Yes, it's the beginning of chapter nine

Enjoy.

I don't own bleach. But who doesn't wish they could?

All the shinigami and shinobi involved in the collapse of the chuunin training center lounged in the hospital room. But that didn't mean that they were all at ease or even relaxed.

Rukia was sitting on a chair next to the sleeping Ino with a bandage on her arm. She looked at the kuinochi sadly. Ichigo and Renji were both sitting on a couch, both half-lying down and both stressed. Shunsui sat beside Ise, worried. Ukitake stood next to him and Neji's bed. Matsumoto was in a fitful sleep. Zaraki Kenpachi, after getting mistakenly attacked by Kurenai, was sitting on the floor with Yachiru, pissed off and bored. Even Yachiru was quiet for once. Hitsugaya leaned against the window next to Shikamaru's bed. There was complete silence in the room.

The door to the large chamber opened to reveal Sakura with a statistics report on her clipboard. Every shinigami, including Matsumoto since she woke up, turned to look at her. Sakura felt nervous with all of them looking like that; they weren't even talking to each other like they normally do. Gee…I feel so bad for interrupting when I really didn't do anything… She quietly walked over to the first patient on her list, Ino.

She looked at her friend. She was sleeping deeply and well. She was glad for that. She glanced at the report to see that she hadn't taken any serious wounds. Sakura nodded and set the IV again.

"Is she… alright?"

Sakura looked over to the shinigami, Rukia. Rukia looked extremely upset and worried. Sakura smiled for her. "Of course. She's not in any danger." Her eyes strayed to the bandage on Rukia's arm. She itched to heal it, but Tsunade-sama had specifically said not to heal the shinigami since they could possibly damage the soul. She moved on. This time it was Shikamaru.

She checked the report thoroughly. It said that he had been suffering under mild frost bites on his hand and his feet, but he was fine now, only sleeping. She frowned though. She looked outside to where the weather was relatively fine. It was spring time too. So where did he get the frost-bite? Sakura looked at the little captain. The captain stared back, but didn't say anything. She dropped her gaze and went on to Neji.

Neji had avoided much damage. Only a few minor cuts, but they had already been healed. He was to wake up soon since Kakashi had only knocked him out lightly. Another white-haired captain looked at her and smiled. She smiled back, grateful that she was welcome to at least one person.

Chouji was sleeping as well. He had some cuts though. They weren't really minor either. But they were not dangerous. The medic-nin looked at Matsumoto. She looked distracted, playing with her long tresses, unknowingly pushing forward her assets. Sakura sighed and wrote a note on the report.

Lee was doing well too. His muscles were recovering faster due to Tsunade's newly developed method of treating senkkai gate openers. Sakura checked off 'recovered' on her paper. She looked at the shinigami that had gone against him. They had taken barely any damage. They would have to be quite skilled to avoid injury with Lee-san… She shook her head and went to her next patient.

This one wasn't doing so well. It was the shinigami that had been attacked by Neji in his 'Hollow-state' as the shinigami had said. Her internal organs had been much damaged, but none of the medic-nins wanted to risk healing her either. Souls were delicate things. She sighed. The shinigami was in a critical state, but she could not heal her.

"Will she survive?"

She looked at the flamboyantly dressed man. She looked back at her patient. She didn't know what to say. Should she lie? But what if the shinigami didn't survive? Then she would be a definite liar. "She…"

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned gladly to the door. Tsunade stood there. "I have a shinigami healer. He'll help with the injured shinigami." She moved to the side to let him in.

Ichigo blinked. "EH? Hanatarou?" Hanatarou bowed. "Hello Kurosaki-san! I'm here to help." His tired looking face surveyed the scene. Then he found the bandage on Ichigo's wrist. "You've gotten hurt Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo looked at his bandage, having forgotten that he had injured himself. "Huh? O ya. It's nothing." But Hanatarou was already on it. He focused his reiatsu onto his hands, then to Ichigo's wrist. A minute after, he removed them. "There that should be enough." And sure enough, his wrist was fine. Ichigo moved it around experimentally. "Thanks."

Sakura watched. The speed of the healing was amazing! It was very similar to their healing methods. She decided that she would ask whether shinobi could heal shinigami or not later.

Hanatarou found Rukia also. "Kuchiki-san!" Rukia smiled at him. "Nice to see you again Hanatarou." Hanatarou bowed again. "May I heal your arm?" Rukia nodded. He set to work on healing. As with Ichigo, it didn't last long. The bandage was immediately off of Rukia's completely healed arm. Next was Ise Nanao.

The 4th squad member frowned. Shunsui addressed the 7th seat. "What is her condition?" Hanatarou jumped, startled. When he began breathing normally again, he addressed Shunsui's feet. "Ano… I will do what I can for her… but she should probably go back to Soul Society for a better treatment by Unohana-taichou…" Shunsui nodded. Hanatarou bowed before proceeding to heal Nanao to the best of his abilities.

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Hanatarou was soon asleep on Ise's bed, drooling a river. Sakura pulled a blanket over him. He had done much more than most had expected, healing at least four organs. She smiled when he tugged at the blanket. He deserved this sleep much more than he would think.

She looked back at the main room. All the shinobi were still asleep, but some of the shinigami had left, leaving all the captains except Zaraki. Tsunade was also there too. They seemed to be starting a meeting. Sakura stood, unsure if she was allowed to listen in. Tsunade, noticing this, nodded for her to stay.

Ukitake cleared his throat. "It seems like everyone had some trouble fighting our opponents today." There was no said agreement, though Shunsui nodded and Hitsugaya grunted. Tsunade just watched, sipping some tea. Ukitake turned to Hitsugaya. "Hitsugaya-taichou, do you have a report prepared?" From out of no where, Hitsugaya pulled a thick stack of paper and handed it to Ukitake. Ukitake nodded his thanks. He flipped through them, reading bits and pieces to himself. He then placed it on the table in the middle of them. "Do we have any comments on the incident today?" There was a silence. Ukitake just nodded. "I see… well, I do have an opinion… and a proposal." This perked the interest of the authority figures.

"I believe that today's incident could have been prevented, in the least, shrunk, if the shinobi knew some kidou."

Hitsugaya's green eyes became even wider. "Ukitake! Do you realize what this means? And the barrier was not truly a kidou. More of a bougyoudo, the miscellaneous arts. Even if you plan to teach them only bougyoudo, I doubt the commander will let you." Sakura stood, shocked. She had no idea the shinigami attacks were that complex too! Then again, shinobi had various types of attacks too. Ukitake sighed. He tried smiling, though failing miserably under the stress.

"But there is no other way Hitsugaya-kun. We do not know when something like this will happen again. Also, I believe it will come in useful. We will not teach all of them everything. Only a few select shinobi that the Hokage picks." He nodded at Tsunade in acknowledgement. Tsunade took another drink before speaking. "But to confirm, are you sure that my shinobi can even learn this kidou?" she voiced. Ukitake nodded.

"As long as they have enough chakra, they would be able to perform kidou."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was listening to a whole revolutionary movement! They were going to learn kidou! They would be like shinigami! She didn't know if she should be excited or dreading this new tactic.

Hitsugaya still looked unsatisfied. "But who would teach them? You are aware that all the Kidou Ops are too busy to spare time to tutor some shinobi. We do not have anyone left with time anymore." At this Ukitake slowly smiled. "You are not aware then… Hitsugaya-kun." He turned to Shunsui who also smiled.

"Hanatarou-san kindly informed me a while ago, before he fell asleep."

His green eyes could not possibly get any wider. "You mean…!" Sakura's curiosity overcame her. She had rarely seen Hitsugaya so surprised.

"Ano… My apologies. But who could this person be?'

Hitsugaya's expression immediately became blank. His green eyes had dulled. He opened his mouth.

"Hinamori."

Ukitake took full control of the situation. "Now then, we have it settled. We will write a proposal and have it delivered to Soul Society." Shunsui raised his hand like a school student. "I say let's have the 4th division member deliver it for us. He can take Nanao-chan with him!" he said. Ukitake nodded in agreement. "Of course."

"Also," Hitsugaya continued, "the substance that was collected from the training center."

All three captains began to write an official letter while Tsunade looked over her list of potential shinobi. Sakura went home, wondering if she should tell Naruto and Sasuke.

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"What is this?"

Hanatarou trembled. Why had the captains chosen him? Him? Of all people!

"Ano… It is…"

Hanatarou was stopped by Byakuya's cold 'I know what it is peasant' glare. Byakuya read it over again. He set it down in silence, further making the atmosphere uncomfortable. "I see. I will present it to the commander." Byakuya glared at Hanatarou. Nearly screaming like a little girl, Hanatarou ran out of the office.

Byakuya glared at the piece of statement in front of him. Not that it burst into flames or anything. It lay there, quietly and innocently. He looked at who had signed it. Ukitake Jyuushiro, Kyaouraku Shunsui, and Hitsugaya Toushirou. Typical. They were always working together for things like these. He also noticed a piece of paper stuck to the back of it. He took it off carefully.

Please bring Hinamori-kun with you!

Ukitake

Byakuya twitched. Beside Ukitake's signature was a happy blushing smiley. It annoyed him to no end. He wanted to scratch it out badly. He looked from the brush sitting idly on his desk, to the smiley. His violet eyes lost all resolve though. He wouldn't bring himself down to such a level. Instead, he glared down the shinigami passing by his office to a halt. The unfortunate victim started sweating already.

"Ano… yes? Kuchiki-taichou? Did I do something wrong? I apologize profusely. I did not mean it. I only wanted to-"

"Tea."

The shinigami blinked. "Pardon me?" The captain pointed to his empty tea cup. "I said tea. More tea." The shinigami surly grabbed the tea cup and bowed his way out. Kuchiki sat down more comfortably, relaxing as much as someone that uptight could. I hope he knows which tea I drink…I must have Abarai back soon to bring me my tea.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING!"

Sakura punched Naruto in the jaw. "Be quiet Naruto. We're right here, we can hear you fine." Naruto pried himself loose from the wall he had just destroyed badly. He rubbed his quickly swelling jaw. "Fine…" He walked over to the group of shinobi again. This consisted of team Kakashi, team Kurenai, team Gai, and the shinobi who were involved in the shinigami fights were all there. Which was everyone. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"So you are telling us that you don't remember ANYTHING from the fights?" The group shook their heads. "But you do remember being in the training center and the hospital?" They nodded at the same time. "You don't remember even the smallest details?" They shook their heads. Sasuke sighed. He felt like he was talking to a bunch of one-minded idiots. Sakura tried this time.

"Okay well, I'll tell you who you were up against, and maybe it'll ring some bells!" She took out a small notepad. "So, Ino, you were up against the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia. She's the small girl with violet eyes and black hair. Anything?" Ino shook her blond head. "O well. Shikamaru, you fought Hitsugaya Toushirou. He's the little one with white hair and green eyes." Shikamaru sat looking at the clouds silently. "Shikamaru…?" Shikamaru suddenly jumped.

"Sorry, what?"

Sakura had a little vein about to pop, but she smiled. "Oh nevermind…" She went to Lee. "Lee, you were-" Someone tapped her shoulder, interrupting her. Tenten then whispered in her ear. "I don't think you should be talking to him right now… He's still upset after hearing that he fought Gai-sensei…" Sakura looked at Lee. That explained the lack of smiles and 'youth' in general. She could practically see the rain clouds above him. "Well… I guess it's clear none of you really remember." The shinobi that fought all had sweat drops. "We told you that before…" they all muttered.

"A-ano… w-w-why are we a-all t-trying to g-get them t-t-to r-remember?"

Everyone was surprised that Hinata had spoken up, but could barely understand the sentence because of the stutters. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?" Sakura said. Hinata turned red at just the thought of repeating all those words. Fortunately, Neji spoke up for her. "She said why are you guys trying to get us to remember?" This immediately brought seriousness to team seven.

"Because… we're curious…"

The rest of them stared at the lack of explanations. "Why don't you guys just spy on them? It can't be that hard." Tenten said. Naruto jumped on the idea. "It is! I tried spying on that white-haired dude, not the short one, and he figured out where I was hiding!" Sasuke smirked. "Dead-last, you know you're the loudest shinobi in all of Konoha. I'm not surprised…" Naruto huffed.

"Well you didn't succeed with freaky eyebrows…" It was Sasuke's turn to get angry, except it came in the form of a glare and sulk. Sakura laughed nervously. "Come one you guys, cheer up! They're just kind of good that's all…"

"How good?"

The whole group jumped, or yelped, whichever was their style. Or just sat there like a piece of rock (like Sasuke and Neji). Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. Naruto laugh. "Hey! It's Gaara!"

"With Kankarou and Temari."

They looked behind Gaara to see the rest of the sand siblings. Gaara did his typical cool guy stand with his gourd while looking dangerous at the same time. Naruto wished he could look like that. "So what brings you here?" asked Sakura. His pale green eyes looked at the Hokage's building.

"Business."

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"Konbai!"

Matsumoto took yet another swig from her cup. "More please!" she roared. She hiccoughed and started giggling. Her face was a tell-tale red. Renji, her new drinking partner, was a quieter drunk. But nonetheless, his face was as crimson as his hair, making him look like a tomato. He hiccoughed. "Matsumoto… I think… I wanna stop nowww…" Matsumoto did an overly shocked face. "NO WAY!" She slurred, "You can't stop now! Here… have some more! Konbai!" She took another drink and started laughing. "We're celebrating here carrot-tops! Celebrate! We didn't –hic- die!" She giggled at her stoic captain. "Taichouuu… have some sake… it won't hurt to have some! About time you had it too…" She started to pour some into his cup, but he put a hand over it. The people at the other table stared at her like she was crazy. Feeding a ten-year old sake! The very thought! But that didn't bother her. She resumed her happy-drunk phase.

At the other table, Jiraiya was having a writer's block. More like a pervert's block, but either worked for him. He tapped his finger in frustration. What should they do after that move? The flow must be perfect! Then his wandering eyes landed on a lovely woman figure. It was really the chest of the woman, but to him, it was everything. He stood up, mouth open, nose bleeding profusely and drooling.

"Oh no! You're bleeding! Are you okay mister?" the serving girl passing by asked. Jiraiya wiped his nose and mouth. He moved blindly to the busty woman a few tables away. Unknowingly, he had come in a little too quickly, a little too rashly. He met Matsumoto's sturdy fist head on with his already bleeding nose. Jiraiya landed on the ground with a thud. Hitsugaya leaned over from where he was sitting. Matsumoto was still drinking her sake as if nothing had happened. Renji had a dopey expression on his face that clearly said that he had no idea of the events that had just passed. The perverted sannin twitched lamely on the ground.

"Oi… is he okay?"

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"Welcome Kazekage. You got my mail I suppose?"

Gaara didn't move from his seat. "I suppose that's the reason why I'm here, is it not?" Tsunade flinched inwardly. Ouch… cold… She cleared her throat. "So… let's get on top of things. We may need Sand's devoted help in this matter again…"

The Kazekage's gaze was fixed on the window, but his attention was entirely on the Hokage. "Hn." Tsunade shook her head. Even after he died, he was still stoic. She was about to speak again when he spoke first. "I assume… Tsunade-sama… that I must lend you some Sand shinobi… even if most are busy in the Sand." Tsunade smiled, grateful. She knew he would come through.

"Therefore, you shall have Temari and Kankurou."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow. To lend his own siblings! They were quite strong too…

"Also, myself. I shall see you a few days later than."

Before the Fifth could say anything more, Gaara had disappeared in a whirlwind of sand. She sighed and looked distastefully at the specks of sand quickly sinking in her cup of water. Children are so impudent.

Yay! Done! I'm sorry for the late update, but I COULD NOT SIGN IN TO FANFIC! I REPEAT, I COULDN'T SIGN IN! So, I took that time to look at the chapter more and catch up to some anime. Mostly catching up to anime. So yes, I finally hav matsumoto in there (I think it was qwerty who kept telling me to) so yep, I hope you're all happy hehe and just a notice, the next chapter will take place a week or so AFTER this one. So here it is again: A WEEK OR SO AFTER. Take this in mind ppl! And thank u to all those who reviewed lol.