"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?" Ichigo yelled, his eyes widened considerably.
Kisuke addressed the boy with a joyful attitude. "Like I said, you have to let them take Rukia-san…Ichigo-kun."
"Urahara I appreciate you training me and all, but there is no way in hell I'm letting those bastards take Rukia!" It wasn't even an option to Ichigo, to let her go so she could be executed or rot in a cell. She had saved his life twice; to him he owed her more than just his life.
Crossing his arms, Ichigo gave Kisuke a stern look. "Mah, mah Ichigo it's all a part of the plan. Trust me no harm is going to befall Rukia-san."
"This is not a game boy; many lives will be at stake if you don't do as you are told." Ichigo stopped glaring at his sheepish looking sensei and rolled his eyes to the left. Where a man stood dressed in strange armor with a helmet and four glowing red eyes, stood in the middle of the doorway.
"And just who the hell are you?" Ichigo spat out harshly at the masked individual.
"Come now boy, you do not remember the man who stole your borrowed powers?" Ichigo thought about it for a moment and then nodded. Naruto actually showed a little surprise with his eyes widening by a fraction, not that anyone else could see, what with the mask and all.
His surprise vanished as a thought accord to him. Still from his position between the door frames he turned to Kisuke. "You already told him everything. Interesting I always took you for cryptic old fool." Naruto said bluntly as he walked into the room.
Kisuke shrugged and eyed the approaching ninja. "He's putting himself at risk just like the rest of us, only fitting he knew exactly what he's rushing head first into." Blonde haired shinigami clarified, as Naruto stood beside him.
"This unfortunately brings us to our previous problem." Urahara commented as he gestured over to the boy who a minute ago was arguing.
"She could be killed"
"Your point being"
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you so callous you don't care if she dies?"
"Why should I, she means nothing to me boy." Naruto said nonchalantly, it wasn't that he hated her; he just disliked people in general. Really what reason did he have to feel anything but distaste for a race leading itself to its own destruction? To him the human race was a foul breed with individuals who would stab their closest friends in the back to either survive or to gain more power.
Naruto didn't seem to notice in the slightest as Ichigo clenched his fists so hard his nails broke skin. "Cold hearted bastard." the angered teen growled out.
Naruto's eyes focused directly on the fuming teenager. "Excuse me for not caring about a silly little girl who broke the rules." his eyes showed no emotion, even his tone was void of any life. Almost as if he was nothing but a hollow shell.
Kisuke grimaced as he heard the hollows callous words. This was bad he realised almost immediately, if these two continued with their bickering Ichigo might just walk out. Naruto obviously didn't realize what a hot headed fool the teen is, so it was obvious it would be up to him to sway Ichigo in order for him to go with the plan.
"Ichigo." said man broke out of his staring contest with their guest and cast a single lazy eye in Kisuke's direction. "If you want to make sure Rukia survives then get stronger, stop complaining all the damn time and do something about it. Because whether you like it or not, they are coming for her and they will take her back." he said leaning on his cane.
"Then let's just stop whoever they send, with the three of us they won't stand a chance…"
"It is not enough!" Naruto interrupted the teen, reaching for a book on one of the many shelves aligned around the room. "For my plan to work, Aizen must think he's won. If they do not capture the girl, Aizen will change his plans and then we will be the ones left in the dark." Not once did he turn to look at the flabbergasted shinigami. It was almost as if he was stating his plans out loud then actually talking to the other souls.
"Then change your damn plans! I don't care what you two do, but I am not letting her go."
Kisuke tipped his hat forward shadowing his eyes from view. "Ichigo, you can save her from death and flesh out our greatest enemy at the same time. Think about it, for this plan to succeed we all need to work together as a single cohesive unit." as he finished speaking, the century old shinigami snatched the book out of Naruto's hands before it was completely opened.
"You don't want to read this Uzumaki-san, unless you'd like to learn how to make one hundred different kinds of ramen?"
Naruto seemed to glide as he made his way to the door. He stopped and stood at the open doorway for a moment, with a smirk tugging at his lips. "I'll be back for it later Urahara." he didn't wait for a reply; he walked out of the room, shutting the door after himself with a light click.
As the door closed Ichigo turned to Kisuke. "Pfft….I don't like the bastard."
Kisuke glanced at the orange haired teen, a smirk breaking across his face. "I'm sure the feelings mutual." Urahara commented, his eyes carefully examining the boy beside him.
"What's his problem anyway, Rukia hasn't done anything wrong, accept save lives. For that she's going to be executed!" Urahara looked up from underneath the shadowy veil of his hat.
"Don't take it personal Ichigo-kun, but Naruto-san doesn't't like anyone."
"That guy…" Ichigo muttered heatedly, his jaw clenching. "I'll kill him if anything happens to her."
Urahara's smirk fell slightly, replaced by a somewhat more serious expression. "Come on Kurosaki. If I remember correctly, you still haven't perfected switching to bankai yet." the scientist paused, his hands tightening around his cane, as Ichigo groaned. "If you want to have even a slight hope of matching Naruto-san and saving Rukia-san, you've got a lot of work ahead of you."
That was all the incentive Ichigo needed to begin training again, as he followed the exiled shinigami back into his basement.
Why did these things always happen to him? Did he not pay enough as is, or did the gods take some kind of guilty pleasure out of watching him suffer. Naruto stared out at the dozen or so hollows surrounding a group of kids playing a game he learned were called soccer.
Normally he would have strolled right by the oblivious souls about to be devoured. Some would call him a cruel, callous, cold hearted bastard, but in his eyes it was just the way of life. Humans murdered everyday to survive, whether it be animals or each other, it was done out of selfish needs and desires.
So why should he deny his brethren what in their minds was the key to their survival. Had it been any other day with any other group of human children he would have walked right by, not even hesitating in the slightest as there screams of terror reached his ears.
But of course it had to be the inexperienced shinigamis sister playing at this field. With a sigh he vanished, a moment later he re-appeared standing in the same spot. Naruto smirked and cracked his knuckles, each hollow let out a terrifying wail as they dissolved into nothingness.
Satisfied with his work he turned and continued on his path, after all time was vital and he hoped to reach his destination before nightfall.
"Hey." a voice called from behind him. Naruto looked back at a small black haired girl running to catch up to him. Knowing she was calling for him to stop, he kept walking at the same pace.
"Hey wait up, will ya." she shouted as she drew closer to him. Naruto did not bother to turn or even acknowledge the girls presence as she heaved beside him, obviously feeling a little tired after chasing him.
"Didn't't you hear me?" she said through breathes.
"Yes." he said politely and then fell deathly quiet.
"So why didn't't you wait for me?"
"Why should I have?" Naruto answered with another question.
"Well…" she paused uncertain how to respond, turning back to look at him she had a scowl on her face. "Cause its common courtesy, jackass." Naruto chuckled at her straightforward attitude. It reminded him slightly of a mix between Grimmjow and Nel. Sighing he erased the pesky thoughts from his mind and turned to the child walking in step with him.
"Forgive my rudeness, but I could care less for how others perceive me, though people often tend to call me an asshole." he admitted with a slight smile.
Snorting she turned a critical eye on the blonde haired man. "I'm Karin." Naruto nodded his head and then completely disregarded the girl again and kept walking at his steady pace.
"Well aren't ya going to introduce yourself asshole." Karin said, clearly frustrated by his tardiness.
"You're Ichigo Kurosaki's sister are you not?"
When he said this Karin came to a dead stop, while he kept going not worried in the slightest. It took a moment for her to come out of her initial shock, before she took a few long strides until she was back in step with Naruto.
"Sooooo…" Karin drawled. "How do you know Ichigo?"
Naruto turned to her a creepy smile plastered on his face, causing Karin to inch a few feet away from him.
"Just a friend from school." Naruto said through a fake smile. He had no idea why he was playing along with their silly little games. What was the problem with Ichigo's family knowing he was a soul reaper who purifies corrupted souls for a living?
Shaking his head he focused his attention on the annoying girl staring at him, without blinking.
"What do you want child?" Naruto questioned, his annoyance with the whole situation causing his words to sound very cold. "Surely you have better things to do, then annoying me?"
"I j…just wanted to thank you." she replied meekly, his attitude change and spiteful tone scaring her a bit.
Thank me? He was surprised but didn't show any of it in the slightest.
"For..?"
"Saving us from those monsters."
Naruto couldn't hide the surprise showing on his face this time by her words. It was not unusual for spiritually aware mortals to exist; the surprise came from the fact that she had been able to see him. Even with the dozen or so terrifying creatures…well terrifying to her at least. She had been able to locate him and connect that he was their savoir. In the face of death, she displayed courage and strength most humans deemed as worthless emotions that only hindered their selfish goals. Looking down at the petit form of the shinigamis sister, Naruto let a small grin reach his lips. Interesting
Further away a man wearing black traditional robes squatted behind a bush eyes wide. His name was Kaji Yumiko. He had been lucky enough to be in the near vicinity when he heard the distinct sound of screams echoing through the forest. It took Kaji almost no time at all to reach an opening where a bunch of human children were playing a game he recognized almost instantly as soccer. After all he was quite the fan of the sport, when he was a member among the living.
His eyes narrowed as he noticed a dozen or so hollows surrounding their meal. That's when he realized the screams had come from the hollows and not the children.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blonde haired man dressed in normal human clothing just appear at the edge of the field. He used shun-po.
"I need to report this to Hitsugaya-taicho immediately." reaching into his robes he pulled a small black device out.
Flipping it opened he went to hit the call button on his soul phone, when he discovered he couldn't move his arms. On further inspection he found out he couldn't will any part of his body to move. He was rooted to the spot, he found only his facial features and mouth could move. "Tsk, tsk…and what do we have here?"
Despite the knots currently taking up the space once known as his stomach, Kaji cracked a grin.
"To think I was fooled so easily, you're quite gifted aren't you?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. "I have my moments. Now what exactly were you going to report to your superiors?" he questioned interrogating his prisoner.
Kaji chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. "Umm…nothing important." Naruto deadpanned at the captured shinigami.
"Honestly!"
"Well as likely as that is, I don't trust you. So whatever happens next shouldn't be a surprise." Naruto's voice sent shivers running up Kaji's spine.
"Nothing personal but it's simply safer this way, like most of you disgusting souls I'm only looking out for number one."
Naruto appeared in front of the stuck shinigami his fist pulled back, prepared to kill the soul in a single blow.
Instead Naruto ducked under a fist aimed for his head. His eyes shifted to the left where his attacker stood arm still outstretched. Naruto spun and gave the man a swift uppercut to the chin.
His assailant grunted as he flew back several meters, landing hard on the forest floor.
Naruto straightened himself and glared at the person who interrupted him.
"You!" He snarled a look of pure fury and hatred settling on his face. His hand tightening around the handle of his blade as he readied to draw it from it's sheathe.
Minato sat up nursing his bruised jaw. "Did you have to punch so hard…sheesh?"
Instead of chuckling Naruto sprinted over to his father and backhanded him across the face, sending him rolling across the ground.
"Did you think I was joking when I said I'd kill you if you ever got in my way again." He growled. "Cause if you believe so, then you're a dead fool."
Minato pushed himself up off the ground nursing his probably broken jaw. "Naruto I can't let you do this he's an innocent." Minato commented mildly looking at the frozen man.
"Oh so that justifies you protecting Gin, tell me he was innocent too," Naruto's whole body was shaking as he looked at Minato. "You attacked me to save that purple haired bastard?" Naruto spat while shaking his head. It was all just too much, his father who said he loved him, purposely fought him, to protect a man who almost killed his own child.
Naruto strolled over to Kaji whipped out his blade and in one fluid motion the shinigamis head fell to the forest floor with a hollow thud.
"Last time father…you get in my way again and I will kill you." he stated before dissolving into nothing but a lone strand of hair that slowly fell to the ground.
Minato stared at the headless body with disgust and sympathy. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood stained on his cheeks.
"I know." he whispered hollowly standing unmoving.
From his perch on a building Naruto opened his closed eyes and glared at the glistening moon. "Idiot." he muttered and then focused his attention back on the three shinigami floating in the air.
Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, and cast a single lazy eye in his team member's direction. "So any idea how we're going to find her?"
Jiraiya smirked and brought out his Zanpaktuo. "Unlike most zanpaktuos mine has more than one ability Kakashi." as he said this Kakashi sighed and rolled his eye.
"Yes I know, you've told me more than once already idiot." Jiraiya toke the comment at his intelligence all in stride and grinned back at the grumpy team leader
"Ink: Golden quill." the effects were immediate as the grip was wrapped in golden feathers and the blade turned pure black from what looked to be thousands of random kanji's written along the steel's length.
"Sealing art 1: Reiatsu engraving seal." Jiraiya yelled out. Using his Zanpaktuo as a pen, he drew a giant seal in the air.
Reaching into his robes, Jiraiya pulled out a bag filled with strands of hair. "This seals main function is to locate targets by their reiatsu source. To do this I require an item in which there reiatsu has circulated through, whether it is skin particles, blood or in this case hair."
Jiraiya stated as he placed a single strand of hair into the middle of the seal. The effects were immediate as the outer rings of the seal began to glow and spin counter clockwise.
"So this will take us directly to Rukia's position?" the last member of the retrieval group Renji asked.
Jiraiya turned him rubbing the top of his head with a sheepish smile on his face. "Oh hey Renji, I forgot you were there." the red head fell head first as he started dropping to the ground. Gaining control over his reiatsu he flew back up, feeling depressed that his team-mates had forgotten about him.
"Yeah…basically if she's anywhere within a twenty-three mile radius of the seal, it will lead us straight to her..."
"And if she's not within that limit?" Kakashi cut in interrupting the white haired shinigami in his explanation.
"Then the seal will simply dissolve, if she is within the limit it will turn red and follow the source." as if on cue the seal turned from black to red and began heading south-east. Smirking the three shinigami followed closely behind the seal.
Naruto watched curiously as the strange technique began moving leading them closer to Ichigo's house. "That was quicker than I thought." Naruto was quite impressed with Jiraiya's abilities. It seemed the man was just as powerful as he was alive and his mastery over seals had carried over into the afterlife as well. Standing up Naruto took off into a jog as he followed the shinigami, using the shadows to completely hide his presence.
Just a filler chapter, all the action starts in the next chapter, which will basically begin the soul society arc.