"Speech"

Thought

Scene Change

Technique's

I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens
By: Draco Kamikaze

"DOBE!"

"TEME!"

Two thunderous war cries rang out as the two boys slammed into each other, neither one of them wanting to lose any ground. A few of the newer people were watching in awe at their ferocious battle, while a few of the people who'd been there for just a little bit longer preferred to remain as far away from the commotion as possible. After all, these fights were over an object of great worth, and things could get ugly very fast.

Said object was a measly loaf of bread that was sitting in the very epicenter of their battleground.

They'd crossed over quite some time ago, about of month or so, arriving in a place that the people called the Rukongai, a place where different souls would gather after they died. The Rukongai was divided into eighty-two 'districts'. The lower the number, the better the environment where you lived. They'd arrived in the seventy-second district, a place that, while not that good, was actually a decent place to be. Of course, after you were there for two weeks with nothing better to do, you have to get creative to have fun.

Thus, watching Naruto and Sasuke fight over who got the bigger half of bread became a common sight for the people there. It kept them strong and alert, and gave the people who didn't need to eat a little entertainment.

Naruto swung wildly for Sasuke's face. Sasuke smirked as he countered with by dodging inside 's guard and slamming his fist into his gut. Naruto stumbled back a few feet before returning to the battle. Once again, Sasuke would dodge and attack when showed an opening. They both knew that Sasuke had a slight edge skill wise, but Naruto was a monster for punishment.

Naruto struck at Sasuke's head with his leg, trying to knock him over. Sasuke almost missed the oncoming strike, and Naruto got a glancing blow to the side of his head despite his last second dodge. As tried to bring his foot down, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Sasuke's sweeping kick, which made him fall quite ungracefully onto his butt with a loud grunt as the air was forced from his lungs.

Naruto and Sasuke gasped for breath, both glaring at the other as they picked themselves up. This was a deciding part of the match; whoever made the first move could either end the match then and there, or find themselves on the ground in defeat. Neither of them wanted to lose, and yet neither of them could afford to make a wrong move.

Lightly sidestepping around in a circular motion, they both took deep breaths. Finally, Naruto stomped his foot on the ground, trying to pull a feint on Sasuke. Surprisingly, Sasuke fell for the feint and charged forward, quickly finding his counterattack ruined by Naruto's sturdy form. Sliding into a deeper stance, and then moving his right leg a little further back to prepare for his next strike, Naruto let Sasuke continue forward till he was directly in front of him till he moved. Swinging his right foot in an arch-like motion, he quickly called out the name of his strike. "Konoha Reppuu (Leaf Gale)!"

Unable to slow himself down, Sasuke found himself unceremoniously knocked over Naruto's leg as his legs were knocked his own out from underneath him. It was anything but a textbook strike; not at all like the strike Lee had used on Naruto the first time they'd met. Naruto's small ego had stung a little bit, but no so much when he realized how hard Lee must have trained to learn the taijutsu that he had. That had actually perked his interest, and he eventually began learning a little with Gai before and after Lee's operation, which was why he was able to perform the Konoha Reppuu, and had a slightly better taijutsu form. Had he asked Kakashi, who had still been recovering from Itachi's attack, he wouldn't have gotten anywhere. Besides, having a hands on teacher was a big change for him, necessary for his learning; while not at all helping his sanity.

Naruto slowly straightened out, a dirt covered grin on his face. He walked over to the bread and picked it up. "I win."

Sasuke grumbled as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Naruto broke the bread in half, tossing the smaller portion to Sasuke. Sasuke mumbled, "I guess I'll have to call that a first. You actually managed to knock me over with the last strike."

Naruto chuckled, sitting down next to him. "Well, you don't have a bigger edge anymore since we can't perform any jutsu here. Remember, no chakra?" he waved his arms around as though he were trying to emphasis his point.

Sasuke shook his head. "How can I not remember when you remind me every two hours or so?"

Anyone else walking by who might have heard their conversation would have thought that the two hated each other from the very cores of their souls. But in their eyes, the semi-playful manner in which the verbally struck each other was almost comical. After realizing that Itachi wasn't going to be dead for a while, Sasuke had finally given up on trying to kill him. He still retained his cold, 'I really don't care' attitude, but he was actually getting along better with Naruto. Death does that to a person; makes them rethink how they lived their lives, and try to make them better. Or was it near death experiences?

Naruto on the other hand found that there was little to change about himself. Sure, being a hyperactive loud mouthed brat never helped him in life, but at least now they wouldn't scorn him about how it was unfit for a shinobi to be so loud. Of course, if a shinobi saw him in his white yukata, they might have screamed in pain. If orange was a horrible color to wear for a shinobi, then white was twenty times worse. After all, at least with the orange he could blend in with a few of his surroundings. White was like painting a bulls-eye all over again to any enemy he met; a symbol of purity or not.

Sasuke glanced over at , who was happily munching on his bread. "Hey dobe, why do you think we don't have chakra anymore?"

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I really don't know. Maybe…that weird stuff Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin talked about…what was it called?"

Sasuke looked away lazily, not at all surprised that Naruto had forgotten for the twentieth time that day. "Reiatsu?"

Naruto snapped his fingers with a grin. "Yea! That reiatsu stuff! Maybe that stuff took the place of our normal chakra, and because we don't know how to feel it, we can't mold it. If we know how to mold this stuff, we could possibly be able to perform jutsu's again!"

Sasuke shook his head, tearing a small portion of his bread off. "Dobe, your reiatsu is your 'spirit pressure'…so it probably ties into the two halves of chakra that we used to mold together."

tapped his head thoughtfully. "You mean spiritual and physical energy?"

Sasuke nodded. "Our chakra was divided into two parts, a spiritual part, and a physical part. These bodies can't really be considered 'physical', although they do have a form. We're basically just spiritual entities that are bound together to maintain a human-like form."

Naruto shook his head, ripping another portion of the bread off. "Then why is it that whenever I feel for this energy, I can't? If we're spiritual entities, shouldn't we be able to feel and mold this energy?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. However, did hear something from some of the people in town that might be helpful."

Naruto put the last piece of his bread into his mouth. Grinning at what Sasuke said, he motioned for him to continue. "They said that it was someone called the Shinigami who sent them over here to the Rukongai by performing something called a Konso. Apparently they are people who have a large amount of reiatsu and are sent over to the physical world to help souls pass over, as well as patrol for Hollows."

Naruto stopped in mid chew. After taking that in for a moment, he swallowed quickly. "You mean that there are people here who know how to control their reiatsu? And they might know how to teach us?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yea. Some of the older people keep talking about how there's supposed to be a squad of them coming through here on patrol later today. They seemed kind of excited."

Naruto grinned. "Do you think it would be too much to say hello?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know, what do you say we find out?"

Naruto's grin widened as he began to bolt down the street. "Last one there smells like rotten milk."

Sasuke blinked as he watched the blond run off, his mind slowly processing what he'd said. Then, "Hey! Get back here dobe! I'm going to break you legs for this!"

"It's not my fault you're slow!" Naruto yelled back as Sasuke began to run after him. laughed into the wind as they soon came side by side, running through the streets to where the Shinigami were.

Five Hours Later

"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto yelled as he flopped onto his back, rolling in the grass that was just outside the gates of the district.

Sasuke glared at . "Shut up dobe. Just because we got here a little early doesn't…"

Naruto quickly sat up. "No, a little early would be an hour before they came. Three hours is pushing it…to the extreme! Five hours is like freaking torture!!!" He growled again as he violently pushed himself back onto his back. "They're as bad as Kakashi-sensei!"

Sasuke sighed as he sat down beside . Truth be told, he wouldn't sweat when the shinigami showed up; for all he cared, they could show up a midnight two days from now. But with Naruto whining like a little baby for three hours, he was beginning to get a little peeved. After all, who in all the Elemental Countries could stand listening to Naruto whine about how late someone was for five hours. A person of even the strongest mind would collapse after listening to him whine like that unless they were some kind of mindless drone or completely deaf person.

After another couple of moments, he saw the small group of shinigami headed their way…at least, he thought they were shinigami. They were dressed in black kimono's, which would stand out amongst the white yukata's they were wearing. For a second, he was almost tempted to tell Naruto that they were coming just to shut him up. But the prankster side of him…that tiny little kid that had been once locked away, was telling him to let him stay in a funk for a while longer. After all, he wouldn't be on the receiving end of Naruto's fury when he went off. Plus, it would be funny to see how they handled an infuriated .

As they approached, Naruto noticed their presence. Realizing that these people were the shinigami they had been waiting for, an almost evil grin covered his face. As they drew closer, he jumped to his feet. "WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN!?!"

It was so rewarding to see their shocked expression as they jumped back. While wasn't really angry, he was definitely ticked at how long it had taken for them to get there. Lucky for them, one of the guys was able to recover a little bit faster. "Meh, we saw a small gathering of Hollows and went to cleanse them."

Naruto and Sasuke knew a little bit about Hollows…in passing. From what they knew, Hollows were souls who were so consumed by a negative emotion that they eventually lost their heart, and had a large hole appear in their chest. They were supposedly monstrous in size, with white masks covering their faces. The masks were supposed to protect their dark intentions from damage.

It was the Shinigami's job to cleanse them for the souls they had consumed while they were Hollows. Their own souls were supposed to be cleansed from the mistakes made as a Hollow, although they were still judged on their past mistakes.

Naruto scratched his head, trying not to growl. It was a good excuse, and there was really nothing for him to say anything since they had come up with something reasonable enough to placate him for now. Of course, if they said one wrong thing, he planned on knocking them dom come.

Then the man who had first spoken just had to open his mouth. "Of course afterwards, we stopped along the way to have a nice large dinner in the fifty-third district. That took about an hour of our time, and we ended about a half hour ago, so don't sweat it shorty."

There was a long pause. A dark, chilling aura slowly swept over the poor Shinigami. A few of them stepped back in fear from the amount of spirit pressure that was suddenly being emitted by Naruto. After a second, he glared at the shinigami. "…shorty?"

Sasuke winced. It was time to unleash the fury.

With a loud roar, Naruto tackled the poor man to the ground. The other shinigami moved out of the way as he began to wrestle with the man, trying to get the upper hand. Realizing that he couldn't fight fair, Naruto did everything and anything that he could; bite, kick, scratch, punch. Needless to say, the guy didn't seem very pleased by it, and soon began to employ a few of the same tactics against Naruto.

The shinigami watched in amazement as the two of them continued to wrestle each other. For a brief second, they thought that their friend would win as he got on top to pin him; until Naruto used his short size to his advantage to get his feet planted into his stomach and launched him over his head. He landed with an undignified gasp as the air was knocked out of him.

Panting lightly, Naruto slowly stood up. Watching his new adversary was standing as well; albeit, let winded than was. Naruto grinned. "So, ready for more?"

The man chuckled. "Sure kid. Say…what's your name?"

grinned, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "Uzumaki Naruto."

The man blinked. "Wait…are you sure you're not Namikaze Naruto?"

Naruto stopped grinning. The sudden memory of his real heritage came back to him, and he realized that all he knew was his dad's nickname. He didn't even remember what the guy's last name was. "Uh…I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

The man pulled out a piece of paper. "We were ordered by Byakuya-taicho to retrieve two powerful souls who had recently been sent to the Rukongai. They are known by the names; Namikaze Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stepped forward. "I guess you found us then."

The man blinked. "Uchiha Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded, making the man grin. "Well, that makes our job all the more easier. How about we wait here for the night? It's getting pretty dark out, and most Hollows prefer the night time to attack. We'll explain a few things before we go to the Seireitei."

Naruto grinned. "Will you teach us something cool?"

The man shrugged. "I guess so; we weren't instructed to do so, but it'll be something to do to pass the time. Come on, let's go back inside."

As they began to walk back into the district, Sasuke stopped. "Hey, wait a minute." The guy stopped, glancing back at Sasuke's criticizing face. "What's your name?"

The man grinned. "I am the third seat in the thirteenth division of the Juusan Gotei (13 Shinigami Court Divisions), Shiba Kaien."

Later

"Holy…"

"I know."

"He didn't…"

"But he did."

Kaien could barely hear the idle chatter of his squad as his ears were still ringing. The reason being that he'd been forcefully sent into a wall. After shaking his head, he began to realize that Naruto was shouting something. Trying to read his lips was pointless as the boy kept on moving around, and wouldn't hold still.

Getting frustrated, he grabbed 's shoulders. "Calm down. Now, I want you to repeat what you said…slowly."

Naruto gulped. "I said I'm sorry. I don't know what happened; I just pushed everything I could into the technique and it sort of…"

Kaien held up a hand. "It's alright , it's my fault. I should have told you to regulate your reiatsu output. I mean, I didn't realize that you'd have enough reiatsu to do this with the first Hado (Destruction Spells)."

This…being that he'd forced Kaien completely through a wall. It was his own fault for volunteering to act as the test dummy for the boys practice. He thought that it would have taken a moment or two, trying to feel the flow of their reiatsu, and then forming it with the Hado's chant. Of course, the moment Naruto felt his reiatsu, he stood up and shouted the Hado, no chant or anything like that; just the name of the Hado. And that's how he found himself thrown through a wall.

Working out the kinks in his neck, he grinned at . "You know, the only reason you need control is so that you can learn the Bakudo (Binding Spell). Cause if you don't…you'll have a hard time passing the academy."

Naruto suddenly had a look of terror on his face. "…we have to go to back to an academy?"

Kaien tilted his head to the side as he gazed curiously at the blonde. "Um…yes? How else did you expect to become shinigami? If we just let anyone go out, we wouldn't have anyone left as they'd all be dead. Plus, most people don't have your natural talent."

He was surprised by the smile that suddenly gave him. It was one that seemed to be made from embarrassment and pride; it was like he had somehow fed a dying flame, and its light was returning. He couldn't help but feel happy for the kid as well.

Sasuke grumbled as he stood up. "Hey dobe, come here."

Naruto smiled as he skipped over towards Sasuke, not realizing what Sasuke was planning. "What do you want –?"

"Hado 1: Sho!" Sasuke yelled, punching his fist at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself flying backwards at a high speed. Unlike Kaien, he didn't have a nice, hard wall to stop him. He soon found himself tumbling through the grass a ways away. When he glanced up, he saw Sasuke looking smugly at him. "Teme!"

"What? I didn't get a turn, and I didn't want to further injure Kaien-san. I wanted to see how much damage I could do if I forced all my reiatsu into my first Hado Besides, you can get injured all you want since you're not as cool as we are." Sasuke placed a hand on a confused Kaien's shoulder and gave his trademark smirk.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!" Naruto roared as he quickly rushed back into the home, tackling Sasuke.

Kaien and his team watched the two of them kicking up a large dust cloud. It was quite humorous to see two talented boys going at each others throats like little kids. It was more than obvious that they hadn't been dead for long by their behavior, but a few of the members couldn't help but feel a little weak. Sure, Kaien had totally left himself open to that hit; but had it been them, they doubted they would have moved him more than a foot or so away from themselves. Things would be quite interesting with these two around.

After another moment, they realized that neither of them appeared to be winning their little fight. Kaien sighed, "If you two don't stop this foolish fighting right now, I'm going to leave you here tomorrow."

As quickly as it had started, the fight stopped; both Naruto and Sasuke sitting cross-legged with semi-innocent looks on their faces. After all, it was more fun for them than it was dangerous. As they continued to smile at them, they began to feel a sudden weakness start to overcome them. Within a moment, they were on the floor, sleeping soundly.

Kaien glanced at the two of them, chuckling a little as he covered them with a blanket. "Naruto and Sasuke huh? I do believe that the Seireitei's going to be quite interesting with them around." He glanced back at his squad. "Alright, we're going to rest for the night, understand."

One of the members glanced at the large wall. "Um…Kaien-dono, what should we do about the wall?"

Kaien shrugged. "Just say that a Hollow tried to get in and we stopped it. That's the usual B.S. we use, right?"

After thinking it over, and deciding that they were still pretty tired, they walked to their respective rooms to sleep. Kaien just grinned. "I can't wait till they get their power tamed; it'll be a sight to see them walking around as Captains."

Later That Night

Naruto rolled over on his sleeping mat, listening to the soft snores of the other people around him. But for some reason, he himself couldn't get back to sleep. The silence was giving him a lot of time to think, and some things had come up.

For one, what would he do now? He was becoming a shinigami after all his life wanting to be a shinobi. And yet, it felt good to be around people who didn't hate him; it was like going from an environment you hated to do something you loved, to going to an environment you loved to do something you had no clue about. So confusing, and it brought no comfort through the night.

After a couple seconds, he sat up. There was something that was bothering him more than those thoughts; something he actually had avoided thinking about since he'd arrived in the Rukongai. He slowly stood up, walking over to the hole in the wall. As he stood there, staring at the moon and the stars in the night's sky, the final problem he'd been wrestling with returned.

What do I do…since I can't become Hokage?

He'd remembered how he'd been so vocal about it; becoming the strongest Hokage ever to get the respect of the villagers. But here, there wasn't a Hokage…or any other kind of Kage if he thought about it. And he wasn't going to stop becoming a shinigami just because of that…it was just something to think about.

What now? How do I live my second life? Is this really what I want?

...…it is.

Naruto jumped, glancing around. Seeing no one else awake, he gazed out into the surrounding forest, trying to see who might have spoken.

"Hello?"

Protect them……your precious people.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" whispered, trying not to awaken anyone as he raised his voice to a level that anyone outside could hear.

Protect them…protect them…protect them…

After a couple seconds, the strange voice began to fade away. Naruto glanced around, realizing that he was alone. Groaning, he rubbed his head. "I must be crazy, hearing voices…ha!"

Turning around, he slowly slid back onto his mat. This time, his mind was strangely clear, and soon he was fast asleep, none the wiser about what had just transpired.

Next Day

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared at their new surroundings. They'd long left the Rukongai, and entered the Seireitei; it was nothing like he'd expected it to be. He really wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like, but it was far beyond anything he'd expected. People were walking around, conversing with each other, training each other, and just simply walking around.

Kaien noticed the sudden excited look on Naruto's face, and couldn't help but grin. It was infectious. Which couldn't be said about Sasuke and his cloud of gloom. He too had the same kind of curiosity, but there wasn't any active enthusiasm. He just had something to akin to lust in his eyes for a moment as he noticed some of the different zanpakuto's that people were using in their sparring matches. After a couple seconds, he began to clutch his head, as if desperately trying to suppress some painful memories. Kaien decided to ask him about what he'd been think about…much later. It looked like he was trying to forget something really, really painful.

"Alright, you guys, go ahead to our division! I want to see a report on Ukitake-taicho's desk before he got back. Dismissed!" Kaien yelled, watching his squad run ahead to their division, cheerful smiles on their faces. Kaien grinned as he turned back to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright you guys, we'll be going from division to division to let you get a feel for how things run around here. You'll have to go through our academy course for the next ten years before you are accepted to test yourself into your very own division. While you're there, you'll learn Kido (Demon Path), Hakuda (Hand-to-hand combat), Hoho (Step method), pure speed, and finally Zanjutsu (swordsmanship)."

Naruto scratched his head. "Um…I didn't catch half the stuff you said, but that last one sounded really cool!"

Kaien chuckled. "Don't worry; they'll cover everything more than once, so you won't have to forget. You'll do great."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Kaien-san!"

Sasuke frowned as he continued to look away. It was weird, how he was unable to make friends as easily as was, and yet at the same time, he wanted to be Kaien's friend. He'd constantly avoided friendships because he was scared that he would become attached to that person, and be unable to kill them when the time came. But since he no longer had the Sharingan…did he really need that old habit? He was going to have to think long and hard on this.

After a moment, Kaien stopped in front of a fairly large building.

He stopped, "This is the Thirteenth division, led by the captain Ukitake Jushiro. Our vice captain died recently, so we're trying to figure out who's going to become his replacement." Kaien grinned. "I'm one of those who is most likely to become it…I'm not sure if I'm qualified, but Ukitake has been really insistant about this. Oh, ohayo Ukitake-taicho! I'm just introducing a newbie around before I take him to the Sotaicho. (Main general)"

A white haired man walked towards them, a warm smile cross his face, "Ah, good to see you Kaien-san. How has your training been going recently?"

Kaien chuckled nervously. "Well…I'm getting it in whenever I'm not out patrolling the Rukongai."

Ukitake nodded. "That's good to hear Kaien, I'm sure that you'll make a fine vice-captain for me. And who are these two with you?"

Kaien grinned again. "These are Uchiha Sasuke, the broody one, and Namikaze Naruto, the short blond kid."

"I'm not short!" Naruto yelled while Ukitake simply laughed. Naruto pouted. "It's not funny."

Ukitake just shook his head and shook both their hands. His eyes flickered in surprise by the amount of reiatsu these fresh souls had in comparison to some of the others he'd felt. He laughed lightly. "Well, I must say that it's good to see we have some fresh talent preparing to join our ranks. Good luck to the both of you."

Naruto and Sasuke both waved back at him as Kaien led them on in their tour of the Seireitei.

The next stop was the twelfth division. Needless to say, found that Naruto's eyes were flickering around as he looked at all the different test-tube things in the science lab, feeling a small amount of disgust as he did so. Sasuke looked curious, but had a similar feeling when Naruto told him that he could have easily become part of something similar by joining Orochimaru. After that, when he looked at them, he couldn't help but see himself in all of the tubes…it was disgusting.

"Captain of the Twelfth division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Vice-captain is his 'daughter', Kurotsuchi Nemu. They aren't here right now so…let's move along!" Kaien said as he quickly hustled the two boys out of the division, obviously discomforted by being in the division.

Naruto was rather pleased to find that the next division was nothing like the twelfth. "This is the haven for all fighters, brawlers, and other such people, the Eleventh division. Captain, Zaraki Kenpachi. Vice-captain, Kusajishi Yachiru. Kenpachi is clinically insane, but he and a lot of the Eleventh division are out Hollow hunting, so we shouldn't have to worry about meeting him yet."

As they were about to leave, a small pink-haired blur suddenly came flying through the corridors and knocked Naruto to the floor. "Ohayo minna! (Hello everyone)"

Naruto grunted as he slowly picked himself up. "Um…hi?"

Kaien sighed. "This is Yachiru-fukutaicho. She usually remembers people better by giving them nicknames."

Yachiru nodded. After a moment of looking around, she spotted Sasuke. She tugged on Naruto's yukata. "Hey Kiroi-chan, what's wrong with Chicken Butt Haired Dude?"

Sasuke blinked as he realized that she was talking about him. Before he could say anything, Naruto chuckled. "No Yachiru-chan, it's Kiroi-kun. As for Chicken Butt Haired Dude…no one knows what wrong with him."

Kaien had to physically restrain Sasuke from killing Naruto and Yachiru as they bid farewell to each other and moved on to the next division.

The Tenth division was different to say the least. Naruto didn't bother restraining his laughter as he saw a grumbling Hitsugaya Toshiro surrounded by large piles of paperwork. It reminded him so much of how he would find Sarutobi whenever he'd try and visit him. The vice-captain was absent, so after a while they left to go to the next division. Naruto was quite happy to find another person who didn't appreciate people making fun of his size.

Ninth division was even more contrast to the first divisions he'd been too. There was a silent, tense atmosphere. Everyone was either training by themselves, or sparring with each other, but…there wasn't any energy in it. Naruto silently prayed to Kami that he wasn't put in this division; he didn't think that he could handle having to be silent all the time. Plus the captain, Kaname Tousen was way~ too quiet.

Eighth division was a happy contrast to all the other divisions they'd been to. As they walked in, they were greeted by the sight of Ise Nanao bashing Kyouraku Shunsui into the ground with a book, yelling about how he was a captain and needed to act as such. It was kind of funny to see someone else on the receiving end of a woman's wrath, but Naruto couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the man. He was probably too old to break his habits, and if Nanao didn't stop beating him, he was going to have serious brain damage. Sasuke just gave himself a silent reminder not to tick girls off.

Seventh was like Ninth division all over again. The captain, Komamura Sajin, wore huge armor and a helmet, making him look like a giant oversized samurai, and reaked of strictness. The whole division was filled with the same feeling as they bid him farewell. As they left, they also met the vice-captain, Iba Tetsuzaemon. He wore sunglasses and acted really weird. Sasuke resisted the urge to snort when he heard how many curse words he could put into a sentence.

Sixth was a shocker; silence again. Although, unlike the other silent divisions the captain, Kuchiki Byakuya actually didn't seem that bad of a guy. A little strict, but overall nice. Naruto swore he'd heard the guys name before, but couldn't place his finger on it. Sasuke just laughed at the dobe's incompetence; this was obviously the guy who'd sent them here in the first place…but he wasn't going to tell him that. Better to let him figure it out for himself.

Fifth was boring. The captain was an okay enough guy; but as they gave a quick greeting, Naruto couldn't help but feel a weird feeling whenever the two of them locked their gazes. From that glance, he could feel that the man seemed to be hiding something. Aizen Sosuke…he'd keep his eyes on him.

Even stranger was the vice captain, someone named Ichimaru Gin. He had this constant smile on his face, and his eyes didn't look like they were going to open any time soon. Unlike Aizen, Naruto clearly felt an immediate dislike for the man, but just pretended to ignore him as they moved on. Sasuke just gave the man a curious look before walking off. It would take too much time to try and understand why Naruto didn't like this guy even if he felt the same way.

Now they headed off to the Forth division, to which Naruto smacked his head. Was every division silent? He was pleased to meet the captain, Unohana Retsu, and the vice-captain Kotetsu Isane. Both of them seemed like really nice people, and even Sasuke couldn't help but politely bow before leaving.

Third division was confusing, seeing as there wasn't a captain or a vice captain around. Naruto and Sasuke both tried to get Kaien to tell them what had happened, but he told them he didn't know himself. All he knew was that one of the former captains had gone insane, and had done something to several of the other captains and vice captains. It was too vague, but enough to satisfy them for the time being.

Second division was next and both the boys couldn't help but palm their faces. The vice-captain was a royally fat pig named Omaeda Marechiyo. Kaien had explained that Second division specialized in assassination and Hakuda, and the only one of those he could see this guy being able to perform was Hakuda…if he could see his opponent from behind his bulk. Sasuke took notice of how he held his sword, noticing that he seemed inclined to keep his hand off it most of the time he talked with them, while other shinigami kept their hands on it when they spoke. For someone of Second division to not be on guard while meeting new people…showed a giant lack of common sense.

When they moved further in the division, they soon entered a room with a futon laid out in the middle of it, with a short woman stilling cross-legged in deep meditation. She was wearing her standard Shinigami captain's uniform; her navy blue hair is worn short with two long braids covered in cloth. She had a calm and cool aura about her, one that tested both Naruto and Sasuke's nerves as they made certain to look her in the eyes. For some reason, they were certain that if they looked anywhere else…their lives would be in jeopardy.

After bowing out, they finally reached their long awaited destination, the First division, where the Sotaicho Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni was waiting for them. His vice-captain was away so his third seat, Sasakibe Chojiro, who led them in front of the General and creator of the thirteen divisions in the Seireitei.

"Ah, Namikaze Narutoand Uchiha Sasuke I presume?" the old man said in a gruff, yet kind manner. Naruto had to hand it to him, he could tell that the old man was really strong, and to keep it like that at such an old age was an impressive feat. It reminded him of the Sandaime Hokage while he was still alive.

Sasuke's entire attitude seemed to completely change in this guy's presence. It was like he was suddenly respectful of the authority and authority that this old man held. He wasn't sure why this change suddenly came over him, but it was kind of like looking at a person who was a combination of Orochimaru and Kakashi; noble, yet ruthless. "It is a pleasure to meet you Yamamoto-sotaicho."

Naruto grinned. "Uh yea, what he said. But could you please call me Uzumaki? It feels so weird being called Namikaze, even if it is my real last name."

Yamamoto chuckled, "I do believe that it won't be a problem. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you as well. Now, I'm sure you are both aware of Naruto's situation as the holder of the Kyuubi no Yoko, are you not?"

Naruto winced, obviously not really ready to share that kind of information with the general public. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, not sure whether he was surprised or relieved. After all, it would explain how Naruto suddenly became so strong during their fight in the Valley of the End. But then, like most people, he'd thought that the Kyuubi had been killed by the Yondaime.

Yamamoto noticed the strange change in both their attitudes. "I'm sorry Naruto; I didn't realize that the Sandaime hadn't told anyone of the truth. I will have to speak with him as soon as I can." Noticing both their confused looks, he quickly explained. "I was the one who was summoned to pull the soul of the Kyuubi, as well as Orochimaru's arms, out of them. Your Yondaime is currently sealed away in Level 8 until he's finished recovering from being in contact with Kyuubi's soul. On the other hand, your Sandaime should be coming out of Level 2 soon; it took a lot less out of me to take two arms than it was to take a whole soul…a demons soul no less."

Nauto nodded, understanding a little better; Sasuke was probably more confused than he'd ever been in his life; and Kaien was staring at with something akin to awe. He'd heard of the Kyuubi…everyone in the Seireitei had heard of him. However, by the disturbed looks on their faces, he was sure that they didn't know its entire history. It would be quite funny to see their reactions when they heard it.

Yamamoto continued. "Now, let's discuss you're new duties. You both are quite lucky, considering your previous circumstances should have mutated both of your souls into Hollows; but, even if by mere luck, both of your souls appear to have come out more or less unharmed. However, that is no reason for either of you to skip our ten-year course in the shinigami academy."

Naruto groaned as he remembered what Kaien had told them as they'd been coming to the First division. He'd failed the shinobi academy three times while he was alive; how was the shinigami academy supposed to be different. Sasuke seemed to share his resentment as he scowled at Yamamoto. He was an Uchiha, one who could be considered the closest thing to royalty in the Elemental…

Sasuke groaned inwardly and shook his head. He wasn't in the Elemental Countries anymore, and he didn't have the Sharingan or his clan to back him up. In this world, he was as good as worthless; sure he had reiatsu, but he really didn't have the skill to use it at the moment. And with no clan history in this place, he would be at around the same level as would be; nothing more than a common person. But…to see things from 's eyes might be a change in things; maybe even show him how it was that had become powerful, Kyuubi or no Kyuubi.

"You will find that during this process, you will learn all kinds of Kido, Hakuda…"

Naruto raised his hand. "Um, Kaien-san already told us all the things that would be covered in the academy."

Kaien suddenly stood ramrod straight. No one interrupted the Sotaicho when he was telling them anything, period. He gave Yamamoto an apologetic glance as he turned to lightly glare at him.

Yamamoto just smiled. "I see…then that means that I'll have less to discuss to you."

Kaien let out a small sigh of relief. They weren't going to be in trouble. That was the last thing he needed seeing as he didn't have many chances to become a vice-captain. Plus, if he didn't get the position, he'd probably get sent out to the real world again; meaning less time with his wife. And that was something he really didn't want.

Yamamoto chuckled once again, "Uzumaki, Uchiha, let it be known that I expect you two to pass this course with flying colors. I shall see you in ten years time. Good day and good luck."

Dorm Rooms

"Ok…you mean to tell me that I'll be living with someone who I've probably never met before, and I'll have to get along with him for the next ten years? Who chose the room setting?" Naruto said in a deadpanned tone. While he wasn't against meeting new people, he really wanted to be with someone he knew. And since most of the people he knew were still alive, other than Sasuke, there wasn't much chance of that happening.

Kaien chuckled, "Don't worry, Nanao choose the room settings so that they wouldn't have people of similar genders in the same room. Now, if it was Yachiru-fukutaicho that picked the lots, it would all be pure luck who you got. Don't worry; it won't be as bad as you think it'll be."

Naruto scoffed, "Easy for you to say, you're already out of the academy and in the field. I'm not saying that I won't survive, just that it'll be a lot harder to make new friends here…I'm sure of it. By the way, thanks for wasting a whole day with me and Sasuke. It was really fun."

Kaien chuckled. "Well I must say, if you're worried about making friends, don't. I mean, you probably already made a friend today, even if you didn't know it."

Naruto looked up at Kaien. "Would you consider us friends?"

Kaien blinked. Then, after a couple of seconds, he grinned. "Sure, we're friends."

Naruto grinned. "Then you'd better promise me that the next time I see you, you're the vice-captain of the Thirteenth division, and show me a few more totally awesome techniques that you've learned!"

Kaien nodded. "Hey, tell you what. If you can get good grades for the next five years, I'll teach you the basics of Shunpo (Flash Step)."

Naruto blinked. "Shunpo? What's that?"

Kaien grinned. "It's a technique that only vice-captains and captains are supposed to know. It's basically a much faster version of the Hoho. I shouldn't teach it to you…but then I'm sure that it's not too much trouble to give a friend a few pointers on a technique he's already learning."

Naruto's mouth hung open, dumbfounded. He couldn't tell what he was feeling…it was something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Even with his other 'sensei's', he hadn't felt like this. Kaien…was truly a friend. So, he did the only thing that he felt would adequately express his feelings. He tackle-hugged Kaien, knocking the unsuspecting man onto his back.

Kaien just patted him on the back, not really understanding how much he'd impacted the young boy's life. After a couple of moments, got up, wiping away a few tears that were streaming down his face as he accepted the key to his dorm.

After Kaien disappeared around the corner, Naruto took a deep breath. He turned back to his room and stared at the door. Room 132. The room that would be the start of his future 'life', and maybe even his ascension to a better place.

Grinning in a feral manner, he quickly unlocked the door and walked into the room.

As he stepped into the room, he froze, feeling a sudden dread and elation fill him. For there, sitting on the other side of the room, was Uchiha Sasuke. For a moment, there was a long silence, neither of them wanting to say anything as they locked eyes.

Then, finally, Sasuke spoke up. "I see we're roommates."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Yep…I guess we are."

A pause.

Then, "I already called the far side of the room." Sasuke said, sounding like he'd somehow won the lottery.

Naruto just smirked. "Oh really? What gave you that right?"

"You were late, and I got here first. So I get the far side."

"Oh no you don't. We're going to settle this like men!" Naruto yelled, holding his fist out in front of himself.

"You want to go?" Sasuke asked, getting to his feet and getting into a similar position as .

"Bring it!" Naruto yelled as they began to shake their fists.

"Jan, ken, poi! (Paper, rock, scissors)"

Naruto threw out 'rock', while Sasuke threw out 'paper'. "Look, that way!" Sasuke yelled, pointing up.

Naruto quickly looked down, causing them to go back to their game. They continued this for the rest of the night, neither of them gaining ground till Sasuke finally managed to win, and settled the matter. Naruto pouted for a while before his mind began to whirl once again. He may have been in a new environment, but that didn't mean that he was giving up old habits. Oh no, tomorrow, people would have to watch what they did; because if he caught them, they would be on the receiving end of the world famous, 'Prankster Prince'.

Naruto's grin widened as he began to fall asleep. "Yep, this life is going to be totally awesome." He muttered as he finally began to slip away into a blissful sleep.

A/N: Huzzah! I have finished my second chapter!

Just so you people know, I'm not planning on abandoning this fic! However, I appreciate your concern.

Now, here are the current pairing suggestions:

Naruto:

Hinamori: 2

Unohana: 2

Nemu: 1

Sasuke:

Hinamori: 1

Soifon: 1

Isane: 1

Matsumoto: 1

Well, this isn't very conclusive is it? I do like the Sasuke/Hinamori possibility, like Naruto/Hinata, only with Sasuke. I do hope to get more people to vote for this particular pairing. :D

For Naruto, how do you people thing Unohana or Nemu would work? If you have any ideas, let me know!

Also, thank you for not asking for a Harem. I'm not good at thinking up stuff like that, and I'd probably lose track of who all would be in it...so many the best girl win!

Naruto's zanpakuto's name is currently set, but I'm still working on what type and abilities it has, as well as Sasuke's zanpakuto. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Finally, REVIEW! It helps encourage me to type faster.

Thank you!

Draco Kamikaze