Chapter 002
Empress of the Flash
Music
The Raising Fighting Spirit; Naruto OST, Enemy Unseen; Bleach OST, On the Precipice of Defeat; Bleach OST
"I know you"
The Shinigami turned his head to see the man he had just saved. The young man looked to be in his late teens, possibly early twenties now that he was close enough to see.
"Yep" he replied with a smile "I bet you do, it was me who-"
In a flash Naruto punched him in the face, sending Kisuke reeling back, a more baffled than pained expression on his features. The fifteen surviving mobsters also looked at the suddenly violent exchange in complete confusion. The damn kid just delivered a straight punch to the Shinigami who had saved him.
The Shinigami starred at his attacker, his right hand covering his bruised jaw "What the hell was that for!"
"For sending me here against my will"
"Excuse me?"
"I told you not to send me here" Naruto roared, not caring as spittle flew from his mouth "I still had something important to do!"
Unimpressed Kisuke whipped the spittle from his face "How could you do that important something when you were dead genius?"
"I would have figured something out"
"I would have figured something out" Kisuke mimicked, seemingly taking it in his stride, then he swooped forward and grabbed Naruto by his collar "Are you out of your mind, wait, I take it back…you are out of you mind"
"Bite me"
"If I had left you there with the Hollows that would've happened"
"Would have made for better company" Naruto murmured.
"Do you even know what a Hollow is?"
"What's a Hollow?"
"You really don't know!?"
"Not like I was dead long enough to find out" Naruto shot back.
"Hey leaches" Teppei howled, stamping towards them "Have you two forgotten that we're he-"
The two of them reeled round, and punched him, straight in the face with perfect synchrony.
"Shut up fool" the two roared in unison.
The former Chuunin flew back like he had been hit by a freight train, skidding across the street like a pebble thrown across calm water. He slammed through a wall, splintering the timber and lay there, his feet dangling.
The rest of the mob gapped as their boss broke through the wooden barrier. Meanwhile the Shinigami and the deceased Ninja were about to restart their heated discussion.
Seeing the chance two of them went running straight for the bickering pair, quickening their pace when it looked like they were going to hit each other. The two swung their fists, but their targets weren't each other.
Naruto's fist went over Kisuke's head by millimetres, impacting against the face of the man behind him.
Kisuke ducked, reeled back with his right fist and delivered a deadly body blow to the man behind Naruto.
Both men flew back, landing on the ground and skidding across the surface, kicking up dust. The two let the momentum of their attacks send them forward by a couple of steps, then they were back to back, a confused Rangiku between them.
Both were smiling.
"Sorry about that" Naruto apologised "Wanted to make them think they had us"
"I figured as much" Urahara replied, his hand feeling his jaw "You're not a bad strategist, could have lain off though"
"I was a little pissed off that you sent me here before I could find my friends"
"In that case when this is over I have a proposition for you" Kisuke said.
"Fine" Naruto agreed "Thirteen left, you take the six on your side, and I'll take the seven on mine"
"Deal"
"Rangiku-Chan" Naruto said softly, drawing her attention "Stay here and don't move an inch, got it?"
She nodded.
In a blur the two took off in opposite directions. The men they had charged seemed to still be getting over the fact that they're leader had been taken out, and so were easy prey.
Naruto made a hand sign, a smile curving his lips "Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to make this quick!" he took a breath "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
The seven men looked on in horror as one man became fourteen, and just like that the tables had turned from seven on one to fourteen on seven. All they had time for was to scream before they were assailed by a mass of fists.
The Shinigami looked back and whistled, before turning his head to face the six men he had been left with. He vanished from their sights, only for them to see him flying well above them, his black kimono flapping in the wind. He gripped his Zanpakuto, drew it and, holding onto the hilt with both hands pointed it to the ground.
He landed in a crouch, right in the middle of the cluster of souls, the sword stabbed into the dusty road, the Shinigami smiled "As much fun as it would be to beat you all too bloody pulps, I have a much more urgent matter to attend to" he took a deep breath "Cry, Benihime!"
Cracks appeared along the ground he was standing on, crimson light blazing from the recently created fissures. The ground beneath his and the mobsters feet heaved, then exploded in a flash of red light. By the time the light faded the Shinigami was walking away from the unconscious forms of six men, sheathing his sword as he walked.
Naruto saw the whole thing, and unconsciously whistled "Now that was impressive"
"Thank you" Kisuke said, before extending his hand "The name's Urahara, Urahara Kisuke"
Naruto took the hand without hesitation and shook it "Its Uzumaki, Uzumaki Naruto"
"Well Naruto-kun I think I had a proposition for you"
"Yeah, you did"
"Well I'll tell you after one small thing"
"And what is that"
"Do you know where I can find a place called Howling Dogs Ramen Bar?"
------
"So what was this proposition?"
Kisuke looked up from his beef ramen, still in the middle of slurping up a mass of noodles. Once again Naruto found himself in the same ramen shop he and Rangiku had gone to earlier. Considering that they had already eaten the two decided to just buy a couple of drinks, while their new acquaintance ate his food and waited for a special order.
"Oh yes, I nearly forgot" Urahara said after a moment "Naruto, what do you know of the Shinigami?"
"Not much more than the stories in the living world" the former Hokage answered, taking a sip of his lemonade "The Shinigami are spirits who reap the souls of the recently departed and transport them to the afterlife"
"You know the basic principle anyway" Kisuke replied, taking a moment to lift the bowl and slurp away the remains, he slammed it onto the table with a happy exhale of breath "But there's more. In the real world there are two basic types of recently departed souls. First are Wholes, normal souls of recently deceased humans. Then there is the second type, Hollows"
Naruto paid attention, nodding and waiting for him to continue.
"Hollows are basically humans who have remained Wholes for too long" he continued "Their loneliness and sorrow consume them, corrupting their souls and turning them into monsters. They hunt Wholes or living humans who gain their attention"
Kisuke looked at Naruto, saw that he was still listening intently and continued "A Shinigami has two jobs. The first is to conduct Wholes to the Soul Society by way of Konso, or Soul Burial. The second is to vaporise Hollows and purify their souls so they can enter the Soul Society"
There was silence for a while as Naruto digested what he had heard. If he was twelve again this whole thing would have went through one ear and out the other, but he had grown since then. Rangiku was listening as well, but like Naruto when he was twelve the information went in one ear and out the other. She was finding her empty glass more interesting, tapping it reminiscently.
Finally Naruto spoke "So what does this have to do with me?"
"You have the ability to become a Shinigami" Kisuke stated.
"Me" Naruto asked in surprise.
"Yes" Kisuke said with a nod "You see the difference between Shinigami and all other souls is that their life force or Rieryoku has developed to the point where they can control and harness it at will. You have already shown me you can do that with one simple fact, you can use those strange skills of yours, especially when this Teppei character said that those skills should have been nullified when you passed on"
Naruto was silent, mauling over what he was hearing.
"If you are unsure" Kisuke said after several moments of silence "Come with me, there is someone I would like you to meet" he looked down to Rangiku, seeing that she looked a little depressed at being left out "You can come too, I checked you out when I saw you. You have the same ability?"
She looked to Naruto, who offered her a grin "Hey I can't leave you here on your own can I? I want to take you somewhere safe first"
The old man walked up to the counter, hauling a massive bag, grinning like he had become rich overnight "Here's your express order sir"
Kisuke looked at the huge bag, groaned and reached into his pocket for the money.
------
Naruto had seen many places where the elite of the elemental countries called home, he had stepped into the mighty palaces of feudal lords and been 'graced' by the presence of the upper aristocracy of the Fire Country, his position as Hokage of Konohagakure demanded it.
And most of the time, when he had finished his duties he had only one thing to say about each and every one of them.
What a bunch of windbags.
So when his new acquaintance led him and his charge to a large gateway Naruto sighed.
Great, they have pompous windbags in the Soul Society too
Before him was a long wall of white stone, easily four meters tall. It was difficult to see the interior of the compound, but Naruto could tell that there were a lot of large, beautifully built structures within.
Ahead of them was a large set of heavy double doors, a symbol etched into the white wood. The centre of the symbol was a crescent moon, surrounded by a diamond, long lines stretching from the tips. Surrounding it where two long rectangles, each overlapping the other, and five pointed stars on the outer lines, all entrapped within a hexagon.
"It's the crest of the Shihoin family" Kisuke explained as they walked towards it, noticing the young man studying the symbol.
"Shihoin" Naruto turned the word around in his mouth.
"Its one of the four main noble families within the Soul Society" the Shinigami explained.
As they continued walking Naruto saw the great double doors open with a creek. Kisuke walked through without a seconds thought, and his two guests followed, although more reluctantly. When they were all inside the double doors closed, Naruto looked around and shook his head in bewilderment.
The main house was easily a half dozen stories tall, and built under the design of an ancient Japanese style palace. It was not so much a house, but around four or five closely situated together, walkways connecting them to each other. Their overall design seemed to represent the perimeter of a circle with a large courtyard in the centre.
The overall size and spectacle of these structures left the former Ninja in a state of awe. He had never seen anything like this in all his time in the Soul Society. Urahara wordlessly led them through the courtyard into the first house, pushing aside a pair of sliding doors.
"Well Naruto-kun, Rangiku-chan" he stated "My mistress awaits"
------
He got a better view of the area surrounding the house as he was led down one of the walkways. The surrounding area was covered with courtyards, each one easily large enough to hold at least a battalion of men.
As they neared their destination Naruto noticed men were standing at attention, wearing black outfits, the tops of their heads covered with bandanas while their mouths were covered by some kind of cloth. Naruto looked at them for a moment, before shaking his head, they couldn't be Ninja.
Rangiku was staying close to Naruto, in fact she was holding onto his kimono, refusing to budge, even though she had to make a couple of swift steps to keep up with the two adults.
Finally Kisuke stopped before another set of sliding doors and turned to Naruto "She isn't expecting anyone, so please wait here"
He opened the doors and entered. Naruto stood there awkwardly for a moment before leaning against them, pressing his ear against the fabric.
He couldn't hear a thing, and several moments passed before the doors swopped open. Naruto, taken by surprise in losing his support, fell flat on his face.
He looked up, mumbling a barely heard owe before seeing that the inside was a simple room, its only furniture being a short legged table and a throne like chair. The chair itself was green with purple armrests. But it wasn't as much the chair as the person sitting on it which grabbed his attention.
She had to be one of the most beautiful creatures he had laid his eyes on since coming here, a young woman with short purple hair and golden, cat like eyes which even now starred at him curiously. Her skin was dark and toned, which seemed to give her a more exotic aura. She wore a black outfit similar to the guards he had seen outside, but it was sleeveless, and as he got a better look also backless with a white sash tied around her waist.
She looked at his form, crumpled on the floor and laughed "So this is the interesting person you met Kisuke?"
Urahara was sitting by the short legged table, holding a cup in both hands. Naruto jumped up to his feet, feeling his cheeks turn a shade of red at his embarrassing entrance. The woman stood and walked over to him, stopping only when they were a few feet apart, she then leaned forward, her golden eyes meeting his blue.
"Doesn't look like anything special to me" she muttered, before flashing a mischievous grin "Cute though"
Naruto found his face getting redder and tried to look at something else. Big mistake, he looked down to see that her sleeveless, backless suit was pretty skin tight, he could make out the curves of her…his face turned redder.
"Hey, boy"
"Yes" Naruto jumped, his eyes meeting hers only to see a grin of white teeth, there was something off about that smile, Oh great
She rushed past him, grabbing onto his hand as she passed and dragging him with her "Come with me"
Naruto groaned something incomprehensible before being tugged after her. The problem was she didn't turn to run down the hallway, instead she was running towards the banister. She hopped onto the railing, still holding onto his hand with a vicelike grip, and jumped.
"Are you crazy" he cried as he was dragged with her, and found himself falling three stories towards the ground.
Naruto closed his eyes, expecting to meet a very sticky end. When nothing happened, and his feet met solid ground he opened them again, to find himself standing in one of the courtyards he had seen when he was on the walkway.
Across from him was the woman, sitting in a crouch, observing him with mirth filled eyes "Fight me!"
It didn't sink in right away "What?"
"I've heard some interesting things about you from Kisuke" she said, taking a few casual steps towards him "So I want to see if what he tells me is true"
"Huh?"
She blinked, grinned and vanished.
Before Naruto knew it he felt a gust of wind behind him. He couldn't help it. He acted on instinct and raised his arm to block. The kick came from his left side, aimed for his face. He blocked it, but it hit him with such force that he was sent skidding several meters. He lost his balance, hit the ground and rolled backwards up to his feet again.
That woman was there, looking smug "Good perception, excellent reflex"
"What the hell was that for" Naruto yelled.
"I'm testing you" she stated, all signs of mirth gone "I want to see how strong you really are, Kisuke tells me you've got some special skills"
"Yeah, so everyone tells me" he shot back "So!?"
"I want to see them"
"Then you could have just asked!!!"
"What good will that do" she asked, that mischievous smile returning "The only way you get to know someone is through fighting them"
"You're nuts" he growled.
"So people tell me" she replied nonchalantly "But let me ask you this, who do you know best. Those you've fought with" she vanished from view again and Naruto heard her directly behind him "Or those you haven't"
Her next attack was so strong that it created an explosion of dirt and dust. Naruto flew from the cloud, landing hard and skidding to a stop. He tried to rise to his feet, coughing up a gob of blood. He staggered as he stood upright, but steadied himself.
She walked from the dust cloud like a demon from hell.
"Alright then" he growled "You want to see me in action. Then bring it on!"
"That's better" she stated.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" (Shadow Clone Jutsu)
She watched in interest as several small explosions of white smoke appeared around him, and when it cleared there was not one, but five. She raised her eyebrows and grinned "Very impressive…are they illusions or solid?"
"Come at me and find out" they replied in unison.
"Suit yourself"
She vanished again, and the former Hokage didn't know where she was until one of his clones exploded in white smoke. She was right in the middle of his formation, her hands on the ground, supporting her limber frame as she split her legs out and spun. Two more clones were caught, fell and turned to white smoke. In barely a second she had taken out three of his four clones.
The fourth drew a kunai and threw it at her, only to see her jump back to her feet, grab it with her hand and throw it back, the clone dodged the knife, but he didn't dodge her. She was above him, her foot connecting with the top of his head, he vanished in a plume of smoke.
The former Hokage took the chance, drawing a handful of shuriken he threw them at her and began making hand signs "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
Yoruichi watched with interest as the five flying Shuriken turned into twenty, she jumped back, spinning in midair, dodging them as they passed by her. Suddenly Naruto suddenly felt his control slip, but added extra concentration, five of the Shadow Shuriken exploded in white smoke.
What the hell!?
His opponent landed with the grace of a cat and pounced forward as such, hands crossed across her face, golden eyes shining with a predatory hue.
He built up his chakra and summoned another two clones, but one failed to form, and vanished, he growled in frustration and summoned it again. But by then the noblewoman had caught them, she jumped, legs spread and kicked his two clones, sending them to the ground and turning into white smoke.
She lashed out with a punch, which he blocked with his right palm, but it proved to be a feint. Her left leg slammed into his abdomen, forcing the air from his lungs and sending him skidding backwards. He cursed, should have seen that one coming. It was just that she was so fast that all of his movements seemed sluggish.
He jumped back and summoned another two clones. It was time to strike with his strongest Jutsu. He raised his palm and his two clones began to make signs over it, one to condense his chakra, the other to form his elemental energy. The woman didn't move to attack, she stood there watching.
A ball of energy appeared in his hands, the condensed chakra spinning, blade like protrusions formed around it, giving it the form of a giant shuriken, he smirked "Futon;Rasenshuriken (Wind Style; Rasenshuriken)!"
Suddenly his arm buckled, and Naruto flinched from the pain, it was almost like his Jutsu was about to go wild at any moment. He kept his composure and threw the projectile.
The Rasenshuriken flew through the air and struck the ground where she stood, an explosion of dust and debris followed and Naruto took a deep breath, followed by a smirk. It was over.
The smoke cleared, and Naruto could only watch in shock. She stood in a defensive stance, her arm extended. All that was left of the Wind Jutsu's passage was her hand, which was cut and bruised. No one was able to block that attack, it should have been impossible.
Naruto watched in horror "Who the hell is she"
"Yoruichi Shihoin"
He turned to the voice to see Kisuke appear on the edge of the courtyard, at least ten Ninja behind him and little Rangiku held in his arms, looking worriedly at him.
"22nd Head of the Shihoin Noble family, Commander of the Onmitsukido (Secret Mobile Corps) and Captain of the 2nd Shinigami division"
"What are you talking about" Naruto howled, feeling a headache.
"What he means is that out of all the Shinigami" she added playfully "I'm one…of…the…strongest"
She appeared beside him, her leg on a collision course with his head. It connected and he flew, only to vanish in another bloom of white smoke.
The real Naruto appeared at the other side of the courtyard, knowing that unless he used his strongest technique there wasn't a hope at beating her. No other choice, he had to use his newest Jutsu. He thanked Kakashi-sensei for helping him unlock his second element, before making the appropriate hand signs.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu)!"
There were four small fountains surrounding the courtyard. The first thing that happened was that the water seemed to explode in unison. Like an ancient creature coming to the surface, then the exploding water took a shape, condensing into long necks with jaws on the end, pairs of red eyes appeared on each of them and a frill of horns formed on the ends of their heads. To all in attendance they really looked like dragons.
"Wow" Yoruichi said in awe, like a child who found her favorite toy "That is so cool"
Naruto was not so amazed. In fact he was concentrating a lot more than he usually did. He was having more trouble keeping the Jutsu going than he remembered. Just like his Shadow Clones and the Rasenshuriken before.
He didn't have time to think about that, using his hands he directed the dragons at Yoruichi and mentally ordered them to attack. Two of them charged right at her, one from ground level and the other from above. Naruto noticed that they were already starting to lose their form, and cursed under his breath.
What the hell is happening to me!?
The two dragons came together in the centre of the court, slamming into the slabs in an explosion of water and shattered stone. The dragons lost their form and water cascaded down upon the yard, soaking everyone within proximity.
Naruto's mind was moving a mile a minute, hoping beyond a hope that he had connected with her.
"Did I get her?"
"No"
He jumped and turned, seeing Yoruichi floating several feet above him at an angle, her right arm outstretched, the hand shaped like a claw "As cool as that was a Kido that slow will never hurt me"
"Kido?"
"Now it's my turn" she grinned, a ball of red light appearing in the palm of her outstretched hand "Hado Sanjuuichi; Shakkaho (Way of Destruction 31; Shot of Red Fire)!"
The ball of red light blazed right towards him with incredible speed, landing at his feet and exploding in a mass of red flames, these flames kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Naruto flew backwards from the explosion, his hands crossed over his face, blackened and smoking from the attack.
He looked at the damage fearfully, that move was easily just as powerful as his Rasengan, and she did it so effortlessly. Was she toying with him all this time?
He heard her voice above him again, reciting another spell "Bakudo Rokujuuichi; Rikujojoro (Way of Binding 61; Six Rods Prison of Light)!"
Six thin beams of pure light appeared around Naruto, moving in with such speed that he had no hope of dodging. The rods slammed into his midsection, looking to all observing like the six petals of a flower. He spat out blood.
Damn it!
He couldn't move
Damn it!
Not one part of his body
Damn it!
Not his arms
Damn it!
Or his legs
Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!
She landed with incredible grace, almost like the whole fight had been as easy as breathing. She bent over to stare into his eyes "You're good kid, you've definitely got power in you, but let me tell you something" she leaned back, all trace of mirth gone from her feline gaze "Those Jutsu of yours will be useless"
"What are you talking about" he asked through gritted teeth, trying to struggle out of his bonds, all in vein.
"I'm well rehearsed in the ways of Ninja in the living world" she explained, sighing "And I know how you gain that power. It's through Chakra right, energy of the body? When you died you're energy should have been converted into Reiryoku, the energy of the soul. This happens to everyone who enters the Soul Society. But for some reason when you passed on your energy did not convert, at least not right away"
He remained quiet, oceanic eyes piercing through her. She shrugged it off and continued.
"But now you're energy is beginning to convert into Reiryoku. You should already know the effects"
"What effects!?" he growled.
"You're stronger Jutsu becoming harder to control for one" she answered casually, stretching her arms into the air "That water dragon attack and that wind shuriken was fierce, but I saw the look on your face, you were struggling. Then there's that cloning technique of yours, I have a feeling that you could have produced far more clones in the real world"
Her golden eyes did not leave his when she spoke the next sentence "You have another day or two before you're energy is completely converted, then you'll lose all your Jutsu"
Naruto was about to protest, he wanted to protest, but then he felt nauseous. He fell to his knees, his vision tunneling. The last thing he saw was the worried look on the Shinigami's face before he passed out.
Here's the third chapter, more on Naruto's condition will be elaborated on with the next chapter. Anyway so far I'm pretty happy with my poll results, twenty two people have voted, thank you everyone.
Right, next up will be a small dictionary of honorifics and other Japanese words which will play a role in the story, first up will be honorifics:
San - the most common honorific, and is a title of respect similar to Mr., Mrs. Etc.
Kun - a title used for people who are of junior status
Chan - a diminutive suffix, adding Chan to the persons name means that you find the person endearing, absolutely not to be used with a superior, its considered an insult
Senpai – a title used for those who are your seniors, or who have more experience than you in a subject
Sensei – a title used for a teacher, tutor or a person who is considered an authority figure
Taicho – the Japanese honorific for Captain
Sotaicho – Japanese Honorific for Captain-Commander
Sama – an upped version of San, used for people who are by far your senior, and also a person that you greatly admire
Dono – a title used for an important individual, it would be the Japanese term for Lord or Master
Hime – a title used for daughters of royalty, its English counterpart is princess
These honorifics will be used a lot during this story, so it's a good idea to know what they all mean. When addressing or referring to someone by name in Japanese, an honorific suffix is usually used. Dropping the honorific implies a high degree of intimacy and is reserved for one's lover, younger family members, and very close friend.