So here's hopefully, a quick update for you guys. And for those wondering about CoMSW, I'm putting it on a short temporary hold. It should be a maximum of one month.
I'm really sorry for this, but currently since this fic is getting a much greater response...I'm motivated to write this one currently. So hopefully, you aren't toooooo...angry with me? :p
Oh well, but let's start the chapter-
Chapter-4-Fire Shadow, Dark Void
"Sorry for being late Teuchi-san...the paperwork just wouldn't leave me."
"J-Jiji?" Naruto stuttered with wide eyes, his pupil zooming out in shock as he stared at the old man in his hokage robes, walking towards them.
"You've grown Naruto-kun, or should I say...shinigami," an amused smile on his slightly wrinkled face while Naruto just stared at him shock.
"Y-You can see me?" he asked while Teuchi and Ayame were smirking at his flabbergasted expression.
"If you mean a young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, three whisker marks, holding a large zanpakutou and sporting an expression like his ramen was stolen...then yes, I can see you," Hiruzen replied with a chuckle making Ayame giggle while Naruto just huffed in annoyance as he placed Haineko on his shoulders, catching it in mid air.
Noticing Rangiku and Shiroi walking towards them, Teuchi spoke,"Ah! There's our guest Hokage-dono."
Turning his head to the right, he saw a blonde haired woman coming towards them along with Shiroi. Immediately his eyes travelled down to her revealed cleavage, getting glued to the sight as a perverted grin spread across his face.
'Now that's what we call a golden Icha Icha: Chestnut Woman,' he thought when somewhere another white haired pervert sneezed.
Naruto's eyes began to twitch as he watched the old pervert shamelessly ogle Matsumoto.
"Your nose is bleeding you old geezer," he muttered with a scowl present on his face while Ayame too frowned at their hokage.
Reaching the group, Rangiku was not so surprised to find the old guy staring at her chest.
"Rangiku-san, this is the sandaime hokage of our village that I told you about last night," Teuchi deliberately spoke loudly, trying to get him out of his trance but to no avail.
Getting fed up with his staring at her chest like that, she spoke with a forced smile.
"These do not talk. My mouth is up here...oji-san," and finally he snapped his head to face her, an expression of horror on his face that such a beautiful and developed lady had called him 'oji-san.'
"O-Oji-san?" he muttered in disbelief when he heard muffled laughter behind him. Turning his head back, he saw Naruto and Ayame quietly laughing to themselves as he glared at them.
'Serves you right ero-jiji,' the blonde thought when his eyes fell on Rangiku, who too was staring at him. She had that unknown look in her eyes as she smiled at him, her cheeks a light shade of red while he stopped laughing abruptly, his cheeks red when she winked at him. His blush deepened before he averted his gaze.
'Why was she staring at me like that?' he thought in nervousness, an odd unknown sense of giddiness filling his form. Meanwhile Hiruzen though smirked when Naruto stopped laughing abruptly, thinking he had intimidated the boy with his glare.
'Heh, I still haven't lost it,' he mused with a proud smile on his face when his expression immediately turned to 'don't fuck with me' hokage look.
"Ahm, I apologize for my rudeness Rangiku-san," he expressed seriously with a bow.
"It's okay Hokage-sama," she uttered awkwardly with a smile when Sarutobi gave her his grandfatherly smile. His eyes though then settled on the silver haired woman standing besides Rangiku, his expression now melancholic.
"Shiroi-san...," he addressed softly making the said woman look at him, "I'm sorry that you had to die at such a young age. It really is unfortunate."
Shiroi smiled sadly at him, her eyes pained when she replied, "It's alright hokage-sama. I guess this was as far as I was supposed to live. But...dying isn't bad too I think. There's another world to explore you know, it would be a matter of time before I go to soul society."
Naruto though lowered his head in sadness at hearing that fact, she was the first true friend he had made in his life. And he knew that she would leave just like other souls one day, but it really pained him to not be able to see her again.
Hiruzen though was smiling at the optimistic woman in front of him. She was ready to move on, and he hoped to a better place. Matsumoto however had put a comfortable hand on her shoulders, giving her an encouraging smile making the silver haired plus return the gesture.
Deciding to change the subject, Teuchi said...
"So Hokage-dono, I hope no one saw the hollow or felt the disturbance caused by it when it landed on Naruto's apartment."
"Actually there were a few chunin, who were on patrol duty last night heard the ruckus caused by it. They had checked the area to find nothing but some shops and apartments damaged. They had immediately reported to me. But that's taken care of, I just stated that it was a fire accident. Unfortunately though, some people were injured this time...but they're not seriously wounded," he replied with a serious expression making the old shinigami nod with clenched fists. They couldn't afford to be late the next time, this time people were wounded; next time they could die.
"About those chunins, were they suspicious that something else maybe the cause of this?" Ayame questioned making the hokage turn to her.
"Yeah, I have a hunch that they suspect this of not just any ordinary accident. They told me that as they got closer to the location, they felt a bit heavy and a foul presence in the air," he uttered making her nod grimly while Naruto just listened to them intently
"Probably due to the hollow's lingering reiatsu in that area," Matsumoto deduced making them nod when Naruto intervened.
"Then does that mean, that Teuchi-oji and Ayame-chan usually take care of those hollows while you handle the...after effects and any damage so that civilians and shinobi of our village don't get suspicious?" this time, it was Hiruzen's turn to get surprised.
"Well yes, that's what I usually do...aside from governing the village that is," clearly his tone held an impressed edge to it. He hadn't expected the boy to pick up so quickly, but well...Teuchi had told him early this morning when they had met in his office.
"And the question I'm dying to ask...how do you know about the shinigami and all?" Naruto asked in anticipation as he awaited his reply when Teuchi answered.
"I told him," making Matsumoto's eyes widen.
"But that's against the codes of a shinigami. You can't tell a human about us!" she verbalised in surprise while her eyes, which usually were jovial and carefree were sharp. How can they be so careless?
"But I'm a human too," Naruto spoke in confusion making her look at him, her eyes getting softer.
"You're...an exception Naruto. You beforehand, were unconsciously releasing a high amount of reiryoku in your physical body. I had to tell you everything because eventually the hollows would target you, just like yesterday...and so that you should atleast know what's happening around you," he nodded in understanding, but the light scowl on his face indicated that he was troubled by something.
"Rangiku-san...," Teuchi began, gaining her attention before he continued, "...things for us shinigami here work differently. The shinigami from squad zero, who serve the spirit king...as you know are assigned to different geographical areas in this world just like the other human world. As I stated before, there was a guardian shinigami responsible for Konoha too until I came."
"But you see, guardian shinigami work differently than us. Since most of the shinigami in squad zero were previously captains of the of their respective squads in Gotei 13, you should know that there were some researchers who were promoted to be a part of squad zero too. Hence, since the spirit king's realm possesses these captain level researchers, they have some mind blowing technology too. One of their inventions is the Kaikeisoushinki (Account-Removal Spirit Device). It is much more effective than the Kikanshinki and focuses on removing specific memories instead of just influencing them like the Kikanshinki does," he spoke seriously when Naruto intervened.
"But why don't they just simply use this Kikanshinki instead of this Kaisu...well whatever you said earlier," he said with a frown, an irritated expression on his face while Shiroi and Rangiku were giggling at him quietly.
"Kikanshinki Naruto, is a device which is usually limited to a user's imagination. If a person here sees a shinigami or a hollow, Kikanshinki influences their memories based on their imagination. However, it doesnot works in every person's case. If the victim is a spiritually aware one, most likely that of an elite jounin and kage's level, then the Kikanshinki sometimes fail to influence their memories. To avoid such cases, those guardian shinigami use the Kaikeisoushinki to just remove those fragments of memories. Moreover, it can be used on a widespread scale instead of just one person," he finished while Matsumoto had to say, this device was really something.
"But still, this does not explain my question," she uttered with a frown while Naruto just concentrated on absorbing as much information as he could.
"Ah yes. You see, there is this one problem for me, who currently is incharge of Konoha as a shinigami. I don't have the Kaikeisoushinki. I did ask the previous guardian to lend it to me so that I could analyse the technology used and possibly create one for myself. But as I told before, they are extremely strict in following their rules and hence he didn't give it to me. All of them just remind of that stuck up Hyuga clan," the old chef grumbled at the end before he continued.
"So as you see, this created a problem for me. I knew that whenever a hollow would attack, even if it is rare...it would cause ruckus leading to the shinobi here reaching the site. And obviousy they would feel threatened and would be able to atleast see the silhouette of the hollow, or mine. Then, obviously they would throw jutsu at the hollow or maybe even me and in the process raise their chakra levels which would make it visible to the jounins, and hokage-dono here obviously. To solve this problem, I needed some help. So who better than the village leader itself, the one who could just claim it as some form of an enemy attack or an accident," Rangiku sighed, really matters here were much complex than in the other human world. But she understood Teuchi's position, and it was risky, but a smart move to tell the village leader about this.
"And you immediately believed all this jiji?" Naruto asked in mild surprise when Hiruzen, who had been quiet before replied.
"Well, it was not like I haven't seen a shinigami before. The Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) of the yondaime hokage did summon a shinigami after all," he said when Naruto interjected.
"He could summon a shinigami?" a shocked expression on his face making Sarutobi nod when Teuchi spoke.
"Yeah, and that shinigami was most probably from the Spirit King's realm. Not much is known about it actually," Rangiku was not surprised though considering the elder Ichiraku had told her the previous night.
"So jiji, not that I'm complaining or anything...but why did you come here?" the whiskered blonde asked.
"I came to check on you Naruto-kun. You are now a shinigami, so a big responsibility rests on your shoulders too, ne? And the graduation exams are in one month. You'll have to train hard this time, and I think Teuchi-san can help you in more ways than just one," he verbalised with that mysterious smirk while Teuchi too smirked back as he nodded back at him, Naruto though could only watch the exchange in confusion.
'Have these old geezers gone senile?' he pondered with a sweatdrop.
"So Teuchi-san, I guess unofficially you work for the spirit king right?" Rangiku asked while Shiroi yawned, she was getting bored!
"Who said it was unofficial Rangiku-san? I'm an official substitute shinigami of the King's realm," the ramen chef spoke with a smirk making their jaws drop before he pulled out something.
"Here look, this is my badge," it was black in colour having a pentagonal shape, a white skull in the front which was drenched in yellow flames. Naruto's eyes though twinkled as he stared at it dreamily while Teuchi's smirk widened at his expression.
"That is so cool oji-san! " he exclaimed excitedly.
'Certainly looks colourful than the one we gave to Kugo Ginjo,' Matsumoto thought as she stared at the batch.
"Then does that mean Ayame-san too is a substitute shinigami?" Shiroi asked this time making Naruto look at Ayame curiously, who blushed lightly under his piercing gaze.
"Um...no, you can say I just work under Tou-san," she uttered while squirming a bit under his gaze as he smiled at her.
"Then oji-san, can I work under you too? I too want to kill those hollows and protect Konoha like you guys do," he spoke with big watery eyes, an eager expression on his face making Ayame, Rangiku and Shiroi giggle at him.
"You can...but not right now," he said with a smirk.
"But WHY? I'm already a shinigami!" he exclaimed with a childish frown making the old chef shake his head in exasperation when Hiruzen answered with a chuckle.
"You have to get strong enough Naruto-kun. Right now, you may possess a high level of reiryoku...but you don't know how to control it and use it in battle effectively. In simple words, you need to train...just like Ayame-chan did," while the blonde just frowned in thought.
"But I totally kicked that hollow's ass yesterday! He couldn't even see me!"
"Hn! That hollow was a pretty weak one Naruto, much weaker than the ones that usually come. That's why I'm worried right now. A hollow that weak shouldn't have known how to use the special garganta. There really must be something going on in Hueco Mundo," Teuchi pondered loudly as he sported a thoughtful expression on his face.
"That...was a weak one? I think I can I can take on stronger ones too," he spoke with a serious expression, clenching his fists while Matsumoto couldn't help but admire his confidence and determination. Hiruzen though just pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew Naruto would be stubborn in these types of matters.
"Fine then. Seeing as how stubborn you are being here, next time a hollow pops out, you take it on and see for yourself," Teuchi said with a sigh making Naruto grin brightly.
"You wouldn't be disappointed dattebayo!" he exclaimed making them chuckle when suddenly beeping sounds broke the silence.
Both Rangiku and Teuchi took something out, revealing it to be denreishinki while the latter had his eyes widened in shock.
'A hollow so soon? It just appeared yesterday...this has never happened before!' he thought in shock before turning his eyes towards Naruto.
"Is it a hollow Tou-san?" Ayame questioned with a grim expression making the old chef nod while Hiruzen too had a surprised expression on his face. Both Teuchi and stared at each other, as if silenty conveying a message to each other when the hokage suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Hey what's happening? Why did jiji left? And what's with this wierd sound? And you said hollows rarely appear here," Naruto asked, staring at Rangiku as she fiddled with the strange machine.
"I...don't know. But I guess you can test sooner how strong you are. Ayame, go with Naruto," Teuchi said with a smirk as he gave the denreishinki to her making her nod.
"I'm going too," Matsumoto said with a serious expression making Teuchi nod.
"Naruto-kun! Hey wait up!" Ayame yelled when the elder Ichiraku turned his head to see the blonde already running towards the exit.
"Hurry up Ayame-chan! We gotta get to that hollow!" he yelled over his shoulder as he climbed the ladder in just a few steps. Ayame though just shook her head.
"He's really reckless, isn't he Rangiku-san?" turning her head, her eyes widened to find the blonde shinigami missing there.
"Oi Naruto! Wait for me! I'm coming too!" Matsumoto yelled, now out of the arena while Ayame sweatdropped.
"Well aren't those two similar, ne Ayame?" Teuchi said while chuckling, turning his head to find no one but Shiroi, his eyes now twitching in annoyance.
"Ahehe...I think she too has already left," Shiroi spoke with a nervous smile while Teuchi's expression grew serious.
'This is getting serious. Never has it happened before that two hollows have attacked one after another. I really wonder...just when Rangiku-san arrived tomorrow, a hollow had immediately appeared over Naruto's apartment. And now just after Naruto became a shinigami, another hollow appears the next day. This can't be just a mere coincidence. And this hollow is strong, I can sense it's reiatsu even from here. I wonder if I should go...nah! Ayame should be easily able to take it out, and it would be a good experience for the kid too,' he inwardly cussed over the matter, trying to unveil the mystery surrounding these recent events.
Konoha: Rooftops
"Hey Naruto wait up!," turning his head back, he saw Rangiku catching up as she jumped through the rooftops with amazing agility and speed.
"I can sense it's reiatsu this time Rangiku-san, it's just a little far away," Naruto spoke as they continued to hop at blurry speeds.
Landing down, they found themselves at the entrance of a large district.
"This is the Uchiha Clan district," Naruto muttered as Rangiku gazed at the traditional style architecture of the buildings when they suddenly felt the air itself getting thicker.
'Such foul and powerful reiatsu! This is a much stronger one than yesterday,' she thought as both of them dashed through the entrance, running past all the buildings.
"Just ahead of us," she spoke when they heard that familiar howl followed by a sound Matsumoto wasn't familiar with.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)," Naruto's eyes widened when he heard that voice. Suddenly increasing his speed, he turned a corner to stumble upon the scene of a black haired woman spiting a large fireball from her mouth, in front of her a giant hollow.
'Mikoto-san!' he thought in alarm upon seeing her engaging a hollow, the fireball colliding with it's stomach with some of it escaping through the hole in the middle. It screamed in pain as the fire melted some of it's skin.
"YOU DAMN HUMAN! I WAS PLANNING ON LEAVING YOU, BUT NOW I'LL DEVOUR YOU TOO!" it yelled in it's shrill booming voice while Mikoto, who was wearing civilian clothes stood there with a kunai, a serious expression on her face.
"Whoa! That woman just spitted fire from her mouth!" Rangiku exclaimed in surprise. Sure she had a brief explanation of what shinobi were capable of, but actually seeing it was something else. Naruto though cursed inwardly as he watched the hollow trudge towards the female Uchiha.
'Damn it! She can see the hollow….this means she'll be able to see me too. But I'm an adult in this form, surely she wouldn't be able to recognize me. Oji-san said that the memory replacement device in some cases might not work….but I'll have to take care of it and just hope that jiji would be able to come with an explanation for Mikoto-san,' he thought as he pulled out Haineko making Rangiku turn towards him.
"I'm gonna take it on Rangiku-san. You stay here," he said with a grim expression before dashing towards Mikoto at blundering speeds, making strands of hair of Rangiku flow wildly.
"Yeah, he's really reckless," she muttered to herself with a childish sigh when suddenly Ayame appeared besides her via shunpo. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw the retreating form of Naruto.
"Ah Ayame-san! You came just at the right time!" Matsumoto said cheerfully as she patted the young shinigami's back, making her eyes twitch.
"How could you let him just barge in like that?" she yelled comically making Rangiku smile sheepishly.
Meanwhile, Mikoto stared at the huge strange creature in front of her with her Sharingan. She tightened her grip on the kunai as it dashed towards her at amazing speeds for its size. It was just another ordinary day for her. After Sasuke, who usually ignored her went to the academy, she began to do her usual chores in between some training when she had felt this strange type on pressure on her, followed by a foul aura. Following it, she was greeted to the huge hollow coming out of a strange bluish black hole just in front of her house.
'I have to send a signal for Hokage-sama. Even though I can kill this one, we may get some valuable information about why it just suddenly popped out of no where. From what I know, this must be some kind of a summon who can use space-time ninjutsu. But the question is, who could be the user?' she thought when suddenly her eyes widened upon noticing a black blur by the corner of her eyes.
CLANG!
Her eyes widened further when the same black figure had suddenly appeared in front of her, his sword now in between the hollow's large teeth as the blonde figure continued to stand there while holding back the creature.
'Who's this now?' she thought, staring at the tall blonde figure who now began to slide back under the force that the hollow was putting in.
"Ungh! Stay still," the blonde muttered in a strained voice.
'Well, this one is much stronger than the previous one alright,' Naruto thought as he gritted his teeth, his feet dragging over the concrete as he pushed with as much force as he could.
"W-Who are you?" he heard her speak, not turning his head for he didn't want to risk revealing himself. Grunting under the force, his knees began to buckle when the hollow pulled back suddenly. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw it's large clawed hand approaching his form at amazing speeds. Barely any time left to dodge, he could only lift Haineko just in time again to catch the strike with the metal of his large blade.
WHOOSH!
"Agh!" Mikoto exclaimed as she caught Naruto's body, which was sailing towards her because of the attack. Both of them skidded backwards at high velocity, dust inducing beneath their feet as she held to him tightly.
'What power!' Naruto though in awe, his one eye closed in struggle as he pierced the concrete with his zanpakutou, effectively reducing their speed drastically before they came to a stop just in front of a house. Lifting his head, all he could see was the destroyed concrete because of Haineko with black sliding marks following it to where the large hollow was standing.
'If I can't win this battle with power, then I'll use my speed,' Naruto decided mentally when he felt Mikoto behind him groan. He couldn't help but turn back to check on her, she was apparently alright but her eyes were still closed as she was still clutching to his form tightly. Naruto blushed crimson red upon the close contact, and at that moment couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked, just like always. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and the first thing she was greeted to was the sight of concerned intense blue eyes staring back at her.
"Are you alright Mikoto-san?" he immediately cursed himself for calling her by her name. Mikoto's eyes though widened when she heard the stranger say her name, and the tone with which he had spoken…..she was familiar with it? Her vision then got cleared enough to notice his features, sun kissed blonde hair, electric blue eyes, whisker marks, a large kata…..wait! Whisker marks?
'There's only one person with those….,' she thought, her cheeks a light shade of pink as she gazed at his handsome features, his wild untamed spiky blonde hair only adding to the ferocity of his looks.
'But this man looks much ol-' her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly her eyes widened. Naruto too stared at the figure behind Mikoto who had hit her at the back of her head while the female Uchiha slowly entered the world of unconsciousness. Her limp body now fell in Naruto's arms to reveal a hooded shinigami standing behind her, her face hidden while the hilt of her zanpakutou was in midair where Mikoto's head was a moment ago.
"Are you crazy Naruto-kun?" from the familiar feminine voice, he immediately deduced it was Ayame who exclaimed with some anger seeping into her voice as she gave him a stern gaze.
"Ayame-chan wha-"
"First you have nothing to cover your face, and secondly you are staring at her up so close like you were just ready to kiss her! Even though you are an adult in your shinigami form, your whisker marks are a dead giveaway of your identity!" she scolded him when suddenly they were interrupted by an explosion.
Naruto turned his head back to see the hollow clutching his face which was covered in black smoke with Rangiku standing in front of it, her hand extended towards the hollow from which smoke was emanating too.
"Never mind! First I'll just take care of this hollow," she spoke with a sigh before suddenly vanishing, blurring out of his vision; making his eyes go wide.
'How did she…she just vanished!' he thought in astonishment. Placing his zanpakutou back in its sheath, he picked up an unconscious Mikoto bridal style before turning around to see the battle.
"Thanks for holding it Rangiku-san. I had to make sure that she didn't see anything more," Ayame said, pulling her hood back after appearing besides Matsumoto who smiled at her in return.
"Ah no problem Ayame-san! Besides it was my fault for letting Naruto run in like that," she said with a grin making Ayame nod back at her with a smile before she turned towards the hollow, some of whose mask was damaged as it growled demonically at them.
"So, two shinigami have come to be my food today….I'm sure you'll taste much better than ordinary humans other insignificant hollows. But who I'm really interested in is that shinigami over there," it spoke while pointing towards Naruto with its clawed hand, its body pale brown in color except its white mask while a large tail waved behind the creature.
Ayame and Rangiku's eyes widened while the whiskered blonde just narrowed his eyes.
'So these hollows are targeting me…..and coming here because of me,' he thought, his lips curling down into a frown with Ayame and Rangiku sharing the same thought processes.
"Enough of this," Ayame muttered with a frown as she lifted her hand.
"Hado no Gojushi: Haien! (Way of Destruction 54: Nullific Flames)," Matsumoto's eyes widened to saucers upon hearing her when suddenly Ayame fired a powerful blast of purple spiritual energyfrom her right palm, lighting the area in a purple glow while gusts of wind dashed around them.
It reached the stunned hollow in a matter of milliseconds….
BOOM!
A large ear deafening explosion took place making everyone there shield their eyes , covering the area in smoke while Naruto had an expression of amazement on his face.
"Y-You can use Eishohaki (Incantation Abandonment)?" Rangiku stuttered in shock. This was a skill only skilled practitioners of kido possessed in Seireitei. And she had used such a level of destructive spell effectively….and what was more shocking was that the power in her attack was still astounding.
'Abandoning incantation is said to drastically reduce the strength of a kido spell. She really is something else….with the age of around only eighteen human years, she's a genius to achieve this feat so soon,' she thought with a stunned expression on her face.
"Well, I'm naturally good with kido you see and can control my reiryoku really well," Ayame spoke with an embarrassed smile.
"Ayame-chan!" she turned her head to see Naruto skid to a halt just besides her, Mikoto safetly tucked in his arms while he held an expression of excitement on his face.
"That was so cool Ayame-chan! How did you do that? Can you please teach me?" he asked with his eyes literally shining like the blazing sun, while Ayame's cheeks flushed upon hearing him compliment her.
"W-Well of course Naruto-kun," she said with a cute smile making him grin foxily as he tightened his hold on Mikoto. Not being able to contain his joy, he spoke…
"I would've hugged you if it were not for Mikoto-san. But this should do it!" he exclaimed cheerfully before leaning in, making Ayame's eyes widen as his lips made contact with her left cheek. She stood there frozen for a few seconds before her face erupted into a furious blush.
'H-He kissed me!' she thought, her heart pounding against her chest as a smile slowly crept onto her lips. She touched her cheek with her hand, the blush still not going away. Rangiku though giggled at her face, her cheeks were themselves pink as she thought of her receiving the same treatment.
"You're the GREATEST Ayame-chan!" he exclaimed loudly making her squirm in her position, her gaze lowered while he grinned obliviously.
"But I want a kiss too Naruto-kuuunnn!" Matsumoto said childishly, her lower lip swelling cutely as she pouted at him. Naruto's face flushed crimson red as he stumbled back a bit.
"D-Don't mess with me lady!" he half stuttered, half yelled….feeling this urge to not just kiss her on the cheeks, but claim her lips. And he was horrified of this!
'Her lips look so…so, agh! What's happening to me?' he thought while feeling this another urge to bang his head on a wall repeatedly.
"A-Amazing….such a level of s-shinigami, t-truly this new world i-is interesting," their eyes widened upon hearing that voice, the smoke now clearing to show it's damaged form. Most of its body was tarred black due to the explosion, its mask somehow still unharmed. But what was just in front of him, in between his clawed hands was what made Ayame and Rangiku lose their breath.
'Impossible! That's a…..,' Ayame's thoughts themselves trailed in shock.
"That's a Kumon!(Air Gate)" Rangiku exclaimed in immense surprise as she watched the hollow's clawed hands ripping open something black in midair. Ayame though frowned as the black rip slowly decreased in size until it was nothing but air itself.
'So he must have used the kumon to suck my attack….but it seems he was not able to react in time,' she thought while tightening her grip around her zanpakutou's hilt.
"I w-was careless. I should h-have known t-that…..this world w-would possess m-much stronger opponents. T-They did warned u-us after all," it said, clearly in pain and exhausted due to the wounds inflicted by the explosion as the black-bluish garganta slowly opened behind him making Ayame's eyes widen.
'Is another one coming?' she thought before readying herself.
"C-Consider yourself lucky this time….shinigami. Y-You got me b-by s-surprise this t-time," it said as Ayame waited for something to happen while the garganta continued to expand.
"You s-shinigami….y-you're special," it said while pointing towards Naruto whose eyes widened while Ayame too lifted her eyebrows in shock.
'Did he sensed it? Does he know of it?' she thought while glancing nervously towards the whiskered blonde.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his eyes indicating maturity beyond his years as he stared at the hollow right into its red glowing eyes.
"I-In time….you'll see. But r-remember….next time I'll be m-much stronger and prepared. And y-you….would be my t-target shinigami. I h-hope y-you're stronger too," all of their eyes widened upong hearing it direct its declaration towards Naruto, who though sensed this strange feeling overcoming him, the challenge….the lust of a battle, the feeling of never backing down.
"R-Remember it s-shinigami, my n-name is…..Vacio Oscuro," it said, it's red glowing stare never leaving Naruto's cold blue eyes, who hardened his gaze.
Ayame though gritted her teeth, she couldn't allow this hollow to leave. If he could use and control the kumon like that, then surely he would pose a big threat in the future. Not to mention that his eyes were set on Naruto now for some reason. Clearly this hollow had surpassed all the limits of a normal mindless hollow, who only crazed for high reiryoku souls. This one had a mind, lust for battle and would become much stronger if it was left as it is, not that she knew the limits of its strength even now.
"I've had it!" she exclaimed before using shunpo to dash towards him, her zanpakutou reared back as her eyes grew cold. Naruto though could practically 'feel' Oscuro grinning at them.
"Heads up shinigami!" it exclaimed when Ayame and Rangiku's eyes widened upon sensing something powerful above them.
BOOM!
Ayame suddenly stopped when a bright pillar of square yellow light fell on them, specifically on Vacio Oscuro. She skidded to a stop, having been blown away by the impact along with others.
"Shit!" she cursed, her eyes narrowed as she gazed towards the sky. Naruto, seeing Ayame and Rangiku staring at something in the sky….looked upwards….
"Holy SHIT!" he cursed loudly, his eyes widened to the maximum as he stared at a huge black rip in the sky, protruding out of which was a giant black creature, it's mask white while its nose was pointed and lengthy.
"What is that thing?" he exclaimed, his heart beating mile a minute as he stared at the intimidating sight, the yellow pillar of light flashing out of the black rip which now was covering the hollow in front of them as a form of square protective cover.
"Be p-prepared n-next time….shinigami," Oscuro spoke as his body began to lift in the pillar towards the sky while Naruto turned his head to stare at him with a serious expression.
'I can't let it escape! Have to use shikai now!' Ayame thought as she held her zanpakutou horizontally, tilting it downwards a bit before she lightly slid her two fingers over its flat metal.
"Zofuk-"
"It wouldn't work Ayame," she was interrupted upon feeling a hand on her shoulder, turning back to see Teuchi staring towards the sky with a frown on his face.
"It's a Negacion (Counter-Membrane). This is impenetrable, even the most powerful of my attacks wouldn't put a dent on it. It practically isolates their target from the current dimension…..it's no use now," he said while Ayame sighed, closing her eyes in frustration as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
Naruto though, who had been staring at the hollow which was slowly ascending towards the black rip spoke loudly.
"I'll be prepared…..Vacio Oscuro. And remember my name, the one to defeat you will be…..shinigami, Uzumaki Naruto!," he loudly verbalized, the blonde bangs covering his forehead as he gave the creature his most serious look. It seemed to grin maniacally before being engulfed by the large kumon which began to decrease in size quickly.
Rangiku though….to say the least was flabbergasted! Naruto, the twelve year old 'man', was open accepting the challenge of a hollow…and kami knows how strong it could be. And considering the way he had manipulated a kumon to its advantage so skillfully…..she somehow doubted Naruto's decision.
'But….seeing those eyes, that expression….he really does want this. Does this come from the need to be acknowledged, to prove himself to us….or is it this the battle instinct that he showed last night. It seems, he really does enjoy fighting…but I can't help but admire his confidence, his determination...his stubbornness,' she thought while staring at him as he continued to gaze at the spot where the kumon had been moments ago. Slowly her lips curled into a smirk….
'Well damn….we have to train him seriously now I guess. He can't survive alone on just his instincts after all.'
Hope you liked this chapter! And one more thing, Vacio Oscuro is a spanish phrase which means: 'Dark Void.' Well I thought if Kubo Tite could use spanish in his naming, why shouldn't I? ;)
And oh, please review guys. It motivates me to update faster. Last chapter didn't get much reviews, so please do. Mainly asking because the number of favourites, alerts and hits don't match your response in reviews. I was really excited by your response in the first chapter, but thanks anyway for the taking so much interest in my fic. :)
So thanks for reading and reviewing in the last chapters, I really appreciate it! See you next time guys! I wanna sleep now... 'yawn'
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