Strawberries and Fish Cakes

Chapter 2 – Welcome to Soul Society

Naruto spun around at rapid speeds and although his body screamed for him to let go of Sakura, he refused, and then two spiraled around like leaves in a whirlpool. Both of them were screaming, but they couldn't hear their own voices, or Sasuke's for that matter.

Naruto's skin felt like it was about to be ripped off, but he bit his tounge. He wouldn't let him or Sakura either.

Just when he felt like he was about to explode from the pressure that enveloped him, plop! He and Sakura were spat out onto lush, green, terrain.

"Ouch! Ow! Ow! Ow…" winced Naruto as he rolled over the grass. He dared open his eyes and gazed up at a cloudless, blue sky.

However, Sakura wasn't in his arms. Panicked he called: "Sakura-chan!" and sat bolt upright, only to find her right next to him. She was unconscious, but breathing.

"Thank God," he sighed with relief. He winced again as he held his broken arm; he would have to get it casted. He looked around, taking in his surroundings.

He appeared to be in some sort of garden. There were rocks, trees, and even a fountain, all surrounded by a huge wall. It was also very quite; there wasn't a soul around. (no pun intended)

Wherever they were they were safe…for now.

Naruto turned to Sakura and began to shake her arm. "Sakura-chan wake up…wake up Sakura-chan, wake up."

Her eyelids fluttered a bit then opened. Not knowing who was touching her, she shrieked, and lashed out one of her feet and got poor Naruto square between the legs.

"Aaah!" Naruto yelled as her foot connected with his crotch. "Ow, not again…"

"Oh, Naruto!" she exclaimed, surprised. "Don't startle me like that!" Then seeing his broken arm she said, "Naruto, take off your jacket."

His faced blushed a rosebush of red.

"Oh just do it you idiot," and she activated her medical ninjutsu.

As she healed him, he broke the silence and asked the question. "Sakura, are we dead?"

"Probably not," she answered, still concentrating on the task at hand. "Otherwise, your injuries would probably be fixed."

"Well then, where do you think we are?"

She shrugged and Naruto continued to look around. The building that surrounded them all had the same symbol on them. A crest maybe?

"There," she said, clearly unsatisfied. "That should hold you up until we can get you some real medical attention."

But before Naruto could reply, they were suddenly ambushed by strange men in purple suits.

Sakura and Naruto instantly drew kunai. Sakura knew that being shinobi, they could easily take these guys, whoever they were. But she was worried about Naruto. He didn't need anymore injuries than the ones he already had. She could tell behind that mask of confidence that his fight with Sasuke had worn him down mentally, physically, and emotionally.

She began to send her chakra to her fist.

As the men charged, Sakura stuck – not them, but the ground. It cracked and the whole garden practically exploded, and the whole world seemed to shake.

Meanwhile, a certain long-haired, serious captain felt the blast and looked to see a great cloud of dust rising up from…his manor.

He peered at it before vanishing, heading toward his home.

Sakura and Naruto fled the scene. "No matter how many times I see you do that, it never gets old," Naruto grinned.

Sakura smiled back and the two leaped away.

"Why are we here again?" asked an impatient red-headed (well it actually orange but you get it) teenager.

"I already told you Ichigo; the Bounts," replied a petite, stern girl.

"Well yeah but those are in Karakura Town, and I don't give a damn about the Bounts anyway!" Ichigo retorted. "Besides I thought you were gonna stay here."

"I have been, but it's really boring around here…"

"I guess compared to me everything is boring," he said slyly.

"Perhaps, but that's not a good thing, anyway, you're the one who insisted on coming to get me, so quit whining."

Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh, and the girl said, "Just let me tell nii-sama and we can leave."

But Ichigo wasn't listening; he was staring at the massive cloud that was rising over the horizon.

"Uh, Rukia, what the hell is that?" he shouted.

"What? Oh my God, what the-? Come on Ichigo!"

They raced toward the scene.

"Excuse me sir can you- Hello, ma'am, I was wondering if – Do you know where…" Sakura was looking for someone who could point them to a hospital, but know one gave her the time of day, and it was really starting to piss her off.

"People here are so damn rude," she muttered. Naruto was about to pass out in the middle of the street because no one would stop long enough to listen.

"Um…excuse me…miss…"

Sakura spun around to find a small, coy-looking boy with short hair looking up at her.

"Uh…if you need to go to a hospital um, I can take you to one…" the boy stuttered.

"Um, thanks, sure," she replied to the awkward boy. He turned around and led the way.

Naruto peered at the kid. He was sure small, and the way he was stuttering, it reminded him of Hinata.

Then, a severe avalanche of homesickness tumbled over Naruto and chilled him to the bones. What if they couldn't get home? What if they never got back? What if he never saw his friends again? What if he couldn't be…He didn't let himself finish that sentence. He had to think positive.

"Hey kid," he said louder than intended, startling the boy into tripping as he turned around. "What's your name?"

"Naruto, be more polite!" Sakura scolded.

"I'm Yamada, Hantarou, the 7th seat of Fourth Division," he answered bowing.

"I'm Haruno, Sakura."

"Name's Uzimaki, Naruto. Nice to meet'cha, but what's a Fourth Division?"

Hanatarou then realized that these two weren't Shinigami. "Um…I'll explain on the way."

"Nii-sama! What happened?" Rukia called to her brother as he surveyed the destruction of his yard.

"Wait up jeez Ruki- WOAH! What the hell happened here? Did an atom bomb go off or something?" Ichigo yelled.

The damage was quite impressive. The ground was mutilated beyond belief. Huge cracks and rivets ran over everything, boulders stuck up everywhere, and leaves littered the surface. A chunk of the wall was blasted out and the patio was cracked in several places. He also saw a few Koi fish flopping around, their vital pond now destroyed.

"The guards informed me that the damage was caused by a pink-haired girl and a blonde male." The man, Byakuya, said calmly.

"Yachiru and Izuru?" Ichigo thought, clearly confused.

"They were not Shinigami," he stated as if reading Ichigo's thoughts.

"What are you going to do nii-sama?" Rukia inquired.

"Tell my division to keep a look out for them," he answered, "but I don't think it will be hard to spot a pink-haired girl accompanied by a boy who wears nothing but orange."

"I don't get it."

"Uzimaki-san, okay I shall explain again."

"Give it up Hanatarou-kun; he's never going to get it."

"Oh well," Hanatarou sighed, "well here we are, Fourth Division's relief building. Good luck Uzimaki-san, Haruno-san. Welcome to Soul Society."

"Thanks Hanatarou," Naruto called. "Come on Sakura-chan let's go."

They checked Naruto into the hospital, and the medical personnel treated him quite fast but let him stay the night in his hospital room for the night.

Sakura stayed with him partly because she had no where else to go, and partly because she didn't want to leave him alone.

She sat down by the window and looked out at the setting sun and thought about the things Hanatarou had said, about the Gotei 13 and Hollows and Pluses. He had also told them about soul burials. So at least she knew they weren't dead, yet anyway.

"Soul Society hm?" she whispered to herself, gazing out at the cities. If this was were said Shinigami lived, Seireitei, than those small towns, just dots on the horizon, must be Rukongai.

Maybe Sasuke was out there? Maybe he was looking for them? Maybe he was dead?

She turned to a bandaged-covered Naruto, who was sleeping soundly. Inwardly, she smiled. As long as she had Naruto, she knew things would be alright.

"Who cares about Sasuke?" she whispered, forcing herself to drop the honorific. "He's probably dead anyway…good riddance…"

Sakura watched the moon rise as she slowly dozed off by the window to Naruto's steady breathing.

But Sakura was wrong. Sasuke was alive, very alive. However he would hate that fact even more than her quite soon…