Different paths

"What's this?" Grimmjow hand was gripping a muddy cloth "It's smells like you, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo catched the thing and looked at it, it was a yellow ball with spikes, it was a plush, it was Kon.

"Man. What are you doing here?" He asked but didn't get any answer. "Hey! Talk!"

Grimmjow was shaking his head and his mouth let his upper teeth show, the reprobation at the scene displayed in front of him evident. Ichigo felt the blood gone out of his face, the silence from Kon was not good. He took his Substitute Shinigami insignia and hit Kon with it.

The green pill wasn't there.

"What's the problem" Uryu walked toward them followed by Orihime "Isn't that your doll?"

Ichigo face reddened as he raised a threatening fist and clenched his teeth "What did you say, Uryu? That you want me to kick your ass? Right?!"

"Can you let your children's play for another time?" Aizen requested with a evil smile as he arrived, his eyes appraising everyone on the glade "What do you have in your hands, Ichigo Kurosaki? And what are you doing, Miss Inoue?"

Orihime was crouching over a small bush, her fingers gingerly traveling the ground, even when everyone had focused her attention on her she keep doing what she was doing. Only muttering "searching" without turning to any of them. No one did nothing but watch her until she raised her hand, in the middle of her index and tumb there was a small green ball "Found Kon!"

Everyone was silent at her wide smile, even Aizen was midly confused at what was happening, until his eyes found Ichigo face and gave a Machiavellian grin. Ichigo tensed and was glad to notice Ichigo was already touching his Quincy cross.

"Kon? Might it be that modified soul that Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki rescued?" Aizen walked toward Orihime. Her reaction was fast: she closed her hand and took it towards her chest.

Ichigo got in the middle of the two, the madman like Ichigo was using a gigai that restrained his powers but he was still a creepy, crazy, dangerous piece of shit. The teen wasn't going to ask how Aizen knew about Kon, but he was not going to let him touch the mod-soul or harm Orihime.

The brown eyes of Aizen widened a fraction and his lips formed a line before going back to his amused face and then the traitor hid his hands inside the pockets of his trousers. It was one of those things Aizen did to raise a person anger but Ichigo wouldn't fall for it. Instead, the substitute shinigami dropped his fighting instance, he had made peace with the fact that he needed to trust Aizen.

After some seconds of silence the traitor began to walk again and everyone followed him.

Orihime keep Ichigo pace and gave him Kon pill after making sure that Aizen wasn't looking, her warm hand barely touching his in the interchange. It felt different than before, his gigai senses were different and he knew he needed to get used at the change.

"We need a plan to enter the village. I assume you have one already" Uryu began and Aizen, as if a magic spell was whispered, began a long monologue about a fake past for everybody and then made lectures about medicine.

Ichigo would have rolled his eyes, but Grimmjow perpetual glare and snarl was enough to appease the substitute shinigami mood. It was like watching a mad cat trapped inside a box and with that thought the teen was happy enough for the rest of their journey.

Ichigo looked again at his fake papers, trying to figure out when Aizen had done the forgery of them. There was even a photo Ichigo didn't recall being taken. It was quite the mystery and it would remain as one because Ichigo wasn't going to ask.

What's a fake paper compared to a fake body? Ichigo touched the orange hair of his gigai at that thought. It was an annoying shell, it get tired faster and had lesser endurance that his body. Ichigo couldn't help to think about Urahara. The scientist would have crafted gigais suited to battle, capable to winstand the spiritual energy of Captains without the restraints.

Maybe Urahara and the rest were working in how to retrieve Ichigo and company? If any man could think them were in another dimension was Urahara, so even if Aizen turned out more a danger that was worth it, everyone could still return home.

"Next"

The words cut Ichigo musings and brought him to reality. He was in an office that attended foreigners that wanted to be inside of Konoha, how did they have a interview so fast was another mistery that Ichigo didn't want to pry on.

The teen got in front of the officer that would decide if he could live inside Konoha. A middle age man with dark brown hair looked at him, or more accurately, observed the orange hair of Icihigo with disgust.

The teen almost scoffed at that. Apparently hair that looked bleached was always seen as wrong in all dimensions.

"What's your reason to move to Konoha" The man asked, his black eyes observing Ichigo dismissively.

"Work in the Hospital, we heard there were spots"

"Where did you hear that?"

"A passing merchant" Ichigo said with even voice. The story that Aizen had hammered on them easy on his lips. Just wanderers from a crushed village in search from the safety of a Hidden Village. Aizen was their teacher in the art of healing people and even Grimmjow was forced to remember the parts of the body in their walk. Ichigo was grateful that his father had a clinic, just so Aizen wouldn't scold him as he did the Espada.

"Mmm...I see..." The officer hold the paper against the light and looked again at Ichigo.

"What did you do before?"

"Study" Ichigo answered and knew that's how far he would go.

The man raised from his chair and went to talk with the girl in the next desk and both decided something in whispers. Ichigo couldn't muster enough care about the whole affair, in perspective very few things were worth getting mad at.

Failure at something as simple as getting inside Konoha was not the world end. Back home there was a sort of real world end happening and Ichigo planned to return and stop it, so he smiled back at the man obvious smile.

Next he went to the waiting room and looked through the window, watching the people go in their normal lives, there were people with headbands among the rest, walking with more confidence that the others. Probably those were the ninjas, if he closed his eyes and tried to perceive their riatsu there was something that set them apart. They weren't normal humans and their energy showed it, but were something different that spiritual aware people on his world.

Ichigo closed his eyes and then opened them to look at his hands, the strange energy in the ninjas and civilians was on his gigai too, so he probably could train his gigai to do magic Ninja feats. That was a plus at least.

"Cheer up, Kurosaki" Uryu said as he adjusted his glasses, he was probanly having an internal fight between the side that was glad Ichigo failed and the one that wanted Ichigo helping to keep Aizen under control "At least you will be outside"

Ichigo glared at Aizen. The older man was smiling from the other side of the street. The madman had made it, along Uryu, Orihime and Grimmjow, all of them had permissions to work for an Hospital. Aizen and three of his "apprentices" were going to work and live in Konoha and the other two were going away.

Chad and Ichigo were apparently not Aizen's best "medicine apprentices" and their "teacher" was going to bid them farewell to look as the kind person he was portraying to be.

Uryu was smart and keen, if he believed Aizen were a danger to Orihime he wouldn't be following Aizen's plan. So, Ichigo would trust the Quincy and go to another place. With his bankai travel was fast (and flying was really good to short time between places)

"I think you two will do fine, I hope the time apart would make you wiser and help you mature"

Ichigo and Chad nodded, both were amazed in how they took the traitor words without making a scene. Magical ninjas on the watch it was better if they just acted as mature students giving their good byes to teacher and friends and taking wisely words to their hearts.

"Yes. Uryu...I need to request something" Ichigo gulped a little as he looked at his friends blue eyes, knowing full well that he didn't need to say anything more. Ishida raised his glasses before nodding.

"You too. Be careful. Ichigo, Chad" the Quincy made a try of a smile but dropped it before his last word was carried away by the wind.

Orihime smiled at them first, then she tried to embrace Ichigo and Chad in the same hug "Good luck, guys" she said without losing her smile. She had faith in them and that was enough for Ichigo to walk away without any fear.

There was not a "see you later", it was not needed.

"I expected Aizen to send Grimmjow with instructions for us. What are we supossed to do now?" Ichigo said to Chad, Konoha a day away and a earth path stretching on the horizon towards the unknown.

"Learn?" Chad ventured an answer, even if he himself had no idea.

Ichigo was glad that it was his best friend the other one rejected, by the subtle hints of happiness on Chad face, the substitute shinigami knew the feeling was mutual. Whatever risks the magic Ninja world trowed them, the two men would face them without problem.

"Yeah, let's learn of this world...and find a village. That's what we are going to do!"

The two friends walked without knowing where they were going. Ichigo noticed, that for the first time on his life, he was aimless in his adventure, but as always, he had company.

Some things never change after all.

...

Naruto Uzumaki, the most unpredictable student in the Academy had a feeling of uneasiness since the morning. That was normal when he had a exam the next day, he looked at the dark sky outside his window and wondered once again why did he care to study.

No one would care about his grades either way...

Naruto scolded himself before thinking about his next prank, he had to study.

...

To be continue

..Do you think that if I ask for reviews I will get them? Anyway, thanks for reading.