A/N: Here I am. Back after a while. Hope you will enjoy this chapter.
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Chapter 6: Hollows and training.
"Dinner!" A small hollow appeared from the sky, attacking a small soul that was running away. "Get back here, dinner!" They passed living people who ignored them completely. Even when the huge, dog-like hollow knocked people and stands out of its way, no one even bothered to yell at it. And of course they wouldn't, it was invisible. And so was the soul in need.
A lone shinigami chased them both by jumping on the rooftops.
Lately, more and more hollows were appearing in this town and higher-ups had cut down the territory. Usually, it would take about seven shinigamis to protect a place big as Tokyo. That was over a million humans per shinigami to watch over. And Tokyo (with the exception of Karakura Town) was ranked as 'hostile' area in human world. Gotei 13 ranked the areas according the amount of hollows usually appeared there. Ranks were: dead, quiet, active, hostile, dangerous, possessed, frontier, ground zero. Karakura Town itself had to be given its own Shinigami just recently when it was raised from 'active' to 'hostile' to 'dangerous'. Every 'dangerous' area had their own shinigami, whatever the size.
As far as this lone shinigami knew, there hadn't been any 'frontier' cases around here since the last world war. Ground zero could be only found in Hueco Mundo. Usually, place like Karakura town would be ranked either active or hostile considering its size, death rate, population and general happiness. Happier or more content they are as they die, less likely they are to turn into Jibaku-soul (A/N: Earthbound-soul) and being less likely eaten by hollows or turned into one themselves. And people in Karakura Town (by official Shinigami guide book) were as content as in any other district in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan.
Still, somehow, Hollows found themselves here more often than not. And they were more powerful after another. This lone shinigami who threw a kido attack in the back of the chasing hollow, to get its attention to himself, pulled his zanpakuto and cut it down. After that, he gave the soul its burial and started to make his way back to his post, through the crowd.
It was afternoon and crowded as the shinigami made his way around people, trying not to cast anymore unwanted attention than he necessarily had to. As he walked, he passed a group of high school students but none of them were even looking at him because they were helping their friend who was coughing madly, down in the street. It reminded him from a person he had known long ago in the academy. It actually had been this town where this shinigami had lost his friend. Man had been sent to his first real world mission and never came back. Shinigami didn't spear second glance at the students who were gathered around their friend. Lives of the living were not to be interfered with. No matter how awful they would seem. Shinigami sighed sadly and moved forward.
"Naruto! Are you okay?" Ichigo yelled alarmed. They had a normal day in school, Naruto scored high in the test again, Mizuiro had been flirting with their teacher, Keigo running like a headless chicken. They had beaten some punks who had picked a fight with them and now they were heading home when suddenly, Naruto had a seizure of some sort and collapsed, coughing madly.
"Y-yeah." Naruto swept his face into his sleeve while glancing over his shoulder quickly. "Just a little cold. Nothing serious!"
"Are you kidding? You collapsed on the street! I should get you checked at my dad's at least. Okay?"
Naruto didn't have anything to say when both Ichigo and Chad crabbed him by his shoulders and dragged him away, letting Keigo carry his bag while Mizuiro followed. While being carried, Naruto glanced over his shoulder one more time and sighed inwardly. 'That was a close one. I don't want to take advantage of my friends but I can't risk being found out by Gotei 13.' He coughed again, this time for real. His fake coughing had irritated his throat very badly and it tried to relief itself. Of course, it served as a perfect cover-up. 'But it was a surprise to find Chouji here. Last I heard, he was a foot soldier in sixth squad. I wonder how things are going back there…'
"Here we are Naruto, Kurosaki clinic." Ichigo interrupted his thoughts and opened the door. "Old man! You have a patient!"
"So this is your home." Naruto studied the place as he was still being carried around. "Why haven't you brought me here earlier?"
"I-chi-go!" A man jumped out of nowhere and kicked Ichigo into his face. Because he was still carrying Naruto around, he was dragged down too and because Chad was also carrying him, so he lost his balance and tripped. And because Keigo and Mizuiro were behind them, they were crashed underneath.
Kurosaki Isshin watched the big pile of human arms and legs right in front him. "Hahahaha!" He laughed. "How naïve Ichigo! You're still no match for me! Now, what did you say just now?"
Naruto twitched painfully and whispered. "Never mind. Your dad is pretty crazy."
"I told you." Ichigo answered with a same voice.
"But my dad still triumphs." Blond boy said slowly before blackening out.
Naruto woke up when something was being stuck down to his throat.
"Nothing too obvious wrong with him." Isshin said after a while of examination. Naruto cracked his eyes open and saw everyone standing right in front of him. Man with a doctor coat had his back turned to him. "Has he been exerting himself a lot lately?"
"No, not that we noticed." Ichigo shook his head. "I mean, we had our fights with those punks but other than that, nothing I can't remember."
"What he usually does when he's not with you, then?" Isshin asked.
Everyone looked back and forth between each other. "Arcade?" Ichigo suggested.
"I always thought he did some serious studying at home." Chad said who even after all this time, refused to accept that someone could score so well with no real work.
"I saw him once with this high school girl, carrying her shopping." Mizuiro thought out loud.
"Date?" Everyone asked together.
"Nah, I don't think so." He shook his head. "As I passed them, there was no romance there. It was like they were doing chores. Or rather, he was doing all the work while she was reading some erotic books."
"What!?" Keigo jumped up. "Naruto is dating a woman like that!?"
"No he's not, Mizuiro just said that!" Ichigo smacked him into head.
"Well, a relationship with a pervert like that would explain." Isshin said out loud.
"Explain what?" Ichigo asked.
"Those bruises, cuts and healing bones all over his body." He explained. "So either he is into S&M, is abused by his family frequently. Has he said anything to you?"
There was a silence. They didn't believe that Naruto was into S&M or abused by anyone. But, there was no way of knowing was there. They had been friends almost six months now and they couldn't know better.
"I train." Narutos voice came from the door. "I practice kendo and iaido regularly with my club."
"What?!" Keigo yelled. "You said that you didn't belong to any club when I asked you to join in our schools team!"
Naruto who was buttoning his shirt walked to the hallway. Everyone could see light bruising over stomach until his shirt covered it. "Correction, your sister (who freaks me out by the way) was holding you by your neck while you tried to exhale sound's long enough to be confused as words."
"And you still didn't give in! My sister won't give up until you decide to join our team!"
"Well, my club is where I train. We get a little rough from time to time."¨
"Rough?" Ichigo looked at him. "You look like you were beaten to the ground!"
"Well, Lisa gets easily excited when I promise to buy her a new book."
"Lisa? That high school girl?" Mizuiro asked.
Naruto snorted. "Yeah right. She's just a middle-aged woman with some weird fetishes."
--
In Vizard hideout, Lisa sneezed loudly.
"Bless ya." Hirako muttered tiredly. Then he glanced at her. "What?"
"I… don't know." Lisa stood up and looked up to the entrance. "I suddenly have real urge to hit Naruto."
--
"What's her number?" Mizuiro pulled out a small notebook.
"Trust me man, you wouldn't survive two minutes in the same room." Naruto raised his hands. "This one time, she kept asking me to do this thing she had read in her books. I don't know what the 'thing' really was but it required animal costumes, rope and lots of latex."
--
Lisa sneezed again.
"Are you coming down to something?" Hiyori asked looking at her. "Cause if you are, get away from me. I don't want to be sick on my date!"
"First of all, you don't need to keep up the pretence. We know you don't have a boyfriend. And secondly, I don't know why but I have a sudden urge to maim Naruto."
--
Keigo felt shivers going down his spine but nobody even noticed this. "So you're okay?"
"Okay as I can be. Trust me." Naruto smiled his assuring smile. "But anyway, we're at Ichigos. Shouldn't we, like, do something?"
They spent rest of the day playing games in Ichigos room. Naruto was his usual happy-go-lucky self but others thought it was a little forced.
"Now remember, you need to take it easy for couple of days." Isshin told him when they were leaving. "You might not feel it but your body starts to feel the effect of your 'training'. If you keep this up, you might get seriously injured."
"Don't worry." Naruto smiled and waved his hand. "I can take it."
"What are you training for anyway?" Ichigo asked. "Some tournament coming or what?"
"You could say that." Naruto shrugged. If Hiyori promising to gut you like a fish if you didn't get a lot stronger a lot faster could be considered a tournament. "Anyway, thank you for your concern but I will be okay." He walked away stretching his arms.
One by one, his friends separated from the group towards their own homes until Naruto was alone walking in the sunset. It had been a hard day. People were starting to suspect things. He really should start looking after himself.
"Hellooooo!" A soul of an old man started making faces front of him. "You idiot! Here I am! Look at this! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
A vein popped in Narutos forehead. "Enough already!" He screamed, soul jumped back in shock.
"Geez boy! I almost got a heart attack!" Then the soul laughed. "I already got one! If I hadn't known, I would've said that this guy could see me."
"I can see you, you old geezer!" Naruto snapped angrily at it causing it to flinch in shock.
"You can see me!? Is that even possible?!"
"Why don't you think that while you pass on?"
"But I don't want to go yet! I still have so many things I could do like this!" Man danced around with a perverted glee in his eyes.
Naruto sighed. "Fine, if you don't, but don't come running to me when a hollow comes and –" A sudden burst of reiatsu right behind Naruto forced him to jump forward and crab the old soul with him. And not a moment too soon, because the place where he had been standing was caused to rubble the moment he lift his feet.
He faced the hollow. It was nothing. He wouldn't even have to pull his zanpakuto. Just a simple kido attack would send it back to its doom. He was about to raise his palm. Ever since his transformation, his kido control had improved substantially. He wasn't anywhere near as the other vice-captains nor would he ever be – Kisuke had said that he just wasn't kido-type – but he could still do some pretty bad damage if he wanted.
"So a food can jump!" Hollow yelled and licked its teeth. "Let's see if you can dodge this!"
Naruto smirked and raised his hand. "Hado #4: Bya-!" he stopped himself. He didn't feel anything any reiatsu going through him. "Damn gigai." He gulped and evaded another attack. It was all because of his gigai. It was designed to cut off any sign of reiatsu. That also meant that he couldn't use his zanpakuto, hollow mask or even simplest kido. "But what I get attacked by a hollow?" He had asked but his father had done the exact thing he had expected. "Ooh, look at that!" He had pointed at something right behind Narutos back. He had turned around to see what he meant. He couldn't really tell what he meant so he turned back ask him what when he realized that his father was gone. "Every time!" He had screamed frustrated and completely forgotten his question.
"So just you know," He spoke to the soul that was withering behind him. "I blame you for this."
The old geezer couldn't get a chance to reply when hollow attacked again. It seemed to get irritated by their jumping around.
"This is bad! Do something boy! Save me!" Geezer whimpered behind his back.
"What? What you want me to do?" Naruto demanded angrily. "I can't use my zanpakuto without getting out of this gigai and… and if I do, my dad will be in danger. I… I can't do it."
"But-but-but-"
"DIE!!!" Hollow attacked. But instead Naruto for jumping away again, he blocked it, with his own body.
"Urgh!" He coughed up a lot of blood but didn't move away.
"Giving up, are you? Human who is able to see me… never ate one of those before." It licked its lips.
"Ge-get away from here, geezer." Naruto crabbed hollows huge arm and locked it into his place. "I… hold it."
Soul didn't think twice. It ran away fast as it could.
"You sacrificed yourself for the sake of that thing? Do you think I care about that? I want to eat you!"
"Eat me?" Naruto whispered. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
Hollow punched him into face and send him flying towards a wall. "DIE!!!" It kept punching.
I-I-I'm gonna die. Naruto thought while he was being beaten. For real this time. I can't use anything. I'm… I'm just a human who is getting beaten by a hollow. A gillian to that.
"Is that really all there is to it?" A memory whispered. "What do you think is a shinigami? A person who carries a zanpakuto? Uses kido?"
"Well, duh. OH!!! And kicks some hollows ass!" Naruto smirked excited.
Jiraiya shook his head. "Those things don't matter. When that hollow attacked you last week, you couldn't do anything back then either. You couldn't use your shikai, you couldn't use kido even though you tried couple of times, yet you survived. Why is that?"
Naruto thought for a moment. "I refused to be defeated before I become the captain-commander. That's my dream you know!"
"Yes, yes, I know already!" Jiraiya sighed. "Give that up for one second when I'm trying to teach you!"
"HIII!!! Ero-taichou!"
"STOP CALLIGN ME THAT!!! I'm a captain of the third squad and you're just a measly recruit of the fourth! You have to treat me with respect!"
"HIII!!! Ero-taichou!" Naruto saluted him firmly.
Jiraiya sighed. "Back to the topic… you know what? Forget it. It's just a waste of time. You couldn't become anything. You can hardly use your zanpakuto." He stood up and started walking away."I have to get back to my work. You know something we real shinigamis do."
"Hey!" Naruto jumped up angrily. "I don't care even if you don't help me! I've been told all my life what I can't be a shinigami because of my health! I can't graduate because I can't even use kido! I can't summon my zanpakuto because I'm such a looser! Well guess what!? They didn't stop me and so won't you! I'm still a shinigami, I graduated the academy and I have my shikai! So go ahead go to your stinking squad you perverted captain who can't get it up! I will be a captain-commander and when I will, I will kick your ass back and fort Seireitei just out of amusement!"
"Feel free to vent to the woods all you want after I'm gone."
"Go to hell! I don't care what you say! I'm not giving up, I give you my word! And I never go back on my word!" He pointed his finger on Jiraiyas back.
He stopped and turned around. "We'll see about that."He smirked and pulled his own zanpakuto. "Pull!"
Naruto was just able to block Jiraiyas attack but was sent flying backwards by sheer force. The attack had almost knocked him out. His body was aching. He felt another seizure coming up. He forced himself up. His feet felt like they would fail him any minute. He could taste blood.
Jiraiya appeared right front of him and kicked his zanpakuto away. "Fuuin!!!" He used a special kido attack he had created himself back in the day. Jiraiya was accomplished in Fuudo attacks. Sealing attacks and had created numerous new ones himself. His skills with kido was probably the lowest among the captains (Kepanchi excluded) but his skills to form barriers, seal enemies and their powers were rivaled by only the captain of kido coprs. With a simple poke of his finger, he had sealed every last bit of Narutos reiatsu away. Then he kicked him again, sending him flying high and far.
"What are you going to do now?" He asked as Naruto finally stopped moving. His body was broken he could feel his life slipping away. When there was no answer to fill the silence, Jiraiya sighed and sheathed his sword. "Just as I suspected, just venting."
"H-h-hold ju-just a (pant) a minute." Pained voice whispered. Jiraiya turned around, his eyes widening from the shock. Naruto was standing. "I… I… I gave you my word… (pant). I would be a cap-pptain-com-mm-man-commander one day. I… d-don't go back on it…" His resolve never gave up but his body wasn't just as lucky. He fell unconscious before he even started falling down. Jiraiya appeared right next to him and crabbed him before he hit the ground.
"That's right, Naruto." He smiled proudly to the boy who was down for the count. "It doesn't matter how many spells you know or about your zanpakuto. The most important thing you need is guts." There was only silence. "Are you there?" Jiraiya asked. "Seriously, if you're just faking it, it's not funny." He gulped. "Wow, Tsunade is going to kill me."
"Die, human!" Hollow opened its mouth. "Dinner!" And flung forward but suddenly, Naruto raised his hand and punched it into head.
"Guts…" Naruto whispered. "Do you think you're talking to?" He leaned to the wall. "I'm Senju-Urahara Naruto! Gotei 13, 3rd vice-captain! I'm not going down by just a lowly hollow. I'm going to go down in some big-ass heroic fight!"
He pushed the hollow backwards when suddenly he turned around and used a jujutsu and threw him over his back, slamming it painfully to the ground. While the hollow was withering in pain on the ground, Naruto slammed his heel into its face. "Take that!" Then he quickly took a piece of concrete that had fallen from the wall he had been slammed just moments before. He used it as a weapon when he beat the hollows mask time after time until he could feel it breaking. He quickly jumped up and rushed towards a pile of garbage where he saw a metal pipe sticking out. He took it just in time to saw the hollow trying to stumble away.
"You're not going anywhere!" He yelled and tried to run after it but his ankle must've been broken because he could feel the sharp pain torturing him and fell down. The hollow took this chance and run away. "That's right! Run away! And tell all your friends that I'm here! Great Naruto-sama is here so everyone better watch out!"
--
Hollow turned couple corners and sighed relieved. He had managed to loose that crazy guy.
"I knew you were here somewhere." Chouji sighed and before it noticed, hollow was in half. "This place is really dangerous. This one is second today. Good thing that I get a transfer soon."
--
Kisuke was fanning himself while waiting for his son coming back. Moonlight was glowing. It was way past his son's usual time already and he was getting little anxious. New shinigamis coming and going this town all the time, there was no telling what might happen. But then again, he would definitely feel his son's reiatsu if anything dangerous was going on.
Then slowly, he heard someone slowly making its way towards the shop. Slowly Naruto came into view looking like he had just tried to beat a Menos with just his bare fists. He didn't say much, just limbed inside.
"So, how was your day?" Kisuke asked politely. Naruto answered by throwing his bag into his face.
--
"Uzumaki…san?" Ochi-sensei asked quietly as he announced students name the next morning.
"Here!" Narutos voice answered. Of course, no one had any idea of telling if it was really him because of all the bandages around him.
"What happened to you?"
There was a moment of silence. Naruto could feel everyone watching at him. "I'm cosplaying as the Mummy Man from Dragon Ball episode 72. You like it?"
"Yes… well… carry on then." Ochi Misato mumbled. Whatever lame excuses she had been expecting, this was not one of them.
As the lunch started, all his friends surrounded Naruto immediately. "What the hell happened to you?" Ichigo demanded loudly.
Naruto slowly turned his head. "I already told you-"
"Did something happen after you left?" Chad asked. "Were you attacked by some gang?"
"What! No!" Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "I'm okay. Let's go have lunch." He avoided all the questions all day.
--
"So you got your ass handed to you by a hollow?" Shinji asked while she was looking down to him. It had been his turn to spar with him but Naruto was not in any condition to fight. So they did the next best thing. Played poker.
"Shut it already!" Naruto snapped angrily. "Or I will stick a cero down your throat."
"Hah! You wish you could do it!" Shinji snickered. "I'm not Love."
"Hey!"
Naruto crumbled. "Anyway, where's Hiyori? I thought she would be here?"
Everyone tensed. "She's with her 'boyfriend'?"
"She's still going on about that?"
Everyone slumped depressed. "She dragged us up to meet him." Rose whispered. "He was real. A high school student?"
Naruto blinked. "You're not pulling my leg just to for fun of it?"
Everyone's glares were an answer enough.
"So, with the exception of this 'boyfriend' and Hirakos regular visits to a whorehouse, no action on this frontier, huh?"
"Don't talk like you had so much going on either." Lisa glared at him.
"Don't say that!" Kensei screamed but it was too late.
"What you mean I don't have a girlfriend, yes, I we had very cold feelings right before I left here but that doesn't mean we –"
Everyone was now glaring at Lisa who actually looked ashamed of herself.
"I hope you're happy now." Kensei whispered. "Now nothing will silence him."
"- I mean how am I supposed to know that she felt threatened by my best friend? You know how it is –"
--
"Alright, today I want you to attack me with all you got and I will gauge your abilities." Kisuke pulled out his Benihime. When he was ready for the attack, he noticed the tension around his son. "Is something wrong, son?"
"Just a little uneasy feeling about all this." Naruto smiled nervously. "Last time you pulled that on me, I went through a hell of lot of pain and almost ended up dying."
Kisuke placed his sword on his shoulder and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry about that, Naruto. It was just something that had to be done." There was a moment of silence where they watched into each other's eyes. "Ever since you became a vizard, I decided to leave your training in Hirako-sans and his friend's capable hands, knowing that I can't really teach you anything you wouldn't learn from them better. So today, I want to see how far you've come in these moths. You can use anything you have. Hollow mask, zanpakuto, kido, scratch and bite if you need to." He clapped his hat. "If you can knock this over, I will show you few tricks of my own."
"Training with my own dad." Naruto smiled widely and lowered his stance, took hold of Kinhas scabbard with one hand and its handle with the other. "Here I come." He leaped forward and pulled the katana out, aiming at his father's head.
Kisuke dodged it easily and flung his blade from the opposite side. "You're open!"
Suddenly the wakizashi jumped out of its scabbard, almost slashing him into half. He leaped backwards just to witness Naruto placing it back and taking hold of his katana with both hands. "That was a pretty good block."
"Thanks." Naruto smiled and sheathed his sword. "I've been working with that one."
"Iaido again? Have you learned any new tricks past these months?" Kisuke asked.
"Why don't you come over here and find out." Naruto smirked.
"Well, I'm not that accomplished in Iaido myself but I can do something." Urahara lowered his stance and smirked.
For a moment, it was like mirror image of each other. Only few centuries between them.
"Let's go!" They yelled and moved forward.
--
"It's loud down there." Ururu whispered quietly. She, Jinta and Tessai were upstairs, waiting. "I wonder how they are doing?"
"I hope manager kicks that guy's ass." Jinta said loudly as another shock wave surged through floor.
"Jinta-dono. Please." Tessai whispered.
Then suddenly, came very quiet.
"Do you think they killed each other?" Jinta whispered.
The secret door flung open and very battle weary Kisuke jumped up, holding his unconscious son in his arms. "Hello, everyone!" He greeted everyone.
"How did it go, Owner?" Tessai rushed to take Naruto from him and checked him for wounds.
"I'm pooped!" Kisuke crashed on ground. He took his hat to his hands. "Luckily I didn't have my good hat." The thing he was holding in his hands was now ruined. It had a huge hole in the middle. "That boy…" He smiled to Naruto. "Has come very far. But he still has long way to go." Then he crashed backwards and sighed. "Look after the shop for the day. I will take a day off."
--
Few weeks later, Naruto was doing some late night shopping. All his friends were busy with their own things. A hollows quiet scream filled the air. "They keep coming more every week."
Suddenly, a familiar reiatsu spiked somewhere near. "She's here!?" He whispered as he looked around. "Kuchiki… Rukia. Here? No, something is wrong now. Ichigo!"
He abandoned his shopping and run through streets. He pushed trashcans aside, kicked people and ignored a police officer who tried to arrest him. He made it to Kurosaki residence to witness something unbelievable.
There was Kuchiki Rukia, lying against a light pole, wounded, holding her zanpakuto against his friend's chest.
"Gimme the sword, Shinigami." Ichigo smirked.
"It's not 'Shinigami'." Rukia answered as Ichigo pointed her sword towards his own chest. "It's Kuchiki Rukia."
"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Get a room you two." Naruto whispered awkwardly as he backed away into hiding. Hollow kept crawling closer. Then something happened. Ichigo released a massive amount of reiatsu and transformed into a… "Ichigo is a shinigami." Then he noticed Ichigos zanpakuto as he slayed the hollow. "It's not the size. It's how you use it."
The fight was soon over and Naruto walked away. There was nothing he could do now. Just as he turned around, the hollows reiatsu disappeared.
When he reached home, he found his father waiting for him. "You saw it, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Naruto nodded and sat next to him on the porch. "Rukia-chan is in big trouble now. Giving ones powers to human is a great fence against the laws of Seireitei. What will happen to her now?"
Kisuke smirked. "I sold her a very special gigai just now. She is resting inside."
"Wait! What!? She's here!? How? When?"
"Ooh, Naruto." Kisuke waved his fan dismissively. "If you had been a little more observant, you might have noticed that I was standing behind you all the time."
Naruto eyes widened in shock. "You're pulling my leg!"
"'Get a room you two.'" Kisuke repeated his words.
"How you knew where I was?"
"You didn't come home in time so I thought that something was going on and then I noticed this weird reiatsu hanging around." Kisuke stood up. "I quickly run to you fast as I could. We reached the scene together."
"Hu…" Naruto nodded quietly. "I'm going to the club house for the night." He stood up. "Remember to take care of her, right? She's my Anikis legacy and very important to me. Understand? Better get a move on. Can't be seen here or it will raise unnecessary questions."
"That's unfortunate but true." Kisuke smiled. "See you tomorrow." He walked inside. 'I'm sorry Naruto. But she is my only chance to hide that from Aizen forever. I wish there was another way. I'm sorry.'
Chapter END
