Thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate the support! Here's the third chapter, my small present to you. Merry Christmas!


A mask of white that strikes terror in your veins,
Instilling icy, liquid steel to mingle with warm blood.
The chill collides with the boil of your soul,
Altering you from scorch red to a frozen hue.
Claws rip and tear through your flesh,
Pushing out the inside of you by force.
You scream, you howl, you roar.
But the only liberation you receive is the blade
That impales your hollowed heart.

Naruto woke up with a start, sweating from his touch with a nightmare. His chest heaved rapidly, aching from the hammering of his heart. He sucked in a deep breath through his mouth to steal more oxygen, calming himself down. He couldn't very well recall his dream; the only thing that flashed through his mind was the faint image of a grotesquely designed, white mask.

He heard a tentative knock at the door and raised his head. "C-come in…" he said warily. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a rather nervous looking boy. His hair was a soft black and judging from his eyes, he appeared to be either sleep-deprived or naturally neurotic. "U-um… Sir? I brought your breakfast…" he mumbled, timidly shuffling towards Naruto with a tray.

Naruto blinked once in confusion before taking note of his own condition. He looked at his hands, which were bandaged. He felt at his head to discover it was bandaged as well. "How long have I been sleeping?" he murmured.

"About 19 hours, Sir. You and your friends were in bad condition." The boy set down the tray at Naruto's bedside. The blond stared at the steaming bowl of rice and vegetables for a while before sweeping his eyes up at the stranger. "Who are you?"

The young person seemed to jump a little at the question, visibly flinching. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his jittery behavior; was he that scary to look at?

"H-Hanataro Yamada, Sir." he answered dutifully, albeit weakly. "Hanataro, huh? I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you." Naruto grinned a bit, getting the impression that Hanataro was friendly enough to be trusted. The boy seemed to be confused, but he breathed out a sigh of relief. "N-nice to meet you, Naruto Uzumaki, Sir. I'm… I get a little nervous sometimes, so I'm sorry…"

Naruto chuckled slightly. "Just Naruto's fine. I don't bite, so you can relax."

Hanataro's muscles stopped tensing at the reassurance, gaining a small smile from him. He had been fretting over delivering breakfast to the intruder, who he assumed to be very dangerous and mean. But luckily for him and his poor nerves, Naruto turned out to be quite amiable and open.

"W-well, I'll leave you to your meal. Excuse me, Sir." Hanataro bowed and started to walk out of the room. "Hey Hanataro." Naruto called, causing him to swivel around immediately. "Yes, Sir?"

"Drop the 'Sir'. I told you, it's 'Naruto'." He grinned. Hanataro seemed to teeter on the spot for a moment, but came to his senses and broke out in a full smile. "Okay. Thank you, Naruto." After earning a curt nod of approval from the blond, he quietly shut the door behind him.

Naruto sighed and stared at the warm bowl of rice at his side. "Just where are we?" His stomach gurgled, and it was then he realized that he hadn't eaten in more than two days. He eagerly picked up the bowl and felt his palms warm up from the ceramic. Taking his chopsticks, he shoveled a bite of rice into his mouth, chewing in thought.

"Man, I wish I had ramen right now."


"Captain!" The sound of thumping feet against wood sounded through the interior of a building. "Captain Kuchiki!" a voice persisted, trying to gain the man's attention.

The softer padding of feet stopped as a man of regal appearance turned. "What is it, Renji?"

Sandals slowed to a stop as a red haired man bowed slightly in respect. "Captain Kuchiki, what was happening with the alarm earlier? I've heard reports, but I still don't know what's going on."

"The intruders have been taken care of." The captain, Byakuya, answered simply. "As of now, they are resting in the medical division."

Renji furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement. "You saw them?"

"I stopped them from fighting the lieutenants of Squad 3 and 9. I have a meeting to attend; I don't have time to speak." Byakuya's cloak and scarf swished when he turned back around, walking around the corner and out of Renji's sight.

The lieutenant looked down at the floor in thinking, "Kira and Hisagi? I guess I'll have to talk to them for more on the situation…" he muttered, starting to walk in the other direction and confirm a meeting with his comrades.

When Naruto, Sakura, and Sai came to, they were changed into a set of fresh clothes while their original ones were washed and repaired. Naruto walked out of his room, rather annoyed with his current outfit, which was a standard, black robed uniform. He flapped the hanging sleeves as he walked, nearly tripping over his fabrics and new sandals.

"Che! These clothes are so annoying… I can barely move without falling over!"

"They do take some getting used to."

Naruto looked up from examining his attire, seeing Sakura, Sai, and his two teachers up front, all sporting the same clothing. Sakura clasped her hands behind her back and smiled a little. "Good morning." Naruto returned the greeting and stopped at their side.

"Okay. Better start explaining." he said, keeping his stare on both of his teachers. Kakashi and Yamato looked at one another before nodding. They stepped aside and gestured to the woman sitting at the desk. "This is Captain Unohana. She is the head of Squad 4, which is the medical division. Your wounds have been treated by the members here."

The motherly-looking woman smiled and nodded. "You have all been resting for a long while. You must have gone through a lot. Now, let's get to explaining. We have much to discuss."

"Captain Unohana already briefed us on some of what's going on. We're in some place called Soul Society." Sakura informed, revealing the place they were currently in. Naruto wrinkled his nose at the name. "Soul Society? How'd we get here? Who are these people?"

"Calm down. Allow me to explicate." Unohana said calmly.


After a long hour of explaining and questioning, the group finally received the majority of their inquiries answered. It turned out that Kakashi and Yamato had actually been staying in Soul Society for a week. No one knew the reason for their transportation, but they had been through the same tumults their students have, only seven days prior. However, in comparison, Kakashi and Yamato approached the situation more diplomatically and managed to smooth things over with the commander: Yamamoto. After much negotiation, they were deemed as not hostile. The three were told of shinigami and Hollows, as well as the 13 Squads and their corresponding captains. They were given background about recent events, including the treason of Aizen, Gin, and Tousen. Lastly, they were given some insight on basic skills and duties shinigami performed.

Needless to say, the three ninjas had to take the information in stride. The very thought of them being suddenly placed into a foreign world under unknown circumstances was mind blowing enough. Sakura and Sai understood the situation when Kakashi and Yamato assisted in explaining, but Naruto was still somewhat lost.

"Wait, what? Zan-paku-to?" His eyes became squinted like a fox, signaling his lack of understanding. "We already went over that five minutes ago." Sai said, making Naruto feel rather slow. He vigorously scratched his head, trying to piece everything together. "Aah geez! I'm not getting this at all!" he cried, frustrated.

"Don't worry. It takes time; you'll understand everything soon enough." Unohana reassured.

"Here's the catch for us staying here. It's unlikely that we'll be able to return to our own… 'dimension', if you will, in the near future, so for now, we have to go by the rules of Soul Society." Yamato said. Kakashi audibly inhaled, attracting the eyes of his three students. "What is it?" Sakura asked warily, wondering what was in store for them.

"We have discussed the situation with the Gotei 13's commander and agreed upon a compromise. In exchange for assisting us in finding a way back home and investigating the cause…" he trailed.

The three waited for him to continue. Naruto tapped his foot impatiently when Kakashi neglected to speak for a few seconds. "Come on, what do we have to do?"

"Yamato and I have agreed to submit ourselves—including you—to work under the Gotei 13's squads. We are held to serve as combatants against Soul Society's current threat. In other words, we're going to be temporary shinigami grunts." A moment of silence spread densely through the room like a thick bean paste. It wasn't until Naruto opened his mouth that the congealed stillness parted.

"… WHAT?!"


In Hueco Mundo, a white-grey haired young man walked through the dim lit hall from his own room. A loose, white robe hung over his shoulders, mildly fluttering each time he took a step. Jade eyes steadily kept staring ahead until he reached close to the doors in the front. They shifted to the right when a large, tanned man sauntered towards him, wearing a sneer of contempt.

"So you're Master Aizen's new pet, huh?"

The green eyed young man didn't respond as he stopped in front of the door, reaching for the bars to open it. "Feh… I knew letting in that pile of snake trash was a mistake…" he snorted in disdain, but found the young man's eyes pierce through his at the comment.

"Don't speak of Master Orochimaru in that manner." he said evenly, though one could tell that a knife edge rested beneath his smooth and level voice. The dark skinned man smirked widely at the response, bellowing out a laugh that gained no change in expression from the pale one.

"Are you threatening me, you disgusting gnat?"

Jade green eyes closed calmly as his head turned back to the door. "No. I am ordering you."

At the reply, the bulky man grew enraged, rumbling at the throat and throwing a massive fist at the smaller body. A pale arm raised itself, causing loose sleeves to fall gently to his elbow. The mammoth of a fist collided with the arm, but the young man didn't budge from his spot, effortlessly fending off the force of the punch with his frail-looking limb.

"W-what the?! Y-your bones! They're… They're not breaking!" the dark skinned man blabbered, widening his eyes in disbelief. The smaller one remained unfazed as he dropped his arm back to his side, allowing the sleeve to slide down again. He opened the door and walked through without saying another word.


Next- Chapter 4:Exhibition; the five ninjas from Konoha are ordered to demonstrate their abilities against simulations of Hollows. Shinigami witness their unusual powers as they begin to tailor them to the squads they are best suited to. Which squads will Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato end up in?