AN: Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoy this Chapter! Up dates will not always happen this fast. I currently have a few chapters already written for this story that I am editing, once I am caught up with what I have already written, up dates will take some time. Please read and review! XD Just in case you don't know, 1 meter = 3.28 feet.

Disclaimer: This story is mine, the characters and their worlds are not, they belong to their original creators only!

'Mental speech'

'Thought'

'Bijuu speech'

'Bijuu thougth'

Jutsus/Attacks (when attacking with jutsu/attack)

Chapter 4

Ichigo observed their makeshift camp from his position under an extremely large tree. The clearing itself was only about twenty meters wide and in a vague oval shape. There was a small newly built fire burning brightly in the center to hold back the lengthening shadows as evening approached. Ichigo had arrived in camp just in time to watch Kakashi give instructions to a pair of dogs. One had appeared to be a bulldog of some type and the other had looked like a pug. Ichigo had been impressed by the speed at which the K9 had disappeared into the trees to scout the area. As they awaited the return of the K9, Kakashi, Yamato, Guy and Shikamaru were gathered together near the fire looking at what appeared to Ichigo to be some sort of topographical map and were currently trying to identify their exact location. The rest of the shinobi scattered themselves around the clearing, sitting either alone or in small groups of two or three. Even Uryu and Chad had moved off a bit, leaving him to his thoughts as they all took the chance to rest and prepare. Movement to his right caused him to look up as Naruto approached him, a water flask and a wrapped bundle in his hands.

"Here, thought you might be hungry." Naruto said as he handed over the bundle and flask, plopping down on the ground next to Ichigo. "It's nothing special, just some dried meat and a couple rice balls. Actually, the rice balls are from Hinata, she thought you might like a couple and hers are the best anyway." He said cheerfully. "There is enough there to share with your other two friends too if they want some."

"Thanks." Ichigo said as he placed the items in his lap.

"That friend of yours that you're trying to rescue, her name is Orihime right?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod in response. "So, what is she like?" He asked curiously.

"Orihime? Well, she's a really nice person, if a bit oblivious and naive sometimes. She daydreams a lot and comes up with some outrageous stories, but does really well with school work, which kinda blows my mind." Ichigo said as he scratched at the back of his head in thought. "She is also an amazing healer." Ichigo absent mindedly flexed his right hand as he spoke. "Oh, and she cooks really weird stuff."

"Really, like what?" Naruto asked.

"Well, she made this chocolate eggplant cake once. She topped it with red bean paste and wasabi." Ichigo replied, a shiver of disgust at the memory running through him.

"Remind me to never try her food." Naruto said, his normally light tan complexion having a distinct green tinge to it. Naruto, regaining his composure, gave Ichigo a sly look. "So, is she your girlfriend then?" Naruto asked, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

Ichigo stared at the smiling blonde for a moment. "My….. girlfriend?" He asked, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"Yeah! Well, is she?" Naruto asked, lowering his voice a bit before continuing. "Or is it a secret?" He asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Tsh, no." Ichigo said as he looked quickly away, crossing his arms across his chest as he did. "She's not my girlfriend. Anyway, you're one to talk Mr. Secret fiancé." He said as he eyed the blonde, a slight grin forming on his face as the blonde shinobi began to blush.

"H-hey, that's low!" Naruto pouted as he turned away to try to hid his flaming cheeks. "It's not like we had a choice about it." He said, his face taking on a slightly sad look.

"Ah, sorry." Ichigo said seeing the look on Naruto's face. "So, why did you have to keep it a secret anyway?" He asked curiously. "I mean, what does it really matter if people know?"

"Baa-chan was worried about the Akatsuki finding out. She thought they would use Hinata to get to me." Naruto said as he turned back to Ichigo. "Of Course that isn't hard to figure out when they had no problem leveling Konoha just to try and find me."

"What!" Ichigo exclaimed, drawing Uryu and Chad's attention and causing his two friends to move over to him.

"Is everything ok Ichigo?" Uryu asked as he and Chad settled down next to him.

"Ah, yeah, I guess." Ichigo replied, as he turned back to Naruto he continued. "They leveled Konoha to try and get you?" He asked, shocked at the thought of Naruto's village being destroyed. Ichigo's expression turned serious as he turned fully towards Naruto. "Who are they exactly, and why are they after you?" He asked.

"Who are you talking about, and what exactly do you mean by Konoha was leveled?" Uryu asked concerned.

Naruto shifted a bit as he looked at Ichigo, Uryu and Chad before replying. "Akatsuki. They are a group of powerful missing nin who have been going around and collecting the biju." He said, Naruto turned his attention away from them as he continued. "As for Konoha, leveled might be a bit of an exaggeration. It's more like everything within the outer wall was turned into a giant crater. All from one jutsu too. At least that was what I heard. I wasn't in the village at the time though, I got back after everything had been destroyed."

"You still aren't answering me, why are they after you?" Ichigo asked again, annoyance starting to color his voice. He could tell Naruto was trying to hide something, something important.

"Does it have anything to with the biju that they are collecting?" Uryu asked. "And what exactly is a biju anyway?"

Naruto shifted a bit while deciding how answer. He had already come to accept what he was, and knew that there was a good chance that they would be in battle soon and that he would be putting them in danger if he didn't tell them the truth, but it still wasn't something he was completely comfortable talking about with anyone but his closest, most precious people. "The biju, or tailed beasts, are basically giant chakra monsters." He replied quietly. "They collect them by capturing the biju's Jinchuriki, the biju's container or human sacrifice, and extracting the beast from them which causes the Jinchuriki's death. And that is why they are after me." He said, looking off at the fire with a distant look on his face. "Because I am a Jinchuriki. The Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Kitsune."

They stared at Naruto for a few moments, taking in what he had said. Ichigo was unsure how to respond, feeling yet again like he was not so unlike the blonde shinobi. Him, with his hollow powers that he could barely control, sometimes he could even feel it shifting around restlessly in his mind like a forgotten thought that was trying to find its way to the surface, and that was when he was in his body. But when he was in his soul reaper form, he could feel it taunting him, shifting restlessly, wanting to fight, waiting to take over. He looked down at his lap and saw the small bag of food Naruto had brought over earlier that he had all but forgotten all about. He picked it up and absent mindedly handed it to Uryu. "Is that the power we saw when we first met you then?" He asked.

Naruto eyed Ichigo for a moment before replying. "Yeah."

"So then you can control it." Uryu said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Well, no. I can't control more than what you saw." Naruto said looking over at Uryu. "If I had used any more of the kyubi's power, he would have taken over. So I will tell you this," Naruto said, a deadly serious look on his face "if we end up in battle and I lose control and gain a fourth tail, just run." He said.

"Why?" Ichigo asked, though he had a good idea where this was going.

"Because I will no longer be me, and he doesn't care who he kills." Naruto replied. He looked up as a figure approached. Her long indigo hair swaying softly with her movements. Naruto moved over toward Ichigo a bit to give her room to sit next to him. There eyes locked for a moment as she gracefully kneeled next to him before she broke eye contact, her cheeks blazing from what she felt had been a bold move on her part. A touch of color touched his cheeks too as her shoulder brushed his arm. They had only been engaged a few weeks, but had been able to quietly meet, with Neji's help, to talk and Naruto was unsure of his feelings for the quiet girl now sitting by his side. He knew he liked her, he always had. She had been, and still was, the only girl he knew that was always nice to him, even on the rare occasion that she would scold him. She was also the only girl in the village that found his stories entertaining, letting out a quiet giggle when he would say something funny. Even though he felt a bit nervous being so close to her, he also felt a sense of serenity wash over him, it was like it radiated off of the shy girl next to him.

Hinata had been watching from across the camp for the last couple of minutes. She wasn't sure what they had been talking about, but the look on Naruto's face had given her a good idea. She had been nervous to approach but wanted to give Naruto comfort after seeing such a sad look on his face. She knew he was anxious about the Akatsuki, they all did, and they all knew why. She glanced up and around the group, taking in their slightly tense body postures, and nervous looks before allowing her eyes to meet Naruto's again. "I-Is everything alright Naruto-kun?" She asked, her quiet, gentle voice rolling over the group. "Y-you looked upset about something."

Naruto could see the concern in her eyes. "We we discussing the Akatsuki and what Pein did to the village." Naruto answered, watching her shyly break eye contact again.

"Pein?" Ichigo asked, looking up from his thoughts. "You said Akatsuki attacked the village."

"Maybe you should tell us the whole story of what happened to the village." Uryu said looking between the two shinobi.

"The Akatsuki member that attacked was known as Pein." Naruto said. "There was six of them, controlled by the original. The six were dead shinobi being controlled with chakra rods implanted throughout their body and each had different abilities like one could use summons, while another could bring back the others if they fell in battle. I had been training to use sage chakra with old man Fukasaku when they learned that one of the toads they had at the village was killed when Pein demolished everything so me, Gamakichi and a few of the other toads were reverse summoned by Granny Shima back to the village."

"Wait, toads? You returned to defend the village with toads?" Ichigo asked surprised.

Naruto looked at him quizzically. "Well yeah, why wouldn't I?" He asked in return.

Hinata let out a quiet giggle. "Naruto-kun, I don't t-think they have ever seen a toad summons before. I know I-I would have my doubts too if I hadn't seen them myself." She said quietly.

"Yeah, your right. Hehe, I forget that not everyone has summoning contracts." He said a bit embarrassed. "Well anyway, I have a summoning contract with the toads, like Kakashi-Sensei has a contract with his ninken. Anyway, they are good fighters, so when we got back they helped me fight the six Peins. There were so many people that had already been killed or hurt by the attack, I ended up asking everyone not to help me and the toads fight. I didn't want anyone else to die because of me." Naruto said, he looked down at the ground, the feelings he had of anger and despair at the deaths caused by Pein returning as he told the story. "I just couldn't risk anyone like that, they were after me anyway, so we fought and beat all but one of the six Peins. The last one was the one who destroyed the village with a single jutsu. He could push and pull you where ever he wanted with just a thought and a wave of his hand. He didn't even need hand signs. He was even able to pin me down, using those chakra rods. I couldn't even move." He said. A sad, faraway look coming to his face again, almost like he was reliving the moment when he thought it was all over. He looked over as a gentle hand rested on his arm, offering quiet comfort and support. He looked up further into Hinata's eyes, eyes filled with compassion and understanding.

"So what happened?" Chad asked, curiosity evident in his slightly deeper voice.

"How were you able to beat him? Did one of your summons help you escape?" Uryu asked.

"Well actually someone wasn't very good at listening." Naruto said, a teasing glint in his eye's as he continued to look at Hinata for another moment causing her to blush darkly and break eye contact, turning serious again as he returned his attention back to the group around him. "I was able to escape the chakra rods because I ended up losing control, the kyubi almost completely broke free because of my pain, my rage. When he had me pinned there, completely at his mercy, one person tried to rescue me." He said, looking back at Hinata from the corner of his eye, who was looking down at her lap, he could just make out the faraway look on her face as she too relieved that battle. "Only one person out of all my friends and comrades could not stand by and watch me be taken to my death. Only one person was brave enough to try and free me, even knowing that to try would mean certain death, huh Hinata?" He said, a small gentle smile on his face as she peaked up at him, blushing brightly at being called brave, but she nodded.

"I-it was asking too much." She said quietly, her voice was nearly a whisper. "I just couldn't abandon you like that."

"You mean you went out and tried to rescue him?!" Ichigo asked stunned. He had never seen her fight, and he himself knew some tough girls, but this was not something he would have expected from any of the girls he knew, especially not from such a petite, quiet spoken girl like HInata. She seemed more like a girl that would be into gardening or butterflies or something. Not facing down deadly enemies to save a friend.

"Yes." She replied. "I j-just couldn't sit by and watch him be taken. I didn't do very well though. I was unable to rescue him or even free him. Pein, was just too strong. If Sakura had not been near by, I would have surely died myself once Pain had finished with me." Hinata said, her eyes on her lap. Her cheeks burned brightly from the shame she felt for being so weak as to have done nothing for Naruto when he needed someone's help so badly.

"Is that why you lost control then, because Pein had hurt your fiancé?" Uryu asked.

"Well, we didn't know about the betrothal yet. We didn't find out about that until about a week and a half afterwards, even though the contract had been signed by Baa-chan and her dad the month before." Naruto said as he absentmindedly scratched the back of his head. "But yeah. I-I thought he had killed her. He had thrown her around, and she would keep getting back up to try and pull the chakra rods out, or to try and land a hit on him, she was really awesome! But he finally just used a chakra rod on her. All I can really remember was her lying there not moving, the chakra rod sticking out of her chest and a pool of blood forming under her. I just kinda blew up." He said with a shrug. "But I was able to get thing back under control when my seal was fixed and I defeated him." Naruto said, purposefully leaving out the meeting with his father. He didn't feel they needed to know about that. "Then I used a chakra rod to find the original. He had been a student of Pervy Sage's like me and I wanted to talk to him to find out why he would do such a thing. When I found him and his partner we talked I was able to convince him what he did was wrong and he gave his life using a jutsu to bring everyone he killed back to life. I know I am skipping a lot of details but there are things that are classified." Naruto said apologetically .

Silence overcame the group for a few moments as Ichigo and his friends thought about what they had just learned. Naruto sat quietly, studying Ichigo from the corner of his eye. The Kyubi's warning about his power still fresh in his mind. Ichigo seemed like a nice enough person, and he hadn't tried to cause trouble and that is why he thought he could be trusted.

Naruto turned fully to Ichigo, his expression serious. "So, how exactly are you so powerful? I know you're not a JInchuriki too, the Kyubi would not have warned me about you if you were."

Ichigo turned his attention to the blonde next to him. "The Kyubi talks to you?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice. "You could feel it then too?" He asked.

"The Kyubi said you felt powerful like a biju, but you weren't one. What does he mean by that?" Naruto asked curiously. He could feel Hinata shift nervously on his other side as she too waited on Ichigo's response.

Ichigo stared at them for a moment before glancing at his friends who just gave him a slight nod. Turning back to the shinobi next to him, he let out a breath and looked Naruto right in the eye's as he began. "Well, to start, we aren't from around here. We are actually from a different realm or dimension or something, I'm not really sure how to explain it. And we aren't shinobi either."

Naruto looked at him, his confusion evident on his face. "Ehh?"

"What he means is our world isn't… normally connected to yours." Uryu said, trying to phrase it a bit differently from how Ichigo explained it. "Our world is connected to Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, a place where creatures known as Hollows dwell. Hollows are monsters that eat spirits and attack people with powers like us."

"Spirits, like as in ghosts?" Naruto asked, the color starting to drain from his face.

"Yeah, but good ghosts. People who haven't crossed over yet. That is part of my job. I fight the hollows before they can hurt anyone and then help the ghosts move on to Soul Society." Ichigo said as he watched Naruto get even paler.

"S-so are you like an exorcist then?" Hinata asked.

"No, I'm a substitue soul reaper. Chad and Uryu aren't though." Ichigo said, indicating his two friends.

Naruto's complexion had lost all color, he practically vibrated with fear. He looked around the clearing fearfully before turning to Ichigo. "Th-there aren't a-any ghosts here are there?" He asked.

Ichigo stared at him, realising that Naruto was scared of ghosts, he smiled slightly. "No there isn't." He said, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. The last thing he expect was someone with so much power to be afraid of ghosts. "Anyway, all the ghosts I have met have been nice enough. Sometimes a bit annoying, but nothing to be scared of. As long as they don't lose their hearts anyway."

"L-lose their heart?" HInata asked curiously.

"A spirit or ghost that loses their heart, their humanity, becomes a Hollow." Uryu replied, cutting off Ichigo. "They are called Hollows because of the hole in their chest and they are distinguishable from other spirits by that and the mask that forms over their face.

"So what about this Orihime person you're trying to rescue? What does any of this have to do with her?" Naruto asked as he seemed to come back around.

"She was taken by an ex-soul reaper captain by the name of Aizen. He most likely wants her for her abilities as a healer. Aizen… he wants to destroy soul society and is using Arrancar and other extremely powerful Hollows to keep her captive. We were attacked on our way to rescue her, and that is how we got here." Ichigo said, a faraway look on his face. "But to answer your question about my power, it isn't just my spiritual pressure that your Kyubi was sensing… it was probably him. The part of me that is a Hollow."

"You have a monster within you too?" Naruto asked, his voice was quiet and a bit sad. "Can you control it?"

"Yeah, but I can only control it a little. If I use my Hollow powers for more than a couple minutes I lose myself to it." He replied with a sigh. He wasn't exactly comfortable with talking about it, but felt it was only fair as Naruto had told him about the Kyubi within him.

Naruto looked at him for a moment before a grin started to split his face. "Hehe, I guess we are a lot alike then!"

Ichigo looked at him and a smirk appeared on his own face as well. It seems the blonde shinobi's smile was infectious. "Yeah, I guess we are."

"All right then! We are going to beat some Akatsuki ass and then get your friend back!" Naruto said, his voice thick with determination.

"We still need to find a way back first." Uryu said.

Naruto looked at Uryu, his face serious and determined. "We will find a way." Was all he said before the peace that they were so enjoying was shattered.

A howl could be heard, the noise fast approaching. Without being asked Hinata activated her dojutsu, looking towards the forest.

"Hinata?" Naruto implored, his voice low, body tensed to react.

"Pakkun and the large bulldog, moving fast, 10 o'clock." She said in a hushed voice.

"How do you know…." Ichigo started to ask as he looked over at her, his own body tense for a fight, but his question was cut off at the sight of her eyes. While they had appeared unusual before, the now seemed almost frightening. Large veins surrounded her eyes and her irises had gone from a light silvery-lavender color to now having an iridescent quality that reflected the late afternoon light like a cat's eyes reflected light at night.

Moments later the two ninken appeared as blurs as they entered the clearing.

"Kakashi, we have a problem." The small pug looking dog know as Pakkun said, panting heavily. "We found the two Akatsuki, but that's not all. They have about three dozen ninja with them." He said as he looked as some of the other shinobi moved closer to him to hear the info. "There scents were all the same, so I believe that they are clones of some sort. They are about 2 kilometers to the west/southwest." He said as he indicated the general direction that they had just arrived from.

"Which Akatsuki were there?" Kakashi asked looking at Pakkun intently.

"The one with the one eyed mask, I believe he is known as Tobi, and the plant looking one that I believe is known as Zetsu." Pakkun replied.

"Thank you Pakkun, Bull, good work. You're free to go." He said as he reached into his pocket and took out two pieces of dried meat, offering a piece to each of the ninken.

"Thanks Kakashi. Later." Pakkun said having gulped down his treat, her raised his paw in farewell and disappeared in a puff of smoke along with the bulldog known as Bull.

"Alright everyone, get ready to move out." Kakashi said, as he looked around the clearing of young shinobi. Yamato, was behind him already dousing the small fire with his earth style. Kakashi's eye landed on Ichigo and his new friends, he brow furrowed a bit as he moved in their direction. His eyes caught Naruto's for a moment, registering the determination in them as the blond shinobi rose to his feet before looking back to Ichigo. Black clashed with rich brown as he studied him for a moment. He too seemed determined and ready for battle. "You and your friends don't need to get involved, this isn't your fight." He said as he took a quick glance at the other two young men.

"Don't worry about it. The sooner we defeat these guys, the sooner we can get back to your village and get back to our own mission. Right Uryu, Chad?" Ichigo said, looking at his friends, his determination reflected on their faces as they both nodded their agreement.

"Fine, if that is how you feel. Stick close, keep your eye's open and listen for orders." Kakashi said turning away.

Zetsu moved through the tree, appearing at the masked Akatsuki's side. "They should be on the move." White Zetsu said casually.

"Good." Madara said, having temporarily dropped his Tobi persona. "It is time for us to test your clones."

"Of course Leader-sama." White Zetsu replied with a devious smirk. "The group is large, we may have trouble getting the Jinchuriki, but the field test of my clones should be a good show anyway.

"Unfortunately, your right. The Jinchuriki is too well guarded this time." He replied. 'Especially with that one with him. I wonder who he is?'

Urahara stared intently at the small screen in front of him, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He had been going over the data for hours now, trying to figure out where Ichigo and his two companions had disappeared to. His machines had gone crazy when the three of them had gotten about halfway to Hueco Mundo. There had been a power flux, one that could only be caused by the spiritual pressure of an Arrancar and then they had disappeared.

He sighed heavily as he looked at the data for what felt like the hundredth time. That's when he saw it. A small blip in the reshi. He perked up, making a few quick adjustments he concentrated his search on that area. Then he heard it, the soft ping of the communication device that Ichigo always carried. The signal was too weak to connect to, but it gave him some coordinates. He quickly printed them off and took a look at them. As he read them, his eyes widened slightly before he let out a laugh. 'That boy has the strangest luck!' He thought with amusement. 'This is going to be fun.' Turning he left the small room he had been working in. Entering the small sitting room that he used in the evenings, he spied a small black cat sitting on a cushion looking at him expectantly. "Good news Yoruichi , I found them. An you will never guess where they are." He said, a large smirk on his face.