Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Yeah…so, this is the fifth chapter of Vulpes Alvues…um…it's REALLY late right now(or should I say early, since it's 2:37 a.m.?), so I'm going to make this short. Naruto's Zonpaktou's abilities will be revealed mostly in this chapter, along with the name…um…if you want to know about the abilities once they're revealed later on, it's at the bottom. I wont be updating this story for a while, unless I get a massive brainstorm. I'm going on vacation, so don't expect many chapters, or anything at all, for a few weeks. My next update will be Demon's Shadow.
Chapter 5
Vulpes Animus, Vulpes Vesica
:::The Next Day:::
Naruto lifted his head from the napping position it had been in not a second earlier. His ears twisted around on his head, and his tails twitched in anticipation. Time to kick it into high gear. Naruto thought, climbing hurriedly to his paws. With Ichigo out of the picture for now, I need to compensate. The orange Vulpes spurred himself forward at a slow run, his paws heavily hitting the ground. Out of any of us, Ichigo, Yoruichi, and I were the ones who were most likely going to be able to get to Rukia first, and get her out of here. With Yoruichi healing Ichigo, I'm the only one left. If what that Hell Butterfly Yoruichi told me was right, then Chad was already defeated, and Orihime and Uryuu havent met up with anyone…Ganju and Hanataro are officially MIA. Either they've been killed, are still going towards Rukia, or worse, captured. Naruto thought to himself quickly as he threw himself around a corner, and screamed "OUTTA MY WAY!" to a group of female Soul Reapers who just gaped at him. And if what Ichigo told me earlier is correct, then Rukia's at that giant white tower. The Repentance Cell, or something. Naruto's eyes suddenly widened, and he threw back his head in realization as he ran. "DAMN IT!" He cried to the sky. "I WAS THERE A FEW DAYS AGO!" Naruto lowered his head, and picked up the pace, his eyes flaming and a snarl spreading across his foxish face. "I cant believe that I was there and I didn't even notice!" Naruto growled as his paws carried him around a soft bend in the path. He suddenly slammed his paws into the ground, grinding himself to a painful stop; it seemed he had been doing that a lot lately. And he had a reason for doing this, too. For before him, was a tall man with light purple(GAY) hair, squinted eyes that seemed to smile by themselves, and a creepy grin that threatened to crack his face in two. He wore the Shihakusho that all Reapers wore, but over his body, was a white Haori with the kanji for '3' in the rhombus on the back. "A Captain." Naruto muttered, looking the grinning man up and down. He wilted. "Shiiiiiiiit." He growled, letting out the air in his lungs slowly.
"Ahhhh." The man drawled, his voice smooth and teasing. "You must be the foxish Ryoka that the Vice-Captain of Squad 2 was complaining about." His grin didn't falter, causing Naruto's eyes to narrow. "But I expected you to be more human-looking, considering he described you nearly perfectly to be an Arrancar." Naruto's eyes narrowed even further.
"Nothing gets by you…" Naruto said, before suddenly vanishing, and reappearing behind the man, his fox body replaced with his human one, and his Zonpaktou drawn back to run him through. "Except me, that is." Naruto shoved his Zonpaktou forward, but, just as he expected, the man vanished, and reappeared thirty feet away, his grin still present on his visage.
"Ah ah ah!" The man said, waving a finger back and forth playfully. "It's awfully rude to attack someone without giving your name first, you know." The man said. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"I do not see the reason in that. Look at it from my point of view; here in Soul Society, if I gave an intellectual Captain my name, then it'd be easier to find me in the Living World. That, of course, is not something I want to happen. And look at it again. In the Living World, if you were going to murder someone in the alley, you wouldn't say; "My name is Akito." and then attempt to kill them. What if someone hears you, or there's a security camera that picks up this recording? It's basically the same thing as a confession. And if that person you were trying to kill escapes alive? Then they have proof, right there, that you were attempting to kill them, and that it wasn't someone else. You gave them your NAME, and you cant create a diversion for that, especially if the person you were trying to murder doesn't know you in the first place. It's just not a good idea." Naruto said. The man blinked, his grin finally falling.
"You look to deeply into things." He deadpanned. Naruto shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"So I've been told. I'm Vulpes Naruto." Naruto said, repositioning his long blade in front of him, so that the blade seemed to split the man in two perfect halves. The man raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you said you weren't going to say your name." He said.
"How are you so sure that's my real name? I said Akito a few minutes ago; for all you know, that is my name." Naruto responded. The grin returned to the man's face, causing Naruto to inwardly groan.
"So true, my Masked Friend! My name is Ichimaru Gin, Captain of the 3rd Squad. And I have a…proposition…for you." The man said. Naruto's hands tightened on the hilt of his blade. He really had to get going! He couldn't waste time listening to so psychotic man rambling on and on.
"What kind of proposition?" Naruto asked. He mentally began to punch himself. Why the hell did I just ask him that?
"Why don't you come over to my side? We have more Arrancars, more creatures like you! We're working towards ruling the world! Becoming Gods!" Gin said, spreading his arms wide, his smile growing with each and every word. Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I choose not to trifle with the power of the Gods. Mess with God's line of power, and you tend to get burned in a fiery pit of Hell." Naruto responded. "I'm declining your offer, Ichimaru, for I don't want to mess with God…that, and your Arrancars are nothing like me. You see…they're spirit beings. Me?" Naruto paused, before a feral grin spread across his face. "I'm still a Living Demon." Naruto suddenly spun around on his heels, and began to walk off, causing Gin's grin to fall once again.
"Where're you going. Didn't you have to get past me? The Repentance Tower has only one entrance, you know!" Gin called. Naruto smiled lightly, shoving his hands into his white pockets.
"Oh really? What's behind you? Right now?" Naruto asked. Gin raised an eyebrow, and looked over his shoulder. His eyes nearly opened with shock at what he saw. And that was just the problem. He didn't see anything. No Sogyoku, no Stand, no cliff, no Tower…nothing. Just rows of buildings, and the distant wall of the Seireitei. "Did you really not notice? When I used Sonido to get behind you, you jumped away. But not closer to the Tower, no. You jumped away from the tower, effectively switching our positions. I won this match the instant this happened." Naruto said. Gin reached into his Haori, and gripped something tightly.
"Oh did you, now?" He muttered, before whipping out a small dagger, gripping it tightly. "Sorry, but this battle is just beginning! Shoot to Kill! Shinzo!(or something like that.)" Gin said, pointing the tip of his blade at the orange-haired Vulpes. The blade suddenly shot forward, extending at a rapid pace, its deadly tip heading straight for the back of Naruto's head. Ten feet. Nine feet. Eight feet. Seven feet. Six feet.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Zero.
Negative On-
"Wait…what?" Gin muttered, looking to where his Zonpaktou still extended, but didn't hit anything. Why? Because the Vulpes had completely vanished. And the telltale crack of a Sonido hadnt warned him of the used technique. So…what happened?
"Are Soul Reapers really that dumb that they don't report the slightest clue to an opponents abilities?" Called a voice. Gin looked around, his grin, which had returned after releasing his Shikai, fading quickly. Suddenly, out of the shadows of a building, a shape began to twist and morph. It first rose as just a mound of black. But then a neck hollowed out, arms and legs sprouted, and clothes took shape. Standing in the shadows, was Naruto, his hands shoved in his pockets, and a smug grin on his face. "That ability truly is hard to control. I wished I could hold out the blending of the Shadows and I longer…it'd be so much more useful in times like these…" Naruto spread his arms, and held out his hands. "I truly feel sorry for you Reapers; you don't even know your opponents abilities, or what their Zonpaktou does! It most be…frustrating…to be at the mercy of your enemy. You've already used your Shikai, and I've gathered that you can make it extend at a fast pace over great distances. You can also make it come back you to, and you can make it into any length of blade that you deem fit. But unlike you, I haven't yet revealed my Zonpaktou's abilities. Not to my comrades…not to anyone. Only one man has a slight clue on what my Zonpaktou does…but that's the key word…slight." The Vulpes lowered his arms, his grin falling. "Yet…you're a Captain, and they seem like something hard to defeat. If I continued to talk, more Soul Reapers, or even more Captains, may come. Defeating one Captain may be hard enough…and I already know that you wont let me leave until either I'm defeated…or you are."
"That wont happen." Gin called in a singsong voice as his Zonpaktou snapped back to a blade the size of a normal katana. "I'll be winning, little Fox." Naruto's eyes narrowed as he unsheathed his Zonpaktou from his back.
"I'll let you keep thinking that." Naruto muttered, pointing his blade at the Captain. Gin tensed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and without any warning, it shot forward, slicing through the air like it was nothing. Naruto tilted his blade so the flat of his Zonpaktou reflected his face, and grit his fangs as Shinzo crashed against the wide blade. Dust billowed as Naruto's feet scraped against the ground, his body being forced back as Shinzo continued to extend and push him back. Damn, that's powerful! Naruto hissed in his mind as he dug his heels into the ground. With a sudden shout, Naruto fell onto his back as his feet tried to stay still, and the rest of his body tried to move. Shinzo shot past his head with only inches to spare as he fell. Gin scowled for a split second at his miss, and swung his arm down, with Shinzo following in a wave that traveled down the blade, creating a whip-like effect. Right before the sharp sword crashed through his body, Naruto rolled out of the way. The Vulpes blinked with wide eyes at the sword that was embedded deep in the cement. I don't want to underestimate him…he is a Captain, after all. Naruto thought to himself, and jumped up. He repositioned his Zonpaktou, and tightened his grip on the hilt. Naruto leapt to the side as Gin attempted to swing his sword through the Arrancar's waist, and he landed skillfully on the blade. He dashed forward, throwing his sword behind him, his eyes fixed on his target. A few feet from the purple-haired Captain, Naruto launched himself into the air, and lifted his Zonpaktou over his head. Gin's eyes opened slightly, his grin still present.
"My my. You cant get me from all the way up there." He said in his sickly sweet voice. Naruto's eyes narrowed, before growing wider as rietsu suddenly flew down his arms, and to the tip of the blade.
"Ventus…" Naruto growled, and swung his sword down quickly "VESICA(1)!" As Naruto shouted this, a giant blade of wind, paper thin yet three feet from the front to back, and nine feet tall, shot from the wide blade of Naruto's Zonpaktou. Gin's eyes opened wide as the attack came at him, nearly at point blank. The attack struck the ground, with dust billowing into the sky and debris taking to the air. Naruto jumped back as soon as his feet touched the ground, and he readied his Zonpaktou once again. I doubt an attack like that would take down a Soul Reaper Captain on the first blow. But if made contact, then he should be injured. If it hit him dead on…he might have been cut almost clean through. Naruto thought, his purple eyes narrowing dangerously as a figure began to stand out in the dust. Suddenly, a flying projectile, blue in color and speeding like a ball of fire, shot from the dust. Naruto yelped, and ducked, the top of his head nearly getting burned. What the hell? Naruto gasped, quickly turning his attention back to the dust cloud. Gin strode out of it, a deep gash on his left arm, and Shinzo held lazily in his right. His grin was back on his face, but it wasn't as confident as before. Shit! It hardly touched him! "What was that just now? A special ability of your Zonpaktou?" Naruto asked, gathering rietsu for yet another attack. Gin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? So you weren't taught any Kido?" Gin asked.
"I'm Arrancar, damn it! I cant learn that crap!" Naruto yelled back. So that was a Kido…Yoruichi told me about those. Very dangerous if used by a Captain, and the higher number they are, the more powerful they become. But it also becomes harder to control…if used without the incantation, then the Kido is cut down drastically in power. "What Kido was that?" Naruto asked.
"You want to know what Kido it was? Well…I'll tell you." Gin said, then pointed his palms of his hands at Naruto, his grin growing a little larger. "Hado 33: Sokatsuki!" Gin barked as blue flames leapt from his palms, and shot at Naruto. The orange-haired Vulpes, now expecting this, ducked, and rolled out of the way. He then jumped back up, and swung his Zonpaktou again. "Ventus Vesica!" Naruto yelled as the blade of wind once again shot from his Zonpaktou. Gin sidestepped quickly, narrowly missing the swift attack. "My my. And here I was thinking that your Zonpaktou had something to do with blending into walls or the ground." Naruto's eye twitched.
"That would be the gayest Zonpaktou ever." Naruto deadpanned.
"Well, I'd think it'd be pretty cool. If you blend with one wall, wouldn't you be able to come out the other side?" Gin asked. Naruto blinked.
"I wouldn't know, because that's not my Zonpaktou's ability." Naruto muttered.
"Oh really. And what is your Zonpaktou's name? Something Spanish, right?" Gin's grin grew a little more.
"Like I'd tell you." The Vulpes snorted. Damn it! Why does everyone thing just because I'm Arrancar, means that my Zonpaktou has a Spanish name? That attack is named in LATIN, not Spanish! Naruto barked in his thoughts. Gin frowned.
"Aw. I wanted to know." He shrugged. "Oh well. Shoot to Kill!" Shinzo extended once again, but Naruto twisted away from it, bringing up his Zonpaktou so that the two blades grinded against once another as Shinzo kept extending.
"If your Zonpaktou could bend like that Abarai's can…" Naruto grunted, pushing Shinzo away from his body, "…then that would have been a bad spot for me. Must be annoying, knowing that a Vice-Captain has a better Zonpaktou then yours." Naruto taunted.
'Did that bastard just call me weak? Kill him! KILL HIM!' A high-pitched voice in Gin's head yelled. The man, in turn, chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Naruto growled.
"Oh, Shinzo doesn't like how you were calling him weak, so he wants me to kill you. And the thing is…" Gin suddenly swung his Zonpaktou without any warning, the blade digging into Naruto's right arm. The Vulpes' eyes widened as he looked down at where the Zonpaktou was burrowed into his furry arm. "…I tend to listen to what Shinzo wants." Gin suddenly put on a mock frown. "Aw. Are you done already? I was beginning to have a little bit of fun…" Gin groaned. Naruto swiftly ripped the blade from the side of his arm, grunting as he did so.
"I'm not done yet, bastard." Naruto hissed through gritted teeth. Damn! I almost forgot how much pain a sword can bring! And I thought that Urahara drilled that into my head! Naruto thought as he worked on parrying all the fast strikes that Gin jabbed forward with. Gin suddenly grinned, and pointed his blade down.
"Shoot to Kill." He ordered, and the blade extended once again. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Naruto noticing the attack, and swinging his sword, screaming: "Ventus Vesica!", and the wind shooting at Gin. Shinzo sliding forward, and through Naruto's right foot. Gin didn't notice the wind. The attack sliced right through his right shoulder, nearly taking his entire arm off. Naruto tried to take a step back with his injured foot, only succeeding in tearing the sword through the remainder of his foot, and slicing the toe it exited out of in half. Finally, the point-blank collision of the wind and Gin's body created a massive explosion of wind, making the two fly backwards by tens of feet. Gin managed to land on his feet before collapsing as he, unfortunately, caught up with the blade of wind. This blade of wind slashed his left calf, with no flesh or muscle being spared. Naruto, on the other hand, did something he would never admit later on. As he tried to fix his 'flying', he 'smartly' forgot that he had a Zonpaktou in his hands. So when he finally hid the ground…the blade of his long Zonpaktou cut a gash through his forehead, baring the white of his skull for all to see clearly. But, before the Zonpaktou managed to cut all the way through his head, a white power swirled around the blade, pushing it away.
:You idiot! Watch where you're falling! That's the last thing we need; you dieing on us because you cut your own head off!: The first voice from the day yelped. Naruto silently thanked the voice as he stumbled to his feet, breathing heavily.
We need train…just a few of those Ventus Vesica attacks took to much out of me… Naruto growled in disgust with himself. Gin attempted to crawl back to his feet, but just managed collapsing once again. "I don't think you'll be able to stand with that torn leg, Ichimaru." Naruto panted. Even so, his grip on his Zonpaktou didn't slacken.
"Don't count me out yet." Gin growled, his grin completely gone, and his redish eyes opened slightly in anger. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"You don't have the strength. Just stay down and wait for the 4th Squad to come." Naruto called, turned, and began to limp away, mumbling "Ow." in his head every time his injured foot struck the pavement. Suddenly, Gin's spiritual pressure rose, and, before Naruto could react, a sickening squelch sounded right below him. Naruto carefully looked down, his eyes wide and his breathing ragged.
You really need training, brat, if you fell for that! Barked a low, growling, demonic voice in Naruto's mind. Sticking out of his chest, right between the bottom two ribs of the right side of his ribcage, was Shinzo, the tip covered in a blood that was a deep crimson color that had an eerie glow to it. Naruto's body lurched, and blood splashed on the ground noisily as Shinzo ripped itself from his body, cutting just the bottom of his right lung as it exited. Naruto dropped to his knees as Gin stared at the glowing blood at the end of his Zonpaktou.
"It glows?" He muttered, before wrapping the blade delicately in a cloth, and pocketing the blade. Aizen-sama will want to see this… Gin thought. He suddenly turned a grin to Naruto. "Looks like we're both going to be waiting for the 4th Squad here." Gin called teasingly. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he spotted a large blur far off on the roofs, and watched as it vanished near the rear side of the cliff that held the Sogyoku. His nose twitched, and he instantly picked up the scent of Ichigo's blood…and cat. The Vulpes' body suddenly began to morph, and he was once again replaced by his fox-sized Demon Fox form. Gin raised an eyebrow, still not used to watching someone vanish and be replaced by an animal. Naruto looked over his shoulder, grinning.
"I doubt that." Naruto said, then vanished, his Sonido giving a loud crack as he vanished.
:::Secret Hideout:::
Yoruichi was instantly put on her guard as something materialized in the dark room, and crashed into a bookshelf that rested against a wall. The bookshelf toppled over, instantly covering whoever or whatever had enter. A brief flash shone underneath the fallen tools and bookshelf, and then it was gone. Yoruichi sprang to her feet, her hand twitching towards a dagger that she had in her pocket. "Who's there?" She called. Nobody answered. But a deep-red blood that held a strange glow began to flow out from under the fallen wood. Yoruichi's eyes widened, and she moved forward carefully yet quickly, and hurriedly moved away shards of wood and books. As soon as she saw part of a white outfit stained with red, she began to move faster, until a battered Naruto was uncovered. He was curled in a partial ball in his human form, his eyes closed tightly, and his teeth mashed in pain, as his hands struggled to cover an apparent gaping wound in his lower chest. Even though both hands covered the wound, blood still managed to fall in rivers past his fingers. The wound that was in his chest apparently was also in his back, just a little lower then the one in his chest; one or two of his rips were probably cracked. Blood slid from his mouth, and he's nearly constantly cough, hacking up more blood as he did so. His right foot didn't move properly as he tried to move his legs, apparently trying compensate for the pain. A long gash on his forehead bled profusely, showering his eyes in blood, and a large chunk of flesh had been hacked from his right arm. "What the hell happened?" Yoruichi yelled, shaking Naruto's shoulder. He opened an eye slightly, and tried to grin. The grin just morphed quickly into a grimace.
"What do you-" Naruto paused as he coughed up more blood "-think? I fought someone."
"Who?" Yoruichi asked, and when Naruto didn't respond, she attempted again. "Who?"
"Ichima-" Naruto stopped as he violently coughed up more blood, and something that looked a little bit like a shard of a stone surrounded by a thin layer of blazing fire. "Sh-shit!" Naruto managed through his coughs when his eyes landed on the small, sliver of a shard.
He fought Ichimaru Gin…and got away like this? I would have thought someone as untrained as him in sword fighting would have been killed fighting him! Yoruichi thought. "What's wrong? What is this?" Yoruichi asked, reaching towards the flaming shard.
"Don't touch!" Naruto snapped. Yoruichi, shocked at the sudden strength carried on his words, stopped reaching towards the shard. "If you touch that, you'll be burned severely!"
"What is it?" Yoruichi asked. Naruto stared at the shard.
"It's part of my Eterna Flamma." Naruto responded.
"…ah?" Yoruichi sounded confusedly.
"The thing that I have that allows me to use fire abilities! Vulpes' that have flame abilities have a second stomach, and in that second stomach is a glowing stone surrounded by fire! That is our Eterna Flamma. Ichimaru must have gotten me with that last attack worse then I thought if he was able to get off a shard of it." Naruto said, before coughing again. "Just a warning." Naruto said, rolling onto his back as his chest rose and fell heavily, his breathing uneven. "I don't think…I can stay awake much longer."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of your wounds. Take your time in waking up. Ichigo wont be happy finding out your hurt, though." Yoruichi said.
"Is that idiot…hurt again?" Naruto asked, forcing rietsu through his body to keep him conscious longer.
"Yeah. He decided to go and fight Kuchiki Byakuya when he was still injured from when you last saw him." Yoruichi responded. Naruto's eyes widened.
"Kuchiki got him?"
"No…I did." Yoruichi grinned. "I stabbed him in the stomach with an anesthetic. And I'm thinking about doing that to you to, Naruto! Stop using rietsu to keep yourself awake!" Yoruichi scolded.
"How can you tell…I'm using rietsu?" Naruto asked, shocked. Yoruichi smiled lightly.
"You're glowing orange, Naruto." Yoruichi answered. Naruto's eyes began to drift closed, his rietsu finally giving up in keeping him awake.
"Damn…and here I thought I was being secretive." He muttered. He fell unconscious listening to Yoruichi laughing loudly, her hands already pulling him onto her back. And then all there was, was darkness.
:::A Few Minutes Later:::
Ichigo woke up fully prepared to yell his lungs out at Yoruichi. But once he did wake up, he noticed something very important; she wasn't anywhere near him. Instead, she was off about nineteen feet to his right, hurriedly running back and forth between another mat like the one he lay on, with bandages and other things in her hands. She hardly even gave Ichigo a glance, but when she did, all she said was: "Ichigo, give me a hand here!" before running around again. The Reaper slowly got to his feet, the anesthetic still in his system. He stumbled over to the mat, and looked at who lay upon it. He was shocked at what he found. Naruto lay on the mat, his body covered in dark blood that held a strange glow, with a large wound that went all the way through his body on the lower right side of his chest, and a gash on his right arm and forehead. His right foot looked like it had been through a blender, and one of his toes, and half his foot, was split completely in half, bone, muscle and all.
"What happened?" Ichigo yelped at the sight of his friend. Throughout the entire time they had been in the Seireitei, not once had he seen Naruto injured.
"He fought a Captain. He won," Yoruichi explained as she carried on bringing bandages and medicine to the side of the bed "but he also got hurt in the process." Naruto suddenly cracked open an eye, and grinned slightly.
"I told you I'm fine." Naruto said, even as a mouthful of blood slid from the corners of his mouth.
"Shut up, or I'll punch another hole through your lung!" Yoruichi snapped.
"Kitty got-ow." Naruto was cut off after Yoruichi dropped a bottle on his eye 'on accident'.
"I said shut up!" Yoruichi hissed again. Naruto rolled his open eye, and looked over to Ichigo.
"Looks like you finally woke up-ow! Damn it, woman, stop dropping crap on my eye!" Naruto shouted at the purple-haired woman.
"I will when you shut up! The more you talk, the more you have to breathe, and the more blood that gets in your lung! And then you drown!" Yoruichi responded.
"I wont drown on my blood!" Naruto yelled, not sounding completely sure of himself. "The blood'll melt my Nex Glacies in my right lung and turn that stupid thing to water."
"Then what?" Yoruichi asked, and then mentally slapped herself for asking.
"THEN I drown!"
"Then stop talking you stupid fox!" Yoruichi barked as she tried to bandage the wound on Naruto's chest. "Damn it, the thing wont stop bleeding! Doesn't a demon's blood clot?"
"I don't know!" Ichigo responded, who was helping jam bandages into the gaping hole in the Vulpes' chest. Naruto suddenly sat up, making Yoruichi and Ichigo fall back, and held his hand to the wound. He grimaced, and muttered "Ow!" under his breath, before his hand started to glow an orange-goldish color. His eyes narrowed in concentration, as steam began to rise from the wound. Then suddenly, his hand burst into flames, causing the other two to yelp in shock. Naruto grimaced again as he pressed his burning hand to the injury, and after a few seconds, he moved his hand to where the wound started on his back, and did the same thing. Once the fire was gone from his hand, he plopped himself back down on the mat, his breathing once again irregular.
"Damn…" Was all he managed. This time, though, blood didn't spill from his mouth. Yoruichi leapt forward, and inspected the wound. It had shrunk considerably, and had a dark fire pattern around it.
"What'd you do?" Yoruichi asked.
"What do you think? I burned it." Naruto responded, and propped himself up on his elbows. "Burning a wound with demonic fire is extremely painful, but it stops the bleeding and heals the wound a little bit. The bigger the wound, the longer it takes, and the less it heals. It takes a lot of energy, though." Naruto said. I can already tell that's gonna hurt in the morning.
~It IS the morning.~ Teased a voice.
Bah! Naruto snorted. "What now?" Naruto asked.
"Now, I finish bandaging you, and then you sleep." Yoruichi responded. Naruto raised an eyebrow, and lifted a hand, wiping blood out of his eyes.
"We don't have time for that, Yoruichi. We need to figure out how we're gonna get Rukia before her execution date. It's in, what, three weeks? Two?" Naruto asked.
"That's more then enough time for you to rest." Yoruichi said. Ichigo nodded.
"I agree. I want to rescue Rukia to…but we cant do that if you're to injured to fight." Ichigo said. Naruto's eyes narrowed at Ichigo, before he swung his gaze to Yoruichi.
"I'll be right back." Naruto said, before he suddenly collapsed, leaving Yoruichi and Ichigo to yelp with surprise.
:::Naruto's Mindscape:::
The Vulpes didn't stop in the giant field that he had seen so many times. He didn't stop when he ran behind the giant waterfall, and into the face of the mountain. And he didn't stop when all light died within the cave, or when the cave looked more like a sewer then anything else. He just kept running, his feet splashing into ankle-deep water. Large pipes ran over his head, some of them red, some of them gold, and others orange or purple. Suddenly, the Vulpes sprinted around a corner, through a doorway, and into a giant chamber, with more then half the entire chamber being taken up by some giant cage that was built right into the wall. Naruto quickly stopped himself, water spraying everywhere as he did so. The light that came from nowhere cast strange shadows on his face, and the blood dripped from his hair, and into the water. Keeping the doors to the cage closed, was a single piece of paper about the size of Naruto, with the kanji for 'seal' on it. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he waded through the water, and up to the doors; but he made sure that he was far enough back from the bars. "Oi." Naruto barked into the cage. Nothing came from within the cage. "Oi!" Naruto called, a little stronger this time. Nothing. "Wake up, damn you!" Naruto snapped, his voice raising to extreme levels. Slowly, two, blood-red eyes with slit pupils opened from in the confines of the giant cage.
What…do you want? Rumbled the voice that belonged to the giant eyes.
"I want you to work on healing my injuries." Naruto responded in a level voice.
And why…would I do that? The voice asked with annoyance. Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Many reasons. One, you're only alive because I am. If I don't heal fast enough, I don't get to train. If I don't get to train, then I wont get stronger. If I don't get stronger, then my opponent will be stronger than me. If my opponent is stronger then me-" Naruto said, before he was cut off.
-Then he dies, and we die with him.- Said a new voice. Naruto turned, his eyes narrowing.
"Ceterus mihi…Everto Dimidum…(2)" Naruto growled in the Demon Language. Behind him, stood another Naruto. It had the same height, same facial looks, same body makeup…everything. Except colors and looks. This Naruto was much paler, and had pure-golden hair and golden eyes with black slit pupils. The whisker marks on his cheeks were much more feral then the orange-haired Naruto's, and covered nearly all of his cheeks. His fangs were so long, they completely passed his lower lip, and his claws had to be at least two inches long. Instead of human ears, this Naruto had fox ears, and behind him, were 4 tails that were nearly five with pure-golden fur. Instead of human feet sticking out from underneath the black hakama this Naruto wore. It was the hind paws of a golden fox. In fact, if this Naruto had been wearing shorts, all of his legs were that of a fox. His arms, like Naruto's, were the front legs of a fox with furry human hands, just covered in golden fur. This Naruto's outfit, was the same thing as the orange-haired Naruto, except the colors were reversed; this Naruto's hakama and vest was black, while the armor-like tank top underneath was white.
What do you want, Everto Dimidum? The owner of the eyes asked.
"For once I agree with him. What do you want, Everto?" Naruto growled out. The pale Naruto shrugged carelessly, a grin on his face.
-Oh, just agreeing with you.- He responded. -Even though I don't like you one bit, if you die then I die, and I don't feel like dieing. So I'll pitch in in healing your injuries.- The red eyes beyond the bars narrowed.
I guess I have no choice…I will as well. It growled, before the eyes closed. But I wont like it.
"It's all I ask." Naruto muttered as his body vanished.
:::Outside His Mindscape:::
Naruto suddenly shot up from where he had previously been sleeping. Ichigo and Yoruichi, who had been discussing their next move, both had different reactions. Yoruichi bristled and hissed like a cat, while Ichigo just shrieked and fell over. Naruto planted his hands on the ground, and pushed himself up, letting the blanket fall away from him. "Alright." He grunted. "Let's go."
"What're you doing?" Yoruichi yelped, finally recovering from her shock, and jumping to her feet.
"I picked up hints of your guys's conversation. You were talking about a secret training ground to use for training. We can go now; I'm done talking to who I needed to talk to." Naruto responded.
"Not until you're healed!" Yoruichi ordered. Naruto limped over to her, unwrapping his right arm, before holding it out for her to see.
"Go ahead and take a look." Naruto responded. Yoruichi grabbed his arm, and pulled it closer to her eye, before gasping. Steam was rising from his wound, and it was literally closing right in front of her eyes. So much so, that she expected his arm would be healed within the hour.
"How…?" Yoruichi asked.
"Let's just say I know the right creatures to talk to." Naruto responded indifferently. "Now, we really should go." Naruto said, and glanced towards the wooden doors to the hidden cave.
"Am I ever going to get any answers out of you?" Yoruichi sighed in exasperation, the times of asking the Vulpes about himself playing through her mind; and all she had gotten out of him was that he was a Vulpes and was named Naruto.
"Probably not. Let's go." Naruto responded, his limp lessening as he neared the door. "You have to show us the way; we don't know how to get to the training grounds." Naruto said. Yoruichi sighed heavily.
"Obviously." She muttered.
:::Underground Training Room:::
"Wooow…" Naruto said, slight fascination carried on his words. "…this place looks exactly like Urahara's place."
"Well it should. Tessai built that room to mimic this one. Urahara and I built this place when we were still new in the entire Soul Reaper world, so that we could have a place to relax and train. Nobody should be bothering us here." Yoruichi responded, looking around at all the tall pillars and small mountains of rock.
"Yeah, this place is cool, now can we get to training?" Ichigo barked. Naruto turned his gaze to the boy.
"You're really impatient, you know that?" Naruto sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "So, Yoruichi, what're you gonna do to train this guy, and do I want to be anywhere near this area when he kicks it off?" Naruto asked.
"He's going to be training for Bankai." Yoruichi responded, her voice completely serious. Naruto's eyes widened, and he turned to the dark-skinned woman.
"Wait…are you serious?" Naruto asked in a low voice. Yoruichi nodded; she was completely serious. "He doesn't have enough time for that! A few weeks is not enough time to do that!" Naruto hissed.
"What's Bankai?" Ichigo asked.
"I know. It's not enough time…usually not enough time." Yoruichi said.
"What's Bankai?" Ichigo questioned again.
"What do you mean usually? There's no chance, and that's it! No 'usually' in it!" The Vulpes protested.
"What's Bankai?"
"That's why I know Urahara."
"I know him to, and there's no chance knowing that laughing idiot will make him learn Bankai in a few weeks!"
"What's Bankai?"
"He has dolls."
"BEING GAY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"
"WHAT IN THE HELL IS BANKAI?" Ichigo screamed at the top of his lungs, making the two bickering animals look over to him with wide eyes.
"Oh…right, sorry. Urahara only explained this to Naruto. As you know, Zonpaktou can transform, gaining more power. First is the completely sealed form, which is the one that almost all Zonpaktou are in, save a few rare ones. Next, is Shikai, or Initial Release, which is achieved when a Soul Reaper and a Zonpaktou are connected as one, and this gives the Soul Reaper more power, along with morphing the blade. You are constantly stuck in Shikai. But what you didn't know, was that there's a third, and final, form." Yoruichi explained.
"This form is called Bankai, or Final Release. Only exceptional Soul Reapers can get this far in training; and they're usually Captains or Vice-Captains. This release gives the Soul Reaper even more power, and reveals the true form of the Zonpaktou that that Soul Reaper wields. For a Soul Reaper to learn Bankai, they need a few things; large amounts of Spirit Energy, a deep connection with their Zonpaktou, and the ability to bring out the soul of their Zonpaktou. To do this, a Soul Reaper must train for decades, if not centuries to get only this far. You, on the other hand, have only two weeks to accomplish this." Naruto explained, staring off into space as he recalled the knowledge. "If you can learn Bankai within the time limit, then you can rescue Rukia…and you'll be almost unstoppable."
"He's right. You don't have much time…but luckily, I'm a pretty awesome person and an awesome teacher." Yoruichi said, grinning.
"There's a problem, you know!" Ichigo yelped. "You said I need decades or centuries to do this crap, and I don't have that time! You've already pointed that out."
"Exactly! Which is exactly why we have Urahara's dolls!" Yoruichi laughed happily, still grinning.
"…right…I agree with Naruto…how does being GAY and playing with DOLLS help us?" Ichigo asked, his eye twitching. Yoruichi pulled up a strange, vaguely man-shaped, and man-sized, doll with a strange string drawn across from front of the shoulders.
"They're Bankai dolls!" Yoruichi declared proudly.
"That doesn't change much." Naruto scoffed, before receiving a blow to the top of the head, courtesy of Yoruichi's right fist.
"As I was saying…" Yoruichi swung her glaring eyes to Naruto, who just grinned and waved from the ground. "…these are Bankai dolls. Stab one of these with your Zonpaktou, and the soul of your Zonpaktou will be transferred to this doll, allowing you to train with it."
"You will train with your Zonpaktou as he sees fit, and, hopefully, you will reach Bankai within the limit." Naruto grunted as he stood up, dusting off his white hakama. "And have fun with that."
"You're training to, you know." Yoruichi said.
"Yes, I know that. I planned that already. But I don't have something to reach, like Ichigo does." Naruto muttered blankly.
"Oh, really? How's your Released State?" Yoruichi asked, crossing her arms over her chest, and grinning slyly. Naruto opened his mouth, and then narrowed his eyes.
"I already reached that. A few weeks ago, thank you." Naruto responded suspiciously.
"Oh, really? I never would have guessed." Yoruichi scoffed. Naruto's eyes narrowed further, and he pulled his Zonpaktou from his back. He flipped the blade upside down, and draped his left hand on the now 'top' of the blade. He slashed his hand down it, carving a gash into his left palm, with blood covering the entire blade, seeming to turn it red. His rietsu skyrocketed, and a orange glow surrounded his body.
"Ro-" Naruto began, before Yoruichi slapped him upside the head.
"I didn't mean to actually go into that State, you idiot!" Yoruichi yelled as Naruto cradled his head, rubbing the spot that Yoruichi had hit. "You just gave yourself another injury!"
"Nuh uh!" Naruto barked. "They heal it whenever I do that! Otherwise I'd be limping around while fighting!" Naruto said, then shoved his torn palm in her face. Except, it wasn't torn up. It was covered in blood, yes, but otherwise, it was completely healed, no cut or scar to speak of. "And you could have told me that I didn't have to go into my Released State. Even though it heals quickly, it still hurts." Naruto muttered absentmindedly. He slowly turned to Ichigo. "Well? Are you going to call out Zangetsu? Or do you want Rukia to die?" Ichigo hurriedly snatched the doll from Yoruichi, and turned it around and around, as if looking for the Quarter Slot on a Gumball Machine.
"Um…how do you work this thing exactly?" He asked sheepishly.
"You stab it. You know…with Zangetsu?" Yoruichi asked, trying not to laugh at Ichigo's blank expression. He pulled Zangetsu from his back, and impaled the doll.
"You mean-GAK!" Ichigo gagged as he suddenly felt Zangetsu's soul leave his body, and enter the doll. In a burst of dust and energy, the doll was replaced, and standing a few feet from Ichigo, was a man that looked like he was in his thirties, with brown, wavy hair that fell to his shoulders, a hint of a beard, dark glasses, and a black cloak that seemed to billow in the wind.
"You're Zangetsu?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. The man nodded. "But you're an Old Man." Naruto stated. Zangetsu raised an eyebrow.
"So are you." He deadpanned.
"…touché…" Naruto said, his eyes narrowing. "This isn't over, Old Man." Zangetsu just nodded.
"You know what you're here for, right?" Yoruichi asked, pushing past Naruto slightly. Zangetsu nodded his head.
"Yes, I do." He responded in his deep voice. Yoruichi nodded thankfully and with respect.
"Good. Will you train him?" Yoruichi questioned.
"Of course." Zangetsu grunted.
"Then do what you want." Yoruichi said, waving her hand in dismissal. Before anybody could move, Naruto raised his hand.
"Hey, you have any more of those doll things?" Naruto asked calmly. Yoruichi raised an eyebrow confusedly, but nodded her head slowly.
"Um…yes…" She pointed to five more dolls. "Over there." Naruto nodded thankfully, and walked up to them. He picked up three, and stood them up against a wooden post, all overlapping each other perfectly, so from a certain angle, it looked like there was only one doll standing against the post.
"Okay…that looks good." Naruto muttered, then drew his sword back, the point lined up with the heart of the dolls. He glanced over his shoulder at the three, hardly any emotion on his face. "Get ready. Attacks tend to happen." Naruto called. The three bristled while blinking with wide eyes, as Naruto thrust the Zonpaktou forward, right through the three dolls. A massive explosion followed, dust flying into the air, and a dome of energy soaring around the area Naruto was in. The dome slowly grew larger, forcing Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Zangetsu back, farther away from the expanding dome. Suddenly, a giant, red, scaly paw came shooting out of the dust, and slammed down by the three. They just managed to dodge, with only Ichigo getting a little buffeted by the sudden heat. A large, gray and purple feathered wing shot out of the dust this time, trying to slap the three while the were still in the air. Yoruichi managed to push Zangetsu and Ichigo down, while she pushed off Ichigo's back, throwing herself out of the way as the wing flew by, a powerful wind following. Finally, a large, black, dark blue, and light blue furry tail came flying out of the dust, swinging at the three. They just managed to flatten themselves to the ground in time, allowing the offending appendage to pass over their heads. But even as it did, they were chilled to the bone.
"What the hell?" Ichigo hissed. The dust slowly began to fade, and light chuckling came from within.
"Well, I did warn you…" Naruto's voice called through the dust. Yoruichi, Zangetsu, and Ichigo gaped at the scene in front of them. "Well, guys…meet my Zonpaktou." The dust parted, revealing Naruto with three giant creatures, each around 70 feet tall, standing behind him; one was a giant Fox standing on Naruto's behind him to his left was a giant Fox, behind him was a giant Dragon, and behind him to his left was a giant Winged Fox. (…here comes the 'Fun' part…)
The Fox had completely black fur, with a blue chain necklace made of sapphire around its throat. On that necklace, was a light-blue Hexagonal Crystal. The fox's eyes were a light blue color, and matched the ice-like light-blue design on the fox's back and tail-tip. The end of the fox's tail, after the light blue, was a darker blue, and extended up his tail, before suddenly cutting off to black. On the very top of the fox's back, was the same dark blue. On the fox's paws, was the same ice-like design that was on its back.
The Dragon was almost completely white with thin, red, leathery wings. The dragon, strangely, walked upright, on its hind legs, making it look like a cross between a Tyrannosaurs and a dragon, with curled front hand-like paws, and wide, large hind paws and muscular legs and a strong tail for balance. The dragon, while being almost white, was not. It had a red flame-like design crawling down its back, and down its tail, ending with a blood-red arrow-shaped blade that was even bigger then the dragon's hind paws. The dragon had light-red eyes, and had ivory horns and ivory spikes that ran down its back and tail, and a red underside made of large red plate-like scales. Around the dragon's neck, was a red chain made of rubies, with a red orb hanging from the chain.
The Winged Fox was light-gray in color, with a blue tornado-shaped design on its shoulders, and a hurricane-shaped design on its back, near its hind legs. The Winged Fox had purple eyes, and had giant feathered wings with gray feathers, and amethyst-purple primary feathers. Around the Winged Fox's neck was a silver chain, and hanging from that chain was a purple Orthorhombic crystal.
"Well…" Naruto sighed without much care. "This is Kitsuneryu no Arashi. Sorry they attacked you. Well…" Naruto sighed again, looking a little uncertain about what he was doing. "This guy is Kitsune-" Naruto pointed to the fox, who grinned down at the three with giant, gleaming fangs. "this guy's Ryu-" Naruto looked up to the dragon, who flashed the peace sign with his right front paw. "and he's Arashi." Naruto pointed to the Winged Fox, who nodded respectfully down at the three.
"We make up Naruto's Zonpaktou." Arashi spoke, his voice young, yet echoing. He lowered his head, and looked at the three, his large head inches away from Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Zangetsu. "You must be the ones he speaks about. And you. You're this boy's Zonpaktou Spirit, correct?" Arashi asked. Zangetsu blinked three times rapidly, but nodded his head.
"Yes, I am. My name is Zangetsu. Pleasure to meet you Arashi." Zangetsu said respectfully. Arashi continued to eye the two non-Zonpaktous critically, before he suddenly blinked with wide eyes, as Naruto walked up from underneath his lower jaws, grunting as he pushed Arashi's head up.
"Quit it Arashi. You're scaring them. You might not be scaring Zangetsu-san, but you certainly are scaring the others." Arashi turned a large eye to Naruto.
"What makes you think that?" The Winged Fox asked. Naruto pointed blankly, at Ichigo and Yoruichi, who were either already on the ground, or sweating with large eyes. "Oops." Ryu walked up, the ground shaking as his wide paws struck the ground.
::Yeah. Oops. You just scared his friends sucker!:: Ryu said, before bursting out laughing. Arashi swung his head around, and glared at the giant dragon. He stood straight, easily matching his height.
"Oh? Really? And you didn't scare the crap out of Naruto when he first arrived? Dragons are supposed to walk on four legs, idiot, not have four and walk on two." Arashi scoffed.
::You did NOT just go there.:: Ryu said.
~~Oh, I think he did.~~ Kitsune chuckled.
"Kitsune's right, Ryu. I did." Arashi snorted. Naruto sighed in exasperation, and wilted, as the three began to kick up a giant cloud as the bicker with one another.
"You have three spirits?" Ichigo asked with shock. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. They're all brothers…somehow…I think. They say they are, but I'm not so sure. They're not sure either. They've been together for so long, they just take each other as brothers. It comes with the ups and downs…and the fighting." Naruto responded, and looked to the three. "Now imagine this, but in an Elementum Pugna(3)." Naruto said, paling considerably.
"Uuuuuhh…what?" Ichigo asked.
"An Elementum Pugna is a Demon thing. I'll tell you about it later." Naruto responded, waving his hand in dismissal. Ichigo glowered at the boy who walked forward, towards the towering three. "Oi! Arashi! Kitsune! Ryu!" Naruto barked. The three stopped fighting, with Ryu in about to slash Arashi, Arashi about to bite Kitsune, and Kitsune about to tackle Ryu. "Morph. Then fight each other." Naruto deadpanned. The three looked to one another, before nodding, and vanishing in a flash of light. Where the three previously stood, stood three young males, all appearing Naruto's age or around that area.
Kitsune had short black hair in a style close to Naruto's or Ichigo's with blue eyes. In his hair were two black fox ears, a black and blue fox tail waved behind him, and his necklace still was around his neck. He wore dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a fox on the front.
Ryu had white hair that looked a little spiky but still lay relatively flat. Like Kitsune, his necklace was still around his neck, and his eyes were red. On his back were two leathery wings, and in his hair were his two horns. He wore tattered white and red pants, and a crimson shirt with a roaring dragon on the back.
Arashi had long light gray-silver hair that was kept back in a ponytail, and his eyes were purple. And, of course, his necklace was around his neck. In his hair were his gray fox ears, and his dual-colored feathery wings were folded behind him. He wore gray cargo pants and a deep purple shirt, with a fox on the front, and a dragon on the back.
Ichigo pointed with wide eyes. "T-T-THEY CAN TURN INTO HUMANS?" He stuttered. Naruto smirked.
"Only as much as I can." He responded as the three walked over to him. "Where are you guys?" Naruto suddenly asked. The three held out one of their hands, and one sword appeared in each. Kitsune held a regular katana with black and blue hilt. Ryu held a katana whose sides were reversed; the sharp edge of the blade was on top, and the flat was on bottom. The hilt was red and white. And Arashi held…well…a slab of metal.
It had a gray and purple hilt and a guard, yes, but it's blade looked like it had been half finished in the forgery. It had the shape of a giant, wide blade, a little smaller in width then Ichigo's Zonpaktou. The edges werent sharp at all, but instead, between an inch and half an inch thick. Instead of a katana shape in the blade, it looked more like a giant, thick Longsword.
Suddenly, the three swung their swords onto their backs, with the hilts coming over their right shoulder. "Good. You're going to need those." Naruto muttered, and looked over to Ichigo. "Are you going to keep gawking, or are you going to learn your Bankai? Go!" Naruto ordered, Ichigo and Zangetsu looked to on another, and nodded their heads, before vanishing to another area of the training grounds.
"What're you going to train with?" Yoruichi asked. Naruto sighed as he watched his three Spirits bickering with one another.
"Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi all of their separate abilities that the other cant copy. And since they're my Zonpaktou, I can use all of them. But some of my control over these abilities is not that good. I think I'm going to start with that." Naruto responded. "What about you? What will you do?"
"I think I'll overlook Ichigo's training. But be warned! I might be looking over yours to, so I can get an idea of what your abilities are!" Yoruichi cackled before vanishing.
::She's one weird chic…:: Ryu muttered.
"Yeah, but she's the weird chic that we have to live with, so don't go making any offending comments to her when you're out of my body. If she cant get to you, she'll probably end up beating up mine to be the equivalent. I don't want that…she's a little vicious." Naruto mumbled.
~~So are you.~~ Kitsune pointed out.
"Don't make me break your nose. C'mon." Naruto said, walking off in a random direction. The three Zonpaktou spirits looked to one another, before racing after their wielder, bickering quietly.
:::The Next Day:::
"Naruto! Will you stop for a break now?" Yoruichi called as Naruto sprang backwards passed her, his Zonpaktou in his hand, and blood spilling from a new cut over his left eye.
"Cant." Naruto panted, before yelping as Arashi came out of nowhere, and swung his blade down as fast and as powerfully as he could. The Zonpaktou struck through ground, and created a massive crater. "Imagine if that would have hit my head." Naruto muttered to himself, taking a swipe at the Winged Fox. "Hold still, damn it!"
"Nope." Arashi responded as he traded spots with Kitsune. The Fox took his sword, and swung it horizontally, aiming for Naruto's left ribcage. Luckily, Naruto was able to jump over the passing sword, and counter with his own downswing. Ryu managed to catch it on the sharp of his Zonpaktou, a feral grin that matched Naruto's spread across his face.
::My turn.:: Ryu laughed gleefully, swinging his Zonpaktou up, left, and then right, all times aiming at Naruto with the top of his blade, so he could cleave him in half; it didn't matter which way, as long as the job was done. ::You know…:: Ryu panted ::If you would just master my abilities, this would be a lot easier!::
"What do you think I'm trying to do, Scale-boy? Take dancing lessons from ballerinas like you three?" The three Spirits glared at the Vulpes, who just grinned, waved, and sprinted out of the way of the three attacks, one ice, one fire, and one wind, all sent his way.
"Yikes!" Naruto yelped as he nearly was clipped with a fireball, courtesy of Ryu.
It's not like he's trying to hide his Zonpaktou's abilities anymore…but I still don't understand them much. Yoruichi thought to herself as she watched the fighting. Suddenly, Naruto swung his blade.
"Ventus Vesica!" He barked as a thin blade of wind shot from the blade, tearing towards the three. Arashi bent his wings around his body to protect him, while the other two were cut on their arms, and blown away.
"You cant get me with my own attack. Not when you have such poor control of it." Arashi called teasingly. Naruto's eyes narrowed, before a grin spread across his visage.
"I didn't plan to!" He called, before stepping into the shadows. Arashi paled. As Naruto vanished slowly into the darkness, he muttered one thing: "Umbra Amiculum(4)." Arashi looked around, holding his Zonpaktou in front of him, waiting for any sign of an attack.
'I wish Kitsune was over here! He might be able to pinpoint Naruto's location. Wait a minute…that's it!' Arashi thought, before using his spiritual link with his wielder to discover his whereabouts.
That was a good idea… Naruto's voice echoed through the Zonpaktou's head, before he heard Naruto's actual voice from right behind him. "…but you weren't fast enough." Arashi managed to duck before Naruto could impale his head, and only received a cut on the back of his head. He hissed with pain as new blood came out, before sitting for a breather with Ryu as Kitsune fought against their wielder.
~~You really think you can get a hold on my power?~~ Kitsune laughed. ~~Umbra Amiculum might work on Arashi and Ryu, but not on its creator! How about I show you how to use that technique properly?~~ The Fox cackled, before he completely vanished into the shadows.
Shit! He's using it against me now…think…he's one with that shadows…and shadows don't like the sun! I love polar-opposite abilities. Naruto laughed as he raised his Zonpaktou so the blade's tip faced the ceiling of the training room. PLEASE let this work right… Naruto begged quietly. "Sol Solis Aestuo(5)!" Naruto barked, and instantly felt the little amount of Spirit Energy he had remaining begin to get drained. But even so…a large fire ball, sixteen feet in diameter, formed at the tip of the Zonpaktou, and swirled around itself, creating the image of a mini sun right on earth. Light suddenly burst from the sun, banishing all of the shadows from around Naruto. Kitsune suddenly reappeared, right where a large shadow had been before.
~~Oh shit!~~ Kitsune barked before trying to run off. But Naruto spotted him first.
"Got you." He muttered, before swinging his Zonpaktou down. The giant ball of fire shot from the tip of the blade, and tore a trench in the ground as it shot forward, before connecting with Kitsune's back, making the fox shriek with surprise.
~That was a nasty trick!~ Kitsune yelled through the spiritual link as the fire began to die down.
Was your doll destroyed? Naruto asked.
~Uh…no, but I don't think I'll be able to form any ice for a while…or go into the shadows, considering I'm practically blinded.~ Kitsune responded.
That's fine. Don't want you to go fainting on us. Naruto muttered through the link as he mentally shut off the fire. Kitsune staggered out of the wreckage, his hair smoking, and the chain around his neck almost red-hot. "Heh heh…sorry." Naruto laughed. Kitsune just flashed the thumbs up, before falling over, groaning.
~~I call time out. I'm tired.~~ Kitsune moaned.
"Us to." Arashi called from his spot by a rock, weakly raising his hand. Naruto nodded.
"Alright. I don't want to force you guys to train if you're to tired. I am to. Why don't we see if there's anything to eat? That should replenish our Spirit Energy along with giving us more fuel to continue training." Naruto suggested.
::Food? There's food?:: Ryu said quickly, looking around with wide eyes and drool sliding down his chin. ::I want fooooooood!:: He groaned in a low voice.
"Well, I think it's about lunch time. Yoruichi should have something to eat. We can just steal hers." Naruto said, a grin spreading across his face.
"No need, Foxface." Yoruichi sighed, walking back onto the field that Naruto was currently using for a training ground. "Ichigo and Zangetsu just stopped for lunch to. Come on. It's about time you stopped, since you didn't stop for sleep or food yesterday…or this morning." Yoruichi said, turning a grudging look to the Vulpes that clearly said: I didn't get any sleep because of you! Naruto laughed.
"Alright. Is there enough for Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi?" Naruto asked. Yoruichi nodded, smiling her trademark smile.
"Why, of course." She responded, and vanished around a corner. Naruto followed, holding back his own drool as he did so, as he thought of food. Yoruichi had been right; he hadnt stopped training for a while, and the last time he had eaten had been days ago! But when Naruto rounded a corner, he found something he didn't expect. Sure, he expected Ichigo and Zangetsu…but he didn't expect was Renji sitting there as well, with a Baboon-Snake Chimera laying near him. Naruto's eyes narrowed as his hand twitched towards his Zonpaktou. But he didn't have to do anything, because once Renji looked up from the soup he was eating, he pointed dramatically behind Naruto.
"W-w-what the hell?" He yelped shrilly. Naruto blinked, and looked over his shoulder, his face instantly adopting a blank look.
"Guys…what the hell're you doing?" Naruto asked. Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi stood behind Naruto in their giant animal forms, their heads lowered and all staring intently at Renji.
"Making sure this Soul Reaper wont threaten us." Arashi snarled.
~~Give the word, Naruto, and we'll tear this guy limb from limb.~~ Kitsune agreed.
::Hell yes! More meat!:: Ryu said, clapping his front paws excitedly. Naruto raised his hands in a calm, defending, 'now now' gesture.
"Come now, guys. If he's here without Yoruichi and Ichigo kicking his ass, then I'm sure that he's here on peaceful terms." Kitsune lowered his head to the orange-haired Vulpes.
~~…uh…~~ Kitsune said a little nervously, before he suddenly received a fist to the jaw, sending him crashing to the ground.
"SO TRANSFORM BACK INTO YOUR HUMAN FORMS SO YOU DON'T SCARE THEM TO DEATH, IDIOTS!" Naruto yelled up at the three, who squeaked and instantly complied. Naruto sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. They have trust issues." Naruto said towards Renji.
"We get it from you, idiot." Arashi sighed as he leaned against a rock, his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto glared over his shoulder, before smirking as Ryu came from around a bounder, and pushed him over, cackling like an idiot. Kitsune then slapped Ryu on the back of the head, and the three set into another fit of arguing. Naruto groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"I'm going to kill them." He growled, before turning to Renji. "Again, sorry if they frightened you." He sighed.
"What about me? I was freaked out to, you know!" Ichigo called. Naruto rolled his eyes, then pointed at the orange-haired boy.
"But you already knew them, so it didn't have as much of an effect on you." Naruto responded. "Before I die of hunger…is there any food?" Naruto asked. Ichigo nodded, and handed a large hunk of meat up to the Vulpes. He nodded his thanks, and sat down near Ichigo, before tearing into the meal, devouring it in seconds.
"Uuuhhh…" Renji sounded, his eyes still wide, and his body still leaning back near the Chimera in sudden shock. Naruto and Ichigo looked up from the watermelon they were wrestling over, and turned to Renji. "Who the hell are you? And what are you?" Renji asked. Naruto straightened, before whacking Ichigo on the head, and stealing the large watermelon.
"I'm Vulpes Naruto, and I'm an Arrancar," Renji's eyes widened; he had heard of Arrancars before, but only in myths told in the Soul Reaper Academy. "and a Fox Demon. This is Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi. Together, they form the soul of my Zonpaktou." Naruto said as he pointed to each of the bickering souls in turn.
"U-um…I-I'm Abarai Renji, Vice-Captain of Squad 6." Renji said, his voice slowly gaining more strength behind it. "This is my Zonpaktou, Zabimaru. The baboon is named Zabi, and the snake is Maru." Ichigo suddenly screamed, making all recoil.
"Why does everyone here have a Zonpaktou with more then one name for the soul while all I have is an Old Man?" Ichigo yelled. "It's not fair, I tell you! Not fair!"
"You're a cry baby." Naruto scoffed, cutting the watermelon up with Ichigo's Zonpaktou.
"What the hell're you doing?" Ichigo yelled.
"Well, it looks like a butcher knife, so I decided to use it." Naruto muttered. As he placed the cut-up watermelon on the ground for anyone to take, he turned to Renji. "So why exactly are you here?" Naruto asked.
"…to train." Renji responded after a while. "I've come to my senses. I let everything get between my friendship with Rukia. I want to save her, and the only way I can defeat Kuchiki-taicho and other Captains…is to become stronger." Ichigo suddenly blinked, and turned to Naruto.
"He came here for another reason." He said. Naruto looked over to Ichigo, raising an eyebrow. "Rukia's execution date has been changed." Naruto's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened.
"…what?" He whispered. Ryu dropped down into a crouch on Naruto's right, and looked past the Vulpes, and over to Ichigo.
::How much did they cut it down by? A few days? A week?:: Ryu asked. Ichigo shook his head.
"…as of right now…we only have two days left." Ichigo whispered. Naruto's eyes widened even more. Arashi's eyes narrowed, before he grabbed the back of Naruto's vest.
"Then we have no time to lose." Arashi said, dragging Naruto to his feet.
~~Arashi's right. We have to double our training schedule. Maybe triple.~~ Kitsune agreed from his spot in the shadows. Naruto looked down his thought.
"Kitsune, Ryu! Do you think we could make some Atrum(6) or Lumen(7) Effingo to speed up the training?" Naruto asked. The two spirits shrugged.
::Probably.:: Ryu responded. ::I don't see why not.:: Ryu waved his hand towards the sky. ::Lumen Effingo.:: He said. Light suddenly swirled out from the sky, and then divided into three, forming three more Ryu's. Kitsune stomped on the ground with his right foot twice.
~~Atrum Effingo.~~ He called, and shadows began to diverge from the darkness that Kitsune stood in. The shadows crept across the ground, before suddenly shooting from the ground, and forming three Kitsune's. Arashi sighed, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, his pupils had sprouted thin lines that curled loosely around his pupils, taking on the look of hurricanes.
"Tempestas Effingo(8)." He muttered. Three mini tornados the size of Arashi formed, before being suddenly cut down, and morphed into three perfect copies of Arashi. Then suddenly, one tornado, one swirl of light, and one mound of darkness formed, and when they cleared, three copies of Naruto stood, each glaring at each other with rivalry clearly shining in their eyes. Suddenly, the copies of Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi began bickering, forming a giant group of shouting spirits. Soon, the Naruto copies joined in, as did the original Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi.
"Oh I'M fat? You're the giant dragon that's so fat you cant even walk on all four paws!" One Naruto yelled to a Ryu.
"What did you say? WHAT DID YOU SAY? MY FUR IS NOT DIRTY!" An Arashi yelled at a Naruto.
::My paws are not small!:: Ryu growled at a Kitsune.
~~You broke my X-box, you DICK!~~ Kitsune yelped to Arashi. Naruto groaned, and palmed his forehead.
"This probably wasn't the best idea…they can never stop arguing!" Naruto moaned. Ichigo laughed from where he sat on the ground.
"I feel bad for you. You have insane Zonpaktou." He chuckled. Naruto narrowed his eyes, before looking back at the arguing group.
"Oi!" Naruto yelled, a vein bulging on his forehead in annoyance. The group stopped arguing, and looked to the Vulpes. We don't have time for this crap! Naruto said to them through his thoughts. There is a girl who is going to be executed, and all you guys can think about is arguing? You all have to get your minds out of the gutter and start thinking about others! The group looked down.
~~Sorry…~~ Kitsune muttered. ~~He has a point, guys. She's going to wrongly be killed, and we cant just stand around arguing.~~
::We only have two days, so we need to train harder, and longer.:: Ryu agreed.
"Alright. I want three groups of four. One kind of person in each group. All of you will be attacking the Naruto in the group. Don't let up, and don't go easy. Try not to get dispelled. Go!" Arashi commanded. The group split off into three groups, and then ran off to different parts of the training grounds to fight.
"That's a useful ability." Zangetsu said as he stood by Ichigo and Ryu.
::It all depends on how you use it.:: Ryu sighed. ::It's useful in battle, but only if you can create one and replace yourself with it in time to take an attack. It's useful in training, because when the clones dispel, whatever they learn will be transferred to Naruto or us. It's also useful in information gathering, because of the same reasons of the training. And it's useful in jobs that need more then one set of hands. But there's also downsides. If there's to much information to take in when a clone's dispelled, then the user of the clones will gain a serious migraine. When Naruto was training with Urahara, he used 20 clones from each element; Storm, Shadow, and Light. When he dispelled them, he fainted for four days, and had a large migraine for two days afterwards.:: Arashi suddenly approached them, nodding in agreement.
"Not to mention they're very easy to destroy, to." He muttered. "So occasionally, a few randomly dispel, giving all of us minor to large headaches." He suddenly grinned. "But the also kick ass."
"Oi! Arashi, Ryu! Come on!" Naruto called with Kitsune at his side. The two spirits sighed, but nodded, and jogged off after their wielder.
"It's time we train as well. Ichigo, let's go." Zangetsu called, and walked off. Zabi and Maru looked Renji.
"Us to, Renji!" Maru cackled. Zabi glared at Maru, but marched off anyway, Renji following close behind. Yoruichi looked at the groups, and then sighed while wilting.
"Great. Now I'm bored." She muttered.
:::Two Days Later:::
Naruto flopped onto the ground, breathing heavily while sweat rolled from his forehead. "Damn…" He grunted. He gripped his forehead in pain as all the memories and training results from the Naruto clones poured back into his head. Arashi, Ryu, and Kitsune did the same as their own clone's memories returned to them. "…maybe training…nonstop for two days without dispelling any clones throughout that time…wasn't such a good idea…" Naruto laughed. The three nodded.
"Never…again." Arashi agreed. The other two just continued to nod, not finding the breath to respond. Ichigo suddenly crouched down next to Naruto.
"You hungry yet?" He asked, grinning.
"Screw off!" Naruto groaned as the pain began to ebb. "I don't need any food yet!"
"Yeah you do." Yoruichi scoffed, before being silenced by a strong glare from the Vulpes. Naruto staggered to a stand, and shook his head roughly.
"We have to go now. We're out of time." Naruto said. Kitsune, Ryu, and Arashi looked to one another, before nodding, and swirls of rietsu surrounded them. When the rietsu departed from the three, they were gone, leaving only battered dolls on the ground. The three rietsu types, one dark black and ice-blue, one bleach-white and fire-red, and the other silver-gray and amethyst-purple, surrounded Naruto's Zonpaktou and body, before vanishing. Zangetsu nodded in acknowledgement to the actions of the three spirits, and disappeared in a similar manner, his rietsu being black and red. "You ready?" Naruto asked Ichigo. The boy began to nod, before he suddenly froze. A crushing rietsu was raining down on them from all directions. This rietsu felt hot to the touch, as if just feeling it would burn their skin from their bodies.
"Oh no." Yoruichi whispered in disbelief. "The Sogyoku! They've activated it! The execution has started!"
Le gasp! A cliffy! What will happen to our heroes? Will they rescue Rukia? Will they get out alive? Will Kitsune's X-Box ever be fixed? All of these questions will be answered in the next chapter of Vulpes Alveus!
Next Chapter:
Chapter 6
Alveus Os, Everto Saevio
"You'll never win. I am a Captain, and you are just a little Ryoka." He scoffed at those words, even as he lay bleeding. "Goodbye, Arrancar."
The sword came crashing down, and blood splattered the ground.
**1** Ventus Vesica - Wind Blade : A special ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. When the Zonpaktou is swung, a large blade of wind is fired at the enemy, and is thin as paper, creating a powerful blade that can cut through most things. Naruto is currently working on mastering this technique. (Power of Arashi)
**2** Ceterus mihi…Everto Dimidum… - The other me…Demon Half… : This is what Naruto says whenever he sees his Demon power in manifestation. He named it 'Demon Half' in Latin, and always refers to him as 'Everto'.
**3** Elementum Pugna - Elemental Battle : A Demon's Battle, where only Elements are allowed to be used, with the use of claws, fangs, and tails banned from all battles. And Elementum Pugna is used for fun, a challenge for territory, and training.
**4** Umbra Amiculum - Shadow Cloak : An ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. It allows him to move from shadow to shadow by becoming one with them. He can jump areas of light if they are a small enough gap, and can move to different shadows if they are connecting even the smallest amount. Naruto has currently almost mastered this technique. (Power of Kitsune)
**5** Sol Solis Aestuo - Sun Blaze : An ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. When held straight up, Naruto's Zonpaktou can produce a massive fire ball the resembles the sun. This fireball gives off a large amount of light, making all shadows around it vanish, and sending off massive heat waves. When swung, the Zonpaktou will send the fireball flying in that direction to hit the target. Naruto is currently working on mastering this technique. (Power of Ryu)
**6** Atrum Effingo - Dark Copy : An ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. This ability creates clones out of shadows or darkness. Naruto has already mastered this technique. (Power of Kitsune)
**7** Lumen Effingo - Light Copy : An ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. This ability creates clones out of any type of light. Naruto has already mastered this technique. (Power of Ryu)
**8** Tempestas Effingo - Storm Copy : An ability of Naruto's Zonpaktou. This ability conjures a small tornado that condenses into clones made from the storm. Naruto has already mastered this technique. (Power of Arashi)