Bleach ©Tite Kubo
Naruto ©Masashi Kishimoto
The concept of Jiryokou ©Dahlia Derbyshire
( Konohagakure: By the Lake )
If Rukia thought Naruto leaving with the Kumo Nin was the worse thing that could have happened she was sorely mistaken. That much was evident by the new discovery she had just made about Ichigo and her new acquaintance, Rukia.
They were shinigami. Death Gods. Soul Reapers.
And they killed things.
Now, Sakura should have been used to this. She was a ninja, for Pete's sake. Killing was a part of the shinobi life, but that didn't necessarily excuse it. Thus, she was still shocked, scared even. She could do nothing more than gape at the shinigami before her, wondering who they had hurt…who they killed…
It was a thought that perturbed her greatly. Trying to imagine the carefree, easy-going Ichigo she had met just a day ago kill something, much less hurt it was hard. He always seemed so righteous. In that way, and many more, Sakura was reminded that Ichigo was a lot more similar to Naruto than she'd like. Dealing with one righteous, emotionally-led fool was enough. Now, she'd have to deal with two.
Yet…something about that didn't seem so bad.
Still, that didn't stop her from being frightened. She gulped, clenching her jaw. The poor girl couldn't stop fiddling with her hands and her fingers, twirling them around each other in a musical way. Rukia noted this, and prepared herself to ease the tension with some kind words. The unsuspecting shinigami, however, was cut-off by a surprisingly calm Ichigo.
"Sakura…" The soothing tone to his voice caused Sakura to finally make the much-needed eye-contact. Though to her, she felt more like curiously gazing into his eyes. "This isn't so strange. Where we're from, it's normal to be a little surprised. In fact, before, I was shocked when it was Naruto who only gave a reaction."
Sakura smiled lightly, chuckling. "Yeah…he said it was 'cool'."
The light that shown in her eyes was luminous. It was as if Naruto was a deeply-cared for brother, the light was that of compassion. In response, Ichigo felt a smile of his own tugging at the corners of his lips. Though he repelled it, doing his best to keep a straight face. Despite his efforts, Rukia could clearly see through it, though she did nothing.
"So what if shinigami are real? That doesn't mean I'm not human." He told her, rolling his eyes and shrugging. Without saying much he took a few steps away from the group and towards the direction the Kumo Nin had gone. He was slowly ebbing his foot in the direction, causing Rukia to furrow her brows. She nearly voiced her curiosity when Ichigo started again.
"I'm going to follow Naruto and Sai." He told them both. Rukia merely nodded, but Sakura had a slightly worried face, most likely because the situation reminded her about Sasuke. Ichigo made a mental note to ask about Sasuke later. "There's something wrong, and I don't feel comfortable standing on the side-lines when I could be helping. I bet'cha Sai felt the same."
Rukia nodded, and before he could zoom away, interjected, "Just remember, Ichigo, don't-"
" 'Do anything rash or stupid.' I get it, Rukia. We're outsiders here, but if they start a fight, that doesn't mean I can't defend myself." He told them. There was a certain gleam to his eyes that sent a chill up both girls' backs.
Rukia had worries of her own. It was her belief that Reiatsu was weaker than Chakra, therefore Ichigo would stand no chance against a ninja. Even she, the strong Kuchiki, feared that the shinobi would realize this and strike. Which is why if they kept a low-profile, the shinobi would have no reason to attack. But if Ichigo caused trouble…
She tried not to think of that.
Hinata, someone who had been completely left out during the little conversation, had gathered her own senses. She'd already accepted that shinigami exist, many years ago. Similar, yet not as extreme to Orihime, Hinata had a slight imagination her self. It wasn't too shocking to learn that something so fabled was real, and to learn there was real-life proof standing before her. If anything, she felt elated, and not just because her wounds (after the help of Sakura's medical jutsu) had stopped hurting and weren't going to get any worse than they already were.
"Well…" Sakura gulped, blinking. She had a difficult time looking away from where Ichigo went. She felt vulnerable, now that she worried for both Naruto and Ichigo with the Kumo Nin. She sighed, turning back to Hinata. "You feeling alright?" She asked. Hinata nodded. "We should get you back to the hospital."
The Hyuuga heir's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she hastily took a step forward to Sakura. "Iie! I'm fine. I'll just rest a little more tonight." She told Sakura, her voice rushed, "I need to stay upright! Konoha needs all the help it can get."
The roseate girl smiled, nodding in understanding. "If you say so, but if you get seriously hurt I will personally take you to the hospital myself. Deal?" Hinata's brisk nod was enough to tell Sakura she accepted it. Hastily, she glanced to Rukia. "What do you say we do now? It looks like you're sticking with us for a while."
Rukia had failed to notice when she'd been brought into the conversation. She had been too busy observing the small conversation the two kunoichi had shared. It was strange how sisterly their relationship was. Was it like that for the entire female community in town…? It was far different from what she, personally, was used to.
"Eh, what?"
The medical ninja had a brief grin on her features, but it disappeared when her thoughts returned to their situation. What would they do now…? It wasn't like they could follow the others. Neither Ichigo nor Naruto would appreciate that, and frankly, Sakura didn't feel like getting chewed out.
"Etto…" Sakura mumbled, scratching her chin. "I think we should go to the Hokage and report this. However, now that the Hokage is Danzo…I don't know. It's not like Shizune has any jurisdiction over anything now that Tsunade's, injured." They had to tell someone that shinigami were in town, and eventually (providing Danzo sees them) they would be found out.
It shocked everyone when Hinata brilliantly suggested, "Oh! I know! Why don't we tell Kakashi-sensei?" She told them, holding a hand in the air.
"Kakashi-sensei already knows…"
Hinata shook her head. "He only knows that Ichigo is here. Does he know about Rukia-san and Kon-san?" She asked. Sakura's face lit up with that knowledge. It made perfect sense. And now they had a goal to follow.
Rukia shook her head. "No, we have to find Kon a body first. I think it might be best if we let Ichigo have his body back. For communication with the people here, who aren't ninja or have high spiritual pressures." Although the two didn't know completely what she was talking about, it made sense.
Nothing seemed to be going right. With everything someone suggested, it would be countered with something else. This time, it was Sakura who held the other side of the argument. "We can't do that, what if Ichigo needs to fight? It's not like we'll have time for him to…uh…switch bodies." Sakura had to be proud, with what little knowledge she knew about Ichigo, she was making connections pretty darn fast. "He'd be defenseless."
The shinigami sighed, grinding her teeth together. Sakura was right, anything could happen, the scuffle with Samui had proved that.
Once again, Hinata had a brilliant idea. "Hey…maybe Kon-san could stay in Ichigo's body, but learn some ninjutsu?" The others were shocked; they couldn't see the possibility of it, despite their doubt, Hinata continued, "Just think about it. It'll make him even stronger. While his real body learns ninjutsu and retains the knowledge through muscle memory, Ichigo can be off, not defenseless, as a shinigami. I know that somewhere around here, there has to be a teacher willing to help."
Sakura beamed. "That's brilliant, Hinata! It's so similar to shadow clones, why didn't I think of it before?" She gushed, suddenly striding forward.
"Eh…how is that brilliant?" Rukia was thoroughly confused. "I don't think you guys understand what Ichigo is, exactly."
"You're right, we don't." Sakura replied, stopping yet still eager to continue on. "But what does he have to loose? Nothing. If it doesn't work, then Kon will just waste a bunch of time. But if it does work-"
'Ichigo won't be so defenseless anymore!' Rukia thought to herself, smiling. Maybe this would work. Without another word, she followed the roseate back down the path they came, Hinata trailing behind her. Along the way both Sakura and Hinata bubbled about their culture, and the ways of the ninja. Rukia felt the knowledge to be incredibly useful.
With this information…Rukia could become a legend.
( Land of Wind: 0:45 Minutes from Sunagakure )
Renji was skeptical of the three before him. The leader, called 'Gaara' wasn't very talkative, and was even a little bossy. It bugged Renji that he had to share a hair color with someone so…bland. He'd rather the annoying blond chick have red hair, at least she had personality. Gaara was just an empty shell. For once, Renji actually hoped to see Ichigo. He was sure that Ichigo could cleanse him of his boredom.
The task of questioning and explaining was put on Kankuro, who Renji admired partially. Kankuro had some pretty cool face paint, and today the lines were strict, sharp shapes that reminded Renji of his tattoos. To make up for Gaara's dullness, Kankuro had a chill personality. Yet another train Renji admired.
"So where ya' from?" Kankuro asked, looking over his shoulder at Renji, who followed behind. The puppeteer had his hands in his pockets, and was strolling at a leisurely pace. His siblings were slightly quicker, but it didn't particularly matter; Gaara didn't plan on rushing there, so if they got left behind, they could just speed up for an hour or so. (Or in Renji's case, use shunpo.)
Renji chuckled. "Dude, don't even go there. You don't want to know where I'm from." He told them, rolling his eyes.
"Sure we do." Temari called, half-turned to face Renji. The shinigami had to notice that this chick, no matter how loud and obnoxious she could be, had a pretty fine body. For a moment he compared her to Matsumoto, but it wasn't much of a competition. Rangiku still wan, hands down to Renji.
Renji raised his hands in the air defensively. "Don't say I never warned you." He told them, shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm from Seireitei. Ever heard of it?" Silence. Renji took that as a 'no'. "Well, it's where all of us cool people hang out when we're not slicing things open."
Temari smiled turning back to have a silent conversation with Gaara that Renji didn't care for. Kankuro simply sniggered before he brought up a question that he knew everyone was wondering.
"So are you from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"
Renji seemed slightly appalled. "The whoda-whatta-what?" His nonexistent eyebrows were raised high to his hairline. Just like Ichigo was, he was thoroughly confused.
"I'll take that as a 'no'." Kankuro replied coolly. He turned his head forward. As they continued their walk, the majority of their conversations were answers to questions Renji had, or Temari's occasionally innuendo. After half-an-hour Renji was beginning to grasp the basics of what they were saying. The bare minimum, so to say; he could comprehend the idea of the different countries and the hidden villages within them. All of it sounded vaguely familiar to Renji, as if he'd heard it at the Academy…
He quickly dismissed that, there was no way anything they were talking about related to Soul Society in anyway. He was content in just following the others to the Land of Iron for some fancy summit or something. However, as much as he wanted to ask, there was a more urgent question pressing at his mind…
"So what's with the giant cast on your back?"
Kankuro was flabbergasted. "It's not a cast!"
"You could have fooled me. It looks like something I'd wrap around Jidanbou." Renji scoffed, noting the vein that popped from Kankuro's forehead.
Kankuro didn't know who 'Jidanbou' was, but he took it as an insult. The shinobi crossed his arms, eyes narrowed, his irritation directed towards Renji. "This 'cast' could kill you anytime, anywhere."
"Psssh," Renji said childishly. Their faces were inching closer and closer together, both angered by the other. "You wish, Paint-Boy. I'll break that stupid cast like a twig." He poked Kankuro's chest, right in the center.
Things were on edge, prepared to boil over. Temari found it amusing, especially since their new hunk of meat (which she was proud to say she saw first) was about to fight with her brother. Temari was drawn to power, and she felt something much different from this good-looking newcomer that made her so very curious. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she watched, something that Gaara never thought he'd see in a million years.
'People are so weird.'
Her fun ended when Gaara's began. A few words whispered her way, and she meekly nodded. 'There goes my fun,' Temari thought dejectedly. She rushed to the aid, and surprised them both by reappearing between them, her sudden entrance pushing them to the side. She had her fan held out defensively, like when Renji had first popped out of the sand. Only this time there was a happy glow to her eyes.
"I hate to say this, but…" She paused, looking at both men from the corner of her eyes, "you're both being idiots." Without resistance, she swiped them both on the back of their heads, smiling rather too proudly. "Bakka."
Kankuro didn't say a word, he merely scowled and walked forwards to Gaara. Temari, on the other hand, was determined to have her fun with this guy before he left them. The reasons why Gaara was having him tag along were still unknown to her, but that was unimportant. She smiled at Renji warmly, her fan back in its place on her back.
"I don't need you getting in the way, girlie. I can fight my own battles." He told her, the sudden image of a scolding Rukia popping up in his mind. It only made him groan more. Whenever he was around girls, he always did something wrong.
"I'm sure you can." Temari replied, chuckling. He swore he saw her lick her lips… "But that's not the point. Do you know how you got here?"
"Yeah, but it's not too important."
His answers weren't too clear, and tended to drop the topic altogether. It was as if he didn't want to talk about it. "Sure it is, everything's important. But I suppose I don't need to know now." She told him, causing him to roll his eyes. "Do you know where we're going?" Her second question caused Renji to actually pause.
"Not a clue. Some Iron Factory."
"Iron Country."
"Yadda yadda, get to the point, girlie." He made a swirly gesture with his hands. His blatant expression was priceless, and Temari was positive she'd never forget it.
"From what Kankuro told you, we can assume you know about the Kage?" He nodded, and she went on, "The Raikage called on a Kage Summit, which is where all the great five Kage gather to discuss important matters. Gaara here is the Kazekage, and it's mandatory that he attends the Summit. Why are you coming with us? I don't know, but Gaara does. When he makes decisions, he really makes them."
"Again, get to the point."
Temari sighed, but her enthusiasm was not lost. "What I'm saying is that for some reason you're important to us, and you're not leaving this group for a long time. So stop being and idiot and get along with Kankuro!" She once again swiped his head, an action that was increasingly difficult with his abnormal height.
Under his breath, he muttered, "Just until I get home, girlie…"
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing."
( Land of Fire: Konohagakure )
Sai hated Danzo for a number of reasons, but watching what he had, Danzo had suddenly become a silly matter. As he watched Naruto decline their demands, and be brutally beat for it, he scowled. He actually scowled, a real facial expression. Though this was one moment where his social achievements were unimportant.
Something he suddenly hated more than Danzo was the thick of the bad news himself, Sasuke. What kind of person would inflict so much pain on so many people? All it took was one person to leave the village after being betrayed, and suddenly everything was out of whack! It was insane!
It was nonsense. Why was Sai the only one who saw this?
He clutched the bark of the tree violently, leaving finger indents on the wood. Any moment know he knew he would step in. Naruto's face was already misshapen. It looked as if his lip had been moved from his chin to the side of his face. To make matters worse there were patches of blue skin, bruising most likely. Sai had no doubt Sakura could fix this all later, but he still disliked seeing Naruto get so badly hurt. They were comrades.
He was so preoccupied with Naruto that the sudden presence of another didn't seem to faze him. Only when that presence was standing right next to him did Sai avert his eyes to take a look. As he had expected, it was Ichigo. It was understandable that Ichigo would come. Ichigo was eerily similar to Naruto in several ways.
"What are they doing to him?" Ichigo barked in a whisper, leaning against a nearby tree. "I thought he was going to tell them about that Sasuke kid, why are they beating him up? Why isn't he fighting back?"
"He isn't fighting back because he's knows the difference between right and wrong." Sai said, looking to Ichigo in his peripheral vision. "Yes. Naruto is the one who defeated Pein, but at what cost? Naruto's sensei was a good man, who passed his impossible ideals onto Naruto. The world is full of anger and resentment. The ninja world has too much violence, and the only thing to keep us shinobi going is hate.
"Naruto thinks he's helping to stop that vicious cycle by doing nothing. He wants this world to be rid of hate, and he's letting that girl take her anger out on him. He's literally being an outlet." Sai, well, sighed.
Aside from the shocking fact that that was the most Ichigo had ever heard Sai say, be was baffled by Naruto. Becoming so fragile like that… Ichigo shook his head, feeling the same urge Sai had felt, and still was feeling, only moments ago; he wanted to step in. He wanted to stop it.
Sai saw this, and help out a hand in front of Ichigo. "Don't. Interfering is not what Naruto would want." Sai told him.
Ichigo violently pushed Sai's hand away. "I don't give a shit! He needs help, and if he doesn't get any, she'll kill him! Don't deny it, I know you can see it!" Ichigo didn't waste any time, he rushed forward.
Sensing Reiatsu was difficult for Chakra-loving shinobi. They hadn't noticed Ichigo, and although Omoi had slightly sensed Sai, he'd originally thought it was nothing. Now, however, seeing the same burly-looking kid from earlier standing before them, that humongous sword on his back… They knew he was there, he was good at hiding, and that he was there for business.
Oh yeah, he had some business to take care of all right…
( Land of ? : Random Location )
Suigetsu was, quite frankly, astonished by what he was hearing. Even though it was hard to listen when all the information came from a person (or thing) that looked like a giant beetle, he could still comprehend the enormity of it. He looked at Zetsu, his eyes wide. To think that everything Zetsu said was true.
"So, wait, this Naruto defeated Pain all alone?"
From inside that beetle-like shell of his, Zetsu spoke, "Correct. He's gotten really strong, probably stronger than Sasuke now." His words were meant more of as a taunt, but it was hard to tell behind his literal hard shell.
Sasuke snickered, shaking his head and closing his eyes. That old fool Naruto. Their stupid little bond was broken so long ago that Sasuke was beginning to forget what this Naruto looked like. If anything, that was a good thing. He didn't need so many distractions. With that thought in mind, he huffed humorously. "Heh. I don't care about that. The real problem are the Kage."
The topic was turned from Konoha's hero to Danzo, and eventually the Summit. Together they made their plans. Gradually, Sasuke got a malicious gleam in his eyes… Killing Danzo would be one great success, and then he could go for Konoha altogether. Sasuke eagerly awaited the day he'd destroy that village, the village that destroyed his life. He waited like he was a child waiting for their allowance.
He really couldn't wait.
Free Hour: Kon's Lost Tales
( The Quaint Village of Konoha )
Sometimes, Kon hated shinigami. They always seemed to forget about him, him and all the other poor artificial souls that were out there. They acted as if what Kon did was easy work. Newsflash! To Kon, it was anything but easy. It was grueling. He was always put into some ugly tiger-doll, and when he was lucky enough to be in Ichigo's body, he almost always ended up fighting Hollows. Could you believe it?
He currently laid on the ground in Ichigo's tent, waiting, hoping that they hadn't forgotten about him. As he lay there, his thoughts were plagued with Orihime and her sweet bosom. Oh, and then there was Hinata. What an exotic flower the girl was! He wished Orihime was there, that way the chances of her rubbing against Hinata were raised. The thought of their flesh…
Kon shivered with delight. "I wish Hinata~chan would come baaaaack!" He spoke allowed, rolling over to lay on his stomach. He peeked his eyes out of the tent flap, looking around cautiously. He had no idea what to do now expect watch the villagers for any rare findings like Hinata or Orihime. Heh, maybe he might just find an Orihime doppelganger! That thought was nice…
He pursed his lips, contemplating on whether or not to leave the tent. Ichigo had only left minutes ago in search of a dead body for Kon to use, and Kon doubted they'd be back anytime soon. Knowing Ichigo, they'd probably get distracted. Kon wished that they hadn't taken Hinata with them, at least then he'd have something to look at.
It was then he spotted abnormal auburn hair that piqued his interest. It was an extremely curvy woman, and Kon had the pleasure of looking at her from the back. To make it all the more wonderful, she looked exactly like Orihime.
"Wait…" He mumbled, sitting up, "Could it be? Have my wishes come true! Is that Inoue?" Kon bounded up from the ground, stepping out the tent and to the streets. Dramatically he reached forward at the retreating form. "Ahh! Matte! Matte! My Goddess, please stop!"
The curious eyes of others didn't bother Kon as he stumbled out of the tent. Ichigo may have had a muscular body, but it was still lanky and uncoordinated. Which made Kon's chase for the Orihime-look-alike even more difficult. But it was urgent. He just had to see her.
He pushed passed the crowds of people, not bothering to apologize. He pushed people all over the place in effort to catch up to her and her swaying hips. Quite a few people fell over each other like the domino effect. They all took one look at that orange head of hair and automatically knew they'd remember it. Kon was making a pretty decent amount of enemies.
But did he care? Not in the least. When it came to his lovely goddess, Orihime, nothing mattered. This girl looked so much like her it was crazy. She took a right into a small shop, and Kon followed suit. He didn't bother to look at what they were selling, his eyes focused on the door that suddenly closed in the back. Without asking for permission to enter the building formally, he followed closely.
This whole situation was exciting. It was an exhilarating chase.
However, he stepped into the building, and he saw nothing. The auburn hair and shapely body were nowhere to be seen. Kon pouted, slouching over. "Nani? Noooo!" He cried, dejectedly turning back on the door.
"What the-"
Walking in the street, there she was again. It was the same girl from before, passing by the shop right then and there. Only this time, she had a bag in her hands. Though Kon paid no attention to the bag, it was too close to her bosom for him to realize it was there. He abandoned the shop quickly, once against entering the flow of the Konoha streets. He noted he was in a recently rebuilt part of town, where building weren't burnt, broken, or completely turned to dust. It was definitely a nice change of scenery.
His eyes never left the figure this time. He was determined to keep her in sight, so much so that wherever he was going was nothing to him. He didn't know how far away from the tent he was, but he figured it wasn't too big of a deal. He'd repair the damage later. For now, who cared what Ichigo or Rukia would say? Kon certainly didn't.
The doppelganger led him out of the rebuilt-part of town and to a less-formal place. A place that made Kon's skin tingle with excitement. It was a hot-spring! (Much like the one where Naruto first met Jiraiya; in fact, it might even be the same one.) His mouth watered as the goddess walked into the place, and Kon ever-so-subtle scooted towards the flap for the doorway.
He was so happy he was practically giggling. He could see everything. His cheeks were red, his heart was racing, and his eyes were bulging. These were the most beautiful women he'd ever seen! It was hard to find humans that were these shapes back in Karakura Town. It was then, that the excitement almost became too overbearing, and Kon did something he shouldn't of.
Dreamily, he yelled, "MY GODDESS! I finally found you!"
After that point, Kon couldn't exactly remember what happened. He distinctly remembered feeling something sharp thrown at his face, and the loud screaming that followed afterwards. He'd been so worried about being caught (and getting into even more trouble than he already was) that he rushed away, as fast as he could. Apparently, girls here also got really angry,
Those hot-spring girls must have chased him for miles. It was shocking how fast they could run. There was a classic anime sweatdrop on Kon's worried face the whole way back. He still had not a clue where he was going. At this point, Kon was winging it. His face was already bleeding from the sharp object that had been thrown at him.
In some way shape or form, Kon managed to free himself from the angry maidens. He escaped their evil clutches with a series of snake-like turns throughout the village, and many fallen villagers being pushed down to block their path. Yes, it was demeaning to resort to such means to get away, but what else could Kon do? It wasn't exactly like he could call a helicopter and be flown to a safe area. He was on his own here.
Kon, panting and bleeding found himself back at the tent, collapsing to the ground from exasperation. His chest rise and fell heavily, the moisture on his skin a mixture of sweat and blood. Everything about him fit the scenario of a pervert who'd just been the target of flying objects and angry females, everything but one thing; he still had a stupid grin on his face.
He heard steps, and felt some Reiatsu, but he didn't turn to look until the tent flap was thrown open to reveal an angry Rukia, a sympathetic Hinata, and a shocked pinkette-stranger.
"What the hell happened?"
Author's Note::
Yes, you guessed it! This is a IchigoxSakura fanfic! I'm not a very big fan of IchiRuk or Ichihime. In fact, I think the only bleach girl good enough for him is Tatsuki. xD (If you know a great fanfic with Ichigo and Tatsuki, please send me a message!) However, Sakura is one of my all-time favorite characters (and you may be wondering, but I also prefer her with Sasuke, not Naruto) so I felt that the best pair, in my mind, was her and Ichigo. So…there… My bias explanation to the pairings in this fanfic. There's also a pairing with Renji, and no, it's not Rukia. But I think you all can guess from the content of chapter 7 and 8. Read in between the lines.
WARNING! There won't be much romance. Sorry, this is more adventure. . I'm not a very great romance writer. Action and violence? I can do that.
A quick look into Sasuke in this chap. I just took a little tidbit from the manga, as I always do. I thought I haven't been portraying Sasuke that much, and he IS one of the major characters, so… huh…
This chapter is a few hundred words shorter than usual, and sorry for the horrible editing. When I edit, I skim. I especially in a hurry because I have to get some sleep tonight. Big finals coming up.
Anyways, I hope you like it. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!
But for now, ~ adieu.