Well here we are again with another chapter of ELBSK (Endless Love between a Shinigami and a Kunoichi), and again I apologize for my not uploading chapters sooner rather than latter, well anyway let's get on with this one.
Chapter 7
It's been about a month since Ichigo came to this world and it's been great, the people are very nice and welcoming sometimes when he would be walking with Ino or even by himself most people would greet him with a smile and he did the same. He became an official citizen of Konoha although he doesn't even have a headband but hey not every single person in the village does, he also became a valued person as Tsunade would often recommend him for missions sometimes even with jonin like Kakashi, Guy and Yamato which he was always a big help and hardly caused problems.
He and Ino also started spending more time together; going on walks and sitting in peaceful quiet places to talk about whatever and Ichigo was starting to like her more and more with each passing day. Now the two were on a little walk up to the Hokage monument, went through the level that you have to pass through to get to the top and the two were now at the top looking over on Konoha and the view was amazing plus the cool wind that was blowing made it even better.
"Damn this is a great view" Ichigo said taking in the scene and Ino smiled at him, "Yeah I know right simply breath taking" she said with a satisfied sigh.
Ino was getting a bit antsy since yesterday though, she was wondering when Ichigo was going to start to like her the way she does him, I mean come on look at her she's fucking beautiful and has a curvaceous body with impressive double D's, and despite her efforts (though she keeps it on a down low and doesn't make it obvious that she is trying to get him to like her) he hasn't showed that kind of interest even when she tried appealing to him by pressing her boobs up on his chest when they hug or sometimes talking to him in a seductive tone.
Hell even on some mornings she'd stand at his doorway with a sexy pose wearing her frilly short (about 5 inches above her knees) night gown which by the way looks very sexy, the boy would make no attempt to tell her he likes her, was he so dense? That he would just shake it off and act as if she wasn't doing it? Or maybe he just didn't like her that way… no way in hell of course he does!
This one time she heard him whisper while he was sleeping in the couch one day; "Mmm… Ino your so cute" yea that's right he was dreaming about her, And by the sound of it, it was a pretty damn good dream because he had this smile on his face that screamed 'I'm fucking happy!' so Ino decided to just wait and give the boy some time maybe he will confess one day but weeks have past and she was getting discouraged too… but since she knew it would all be worth it she held strong and continued waiting.
There is something that has been affecting Ino, something that involves Ichigo's spirit energy, it was starting to affect her not in a bad way but in a good way, it actually made her feel… good. It gave her this thrilling feeling and it made her hot for him, in fact that time when they were fighting against those rogue ninja and he went in his bankai, the spirit energy got her a little wet and when he used the two Getsuga Tensho which his spirit energy increased due to the release of his ace in the hole attack she got wet even more but she hasn't said anything about it, not yet that is…
"So what else you wanna do?" she asked looking up at the boy. "Well I'm kinda hungry wanna grab somethin' to eat?" he asked back looking down at her (he's about 5 inches taller than her).
"Yeah sure, Where to?" she asked where should be their destination to indulge or whatever on some food.
"Well how about the one we passed? It's about a block that way" he asked looking back out, pointing in the direction.
"Sure why not, I'll race you there" she replied with a wink and jumped off in the direction of the place, putting on a smirk of his own Ichigo used flash step and followed her.
"You honestly don't think you can beat me right?" Ichigo asked as he came up beside her with a smug look on his face.
"Just because you win most of the time doesn't mean I won't beat you this time, I got this in the bag" she was wrong; he won by far…
~Inside some random food place, I'll leave where it is to your imagination~
They had already ordered and where waiting on it, Ichigo had this look on his face that said 'I beat you so bad' and Ino had an irritated one. "And why are you so happy?" she asked with an annoyed tone.
"Oh nothing… just the fact that I beat you… again" he snickered.
"Shut up. It's just cause you're so damn fast, I mean I don't even know what that is; one moment your there and then it's like you just vanish and reappear at another spot. Kakashi sensei does something like that along with a lot of other ninja but yours is a lot faster" she said and huffed at the end.
"Hehe sorry I guess I could have gone easy on ya" he said while rubbing the back of his head. After a bit of comfortable silence their food came and after they ate they left and decided to go back up to the Hokage monument.
Ichigo had asked her if she wanted to race again with a smirk but she quickly declined because she knew she couldn't win, they now laid down on the grass at the top enjoying the wind.
"Hey Komaru?"
He looked over to her, "Yeah?"
"Has your memory come back yet?" she asked in a cute tone while she got up and rested on her elbow.
She had asked him this two weeks ago and he hesitated a bit wondering if he should just tell her the truth but he just said no cause he wasn't ready yet, or maybe it was because he doesn't want to tell her anything at all. "Umm…. No it hasn't" he replied simply.
She gave him a suspicious and serious look and spoke. "You hesitated just now… as if you were trying to find an answer… or as if you were considering whether to be truthful or lie to me"
That look made him flinch slightly though luckily this went unnoticed by her, he wanted to tell her the truth but he just couldn't… or wouldn't.
'Damn she suspects something' he exclaimed in his mind before he answered.
"No I didn't hesitate. Before I answered I was trying to remember that's why I didn't answer right away" he lied again, however he was convincing.
She seemed to except the answer and shrugged. "Well… okay, I hope it comes back though" she said as she lay back down and rested her head on his chest and slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Yeah me too" he muttered after 2 minutes of silence and then fell asleep along with Ino who had a pleasant smile on her face…
~Ichigo's dream~
Ichigo and Ino were currently sitting on the grass in a meadow, there were flowers ranging from daffodils to dandelions and a lot more flowers and the grass was luscious. They sky was almost completely cloudless and the sun was shining brightly.
"These flowers are so beautiful" Ino said brushing her hand across them.
"There not nearly as beautiful as you" Ichigo complimented, smiling at her.
She gave a shy smile and looked at him so cutely that he swore this girl was the cutest he had ever seen."You really think so?"
"Of course" he replied.
She blushed, her smile widening, oh how she was cute when she did that. "Thanks"
Ichigo then turned to her with a serious look on his face and placed his right hand, his palm open, on her thigh, getting her attention. "Y'know there's somthin' I've wanted to tell you for a while now"
She asked oh so innocently, cutely. "What's that?"
"Ino… I really like you a lot" He said with a sweet tone of voice and her heart skipped a beat.
She asked anxiously. "Really?"
"Yeah I really do" He replied and an excited gasp was all that he got from Ino before she tackled him down on the grass and they shared a deep kiss…
~Dream end~
Ichigo opened his eyes and looked down noticing Ino was still lying on his chest sleeping soundly, she looked so cute he had to resist the urge to kiss her then he let out a soft gasp as he remembered the dream he was having.
"Was that a dream or what?" he pondered unsure if it was reality or not, and after a quick glance around he was sure. "Yep, definitely a dream"
He was positive that it was a dream cause he doesn't remember doing that in the time they had started spending time with each other and it definitely didn't happen a while ago cause the surrounding wasn't the same as in the dream… that meadow…. confessing…. kissing Ino. These thoughts ran through his mind, was this really what he wants? Of course it was just a dream but lately these feeling for Ino were building, does he really like her? Or is it just mixed feelings or something? Maybe he only felt this way cause he….. but that was a month ago so it can't be that or maybe it is…
"I gotta stop thinking this way" he said to himself and he felt Ino shift her position slightly, fidgeting on his chest like she was uncomfortable. Then she stopped suddenly.
She said something but she was asleep so it was unclear and after a few sleepy moans she spoke again. "Really?" was what she said this time and this made Ichigo curious.
What could she be dreaming about? Could it be about him? These questions ran through his mind however fortunately they were answered by the next thing that came from Ino's sleeping form.
"You really like me Komaru?" She said softly a small smile appearing on her ever so cute face and Ichigo nearly melted at the adorably cute scene in front of him.
After she said that followed by the smile, she then spoke again. "Aww… I'm so glad you feel the same way as I do"
After that she stopped speaking for a moment, the smile still on her face and she started shuffling closer to him. Wrapping her arms around him more and sighing. Still sleeping she muttered a few more inaudible words then she went quiet again, leaving Ichigo to think.
"Whoa… she's actually dreaming of me telling her that I like her… I can't even imagine how great that dream must be for her… maybe I should really consider trying a relationship with her…" he finished thinking though he will wait some more of course.
After another half hour of sleeping, Ino doing most of it, she finally woke up. Looking around she remembered where she was, noticing the young orange-head still sleeping soundly.
She stared at him and smiled, oh god he looked so cute to her damn it's as if he's an angel. 'Wow I sound like some love sick teenage girl even though I am a teen' she thought, and as if to some kinda response Ichigo started to stir.
He looked around and yawned. "Mmmm…. Oh what's up?"
She giggled, like music to the guy's ears really. "Oh just watching you a bit. You're a real cutie."
And the lil basterd blushed. "Hehe oh yeah?"
"Of course, so wanna go look for Sakura and the others?" she asked.
He looked to the side, thinking about it. "Yeah let's go. I've wanted to go see what they're up to today."
With that said they both got up and headed to check the first location. Training ground seven, roof hoping towards the area and as they got closer they saw the spot. Noticing some dust rising and then they saw Naruto jump out of the cloud of dust on the right side as Kiba and Akamaru jumped out of the left side, both smiling and looking at each other with determination as the landed back on the ground.
"Always training" commented Ino.
"Nothin's wrong with that. It's good to brush up on your skills." Ichigo added.
~Over at the training grounds~
Naruto was over at one side of the field staring at his favorite sparring partner, Kiba; said boy was standing over the other side looking at his blonde haired, hyper active friend with a smile on his face. His companion Akamaru, beside him.
Kiba chuckled, his pronounced canines showing. "You look tired kid."
"Ha. No way, if anything you look tired." the blonde replied with a smirk
Kiba laughed, mockingly. "Stop your yappin' and let's go"
"Gladly!" Naruto exclaimed, charging at Kiba again.
They started at each other again, charging at each other and closing the distance between them. Naruto with his fist drawn back ready to let Kiba have it as soon as they were close enough, Kiba had the same idea as he had his fist drawn back as well. Akamaru had held back on Kiba's command, the ninja hound watching as they got closer to each other. As they were about to clash someone jumped between the two, catching their fists in both his hands, Naruto's to the left and Kiba's to the right. As they realized who had done so they're eyes widened a bit in shock. It was Ichigo, or as they knew him as Komaru, he was standing with a smug look. They were shocked because they had put a good amount of strength in their intended punches, but he had caught them so easily.
Naruto was first to break the silence. "Hey what gives?"
"Yeah I was about to kick his ass" Kiba added in.
Ichigo smirked at this. "Ah come on. I just felt like jumping in that's all"
The two stepped back, freeing their fists from the orange-head and then lunging at him, their fists drawn ready to knock Ichigo into the middle of next week.
"Alright then if you wanna jump in…." Naruto started with a grin.
"….We'll kick your ass" Kiba finished.
As the two were about to hit Ichigo however he stood their unmoving and then…. he disappeared. The two stopped abruptly looking at each other in confusion.
"Where the hell did he go?" Kiba asked aloud.
"He was there and then gone" Naruto added, looking around.
"Wow you guys are so slow" Ichigo commented gaining the attention of the two.
They looked over and saw Ichigo standing casually over to the side next to Ino.
Kiba looked dumb-struck and confused. "How the hell?"
"I'm just that fast." Ichigo answered smugly.
"That was just luck." Naruto chimed in, arms crossed over his chest looking to his side.
"Wanna find out if it was kid?" Ichigo taunted the blond, grinning.
"Alright let's go!" The blond exclaimed.
Neji shook his head. "They're always fighting. Making it seem like training but that's hardly the case."
"Yeah that's just them." Tenten added.
"It's the raging flame of youth!" Lee exclaimed, thrusting a fist in the air. "Let me join you three. It's been a while since I sparred with Naruto."
Naruto looked over to his energetic friend. "Well the more the merrier."
At this Neji's expression changed to that of curiosity looking over at Ichigo. "Well I wouldn't mind Sparring either."
Ichigo looked surprised, not expecting Neji to opt for sparring, he always seemed uninterested. "You too?"
"Sure why not." The Hyuuga answered simply.
Shikamaru decided to add his thoughts. "Well since it seems most of us are up for it why don't we havea big sparring session?" he finished with a smirk.
Naruto looked ecstatic. "That's sounds fun, well come on let's do this."
At this point every one stood up looking like they could do with a good old spar, even Hinata seemed to be eager for it.
"Well let's do this somewhere else. I wanna let loose and if I do I'll tear this place apart." Ichigo added in.
Naruto grinned. "You got the right idea; I was thinking the same thing."
"Hmmm. Well give me a minute I'll go get my sword." Ichigo said, jumping towards the roofs.
After he went back to Ino's place to get his Zanpakutô he came back and they headed out to the farther parts outside of the village, they kept walking until they came to a clearing in the forest. A few trees surrounding the outer layers of the clearing, in the center had tall grass growing with a few patches of the ground visible where no grass grew.
"Well this'll do." Shikamaru said, taking a look around and deeming the area suitable. "Everyone choose the one you want to spar with. Once you've all chosen I'll choose who goes first, and I'll be the ref." he finished and everyone nodded in agreement.
After a minute everyone had chosen and were ready; Naruto chose Ichigo, Hinata chose Neji, Tenten chose Ino, Lee chose Kiba, Choji chose Sai. While Sakura and Shino decided to stay to the side with Shikamaru.
"Alright, first up Hinata and Neji. The Winner is decided when they catch their opponent in a position that's tricky, well for most, to get out of. In other words with a kunai at their neck" Shikamaru started, raising his hand signaling the two to take their positions facing each other.
"Are you ready Lady Hinata?" Neji asked with a smile, activating his Byakugan.
Hinata returned it in kind, activating her bloodline as well. "Yes."
With a nod Shikamaru dropped his hand. "Go!" he exclaimed and in the blink of an eye Hinata and Neji started at each other in close combat.
Leaning to the side Hinata dodged a palm strike from Neji, following up with one of her own almost hitting him but he grabbed her hand and drew her forward his palm intending to strike her mid section. Reacting quickly Hinata threw her weight back, flipping backwards intending to use that reflexive move to kick her cousin in the jaw, however with his cat like reflexes he pulls his head back and dodged her kick by an inch.
But her move allowed her to get some distance as Neji had to let her go of her arm to doge quickly enough. After rounding each other they went at it again fighting gracefully In the Hyuuga way as it has been passed down.
Ichigo looked on with open curiosity and with an impressed look. "Never seen a fighting style like this before, they fight so smoothly yet their hits have so much force and makes that loud sound when they connect."
"That's because they're from the Hyuuga clan. This is their way of fighting that has been passed down from generation to generation; it's called the Gentle Fist art or technique." Ino commented from her spot beside him.
Ichigo placed his hand on his chin, rubbing it in thought. "Gentle Fist technique huh, sounds like something that's not very effective."
Ino looked at him with a surprised expression, remembering about his memory issue but before she could answer Lee did for her.
"Well it isn't as simple and ineffective as it may sound. The Gentle Fist technique is quite deadly because the strikes don't inflict outer damage, the strikes inflict inner damage. They use their Byakugan to locate and target the chakra points within our bodies, and strike each point with deadly precision. They are even able to deal a single blow with so much force it can kill instantly." Lee explained, looking on at the two Hyuuga going at it.
Ichigo looked even more impressed. "Hmmm… not bad."
Back with the two Hyuuga, they were now standing apart facing each other, Hinata was panting only slightly and Neji looked like he was starting to feel slightly tired as well.
"You've gotten better Lady Hinata." Neji praised.
Hinata smiled. "Thank you brother, but you are still stronger than I am."
Neji smiled in modesty. "Shall we finish up?"
"Yes let's go again." She replied with a nod.
Starting again Neji went in with a strike to Hinata's left leg, to react Hinata quickly drew her leg back and used her left hand to grab Neji's then she followed by aiming for the shoulder of the arm she grabbed. She had hit her mark but Neji had pulled back slightly so she missed the chakra point, Neji then decide he was going to back out so he aimed a right kick to Hinata's side, seeing this the Hyuuga girl released her cousin's arm and blocked the kick.
His plan fulfilled he backed out and then with swift movement went at Hinata again, this time he caught her off guard and landed two hits on her midsection and her right shoulder but he used non-lethal force instead making her stumble backwards. Using that momentary distraction he swept her right leg with his right causing her to fall, following up with drawing a kunai from his pouch and stepped over her form on the ground, placing the kunai at her throat ending the spar.
"Sorry Lady Hinata, I won." He said with a smile.
"Well first one goes to Neji." Shikamaru called with a hand pointed to Neji.
Withdrawing the kunai and returning it to his pouch he reached out to Hinata offering his hand to help, smiling back at him she grabbed his hand and with his help pulled herself up.
"That's fine, but I'll win next time." She said with a challenging smirk.
He returned it in kind. "I look forward to it."
Returning to their spot next to the others Shikamaru looked at each of them, deciding who should go next.
"Next up is Ino and Tenten, step forward." he gestured to the field.
Stopping in the center the two Kunoichi smirked at each other.
"Well ready to lose?" Ino taunted.
"I should be asking you that." Tenten returned it in kind.
"Alright go!" Shikamaru started them off.
Making the first move Tenten drew for a few tools throwing some and setting some in place, dashing to the side Ino ran towards her friend, kunai in hand. Jumping over a few that Tenten had set Ino aim forward falling towards Tenten, the Kunoichi jumping in the air and launching a few at Ino.
Which the platinum blond used her kunai to block off some of them and then jumped up to avoid the rest, both Kunoichi landing back on the ground they started at each other again, both enjoying their spar.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Boom!
"Whoa!" Tenten shouted as she fell to the ground, Ino appearing over her with a kunai at her neck.
"Hehe. You lose" Ino smirked.
"Hey! That was unfair!" Tenten complained.
She had been caught by surprise as Ino had used some dust created by Tenten's attack to jump in the air following up by throwing a paper bomb right at the brunette's feet blowing up and sending her crashing to the ground.
"Not really, you should have been sharper." Ino told her, holding her hand to help her up. "You gotta keep your head on the swivel; if you had then you would have noticed when I jumped up behind that dust."
"Whatever." Tenten shot back with a pout, grabbing the offered hand and getting to her feet.
"Alright that one goes to Ino. Now then, next up Choji and Sai." Shikamaru spoke up and the two in question took their place. "And go!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
All the other sparring went down well, Lee had managed to come out on top in his while Choji lost in his. Now Naruto and Ichigo were in the field which by now most of the grass was already gone due to some explosions and such, the two starring each other down waiting for who knows what to begin. Shikamaru had already started them off though instead of going into it right away they remained in their positions starring simply, smirks present on both their faces.
Then as if on some hidden queue the two started at each other, Naruto with kunai in hand and Ichigo moving forward with his Zanpakutô.
Clash!
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out in the air, Ichigo pushing Naruto back making the blond smirk more, liking the challenge. Pulling back Naruto started striking over and over again putting Ichigo into the defensive state, taking step after step back, lunging forward Ichigo swung at the kunai in Naruto's hand knocking it out and lunging forward again looking to get a non-lethal strike in.
Naruto seeing the danger ducked and then jumped back when Ichigo pulled his sword back, the blond summoned two clones, pulling out another kunai as the clones followed his move. Now armed Naruto and his clones moved into position around Ichigo flaking him on his sides and one taking position in front of him, the two on the sides engaged Ichigo in close combat.
The third Naruto which is the original summoned another clone and the clone armed himself and moved to his position while the original Naruto joined the other two clones in close combat, the clones were smart and moved quickly as to not get sliced by Ichigo's blade. After a few more moves the Naruto and his clones took position again, same as before. Then on queue the three lunged at Ichigo simultaneously, Ichigo forced on the defensive again.
*All three at once huh, well then I'll just move back and get some distance* Ichigo thought, moving back and away from the three.
For some reason his retreat caused Naruto and the two clones to smirk at him and that didn't sit right with him, instincts kicking in Ichigo looked behind him, spotting the other clone Naruto had summoned earlier.
"The hell did he come from?" he asked aloud.
Stopping in his tracks Ichigo looked around him, now he was really in a bind. The clone behind him charged at him kunai ready, at the same time the other three took position again one in front one flanking his right another flanking his left, the three in those positions drew quite a few shuriken ready to throw. As the clone behind him got closer the other three threw the shuriken the projectiles moving towards Ichigo at alarming speeds, and the other clone behind him ready to strike.
As threat gets closer and closer to Ichigo he just stood there unmoving, then he smirked confusing the three in front of him. And then just like last time, he was there and then… gone. The shuriken flying towards the spot, instead colliding into each other and falling to the ground.
The place was quiet, not a single sound coming from anywhere as the clones and the original Naruto looked around, searching for their opponent. A poof sound alerted the blond and his clones and they looked to their left seeing a plume of smoke where a clone should have been, then there was a another looking to their right another clone no longer remains, smoke the only thing there.
Then the last poof and the third clone was no more, Ichigo emerging from the smoke with a smirk, his sword on his shoulder.
"Is that all you got?" Ichigo taunted.
"Far from it!" Naruto exclaimed, putting his hands into his signature hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
And just like that ten clones popped into existence, all drawing kunai and racing towards Ichigo. Three had stayed back, preparing for a different attack.
Ichigo gained an expression that said 'time for me to kick your asses "Let me show you just how fast I am."
With lightning quick speed Ichigo flashed across and up and down the field, taking out the clones like its child's play. Finishing the last clone he stopped and looked around, a satisfied look on his face, then he heard a sound that he remembered from the first time he sparred with Naruto. Spinning around he spotted the blond in question, heading towards him with that same sphere in his right palm.
Ichigo built up a Getsuga Tenshô and sent it at the blond, Naruto dodging to the side, the wave of spirit energy missing him by an inch, nearing Ichigo the blond thrust his right palm forward, Ichigo blocking with his blade.
"Rasengan!" the blond exclaimed his Rasengan clashing with Ichigo's blade.
After a few moments the Rasengan exploded creating a bit of smoke and the force blowing the two back. Catching his balance Naruto looked ahead, drawing a kunai just in case. Ichigo had caught his balance and readied another Getsuga, swinging his blade he sent it out straight at the smoke created earlier. Behind the smoke Naruto heard the sound of something coming his way, getting into a defensive stance, then he saw the same blue wave of energy coming at him again but this time it was too fast to dodge.
Placing the kunai in front of him he waited the right moment and then, braced himself for the impact.
Clash!
Getsuga hit kunai as Naruto tried to hold strong but a small kunai isn't enough to hold back a Getsuga Tenshô, breaking through Naruto was thrown back as the Getsuga flew over him luckily, harmlessly flying up to the sky and breaking down. Sliding across the ground Naruto came to a stop and was about to get up when he felt metal at his neck looking down he saw Ichigo's blade at his throat, standing at his left Ichigo smiled down at him.
"Better luck next time." He said, withdrawing his Zanpakutô.
"Goddamn carrot top." Naruto grumbled, hopping to his feet.
"Well that one goes to Ichigo. Not like I didn't see that one coming." Shikamaru spoke up, mumbling the last part.
"Damn, Komaru really is bad ass." Tenten commented.
Ino smiled. "I know right."
"He's definitely worth sparring with." Neji added
"Yep." Kiba commented.
Sakura, who was quiet for most of it chimed in. "Well it's only Naruto he'd beat Naruto."
"Hey! Shut up!" Naruto argued.
"Well I feel like getting back now. Let's go." Shikamaru spoke up walking back.
Everyone followed his stride, talking about whatever. After swinging by the bath house they went to get something to eat then went separate ways, at Ino's place she was sitting on the couch in her living room, Ichigo currently upstairs. She had been slightly bothered by something, something concerning the Shinigami and she was now thinking on the whole matter.
*I've been like so head over heels…. But really my feelings are leading me on, I mean I don't even know him all that well…. Whatever this is I have to get some info, either from him or I'll try asking Lady Tsunade. With some help from me I'm sure I can help him with that memory problem too, I gotta know more about him before I completely trust him*
Mind made up she decided she is going to get down to the bottom of this, she going to get everything she wants to know before she even considers going further.
To be continued Next chapter…
