Shi no Seikatsu: Kaminari Kitsune no bōken

(Life in Death: The Adventures of the Thunder Fox)

(死の生活：雷狐の冒険)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and all things related to it, and Tite Kubo owns all that is Bleach. This story is simply a product of envy and admiration towards those with the proper ownership to the two series.

Chapter 9: Times of training

"Lesson?" Orihime questioned as she stood next to Chad and Tatsuki while Naruko stood before them with a black cat sitting on her shoulder.

"Are you willing to take it?" The black cat, Yoruichi questioned.

"But, this is so sudden."

"More like, the real issue is, a cat is…" Chad said, looking dumbstruck.

"Is what?" Inoue asked.

"Ichigo's begun preparations to go to Soul Society. If you three also want to make use of the power you've awakened, then you must that our lessons. And whether or not you go there can come later." Naruko said.

"I will go." Chad said, looking at the others.

"So will I, I want to figure out more on this power I've got." Tatsuki agreed. Orihime seemed a bit hesitant but nodded in agreement all the same.

"Oh there he is!" Inoue exclaimed as they found Ishida by a waterfall. "Ishida-kun! Yoo-hoo!"

"Inoue-san, Sado-kun, Tatsuki-san, Uzumaki! How did you three find this place?" Ishida asked as he turned towards them.

"Me and Yoruichi followed your reiatsu from your house." Naruko explained.

"Yoruichi?"

"What are you doing? Camping?" Inoue asked.

"No…" He said adjusting his glasses.

"He's training." Yoruichi said, sending Ishida into a fight position as he looked around for who was talking.

"Who's there?!"

"What are you looking at? I'm over here, over here." Yoruichi waved from her position on a rock next to Naruko. "I'm Yoruichi."

Seeing a cat talk was apparently not something Ishida was used to as he quickly freaked out. "AH a cat is…! A cat is…!"

"What? Just because a cat is speaking, there's no reason to lose it, boy." Yoruichi said.

"Yeah Glasses, don't go fainting on us, it's not a big deal." Naruko said, agreeing.

"Actually, I think it's enough of a shock to give someone a minor emotional trauma." Chad said.

"Men are such utterly un-adaptable creatures, aren't they?" Yoruichi stated, getting a nod from Orihime and Naruko. Tatsuki was more on the boys side however, still being a bit shocked at a hearing a cat speak.

"Ah, um, excuse me. Now, just why is it you're here?" Ishida asked after collecting himself.

"Actually…" Inoue said and explained what had been planned.

"Kurosaki is going to Soul Society?!" Ishida said after they finished explaining.

"We're going to save Rukia, Orihime wanted to at least tell you." Naruko said.

"Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with me."

"Kuchiki-san's life is in danger and you don't want to help?! What the hell Ishida?!" Tatsuki yelled at him.

"As a Quincy, I cannot forgive myself for losing to Shinigami. That is why I train; I don't care about Kuchiki-san." Ishida said. Naruko frowned before snorting.

"Pathetic, to think her heritage would turn into someone like you. Cannot forgive yourself for losing to Shinigami? That's why you train? How selfish, the First would be ashamed to hear you say that."

Everyone except Yoruichi looked shocked at Naruko, not expecting an outburst from her. "The First? Who are you talking about, Uzumaki?"

"I'm talking about the first Quincy! If she was here she'd be sending you to an early grave."

"The first Quincy?! What do you know about the Quincy?!" Ishida said as he stood up angrily.

"I've known many Quincy, and I knew the first one! Her name was Tenten, she was one of the most accurate ninja to ever exist. She was also my first friend, and I know she would have done anything to help a friend!" Naruko said as she glared at the boy.

"Forget this brat, let's leave him to his oh so important training!" Naruko said before turning and disappearing in a blur.

Sighing Yoruichi got the others to follow as they left Ishida. After they left Ishida sighed. "Gomen, Uzumaki-san. But I cannot let anyone see this training."

Naruko after having calmed down and left the others in the care of Yoruichi, decided to see how Ichigo was doing, she arrived at Urahara's "basement" just in time to see Ichigo, who was being sat on by Tessai, fall down a big hole with Urahara standing next to it pointing off in the distance.

"Hehe, were you surprised by my feint?" Urahara asked a falling Ichigo, getting no reply as he was busy screaming his lungs out. Looking over the edge Naruko whistled, she could barely see the bottom.

"It's rather deep." Urahara stated.

"I did my best." Ururu said pumping her arm, just before they heard Ichigo hit the bottom.

"You know doing this means he'll probably get that right?" Naruko asked Urahara seriously. "You think he can handle it?"

"Of course I do, I have nothing but the outmost confidence that he can control it, and will only get stronger with it." Urahara replied, looking serious for once.

"I guess if he gets through training with them, I can teach him how to use it further." Naruko said with a sigh.

Looking down at Ichigo and Tessai she saw that Tessai was now in a corner while Ichigo's arms where now heavily restrained. "A level ninety nine, huh? That's pretty heavy, but I guess it might be necessary."

"Kurosaki-san! Please climb up here in that condition. That is the current lesson. Its name is "Shattered Shaft"." Urahara called down to Ichigo.

"Bakayarō, I can't do that!" Ichigo yelled back.

"You don't really have a choice Ichigo, it's that or become a hollow, Ichigo!" Naruko told him, pointing down at the end of Ichigo's chain of fate.

"Huh?" Looking down at it Ichigo freaked when he saw that it had started to eat itself.

"At the bottom of the Shattered Shaft, erosion takes seventy-two hours to complete. That's three days. Become a Shinigami and climb up from there, if you please. Otherwise, when you become a hollow, we will have to put an end to you." Kisuke finished the explanation ominously.

"Teme, you tryin' to kill me?" Ichigo yelled as he glared up at them.

"Yes…the moment you give up."

Naruko watched Ichigo try and fail to climb up the wall a couple of times before getting bored and turned to Urahara. "Oi, I'm going to check on the other kids. Cya in three days."

Walking into the building where Orihime, Chad and Tatsuki were "training" she came upon a funny sight, the three where screaming and tensing, or in Orihime's case stretching towards the roof, with Yoruichi looking on with a sweatdrop.

"Are they…trying to access their powers?" Naruko asked as she stopped next to her girlfriend-turned cat, getting a nod in reply.

"This is totally hopeless. At this rate, I'll never be able to send you to Soul Society." The feline said.

"What? Come on…"

"Don't "Come on" me. If you don't gain the ability to manifest your powers at will, then even if you go to Soul Society, you'll just die like a dog. It's not difficult to do. Just remember the first time and follow that."

"That's easy to say, but…" Orihime started but got cut off as Tatsuki's power spiked before she was enveloped in a fiery cloak of reiryoku.

"Hey! This isn't so hard!" She exclaimed before moving faster then she had ever before and punched a crate, sending a blast of fire from her fist which incinerated it.

"Wow, Tatsuki-chan that's amazing!" Inoue congratulated her as Tatsuki let her power fade.

"Well done Tatsuki. Orihime, what was it you wanted to protect when you first unleashed your powers?" Naruko asked.

"Huh?"

"When a person takes up arms, they are trying to protect something. It may be their own life, their status, their honor, someone they love, something they believe in, be it good or bad, there's no difference in their desire to protect. Recall what it was you wanted to protect that day." Yoruichi explained, Orihime and Chad looked thoughtful for a minute before Chad looked disgusted and slapped his hand over his mouth trying not to puke.

"I think he failed." Naruko stated with a chuckle before turning to Inoue. "What about you?"

"I…I…back then…I was just frantically…frantically…" Orihime said closing her eyes, remembering what happened that day, before her hairpins sparkled.

"It sparkled!" Tatsuki exclaimed.

"Really?" Inoue said happily before her hairpins glowed and split into six pieces that turned into small fairy-looking spirits, one of who apparently was very angry at being called out when there was no need for them and started to pull her hair as she ran around.

"Well done. Although, it looks like next she needs practice on how to train her power." Yoruichi said before turning to Chad. "Well then, how about you? For what reason will you go to Soul Society?"

Almost three days later Naruko returned Urahara's basement, the others had progressed nicely, Tatsuki had learned to incorporate her new power with her martial arts, Chad had learned how to consciously use his arm, even Inoue had made progress in defense and healing, though not so much in offense because of her pacifistic nature.

Coming up next to Kisuke she was just in time to see Ichigo's chain erode completely before a white substance appeared from his eyes, mouth, nose and ears that was slowly turning into a mask.

"Oh shit. He's really becoming a hollow!" Jinta said in alarm as he climbed out of the hole.

"Beginning rescue measures." Ururu said, pointing her arm at Ichigo.

"Hold it." Naruko said.

"Uzumaki-san…"

"Look closely at him. Normally, when a plus descends to a hollow, first the spirit form shatters and reconstitutes into a different form." Naruko explained.

"But he's totally out of sequence. The mask is being born first, while his body is still a plus. This is a sign of his resistance. There is a possibility he will return to being a shinigami." Urahara finished.

"Yeah but…even if he does, he will still have it, and eventually he'd have to learn to control it." Naruko said. "I'm guessing you're against telling him immediately?"

"Yes, he would have enough to worry about without knowing about it, but for now let's watch what happens a little longer…until he really becomes a hollow. Just a tiny bit longer." Kisuke answered over the agonizing screams by Ichigo.

A few minutes later the mask had almost completely covered Ichigo's face as he continued to scream. Then the bakudo restraining his arms started breaking.

"It's at the limit, Manager! Switching to suppression style!" Tessai called out before jabbing the ground with four fingers.

"Bakudo no kyūjūkyū type 2: Bankin!"

"First song, Shiryū!" From his fingers white energy released forming into a white fabric engulfing Ichigo and covering him completely.

"Second song, Hyakurensan!" Then several metal bolts stabbed into him.

"Oi, Tessai! If you hit 'em with that, he'll die!" Jinta yelled.

"At this point, I have no choice. I have already reached the limit of simply holding him. He must be eliminated before he becomes a hollow!" Tessai said before clapping his hands together.

"Final song, Bankin Taihō!" An immense metal cube appeared in the air above the hole just as a white glow came from the restrained Ichigo, causing smoke to appear.

"This is the end!" Tessai exclaimed just before the metal cube struck where Ichigo was, creating a huge explosion of energy. Urahara and Naruko were forced to protect Ururu and Jinta from the backlash as they looked at it.

"Something came out!" Jinta called out as he saw something fly out of the big pillar of energy. The thing enveloped in the energy bounced on the ceiling and roof a few times before crashing into the ground, creating a smoke screen.

"What the hell was that? Oi! Is it you? Answer me, orange boy!" Jinta yelled before a silhouette appeared in the smoke.

"If you're alive answer me!" Jinta continued, his answer was a pair of glowing red eyes, before the smoke cleared showing Ichigo, in his shihakusho, with remnants of the white fabric from the bakudo handing like a cape on across his shoulder and a little bit acting like a bandana over his mask-clad face.

"Shihakusho and a mask? Is he a hollow? A shinigami?" Jinta questioned before Ichigo drew his sword, revealing it to be cut at the base and getting Jinta and Ururu to drop into fight positions. Jinta issued a challenge only to see Ichigo smash the hilt of his sword into his mask, before pulling it off.

"He didn't become a hollow!"

Naruko grinned as she watched Ichigo stretch his fingers. 'So he did have it in him, guess that's to be expected, with his parents.'

Then she laughed as she watched Urahara congratulate him only to get a hilt to the face as Ichigo proclaimed he was going to kill Kisuke.

"Well that's perfect. Let's use that energy and go straight to lesson three." Kisuke said, standing up.

"Eh?"

"Lesson three has no time limit. Knock my hat off with your Zanpakutō and it's clear." He explained before Ichigo took the initiative and made an uppercut with his sword, cutting Urahara's hat just a tiny bit.

"Impressive. Such an attack with only a broken Zanpakutō…"

Getting full of himself Ichigo proclaimed. "Of course! If I got serious, I've got plenty more where that came from! Forget that laid back "no time limit" crap. Let's settle this in about five minutes."

Naruko could only shake her head at his arrogance before finding a place to watch Ichigo get trashed.

AN: Haha! Bet you weren't expecting another update so soon were ya? I decided since the last chapter was so short to squeeze out another one, so now I'm kinda balanced, as this chapter with the last chapter becomes just about the normal length. I made a poll for what my next story will be, so far it's a close race, it will stay up until Monday 02-11-13 aka next week, so if you haven't voted yet go do that! As a final note, since I started this story, it has breached 100 in both follows and favorites, has 14.000 views and 29 reviews, that is awesome and much more then I ever thought i would get. So thank you very much to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed or simply read this story.

setsuna1415: Naruko has a past with Unohana, as well as Ukitake and Kyōraku.

Translations:

Bakudo no kyūjūkyū type 2: Bankin - Way of Binding Number 99 type 2: Great Seal

Bakayarō - Dumb Bastard

Zanpakutō - Soul Slayer

Till next time, Cuius of Caelum.