Sorry for the late updates. Alright, another chapter here for you guys. I do not own Naruto or Bleach, nor do I get any monetary gain for any work I publish. AN at the bottom.
Thought: Kyuubi
Speaking: Kyuubi
Radio/Phone Etc: Kyuubi
Jutsu/Deity: Kyuubi
Scene Change: xxXXxx
xxXXxx
"Are you really Naruto?" Asked Orihime, in both surprise and suspicion. She had known Naruto for quite a few months now, but the person before her didn't resemble him at all. If it wasn't for his eyes and whisker marks she would've thought that this was a completely different person.
"Of course it's me, but I can see why you have your doubts. This was the way I looked before my accident, but thanks to whatever you did I'm back to almost perfect shape." Said Naruto with his usual smile, though it seemed a lot brighter than Orihime had ever seen it.
She also noticed that his eyes also seemed brighter, as if the life had returned to them, which it technically had. She smiled at the familiar sight, her doubts alleviated somewhat. She then remembered the sight she had witnessed when she had returned to the room.
The pure power that Naruto had been releasing had literally shaken the room, which was why she had quickly returned. She had thought that something was wrong, but she appeared to have been wrong.
"How did you do all of that stuff earlier?" She asked curiously. She had been getting used to her powers and the feeling of others, but Naruto's felt totally weird. She didn't know how to explain it, she wasn't an expert after all.
"I think that we both would like some answers right now, so let's see if we can help one another fill in some of the blanks." Said Naruto as he began to walk towards her, an action that made Orihime a little nervous, though not really in a bad way.
Orihime had never felt such a swarm of emotions like what she was feeling right now. She felt relief, worry, happiness, sadness along with many more conflicting emotions. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, and was worried about what was to come.
"Have a seat, let's talk." Requested Naruto with his smile still present. Orihime could only nod as she sat down on her bed. This entire situation was nerve-racking for her, but she had too many questions at the moment to let that stop her.
Naruto then took his space on the bed opposite from her own. "Well I'm sure we each have a lot of questions for the other, so I'll let you go first so you can explain everything to me."
"W-What do you want to know?" Asked Orihime a little nervously. She wasn't just nervous about what she might have to tell Naruto, about how she had practically been lying to, and hiding things from, him for months, she was also nervous about the now very attractive, and shirtless, blond before her.
She could see how well built his figure was, and couldn't help but to compare it to what she was used to seeing from him. She also noticed what appeared to be a tattoo on his stomach that she was absolutely sure she had never seen before.
She then found herself comparing Naruto's appearance to Ichigo. The two were both roughly the same height and build, but that was the end of their similarities. If she had to put it into words then Ichigo would be considered a more serious version of Naruto.
Where Ichigo was always serious and never really smiled, Naruto was always laidback and could be found with a smile on his face regularly. The only time he wasn't smiling was when something happened to her.
She would've continued her train of thoughts, but she noticed that Naruto seemed to be trying to get her attention. "I-I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that." Said the girl a bit embarrassingly. It was clear that she had gotten lost in her own world again.
"That's fine, but I was asking if you'd like to fill me in from the night your brother attacked us to now." This caused Orihime's eyes to widen in shock.
"I thought that your memory of that night were changed, so how do you remember my brother attacking?" She asked incredulously.
"Rukia's little memory thingy didn't work on me, though I'm not sure why."
"You remember Rukia too!" Naruto was surprised by the question, but answered anyway.
"Of course I do. I might've only met her a few times, but she was still someone you had become friends with. Why are you surprised that I remember her?"
"Because everyone's memory of her was erased when she was taken back to the Soul Society." Replied Orihime as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Her statement just served to further confuse Naruto.
"What the hell is this Soul Society, and who took Rukia?" He asked in a more serious tone. Clearly he had missed more than he thought being cooped up in this room.
"The Soul Society is this other dimension place that Rukia is from, and her brother was the one who took her from what I heard." Naruto had only partially paid attention to what Orihime was saying after he heard other dimension.
"Wait, is there something or someone in this world that can travel dimensions? I've got to find out more." Thought the blond. "Orihime, I need you to start from where I asked and leave nothing out." He finished.
Orihime nodded and retold everything that had been happening these last few months. He learned that Ichigo was a Shinigami, something that had surprised both him and Kurama due to past experience.
He had learned what had been happening while he was weakened, why that large group of hollows had attacked the town and more. After Orihime had finished recounting everything she knew, along with the plans that her and her friends had to go save Rukia, Naruto was truly surprised.
As Naruto thought about everything that he had heard, he had one final question. "Were you really trained by a cat?" Asked the blond, which earned him a deadpan look from Orihime.
After everything she had just told him, that was the one thing that he had focused on. "Yeah, his name is Yoruichi, and he's been really helpful." She said while nodding with a happy smile now on her face. Naruto just smiled at the prospect of someone else being taught by a talking animal.
This was just another thing that they both now had in common. Seeing that Orihime was now done with her part, Naruto decided to tell her a bit about his past, but not everything. While he trusted Orihime, he didn't want to reveal too much things.
So, with that thought, Naruto explained things to Orihime, though not everything. Him being from another dimension was one of the things he left out, along with his abilities and their source. He simply told her that he was from a faraway land, and that he really didn't know how he ended up outside her old apartment.
He used terms that he had heard Orihime use, like Spiritual Power, to explain what Orihime had seen him doing when she entered the room, which wasn't far from the truth since chakra was part spiritual.
He told her a bit about his home, like the name and how much he loved it and stuff. He left out the Shinobi training and child soldier stuff, and made his home sound like some random rural small village that you could find anywhere.
She took everything he told her in stride, and didn't seem to notice that he wasn't telling her everything. Naruto honestly felt a little bad for lying to such an innocent girl like Orihime who trusted him fully, but he wouldn't let that bother him.
She had been trying to lie and hide things from him for months, after all. He was just good enough to notice certain things, and she wasn't. Seeing that they were both done with their stories, Naruto decided to call it a night.
"You say that you're waiting for a signal from this Kisuke guy to let you know when you guys are heading out, right?" At Orihime's nod Naruto continued. "Well, when you get this signal, make sure to let me know so that I can join you.'
"Are you sure? We've been training for this for a while, so I'm not sure if it'll be safe for you to come with us." Replied Orihime with worry clear in her voice. Naruto knew she wasn't trying to be insulting with her words and was just worried about him.
Clearly she was still seeing him as the weak person she was helping out these last few months, but Naruto was sure her attitude would change soon. If these Shinigami were anything like the one from his world, then he was sure that this was going to be an extremely hard fight.
While the smart thing to do would be to try and talk Orihime out of her current planned course of action, that wouldn't be the Naruto thing to do. To try and talk someone out of trying to help a friend no matter the consequence would make him a huge hypocrite, so instead he'd go with her and help in any way he could.
"You don't have to worry about me, I'm a lot stronger than you're used to. I promise I'll be fine, and I'll do my best to help you guys get our friend back." Replied Naruto with his normal boisterous smile on his face.
While he had barely had any interactions with Rukia, that didn't mean he didn't see her as a friend in some way. He also knew that she was important to Orihime, so that increased her importance to him as well.
His smile seemed to be infectious as Orihime found she couldn't keep her own smile off of her face. "Okay, let's go save our friend together." She nodded with pure determination, as if failure wasn't even a thought, let alone an option.
"Yeah, let's go." Replied Naruto with the same amount of determination. This would be a good chance to make sure that he was really back to full strength, and also try and find out how this whole other dimension thing worked in this world.
Not only would he be helping Orihime, but also his chance of returning home. To think that just a few hours ago such a thing was impossible, but now he had his powers back and a potential way to get home, and all because of Orihime.
Naruto just smiled towards Orihime as he realized that he now had even more reasons to be thankful to her. With that thought Naruto got up and leaned over towards Orihime whose bed was only a few feet away.
Before the girl could react Naruto placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, which caused a massive blush to spring up on her face. "W-Why did you do that?" She asked. While she wasn't used to being kissed, she found that she didn't really mind Naruto doing it.
"That was the only way that I could think of to thank you for everything you've done for me since we met, especially in the last few hours." Replied Naruto with a true smile on his face, something that made Orihime blush even deeper.
"O-Oh, well you're welcome." She replied as she looked away from the blond in embarrassment for some reason. She didn't know why she was feeling like this, or why her heart was beating so fast, but she kinda liked it.
She let a small smile creep onto her face at the thoughts that began flooding her mind, though she made sure that Naruto couldn't see it. "We should probably get some rest." Said Naruto all of a sudden, which broke her from her thoughts.
"Yeah, we'll probably not have much time to rest in the coming days." Said Orihime, to which Naruto nodded and was glad to see that she was thinking things through. They were planning on infiltrating an entire society, so he doubted that there would be much time to rest as well.
With that final thought the two went to bed and tried to drift off to sleep, one giddy about the new turn of events, and one content with everything going on. Orihime could honestly say that she felt calmer now knowing Naruto was coming with her and she wouldn't have to worry about him.
After a few minutes of just laying there Naruto decided to speak. "Neither of us are going to be able to sleep now, are we?" He asked as he looked at the clock that read 10:58PM. The sigh that he got in response from Orihime was enough of a response.
"You wanna go for a walk? I have some things that I'd like to test." Stated the blond once more as he got up from his bed. Orihime was quick to get up as well and, after getting dressed, the two left their room.
xxXXxx
Within the next twenty minutes found Naruto and Orihime walking the streets of Karakura, though Naruto seemed almost ready to start skipping along due to his excitement of not being weak anymore.
"It's good to actually be able to walk at a casual pace again." Said Naruto who was glad that he didn't need his cane anymore, and could now walk faster that he could move in the last few months.
Orihime found herself releasing an amused giggle as she watched the blond practically bouncing along beside her, while also being glad that she didn't have to walk extremely slow anymore to allow him to keep up.
While she had no problem doing it while it was necessary, she was glad she didn't have to anymore. "What do you want to do while we have the chance?" She asked, to which Naruto seemed to ponder.
"Well I'd like to make sure that I'm back to full strength. My body feels fine, but I'd like to make sure before we head off." Orihime nodded at this.
"So how are you going to do that?" She asked curiously. She actually found herself wanting to see what Naruto was truly capable of. Naruto once more got a contemplative look on his face, before it was changed to a mischievous one.
Orihime immediately found herself not liking that look as she felt it meant nothing but trouble, and she was immediately proven right when she suddenly found herself lifted up bridal style. "W-What're you doing?" She asked in confusion.
"Making sure my speed is still what it used to be of course." Was Naruto's cheery reply. "Brace yourself." Before Orihime could question the blonde's statement, she watched as the world warped around her.
All she could feel was the rush of wind and the force pressing her down, but other than that she had no idea what was going on. She didn't even have time to scream before the world seemed to come back into focus. It took a few seconds due to the darkness, but the sight before her caused her eyes to widen in surprise.
The aforementioned sight was the base of one of the mountains near Karkura, something that she was sure was miles away from their previous position. It was then that her mind finally comprehended what had happened.
Naruto had moved so fast that she couldn't even perceive her surroundings, which was why the world seemed to warp, and the force she had felt was most likely g-force from the speed they were moving at.
After coming to this conclusion Orihime couldn't help the gobsmacked look she sent towards the blonds face, though she couldn't really see it in the dark. Naruto just smiled down at the girl in his arms, who he could still see clearly.
"It seems that my speed is still up to par, but I've gotta make sure everything else is still up to snuff as well." Said Naruto with his mischievous grin still on his face. He then proceeded to crouch down, an action that confused Orihime slightly.
Her confusion was soon replaced with shock when she felt them shooting off into the air. This time Orihime did get the chance to scream, especially when they reached the apex of the jump and she saw how high they were.
Somehow Naruto had managed to jump at least a hundred meters off of the ground, and they were now heading towards the mountain. Orihime screamed a bit louder when they began their descent and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck while burying her face in his chest..
She was expecting a harsh landing, but Naruto just landed softly on the ground before leaping right back into the air again. Once more Orihime was surprised by Naruto's jumping capabilities, but she refused to look due to her fear.
It was a few seconds after Naruto's second landing that Orihime decided to peek out her head, especially since Naruto wasn't doing any more insane acrobatics. She looked around in the darkness and could tell that they were now on top of the mountain.
Seeing that they were now on solid ground with no urgent plans to leave it, Orihime immediately released her grip and hit Naruto in the chest. "You did all of that on purpose." She said while trying to sound angry.
Naruto just grinned sheepishly, though she couldn't really see it, before he replied. "Sorry, but I haven't been able to do any of this in so long that I got a bit over excited. I really didn't mean to scare you."
Orihime pouted cutely at that. She just couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at him. "Fine, but you owe me for scaring me like that." She said as she crossed her arms and tried to look serious.
Naruto just chuckled at this. "Of course, whatever you want once it's in my power." Said the blond to which Orihime nodded in acceptance. It was then that Orihime noticed another problem.
Due to it being early in the morning, along with their current height, it was extremely cold. She was quick to begin shivering as the cold began to settle in, something which Naruto noticed immediately.
"Shit, I forgot about the cold." Said Naruto. Before Orihime could tell him it was fine she began to feel an extreme amount of warmth seeping out of Naruto. "Is that better?" He asked as he heated himself up a bit by using his Boil Release.
Orihime just snuggled up closer into the blonds chest to get more warmth before she replied. "Yeah, that's perfect." She said as she was beginning to get very comfortable.
"That's good. I wouldn't want you to be unable to enjoy this view." Said Naruto, to which Orihime turned to the direction that Naruto was looking towards. He was facing Karakura Town, which looked stunning with all of the lights shining in the dark.
"It's beautiful." Whispered Orihime, who had never gotten the chance to enjoy such a view of her town.
"I had a feeling it would be. Back home there was a mountain overlooking the village, and I would climb up there every now and again to just take the whole thing in."
"How does this compare to your home?" Asked Orihime curiously. She wanted to know how her own home compared to her friends own.
"I'd say it's just as good. The view is just as amazing." Replied Naruto before he felt a bit of homesickness begin to settle in. The view he was seeing might be just as good, but it wasn't home.
Orihime could somehow feel the sadness that had invaded her friend, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. This wasn't the first time that Naruto had suddenly become sad, and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last.
She procced to wrap her arms around Naruto's neck once more and lay her head upon his chest while just enjoying the view with him. The two just stood there, well Naruto stood while holding Orihime, for about forty minutes before Naruto decided it was time to leave.
"I think we should head back now, it's getting closer to that time. I wouldn't want us to miss our chance to go save Rukia." Said Naruto, to which Orihime just nodded. Naruto then began to get ready to leave the mountain, but Orihime stopped him.
"Do you think that we can take it a bit slower this time?" She asked, to which Naruto smiled and nodded. He didn't want to scare her again, so he would do as she asked. He then began his slower trek down the mountain, which took no more than ten minutes still.
He kept his leaps low, as in nothing higher than about five meters so that Orihime wouldn't get too worried. As they finally made it back down the mountain Naruto took off in a light jog back towards Karakura, though it was still faster than anything Orihime was used to on foot.
It took the two a little over thirty minutes to finally make it back to town, which was time that Orihime found herself enjoying immensely. As the two finally made it back, Naruto asked a question.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Asked the blond. He was a bit sad that he didn't get to check on all of his abilities, but he knew for a fact that this world didn't take mountains disappearing lightly.
For him to try out any of his serious techniques would bring far too much attention, something that he really didn't need. He would also wait to try out things like the Shadow Clone for now.
I'm fine doing what I'm doing now." Said Orihime in a dazed voice as she snuggled into his chest some more, before her eyes widened in shock and a blush took over her face. "I-I mean I don't have anything I want to do right now." She replied hastily while trying to cover up her slip.
Naruto just smirked at this. Before he could say anything to try and tease the girl, he found himself having to dodge a strange ball that was suddenly flying towards them. "What the hell was that?" Asked the blond in confusion.
The two teens then looked at where the ball had impacted on the wall beside them, and noticed a message that looked like it was from one of the horror movies that they had watched. The two quickly read the message about where to meet, and about not having a sense of humor.
Orihime seemed saddened that the message claimed she didn't have a sense of humor, but Naruto was quick to comfort her. "I guess that we now have our next destination." Said Naruto once he had gotten Orihime to cheer up again.
"Yeah, let's go." Was Orihime's reply. Naruto nodded before he took off across the rooftops, following the directions from Orihime since he didn't know where the shop was. It took no more than a few seconds for the two to reach the front of the store.
"I've been here before." Said Naruto as he saw the shop. He was certain that this was where he had run into those two kids. He then noticed a large figure sitting out front of the store.
It took him a while before he remembered that the boy was named Chad, and he was one of Ichigo's friends that he had met a while back. He had been quite surprised at the boys size when he had first met him.
Naruto and his passenger silently landed on the street and approached the boy. "Wow, you're really fast, Chad." Said Orihime in shock since she was sure that her and Naruto would be the first ones to arrive.
Before the larger boy could say anything they all noticed another figure coming running from around a corner. The figure was immediately recognized as Ichigo. "Wow, you guys are fast." Said Ichigo in shock to see the group already present, though his attention quickly shifted to Naruto.
"I couldn't sleep and decided to go for a walk when I got the message nearby." Said Chad as he pointed to a familiar set of writing a few feet from where they stood.
"And Naruto's really fast." Was Orihime's response, which got the two boys to widen their eyes in surprise.
"No way, that's Naruto?" Asked Ichigo in shock as he looked over the blond.
"In the flesh, and back in top shape thanks to Orihime." Was Naruto's reply as he smiled at the girl that he was still holding in his arms, to which she returned with one of her own.
"That's awesome, but why are you here?" Asked Ichigo.
"I'm here to help save Rukia of course." Replied Naruto, to which Ichigo narrowed his eyes to.
"And how do you know about that?" He asked seriously, but from the look on Orihime's face he didn't need an answer. This caused the boy to sigh as, while he knew the two had grown close, he didn't expect Orihime to give out such secret info so easily. He didn't see any point in involving Naruto in this, even if he was in better shape.
"Look, Naruto, I'm not sure what all Orihime has told you, but I don't think you'd be of any use on this mission." Said Ichigo. He wasn't trying to be insulting, he was just looking out for the other boys wellbeing.
Naruto just smirked as he placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Don't worry Mr. Shinigami, I'm perfectly suited for this mission." Was his response, which caused Ichigo to widen his eyes in shock at how much Naruto seemed to know.
It seems that you're more well informed than I thought, but are you sure that you can handle this?" Asked Ichigo since he wanted to be sure. Seeing the confident grin that Naruto sent his way, Ichigo decided to drop the subject.
"Is this everyone that's going? Orihime mentioned one more person." Said Naruto as he looked around for the last person that Orihime had mentioned was going with them. The one named Ishida, who had also been the cause of the Hollow invasion a while back.
"Yeah, where is Ishida?" Asked Orihime as she too began looking around for the last boy. Naruto tuned the other teens out as they began talking about Ishida not coming when he sensed that someone was approaching.
He noticed a bespectacled boy with black hear wearing all white with a bit of black approaching them with a bag slung over his back. "Is that him?" Asked Naruto while gaining the attention of everyone else.
As he saw the reaction from everyone else, Naruto let Orihime down and began approaching the bespectacled boy. "You're Ishida, right?" Asked Naruto as he finally got close to the boy, which had caused him to stop.
"Yes, and who might you be?" Asked Ishida curiously since he had no idea who the blond was.
"The name's Naruto. I'm a friend of Ichigo and Orihime, along with the newest addition to the mission." Said the blond with a huge smile on his face. Ishida was shocked by this new information, but he took it in stride.
"Well then I'm sure it will be a pleasure working with you." Replied Ishida courteously. He could sense that Naruto wasn't a Shinigami, even if his energy felt weird, so he would treat him courteously.
"I'm sure we will." Said Naruto as he held out his hand for a shake, which Ishida grabbed to do so. Ishida instantly regretted his decision as Naruto began to painfully squeeze down on his hand, almost bringing the Quincy to his knees.
"What are you doing!?" Asked Ishida in shock at the sudden act, which was even strengthened when he looked up and saw the completely dangerous look on Naruto's face.
"Orihime also told me that you were the one responsible for that little Hollow incident a while back. You know, the one that endangered thousands of innocent lives." Spoke Naruto harshly as he squeezed down a bit tighter.
"That was an accident. The bait was somehow way stronger than it was supposed to be." Stated Ishida while grunting in pain. If this continued then he could see his entire hand being crushed.
"Hey, what's going on?" Asked Ichigo as he noticed the confrontation happening, but Naruto just ignored him.
"Accident or not, it doesn't change the fact that you almost caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people, and for what? So you could have some type of dick measuring competition with Ichigo. Do something like that again, and you'll have me to answer to."
With those final words Naruto finally let the boy go. Ishida was about to respond, but he held his tongue when he noticed the look the blond was giving him, a look that promised nothing but pain for him.
So instead he just straightened himself while nursing his still aching hand, glad that it wasn't sprained or worse. "Was that really necessary?" Asked Orihime as she didn't really like the show of violence.
"Yes, it was. He almost got people killed. While you guys managed to handle the situation in the end, it could've ended a lot worse." Replied Naruto seriously. None of the other teens could argue since they had each gotten into a fight for their lives, and the lives of others, because of that incident.
"I know I made a mistake back then, but I promise it wont happen again." Finally replied Ishida. While he didn't know who exactly this blond was, he knew that he had a point. They were just lucky that things hadn't taken a worst turn that day.
"Good to hear. So, what now?" Asked Naruto as he was ready to get this whole mission started. It was then that he felt his whole body tense when he felt a new presence appear. He quickly looked behind him to see the hat wearing blond man that he had seen help Ichigo at the abandoned hospital.
"Everyone is here, including a new addition, that's great." Said the man as he looked at the younger blond. "Now follow me so I can explain how to get to the Soul Society." Said the man as he moved to enter the building.
"This guy is extremely dangerous." Thought Naruto to himself in caution. While he wasn't afraid of the man, he was cautious of him. That was probably why Naruto made sure to keep an eye on the man.
The man, Kisuke if Naruto was guessing right, the stopped in the entrance of the door before looking back at them all and began to speak again.. "Please listen carefully, otherwise you all might die before you even reach the Soul Society." He said with a smirk.
Naruto just scowled as they continued following Kisuke into the building. He soon led them to a hatch in the floor and opened it. They each followed him down the ladder that was there and found themselves in a massive underground cavern.
"Okay, this is actually impressive. I might need something like this for light training." Thought Naruto as he wondered if Kisuke had done this by hand, with some weird Shinigami ability, or if the cavern was always there. He especially liked how the ceiling looked like the sky.
Orihime decided to voice her own amazement. "Wow, this place is amazing. Who knew there was such a large space underground? It's almost like a secret underground base." Said the girl excitedly, which caused Naruto to smile.
"You, your reaction was perfect. I, Tessai, feel so touched." Said another bespectacled man, though this one was much larger.
"Oh, it's nothing." Replied Orihime sheepishly while scratching the back of her head. It wasn't long before Kisuke began to speak once more, gaining everyone's attention.
"Please look over here, we're about to go." With that, and a snap of his fingers, beams shot out of the walls. There were four in total, and they immediately formed a square beside Kisuke.
Naruto found all of his attention now on the paper wrapped object before him. He half listened to everything that was being said around him as he began studying what could only be the portal that they were going to use.
Naruto felt his throat go dry, along with his excitement rising at what was before him. This thing could very well be his ticket home, but first he'd have to find out how it worked.
He could tell that that wasn't going to be an easy task since Kisuke seemed just as cautious of him as he was , if the looks he was sending his way when he thought he wouldn't notice was anything to go by.
Naruto also found the talking stuffed animal, Kon, to be quite intriguing as well. He didn't pay him much attention, but he did wonder how something like that could be used for a Shinobi village.
He half listened to all of Kisuke's warning and advice, paying closer attention to any info that seemed relevant to either the mission or the gate itself such as the four minute time limit. His attention was once more diverted from the gate when he heard a deep voice behind him speak.
"Who are you?" Asked the voice, though Naruto wasn't surprised since he knew that someone was behind him. He turned around and noticed a black cat was standing there. Naruto, instead of answering, just kneeled down and picked up the cat.
"I'm guessing that you're the one who trained Orihime. Yoruichi, right?" Asked Naruto, to which the cat nodded in affirmative.
"Yes, that's me. I'm still waiting to know who you are, though?" Asked the cat. Naruto didn't answer as he began turning the cat every which way in his grip, seemingly inspecting it.
"I was expecting a bit more from the cat that apparently trained Orihime, but you're just a normal talking cat." Spoke Naruto. This seemed to annoy the cat as it tried to swipe at Naruto with its claws, which Naruto avoided. "Oh, you're feisty. I like you." Said Naruto with a smile.
"That's good to know, but you still haven't told me who you are." Said the cat while getting even more annoyed.
"The name's Naruto, and I'll be helping with the rescue of Rukia." Was the only response that Naruto gave as he let the cat drop to the ground. He then turned to continue observing the gate while Yoruichi went on to talk to Kisuke.
"Who's the new guy?" Whispered Yoruichi, trying to get any info she could.
"No clue. He just showed up with the others earlier, and he's going to be helping them." Replied Kisuke, annoyed that that was all the info he knew. He knew who the boy was, of course.
He was well aware that this was the boy that Orihime was taking care of, but he just didn't know what he was capable of. He was sure that Orihime's healing ability had something to do with the boys new condition though.
"Do you think that he can handle this?" Asked Yoruichi. She really didn't want any of these kids to die, and to bring someone along without even knowing if they could handle the situation was unwise.
"I'm sure that he can. I don't know why, but I'm sure that that boy is a lot more than he seems." Replied Kisuke in a serious tone, one which caused some surprise in Yoruichi.
"Do you think that he might be a threat?" Asked Yoruichi in concern.
"I'm not sure, but I want you to keep an extremely close eye on him and see what he's capable of." Said Kisuke, who received a nod from Yoruichi.
"Of course, no problem." Was the cats reply as the two nodded at each other. They would both do what they could to find out more about the new mysterious boy that had apparently came out of nowhere.
Little did the two know, Naruto could hear their entire conversation easily. This made him even more wary, but he would still do what he had to in order to save Rukia. He would keep as much of his abilities hidden that he could, but he wouldn't hesitate to go all out if he had to.
He was sure that it might come to that though, since he was going to be facing off against Shinigami if things went sideways. If these Shinigami were anything like the one from his world, then he was in for the fight of his life.
After a lot of explanations and planning it was finally time to go. Naruto watched as Yoruichi walked out in front of the group and spoke. He half heartedly listened to the back and forth between the cat and Ichigo, before everything was finally ready.
"Are you ready? The moment it's opened, you guys will dash in there." Said Kisuke, which caused everyone to tense in anticipation. A simple 'Got it.' From Ichigo was the only verbal response.
Ichigo then asked Kon to take care of his family, before Kisuke finally opened the gate. The group immediately rushed through and was consumed by a bright light. As the light cleared, Naruto found himself unimpressed by the sight before him.
In truth the view reminded him of being inside the toad stomach with how it looked. "I don't know why, but I was expecting a bit more." Grumbled Naruto, to which some of the others nodded.
As the teens continued to examine their surroundings, it was Yoruichi who pulled them out of their musings. "Hurry up and run. This place is closing in." Said the cat, which reminded everyone else of the current situation.
The group immediately took off running. Naruto made sure to stay in the back in case anyone needed his help, which proved to be a smart idea when Ishida was caught. Naruto quickly moved and freed the boy, which got him a nod of thanks.
As they continued running, Naruto began to feel something coming. He looked back, and could see what seemed to be a light coming towards them. "Um, what's that?" Asked the blond.
Yoruichi looked back for a second as what could only be described as a train from a horror movie burst out, before a look of horror appeared on the cats face. "Oh no, it's the janitor. It only comes around every seven days. Why today of all days?" Asked the cat.
Naruto was quick to notice that the janitor was catching up to them, so he quickly scooped Orihime up into a princess carry once more. If he had to, then he would also save everyone else, but for now they were keeping ahead a bit.
That assessment was soon proven wrong when it began catching up even more with the group. Naruto was about to save everyone else, but Orihime beat him to it. She quickly tried to use her shield to stop their pursuer, but things didn't go as smoothly as planned.
Due to that, there was an explosion that blasted everyone out the tunnel. Naruto was quick to catch himself in the air, and landed upright on Orihime's shield that had caught everyone. The others weren't as graceful with their landings.
Orihime, after getting over the shock of everything, looked towards the fallen form of Ichigo. "Kurosaki's landing pose is so artistic." Said the girl with a happy smile.
"Yeah, I can see all the thought he put into it." Replied Naruto, sarcastically, as he saw the poses that Ichigo and Ishida were in, poses that he never wanted to see any guy in.
"Oh shut up, you bastard." Grumbled Ichigo as everyone began getting up.
"I really didn't think we'd be so pathetic. Totally unexpected." Said Ishida as he rubbed his head. This statement caused Naruto to frown.
"Hey, don't lump me in with you guys. I'm not doing anywhere near as bad as any of you." Said Naruto, slightly annoyed.
"Yes, you seem quite comfortable." Said Yoruichi, as the cat had noticed that Naruto didn't even seem worried about anything that had happened so far.
"Let's just say that this isn't my first rodeo." Said Naruto with a smirk, which annoyed Yoruichi for some reason. Naruto watched as Yoruichi then began to reprimand Orihime for her actions, along with Ishida pulling out a spare cape.
Naruto had to give him some credit since he seemed to be the only one prepared, though not for the right things. It was at this time that the smoke surrounding them began to settle.
Naruto could safely say that the area they were in seemed to be a complete dump, and even seemed abandoned. Naruto knew better since he could sense the fear coming from the people watching them.
They had probably scared them with their entrance, which Naruto felt bad about. He once more began to partially listen as Yoruichi began explaining the different parts of the Soul Society, and how they were now in the poorest and most populated part.
He made sure to file away anything that might be important, while continuing to scout out his surroundings. He was brought out of his musings by a startled shout from Yoruichi. "YOU CAN'T JUST GO NEAR THERE! YOU'LL DIE!" He heard the cat scream.
He immediately focused on the figure of Ichigo running towards another set of streets, but Naruto couldn't stop the amazement he felt when what looked like sections of a wall started falling from the sky.
"That was so cool." Said Naruto in excitement as he saw that it was actually a wall, that had literally fallen from the sky. "I wonder if I can find out how they did that and apply it back home? I'll be the coolest Hokage ever with something like that." Thought the blond.
He could see the reaction from the other villages already when they saw the cool defense system in action. The village would look unprotected, but when an intruder got too close boom.
Giant wall in their face. This entire trip just got a hell of a lot more interesting to the blond. The feeling of negative emotions appearing behind Ichigo instantly sobered his mood though.
"It's been so long since someone tried to enter through the Spirit Gate without a pass. I finally have something to do. I'll treat you well, kid." Said a voice from the smoke. As the smoke cleared it revealed a complete giant of a man, larger than any Naruto had ever seen in his life.
The only time he knew of with larger people is when an Akimichi uses their family jutsu, but he had a feeling that this behemoth's size was natural. "Damn, he's huge. I wonder what the fuck they feed that guy?" Inquired Naruto in surprise.
This got a nod of agreement from his companions. The giant then slammed his axe down on the ground beside Ichigo before he stood up straight. "Bring it on. Attack from any angle you want, kiddo." Said the giant.
A serious look crossed over Naruto's face as he decided to observe the fight. He wanted to get a better idea of what the Shinigami of this world were capable of, so for now he'd observe and only get involved if he had to.
"Someone that huge, he can't be human right? Who the hell is that guy?" Asked Ishida with a bit of shock and fear in his tone. Of course it was Yoruichi, the only person who had any info, that answered.
"That's Jidanbou, the guardian of the West Gate. He's one of the elites of Soul Society." Said the cat, which caused Naruto to focus even more on the battle that was about to commence.
If this Jidanbou guy was an elite, then he would be a good way for Naruto to see where he stood. While he might not be fighting the man himself, he could still compare their abilities and skills.
The conversation between the Quincy and the cat continued. "A guardian, huh. So that means we have to beat him to get past." Stated the boy.
"Yes, but it's not that easy. He's been a guardian for three hundred years, and no one has ever gotten pass him."
"Is he that strong?" Asked Ishida.
"Yes! He is the legendary Hercules, and a single swing from his axe will make you disappear from this world."
"Then how do we beat him?"
"This is all about mental work." Replied the cat to Ishida before screaming out. "ICHIGO RETREAT! WELL COME UP WITH A PLAN!" Before anything else could be said, both Chad and Orihime took off towards Ichigo.
Naruto just watched since, if what Yoruichi had said was true, then the three of them might be needed to stand a chance. He saw no reason to help yet since he wasn't here to hold their hands and do everything for them, just make sure they didn't die.
This was still their mission, he was just a tag along. He was ready to move at a moments notice though, to help if the situation called for it. "CHAD! ORIHIME! DIDN'T YOU GUYS HEAR ME? COME BACK." Shouted Yoruichi while trying to stop the two teens.
They just continued on, but were stopped when Jidanbou swung his axe down into the ground. The force of the swing had upturned the ground into a wall that stopped the two approaching teens.
Naruto began toning everyone out partially as he began paying closer attention to the two combatants. With nothing more than a thought his eyes changed into the eyes of his Sage Mode.
He began sensing to see just how much power this Jidanbou guy had, and found it to be quite disappointing when compared to Ichigo. He knew from experience, however, that having more power didn't really mean victory.
He finally fully toned back into the conversation as he heard Ichigo talking about how he had spent his ten days training, and how he could handle things on his own. It was at that moment that Naruto finally moved from his spot.
He walked up to the barrier that was created and leaped atop it. "Don't worry, I have no interest in jumping in. I just wanted a better view is all." Said Naruto calmly when the giant shifted his attention to him.
"Finally it seems that there's someone who's civilized." Said Jidanbou, to which Naruto smirked at. This guy didn't know that Naruto was ready to shove a Rasengan into his chest if he had to, but Naruto would leave it to Ichigo for now.
It was at this point that Jidanbou switched his attention back to Ichigo, who had finally drawn his sword. Naruto was quick to notice that it appeared different than the last time he had seen it.
"Are you finished?" Asked Jidanbou, to which Ichigo smirked.
"I'm ready, though I don't remember asking you to wait for me." Was the orange haired males cocky reply. This caused his opponent to scowl.
You also one of those uncivilized people, so disrespectful." Said the giant, before he swung his axe at Ichigo. "I wasted my time for you, you should be grateful." He finished. A powerful shockwave was sent out due to the attack.
Naruto watched the entire scene without moving an inch before he smirked when he saw that Ichigo had blocked the attack with his sword while using only one hand. "Let's see what you're capable of." Thought Naruto.
With that Naruto proceeded to watch the mostly one sided fight between Ichigo and Jidanbou, with Ichigo as the clearly superior fighter. Even when the giant pulled out a second axe it didn't help him.
Ichigo just destroyed them both with a single swing of his sword when Jidanbou tried to attack him. "I gotta say I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting more from beings who call themselves Shinigami." Thought Naruto.
The giant of a man then proceeded to fall backwards until his back hit the floor. "What… What happened?" Questioned Jidanbou in confusion.
"Wha-What happened?" Asked Ishida who was in shock, along with Orihime and Chad. It was the latter that answered.
"That giant… That great body… Got blasted away." He said. It was at that moment that Jidanbou jumped back onto his feet. Naruto watched as the giant acted like he didn't just get his ass handed to him, before saying he'll just use his axe, which were already broken.
Naruto had to wonder of the guy had some type of mental problem or something. That question was only intensified when the giant started crying over his broken axes. "What the fuck is going on here?" Thought Naruto as he watched the scene before him.
He did his best to ignore the following conversation between the crying giant and Ichigo, who apologized for breaking both of the axes. "This had got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen." Whispered the blond.
Luckily, after Jidanbou had finished crying, things finally seemed to be turning around for the rescue team. They were all quite happy when Jidanbou began to open the gate for them to enter.
Naruto's danger senses immediately flared when he sensed someone on the other side of the gate. It came as no surprise to him when the giant froze in fear as the figure came into view, having sensed the negative emotions from the culprit.
It was a man with white hair, narrowed slit eyes, and a smile that was just creepy. He wore the standard Shinigami attire with a white haori over it. "Who is this guy?" Asked Ichigo.
Naruto instantly got Kabuto type vibes from the guy. "That's the captain of the Third Division, Gin Ichimaru." Was Jidanbou's fearful response.
"This is not allowed." Said Gin. Instantly Jidanbou's arm was cut off, with everyone looking on in shock. Naruto had seen what had happened, but he just wasn't expecting it. Gin's sword had elongated and cut off the giant's arm.
"That's too bad. You are a gatekeeper, opening the door is not your duty." Said Gin with his smile still on his face. Jidanbou was immediately brought to his knees as the gate began to drop down on him due to his now missing limb.
"Oh, you can still hold the gate even with one hand. No wonder you're one of the elites of Soul Society. Said Gin in an almost mocking tone. He then proceeded to talk about how Jidanbou shouldn't open the gat, even if he lost and ending by stating that Jidanbou should be executed.
He appeared to be about to finish the giant off, but he had to block a sword strike from Ichigo before the two separated. "What do you think you're doing, punk? Shouted Ichigo, who the proceeded to tell Gin he was his opponent, along with asking Orihime to look after Jidanbou.
After this point Naruto noticed something weird. Yoruichi had mentioned Ichigo's name, and Gin's whole demeanor seemed to change. "So, you're Kurosaki Ichigo?" Asked the captain in a bit of amusement.
"You know me?" Asked Ichigo in shock, but he didn't receive an answer.
"So he does exist. If that's the case then I really can't let you pass." Said Gin, while apparently walking away, though Naruto could tell that something was coming.
"Then why are you walking so far away? Are you going to throw that knife at me?" Asked Ichigo who was a bit annoyed at the situation. The moment Naruto saw Gin turn around and point his sword at Ichigo he moved.
With a simple molding of his chakra there was a puff of smoke which Naruto emerged from carrying a giant shuriken. He immediately appeared in front of Ichigo and threw the shuriken at Gin, along with grabbing and throwing Ichigo into Jidanbou which knocked him out from under the gate.
Naruto was quick to retreat back towards the other side of the gate where Ichigo and the others were before it slammed shut. At the same time Gin was shocked at what had just transpired.
He didn't let that break his focus though as he leaned out of the perceived path of the shuriken. His smile dropped though when he felt something warm drizzling down his cheek where the shuriken had passed by, along with a slight stinging sensation.
He brought a hand up to his cheek and touched it, before pulling it back. He could instantly see the blood that was covering his hand. "How! I was sure I dodged?" Questioned the captain who was baffled at the moment.
His shock soon turned to amusement as he remembered the blond who had managed to make him bleed. Now he was quite interesting, along with being an unknown. He was sure that Aizen would love to hear about this.
With that final thought he turned and walked back the way he had come from, not even caring for the blood that was still leaking from his cheek and staining his captain robes. "Perhaps this will be more interesting that I thought." He whispered to himself as his smile grew.
xxXXxx
Meanwhile on the other side of the gate everyone was looking at Naruto in shock. "What the hell was that for?" Demanded Ichigo as he got up off the floor. Naruto just calmly looked over the group.
"That was me saving your life. You couldn't even see what was happening, so I'm sure that that Gin guy could've killed you without a doubt if he wanted to. I just wasn't willing to chance it." Said Naruto.
"I'm surprised that you could tell what was going on. There really is more to you than meets the eye." Was Yoruichi's response who was happy that Naruto had done what he had.
She knew for a fact that Gin could kill Ichigo any time he wanted at their current level, and was glad that Naruto wasn't willing to let that happen. "Thanks, but what do we do now?" Asked Naruto.
It was then that they were reminded of the injured giant due to his groaning. "First, we'll handle him." Said Ichigo as the group began noticing people coming out of hiding. Naruto ignored this as he walked up to Jidanbou.
He inspected the clean cut that took his arm off and was impressed. While stretching swords weren't anything new to him, the speed that it extended at was. He then looked over at the limb that was laying a few feet away.
Naruto knew that he could heal the injury easily and in a few seconds at best, but he wanted to see how good Orihime's healing was. He already knew it was strong since it healed his coils, but could it reattach a limb?
It was a few minutes later when a group of men had finally moved Jidanbou's huge arm back to where it belonged and Orihime began healing him. Naruto just stood idly by and watched.
He watched as Orihime worked tirelessly for hours just to heal Jidanbou. While he liked her determination, he knew that she would have to get better. If they were in a fight, then this type of time wouldn't be suitable.
He watched as soon the wound looked like nothing more that a small cut, but he knew that there was more to heal. He looked back and saw Ichigo approaching with a cup in hand, something that Orihime didn't notice.
Naruto smiled as he could tell that this was going to be funny since Orihime seemed lost in thought. "Here." Said Ichigo as he held out the cup for Orihime, which caused the girl to shriek in surprise and Naruto to chuckle.
This earned him a pout from the girl as she now knew that he had expected this to happen. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You should take a break." Said Ichigo. At this point Naruto turned and walked away in a random direction.
I'm going to do some looking around. You guys do what you have to, and I'll be back later." Said the blond with a wave. He then began thinking about his plans that he had put in motion.
The shuriken that he had used was a transformed clone, and he had used it so that he could gain more info on the Shinigami with no actual risk to himself. By now his clone was already transformed into someone or something else.
They would go around unnoticed for as long as they can and gather whatever knowledge they could. Naruto would dispel them himself when they got passed the gate, if they hadn't already dispelled before that.
He also made a few more clones to go and check out the other gates and find out any more info that they could, with each one being transformed of course. He didn't want anyone knowing about his abilities after all.
He released a sigh as he couldn't help but to think that he was forgetting something, before something came cross his mind. It was at that point that Naruto remembered what he had forgotten.
With widened eyes he quickly took off back to where he had left everyone else. He burst into the building, but paused at the scene before him. For some reason Ichigo looked like he was in a fight, but that wasn't Naruto's problem right now.
"Where were you? We came up with a plan while you were gone." Said Yoruichi.
"Fine, inform me later. Orihime, we need to talk." Said Naruto as he ignored the cat.
"Sure, what's up?" Asked the girl in a bit of surprise.
"Did you let Tatsuki know that I was going with you?" Asked the blond, to which Orihime seemed to think about it.
"Um, no." Was her sheepish reply, which caused Naruto to sigh. Tatsuki was supposed to be looking after him when she could, so what would she do when she literally couldn't find him.
As far as she was concerned he was still weakened, and since she wouldn't be able to reach Orihime either, he could see the young karate enthusiast freaking out. "We're gonna have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do when we get back." Orihime just nodded her head in acceptance at this.
xxXXxx
The Naruto clone that had been used to attack Gin was creeping around and staying in the shadows. "Alright, let's see what we can find out." Whispered the clone as it made its own clones, three in total.
"What's the plan?" Asked clone 1A.
"Our mission is simply to find out everything we can about these Shinigami, so transform and spread out." Said the original clone. His clones nodded before they each performed a single hand-sign.
When the smoke cleared they all had different appearance. Three of the four clones then turned their attention to the last one, who had taken the form of a small golden fox. "Really, that's the form you're using?" Asked the main clone.
"Yes. You'll be surprised by what people tell animals, especially when they think that those animals can't tell anyone else." Was the clones response, which the others had to agree with.
Fine, but don't try and bring any attention to yourselves." Said the main clone as they all nodded to each other. With that the four clones took off in random directions to gather any relevant info they could.
xxXXxx
Back in the human world, a few hours after Naruto and the others had left, Tatsuki found herself approaching the hotel room that Orihime and Naruto shared. Orihime had told her that she would be leaving early that morning, so she wanted to make sure Naruto ate.
She quickly used the key that Orihime had given her to enter the room. She was surprised to find the room empty, but didn't see anything wrong with that. She knew that Naruto liked to go on walks to try and regain some strength, which was probably where he was now.
She decided to just wait, since Naruto's walks never really took long. Imagine her surprise when she waited all day, but Naruto never showed up. She was really worried now. The amount of things that could've happened to someone as weak as Naruto was numerous.
She had gone around looking for him, but could find no trace. She could feel her worry continue to rise the more hours passed. "Maybe he went with Orihime?" Thought the girl while trying to think positively.
It worked for a while before her mind asked a simple question. What if he didn't? She could feel the worry grow at this point. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to Naruto, or how she would tell Orihime.
xxXXxx
Alright that's it for the chapter. The next one will be following the clones that are gathering info, with some showing of the original and the training the group went through from canon.
I'll also show a bit more of Tatsuki as the days go by, to show how she's trying to handle the situation that she's in. Next chapter is also when Naruto, or his clone, finally meets a certain Shinigami, and I'm sure that some of you can guess how.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. So, as always, please read, review, and enjoy.