AN: Revised on 5/1/20

AN: Oh wow, I didn't check on my story for like 1 day, and the reviews like blew up O.o You guys are friggin awesome if reviews were the equivalent to company stocks, this story's shareholder value just grew by 100% within 24 hours. Suck on that Google.

There were so many questions and reviews that I'm sorry to say that I don't have the time to give out individual responses. So I'll try to quickly summarize some repeated themes I saw without giving too much away.

Yes, this will carry up to the 1st Avengers movie, but whether Ichigo "joins" them or not is something I'm willing to reveal yet (love them twists)

This is not a Natasha/Ichigo pairing story. However, Ichigo does have a relationship that will be touched upon but is not a primary driving point of this fiction. And no, it is not with another male character, though who it is you will have to wait to find out in maybe 2-3 chapters after this one?

I can't say much about how Ichigo will rate against the Hulk or Thor, mainly because it's a part of the plot point that I have in mind, so just keep reading folks! I've written enough rough draft to at least get that far lol

I'm putting this up during my hour-long dinner break, so again it was a write up with only me doing the editing. I appreciate any corrections being pointed out to me that need to be fixed. Ss always, I love hearing back from the reader on what they think of my writing good or bad, their speculations, and anything else they want to dump on me. Keep those lovely responses coming! It's writing fuel!

Natasha was painfully aware that Fury was watching her with suspicion. As the leader of a clandestine intelligence agency, a certain level of paranoia was to be expected. Unfortunately, the director had an annoying tendency to be very accurate in what he suspected. Judging by the way his single eye was glaring imperiously at her from behind his steepled fingers, he wasn't buying her report.

"And you are certain that Mr. Kurosaki will be of no use to the Avengers Initiative?" he finally asked after a lengthy, nerve-wracking pause.

That man could cause a wall to sweat with the way his one eye seemed to bore into whatever he chose to stare at. More than one man had broken underneath his steely gaze, no threats of violence or venomous words of coercion needed. Nick Fury was a master of his profession.

The spy kept up her bored expression, carefully schooling her features to hide her true feelings on the matter. She'd relayed to Fury about how Ichigo had "exorcised" the ghosts following her about, not going into too much detail about the gates and the actual transformation process she had witnessed. The tidbit about her own potential dormant spiritual talents was also kept out of her report. No sense broadcasting the possibility when even she wasn't sure she'd be able to do anything with them.

"His ability strictly deals with the spirit realm. Unless the Helicarrier is haunted, there is nothing he can offer us that would be remotely useful," she responded, careful to exude professional indifference.

The spy had also decided to keep silent about what she suspected to be a group of individuals tasked with ferrying souls to the afterlife. According to Ichigo, they had no interest in the living, and Fury would probably have a meltdown if he had an inkling as to what she had learned. Intelligence agencies couldn't stand the thought of another organization operating on the same scale as they did or god forbid larger.

After another long considering pause, Fury finally nodded his acceptance.

"Very well, I'll defer to your judgment in this instance," the director said. "We'll file Mr. Kurosaki under special circumstances and pull him for consultation if needed."

"You never did tell me how it was you got your hands on the intel about this guy. The stuff he deals with isn't exactly something that can be caught on CCTV cameras."

Natasha asked the question casually, cautiously shaking the tree to see what might fall out. Fury tended to play his cards close to his chest, revealing information only when he thought absolutely necessary. If he had contacts with someone that had reiatsu based abilities, she might have another avenue to investigate her own latent powers.

"Old intel dating from more than a decade back," the dark-skinned director replied with a shrug. "The only reason I decided to follow up on them was because of how consistent they were. It all stopped when he moved away from his home, so whatever it was, it seems to have been a local issue."

"What were they about?" she questioned, unable to hold back her interest.

Fury leaned back in his seat, tapping a single finger on the tabletop. It was a nondescript desk, one you might find in a hundred offices all over the world. There wasn't a single piece of decoration that hinted at the personality of the man working behind it each day. The only ornament allowed being an old fashion landline phone that was purely for show.

"Weird spooky stuff," he conceded, grumbling something unintelligible under his breath. "People being hurt, even killed with no evidence of who or what it was that had harmed them. Unexplained, environmental damage that often resembled what appeared to be claw marks. Never had any forensic evidence despite the scale of the destruction."

The chair turned so that Fury could glare at the wall closer to the side of his visible eye. "There were even multiple reports of his hometown Karakura vanishing into thin air. It was largely dismissed as a hoax after investigators went and found the town and its people perfectly fine. But there was a seven-hour delay between the first reporting and the initial investigation. Enough time for something to have happened."

Despite the ingrained training from the Red Room program that had her, Natasha shivered unconsciously, her skin crawling with goosebumps. Luckily the spymaster was distracted and didn't see her reaction.

"You'd be surprised how ugly it can get when a ghost decides it doesn't want to be docile."

Fury sighed, scratching the goatee on his chin thoughtfully. "Are you certain that there was nothing he revealed that might shed light on some of those events?"

"Not that I can think of," she lied smoothly, face firmly projecting uncaring boredom.

"If you see something unusual from the spirit side of things, do yourself a favor and steer clear of it."

"Alright then, let's talk about your next assignment Romanoff."

Natasha allowed herself to relax a little as they moved on to another topic. Honestly, she didn't know why she had decided to keep what she had learned a secret. Perhaps it was the uncertainty of what she had witnessed. What good was it letting others know what awaited them in death? It's not like they would be able to confirm it, not until they were dead. It would change nothing.

A part of her felt like the afterlife was a separate entity on its own. It was a realm away from the living that only those few touched by the ability to see it should deal with.

Perhaps it was hubris to think herself apart from the others, but she felt an odd kinship with Ichigo. Maybe it was just that they were both so different from the rest of society. Whatever it was, it made her hesitate to be absolutely candid with her boss, and Natasha had always listened to her gut.

Fury might have closed the case on the enigmatic doctor, but the spy still had plenty of questions she wanted answers to. And what Natasha wanted, she always got.

"So when do you need this info by?" she asked as they wrapped up the briefing.

Her next mission was a relatively simple one. Head out to the sticks up somewhere in Arkansas and try to scare a few hillbillies into talking about a possible clandestine anti-government militia that had been dabbling in arcane rituals. Right up her alley.

"I already have assets in place," Fury grunted, leaning back in his seat. "They've been working their way into the group for months now. You'll be playing the part of the wealthy mercenary backer. You want to see proof that their group has a chance at successfully overthrowing the United States government before investing the resources they're asking for. The meeting is slated to take place a month from now. Until then, you've been authorized for paid leave."

Startled, the Black Widow found herself unsure how to respond at the unexpected announcement.

"I'm sorry, I thought I heard you wrong," she said. "Could you repeat that last part?"

Fury glared back at her. "You've been put on a month-long vacation Romanoff."

"What?" she spluttered indignantly. "Why? If we've got a month before sending me off to Arkansas, I'm sure there are other missions I could be useful on!"

"Natasha, I don't need a psych eval to see how much your last mission has shaken you," snapped Fury heatedly.

Leaning forward, he rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, inspecting the Russian spy with concern in his visible eye.

"You've been working nonstop since you first joined up with SHIELD Romanoff, take some time off. Go to the beach, go hiking, hell, go get laid! I don't care. I need your head screwed on straight when you get back here, do you understand me? Worlds about to get a whole lot messier if I'm reading the signs right. I can't have one of my best agents with her head in the clouds when she's out in the field."

"If things are getting worse, then I should be out there, helping stabilize it!"

The director snorted, barking a short laugh at the upset woman seated across from him.

"You aren't the only asset I have out in the field, Natasha. I've got Barton and Coulson looking into a possible first contact out in New Mexico. Hill's off in South Africa, investigating a report of a miracle healer woman. I could name a hundred other places I've got agents poking and prodding for answers. Throwing you out there as you are will do more harm than good right now, so take the damn vacation. I'll make it a direct order if I have to!"

Natasha argued the point for a few more minutes before caving in. There was no changing Fury's mind once it was set. She was going on a month-long vacation. But maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. She still had a lot of unanswered questions, and she knew exactly where the man with the answers lived.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she left Fury's office. The few base personnel that witnessed the unusual sight hurriedly moving away in fear for their health. The Black Widow may be on their side, but there was the saying about riding a tiger.

Focusing her eyes, she ignored the throbbing ache at her temple. Slowly the thin strands that represented reiatsu signatures from the people around the base appeared before her, swirling in the air gently as they trailed behind the workers that scurried about. Natasha fought back the urge to grin with childish glee, reaching a hand out to grab a passing strand.

Again, a flashed impression of the person came to mind, turning the spirit ribbon into a unique strand different from the dozens of others she could sense. Their emotions invaded her mind as she held onto the connection, brief flashes of their personality springing forth in her mind's eye.

Curious, she turned to stare into the office she had just exited. Natasha frowned when she didn't see anything. Was she perhaps not concentrating hard enough to see through walls? Focusing her senses, the Russian glared at the doorway, ignoring the hundreds of other spirit ribbons that had slowly begun to creep towards her from all over the underground facility.

She was finally forced to stop when she felt something wet trickle from her nose. Natasha grimaced when her hand pulled away from her face, stained red with blood. There had been nothing coming from the director's office, and she knew for a fact that he was still in there. She could pick up his muffled voice talking through the hidden communication panel behind his desk.

"You can learn to suppress your reiatsu so others can't sense you."

Romanoff turned on her heel with a scowl. Let Fury keep his secrets, she would find out the answers for herself.

AN: Ok, so I know probably some people will complain that this is a "filler" chapter, but there are points here that do relate to the plot later down the line that I have pictured in my head. Hope you guys enjoyed it, please let me know what you think. We'll be running into a familiar face in the next chapter! Or should I say, Natasha will… =D