PLEASE THE AN'S BEFORE STARTING ON THE CHAPTERS PLEASE

Hello, Willkommen, Bienvenu and here it is, the new story of Wandering Nirvana, that once was Life Within Death. A completely different idea from what there was before after a time to evaluate Bleach as a whole. I know that I previously had said that it would be w rewrite, however, upon looking over everything, I think it's better to call it a brand new story, but don't let this deter you from reading it.

This story starts around the same time as Isshin's desertion from the Gotei and with a Naruto not long after the events of The Last. As for who Naruto is paired with, all I can say is that it's a first to be paired with him, but neither is she from Bleach, rather from TYPE-MOON instead. She appears in the final segment of the prologue here and will be introduced by name to everyone in Chapter 1, though she is described here, and if you can guess her correctly via PM, then you get a cookie! Well, not really, but hey I'll be surprised if you can guess her, just don't say in a review, please.

There will be some adjustments made to some of the arcs to account for much of the new Bleach lore, mainly from the light novels (Can't Fear Your Own World) and especially after the reveal of the Soul Society's "Original Sin", to make for a better story. You should also expect some filler and extra content characters to also appear, meaning from the games, films, etc.

Bleach's Manga ended in a rushed mess due to many factors ranging from Kubo's failing muse after the anime's cancellation, poor health and most importantly Shonen Jump telling him to finish the final arc in the space of a month when it would have taken closer to two years. However, now that the anime is returning, and Burn the Witch is waiting in the wings this seems like as good a time as any to embark on this adventure.

Other TYPE-MOON characters will appear with their backgrounds (and the pairing character's history) changed as well for them to fit into the world and lore of Bleach.

I do ask that everyone keep an open mind with this story and what all goes on within it.

Anyways, on with the story!

Arc I: The Way of the World

Prologue – The Start of Something

-Mid-June 1984-

Summer sunlight passed through the scant clouds that hung above Seireitei bathing the court of pure souls in a pleasant ambiance that one would associate with the Christian interpretation of heaven. Numerous officers of the Gotei 13, be they seated or otherwise made their rounds through the Sengoku style walled streets while Stealth Force adepts flitted across rooftops to watch for dissident actions. All the while the superstructure Squad 1 barracks loomed over them beside the edged plateau of Sokyoku Hill, an ever standing reminder that this afterlife was regimented and run by law. And for those that stood against the laws of the Soul Society, the great halberd Sokyoku gleamed in the sun waiting for someone to try it.

Within the halls of the Squad 1 barracks, many aids and Shinigami relayed messages to those that needed them, logistical savants working behind the scenes to make sure that the military governance of the Gotei ran like clockwork. At the heart of this building was a single hall concealed behind a pair of thick Shoji doors, the Captain's meeting hall was in use. Thirteen captains and one lieutenant, all of them arranged in two lines standing save four three. Seated upon a simple chair at the far end of the hall sat the wizened, aged form of Genryusai Shikikuni Yamamoto, Head Captain of the Gotei 13 and overall most powerful man in the Soul Society. He sat stooped with age on the edge of the seat leaning upon his cane with a long white beard nearly touching the hardwood floor of the hall, eyes squinted but focused on the man standing before him.

In comparison to the short, stooped form of Yamamoto, Isshin Shiba was as far away as one could get from the old man in terms of looks and temperament. He was a tall, muscular young man appearing in his early 20s with sharp features, brown eyes and spiky black hair with well-trimmed sideburns. He wore a Shinigami's shihakusho in addition to a sleeveless Captain's Haori with black lining and the kanji for 10 on his back indicative of his position as the Captain of Squad 10.

"And that concludes my report."

After finally eradicating the strange Hollow that had been killing Shinigami relentlessly in Naruki City, the Captain of Squad 10 of the Gotei 13, Isshin had made sure to have his 'I's' dotted and 'T's' crossed when Old Man Yama called a captain's meeting to sort out his actions.

Isshin stood in the middle as all other members had taken their respective places at the side in numerical order across from one another. Even Ukitake was able to make it in thanks to having his health maintaining some strength for the time being, though with each passing day that was becoming a rare occurrence. This was the first time in six months that all thirteen captains had been in one place.

"I see…" Yamamoto, who after deliberating on all of the facts that Isshin had provided in his report, decided on whether or not the young Captain would be punished, "Embarking on a mission without authorization is an offence, minor as it may be. But thanks to your snap judgement, the deaths were kept to a minimum…" So far so good in Isshin's eyes, "…furthermore, the collateral damage done to the World of the Living was kept at a minimal level… therefore…"

Here it comes…

"This slight violation will be overlooked." The old man had given his judgment of the situation and felt that Isshin's actions were justified, and even then, the crime was minor, not even worth really giving out punishment for.

Isshin's features broke from their prior mask of professional detachment, he felt so damned good right now! "AWWW YEAHH…" He initially brought a fist up to his chest in victory for whooping ass, but then he remembered in a split second that he was in a Captains meeting, and unlike with his own Squad he couldn't fuck around like that with no repercussions, "I mean… THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" He bowed his head as low as he could to try and at least maintain some level of respect.

Isshin knew he was a pretty young guy when it came to being a captain, even when compared to Gin Ichimaru from Squad 3, while younger than Isshin had been in the job longer. Isshin still had the tendencies to be aloof and clumsy, while acting like he knew nothing to throw people off to try and get out of doing paperwork.

That, and the young hardly ever got any respect. Crotchety old bastards the lot of 'em. Granted, inter-squad mingling was something that didn't happen much these days.

That's what he had Rangiku and Tōshirō for. Well, the latter at least did the paperwork without so much as a complaint. The former always chased him down to make sure he did his paperwork! Hell no, Isshin had better things to do! Rangiku was also a hypocrite who spent Squad 10's budget on her own fashion tastes and drinking binges.

"Hah!" cackled the voice of Mayuri Kurotsuchui in a bark of laughter before continuing, "The bigger violation here is failing to return with the remains, however little it may have been, of the mysterious Hollow…"

Yamamoto's squinted brown eyes turned to Mayuri noticing that the clown-faced Captain's posture was giving away that he had something else to say, though most likely on an unrelated subject, so he felt it best to get things over with, but not without asking one last thing, "By the way…" Isshin's head rose back up to direct his attention towards Yamamoto, "…the demise of the Hollow you described in your report was rather… strange." And indeed, it was. In his three thousand years of being a Shinigami and killing Hollows, never once did he encounter one that would implode on itself, and then suddenly explode violently as it dissipated into nothingness. Going over Isshin's report, he felt something was off, as if the Shiba may have either missed something the previous night or… "I can't help but think you have left out a few important details…" He looked Isshin in the eye to confirm his suspicions, "Is there… anything further you'd like to add to your report?"

Isshin's mind briefly flashbacked to that Quincy girl, Masaki, as she stood over him offering help. Smiling, as he didn't think of her as his enemy like they had been taught at Shin'ō Academy. He got her name, but he never gave his. She was simply a good samaritan, but he wouldn't put it past the lawful Byakuya, psychotic Mayuri or battle mad Kenpachi to go after her for interfering in Soul Society business.

So, he lied.

"No, there's nothing else."

"Very well then…" As Isshin took his position in between Mayuri and the formerly snickering Shunsui that thought Isshin's previous actions entertaining, Yamamoto continued on, "Now, is there anything else anyone would like to bring up in this meeting?" He saw that Mayuri had stepped up slowly, "Captain Kurostuchi? You have something to say?"

"Quite so, in fact, I just received an update that there is an unidentifiable anomaly in the World of the Living." The clown-faced scientist said clearly, taking up the same position that Isshin had vacated. "The anomaly was logged in our scanning equipment and listed as an unknown variable, the Daireisho Archives created a brand new log just for this anomaly as opposed to falling into any existing being encountered by the Gotei 13 or Shinigami in general."

Yamamoto arched a brow in slight confusion before a modicum of irritation came through his voice, "Why wasn't I informed of this immediately?" If anything like that came up, he fully expected to be informed the moment that the Daireisho Archives were updated to ensure he would remember such a thing to pass on to his successor.

If Mayuri was fazed by the old man's rising tone, he didn't show it, "The reason why is because I had to check it with a more curious issue, the archives were accessed from a remote source before I found out, that's why." Mayuri said, rolling his eyes at the thought that people still didn't think he wasn't pragmatic to draw a proper conclusion before giving a report. He was NOT Zaraki.

"So, what you're saying, is that we have an intelligence leak?" If so, then this was a critical breach in their infrastructure. If only he knew…

"It is not a matter of internal security…" Mayuri rebutted flippantly, elongated middle fingernail pointing skyward, "…but rather instead, the archives were accessed from above us, in the Royal Palace; Squad Zero." Those last few words set all of the captains on edge, even the battle crazy Kenpachi, the ever-smirking Gin and the stoic Byakuya. The Royal Guard, or Squad Zero as they were referred to at times, were tasked with defending and protecting the Soul King himself. Stationed as they were within the fighter dimension of the Royal Palace, they rarely ever came down to get involved with the business of the Seireitei, and never did they get involved with the World of the Living's affairs. To become interested in such a thing was unprecedented. Thus, it begged the question, what was it about the anomaly that had drawn the attention of what were essentially Gods of Shinigami?

The old man knew this and asked for assurance, "Are you quite sure that Squad Zero accessed the archives?"

"Of course, I'm sure!" Mayuri replied frankly, slightly insulted for doubts to be cast on his report, "I backtraced the access signal to the dimensional barrier and recognized the handstroke of the former Squad 12 captain, Kirio Hikifune. Without a doubt, she accessed the archives while submitting the anomaly as an 'Unknown Presence' in the World of the Living." Mayuri's grumblings spoke of a bruised ego, his antipathy to his Squad 12 predecessors being well documented.

It was known well that access to the Daireishi Archives was minimal, only going through the Central 46 compound and even then, access to it was limited to only a few individuals. One such individual narrowed his eyes in discontent despite his blank aristocratic features, "I was not informed of such an archival breach, meaning that the importance of this anomaly is worth going over the Kuchiki Clan for." Said the monotone voice of Byakuya Kuchiki. His family had been in charge of maintaining history documentation of the Soul Society since before even the formation of the Seireitei. "What was the location of this anomaly?"

Mayuri turned to look at the Captain of Squad 6, face bored at being forced to talk to lower intelligence. "3500th parallel, the foot of Mount Fuji."

Old Man Yama dipped his head in thought. Whatever reason that the Royal Guard had to become so interested in something beyond their role, it was something significant that could significantly affect the balance of the three realms. Whether or not it was a pro or a con, depended on how they acted, "Until we can ascertain this anomaly correctly, we will continue to operate normally. However, if any new information is uncovered, I want to have the Gotei on standby should the situation change. You are all dismissed!" Yamamoto rapped his cane against the floor, bringing the meeting to a close, the Shoji sliding open and the other 12 Captain's filing out.

As the captains left back to their barracks, three had stayed together as they made their way towards their little lab hidden away from prying eyes, "Gotta say, I didn't think we'd get anything interesting after watching the young captain fight White, wouldn't you say?" said a lilting, singsong voice.

"Considering the circumstances, it may be prudent to stay on alert. I doubt our actions will remain hidden from the rest of the Gotei for much longer." replied a stoic tone, unamused at the first speaker's choice of words.

"No need to worry, Kaname…" The two captains previously speaking with one another, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, halted as the third and leader of their secret little cabal, one Sōsuke Aizen spoke up to ease his confidants worry, "…if anything, this may provide us with another unique opportunity." His words alluding to the meeting between Isshin Shiba, and the Quincy girl that had killed White, a creation of their own by basing its design off of a dead Shinigami making it an imposing Hollow. Something that would've been considered as a pseudo-Arrancar of sorts if one were to truly specify what type of Hollow it was.

Upon the Quincy girl's interference into the battle/test, White broke off its ever-escalating engagement with Isshin to attack her. How odd and yet interesting that White, a Hollow by its nature despite its unique design, chose to try and Hollowfy a Quincy, its polar opposite in a state of existence. However, Quincies were unable to adopt Hollow's powers as they held no antibodies to defend themselves against Hollows, hence why they so dogmatically hunted Hollows in the past to the extent of eradicating them from existence.

It was simply in their nature to kill something that could end them with such ease.

All in all, if she by some miracle survived the process, then more than likely it would draw the attention of one Kisuke Urahara or the Vizards, all the sweeter, "If anything, whatever it is that's now in the World of the Living will reveal itself in time. For now though, let's continue as we intended."

It was almost time for a trip to Hueco Mundo anyways to deal with a certain King of Hollows…

-The World of the Living; South Side of Mount Fuji-

A pair of blue eyes cracked open upon waking up, "Ugh… did it work?" Said pair of eyes belonged to one Naruto Uzumaki, who had arrived in this new world in a rather… unorthodox way, so to speak. Lifting himself up from the dirt, Naruto dusted himself off as he did a check over of his supplies from his backpack and the large scroll he carried with him, "Let's see…" Rummaging through his backpack, he took stock of his tools, supplies, food, etc. "…everything seems in good condition… plenty of kunai, shuriken, bombs, medical stuff… yup, all set!"

'So now that you're somewhere else, where do you think you'll start?' Kurama asked internally to his partner.

Naruto looked around before he started climbing out of the crater he had found himself in to try and find someplace to get his bearings, 'Well, best to get out of here in case someone comes looking for the source of this whole mess.' As Naruto made his way through the forest he arrived in, he could hear the faint sound of a series of waterfalls not too far from his position, "Waterfalls? Maybe I can get a good look at the stars from there." Naruto began to move towards the reverberating echo of the waterfalls, running in earnest to see if the results of his endeavor worked.

Bounding through the rocks and dirt, quickly making his way through the bamboo forest that surrounded him, Naruto soon found himself staring at the magnificent sight.

Clearing the treeline revealed a level river accompanied by a path on its left side, travelling all the way up to the source of the running water. It was not a particularly tall waterfall, not even reaching half the height of those within the Falls of Truth, but they held their own beauty and serenity that were hard to put into words. At the very edge of the plateau was an unbroken number of trees that stuck out in stubborn opposition to the torrent of life-giving water that rushed past them, thundering down into the pool below before becoming the slowly flowing river. The overhanging crescent moon was reflected in the rippling pool of water, breathing the dappled and pale light back up into the thundering waters above with a white glow.

All and all, it created one of nature's many beautiful sights. Now as much as Naruto would like to take this place in, he needed to know something, gazing up to the sky, Naruto saw that the stars were aligned differently than what he recognized, "It worked!"

Not long after stopping Toneri from dropping the moon on the world, Naruto had been thinking long and hard on how the world had come to be since the Otsutsuki descendant had made a point that the world wasn't as kind as it should have been. He knew that becoming the Hokage was always his dream, though honestly, he just wanted the admiration and respect of the villagers since so many of them looked down upon him when he was younger. The thing was… he already had that. Ever since he had killed Pain and the subsequent Fourth Great Shinobi War, he had the respect and admiration of the village in droves, so what was the title of Hokage at that point? Just that, a title.

Though this chain of thought had begun a process of soul searching that had taken Naruto in a rather philosophical direction.

Supposed that he did become the Hokage, which given his reputation and actions throughout his life, he'd more than likely get that hat after Kakashi-sensei stepped down, but really, all it would mean is that the peace brought by the Allied Shinobi forces would be perpetuated and there were many others that could do that better than him. But there was something else involved with all of this thinking. That he had grown tired of doing so much fighting to change the way the world functioned and that he realized that he would be used. True that he was still fond of the village and his friends there, all the people that had helped forge him into the person he was now, he couldn't help but see the system in a different light.

It brought Naruto back to his main question, namely what exactly did he want in life where all obligations had been fulfilled? When was he most happy and how could that be achieved again? The answer had come to him one night when visiting Jiraiya's grave, it was the time spent traveling with the Sage, interacting with new cultures and peoples to learn from them. To understand others so that he could grow as a person in strength and character like Jiraiya before him, that was what Naruto desired.

And so, Naruto decided to take a journey across the known world in an effort to try and learn more about the people of the world, from their varying cultures and ways they lived would help him understand what his place in the world would be. The scroll he currently carried on his back with him held a lot of what he had learned from the various countries from the people, to their history, the Jutsu that he had encountered throughout his life and journey. It had given him a severe amount of learning to do.

Although, that changed upon coming across an ancient temple that was half-buried underground. Seeing the temple as having been nearly untouched for centuries, if not millennia, Naruto entered it to see that it had been linked to the Otsutsuki, no doubt from Kaguya's time in the world and the legend she had spawned having arrived from some faraway land. Now while Naruto himself wasn't the best at understanding things, he was able to interpret that deep in the lower levels of the temple, it could take one to some other world.

That's when it hit him. This was his out to the system of death that had been created from Ashura and Indra's blood feud that came to an end at his and Sasuke's hands.

Taking the time to try and learn as much as he could, with Kurama's help in figuring it out, the lower levels of the temple acted as an amplifier of sorts, while the bottom had carved out similarly to the Roran leyline that sat beneath the old city. Massive amounts of Chakra had been stored within it, and after learning how to use the temple to his endeavors, Naruto used it to leave his old world behind. He knew more than likely it was possibly a one-way trip, so he decided to get comfy with his eventual new home, hoping that it would be better than his old one.

Naruto shook his head at his actions, not wanting any regrets to come to mind, "Well, I think I need to start looking for a place to grab some sleep since I don't plan on camping any time soon." And what better way than to use his Senjutsu to find civilization?

Sitting down on the ground, Naruto began to gather up the natural energy of the world to sense any nearby cities to crash at, only to find that the natural energy was somewhat… murky… to say the least. As if part of the world was slowly dying down, compared to his original one. This just meant that he merely needed to double down on the process, which wasn't an issue for him. As he delved into the world around him, he could feel that this entire land was so pristine, yet densely populated and just his luck, a massive population wasn't that far from his position, "Guess I know where I'm going."

Oh, how the world would only know of how… interesting things were going to get from here on out.

-A Few Weeks Later; July 1984; West Tokyo, Suinotana-

Not long after arriving in this new world, Naruto acquired some spare clothes to better fit into society. Turns out, there wasn't anyone that dressed like he or anyone else did for that matter due to the military not being composed of Shinobi. A plus in his book, though there were still some conflicts every now and then between countries, not on the same level of scale as the Great Ninja Wars. Then again, war was an ugly business regardless of size.

Either way, overall, this new world was relatively more peaceful than his own, even if a bit more complicated with so many countries connected to one another in various forms.

Walking down the streets of the western side of the massive metropolis that was Tokyo, Naruto was currently in the town of Suinotana in the Chuno ward of Tokyo. It was backed by the wide and fast-flowing Sagami river, dominated by Japanese style two-story houses with plenty of greenery around and a lot of electrical cables. Cars as they were called, were parked along the streets and various vending machines were on quite a few corners, the further east he pushed the thicker it got, but there was a serene buzz of nightlife near restaurants and the like, with greater Tokyo visible from one of the hills.

The nightlife was certainly something to see, with a different yet beautiful vibe that nature had at times.

Naruto was wearing a simple black shirt with gray cargo pants, along with a pair of orange converse shoes. His old backpack had been ditched in favor of a far more spacious new one, and with some bit of work, he was able to make the new backpack far more spacious and seal quite a few things into it, along with the large scroll he had been carrying when he first arrived.

Turns out, no one carried those things on their backs like he and Jiraiya did, it would take some getting used to.

All of these things he acquired through some… illicit means, including money that he managed to get a hold of to live out on his own, despite moving from place to place.

In hand, he had some takeout food he had bought and wanted to eat out overlooking the view of Tokyo, as he made his way over towards the hills, "Hard to believe that there are so many people grouped together in cities this size."

'Were you expecting something less? It's a cosmic crapshoot that the people of this land speak the same language as you, count your blessings.' Kurama said as he explained something so simple. In truth, their own society could have followed a very similar pathway throughout history had certain choices have been made, or people lived to build such monuments of civilization. Great discoveries could have been made, had the various clans simply focused on other things and not just warfare. Even Chakra that was the heart of Shinobi society, had they learned to develop without it then maybe something like this would have been possible?

Naruto shrugged slightly as he unloaded his food to start eating, "I don't know, I guess, maybe?" He opened up the carton to reveal some instant ramen, "Anyways, things look a lot more peaceful than back home, even if petty stuff still gets thrown around every now and then." Cracking the pair of chopsticks, he began digging into the delicious goodness that was his all-time favorite, "Besides, I think I'm gonna probably head north and then come back around the south of the main island chain before I decide to head next door to South Korea." Japan had so many various similarities with his old world's countries, which meant that there probably wasn't much of a difference in ways of thinking, but he'd hold his opinion out until he saw the country in its entirety.

Naruto was mulling over his plan internally, that is until he felt some negative intent that was akin to some dark form of hunger, "Wait, what the hell?"

Sensing the intent from behind, Naruto turned to see a strange creature that he could partially make out before it let out a low roar that echoed into the night, "My, my… what powerful Reiryoku, and in a human no less? I've struck gold tonight."

As the creature came closer, Naruto was able to see that it was some giant insect of sorts, about twice the size of one of those trucks he had seen around the town. Its body was similar to a mantis, although where the bug usually had a set of front legs, this thing had more humanoid arms with a set of claws but only three digits as opposed to five. The skin if it could be called that was pitch black along with red dots making a pattern that went along its lateral sides. Then there was that giant hole in its chest cavity that was angled up in a way that would break the backs of most animals. But what really seemed to make its appearance all the more unsettling, well, that is for those that hadn't stared down a certain rabbit goddess, was the giant, door-sized white mask that held jagged teeth that looked like it was a gaping, rotting maw with red glowing lights signifying the eyes in the open sockets.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the creature, not sure whether it was worth the time to actually test its fighting capabilities or just put it down quickly. He hadn't encountered one of these things yet since he had first arrived here, but the blonde also didn't want his food to go bad, "What the hell are you?" he asked while setting the carton of noodles down, the steam from the water used to heat them wafting in the fresh June night air. He had found that it tended to rain a lot in Japan during June, so this calm night had been a welcome change, had being the operative word.

It appeared that the creature grew even more excited, or rather, its fervor to eat him grew even more as it salivated while it spoke again with its reverberating tone, "And he can see me too? How delightful! Now, why don't you be a good little human and stay still so that I can eat your soul? Feel free to scream all you like, it adds to the drama of the meal."

"Yeah, sorry but I like having my soul. I plan on using it for a long time." Naruto replied, not at all threatened by the oversized bug, more curious than anything. He had suplexed Kurama before, that was a threatening encounter.

"Then I hope a long time for you will be just a few seconds then."

Naruto rolled his eyes, all sense of playfulness evaporating from his surface thoughts. The creature dived straight at him, clawed arms swinging forwards with the intent of reducing him to patte and eating his soul from his cooling corpse. A regular human would have probably been transfixed by the spectral beast and been gored to death, if they were lucky then they would jump out of the way and run to perceived safety only to be chased down by the faster hollow. Naruto was no ordinary human, to him, the claw might as well have been stopped in the air.

So long did the arm take to descend that he was able to perceive the odd energy dwelling within the beast and respond accordingly. Naruto focused on bringing up his Chakra that flashed in an instant that practically incinerated the creature's entire right side to the point that it started to dissipate? The beast tried to crawl up to him, body breaking down into black particles of that strange energy as it began speaking once again, "Wha… what the hell…what kind of human are you…?"

Naruto wasn't really into giving his name out so freely, he was, however, one for theatrics and that bled into his response, "One of a kind." He said with a smirk adorning his features as the creature completely vanished. Turning back to his ramen, Naruto picked up the still steaming carton and added the flavor packet to it, "Glad that it's still warm."

He hummed in satisfaction at the goodness that the food of the gods provided him with.

-Nearby-

A Shinigami named Katashi Ryusei sighed audibly while jumping between rooftops in his recently given post of the handling Hollows in the 3500th district, though he really just wanted to slash something as of late, "Son of a bitch. My brother's off kissing Madarame's ass while I get posted to this district, I expect to go kill some Hollows, and don't see jack shit? Gimme a break, what a crap posting." Katashi was the archetypal Shinigami in terms of appearance, robust if forgettable features and messy black hair with black Asauchi at his left hip.

He also had a serious chip on his shoulder. Katashi was from Squad 11; the Squad renowned for being the one Squad that specialized in melee-based combat, forgoing things such as Kidō, with it being called 'cowardice'. Many of the members, including himself, preferred getting up close and personal to hack 'n' slash their enemies to bits, and they certainly enjoyed it. Unlike that milksop Abari he hadn't entered the Squad through the Academy, not seeing any point in that crap like communing with your sword he routinely tossed it aside and was happy that it was still an Asauchi. If Captain Zaraki could get so strong without having some fancy name for his tool, then he could do without one as well.

In the words of the Squad 11 3rd seat, he was "A prideful idiot with nothing to back it up."

Katashi had been given this month-long assignment just a week ago, and he had been itching to fight some Hollows. But nope. No Hollows in sight since he got here. Now he was standing atop a light pole in one of the neighborhoods just looking for Hollows the old-fashioned way. He began growling lowly in irritation at there not being any action, though before he blew up into a tirade, his Soul Pager started to go off signifying that someone from R&D was trying to get a hold of him. Most likely Akon, the Squad 11 member fished out the little device, "Hey yeah, what is it? I'm getting stiff bored, you got something for me?"

He shouted down the phone because the human nightlife wouldn't be able to see or hear him.

"Actually yes…" It was Akon as Katashi had guessed, "A massive surge of some energy sprung up in the World of the Living some weeks back, but we were unable to track it." Oh yeah, there was some strange spiritual energy he picked up a few minutes ago, though he didn't think much of it since it was like a Hollow's or anything of the like, "It just flared on our sensors not far from your position."

Wait, he was finally going to do something to get rid of his boredom!

"And I take it you want me to go take care of it?" Katashi asked in mild anticipation, not wanting to let the pencil pusher know how happy he was to be going to finally kill something.

Akon sighed on the other end, tanking Katashi's anticipation sadly, "What? No! We need you to go make contact with whom or whatever it was that flared that power. It's imperative that you find it and not kill it."

Katashi hung his head as he ground his teeth, "Ok, fine, whatever, I'll go do it."

"Wait, don—"

Katashi hung up on Akon as he quickly pulled up the info he had just been sent. Seemed that it wasn't far from here and over near the hills where there was a good view of the Tokyo metropolis. Putting away the Soul Pager, Katashi quickly made his way to the coordinates over the small town's rooftops. He was trying to learn the Flash Step, but sadly no one in his division, other than the whimsical lieutenant of theirs, Ikkaku, Tetsuzaemon, Yumichika and Renji knew how to use the technique, but he sure as hell wasn't going to go to them for pointers. He'd look like an idiot, so he'd prefer to get shit done on his own.

-Naruto-

"Ah! That hits the spot!" Patting his stomach, Naruto had finished up with his dinner for the night as he got up to take care of his trash before going into town for a hotel for the night before he moved up north, "Time to get a bed for the night." Making his way out of the hillside towards the more populated area, Naruto caught sight of an oddity leaping over buildings towards him. He was garbed in a black kimono skirt and Hakama with a sword tied to his white sash, wearing a pair of straw waraji sandals and white tabi. New as Naruto was to this world he was quickly able to tell that this man didn't fit in with the society of today, perhaps linked to that strange creature that tried and failed miserably to ambush him, "Who the hell are you?"

The man's eyes widened upon hearing Naruto addressing him as he landed a few feet from him, "Wait, you can see me? How the hell… no what, never mind. You the one that flared some wicked energy a few minutes ago?" The black-garbed man all but demanded.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, not sure just what the hell he had just stepped into, but he figured this might be the chance he had to get some info while he had the opportunity, "Ok, before anything else happens in this weird as hell night, just who or what the hell are you, and what was that white-masked bug I just killed?"

His words got another reaction out of the man, as his eyes widened briefly in surprise before he started to chuckle, followed by keeling over in laughter, "You killed a Hollow? A human?! Hah! There's no way in hell you coulda done that! Hahahaha!" Naruto's eyes twitched before the man started to calm down, "Heh… heh… sorry 'bout that, but I hadn't laughed my ass off in a while since the Soul Society first sent me to this boring town." He glanced back before turning back to Naruto as he kept talking, "But anyways, like I said, there's no way in hell a human coulda killed a Hollow. That's a Shinigami's job, see the Zanpakutō?" The now identified Shinigami said as he pointed one hand to himself while the other patted the sword that was now identified on his left side.

Even though the man clearly thought himself superior, he was an idiot. Every word he spoke gave Naruto more and more information that he wanted. The man was identifying himself as 'A' Shinigami, and not 'THE' Shinigami that he was all too familiar with back home, along with telling him that the sword he was carrying was called a Zanpakutō. Presumptuous to call such an ordinary-looking blade a 'Soul Cutter', and then there was the name of that creature that attacked him, a Hollow. Maybe that was fitting going by the massive hole that was located where he assumed the heart would have been.

The Shinigami was inching closer towards him as he thumbed the first inch of the katana from its sheath, "Well anyways, if you're the one that made that flare, the Gotei would like a few words, so I gotta take you in."

Well, it looked like this would be twice in one night he disappointed an idiot.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he removed his backpack before setting it down lightly, eyes remaining on that blade. To the blonde it seemed no different from a regular sword, rather ostentatious name aside it was no different from any other sword he had seen wielded by Shinobi or samurai, it was, however, curious that this so-called Shinigami held something similar to the energy of the Hollow. This bore investigation. The Shinigami didn't look very strong, so he wasn't too overly concerned, "Sorry, but I didn't plan to spend my evening playing ego boost to to a drone." Naruto said as he made a small gesture to come hither, like he would when goading weaker opponents to just waltz into the ass kicking, "So, let's just get this over with."

The Shinigami grew a significant tick mark at his temple and discarded all sense of his limited civility, "You little shit! I'll make you eat those words! I'll drag your carcass back to R&D to cut you open, but there might not be anything left of you when I'm finished!" The Shinigami drew his blade and charged with his Zanpakutō raised high above his head in a rough kendo slash to cut Naruto stem to stern. Though the ninja half stepped to the right when he saw the sword coming down towards his left side, hitting nothing but thin air. Katashi's beady eyes flashed with annoyance that a lowly human could dodge his swing but chalked it up to dumb luck on the blonde's part, renewing his assault with several practiced swings, stabs and slashes.

The soul cutter would cut nothing but air in his frankly useless assault, for every telegraphed move of bladework fielded by the Squad 11 member was dodged without so much as a raised eyebrow from Naruto. "Stay still you worthless human!" Katashi shouted in impotent rage when Naruto sidestepped one stab aimed for the liver, before tapping the Shinigami on the head from behind. It was like fighting the wind or a swallow in flight, ever twisting and shifting position with the deftest of movements, and the longer it went on, the more Katashi's ire entered the red zone. In a fit of rage he decided to lower himself with the exertion of Shinigami technique that he did not think the human deserved, Katashi used Ichiho, a Hohō technique to rapidly cross the distance between him and Naruto bringing his Asauchi down on the blonde's shoulder with as much speed as he could muster.

Curious if the blade could actually cut him, Naruto let the sword come down just enough to where it made contact with his skin; now Naruto never intended to get any real wounds from the Zanpakutō; instead, he would maneuver at the last moment to avoid taking any real damage. However, his thought process was derailed when the sword didn't break the skin, deflecting as if striking stone. How strange, he could see that despite being a generic blade it had been sharpened and honed to a razor's edge yet acted against his body like a blunted training sword, or even a shinai.

"Gyah!" Katashi yelped, the Shinigami's weapon simply bouncing back off Naruto's body like an empty bottle of water, "No… no way… it bounced off like Madarame and Captain Zaraki…" The Shinigami had started pointing his weapon at Naruto like he was some freak of nature. The Shinigami's ego was shattered by the weight of impossibility, leaving behind a simpering pup barking at the world to make up for his lack of bite.

"Huh, well… that's all nice and interesting…" Naruto said as he calmly approached the Shinigami who tripped over his own feet to lie flat on his backside, "…but I think a dumbass like you shouldn't be swinging around a sword." Naruto kicked the Shinigami's chin, knocking him out cold in one swift stomp before he took the scabbard from his sash and the blank blade from where it had clattered to the ground. Hefting the sword up to sheath it, Naruto turned it around in his hands to get a feel for the balance, it was lighter than he expected, although it also felt as if the sword was in a sense a blank canvas. "I'm keeping you."

Tucking the sheathed Katana into his belt loop, Naruto retrieved his backpack before turning his gaze back to the Shinigami, "Now… what to do with you I wonder…?" He turned back to the town to see a nearby light pole and grinned as a particularly mischievous idea came to mind, "Yeah, let's do that."

Sometime later, Katashi groggily woke to a searing pain on his face as he eased out of unconsciousness, "Where did that bastard get to…?" He quickly became aware that his feet weren't touching the ground and that strung him up by the underwear with his hands bound behind him, his body angled vertically to the ground. Katashi looked down to see that he had been tied to a light pole, and more importantly, his Zanpakutō had been stolen, "Goddammit!" He was angry to be sure, but then a sense of dread came over him, "Shit, they'll have my ass thrown to Squad 4 to this!"

If only he could read the sign that was stuck on his back: 'Suck it Losers!'

-The Soul King Palace; Hōōden, the Palace of Ōetsu Nimaiya-

High above the white stone and red-tiled feudal metropolis of the Seireitei existed a structure that was a sight to see to even the most jaded soul. Separated by some fifty thousand kilometers from the ground below existed the domain of the world's lynchpin, the Palace of the Soul King and his chosen champions. Hanging in the perpetually clear blue sky with no apparent suspension were eight structures that were grand in scope and artistry befitting of the purpose they served. The initial city of welcoming where the thousand or so Divine Soldiers and attendants of the Soul King lived, ate and slept. Atop the stone staircase of the Vast-blue road entrance, an observer would give a grand vista of the palace and its inhabitants.

Beyond the initial structure of the Vast-blue road separated by a great yawning chasm of empty space were the other structures of the Soul King's Palace, firstly the residences of the members of the Royal Guard. Five discs of immaculate white marble some forty-five kilometers across hanging sentinel in a pentagonal fashion at the same height, each covered in its own cityscape of varying design and style. Above all in the dead center of the Soul King's Palace floated the Greater Soul King's Palace, a cyclopean pillar of earthy hued marble measuring sixty kilometers in height, turned slowly, it's regimented floors and windows seeming to survey the rest of the palace from the Vast-Blue Road to the massive Seki-Seki parameter wall that floated in place.

All inhabitants of the palace lived with a single edict etched firmly in their hearts and minds to protect the Soul King, that there was no sacrifice too great and to think of anything beyond that was sin. But one such individual felt ill at ease. Stood upon a barren and rocky outcropping of an otherwise exorbitant and glamorous casino-esque city the likes of a Sengoku Las Vegas, Ōetsu Nimiya of the Royal Guard looked over the edge into the blue oblivion below. God of the Sword and inventor of the Zanpakutō, Nimiya's visage was not what one would associate with those given titles. A man of dark skin and average height, Nimiya was clad in a heavily customized sleeveless shihakusho with shortened Hakama, green undershirt and green slippers. He wore a pair of green-rimmed square sunglasses and had shaved his curly black hair on either side of his head... before dying it green. He forewent a Captain's haori for a white puffer jacket baring the Squad Zero Symbol.

Ōetsu was a man of a humble lifestyle, even though he loved screwing around with people with that fake palace out front and all the Zanpakutō babes he made, but let it be known that he did take his job seriously with keeping an eye on all his Zans, "Huh, well whaddya know… there you are my very strange man!"

His words were jovial and mixing between English and Japanese, a habit he had picked up at the dawn of the 1960's, but behind his sunglasses, Ōetsu's eyes were full of interest. Zanpakutō were something that he took pride in, and the creation of Asauchi was a duty he had to fulfill in action to his peers. As a result of the Asauchi being part of his domain as a 'God', he was aware of the location and current user of every single Zanpakutō in existence, from Academy dropouts that had stolen Asauchi before bolting to Rukongai to the one's wielded by his fellow Royal Guards. So when he had felt a new hand take hold of an Asauchi, boy oh boy was he surprised to find the anomaly that had been of investigation from the others.

Kirio, being the scientific genius that she was, kept an eye on all that weird jazz that went down in the human world ever since she was elevated to the Guard in 1891. Now, of course, this wasn't for some duty, or anything since all she did now was make some damned good food and watch over the Soul King himself and all, but rather she got curious about the humans and what they did. When she had told the rest of the guard about an anomalous, but also potently powerful presence appearing in the World of the Living, it sure as hell got them interested in who or what it could be. However, they didn't have any way of looking for it, so Kirio just tapped into the archives of those, in Ōetsu's mind, smug ass idiots in Central 46, 'Which no doubt will get that crazy, clown-faced Mayuri raising a helluva time lookin' for it through the rest of the Gotei 13.' He had thought at the time.

To his surprise, he found out first instead. A blonde, whiskered kid named Naruto Uzumaki, and… he wasn't from around these parts… now that was interesting, "Hmm… you seem like a pretty chill guy, Mr. Fishcake since you made a nice little show of that dud of a Shinigami, but I wonder if you can get one of my Zan's to work for you." Yeah, this would be perhaps his best work without even lifting a finger.

Though then again, he did have that damned duty of his, "Sorry though my man, but I gotta let the Monk know about you. Shame, I woulda liked to've ask you some pretty interesting questions."

"What questions would you have asked, Nimaiya?" Ōetsu turned around to see the bulky, bearded form of Ichibē Hyōsube behind him, with an inquisitive look on his face, "I take it you found him?"

Ōetsu turned back around to look down into his forge where he saw an image of the blonde checking into a hotel for the night, with the Asauchi tucked into his belt loop, "Yeah, the kid's got some power in him. A lot if I'm guessin' right." He didn't bother turning to Ichibē who now stood next to him looking at the same thing, "So whatcha wanna do 'bout this Naruto Uzumaki?"

The Monk who calls the Name, like the other members of the Guard, had an authority that set them above Shinigami into the realm of lesser deities, though whereas Ōetsu's domain was of the Asauchi and Zanpakutō, Ichibē's was the Name. Words held power, to understand a name was to understand the power associated with it.

Ichibē hummed as he stroked his beard in thought, "Well, I can certainly feel that the weight of his name is quite heavy in fact. Many lifetimes he's been born and reborn almost as if he were the same person time and time again, only gaining more power with each life." Ichibē brought forth his own Zanpakutō, Ichimonji, though he did not release it as he angled it down to the image, "His soul could possibly upset the balance between the worlds, should he happen to die once again, a foreign body in the flow of souls impossible to be dismantled, so it should be prevented, hmm?" The monk began to use a bit of his own power as he made a few strokes onto the image that held Naruto within it, "Though it's necessary for this to happen, I don't believe that this will be a solution for long. Perhaps one day I can remove it, should his soul change but until then… 'Nirvana' shall be carved into it."

As the image of Naruto now sleeping in his bed for the night, the kanji, 涅槃 appeared on his back briefly in a bright light before fading away seconds later, "For now though, he shall live as he is now for many years."

-Naruto-

As Naruto began to fall asleep all nice and snuggled into bed with the extra sheets and blankets since the place wasn't that great with its beds, he scratched his back a bit before feeling something, despite feeling it occur, he paid it no mind.

Sleep called.

He answered.

He'd figure it out later in the future, but right now, he had managed to get a map of the country along with the various cities, towns and villages that had been marked up along with some pamphlets of the various sights that tourists were told to visit among other things. The next day he found himself in the small town of Karakura not far from where he had been staying. Naruto had hoped to find a place to get some more supplies before heading up north, and was able to do so, though now he was looking over the various places to head to first, so far nothing really screamed at him as amazing, "Hmm… nothing too good to see, other than the Bamboo Forest outside of Sendai. I guess I can practice with my new sword there where no one'll bother me."

Now he had a plan, only one problem, "Now the best way to get there…"

He had been walking on the sidewalk for a while now before he stopped a bit in front of a trio of girls heading home from school chatting with one another, "But you like with Ryūken, don't you? Being around him every day would definitely be exciting!"

"I already told you, Ryū is my cousin! Besides… I don't look at him like that way…"

"That's right. Even if they weren't cousins… he's not Misaki's type…"

"That's Shiho for you, she gets me! I can't believe you guys are even going there! Jeez!"

Naruto was too focused on the map to figure out where he was attempting to go as the girls' voices were growing louder and closer, "Oh you bet your ass I'm going there! Even if Ryūken were my cousin, I'd gladly play with his joystick!"

"Kanan, get your head out of the gutter!"

One of the girls was facing her friends' direction while she kept on walking as she was ignorant of Naruto who had stopped, "Shiho, wash her mouth out with soap—" She bumped into the ninja who had turned around to face her as she apologized, "Ah… I-I'm so sorry."

Naruto noticed her features, she wore a brown school uniform with a red-hemmed skirt and a white collar with red pins that fell over the top of her back and was tied in the front with a red ribbon, as well as brown shoes and white knee-length stockings, just like her two accompanying friends. Her hair was cut to around chin-length and held a healthy complexion of a teenager her age, "Nah, it's fine. It's my fault for stopping in the middle of the walkway." Naruto was still trying to figure out the best way to get to Sendai, and since he was in front of someone who most likely knew the area best he figured he might as well ask the teenager, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know the best way to Sendai, would you?"

The teenage girl's eyes widened just a smidge before she smiled and replied, "Yep! The bus station on Hanada corner just two streets down that way…" She pointed back behind him, before she gestured to the right, "…it'll take you through Tokyo and take the Shinkansen through to Sendai, no problem!"

Naruto smiled as he gave a slight wave to the girl, "Thanks, I'm not too familiar with what's outside the wards and all, hope you have a nice day!"

The girl waved in kind as Naruto began to follow her directions to the bus station, "I will, and you too, Mr. Yankee Whiskers!" He nearly face faulted before quickly adjusting himself to see that all three were giggling before they went down the left of the street they were previously on.

Naruto shook his head as he kept on going towards his goal, while the high schoolers did the same while they gossiped about the interesting blonde.

"Did you see how bright his hair was?"

"Yeah, but it has to be dyed right, he spoke good Japanese for a foreigner?"

"I don't know about that myself, but it looked natural to me, and he looks half Japanese."

"Oh come on, Masaki, it had to be dyed. Plus, you have to admit he's a cutie!"

Masaki seemed to slightly blush a bit before she fought it down, "Ehehe… he seemed kinda cute, but I don't know if he'd be my type honestly."

"Now we're back to talking about boys, can we talk about something else?"

As the girls, and Naruto both went their separate ways, another person had felt the strange presence that both of them put off.

Off to the side, the man was tall and lean, with light skin and gray eyes. His hair was messy and light-blond, almost pale, with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging between his eyes, and he had a chin stubble. He wore a dark green Kimono shirt without an undershirt. Over this, he wore a short green haori, which sported a white diamond pattern along its bottom half. He also wore a pair of traditional Japanese geta and a striped dark green and white bucket hat which shadowed his eyes.

He eyed both the teenage girl named Masaki and the young man named Naruto as they both went their separate ways. To him, one felt that their soul was on the verge of potentially Hollowfying, while the other held some very strong, and possibly dangerous power. Most likely the one that he had felt several weeks ago that put him slightly on edge, "So he's the one? Hmm… another time maybe." He turned back to the retreating form of Masaki as he felt the presence of Hollow power rolling off of her, and if she was what he thought she was, then he'd need to deal with the situation quickly and under the right circumstances.

-Later that evening; Downtown Sendai-

The city of Sendai was always alive with people going about their daily lives, the nightlife crowd was also something to behold with many gatherings for parties, clubs, shopping, dates, etc.

"A midnight tryst. A moonlit wandering."

But also, there were those who were simply out for a nice walk through the city, be it simply just for that…

"A meeting with a murderer at a crossroads."

…or something else to satiate one's self.

A girl of about fifteen years of age was walking alone as she talked to no one but herself. She wore a traditional, honey-colored tomesode kimono that was of high quality coupled with a pair of black zori and snow-white tabi. Over this, she wore a deep, red-colored leather jacket that oddly blended well despite the conflicting appearance of traditional eastern and modern western fashion, yet she made it look well to the eyes of many. She had ink-black hair that was cut short just below her jawline with pale skin color and black eyes that were a clear void. Full of mirth and interest, yet devoid of empathy.

A genuinely cool beauty that would be described as the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko if she could be labeled as, had it not been for the leather jacket she wore.

The girl looked to the sky as she felt the cool air breeze past her, "If I disappear, she can live happily." At first, she had frowned at those words, before a small smile came up in satisfaction at such a statement. She turned down the alleyway as the urge began to rise slowly and needed to find one of those damned Hollows to kill to satiate her enjoyment in the act of murder.

She began thinking on ways to end her empty existence, though a few that didn't involve her soul getting eaten came to mind, she wondered how she could accomplish such acts without killing her, "Death doesn't scare me. But other things do." She continued down the alleyway as she frowned in her thoughts, "The blue of the midday sky. The sunset after school. Things like that."

The girl closed her eyes as she thought through much of what all occurred throughout her life. Her childhood being raised as the next heir to her family. Her grandfather's parting words before he died. The strange, yet also normal relationship she had with her. Hunting what satiated her desire for murder. The urge to kill was there, and she reveled in it every time she cut one of the cursed things up.

But ultimately, it wasn't normal, and would no doubt lead to a life for her to have to clean up the messes that she made.

"Welcome."

The voice of an elderly woman spoke up to her right, rousing the teen from her thoughts, "Care to look at your future, young man?" How odd. The woman had guessed right in how she spoke in a rather masculine tone and mannerisms, despite her gender being the opposite.

The girl took a quick glance and remembered this woman from descriptions she would hear at school. The Sister of Sendai. A fortune teller that could predict relationships of one's future be they good or bad and how could they hold together. A cheap parlor trick if anything.

"Oh?" Then again, maybe this woman could satiate her desires… just a tiny bit if she proved to be the real deal, Espers were under her family's purview after all... "This should be interesting."

The kimono-clad girl made her way towards the Sister, her ancestral knife waiting in the folds of her kimono, ready to go for the jugular if the Sister wasn't what she said she was. Her heart began to beat as the blood rushed through her body to make a quick and clean kill. She held her hand out for the old 'fortuneteller' to take like they did if they were fakes, though the slight crinkling of her knife echoed through the alleyway, "Gimme my fortune."

The Sister stared at her outstretched palm for a few seconds before she gently took it with both hands. She felt around her palm, tracing the small details before staring back at the girl, though she did not say anything, "Go on, tell me what you read." She slowly began to pull the knife out if this turned out to be a phony, "How do I avoid the terrible future that awaits me?" The girl smirked, expecting something lovey-dovey and cheesy.

Oddly enough, the Sister lowered her head a bit before she continued tracing her fingers along the girl's palm, "I suppose futures like yours exist. It's quite conflicting."

Well, that was interesting. Maybe the Sister wouldn't find her throat getting cut open?

The girl tilted her head in confusion as she let up on her knife inside her pocket, "Huh?"

The Sister began to explain, "You want to die. You want someone to live a happy life, yet you can't find a way to make it happen without hurting them."

"Well, color me surprised." The girl said in mild amazement, "You're the real deal." It wasn't often that one encountered people like the Sister. Those who could peer into the future and deliver some interesting fortunes. The girl began to pull her hand away before she felt that the Sister was still holding onto her, "Hey, aren't you done, though? You said my future was basically pure shit, right?" She shrugged a bit as she tilted her head side to side like she didn't even care, "It actually takes a load off my shoulders."

"There's more to it, than that young one." Oh? Now she was being called a 'young one' as opposed to a 'young man'? This was getting really interesting, "I said one thing that leads to you merely dying. But there is something else…" Well, now the Sister had the girl's full attention, "Stay as you are now, continue killing the creatures you so enjoy killing, and you will find Nirvana. Once there, you will never find yourself wanting anything more, but that, as does she."

Wait, so the girl had the choice to either go with her plan and kill herself to set her free, or stay alive and find something, some abstract happiness? That was a strange thing indeed, even as the woman continued on like she read her mind, "Now you choose from this night on: stay on the path that leads to your death, leaving her empty, broken. Or, choose the opposite, live and find joy in the world as full as you and she are. There will be someone there to walk side by side with you both. Never again to feel the void as you are now."

What a fortune to be told. On some level, she supposed that she did enjoy some things in the world, while she was afraid of other things as she mentioned aloud to no one in particular but herself. But to keep going with someone that was like her and her if there was any indication of such a possibility in the Sister's words…? Then maybe… just maybe… she could continue living until they both found that happiness. The Sister let go of the girl's palm as she turned around with a smile on her face and the decision made, "Goodbye, Sister. I hope you live a long life." She turned back halfway to glance at the Sister to offer some more words, "These streets are dangerous at night. They're no place for the elderly."

The Sister of Sendai merely chuckled without saying a word as the girl left back out onto the main streets of Sendai towards her home, having some fulfillment made tonight. True, she had not been able to sink her knife into a pound of flesh tonight, and yet she felt… at ease was it?

The girl eventually made her way down by the riverbank onto the road back to her family estate, passing by the bamboo forest the city was well known for, all the while contemplating the Sister's words, "So, if I choose death, then things won't be as nice. But if I choose life, then someone'll come along to make us both happy somehow, huh?"

"I see." She halted her feet as she gazed up to the sky, wondering if that massive surge of energy she felt months ago was perhaps responsible for this potential change in fate, "I wonder… maybe… either way, that'll be nice then."

The girl had chosen life.

She smiled at the choice, "Yeah, I think I'll do that then." This perhaps would be the choice that would pay off more than what she originally had planned.

As she continued on back home, only this time she decided to skip to a little tune 'Singing in the Rain', however, this nice little moment was cut short as she heard an inhuman roar off in the distance. She halted her tune and skipping as she focused in on its location; she grew a sadistic smile as she brought her knife out with a twirl, "A Hollow. I guess I do get to kill something tonight then, huh? Just my luck. I get two happy things tonight."

She quickly ran out towards the Hollow that appeared in her city, as per her inherited job, but also a hobby to satiate her desire to murder the inhuman souls that devoured others.

What a joy it always was, for the girl to murder Hollows…

NEXT: THE GIRL THAT SEES DEATH

And done! Now, of course, this is just the prologue, so it's not quite so long as usual. Initially, there was going to be an extra scene, but I felt that this was enough for a prologue into the story. Any more might have bogged the pacing down and been hard going.

With the pairing, don't ask me if it's with a Bleach character, because it's already been decided on. She appeared in this last section of the prologue with her backstory here having been modified from TYPE-MOON to fit into the world and history of Bleach.

Speaking of pairings and the other member of the big 00's Shonen trio, Ichigo will be paired with Rukia and Rukia only, I stand by their pairing being more set up and making more sense than Orihime but I'm not gonna start a war over a 4-year-old argument.

So it's Narutox[TYPE-MOON character shown here] and IchixRuki for certain, and that won't change at all.

Now, onto Naruto possessing a Zanpakuto. At first I was against the idea since many fics just merely use crappy, cookie cutter Zans that have the same abilities generic Zan spirits and names that all link back to Wind or Kurama, which yes it's Naruto's main element, but come on, at least be original with it. But I was talked into it by a friend and so Naruto has a Zan, but it won't even be like anything else done before. I like my Naruto to be ninja-ey but I suppose that's no excuse to not expand his arsenal.

Naruto will be on his own, away from the main Bleach cast at this time period, and stick mainly with his pairing girl in which she teaches him a lot more about the world that he now lives in. So, don't expect him to be all buddy buddy with Kisuke so soon.

In fact, that won't happen for a very long time if he even begins to trust the guy and even then, Naruto will be hesitant to even trust him.

The next chapter will officially reveal Naruto's pairing and if you guys can guess her, I'll be moderately surprised.

Anyways, be sure to check out my other stories on my profile, and be sure to read, review, favorite and follow this story as well as my other various works. And please when you review, tell me what all you guys liked and/or disliked about the new chapter, otherwise I can't better myself as a writer.

Also, the site no longer sends notifications about receiving PM's so please check your inbox's as I do my best to respond to every review possible.

According to the abomination of an update schedule I have, Those Who Dance in Moonlight is the next story set for an update.

Until next time! See ya guys :) !