CHAPTER 7: Our Reason to Fight
Naruto stirred from his sleep feeling sore all over. The rush of fatigue barely left his system as he tried to sit up from his bed. He lifted his arm to rub the back of his neck, but the amount of strain his battle with Kisuke yesterday left him so winded that he passed out at the end of the fight. At least, that's what he remembered.
He had never seen the older blonde act like that. It was the first time Kisuke has ever shown that side of him; the side of a hardened division captain. He didn't see the goofy, perverted, and overly passionate man that saved him long ago. Naruto fought an enforcer who would do what's necessary to win.
Yet his words during their fight made the young blonde contemplate his purpose for becoming a shinobi. Why did he want to be a shinobi in the first place? At first, he wanted to be Hokage to earn the respect of the villagers. But when the three soul reapers came into his life, they taught him that the opinions of others don't matter. What truly matters are the ones you hold dear. Since then, his outlook on life has changed. He wanted to make those three people who saved him proud; that their efforts of guiding him weren't for nothing. Naruto wanted everyone who ever cared for him to be safe.
And then, there was Hinata.
The incident made him see things very differently since that day. Her words never left his thoughts as the image of her crying out his name with tears in her eyes kept flashing in his mind. What was she to him?
The only girl to never laugh at him. The only girl to ever talk to him. The only girl to ever drive away his doubts. The first girl to show him kindness. There was this feeling in his chest that he couldn't understand. The need to shield her, to protect her, to keep her from all that would harm her. "Hinata," he called her name in his thoughts. "What is this feeling? Are you truly the most precious person to me, just like what Kisuke said?"
The memory of that fierce battle yesterday replayed itself once again.
*Flashback*
Kisuke raised his sword upward and did a vertical slash. "Razor, Benihime!"
Naruto dug his blade onto the ground and summoned golden chains to counter the attack. The collision caused a wide crater between the combatants. "Damn it," Naruto muttered.
"You still won't fight me at your best?" the blonde soul reaper questioned. "Are you doubting yourself?" This caught Naruto's attention. "Doubts. Second guesses. In this world where there are constant battles, a small moment of doubt can cause you or your allies to die. Tell me, what is your purpose for fighting? Why did you become a shinobi in the first place?"
"To protect those precious to me!" Naruto answered adamantly.
"I see," said Kisuke. "I'll give you some motivation."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
Kisuke pointed Benihime towards Hinata's direction. "If you don't fight me seriously, I will kill your most precious person."
The young blonde's eyes widened at the threat while Hinata shivered at how he said it. "You wouldn't dare," Naruto said while gritting his teeth.
"I've been the commander of Soul Society's Detention Unit for half a century; punishing the worst scum Seireitei has to offer. I've done worse and I don't just make idle threats." His image vanished.
A cold chill ran through Naruto's spine as Kisuke disappeared from his sight. He desperately looked around for the blonde soul reaper. When he found him, his heart stopped for what felt like an eternity. Kisuke was behind Hinata. His shadow hovered above her with a piercing silver-eyed gaze. He truly felt like the embodiment of death; a looming shadow ready to end her life.
"Scream, Benihime."
Without hesitation, Naruto quickly flickered towards Hinata's direction and managed to grab her before the explosion. Panting, he held the frightened Hinata in his arms while looking furiously at the older blonde.
"If you don't want me to finish her off, then I suggest y-," he barely finished before a wild swing caught him by surprise. Kisuke was nearly cut in half but a quick flash step saved him at the last second. Still, the attack wounded him and blasted his hat off.
Kisuke looked up to see Naruto already with a downward swing of his sword. He blocked the incoming attack and when the two, spirit blades collided, the force was so strong that the ground Kisuke was standing fractured and created a mini crater. When the soul reaper looked into Naruto's eyes, he didn't see the azure orbs he'd come to know. Instead, he saw red irises with thin slits for pupils. The boy's facial features also changed. His hair was now wild, the whisker-like marks on his cheeks were wider, and his fangs were more pronounced. Naruto looked like a feral animal defending its mate.
The young blonde again swung his sword, this time with more force. Kisuke managed to block but the power behind the swing was too much that it sent him skidding for a few feet. He saw Naruto charging at him with his zanpakūto and suddenly disappeared. Kisuke felt the boy's spiritual energy behind him just in time to block the next attack. "Breath, Benihime." The Blood Mist Shield formed, deflecting the incoming strike.
That, however, didn't stop Naruto from attacking. The boy kept on swinging, striking, slashing, and thrusting at the bloody shield, each strike more powerful than the last. He continued the attack until the barrier was slowly cracking and chipping away.
Kisuke observed the attack patterns of Naruto and to his surprise, there was none. Each swing and strike was wild and vicious. Every blow was animalistic and instinctive.
With one massive slash, the barrier was finally shattered. Kisuke jumped back to assess his next attack but to his surprise, Naruto was in his face hissing angrily. He didn't notice that the tassel for the Fire element wrapped around the boy's arm. When Naruto delivered a strike, fireballs were shot out from the blade. The soul reaper never saw that coming and couldn't dodge the burning projectiles. A dazzling display of fire erupted from where Kisuke was standing. Naruto wasn't done, however, as the tassel for Water snaked around his arm. He pointed the blade towards his opponent and from its tip, a roaring water dragon launched towards Kisuke. The attack collided and a huge plume of steam and smoke covered that area.
"Well…well," Kisuke's voice was heard from the smoke. He emerged with a few burns and wet clothes. "I must say that display of power was interesting. Still, I'm eager to see what you're truly capable of."
As if an answer, Naruto made a familiar hand sign and yelled, "SHADOW CLONE JŪTSU!" Eight identical copied of Naruto poofed into existence. All of them pointed their own copied of Kurama and channeled their spiritual energy into the weapon. "I have a bad feeling about this," thought Kisuke. Then, he saw each clone have one tassel for one element wrapped around their forearm. In unison, all nine Narutos launched their attacks at the soul reaper.
"Shit!" Kisuke cursed as he erected another mist shield but that wasn't enough. All nine attacks broke through the barrier and hit him square in the body.
The clones dispelled and Naruto's feature began to revert to normal. He panted heavily as the toll of using Kurama too much put some heavy strain on his body. All that rush of chakra that flowed through him was exhilarating. His reflexes quickened, strength doubled, and senses sharpened; he wouldn't mind being able to access it soon. He just hopes that the attacks he dealt with Kisuke were enough to put him down.
That wasn't the case though. From the rubble and smoke emerged the slightly battered figure of Kisuke Urahara. The blonde soul reaper was standing there with torn clothes, but fine, nonetheless. He smiled at Naruto for putting up a good fight, but above all else showing the resolve to fight for those he cares about.
"This was your first lesson, Naruto," Kisuke said. "Power is meaningless if don't have the resolve to use it for the sake of others. You said you became a shinobi to protect those precious to you, right? That is a great purpose, but it isn't enough. A creed or a nindō will only get you far if you don't have the strength to do what's necessary. NEVER let doubt cloud your judgment, because doubt is the only thing that stands between the life of a loved one and an enemy."
Urahara pointed his sword at Naruto and poured a massive amount of spiritual energy into Benihime. Naruto felt a wave of pressure emanate from the other blonde. This was far beyond what he felt earlier. That sensation before he let out Benihime was a prelude, leading to the main event.
"Something's coming," the boy thought.
"For passing this test, I will show you something that you'll eventually learn once you mastered your shikāi."
All the spiritual energy that was poured into the sword compressed into Benihime. The pressure vanished. Kisuke uttered the words that ended the battle.
"Bankai"
A flash of light illuminated the whole area. The only thing Naruto felt was a cold metallic sensation sweeping through his body. Numbness took over as his whole world blackened and he fell unconscious. The last thing he heard were the cries of his name coming from her.
*End of Flashback*
The boy tilted his head upward and gazed at the ceiling with a blank face. He closed his eyes to try and make sense of it all but to no avail. He sighed as he stood up and prepared for the day. A quick breakfast and shower did the trick. Now, all he needed to do was meet up with his team-mates at the Hokage Tower to get their Shinobi Licenses.
Kisuke Urahara was considered a genius back in Soul Society. The conception of the Research and Development Institute paved the way for the most advanced equipment the Court Guard 13 has ever utilized since its inception. The most useful among these inventions was the gigai or the faux body.
The gigai is an artificial body created to be used by soul reapers in missions where they need to interact with people. In base form, they simply look like a muscled body with no unique characteristics. They only change when a soul occupies the blank body, thus gaining the characteristics of that occupying soul. The gigai has been in existence for at least a hundred years. Nobody knows who invented it first, but it did not stop individuals from trying to improve it.
Right now, Kisuke has been experimenting with the possibility of creating a new variation of the gigai in his secret laboratory. Ever since he found out the existence of chakra, he had studied the strange energy and how it is connected to spiritual energy. Just as he initially surmised, chakra is a diluted form of spiritual energy. He still needed to find out what the other half is made of. His previous research on chakra led him to the fact that it was made up of physical and mental energy. He already deduced that the mental aspect was spiritual energy. Luckily for him, he just got the answer he was looking for.
A coded message displayed itself on the monitor of his computer. Running it through a decryption program, he read the message and was amused at the contents. "Interesting," he said.
Just then, Tessai and Yoruichi entered his secret laboratory to talk to him.
"What's up, you two?" Kisuke asked
"We just got word from our informant that Danzo is planning to overthrow Hiruzen," Yoruichi said.
This got Kisuke's attention. "Really? Well, I expected that he'll make a move sooner or later. You have any idea when he'll do it?"
It was Tessai who answered. "We believe that he may enact his plan during the village's Chūnin Advancement Examinations."
"That is plausible, and I'm sure he's going to need some help. I don't think his Foundation ANBU will cut it though, so I presume he'll need an outside force to do this."
"You're right," the female reaper agreed. "We also have some evidence to point out that a certain reptile will be the one helping Danzo."
"Should we tell the Hokage about this?" Tessai asked.
"Not now," Kisuke replied. "We still have time and besides, I just got some much-needed data about chakra," the blonde said with giddying excitement.
"This is interesting. Tell us," the muscled man said with Yoruichi agreeing.
"I just decrypted a message from the High Priest. Just like my initial presumption, chakra consists of two separate energies. I already determined that one half of it is spiritual energy and with the message I received, the other half is called kī."
"Kī? Never heard of it," commented Yoruichi.
"Same here," Tessai added.
"Me too," Kisuke looked at the monitor and began to analyze its contents. "It says here that kī is essentially the physical force that resides in the body. To access it, one must undergo a unique training regimen that draws out that said power from the center of the body."
"Center of the body?" the former heiress questioned.
"Yes. Spiritual energy resides in the chest area, right where the Chain of Fate is connected. So, it's logical to assume that kī will be in the center of the body," Kisuke answered as he pointed his index finger to the spot between his chest and his stomach. "With my recent studies in chakra, I've also found out that most chakra coils in a chakra system are in the abdominal area. It's a very decent structure if I do say so myself."
Tessai then raised a question. "If spiritual energy and kī are the components, then how do these two combine and form chakra?"
"To answer your question," Kisuke began, "they don't combine."
That answer elicited raised eyebrows.
"Let me explain. When I started studying chakra systems, I noticed that the chakra arteries and veins are divided into two compartments. One section has spiritual energy flowing through it while the other has kī. When they perform jūtsus, the spiritual energy changes the composition of the kī when it exits the body. The same can be said about clans that supposedly use non-elemental jūtsus."
"So, what you're saying is that spiritual energy converts kī into attacks, whether it'd be elemental or non-elemental. Am I correct?" Yoruichi asked for clarification.
"Correct," Urahara answered.
"What about the tailed beasts? Aren't they supposed to be sentient masses of chakra?" posed Tessai to which Kisuke nodded. "If that's the case, then how come these beings exist if spirit energy and kī don't mix?"
"Have you ever seen a mixture of oil and water?" Kisuke asked which confused the muscled man. "That's because kī coalesces into a solid form, thus giving tailed beasts a physical container. Kī is a lot thicker and viscous compared to spiritual energy, and they tend to congeal overtime. In the analogy I gave, kī can be likened to oil while water is spiritual energy."
The explanation and analogy the blonde soul reaper gave made sense.
"And the hand signs?" It was Yoruichi who asked this time.
"The hand signs serve the same purpose as the incantations we recite when we use Kidō. Based on my observation, the hand signs are used to draw out spiritual energy. To transform physical energy into a specific element, certain hand signs must be weaved for that to happen."
Both Tessai and Yoruichi stared at the monitor, scrutinizing the data. "This is some information, Kisuke. Tell me, how did the High Priest know about this?" the buff man asked.
"He said he got it from a friend," was all Kisuke answered.
"And who might this friend be?" Yoruichi asked.
"I don't know that myself, but he did give me a description when he sent the encrypted message. The knowledge of kī came from a midget with white hair, pale blue skin, and a halo on his head…I think?" Kisuke answered sheepishly.
Tessai readjusted his eyeglasses while Yoruichi sweat-dropped and slapped her hand onto her face. "Honestly Kisuke, can this shit get any weirder?"
"Hehehe…" the blonde giggled. "Oh, by the way, Yoruichi."
"Yeah?"
"Can I borrow Hinata some time?"
"Is this for your latest project on gigais?"
"Yeah."
"I don't mind, as long as you file it as a solo mission approved by the Hokage and her father."
"Then this would be easy."
Sometimes there are certain truths that, no matter how important, aren't worth finding out. A perfect example is the sealing of the Nine-tailed Fox inside Naruto. The mere mention of the demon will result in an untimely execution. Many have already fallen from divulging this secret, both civilian and shinobi alike. Still, there are far darker secrets the Hidden Leaf has kept from its people and one secret even trumps that of the dreaded fox.
Hinata has had one too many secrets revealed to her. The night of the incident revealed a great burden carried by the boy she loves. If it was any other person, they would immediately treat Naruto like he was some sort of monster. But not Hinata. No, it only made her admiration for the boy even stronger. In her eyes, he was a hero for keeping the tailed beast at bay. Yet, there was one secret that she did not expect to hear. A secret that, if revealed to the masses, will shake the very beliefs of the Shinobi World.
This existence of soul reapers.
Hinata was still trying to grasp the fact that they exist. Death gods. The mere fact that they exist scared her; not to mention the close brush with death she experienced. All it takes was just a fraction of a second and she could've died. A looming shadow. Malevolent darkness hovered above her. Beings of unimaginable power, walking among the oblivious people of the village. Not only that, but she also found out that Naruto was also one of them. If there was a secret that she wished to have never found out, this would be it. She still needed confirmation from the trio if it was true. If it is, then the saying is true…
Ignorance is bliss.
Hinata made her way to the gates of her compound. She was leaving to get her Shinobi License from the Hokage together with her team-mates. For her part, she was excited that she's now considered as a shinobi of the village. However, the elders of her clan still deem her unfit to be an heiress. She hopes that by striving to be a successful ninja, she can prove them wrong and fulfill her dream of ending the division of her clan.
It didn't take her long to reach Hokage Tower. When she entered the Hokage's office, she saw her team-mates and her sensei all waiting for her. Then, she caught glimpse of the boy she admired staring at her. Their eyes met and gazed at each other; blue crystalline orbs never letting the sight of pearlescent eyes go. Her face turned red at the attention he was giving her. Turning her head down, she quickly walked to her sensei's side. She took a glance at Naruto and noticed that there was a tinge of pink on his cheeks.
"Finally, we're complete," Yoruichi remarked.
The Hokage coughed a bit to get their attention. "Now, please sign your names here."
The three genins signed their names on the list and received their very own IDs. There were varied reactions from the team. For Naruto, his eyes were gleaming with unbound excitement. The very piece of plastic that had his name written on it served as proof that he was indeed a full-fledged ninja. For Hinata, she didn't openly show her joy. Still, this achievement means that she's a step closer to uniting her clan. Kimimaro had a blank expression. He didn't mind that he had a license but seeing as it was Yoruichi who suggested he became a Leaf shinobi, he immediately obliged.
"Congratulations you three," the old leader exclaimed. "You are now shinobi of the Leaf."
A surge of pride swelled within Naruto, Hinata, and even in Kimimaro. They looked towards their sensei and saw her giving them a proud smile.
"Great job, everyone," praised the female soul reaper. "Let's go to the shop. There are a few things we need to discuss."
All three genin were inside the Urahara Shop facing their sensei. Yoruichi had both Tessai and Kisuke sit beside her. They needed to explain what they are and where they came from. Kimimaro already knows the truth about the three soul reapers, so it was only Naruto and Hinata whom they needed some explaining to.
"Ok," Yoruichi began. "Kimimaro already knows the truth about us, so it's the two of you who we need to do some explaining."
"Is it true that you're soul reapers?" Naruto threw that question without hesitation.
Kisuke covered his mouth to hide a chuckle.
Yoruichi slapped her forehead. "Yes, Naruto. We are soul reapers." She noticed that Hinata was shivering with fear and her eyes were focused on the three of them. "What's wrong, Hinata?"
"Y-You're…s-s-soul…rea-…p-pers," the young Hyūga stuttered.
"It's ok, Hinata," Tessai reassured the girl. "Whatever it is you think we soul reapers do is far from the truth."
"I-It…is?"
"Yes," replied the mustachioed man. "We are protectors of those who seek passage into the afterlife. We serve also as guides to souls who have become lost in the living world. Tell me, how do you describe the soul reapers here in your world?"
"W-Well, they look like m-monstrosities w-with f-fangs, h-horns, and di-disfigured s-skin," the young heiress replied. She then added, "They also c-consume s-s-souls."
That got the attention of the three. From the way Hinata described the creature, it seemed that it took the description of a hollow. The three looked at each other and nodded. They all understood that this needs some investigating. They all looked back to the three genins sitting in front of them and noticed that the only girl in the group no longer looked apprehensive like she did earlier.
"Where did you come from? Is it heaven?" the blonde of the genin asked eagerly.
"You could say that…" replied Kisuke. "We come from a place called Soul Society. Before we came to your world, we served under an army known as the Court Guard 13. Like it says, the Court Guard is comprised of 13 divisions. Each division is led by twenty of its strongest fighters; the strongest being the Division Captain and Lieutenant. All three of us were captains."
"WOW!" was all Naruto and Hinata said. Kimimaro was still interested in this story even if he heard it before.
"I used to be the captain of the 12th Division. Before that, I was the former commander of the Stealth Corps' Detention Unit. Finally, I was the founder and first president of the Research and Development Institute." Kisuke then pointed towards the other two using his fan. "Yoruichi was the former heiress of the famed Shihōin Clan and-"
"H-H-Heiress!?" Hinata exclaimed, surprised that her sensei was also an heiress like her while effectively cutting off Kisuke mid-sentence.
"Yes, Hinata," replied Yoruichi. "I was the heiress of the Shihōin Clan, one of the Five Noble Families of Soul Society which also includes the Shiba, Kuchiki, and Tsunayashiro."
Kisuke coughed a bit to gain everyone's attention. "As I said, Yoruichi was the heiress to the Shihōin Clan; one of the Four Noble Families of Soul Society. She was also the captain of the 2nd Division as well as the general of the Stealth Corps. She used to be my boss."
"Say what!?" questioned Naruto.
"Yeah," the older blonde confirmed. "The Detention Unit is a subdivision under the Stealth Corps. Since Yoruichi was the general of the Stealth Corps, she technically was my boss before I got promoted to captain."
"How about Tessai?"
"He wasn't part of the Court Guard. No, he was the captain of a separate division that specializes in the art of Kidō called the Kidō Corps."
"What is this Kidō, Mr. Kisuke?" the shy Hinata asked.
"It's like the jūtsu in your world," replied Kisuke. "The only difference is that while jūtsu use hand signs, Kidō use incantations."
Hinata nodded at Kisuke's answer, understanding the similarity between Kidō and jūtsu. However, she was still wrapping her head around the fact that her sensei was an heiress like her. Hearing the former 2nd Division captain's accomplishments firsthand, she couldn't help but be inspired. How did Yoruichi accomplish so much?
"How did you do it, sensei?" the young heiress asked the older heiress.
"Do what, Hinata?" asked Yoruichi with confusion.
"How did you accomplish all of that? Become a successful and respected captain?"
Yoruichi understood where the young girl was coming from. The pressures of being an heiress were weighing over the young Hyūga to the point that her self-esteem was being hampered. Hinata's kind and gentle nature didn't conform with the traditions the Hyūga Clan was upholding. To them, it was a sign of weakness that should be eradicated. What it did, however, was causing the young girl to regress and lose her confidence.
"Come with me, Hinata," Yoruichi said as the girl followed her outside of the shop.
The Shihōin heiress decided to have a walk with the Hyūga Heiress. Yoruichi smiled at her fellow heiress before she spoke. "It's simple Hinata. Just prove them wrong."
The girl stared at her sensei for quite a few minutes, still trying to comprehend her simple words.
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, the female soul reaper explained further. "Let me guess, the elders of your clan don't see you as someone fit to lead because you don't meet their expectations simply for being different. Am I right?"
The young girl had a surprised face. "H-How did you know?"
The Shihōin let out a chuckle. "We're very much alike, Hinata. Tell me, why does the Hyūga Clan put so much pressure on you?"
The young Hyūga relented for a moment before deciding to tell her sensei everything. "The elders of my clan think that just because I show kindness and compassion, I don't deserve to be the heiress. They've been trying for years to mold me into the 'perfect' heiress but seeing that everything they're doing isn't working, they decided to replace me with my younger sister for the position to lead the clan. My father stopped that but there's so only much he can do."
"I see," Yoruichi said. She noticed that the young girl didn't stutter when she spoke, albeit there was still a tinge of apprehension in her voice. "Our clans are somewhat the same, Hinata. However, unlike you, I was a rebel. I didn't like the traditions in the Shihōin Clan. I was too free-spirited and wild to be constrained by archaic customs that existed for thousands of years. Those traditions may have helped my clan in its infancy, but things never stay the same. If the clan won't change then it will face stagnation and eventually lose its power. So, I changed the clan."
"That's also my dream!" exclaimed the young girl.
"I know, and what you said reminded me of my earlier years. The elders, too, in my clan didn't like how I don't conform to their old customs. They did everything they could to get rid of me because they were afraid that the change might tarnish the reputation of the Shihōin Clan. After all, we were one of the original clans that founded Soul Society and sealed the Soul King."
That last remark caught Hinata's attention. "Soul King?"
"In your world, you call him God," Yoruichi answered nonchalantly.
Hinata's eyed grew wide. "G-G-God!?" she stammered.
"Yep, but that's beside the point. You must prove to those old relics in your clan that change isn't something to be feared. The change should be welcomed. Nothing stays the same and sooner or later, a shift in your clan's status quo will eventually happen. You may be different, but ultimately, it makes you more capable of leading your clan into an uncertain future."
Hinata kept staring at her fellow heiress while they were walking. The wisdom and faith in her words made the young Hyūga appreciate the Shihōin even more. "Do you mean that Yoruichi-sensei?"
"More than you think," Yoruichi replied. "The difference between a good leader to a tyrant or a puppet can be compared to a mountain and a river. A mountain will eventually crumble over time while a river will simply adapt with the current. A leader held by old traditions will not be able to lead his subordinates when things don't conform to what he or she is has believed in. You're not like that, Hinata. Your kindness and your willingness to see other people in their perspective make you the only one to lead the Hyūga Clan to a brighter future."
"Thank you, Yoruichi-sensei. Everything you said meant so much to me," said Hinata with sincerity.
"Of course, Hinata. You are my student and a fellow heiress at that. By the way, when are you going to tell Naruto that you like him?" Yoruichi teased causing Hinata to blush a certain shade of red.
"S-Sensei!"
Kisuke was busy reading a novel with a recognizable orange cover. After a long explanation with repeated interruptions from an overeager blonde genin, he managed to steal some time reading the famous "Make-Out Paradise" written by Jiraiya. He found the plot quite engaging and enjoyable, not to mention the various smut scenes that satisfy his hidden perverted nature.
"Kisuke?"
His reading was suddenly interrupted by the younger blonde. "What is it Naruto?"
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure. Come, sit here beside me," Kisuke said as he wiggled a bit to the side and made room for his apprentice.
Naruto took the offer and sat beside the older blonde. "Why'd you do it?"
Kisuke raised an eyebrow. "Do what Naruto?"
"Why'd you threaten Hinata when we were sparring yesterday?" Naruto asked with a small bit of anger in his voice. "The way you said it, you made it sound like you intended to kill her."
Sighing, Kisuke faced Naruto with a serious look. "I did intend to kill her."
The young blonde's eyes widened then narrowed with seething anger. "WHY!?"
"I wanted to know how far you'll go to protect those precious to you. I wanted to know how much you were willing to risk. And finally, I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."
"The same mistake?" Naruto asked, his anger slowly subsiding.
Kisuke's face took on a somber look. "I had a lieutenant once. Her name was Hiyori Sarugaki."
This perked up Naruto's interest. Never once did Kisuke mention anything about his lieutenant. "Can you tell me about her?"
"Well, for one, she looked just about the same age as you and Hinata. She was strong, but she was also a bit violent. I even remembered the time she kicked me in the balls," Kisuke chuckled at the memory.
Naruto flinched a bit. His hand involuntarily moved towards his nether regions as if to shield an incoming strike. "That has got to hurt."
"To a normal person," the old blonde countered. "To me, however…I barely felt anything."
"Talk about balls of steel," the younger blonde commented in his thoughts.
"She hated me when I replaced the former captain Hikifūne of the 12th Division. Hiyori said that no matter how hard I try, she will never accept me as her captain. That didn't matter though since I promised myself to dedicate my time to being a captain and improving the division. In the end, she slowly acknowledged me, and we eventually became good friends. I saw her as a younger sibling."
"What happened to her?" Naruto asked.
Kisuke took off his hat and placed it on his lap. Naruto could see that the memory is something the soul reaper doesn't want to remember. "It all started with a series of disappearances in Soul Society."
"Disappearances?"
"Yes. Regular souls, as well as soul reapers, were reported missing regularly. The details were a bit complicated, but to make it simple, the phenomena was strange."
Naruto's eyebrow raised.
"When a soul dies, its spiritual essence dissipates. Everything about the dying soul disappears, including the clothes. During those disappearances, however, the clothes were still intact. That meant that something or someone was behind it. Division 9 came to the same conclusion as I did and decided to investigate. I was appointed to create a faux body that might solve the growing problem."
"What happened then?"
"The members from the 9th Division that conducted the investigation vanished. Our Head Captain ordered a rescue mission that consisted of the strongest members of the Court Guard and the Kidō Corps. That was led by Shinji Hirako who was a friend of mine.
"To further my investigation, I needed some samples from one of the sites where the disappearances occurred. So, I ordered Hiyori to go and get some. What I didn't expect was that she encountered the missing members of the 9th Division. Sadly, they were turning into the creatures we soul reapers fight; they were transforming into hollows."
"Hollows?"
"They are tormented souls that have not moved on. They are born from malice and hunger that ultimately turn them into creatures that want to consume other souls to fill a void in their being.
"Hiyori was attacked by the hollowfied soul reapers, but luckily she was saved at the last minute by Captain Hirako and his rescue squad. Unfortunately, they were ambushed by the ones responsible for the disappearances."
"Who were those people?"
"Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen. They turned my friend Hirako and Hiyori into the same creatures as the members of Division 9. When I and Tessai arrived, we were already too late. There was a brief confrontation but Aizen and his cohorts managed to escape. After that, I was able to stop the hollowfication, but the transformation was already too far that it was irreversible. My friends and my lieutenant became soul reaper-turned-hollow hybrids called vizards.
"When we returned to Soul Society, Tessai and I were immediately arrested. Central 46 – the governing body of Soul Society – blamed us for the disappearances and the hollowfication of important Court Guard officers. Just before we were given our sentences, Yoruichi saved us. The rest they say is history."
Naruto kept staring at Kisuke while he told his story. The boy felt bad for his mentor when he heard of the tragic story that befell the former captain's friends and lieutenant. Still, Naruto wondered why Kisuke was telling him this. "Why did you tell me this, Kisuke?"
"Because I was naïve. I sent Hiyori on that dangerous mission without thinking of the possible outcomes. I was too focused on solving the problem that I never gave her safety any form of concern. I was trying to help a lot of people, but in the end, I can't even help the ones closest to me.
The blonde soul reaper turned his head and looked at the younger blonde. "I know how much you want to be recognized by the village as more than just a pariah. But, as I said before, it's the ones closest to us that that we should care about. They are the ones that truly matter." Kisuke gave Naruto a sly grin and decided to tease him a bit. "I know how you feel about Hinata."
This caught Naruto off guard. That question felt like a curveball chucked at him from behind. "I…We…um…" he barely said anything but unrecognizable sounds.
Urahara chuckled at the boy's embarrassment. "I know and I understand. You're still confused if what you're feeling is the real thing. Still, do you consider her someone precious?"
"Of course, I do," Naruto answered with utter absolution.
"Then, what are you willing to do to keep her safe?"
Naruto gave Kisuke a determined look. His answer was expected, but given his personality, Naruto would no doubt do what he will say to Kisuke. His answer was simple…
"…Everything."
A/N: And done. This is my last backup chapter. Now I'm in a bind considering that I'll have to write fresh chapters starting with chapter 8 onwards. Like I said in the previous chapter, I'll be taking two weeks before I can update with anything new to the story, although I already have at least 4000 words for the next chapter. Until then, keep the positive reviews and constructive criticisms coming.