Bleach ©Tite Kubo
Naruto ©Masashi Kishimoto
The concept of Jiryokou ©Dahlia Derbyshire
Ichigo couldn't watch anymore of what was happening. He rushed right in, without giving the situation a second thought, and reacted in his own natural way. Sai watched as what he had intended to do was copied and finished through by Ichigo. The strange orange-haired teen was a bit more violent with what he did, yes, nevertheless it did halt the situation.
Rather than stopping what could have been Karui's killing blow, Ichigo swatted Karui like a bug to the side with a brisk kick to her side. Neither she nor Omoi could have ever predicted his presence, and both were equally shocked when his foot made contact with her side, sending the fuming Karui barreling into a nearby tree. It was a sight to see, Karui getting her own medicine. Even then, Naruto couldn't stand for it.
"Ichigo, you bastard!" Naruto whined, sliding against the small building and to the ground. He clutched his ribcage. "I didn't ask for you to interfere." Naruto was yet to become accustomed to Ichigo's unusual 'Chakra' and he was equally as surprised as the others. Still, such a small emotion was pushed aside when he realized Ichigo's purpose.
"Heh," the shinigami chuckled, on the receiving-end of Karui's venomous glare, "you'll thank me later, Naruto." Sai seemed to agree with Ichigo's interruption, for he slowly crept out of the shadows, standing right beside Ichigo. He gave a hazardless glance over to Naruto, slumped against the building.
Sai didn't take his eyes away for a while, examining Naruto's beaten face closely. He couldn't help but sigh. "You're stupid, Naruto." He stated plainly, surprising everyone. "You don't need to get beat up for Sasuke's sake."
Ichigo again stepped in, waving a hand in the air. "From what I hear, it sounds like this Sasuke guy does nothing but hurt you!"
Sai nodded in agreement.
While they spoke, Karui fumed. She pulled herself up off the ground, swatting away Omoi's hand when he offered to help. Ichigo hit her hard enough that her whole right side hurt as she stumbled forward, anger emitting in heavy waves with her Chakra. "Fine, if you're gonna interfere," she started, suddenly rushing forward, "then I'll just hit the both of you!"
Omoi saw it, and pushing aside his minor irritation for her, he did the best thing he could've for his loud teammate; he stopped her. With his fast reflexs he was able to reach out in time, clutching onto her forearm. She was pulled back, shooting an angry and confused look his way. He merely shook his head. "Give it a rest, Karui. Continuing this won't get us anywhere." He scolded.
His action caused the two Kumo nin to get into a tiny fight, which consisted of Karui glowering and yanking her arm away from Omoi. She barked at him, and he replied back in a non-threatening way. He couldn't help but think, 'Jeez, Karui's such a hot-head.'
Meanwhile, Sai came to Naruto's aid in a knelt position beside him. The worst was over with, allowing the tension to ease –at least on their part. Ichigo turned around to finally get a good look at Naruto. He was beaten far worse than the shinigami could have imagined. To think that this 'Karui' would go this far! It was inhumane… Ichigo briefly glanced in her direction, noting that their minor squabble now seemed to be over. She'd stepped far back, clutching her side.
"Sorry about that…" Ichigo merely murmured, only making Karui's mixture of hate and embarrassment denser. She'd never been so badly hurt after one strike in her entire shinobi career. It was impressive…and frightening. A part of her admired Ichigo, thus when he apologized she quickly evaded eye contact. Suddenly the soil was the most interesting thing in the world.
Any conversing that could've happened didn't, for every person in that area suddenly felt someone approaching, a person which only Karui and Omoi recognized.
Said person landed softly from the trees in front of her two teammates. She was tall, shapely, with blond hair and blue eyes. Ichigo didn't know who she was, but even so he could tell something about her was off. His suspicions were confirmed when Karui piped in.
"Samui-taicho? Are you all right?" She asked worriedly, for once showing an ounce of sympathy for the busty blond beauty.
The woman didn't want to respond. She'd just lost a battle, and still wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that she'd survived. That short black-haired woman had spared her…for what purpose? Everything looked as if it had been going smoothly, at least until she was stopped from 'finishing the job'. For what felt like the millionth time that day, Samui shook her head at herself. That was a bad thought. If she continued her less-than-honorably ways, she'd permanently become the person she saw through Rukia's eyes; the disheveled fighter who didn't know when to stop…a monster.
When Omoi cleared his throat she immediately turned her attention back to the five people before her. Quickly, she rebounded from her thoughts with a demanding question. "Omoi, Karui, did you find anything?" When all she could hear was utter silence, she narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips and spat, "You haven't been causing trouble, have you?"
It was then she spotted the crumpled heap behind the pale boy and his strangely-dressed neighbor. It was a teenager, no older than her teammates, bleeding and bruised throughout his face. The old Samui would have set this aside and ignored it, but she wasn't that same old person. The fight with Hinata had opened up a more sympathetic part of her soul. Instantly, she opened her mouth to say something, but was cleanly cut off.
"Killer Bee is still alive!"
"We just need to find out where the Akatsuki hideout is and rescue him!"
Both her comrade's hopeful voices made her upper-lip twitch. How juvenile… "What are you talking about?" She told them coldly, enlightening Ichigo, who had remained very angry at Karui. "How can we possibly defeat people who were able to defeat Bee-sama, hhm? We can't search their hideouts one by one!" She shook her head disapprovingly at the two, and commented, "You're letting your feelings get in the way. If you want to help Bee-sama, then follow protocol. We'll get this new info to the Raikage right away."
At that, the injured Naruto lifted an arm at the group, causing Sai to knit his brow with worry. He muttered inaudible words repeatedly, not heard by the others. It took a great amount of his left over strength to finally say, "I…no…take me…with you…" He leaned forward as if he was going to crawl to the other three. Both Sai and Ichigo reached out a hand to hold him back, worried he didn't have enough strength and would fall over, only making his injuries worse. Again, he murmured, "I n-need to…speak…with the…R-Raikage…"
His hope was crushed when Samui only shook her head, mentioning something about the lack of full guards and danger to the Raikage. She insinuated, using quotes from the villagers, that Naruto would be too much of a risk.
Ichigo was appalled, his hands clenched. Did Naruto really look like a risk to her? He was badly injured, to the point that he could hardly speak! Even though it was her people that had done this to him, she didn't want to help him out a little by bringing him along! It was madness, and Ichigo was determined to say something about it until he was stopped. Sai saw the burning look in Ichigo's eyes, and he quickly reached out a hand like Omoi had to Karui earlier. The shinigami instantly understood.
Quite quickly the three Kumo nin, without saying anything more bounded into the trees. An overwhelming feeling of disappointment overtook Naruto's mind. They were one of his only chances…
Now what?
xXx
( Konoha Tent )
Ichigo accompanied the others back into the main part of the village, where he carried Naruto (slung over his shoulder) to a designated tent. Earlier Naruto had mentioned being taken to Kakashi and a 'Yamamoto'. Again there was yet another name that Ichigo didn't recognize, making him slightly homesick. Being the new person who knew nothing could really be a big pain.
In Karakura Town Ichigo had known everything, mainly because he'd been a part of the drama. But here, in this 'Konohagakure' he knew nothing. Which was probably why as they entered the tent, they told him to wait outside and guard; from what he was told, Naruto didn't want to have Sakura check up on him. It was reasonable. Knowing Sakura, she'd probably go and ask too many questions.
After waiting no less than five minutes Ichigo set Zangetsu on the ground beside him and sat down crossed-legged. He looked leisurely as he watched people pass by, mostly holding long pieces of wood or tools. The effort to rebuild the village was huge; Ichigo could see it very clearly. Even in its state the people were eerily happy, chatting amongst themselves in an excited tone. Once or twice he overheard conversations about Naruto, or as they called him, "the village hero". Ichigo sighed. He hadn't grown to like Naruto that much, but a part of him thought that Naruto was a good, admirable sort-of guy.
Soon the tent opened, and Ichigo glanced up to see Kakashi's head poking out. The white-haired male looked down and gave a false smile. "Could you come in, please?" He asked in a sing-song voice. Ichigo raised a brow. Nonetheless, he did as told, making sure to holster Zangetsu to his back.
He entered cautiously, noting how both Naruto and Sai's expressions seemed to be resolute. Before he could ask what they'd spoken about, both teens stood up and excused themselves.
It was then Ichigo saw Naruto's face…was it better? He couldn't believe it, and rubbed his eyes just to make sure. Even then nothing changed; Naruto's face still looked healthier than it had before. The big swell on his check was completely gone, having disappeared completely. His lip may have been torn, but the small cut was nowhere as big as the gash he'd had only minutes ago. The only thing that gave off he was still injured was the slight discoloration and the bandage wrapped around his head.
"What the hell happened?" Ichigo blurted as soon as Naruto and Sai were gone, looking straight at Kakashi.
The one Ichigo assumed was 'Yamamoto' was the first to answer. "Weren't you there when that happened?" He asked, realizing that that wasn't what Ichigo had meant from his empty stare.
"Naruto just heals fast," Kakashi stated, holding both hands defensively, "partly because of him being a host. Did Sakura tell you about this?" Ichigo nodded. "Good, good. Less explaining on my part…" Surprisingly enough, Kakashi didn't look patient, and glanced many times to the tent exit. Something was bothering him, which he clearly voiced into Yamamoto's ear as a whisper. Ichigo, unfortunately, could hear nothing. Before he could even inquire what they were talking about, Kakashi rushed out of the tent and away, leaving the shinigami with a complete stranger.
"Sorry about that," Yamamoto said apologetically, "he's got some surveillance business to take care of. Anyways, beforehand they told me of your unique predicament."
Huh?
"And since Tsunade's currently unavailable, Kakashi is busy, and Danzo's left the village –though we wouldn't have told him anything anyways- he left the responsibility for you under me." He took a break to look Ichigo over. He looked young, but his size said otherwise. What kind of teenager was this tall? Not to mention that he had that heavy-looking sword strapped to his back in an eerie fashion. Yamamoto couldn't help but conclude that this kid was anything but normal.
The way he spoke made Ichigo feel like he was an object, and a liability. "Eh, what's this all about?" He asked impatiently. He needed to find Rukia…
Yamamoto rubbed the back of his head nervously, unsure how to continue this. Hesitantly he responded, "Truth be told, we don't really know what to do with you… You're not a ninja, and you're supposedly not from any shinobi village. The villagers can't see you, but the shinobi can. You were that sword on your back but you claim you don't belong to the shinobi villages… And now I've been informed you're not the only one like this in the village, there's one other."
"Two others," Ichigo corrected, "Rukia told me Kon was here too."
"Nonetheless, this all puts me in a very uncomfortable position." The shinobi interjected, pacing about the tent. "We can't use you like we would a normal ninja, giving you information and sending you on a mission is prohibited. Plus, we don't even know how strong you are, thus we can't decide if you're a danger to us…"
Just then Yamamoto froze with a glazed look to his eyes. Everything in him just stopped. Ichigo would have said something, but a part of him didn't want to interrupt whatever Yamamoto was seeing.
"They're on the move…" He murmured.
Ichigo took a step forward. "Who? Who's on the move?"
Yamamoto seemed to be in a hurry. Briskly he walked out and left the tent, followed by Ichigo. "The Kumo nin from before. I had a clone place a tracker on their leader." He explained.
As if they'd never left, Kakashi and Naruto appeared, both wearing cloak-like garb that looked meant for travel. Once again Naruto's face looked like it had healed some more, and he seemed in a good mood, different from earlier.
Ichigo looked at the two, catching a solemn look from Naruto. It had only taken one brief look at Ichigo to ruin Naruto's spirits. He still could remember back at the lake, where Ichigo had so bravely helped out Sakura, something Naruto himself had intended to do in a heroic manner. He huffed and looked away, something that went unnoticed by the other two. Oh, but Ichigo noticed. He would never be able to ignore it.
"They're on the move, Kakashi, Naruto." Yamamoto stated, receiving a nod from both people. "They're just leaving the village, if we leave now we can keep a good distance without being spotted or loosing them." Once again, they nodded.
Kakashi quickly looked to Ichigo with the same false smile from earlier, and the shinigami instantly got a bad feeling. "You will stay in the village. Don't try to follow us." He warned. Ichigo shrugged; unnerved that Kakashi had been able to detect Ichigo's intentions. "We'll be back soon enough. For now just…bother Sakura or something."
Naruto's eye twitched.
Their brief explanations did not ease Ichigo's conscience, and he had the terrible urge to chase after them as she sped off, Naruto sending a distasteful glance over his shoulder. In the end Ichigo stayed behind, his fists clenched. Since when was it their job to give him orders? As if this whole ordeal wasn't enough to handle… That thought in mind Ichigo cursed, kicking at the ground.
Those good-for-nothing shinobi were going somewhere important, Ichigo could just see it in their eyes. He wanted to go with them, help them, and prove to them he wasn't just some liability! Until he found a way out of Konoha and back home, he needed something to do. Anything. He found nothing, and he could think of nothing. The only person who could come up with a relatively decent plan was Rukia, and Ichigo had no idea where she was. For all he knew, she could be leaving the village right at that moment! (Although that was highly unlikely, that didn't stop Ichigo from thinking it.)
'I guess I'll just have to look for her…' He mumbled to himself, nodding. Gradually his temper cooled, and he finally allowed himself the privilege of movement. Two slightly shaky strides forward and suddenly he was bounding down the dirt streets, weaving in and out of the steady stream of people without so much as brushing them with his baggy attire. The first place that came to mind was the first place he looked; that dreaded tent he had been forced to spend hours in, waiting. Here he was, returning the last place he wanted to be. Ichigo grimaced at that thought.
However, no hope was lost, especially when he saw a head of pink hair in the crowd of people. He was positive that what he saw was Sakura, even more so that the black-haired people to her side were Rukia and Hinata. He was, at first, eager to approach them, but stopped short when he saw Rukia's face. It was contorted with pure anger, and her mouth was moving in such a wild way it suggested she was yelling at somebody in the tent. It took Ichigo a while, but soon he registered just who the person in the tent was.
One drastic face-palm forward, he approached the trio.
xXx
( Ichigo's Tent )
Sakura was so happy that she and the other two had come up with such a brilliant solution to the whole 'Kon drama'. It was so clever and cunning, for a moment Sakura's ego took a huge rise as she clapped herself on the back, following closely behind Hinata and Rukia.
Rukia…that shinigami was strange to Sakura. All while they had been discussing their theories, Rukia had been denying any possibility of it working. It was still amazing to Sakura how they managed to convince her. Rukia seemed to think that the fact Ichigo was in his "Reaper form" (as Rukia had called it) preventing his real body from being in any way useful. The two kunoichi with her, however, beg to differ. Both Sakura and Hinata were sure that if Kon learned Jutsu, Ichigo would too, similar to the way of the Shadow Clones… Ah, muscle memory was such a nice thing.
Unfortunately, the two girls didn't seem to understand just how troublesome Kon had to the potential to be until they arrived at the tent and saw his beaten, worried face. Kon was like one solid form of foolishness. Even as they peered through the tent, Rukia in a fit of rage, the only thing he did was grin stupidly, bringing memories of an all-too reckless blond to her mind.
Kon had nothing to say in his defense as Rukia shouted out the various mistakes he'd made. The shinigami seemed so extremely worked up, Sakura noted, that she didn't seem to feel the change in the air to the west of them. For a moment the roseate looked to her left, completely surprised at what she saw, and not because Ichigo was back…
But because Ichigo was the only one back.
Where was Naruto? Sai? What about the Kumo nin? Those questions didn't seem to have an obvious answer, and as much as Sakura wanted to ask them, she had to look away. Staring at Ichigo was hard to do, unlike Naruto he didn't break into a smile or a laugh, he stared right back. It was as if he had no insecurities, and that fact alone bothered Sakura deeply.
Seconds later his arrival was noted by Hinata, who'd seen the various changes in Sakura's facial expression. Like the domino effect, both Rukia and Kon seemed to notice something different and they too took an interest; Rukia backed up to get a better look, and Kon poked his head out through the tent. Instantaneously, Kon's face lit up. Ichigo was a beacon of light in sad times like these.
"Big brooooother~" Kon chimed, seemingly unaware of Rukia's piercing stare. He pranced out of the tent like a prisoner set free, his sudden movement sending the three females a step back. "How I've missed you!"
Everyone could see the confused look on Ichigo's face change. In his mind he pieced it all together. It was almost comical how he quirked a brow at Kon, sending the poor doppelganger into an emotional overdrive. The poor guy threw his hands up in the air dramatically, preparing everyone for a loud outburst, but instead only gave a small sigh.
"Such a disappointment…" Kon merely mumbled, his shoulders drooping. "Where's all the hate? You usually give it like free candy…"
Sakura chuckled, allowing herself to relax in the comedic atmosphere. Only for a brief moment, however, there was business that needed to be atoned to. She made that obvious when she pulled on her gloves, stepping towards the two twins. "Hold it," she stated between steps, "Kon needs to be healed first before we get into any details."
The surprisingly silent Ichigo looked thoroughly surprised, the others noted. It was as if he had been pulled out of a deep thought. Considering Sakura's decimal per strength ratio, it wasn't hard to believe that he'd reacted so quickly.
Well, that and a whole other reason unbeknownst of her.
xXx
( Whatever's left of Konoha Hospital )
"WHAT?"
Ichigo's voice rang out loud through the semi-rebuilt building as he stared at the two women incredulously. Hinata had left only moments ago, leaving only two people for Ichigo to bark at. It was sad for him, it meant less people to understand his doubts and worries about this. Their plan was cruel; it felt like they wanted to use his real body to perform an experiment on. He couldn't just sit by idly and let them do it!
Sakura was the first to speak, narrowing her eyes. "What's so horrible about it?"
He scoffed, raising his hand, preparing to count his fingers. "First of all, this isn't just some game. My body isn't just a chess piece, alright? If it doesn't work, we can't just go back to the beginning and start over. If it doesn't work, my configuration will be all messed up each and every time I try to become a shinigami! I thought Chakra and Reiatsu couldn't mix." He got a few nods from both Kon and Rukia. Down went one finger. "What's more is that this could be dangerous. I'm meant to be a shinigami, not…a ninja! Changing that would be so unnat-"
"Yeah, and I'd have to learn jutsu!" Kon cleanly cut in, taking a literal stand.
Dejectedly, Ichigo nodded in agreement, mumbling, "That's true."
Even with her visible worries about it, Rukia ended their little rant with her drawn-out sigh. "Ichigo, listen closely when I saw this…" She told him. "But you need this. Things here aren't the same as in Karakura Town, or Soul Society. Chakra is dense, and potent, much different then Reiatsu. If you're going to stand a chance against any high level shinobi, you're going to need to have a balanced mixture inside of you. Our ban kai is only as strong as the average ninja here, a Chuunin, or whatever Sakura said…" She rose her eyebrows waiting for their permission to continue. Oddly enough, she got it. Taken aback, she continued, "Uh…and, well…as I was saying, you don't stand a chance at this moment. Since we're going to be here a while, I think it's our responsibility to take advantage of the opportunities we have here…" She nodded to herself, smiling. There was a familiar way she reached behind her, grabbing at something, as she said, "And if you don't believe me…
"Take a look at this diagram I made."
There it was, that blasted notebook Ichigo hated dearly. Proudly Rukia held it out before the others, pointing here and there as she went on explaining. Ichigo wanted to smack it out of her hands, but her drawings were so horrendous that they were almost addicting…
"See, this Chappy represents Chakra, and this Chappy represents Reiatsu. When they try to fight, this one will win because he clearly has a much heavier suit of armor to protect himself." Ichigo took a good look at the Reiatsu-Chappy, his abdomen hurting from the prolonged stifle of outrageous laughter. He couldn't hold it back…the more she pointed to that monstrosity, wearing what looked like a meat-suit, the more he wanted to throw his head back and…
"AHAHAHAHA!" He finally cried, giving into his desires. He threw his head back, inciting the same reaction from Sakura, who had felt she needed to be polite. Not anymore, it seemed. Both people were laughing so hard that tears welled up in their eyes.
Rukia's eye twitched.
"What is it? What's sooooo funny?" She spat, standing up. "This is a serious matter, what could you possible find so damn funny?"
Hearing her evident irritation, Ichigo forced himself into a quieter tone of chuckling. "I'm sorry, it's just…" He paused, not sure how to state it, "Did you get worse at drawing since I last saw you?'
The inside joke arouse different reactions from both patrons; Rukia grumbled and Ichigo simply laughed some more, clutching at his stomach. Sakura took the time to observe, learning more about Ichigo. It seemed to her that the two had been separated for a long period of time…interesting…
Once again Ichigo had to apologize. "Sorry, but it's so hard to take you seriously when your drawings look like that."
"Diagrams. They're diagrams." She corrected, huffing and crossing her arms. "However bad you say my diagrams are doesn't really matter. All you need to understand is the concepts, or the ideas behind the art."
Sakura chimed in. "Wait, so what you're saying is that this 'Chakra-Chappy' has more armor than the Reiatsu one?" She mumbled...As usual Sakura understood what this was getting at, and her face lit up. It was as if she was in school again. "So Chakra doesn't necessarily make us shinobi stronger, it just makes us more protected!"
Rukia nodded enthusiastically. "Precisely!"
"And that's why shinigami are considered weaker, because although they're not necessarily weaker, their body's natural armor is?"
"Right again."
"And because Chakra is both physical and spiritual energy, it's thicker and more dense, which makes the certain level of protection it comes with thicker and more dense." Once again Rukia nodded, but Sakura didn't stop there. "And because of this, if Ichigo were to ever get into a fight with a strong ninja he would surely loose." Quickly she pointed at Ichigo, surprising him. "Which is why you, mister, need to learn basic jutsu, that way you can have this 'armor' like the rest of us."
He grunted, rolling his eyes. It was as if they were picking his fate for him. However, what they were saying did make sense to him, he just didn't like it. Kon was the one who'd be officially learning this stuff, only to pass on the knowledge to Ichigo. What if Kon didn't learn it right? What if he messed up somehow? He shuddered at that thought…
"Wait," he stopped them in their obvious excitement. For a while now, Rukia seemed to be holding something back. He had noticed that ever time Sakura went into talking about the differences between Chakra and Reiatsu, Rukia would bit her lip and look away, only for a brief moment. Nonetheless, he'd say it, Rukia couldn't fool him.
"What about Rukia? How's she going to participate in this?"
Author's Note::
My inspiration for this story has been diminishing, but don't fear, I haven't given up. This just means the intervals between release dates will get longer. Also, I've noticed this story gets less and less views as it progresses. I promise you, we're getting to the spin-off plot soon. I need this story, however, to be in the first stages of the (spoiler) Shinobi War before I can start the original spin-off plot up on my own. If you have any suggestions, or comments about what type of stuff you want to see in this story, PLEASE review and tell me.
I'm going my best to intertwine my spin-off plot and the story's plot, which is coming up soon. Bwa ha…ha? ='D
Anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.
Also, the next chapter I will put as beta. Because I simply have no time to edit anymore. Sorry for the length!
*NOTE* Until I get my inspiration back, chapter lengths might be really tiny. Sorry.
~ Adieu.