Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto or Bleach, but I know somebody who knows somebody that owns little Naruto and Ichigo plushies. That's got to count for something, right?

A/N: I'm putting brief author's notes before and after my chapters from now on, just because I like the way this format flows. You start with a little note from me, and end with one from me. 8D

Also, chapters 18 and 19 and 20 (especially 20) are all about Sakura and Ichigo, so if you've wanted to see more character development then here you go~ But after that it's mostly about the Naruto plot line, and Naruto himself. So get ready.

Enjoy!

xXx

( Konoha )

Rukia felt unusually heavy. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but for some reason she felt weighed down by an unseen force. The sensation was especially apparent when she practiced her hand signs, or her Chakra control. This little tidbit of information she kept to herself, not wanting to worry Ichigo in any way. Besides, even if she shared it, who would be able to tell her what it meant? For shinigami, the ways of the shinobi were entirely different and Rukia was the first shinigami to learn Jutsu (she thought). Ebisu wouldn't be able to quell her worries…it looked like finding out what was happening was entirely up to her.

After her morning lap around the training grounds she was prepared to practice more of her henge when she felt a familiar Reiatsu in the area. Rukia just about jumped for joy at Ichigo's return. They were great friends and she wished to tell him everything that she –and technically he- had learned through Ebisu. Forgetting the hand signs she was supposed to be making she took a beeline through the vast expanse of trees to the village gates. They were getting close…she could feelit.

Unfortunately there wasn't a chance to tell Ichigo of her findings. Indeed the substitute shinigami arrived, but with him there was a badly injured woman. Rukia was forced to step aside and let the shinobi handle the situation while she waited patiently for a chance to talk. From afar she watched Ichigo and Kiba talk in front of the tent, though she didn't know what they were talking about specifically she could grasp the basic concept of it. Nodding where a nod was required she listened closely.

Finally Sakura came out of the tent, her pink hair tied back. She looked exhausted, but also pleased to announce that the injured woman, Karin, was alive! Of course nobody was happy for Karin's wellbeing, they were more ecstatic about the information she could provide on Sasuke and the Akatsuki. Rukia was about to approach the group when she saw a blob of orange heading her way. Lightly turning her head she saw it was none other than Naruto.

"Hey Rukia," Naruto politely addressed, getting a curt nod from Rukia in response. The female didn't know much about Naruto for she had ever only had a few chances to talk to him. However it seemed like he was determined to get a good talk in today; taking a minute to stand right next to Rukia he said, "So what's his deal." He pointed over to Ichigo, who was now trying to ignore Sakura. Rukia knew him well enough to tell when he was trying to avoid confrontation.

She knitted her brows at Naruto, taking a brief moment to look at him as if he was joking. Nope, he was being completely serious. She sighed and turned her attention back to the villagers that passed by them and the commotion by Karin's new tent. "There's not much to tell you, Naruto. And even if I had anything I wouldn't betray Ichigo, he's my friend." She thought her response was fairly admirable.

"Oh," he said dejectedly, eyes wandering to the ground, "I guess that's all right, I just thought that I could help Ichigo is all." Something about his voice felt persuasive and pitiful at the same time… Naruto turned away and slowly put one foot in front of the other, attempting to leave Rukia answerless. "See you la-"

"Now just hold on a minute!" Rukia told him, effectively stopping him in his tracks. She was not only confused, but suspicious of Naruto's intentions. Did he really say he wanted to help Ichigo, and if so, with what? "What do you mean?"

Slowly the Jinchuriki strolled back to his place at her side. "Oh, you know, the usual…just wanted to help him with any problems he might have…involving dark powers and being controlled." He told her, obviously looking at her for answers.

She stiffened, knowing precisely where this conversation was going. To that day Rukia didn't like thinking about Ichigo's inner…hollow… She still remembered how frightening he could be when it took over, and how intimidating the mask was. Anyone who saw that part of Ichigo simply could not look at him the same way ever again. Thus she was worried that sometime during his "trip" he'd let loose and tapped into the Hollow. Visored or not, something like that was too reckless to use. Momentarily she glanced over to Ichigo, all the sudden wanting very much to talk to him.

Did Naruto know? Had he seen the hollow? Her eyes shot back to the blond and by doing so she unknowingly confirmed to him that somewhere inside Ichigo was darkness. Nonetheless she collectively replied, "No, I can't think of any darkness."

By now Ichigo, Sakura, and the others who were around Karin's tent dispersed (except for Kakashi, who was officially on guard duty). Rukia decided to follow them, followed by Naruto. Something felt off, as if they were all gathering for a reason. Rukia wasn't entirely sure what they wanted until all of the teenage shinobi she had met were centered on high piles of freshly-sawed wood. Some took seats at the top of the piles, but like Ichigo, Rukia preferred to hang out on the ground, leaning her weight against it. Hesitantly looking around she recognized several people, all of which had been introduced to her by Sakura during their free time. Unfortunately, people were missing, four people, to be exact.

"Hey, where're Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji?" She asked, turning to Sakura who stood close by. Unfortunately, the roseate looked self-absorbed in her thoughts, thus forcing the shinigami to turn her question over to Kiba above her. She asked it again.

Kiba rubbed the back of his head. "You know, I probably should know, but all Hinata said was that they were going on an important scouting trip. Where or why I have no idea…" He mumbled apologetically, feeling slightly silly that despite the fact he was Hinata's teammate he didn't keep very good tabs on her.

Rukia nodded, craning her neck to look at those that were left. Ichigo, who a yard or two directly across from her, looked annoyed. Irritated, at best. Occasionally Rukia would catch him shoot a look Sakura's way, but because of the sheer speed she never got a chance to see what he was expressing. Anger? Resentment? Or perhaps Sakura just had something on her face? To confirm the latter Rukia looked to the kunoichi yet saw nothing. 'Soitcan'tbethatone,' Rukia thought to herself, attention being directed to Kon, who had just joined the group. He came to stand next to her.

Quite suddenly, the discussion was started when Neji said, "Naruto, this is unreasonable! Selfish!" His forehead was creased, chin squared in frustration. Rukia didn't quite catch anything before that point, and she only caught it because Neji was usually quiet and laid-back and made a sudden change.

The accused shook his head, his spiky blond hair bobbing. "I'm not trying to be selfish!"

"Well you could've fooled me," Kiba murmured, rolling over on his back, still secure at the top of the pile. "We're all prepared to kill Sasuke, man!"

Usually Shikamaru was in charge of these things, but because of his absence Neji was forced to take over. He crossed his arms over his chest and added on, "You're not trying to convince us just so you can turn around and defend Sasuke, are you?"

Rukia's head snapped back and forth, trying to catch the important bits of the "discussion" (which was quickly turning into a debate). Shino unexpectedly brought up a good point about Sasuke and the Summit. Rukia nodded, noting that it was true; Sasuke was indeed weakened (part of the official mission report) after fighting Danzo and the Kage, why didn'tNaruto finish him there? In defense Sakura stated that Madara was there as well, which was yet another good point. Rukia had been in Konoha long enough to know that this "Madara" was one seriously dangerous dude.

Kiba jumped back in, complimenting and shaming Naruto at the same time by bringing up the defeat of Pein and his ultimate powers, something Rukia didn't agree with. Indeed the shinigami felt strong waves of energy come off this teen, it was not strong enough to defeat such a formidable opponent. She knew how strong Danzo was just from being in close proximity to him, and if Sasuke defeated that man then he was indeed a force not to be reckoned with. At the current time, Naruto didn't stand much of a chance. He may have tried to act calm, but he knew it, and Rukia knew it. The two of them also knew he would do something to change that.

The topic of strength brought up again, Naruto ended it solemnly. To others it looked like Naruto was shouldering all the responsibility of taking down Sasuke on himself, but it was more than that. Of course, when asked, Naruto merely pushed it aside. "I'll tell you when it's time," he told them, slowly relaxing to head in the other direction. He leaned back as he strode, in a walking lazy-boy position with both hands behind his head, "I'm hungry! I'll be at Ichiraku's if you need me!"

Rukia, however, could not let him go. She quickly stepped in front of him, looking behind the group intently. "Wait, someone's coming…" Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ichigo perk up too, likely noticing the Chakra as well. Now that Rukia was learning more about Chakra, hand signs, and Jutsu, she was fairly susceptible to sensing the substance, especially one in such a heavy concentration…when it occurred to her, she had felt this Chakra somewhere before.

Hatake Kakashi approached the Chuunin, holding out one of his classic books in one hand while the other was secured in his pocket. He barely even glanced at the numerous shinobi before stopping in front of them. He turned a page.

They waited for him to do something, say something, but for the longest moment he was completely silent. Absorbed into his book so far that if felt like he didn't even know who he was near. Nonetheless, that could not be true! Not when he slowly lifted his head, his revealed eye flicking to the kids in front of them. He looked to three specific people who Rukia could not see before turning his blank stare directly at her. She gulped, suddenly feeling like she had done something wrong…it was Shinigami Academy all over again.

"I've got some good news, and some bad news." He began, looking to Sakura. "Good news is that Tsunade's awa-" Kakashi was interrupted by several shocked gasps and dramatic comments (including Naruto's "Granny Tsunade is awake? Hell yeah!") before he cleared his throat and continued, "awake, yes. But the bad news is she wants to speak with the four of you; Ichigo, Rukia, Kon, and Sakura."

Rukia looked to the other three mentioned and noticed Kon's confused look her way. She wished she could answer, but even she had no idea what this meeting was about. Sidelining her thoughts she also saw Ichigo and Sakura, staying as far away from each other as possible.

Just what happened in the Land of Iron?

xXx

( The Hokage's Temporary Residence )

After Pein's brutal attack on Konoha, the Hokage's home and office (something many people referred to the Hokage Tower) had been viciously destroyed. Now what stood in its place was a short, stocky building with the kanji for fire painted on its doors. She could only assume this was where Tsunade was, most likely laying in bed, weak and disheveled. Why did she insist on talking to them during the most critical stage of her recovery? It was impossible to think she was actually required to do business after only waking up hours ago!

Entering the building, Sakura expected to see Tsunade lying on her cot, her most-likely-skinny arm reaching up to caringly stroke the face of another, perhaps Shizune or Tom-tom. Sakura could only see the worst possible situation for Tsunade to be in right now, thus when she saw the truthshe was left speechless.

Tsunade wasn't weak or frail at all! She looked as healthy as a horse! Sitting straight up that crazy woman was shoveling more and more food into her mouth. The batshit woman was positioned before a 15-foot table stacked with nothing but food. Noticing a dark blob in the corner, Sakura looked to see Shizune backed up against a wall, clutching Tom-tom tightly. The black-haired woman caught their entrance and smiled apologetically, her expression saying something along the lines of, "Idon'tknowhowthishappened!"

The Hokage glanced up to the newcomers, a piece of pork sticking out of her packed cheeks. "There you are!" She said, which sounded more like: "Lher yuu ahh!" Not quite understanding what she said, Sakura just nodded politely. She found it strange to see Tsunade in such fit condition, when the last time she'd seen her she was badly injured and in a coma. Sakura shuddered.

As Kakashi settled himself near Shizune and the four teens got down to sit on the floor in front of the table, Tsunade took the moment of silence to force an unusual large clump of food down her throat. Politely she folded her hands on the table and smiled at the three, especially Ichigo. "Welcome to Konoha, newcomer." She told him, sounding too much like a charlatan. It sounded fake, and proved to be so as she consistently glanced hungrily back towards her food. "While I was, uh, detainedyou arrived here, yes?" Tsunade asked Ichigo.

Sakura refused to look at him, but heard him respond, "Yeah…"

"I see…it's a pity I didn't wake up sooner, I would have liked to see your face when you first looked at Konoha. Didn't expect it to look so dirty, did you?" For some reason, Sakura was getting the distinct impression that this would turn out more like an interrogation… Tsunade slowly leaned forward, eyes intently focused on Ichigo. This time Sakura risked a glance is way, only to see he looked blank. Did this not effect him? Tsunade continued, "You're superiors probably suspected Konoha to be glorious…big and prosperous, a challenge…"

Oh, no, Sakura could already see where it was headed, but before she could react Tsunade slammed her hands down on the table. The bowls of food wobbled. "Whoareyouandwheredidyoucomefrom?!" She demanded, turning her frantic eyes to Sakura, Rukia, and Kon as well. If anything, she seemed almost like she desired drama. It was understandable; after being "away" so long the hard-headed Tsunade wanted to come back with a punch!

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura rambled, curiously looking at Kakashi who she thoughthad debrief Tsunade on the specifics. "You're probably tired from all this…eating." Sakura stood from her spot and retreated to Tsunade's side, trying to coax her back down by gently pushing on her shoulder. "Let's just relax-"

The Hokage roughly pushed Sakura's hands away with such vigor that poor Sakura was sent backwards. Just like when they had fought the Kumo nin, she found that she was pushed so violently she couldn't help herself from falling. Luckily for her a pair of strong arms came to her rescue only moments before her head hit the floor, and when she looked up she saw it was none other than the same person who had saved her the last time. Orange hair, narrow face…it almost made Sakura angry. "Thanks," she hissed, forcing out of his arms. She was tired of being saved by him, or any male for that matter.

Reclaiming their seats, Tsunade didn't fail to notice their communication. She accusingly pointed a figurative finger at Ichigo when she spat, "So you're a spy and a seducer?" She then turned her sights to Rukia, "You must be his accomplice." Then Kon, "and you're no doubt the one who lures i-"

Tsunade was stopped by Shizune who interjected by gently doing what Sakura could not and pushing Tsunade into submission. "Tsunade-sama, are you forgetting what Kakashi told you?" She questioned, getting an inquisitive look from the Hokage. Apologetically Shizune smiled at the four teens. "I'm so sorry, Tsunade-sama is still a little drowsy from the medication we gave her. We are aware of your, well, specialcircumstances and we'll do our best to accommodate."

Rukia, being the more political shinigami of the two, shook her head. "No need to give us any special treatment. We don't plan on staying here long." She told them, elbowing Ichigo's arm when she saw the confusion evident on his face. The whole action just screamed, 'Shutupandletmedothetalking.'

The Hokage seemed to be returning to normal. She had her palm pressed against her forehead in a pained manner. Nonetheless the puzzled expression she had on melted away when she once again faced the shinigami, this time much more welcoming with her expression. She glanced from one stranger to another, examining them closely without hinting at what she was thinking. Sakura was pleased; this woman was the sensei she knew and loved.

"I know how you got here," Tsunade started, briefly turning to Kakashi, "but I don't know how you got here, in this village. Strangers can't just walk through the gates, and they can't exactly jump over the gate either…" Her eyes flickered to Sakura when the roseate raised her hand.

"It was me, Tsunade-sama. I saw him in the woods and brought him here." Sakura explained. The kunoichi's eyes instinctively went to Ichigo, where they were met by his. A silence passed where the both of them remembered that meeting…the mutual dislike, and the wolf attack. Sakura would have never guessed that the same person she once despised turned out to be a person she…liked. Modestly, she averted her gaze.

Tsunade seemed surprised. "You led him in here, Sakura?" She repeated, questioning it thoroughly until she got an affirming nod from the others in the room. "But what about those two, Rukia and Kon?" At the same time as asking the question she confirmed their names, a sneaky tactic for a village leader.

Thus began one rather long explanation which ranged from why Kon and Ichigo were the same to the existence of shinigami in another world. Naturally Ichigo took the reins on this one, meticulously going on about things Kakashi failed to mention, and adding new details that even Sakura was yet to learn. There was no end to how mysterious Ichigo could be, and slowly Sakura felt herself being drawn to him, literally. Every now and then she would be leaning his way, and would have to pull back as to not look suspicious. Still, he did a decent job of making things easy for Tsunade to understand.

Like there should be, there was some shock when Ichigo and Rukia revealed their spiritual identities. Normal shinobi didn't usually believe those sorts of things. In fact, usually death gods (or anything godly for that matter) was something they abhorred. The thought of a bigger being in the course of the universe was frightening, to say the least, and they'd much rather believe in an old myth about the Sage of the Six Paths.

What Tsunade thought about shinigami and other worlds after that point was unknown and difficult to interpret. The woman didn't allow any emotions to show through on her features; throughout the whole explanation process she remained calm and stoic, followed by Shizune who was equally blank. They were just empty blocks sitting at the other end of the table, and if it weren't for their occasional head bob and brief responses they would have seemed more like mannequins. This in itself was a surprising twist, considering Tsunade's violent and unpredictable nature on moments beforehand. That sill worried Sakura, that at any moment Tsunade would not like what she heard and lash out at Ichigo, a very open target for attack. Just on that thought alone Sakura felt defensive, her hand resting on her weapons pouch just in case. Tsunade may have been her sensei, but even that didn't give her the right to harm a hair on Ichigo's head, at least not while Sakura was around.

Luckily, Tsunade took it well, and at the very end she nodding intelligently. "Ah, okay, all right. This is starting to make sense." She commented, turning to nod at Shizune, who completely agreed. For a moment the two women had their eyes on each other, a small twitch in their features indicating some kind of nonverbal communication. Sakura glanced to Kakashi as if he knew what they were conversing about, but he was just as clueless as Sakura.

It was then the Hokage turned back to the four teens before her, her eyes intervolving between Ichigo and Rukia. "Usually we don't house guests such as yourselves in our village…and it would be advised that you take your leave of Konoha, however we don't have the time or the resources to send you out there in the world, to possibly be picked up by other forces." Tsunade slapped her elbows down on the table, resting her chin on both her hands. "So we have a proposition for you."

Sakura didn't like the sound of that…a proposition? It felt more like extortion was part of their deal. Tsunade had already hinted about the Akatsuki, and the special power of shinigami. The roseate had the sickening feeling that the proposition didn't just soundlike a form of extortion, but was. To Tsunade they must have sounded like a precious resource, but to what?

Tsunade got right to the point. "I would like you, and whatever other friends you may have in our world to fight on our side during the upcoming war." She said it resignedly, but in all seriousness. Something inside of Tsunade must have known what she was asking them to do wasn't right, but didn't seem to care. They were in a time of war, crisis, and all the while simultaneously rebuilding their own village!

Sakura, however, would not stand for it. Having Ichigo, Rukia, and possibly Kon fight in the war was nonsense. Not only was it neither their place nor responsibility, there was also the difference between Chakra and Reiatsu to account for. It was so unbalanced as of yet, not to mention that knowing the exact difference was not possible with Rukia and Kon's current state of training. In order to be well-rounded enough to fight the Akatsuki in such a war would take many more months of training on their part, and frankly nobody had the time. Furthermore, Sakura couldn't stand the thought of Ichigo as a part of the war. If he ended up in her medical tent badly injured she could never forgive Tsunade.

Her emotions seemed to boil over as she blatantly yelled out, "NO!" while clenching both fists tightly. "Tsunade-sama, you don't know what you're doing! There's so much you don't k-"

Sakura was cut short by Rukia. "No, Sakura, she's got a point. We can't just stay here in your village without contributing." For a moment it seemed all hope was lost on the matter with Rukia's submission. Sakura and Ichigo both looked at her desperately, neither of them appreciating the suggestion of using shinigami as a weapon. Luckily, things weren't always as they seemed. "However, I mean no disrespect when I say your war is none of our business. We shinigami have never involved ourselves in the politics of the Elemental Nations, thus I ask 'why start now?'"

Kon was feeling bold when he interjected, "Yeah, and we didn't askto come here in the first place! We were forced to come here!"

With all their objections came stress, and to handle it Tsunade closed her eyes tightly and took a deep, relaxing breath. "Listen," she started calmly as she reopened her eyes, "I don't like this as much as you, but it's not an option. The Village Elders will soon know of this, and they will demand your cooperation. The issue will be taken further and further up the latter until it reaches the ears of the Feudal Lords, at which point you will not be able to refuse." She turned to Shizune briefly, and when she got an encouraging nod from her turned back. "It's better to just cut the crap now and agree before arguments get too heated."

Things didn't look too good. No matter how many times Sakura or the others tried to discuss it, it was an utter failure. There was no avoiding the war, and the impending doom it might have on the shinigami. In the end they were kicked out of the temporary Hokage Tower, the discussion coming to a startling end. As it turns out Kakashi had long before implanted the idea of outside help for the war into Tsunade's mind, thus it was now his burden for blame for shinigami involvement. However bad his decision was to alienate the Hokage in such a way, Sakura could not hate him. He was only thinking of the village.

Once outside the tower Sakura, Kon, Rukia, and Ichigo all stood together awkwardly. The sun was setting, and they all looked tired and beat. It was definitely the right time to part ways and rest, but something in Sakura couldn't end it there. Where would Rukia and Kon go? Surely they couldn't cram together in Ichigo's little tent. Sakura felt bad about their living arrangements, but the idea of taking them back to her house was both frightening and exciting.

For an awkward silence Sakura fiddled with her fingers, trying to think of ways to say it, to ask. She didn't usually feel so socially inept when faced with a question. Then again, she wasn't usuallyasking people, especially if one of those people was a person she liked, back to her house. It just felt…weird… Besides, she could already see how her parents would react when they got a good look at Kon in Ichigo's body; no doubt they would suspect their daughter of something that wasn't true.

There, it was settled. Mentally Sakura pushed away the regret of their current living standards. Inside of her she had resolved the guilt she felt for leaving them in that tent, and slowly turned to walk away. With the brief flick of her wrist she waved to them, about to utter a goodbye but was stopped when something large latched onto her leg. Looking down she saw a head of orange hair, but not the same orange hair she was so accustomed to seeing. The feeling of it was different. Disturbed, Sakura kicked her leg out, trying to get Kon unhooked from her limb.

"Sakura-chan! Don't go! Take us with you!" Kon pleaded desperately, the sincerity of his voice causing her emotions to stir. Slowly she lightened her kicks in the air until they all but stopped, allowing Kon to readjust himself on the ground. "Don't make me sleep with Ichigo!"

Unlike some, Sakura didn't find Kon so annoying. In fact, she found him funny and allowed a gentle laugh to escape her lips. He looked so helpless on her leg like that, those big eyes looking straight up at her. Although Kon was in Ichigo's body, he was certainly not Ichigo, thus this interaction was not weird or awkward. Humorously she rolled her eyes, shrugging like a cartoon character. "Oh, I don't know Kon…" She told him.

He climbed up her leg further, stopping at her kneecap. "I swear I won't be a nuisance!" He cried.

She laughed heartily, looking up to Rukia and Ichigo. "Well, I admit, my home would be more comfortable than the dirt and a tent on the outskirts of the village…" With one glance back down at Kon she could already feel the direction the conversation would take, thus she already expected a certain answer when she glanced back up and asked, "Do you really want to?"

As expected, she received a resounding "YES." Oh, shinigami were so funny.

xXx

A/N:

Recently I heard my writing is a little rushed, so I did my best to make it slower this time, hopefully things were better.

I've also noticed that some chapters have more views than the chapters before them. So let me say this: If you haven't read all the chapters, than you should. A lot of the chapters highlight things that are bound to happen in the future. If you look for key words, and you know what you're looking for, you will see some foreshadowing for not only the end of this fanfiction, but it's upcoming sequel currently in the works. So please, read those chapters you have not. Ever chapter (except for 20) are incredibly important to the plotline. So READ!

See ya~

Dahlia out.