Hello again! I just checked my email the other day and-holy crap that's a lot of favorites! I never-not in my books at all-had seen by that many people who loved my writing. I am blessed, good sir's and madam's, thank you for your kindness, really.
Also, Naruto and Rangiku will not instantly be together, I know there were a few who worried about that. Rest assured, that kiss she gave him was merely chaste, a foot print if you will. She did it because she could, and the reason she thought he was cute was because he-at the moment-is a kid, who just so happens to be able to keep her interest with his boisterous style, much like herself-in a way.
And he will have a zanpakuto, don't worry, I researched it and came to a conclusion that should satisfy you. His shikai will come from a place you might not guess, and if you do, your awesome.
But it won't be revealed till later.
Any who, let's get this story go'in, for I own nothing of either respective anime's/manga.
To Pass Inexplicably
Iruka found himself in a tight situation. Right now, in front of him, lay a bloodied, but breathing, Naruto. He checked the boy and saw that his injuries were not but nicks by now, and it seemed that he was only suffering from Chakra exhaustion, as if he had used much of it up in but a short time. He'd wake up soon, but Iruka made no move to tie him. How could he, Naruto grew up in the same fashion he had, alone and scared, unwanted and shunned. No one wanted them, they gave them nothing, only whispers and glares. For that reason, they both became something like a clown, doing things that at the very least got people to look at them and talk to them. Granted, they shouted at them for being 'idiots,' but neither had cared, for recognition was all they wanted.
That was the reason he could do nothing, couldn't bring himself to turn Naruto in, for they were the same, in a sense.
"Ow..."
A groan of annoyance came from the boy as waking life slowly took hold. Iruka looked on as he turned about, as if he didn't wish to open his eyes, wishing only to remain asleep. But, eventually, he opened his blue orbs. Groggy, he was at first, and so Naruto could only sit up, could only blink away the clouds of sleep from his oceanic eyes. Then, he noticed Iruka, standing there, his own eyes regarding Naruto with scrutiny, as if unsure of something...
"Ah, hey Iruka."
The man said nothing, only staring on, thinking.
"Uh, hello, Iruka, can you here me?" The boy asked again, trying to gain the man's absent attention.
Still more silence.
"Are you ignoring me?" Naruto was a bit mad now.
Nothing.
"Iruka!" He shouted.
The boy shot up, slightly irate, causing the man to shake his head.
"Naruto, I don't know why you did it."
Anger slipped away and was filled by confusion., then the whiskered boy asked-
"Wha?"
Iruka dipped his head, brows furrowed.
"Why did you steal the scroll Naruto?"
The boy looked at Iruka for a moment, then looked around, then back to Iruka. It was then, at that moment, that Naruto realized he screwed up.
"Bah! Where is it! If I don't get it to Mizuki I'll fail the test! No no no no!" The boy screamed, looking about, running back and forth, worry present on his face.
Iruka on the other hand was taken aback by what the boy said. Mizuki put him up to it. And he knew Naruto wasn't lying either, he knew the boy well enough to see how terrible at it he was. Plain and simple, he could not lie, even if he tried. But that didn't shock him, no, it was who put him up to it that surprised Iruka. His friend, fellow teacher, fellow shinobi, had betrayed the leaf. But why? Why would he do that?
He realized that Naruto was still yelling and grabbed the boy's shoulder, stopping him.
"Naruto, Mizuki told you to do this, right?"
A nod.
"Naruto, that wasn't a test, he-"
"Ya it was, so I could get my headband, he told me so." They boy was defiant.
"He lied to you Naruto, he wanted you to steal it for...whatever reason." He honestly didn't know.
Silence hung there for a moment, until Naruto brushed the man's hand aside.
"I don't believe you." His voice was low.
"Naruto I-"
"You've been so hard on me, and no matter how hard I try, you just keep failing me. So why should I trust you? Mizuki was kind to me, he was giving me another chance, a chance you didn't give, he was gonna let me pass! But you, you keep pushing me around..." It was an angry tone, turning furious.
His voice lowered further.
"I hate you."
Iruka bristled at this, his own anger beginning to broil and writhe within him as Naruto talked about how he was unfair to him. But those last words, toppled with the last night events, and the betrayal of his friend, pushed Iruka over the edge.
"You know nothing!"
And Iruka slugged Naruto across the face, making stars explode before the boy's vision, dotting his eyes with pinpricks of white, for a moment, as he tumbled back on the roof tops in a tangled mess of limbs. Naruto sprung up a moment later, shocked for a moment, then furious the next.
"I've been helping you!" Iruka bellowed, rushing towards Naruto, fists raised.
"Liar!"
And Naruto met his sensei in the middle, both in a fit of worked up rage.
Naruto caught the first fist but was blind-sided by an elbow to the cheek as Iruka followed through with his momentum. Recovering, Naruto swung his leg around, side kicking the man in the gut, driving him back a few steps. The whiskered blond leapt up and came down, foot extended.
Iruka raised his arms in time, blocking the axe kick, then grabbed Naruto by the ankle, swinging his entire body back, bringing Naruto back with him, slamming the blond into the apartment roof with a loud thud, and was about to get up, when Iruka got on top of him, pinning him down, one hand clasped around his neck.
"Listen you little brat!" Iruka yelled, his voice filled with rage as Naruto clawed at his wrist, trying to free himself. "You and I are just the same! When I lost my parents to the demon fox, I was left with no one! Everyone glared at me, ignored me! When I was in the academy, I had to act stupid just so I could get some kind ofrecognition!"
WHAM!
Naruto's face contorted into a painful grimace as his head whip lashed from the blow.
"I know why they hate you too, why I hated you until I saw who you really are!"
This one was straight on, his punch nearly breaking the boys' nose.
"Because you are the Jinjuriki of the nine tales!"
Naruto's eyes snapped open, his blue orbs snapping crimson for a moment as he punched Iruka, hard, sending him flying back.
"You bastard!" Naruto bellowed with fury, already standing with knuckle white fists.
He rushed forward, ready to continue the fight, ready to beat Iruka into the roof and down into the ground, when a flash of white robes filled his vision.
Naruto skidded to a stop, nearly bowling into the very man who he saw as a grandpa.
"Jiji!"
Yes, the current Hokage of konohagakure, in all of his glory, stood before Naruto. His white hat with red triangle top peered over the man's wrinkled visage, and his white robe danced in the slight breeze, making the scarlet flames emboldened at the bottom look as though they truly were aflame.
"Naruto," his voice was calm, holding a slight edge near the end, "you can stop this fight now."
It was a warning for him not to continue the fight, lest he enrage the man and dwindle his patience. Naruto did, at the very least, out of respect, knowing the man wouldn't really hurt him.
"Mizuki has been apprehended, and has told us that he was planning to frame you after you stole the scroll for him, he told us everything," He told, quietly adding, "Anko Mitarashi made sure of that..."
Naruto took a step back, realizing that Iruka was telling the truth about Mizuki, and if that was true, then so too...
"Naruto, are you okay, you look sick to the stomach?" Sarutobi asked, concern replacing his once stoic face.
The blond could only nod, shaken by the revalation. He was about to ask if he could just go home when Iruka stood, walked and half stumbled over to Naruto. Then, with his eyes gleaming with a calmness and his voice soft, he said-
"I think you deserve this, Naruto. I'm sorry for...everything." He hesitated on his words-whether he was apologizing for his curse or the fight, he knew not. But he did not hesitate in his actions. Rough fingers raised to the back of his head, untying the cloth of his headband, holding it out to the boy. Naruto looked at it, then to Iruka.
"Iruka...are you sure of this, when he passes, we can no longer protect him when he goes on a mission." Sarutobi told, but soon realized, soon saw the look the younger man had in his eyes. The same determination Naruto possessed, the hurt both of them shared.
"Alright," the Hokage receded, "just make sure he gets his team assignment tomorrow."
With that, Sarutobi shunshined away.
Iruka handed Naruto his headband, taking a step back.
Naruto looked at the leaf symbol etched into the metal, the symbol for shinobi here. He was a shinobi here. He had the chance to become the Hokage here, all because of Iruka, because the man believed in him.
He said it all the time, and finally, it paid off, dattebayo!
Naruto wrapped the headband around his temple, tied it off, and grinned, but before he could give a whoop of triumph, Iruka asked him a question.
"Ramen?"
"Ramen?" Naruto repeated.
"Ramen." Iruka affirmed.
"Ramen!" Naruto shouted, smiling like a cheshire cat.
And soon they find themselves sitting in ichiraku's, downing ramen like it was choice steak, garbling down noodles and broth as if it the elixir of life. Which to Naruto...it kinda was. While Iruka loved ramen, there was no way he could keep up with the boy-who was a few bowls ahead of him. The only ones that could possibly beat him in eating ramen was an Akimichi, and even then, he wasn't sure...
The boys' love for ramen was unnatural.
But Iruka didn't dwell on how Naruto was able to eat literal pounds of noodles and beef and not burst like a balloon, that kind of scientific thinking was beyond him.
Ayame came near the counter, setting two more bowls down for them. She was about to go back in when a gleam of silver caught her brown orbs. She had to rub her eyes and pinch her arm when she saw it, the head band, the leaf symbol etched prominanty on the boys head. Ayame leaned over the counter and poked it, as if testing if it were there.
"You got your headband!" She exclaimed, half in disbelief, the other half in joy, clasping her hands together with big 'ole smile up one side of her face.
"Heh heh, ya, Iruka gave me his, and now I can go on mission's!" Naruto told, grinning with pride.
Ayame frowned suddenly, saying-
"That's not good."
"What? Why's that?" His grin faltered.
"Well, because you eat so much ramen here..."
"What, what about it?" He leaned over the table concerned.
She smiled.
"...You pay for most of our stuff."
And the boy fell out of his seat, body careening back in his chair, head striking against the hard ground with a sharp thud. He clutched the back of his skull in slight pain, a welt forming there. Iruka and Ayame laughed at him, jovial and filled with jest, but Naruto grumbled, stood, and glared. But then, he brushed himself off, frown disappearing, being replaced by a cheeky grin that could have put the devil to shame.
"Oh, you wound me so, I guess I'll just go home, what friends are you to laugh at a downed man?" He spoke as if he were in Shakespeare, even going as far as placing one hand over his heart, the other extended out in play form, whilst a fake look of hurt came across his face. His arms fell down and he soon turned, walking away, that grin ever present.
Iruka turned towards Ayame, confusion riddling his face. She looked at him with the same expression, then it dawned on her. She reached into her apron and pulled out the check, placing the paper down, writing a number, then turned it towards Iruka. His eyes widened at the amount, and he bolted up in his chair, taking a look down the street, only to find Naruto long gone.
"Damn it Naruto! I'm in dept now!" The man screamed, furious.
Said boy was already at his apartment door, his grin toned down to a smile as he turned the nob, coming into his apartment, closing the door being him. He put his hands in his pockets and was about to walk towards the bathroom to take a shower, when a crinkle sound reached his ears.
Paper.
He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small piece folded up. Unraveling it, he found it was a note, to him no less. Why was there a note in his pocket? When did it get there? Last night? And why did the hand writing look girly-in his opinion.
Then, it hit him.
A shrill roar piercing the air, a beautiful woman, him forming clones, it all came back, the night before.
He began reading the note, seeking more information, wanting to know who that woman was. The more he read, the more he looked for answers, the more questions he had. What was souls society? Why did she call herself a soul reaper? Apparently, she was coming back too?
What was going on!
Naruto walked over to a trash bin and dropped the note in, dragged his feet into his room, collapsing face first on his bed, and gave a groan. He mumbled out a sharp curse and flipped over, his forearm crossing over his eyes to shade himself from the flickering light-bulb.
"I wonder when she'll be here, if she's real." Naruto spoke aloud, thinking he was going nuts. For all he knew, someone planted that note on him, just to mess with him. And that 'hollow' he fought was just a fevered dream when he was knocked out by...something, somehow. He just wanted to forget it all, leave well enough alone, forget the 'dream' and note, sleep, and wake up for the team assignment's tomorrow, be the shinobi he was meant to be. He moved his arm and saw the light was still fading in and out.
"I just changed that, why-"
And it shattered, making Naruto jump up in surprise, drawing a kunai out of instinct, holding its point in a reverse grip. As he looked on, his tense muscles loosened a little, just slightly. But his eyes-impossibly-widened. He remembered her, no one could forget such a being as she, her black kimono like clothes-separated and opened at the chest, enough to let his mind go sou-
Naruto coughed, clearing his head with a shake.
"Heeeeeey~" Rangiku Matsumoto crooned a greeting
"Don't 'hey' me lady! You just broke into my house!" He felt indignation crawl up his back.
"Oh come on Naruto," she sang, "if I'm taking the week off just to train you, can't I have some hospitality." She winked, like last night, only this time, more playful, pointing a finger up at him.
The whiskered blond looked down to her sides-and not at her sides mind you-and saw suit cases stacked there, as if she knew he couldn't reject him.
"No way! You can't barge in and expect me to-" his tongue fell limp in his mouth, parched and dry as she leaned over, holding the edges of the top of her kimono attire, preparing to part the veils to, t-to-
Naruto looked away, head turned, yet his eyes wandered back a few times whilst he stuttered worse than a lamb.
"If you don't let me stay," she began her sweetly voiced threat, pulling the curtains of cloth a slight, "I'll make you~" Her voice was intoxicating, and her actions persuading. She tugged a little more, threatening to lay bare herself.
"Okay okay! Just don't run around here naked!" His voice was high, whiskered cheeks flushed crimson, and his eyes darted like flies, up to her grinning face and down towards her large chest.
She stood more up right, pulling the kimono a bit tighter, still leaving him in well enough sight of her ample blessing's. She grabbed hold of her suit cases, and as she walked out of the room, looked back for a moment to smile cheekily at him, then walked out towards the front room.
Naruto's back hit the wall, the kunai clattered to the ground, and he slumped to the pillow on his bed, very unsure of life and all of its animosities. Rangiku returned shortly after, wearing hay colored pajamas with little sheep dotting the top and bottom halves, jumping over fences and such. Her curves were defined even more now, giving Naruto full view to her 'assets,' as it were.
"You really are moving in, aren't you?"
"Just for the week, all seven days, just for you." She told, smiling gently for once.
His head bowed briefly, then shot up, a bit of concern on his face.
"Then where'll you sleep?"
Her eyes drifted to his bed.
"Oh come on lady!"
"Please?" Rangiku asked, not too flirtatious this time around.
"Where will I sleep then?"
She shrugged.
He about fell out of the bed.
And then she giggled.
Ugh, it was a sweet sound, like chimes rustled beneath the wake of a gentle wind, but it bowed him to her will nontheless, just enough that he came off the bed and let her be. She skipped towards it and hopped up onto it. Rangiku flipped around, sat up, swung her legs over the edge, and beckoned him closer.
"Hey, tomorrow, I promise I'll teach you some things." Her voice was sincere, but the words prompted him to ask-
"What exactly are you gonna teach me? I'm already a ninja, what else is there to learn?"
She arched a brow at him, then lowered it, then smiled that brilliant smile, pointing to one last case she left in his room. It was long and slim, so it didn't have clothes-that much he could tell, but when he looked back at her, her face was stern.
"When you open that case, and hold what is inside, you will wield a weapon capable of immense feats. Do not open, until we finish your training."
Naruto took a fumbling step back, seeing a side of this beauty he hadn't yet seen before.
"Got it?" She asked, still serious.
He nodded, with a gulp.
"Okay~"
And with that, her bubbly self was back. Laying down on the bed, allowing her voluptuous hair to cascade out. She shifted back unto the his pillow, wrapped herself up in his sheets, and smiled brightly at him.
"Your training begins tomorrow, so don't forget."
He told her that he was going to be at the academy, getting assigned to a genin team, to which she shrugged off and said-
"-Eh, I guess you'll have to work into the night then." She smiled gently, as if to say that it couldn't be that bad.
He nodded, smiling too, wishing her a good night sleep. He walked away and came into his lounging room, where off in one corner lay her suitcases. He ignored them and took off his jumpsuit and equipment, leaving him in his frog headed boxers, and jumped into the couch. He stretched, letting his bones pop, as he lay down across its cushioned surface.
I wonder what kind of training she'll have me do? He thought, curiously.
A/N There ya go! Second chapter! Hope it twas not crap! But seriously, you guys are awesome, the reviews you gave were good and constructive, pointing out flaws-hollow not hallow-and the like. Thank ya kindly for the gratitude, and please know that things will start to pick up the next chapter, I just wanted to give Rangiku some time to organize a whole week cleared for our blond hero. I won't spend too much time in the training, just enough so that Naruto gets the basics of being a shinigami. Also, the reason Naruto can see Rangiku is this: Chakra comes from the combined efforts of the physical/ mental/ spiritual parts. So, in a sense, one third of Chakra is spiritual power, because it comes from the strength of his soul. Because of this, anyone, accept for lee I believe, can see a soul reaper.
Technical things aside, I bet your wondering whats in the suit case.
Is it a gigai ball so he can go in a soul form-forget the name for the pill, will look it up?
Is it something from the research and development?
Or...is it something else entirely?
Let the theories begin! And if anyone can guess it first, I'll let them pick a girl to add for the harem, only one though-I gotta regulate it ya know!
Well, guess that's it, you guys-and gal's if there be-have a grand week! So until next time,
Review and write:^)