Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. But I do own… Wait, didn't I already say something like that?

xXx

Alone. It was a feeling Naruto was no stranger to. His childhood had been nothing but a wide expanse of it. He'd lived alone, laughed alone, and played completely alone. Often he would sit on that rusted wooden swing outside the Academy and push himself with his little ankles. Thus, one would think he would eventually become accustomed the dreary feelings that accompanied solitude. Sure, in time he had. But things had changed when people like Iruka, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura came into his life. He wasn't alone anymore, and they gave him assurance he would never have to be again.

Yet there he was, alone. He felt reduced to a child again, the eerie silence was disheartening. The vast underground halls of the base and their dimly lit walls reminded him all too much of the orphanage. However same the environment may have appeared, Naruto knew he wasn't the same person. As a child he was completely alone, without friends; now he was the Village Hero and was supported by an entire village of cheering people.

The thought of his friends, including the friends he was determined to rescue, put a new fervor to his quickened step as he rushed forward. He followed the hallways on his instinct, relying on the last memory of Kyomu's supposed office that his clones saw before they poofed. The room would appear slightly different than the reoccurring clay walls he was passing through now. The office walls would be plain, without pattern and without color.

His hopes flew when he came across a detour where the walls were exactly like what his clones had seen. He sped up to a rushed jog, stopping to kick open any doors that blocked him from his friends. Naruto was anything but worried about secrecy; the real Kyomu had already run into his clones. Now he was only concerned with Former Team Asuma and Hinata.

About the sixth door down Naruto felt a presence nearby. He froze before the door, leaning his ear lightly against it to listen. The only noise he was able to hear was the shuffling of chains against a hard floor. Naruto's brow furrowed. The walls were thick, and made out of some material that blocked his senses, whereas doors were thinner but no less impenetrable. He could just barely make out two chakra signatures, but didn't want to rush in without knowing. He could walk into a trap!

The thought of a trap was humorous and forced a small smirk. Trap or not, nothing was going to stop the hot-headed Naruto from barging into a possible fight in order to save his friends. The teen, logic no longer needed, pushed the clay door open with a force that sent it reeling back and banging against the wall. He took his first step into the room.

Now instead he could clearly feel and see the presence of four people; his friends. First he surveyed the room, resembling an old lab of some sort. The walls were plain, but hung and decorated with various scientific and torturous instruments. Cabinets were stocked full with vials of discolored liquid. Immediately his attention was focused on his friends, dirty, disheveled, and chained to the floor by their wrists and ankles. Naruto rushed towards them, starting with Chouji who was closest to him. He fumbled with the chains.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata chimed, uplifted. Beside her Ino was with the same enthusiasm, just without words. "We knew you'd come…" Hinata wisped, hardly audible.

Despite the grime on his features, a smirk could be seen on Shikamaru's face. "Good timing." He mumbled.

Chouji loudly intercepted, "Yeah, the creepy guy left a second ago."

It was a shame. Naruto had been hoping to run into the man who called himself "Kyomu" and beat the living daylights out of him. Oh, well, at least he'd managed to track down his friends… "Wait," Naruto sputtered, "Where was he going?"

The captives shrugged, their faces clearly saying "as if I know". A part of Naruto worried that Kyomu would go after Sakura, Shino, or Kiba. No matter how strong the three thought they were, they were nothing against Kyomu if they didn't recognize his genjutsu. That man intricately laced the jutsu with reality, or at least that was Naruto's hypothesis. After all, the man made Naruto believe they were fighting, when in reality he was fighting a good friend!

He went back to business with the chains, using Kage no Bunshin to produce a clone that would help him with the Rasengan. If his hands couldn't break the chains themselves –if only he had Sakura's crazy strength- then a basic Rasengan would have to do so. He sighed, carefully angling the rasengan against the chains. When the two met there were sparks. By the time he'd gotten Chouji's right arm free, he'd groaned and said, "What are we, in olden times…what kind of a crackpot uses chains!"

His joke, which usually would have brought a smile to Hinata's face, instead brought a sudden wave of shock over his friends. The four of them looked aghast, and then slowly began to look angry. Naruto was confused. "My joke wasn't that bad, was it?" He coaxed from them, getting no response until Shikamaru nodded his head forward and behind Naruto's back.

The Village Hero noticed his friends' distant looks that weren't directed at him, but behind him. The sharingan still running in his palm, he swiveled on the balls of his feet to look up from his knelt position. Black spiky hair, a white lab coat…

"…and what kind of crackpot would that be?"

Kyomu stood at the other side of the room, one gloved hand toying with what appeared to be a black ring on his other. His voice sounded amused, but his body language gave off something more intimidating. It was relatable, how it must have felt to walk in right in on a rescue attempt for his captives.

Naruto wasted no time for talking, his instincts kicked in as he jumped towards the man and angled his sharingan forward. He swiped at the man's chest, but was quickly evaded as Kyomu twirled to the right, aiming a speedy jab at Naruto's side. Naruto dodged it just barely, being scratched by Kyomu's spiked gloves in the process.

As he made another attempt to hit with the sharingan, Kyomu dispersed into tiny little particles in the blink of an eye, reappearing in Naruto's blind spot and attempting to impale Naruto's back with a kunai.

"Naruto, behind you!" Hinata was quick to call out, allowing Naruto enough time to swing his leg back in a round-house kick, effectively hitting the stoic Kyomu in the jaw. No sooner had Kyomu knelt over to cradle his jaw did he disappear into tiny pieces.

Naruto was almost positive this Kyomu was real. Not only was his behavior less social than the other two –a chatty side being increasingly evident in clones of the current century- but Naruto hadn't entered the room alone and alert. Ever since then he'd been keeping his senses peeled for any genjutsu. It was probably due to his earlier encounter with Kyomu that the man hadn't used any genjutsu yet. A disillusionment or not, Naruto still knew one of his techniques.

But damn Kyomu moved fast. Within seconds he was on the offensive again, up close and sparring with Naruto before dispersing in and out of the conflict. It seemed whenever Naruto began to have the upper hand, Kyomu would disappear and reappear in order to gain the advantage. The occurrences where he transported were so fleeting and untraceable. Naruto was sure that, if he entered Sage Mode, he would be able to detect and respond to Kyomu's next move before he even made it. However, there was no time in between strikes and spars to meditate and focus.

A crushing blow to his abdomen sent Naruto's thoughts and visions in a whir. He fell to his knees from the loss of breath. Kyomu arched one of his own kicks at Naruto's face, returning the bruise and chipped teeth he had been given. As Naruto fell to his side, Kyomu attempted to kick the arm injured by Akamaru when Naruto skillfully rolled away.

The Village Hero climbed to his feet, hands prepared to fire off a jutsu at any moment. However, their fighting seized. With a sweaty brow and heaving chest, Naruto tensed from the pause. This didn't seem very normal.

Kyomu, who had yet to be seriously hurt, crossed his hands behind his back. "You know, we could end this meaningless fighting if you just told me where the shinigami is." The madman offered, raising his eyebrows and nodding his head to his captives. "You and your friends would be free, just give me what I want."

Naruto spat some of the blood from his lower lip onto the ground before Kyomu's feet. "Never! You won't get anything from us."

His head fell back for a quick, gluttonous laugh. "Ha! Kids these days." He mused, his momentary humor fading into a dangerous seriousness. "You don't really think you can make it past this point alive, do you? You're facing me alone, your only allies either out fighting my wolves, about to die from blood loss, or chained to that very wall."

Naruto weighed the options, partially disturbed at how accurately Kyomu guessed his situation. Nonetheless, he weighed them anyways. Honor and duty was everything to shinobi, but so was the mission. If sacrificing Ichigo would save some of Konoha's finest Chuunin then, by all means, he should give Ichigo's identity away! Besides, he didn't particularly fancy the guy. Naruto glanced to his friends, their stoic faces unnerving. Those who didn't know about shinigami (i.e. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji) were clueless and stoic whereas Hinata was shaking her head madly. She mouthed her rejection of the idea.

"Don't tell him, Naruto!" Hinata called, gasping as Kyomu appeared at her side, a kunai under her chin.

Rolling his eyes, Kyomu lazily responded, "Tell you're girlfriend to shut up, will 'ya? She's not exactly helping your case here."

"Why are you feeding this guy with-" Chouji almost ended by saying 'delusions' when, despite the situation, he had a realization. Naruto and Kyomu were vastly serious, not once did Naruto chuckle or snort at the absurdity of shinigami. Chouji nearly choked. "Wait…shinigami are real?"

At this Kyomu looked intrigued. Quickly he took the kunai away, but to prevent any more outbursts he put Hinata in a light genjutsu. "Yes, they are real. Very real." Kyomu explaining, smiling evilly. "You'll be shocked to know one's been living under your nose this whole time."

Naruto ground his teeth. This wasn't a secret for Kyomu to tell. Naruto may have disliked Ichigo, but he severely had it out for any gossip –even if it involved his most hated, woman-stealing rival since Sasuke. His hands tightened in their current sign. Quietly, he whispered and two clones appeared at his sides.

"ENOUGH!" Naruto burst, taking a running start at Kyomu with his clones aiding in the creation of two sharingan. Again began the sparring as Naruto swung both arms forward as to lock the man in. However, the attack was rushed and barely thought out. Quickly Kyomu had a good hold on both of Naruto's wrists, throwing the hero back on his bum.

The kunai he'd used on Hinata was suddenly thrown straight at Naruto's head, just missing and impaling the ground only inches away. "Just tell me where the damn shinigami is!" Kyomu demanded. His face was rabid, any more determined and he would be foaming at the mouth.

The door, still left wide open, let Naruto soak in the presence of one other. He'd been around his friends all of his life and this one was relatively new. The closer it came, the more he recognized its shaky hold on itself. He smiled.

The Village Hero felt new enthusiasm for battle when he recognized a head of orange hair in the doorway. He nodded his head towards the person.

"Behind you." The scraggly teenage voice of one Ichigo Kurosaki rang out.

xXx

Ichigo who had never truly been involved on an official mission, was not the type to pass this significant one up. Yes, he may not have known the kidnapped that well, and yes he'd been kicked off the mission. But neither of those things seemed too important when it came to his personal choice on the matter. These people and others from their village had welcomed him and given him a place to stay. They had been hospitable to him, and generous. If he owed them anything, it was the small task of saving their lives from an all inclusive psychopath.

He followed the group's path until he came to a rather grimy village. Near the village well, he felt his whole body be immersed in something before released. (Though he was yet to find out what that specific blocking force was, and why it didn't seem to work on him.) Before him was a wide expanse of carnage and destruction. Buildings burnt down, piles of rubble with bodies buried under them. Hell, even the sky was a truly disturbing smoky hue. Even more prominent was the dead wolf carcasses that littered the open field in front of an empty well.

Kyomu's eyes caught sight of a larger, but still wrecked, building. He went inside nonchalantly and unknowingly followed the same path Naruto and Kiba had. Just like they were, he was appalled by the massive grave he landed in upon going underground. It was disgusting, and inhumane. The smell of rotting flesh made his stomach churn, and he had a sudden boiling anger to find the culprit behind the genocide and mutilation.

Coming upon his first fork in the road, Kyomu was at a loss of what to do. He was already late, there was no telling what might happen if he didn't meet up with the group soon. It was then Ichigo remembered the very light power he'd used when Ishida first bombarded Karakura with hollows.

With even breathing and closed eyes, Ichigo focused on his senses. Slowly it kicked in, and he could almost feel the ribbons of eight distinct souls, two of which were in particular distress. He felt Sakura's ribbon, and was so tempted to pull on it but stopped himself; she wasn't one of the injured. Rather than focusing on the ribbons of everyone, he singled out Hinata's as the most recognizable and followed it. Gradually he opened his eyes again and gained in speed and momentum.

He could still feel the ribbon in his hand, directing him in the right direction. It cut off in a strange hallway, one whose walls were discolored compared to the rest of the maze. He followed it, eventually turning a corner and making out the sound of fighting.

"Just tell me where the damn shinigami is!"

Ichigo froze, suddenly rooted to the spot. Had he heard that right? It was a shock, considering his secret was supposed to be kept within the confines of Konoha's inner circle. It was unheard of, how this complete stranger knew of him…then again, what if he didn't know him? What if Kyomu was only after a single shinigami, and Ichigo's identity was still safe. On the thought of his identity he glanced down to his hakama. If he went in, there would be no hiding it. Either Naruto would blab, or Kyomu would be suspicious of the uniform.

Cautiously Ichigo approached the doorway and stepped into view. Almost immediately he noted a roughed-up Naruto on his back, and four Konoha nin chained to the floor. The one known as Kyomu had his back to Ichigo, but that would change soon enough.

"Behind you," Ichigo replied, reaching back and taking Zangetsu by the hilt. The gleaming sword unwrapped itself and settled in Ichigo's palm.

With the sudden interruption Kyomu directed his body to face Ichigo, a smile coaxed onto his face. He looked from Ichigo's uniform, to his sword, and then to his face. Suddenly, Kyomu's face fell. "A little young to be a Soul Reaper…" He mumbled. Before Ichigo could rise to the objection, Kyomu continued, "Ah, oh well."

The genjutsu master quickly dispersed into small particles, leaving the room empty. Ichigo, unaware, quickly came forward to Naruto and began to speak; he was immediately shushed by a certain blond haired hero.

"He's not gone," Naruto whispered, listening intently as he settled into a nomadic position of meditation.

"What the-" Ichigo barked, "We're in the middle of a fig-" Ichigo was effectively shushed yet again. He scowled at Naruto, who offered a brief smirk before returning to full concentration. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched in irritation. He came in order to assist the fight, not take full control. Half-tempted to strangle Naruto himself, Ichigo took a deep breath and focused on his surroundings.

There was a tingling sensation in the air behind him. It felt like static from a television with a horrible connection. Ichigo couldn't distinguish precisely what it was, until he heard the quite mumbling of madman in pursuit. Ichigo spun around and bent backwards in order to dodge a stabbing attempt with a dripping syringe. He sighed in relief when he missed it, and quickly pushed Kyomu's arm back in the process. Still, the syringe was somewhat of an annoyance. What the hell was Kyomu doing bringing a syringe to a knife fight?

Again Kyomu came forward, and this time Ichigo would be prepared. He unsheathed his long blade from its wrappings on its back and held it before him. He blocked the second attempt of injection before taking the offensive. Ichigo swung Zangetsu at his front, only to slice through air again. The conniving circus act that Kyomu was made the fight tense. Kyomu could be anywhere, at anytime, and Ichigo had to pray he wouldn't leave himself open for attack.

During a brief pause in the fighting Ichigo ran to the allies chained to the wall, sending a spiteful stare Naruto's way. He first came to Shikamaru and thrust down Zangetsu in a hurry, effectively breaking the chain and setting his right hand free. Briefly Shikamaru rubbed at his free wrist affectionately, but it was far too early for thanks, there was still his left hand and feet to break free.

Unfortunately, a quick kick to his chest sent Ichigo flying across the room, his back hitting a wall adorned with sharp tools. He grimaced, sliding to the ground. This room was anything but a safe fighting environment. Not only was it filled with dangerous objects Kyomu could use to his advantage, but it was small for Ichigo's usual fighting technique.

Kyomu ran towards Ichigo with the syringe in his hands, forcing Ichigo to quickly block it with Zangetsu's flat edge and roll away, instruments of torture sticking out of his back from the wall. Needless to say he was thankful for his thicker shikai skin.

Again he was reminded of the room size when he attempted at swipe with Zangetsu at Kyomu, but scratched the nearest wall and nearly decapitated poor Chouji. The size put a damper on his confidence, and added more danger to the lives of those he was trying to save.

It probably wasn't the best of solutions, but Ichigo's first instinct was to forcibly make the room bigger; he wanted to expand it. Ichigo swiveled to the farthest wall, also littered with sharp tools. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He roared, sending a sharp wave crashing through the lab furniture until it finally hit the wall. A cloud of smoke erupted on impact, making it hard to see where everyone was. Nonetheless, Ichigo jogged in the direction he'd fired the blast and jumped through the now large, gaping whole in the wall.

The room next door was nice, large, and empty. The only object in it was a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, which still allowed a lot of free space for Ichigo to fight. He centered himself in the room, waiting for Kyomu's attack. As the smoke cleared in the other room, his eyes viciously searched for a white lab coat but saw nothing. Kyomu had disappeared again.

The man in question reappeared to Ichigo's left in a split second and ruthlessly sucker-punched Ichigo in the gut. Ichigo dropped to the ground and released Zangetsu to the floor with a clatter. The shinigami coughed up blood, spraying drops on the floor and Kyomu's feet.

"Quite a nice little technique you have, destroying my lab like that." Kyomu mumbled sadistically. He pursed his lips, wondering aloud, "Can all shinigami do that?" His left hand held the syringe now and swiftly attempted to puncture Ichigo's shoulder.

The teen rolled backwards just in time and jumped to his feet. He wiped the blood off his mouth with his sleeve. "Only the cool ones," he responded.

The sparring continued, but never changed. The same result would always occur: either Ichigo sustained an injury, or just barely missed an attack with the pesky syringe. He didn't know what was in the vial, but he wasn't about to find out. The fighting was increasingly infuriating, Kyomu always knew the right time to disappear and come back stronger, pushing Ichigo around like a rag doll. Needless to say, the teen wasn't having much luck.

Kyomu came at him from the front this time. He sank low and stabbed towards Ichigo's unexpected calve. Ichigo dodged by kneeing Kyomu in the gut. He watched with satisfaction as Kyomu stumbled backwards, and was far too proud of himself to notice the sudden appearance of a second Kyomu behind him.

A needle was violently shoved through the tendons and into the back of his left shoulder. Though shocked, Ichigo's body suddenly became paralyzed as his body sank to the floor. He had no control over his muscles. "W-what is th-hat?"

The Kyomu that had been hit in the stomach poofed away as the second sauntered to the front. He snapped the edge of the syringe, letting the remainder of the silvery liquid squirt out in a single push. He smiled wickedly. "Just a simple liquefied genjutsu… Saves chakra to do it this way, plus it's much easier to lug you around when you're not fighting, shinigami."

Ichigo finally collapsed to his side, right next to Zangetsu on the cold hard floor. His neck, paralyzed like the rest of his body, tilted his head only enough to let him see the upper half of Kyomu's body. The Konoha nin were all left to mystery as they were lower in the picture.

The last thing he saw before he drifted away was Naruto, but at the same time it wasn't Naruto. His eyes were frog-like, with soft black rectangles for pupil while he had an orange undertone to his eyelids. This Naruto's energy was controlled. Before his eyelids finally gave way to the liquid, Ichigo got to see the new Naruto knock Kyomu to the side roughly, thus beginning the battle again.

xXx

Shikamaru was never one for the unnecessary usage of energy. Jounin or not, whenever he was handed a mission file the first thing that would come from his mouth was "Can't you get someone else to do it?" Of course, he knew that would never happen. Most missions he was called in for needed his exceptional skill set. His plans were usually fool-proof. That, however, was only because the majority of the time they knew everything about the mission.

The specific mission of scouting out one of Kabuto's supposed bases was one that he didn't belong to. He wasn't a scout, nor was he very enthusiastic about travelling to the border of a foreign nation. Initially he supposed Tsunade's inclination to assign him this mission was because of his Jounin status and "superb" leadership skills. Upon being kidnapped, however, the reason became obvious: It was only he who would be able to access the skills of the unknown enemy accurately.

Initially he'd tried to escape, and Kyomu hadn't expected him to use Chouji as a distraction while he brought a shadow up and around Kyomu's throat. Unfortunately, Kyomu had noticed it soon enough to dodge and survive. Though it wasn't being chained to the floor like animals that bothered Shikamaru, it was how Kyomu had purposefully stepped and crushed the fingers on his left hand. Ouch.

Nonetheless, he and Hinata seemed to be the voices of reason on the mission, as they consoled the other two that it was likely back-up would arrive soon enough and get them out of there. Or at least, that's what they had assumed.

Now, Shikamaru regretted the back-up that had been sent. Ichigo and Naruto were doing a bang-up job trying to defeat the raving lunatic with a dripping syringe on their own. He was sparred some shame when Ichigo freed Shikamaru's right hand, before being thrown back into battle; literally. Shikamaru couldn't help but grimace when Ichigo hit the wall.

The battle went onward as Shikamaru struggled with his restraints, occasionally glancing at Naruto. It seemed both he and Naruto had the same idea: use Ichigo as a distraction while they got themselves ready for combat. Shikamaru used a weak one-handed shadow jutsu to break his broken left hand free before moving to his ankles.

He was finally completely free by the time Ichigo was in peril and fallen on the floor. Naruto was already up and running, attacking Kyomu with the brute force of a Sage, while Shikamaru began to free the others chained to the wall, and release Hinata from the loopy genjutsu she was currently enveloped in.

In full Sage Mode it seemed Naruto had an easier time dodging, and anticipating Kyomu's attacks and whereabouts. Even so, the battle was still equal. Kyomu was just as strong. As the fighting raged far off, Shikamaru eventually broke the chains off of the other three captives, before glancing back at Naruto.

A gentle hand on his shoulder brought his attention elsewhere. Hinata offered a forced smile. "He will be fine, he can hold his own now." Hinata told Shikamaru, earning an approving nod from Ino.

Quickly, Shikamaru agreed and led the group out of the room. He attempted to get as far away from Kyomu as he could without their disappearance noted. Their escape relied on Naruto being able to hold Kyomu's attention. It wasn't exactly the best of plans, considering Naruto had the uncanny habit of wasting the whole of his energy in the beginnings of a brawl.

After a while Shikamaru thought he was in the clear and the group slowed their pace before stopping altogether. It was Hinata who stopped the group, her Byakugan active. She took a step ahead, swiveling around to them.

"Do you hear that…? Hinata murmured softly.

The others listened intently. Indeed, Shikamaru could hear rumbling coming from what he thought to be inside the walls. It sounded a magnitude proportion of collisions where stone and clay crumbled. It started from a distance, but became louder as the source came closer. Still far off in the distance, the group was so engrossed in locating the source that the presence of another went right past them.

Kyomu's shadow clone, one they hadn't seen him make nor direct, caught their attention when he appeared at their front. Nobody was prepared to fight Kyomu, not even if this one wasn't real. They'd seen what he'd done to Ichigo, and how easily he could keep up with Naruto. Yet they had to try. Kyomu was an enemy and a danger to the village, especially since he was clinically insane –from his disturbing belief of shinigami, that is.

Chuckling at their surprised looks, Kyomu's clone cracked his knuckles. He was seemingly uninterested in the rumbling and vibrating that grew louder by the second, and by the time he was it was far too late.

Shikamaru didn't know why, but Hinata looked more than happy by the way her face glowed. She had been concentrating on the source of the noise for a while. "I can see it!" She murmured quietly, her words being the thing that gave Kyomu's clone interest in the noise.

For the second time during that mission, a thick cloud of dust and debris erupted when a strong force broke through the wall. Sakura made quite an entrance as she jumped over chunks of wall in order to impale the clone with a shuriken, pleased at how easily it poofed.

Having come straight from using the majority of her strength to heal Kiba, her chest heaved up and down. Still, she was a woman on a mission. She pointed a finger back to the various holes she created in the walls, leading a path through several rooms and hallways until it came to a large, open space. "Shino and Kiba are down there waiting to take you out of here." She told them, ushering them through the first hole.

About to leave the group, Sakura was stopped by a familiar grip on her hand. She turned to Ino, who looked to her with all seriousness. "Are they real, Sakura?" Ino asked softly.

How or why they had suddenly become so interested in things of the unknown, Sakura was ignorant of. However, she had a hunch on what it had to do with, and was not about to go against Ichigo. Without another word she took her arm back and sped off, jumping over the chunks of wall that blocked her path.

xXx

Naruto did his best to subdue Kyomu in order for Shikamaru to get the others far enough away, but nobody is perfect. After one shameless and very painful hit to his bitten arm, Kyomu had noticed the absence of his captives and send a shadow clone after them. It all happened so fast, the kunai Naruto threw didn't make it to the shadow clone in time. Thus they were on their own, and so was he.

Naruto's sage Jutsu allowed him to predict and respond, much to Kyomu's dismay. He felt a tingling to his left and immediately struck out, catching the reforming Kyomu in the jaw yet again. The creep, finally hit without expecting it, took a few steps back. Naruto thrust shuriken his way, watching with intrigue as Kyomu raised his hand. The shuriken dispersed into particles just as Kyomu had, reappearing directly behind the man.

Kyomu laughed mockingly. "Fighting two-to-one is really unfair, but I guess that doesn't matter much anymore." He pulled his gloves up his arms further, the black stretching against his finger. Again his attention returned to a specific finger, one adorned with a black ring. He twisted the jewelry around. "Though I have to say, you could have chosen a better partner. One who is so easy to distract really won-" Kyomu suddenly stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening as he looked Ichigo's way.

Ichigo was gone. In his place stood a towering beast with glowing yellow eyes, a bone mask, and a thirst for blood. The creature exploded in an earth-shattering snarl. The sound was one Naruto would never forget, for it was one eerily familiar to him. Like Naruto was to the Kyuubi, this strange form was to Ichigo; an inner-torment.

Kyomu instinctively smiled. "Better than I imagined." He happily mumbled to himself. The initial shock was stupendous, and Kyomu was rooted to the spot. Kyomu never, not once, imagined a shinigami could do something as spectacular as this. He watched with wonder.

xXx

Ichigo Kurosaki, a substitute shinigami, excelling student, son, and a brother. He had his loyalties and morals, but they were never so roughly questioned until times like these, times where he was stuck in an inner-battle.

He'd been in his inner-mind again, like the time Zangetsu and White Ichigo teamed up to teach him his bankai. But this time was different. Zangetsu was gone, having abandoned the inner-world for this specific question. The only one there to accompany Ichigo had been White Ichigo, or as the Visored knew him: Hollow Ichigo.

Like their usual confrontations, Ichigo and White Ichigo fought madly. They slashed at each other, falling off buildings and defying gravity. It was just like old times, but unlike old times the fighting was for something different: control. The liquid injection had put Ichigo asleep and left him alone with his innermost desires, the type of things that tended to drive Hollows out from their dark, eerie hiding places.

"Face it, Ichigo!" White Ichigo would holler madly as they sparred. "You can't protect anyone without my power!" In which Ichigo would reply with a scowl and a hasty slash before rolling on his toes and engaging in some witty banter about how he had obtained new powers. Of course, White Ichigo wouldn't let it end there. "Yeah, powers that you can only use when you're awake!"

Good point.

Unfortunately, there were truths to White Ichigo's words. It was obvious that in his current state he could not defeat Kyomu, and as much as he wanted to trust and rely on Naruto, he couldn't. There was always the chance Naruto would lose, too, letting Kyomu have free reign on all the others in his compound. Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura would all be in danger. The overwhelming desire to protect her, even though she was fully capable of protecting herself, infected Ichigo.

The moment White Ichigo saw this weakness for a certain roseate he rose to the top and fought harder, catching the real Ichigo off guard. The mental struggle on the inside continued, but on the outside things were different. White Ichigo had the control their, transforming Ichigo onto the one thing inside of him that he feared. The entity that -though used to protect his friends in context- only put the lives of his friends in danger. Orihime and Chad had almost died because of his carelessness to control the Hollow.

On the outside it was a flurry of colors, just Kyomu against Hollow Ichigo while Naruto sat in the background. The Village Hero, naturally, had no idea who to assist and who to attack. He didn't even know if the creature was still Ichigo. Sure, the thing wore the typical hakama of a shinigami, but his face was hidden by a daunting white, red, and black mask made of bone. The only thing that related this monster to Ichigo in any way was the patch of orange hair on its head.

This fake Ichigo radiated an essence of an icy hell, quite possibly possessing the speed and strength of a god; though that was more like an exaggerated observation from Naruto's point of view. It was a dominant foe against Kyomu, all the while it said nothing. As it stabbed, growled, and sparred it uttered no words. Whereas Kyomu was quite the talker, considering he was infatuated with Ichigo and shinigami in general.

It was then Ichigo saw something peculiar. He didn't know why he drawn to it, but something about the black ring around Kyomu's finger connected to the Hollow inside. It froze, purring at the object now directly in its sights. Kyomu evidently caught wind of this. He began to disperse right before their eyes, but to Naruto's astonishment this new and scary Ichigo stuck his hand into the particles and managed to grab hold of Kyomu's ring hand; thus forcing Kyomu to take Hollow Ichigo with him.

From there it was like trying to watch a group of children throw fire-crackers on New Years. The duo reappeared in several places. First they were both pushed up against a wall, and nearly feel to the ground before disappearing again. The next moment they were madly rolling in the air. It was a lasting struggle. It almost looked like Kyomu's jutsu was malfunctioning with Ichigo's added weight, forcing the two of them to pop in and out at different, random locations.

It was during reappearance in the air over a pile of debris that Ichigo finally let go and pushed himself away. The creature landed on its feet, while Kyomu was not so lucky. In the debris a wooden table was broken in half, one half having a long, sharp broken end pointed right up towards the ceiling; and it was precisely where Kyomu landed.

Kyomu was impaled upon impact in the stomach.

"Ouch," Naruto blabbered.

Ichigo approached Kyomu's form, but Naruto was faster. The hero quickly slid the ring off one of Kyomu's fingers and clutched it in his hand, standing before the beast bravely. Like a reckless fool, he held the ring out and swung it around on his own finger.

"Is this what you want, huh?" Naruto asked loudly, tentatively taking steps backwards as Hollow Ichigo came closer. He felt his resolution slip. "T-then give me back Ichigo, and you can have it!" The creature growled in response.

The desire to destroy was enormous. It beat out any logic or moral the real Ichigo attempted to conquer it with. Whether or not his control was weakened by the strange liquid injected, Ichigo had a harder time gaining back control than he had all the other moments of Hollowfication. In this new world, there was so much to explore, and his hollow wanted to do all the exploring for itself. First thing first, it had to destroy whatever was in its way.

The ring was lost to him now. Hollow Ichigo unveiled his wrath on Naruto, growling and approaching faster, further. He picked up a nearby rock from the destruction of the wall, and without warning slammed it at the side of Naruto's head. Naruto caught his wrist, and held the force only Inches away. Sweat beaded above his brow.

He pushed the stone harder, but his strength was matched by Naruto. "You don't have to do this;" Naruto spoke shakily, "Mission's done. We can all go home now." With his Sage Mode slipping, Naruto brought a second hand up to force the stone away. He had the feeling that if he let it make contact with his skull, it would give him much more than just a concussion and a black-out.

A sickeningly familiar voice and presence entered the room. Under that red vest of hers, her heart beat rapidly. Her face was so sweaty her short pink hair stuck to the sides like glue. She rushed into the room and crashed Ichigo's subconscious into reality like a tidal wave. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry, but Ichigo wouldn't allow them to be that way any longer.

Before he could make a real attempt at fighting White Ichigo, a sharp pain broke out in his already abdomen. He turned his fading yellow eyes back to Naruto, who held a kunai in his stomach. Returning to him, Ichigo's morphed voice cried out but lacked the right words.

Naruto pulled away, causing Ichigo to stumble to his knees and cough up more blood. "W-What happened?" He babbled slowly. His mask fell, and his world went back to black.

xXx

Several instances Ichigo fluttered to consciousness only to black out again. Once when he opened those eyes, he viewed Sakura and Naruto hovering over him followed by a blinding light green light. The light sent a warm tingling feeling to his injuries, and to his heart. He was comforted by it. The second instance he opened his eyes the others were there talking to Sakura in the distance. For a brief moment he worried if she'd tell them his secret, but the thought faded away as he fell back and closed his eyes.

xXx

A/N: Does it seem a little rushed? I feel like the end was… Anyways, sorry for the confusion. Originally I put a different chapter here, but I'm saving Kyomu's origin story for later. Anyways, it looks like my beta-reader has dropped off the face of the earth. So, I edited this one myself, but I know I missed a lot. It's hard to put a critical eye to my own work... Sigh...

Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I cannot express how much it warms my heart to see them!

~ Dahlia