie's got a crush" laughed out the zanpakuto at his wielder's predicament.
"No, it's just that your hair is really beautiful and unique" stated Ichigo with his face as ripe as a tomato
Akiho blushed at the compliment "R-Really?" she asked and received an awkward nod from the boy.
"I don't know about unique" muttered the flustered girl
"No really, you're eyes are pretty too. No one in the class had violet eyes" blurted out Ichigo without realizing what he had said
He then paled at the realization of what he had said "U-uh I think I better go"
"Uh yeah I'll see you around and thanks for, you know" Ichigo then smiled "No problem" as he turned in the opposite direction and headed towards his home.
If he had turned to see the girl's face he would've seen a tomato with red hair staring at him with an expression that would've mirrored his own.
"Seems like you've got a crush" came a deep humorous voice from her mind
"Shut up you perverted jackal I don't have a crush!" shouted Akiho in her mind as he went on her way home.
"Jackal?! Why you little brat I'm a Fox a huge FOX not a stupid Jackal!" growled Kurama at the very accusation
"Why can't all boys be like him" thought Akiho as she opened the door to her home.
"I'm home!"
X X X X
Boy am I glad that's over, hope you guys liked the chapter. Sadly I won't be able to update the story in the following 2 weeks because I have my exams coming up so bear with me for a while :(
And setting that aside I'd like to clear something out
Ichigo using Raiton Kage Bunshin isn't that farfetched if you think about it his getsuga tenshou does look like a lightning based attack. So let's just go with that for now.
And as for sword techniques, he is pretty skilled with a sword (Royal Guard Training).
Besides when you think about it most of the people who use swords in the Naruto verse don't have the best skills. Apart from the seven ninja swordsmen almost everyone else is fodder.