Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto. T_T I AM SO SORRY! You know the long hiatus I've had? Yeeeaaaah…didn't mean for it to be dragged on for that long. Heh heh…in my defense, preparing to move on to High School is really annoying and stressful! The ACTUAL reason is that my writing recently has had NO inspiration. I just can't get into the writing spirit, and frankly, it sucks. I don't like Marching Band, I don't like writing, I don't like drawing, and I don't like hanging around anybody. Summer. Sucks. During the school year, I don't have enough time to write, and during the summer, I have TOO MUCH time to write! IT SUCKS.

Plot bunnies are eeeeeeviiiiillll.

I'd like to personally thank those of you who have kicked my ass back into gear and reminded me that people still actually read my stuff. ANYWAY. I've decided to completely maneuver around the Bount Arc. If you don't like it, take it up with my manager 8D! The real reason is A) I've never actually gotten all the way through it, B) I. Hate. Fillers, and C) I think the Bount Arc sucked. Plain and simple. Soooooo…I'm just going to be diving right into the Arrancar Arc. I apologize if this chapter either sucks, or if some things are written a little strange; I need to get back into the groove of writing.

P.S. ~ Do you want me to start posting the names of the chapters since they're in Latin? I re-read my story to see where I was at plot-wise, and I looked at the chapter names and thought, basically, "…WTF?" I know what they are, but they're still confusing! Tell me what you think!

EDIT: Okay…I'd like to say something SERIOUS, and since you all know my writing style and my overall personality, you KNOW how rare THAT is. This story is an AU. As in Alternate Universe(I…think…). It's qualified as an AU because Naruto(who is IN FACT, from the anime Naruto. HOLY CRAP. I know, revelations!) is NOT A SHINOBI AND NOT A HUMAN. He was born as a demon. It's an AU because of that, because of the whole prophecy thing, because there's this demon war thing, and because he's a demon. Yeah, I already said that. Yay for repetitiveness!

The reason I'm saying this is because I got a review(not going to say names because I don't mind. Really. I'm just explaining) about how this ISN'T a crossover. Uh, hello? This is a rewrite of Kitsune Shinigami, which was a crossover, so it is one. And Naruto is from Naruto, not just a character that's named Naruto. IT. IS. NARUTO. The reason he looks different is SERIOUSLY simple if you know ANYTHING about colors.

Orange Hair: Naruto in the canon(*BOOM* He goes flying! Yeah, I know, different thing) has yellow hair(they say it's blonde, but LOOK AT IT. O_O), Kyuubi, if in human form, would have red hair. Now, boys and girls, what does yellow make when combined with red! …Green? Uh, no. …Blue? No, that's impossible! You can't MAKE a primary. That's right, all you smart readers that I love! It makes orange. That's the reason his hair his orange. Because combine their hair colors.

Purple Eyes: Same thing as the hair thing. Naruto = Blue eyes, Kyuubi = Red eyes. Put them together and what do you have? Purple. The gold pupil thing is because his demon fur color is golden, and because I thought it'd be cool if his pupils were a freakish color. :3

As for his personality. Really? People have to bag on THAT? This is a FANFIC. As in I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want with this thing. If I wanted to make Naruto a flying lasagna cake with a pink bow, a shark fin, wax lips, wearing nothing but a bra on his head, I could. Such is the power of the almighty fanfic author. The thing is, Naruto was raised in a different environment, with different morals, a different culture, and a different way of life. Think about it. If you were born in America, you're raised with certain ideals, cultural activities, and certain beliefs. Now, imagine if you were born in a COMPLETELY different country then the one you were really born in. If you were born in France, would you be the same way you are now? How about if you were born in China? Russia? Japan? Would you REALLY be the same? No, you wouldn't, because you would have been raised differently, in a different environment. This is the case for Naruto. He wasn't born into Konoha, he didn't grow up as a human, and he didn't grow up being scorned by the villagers(he was by something else, though 8D). So it's simple. He would have grown up with different emotions. That's why his personality is like this.

Creating a new race. I can do that, but I DIDN''s known that there is at least ONE demon fox in the Naruto anime, so I didn't really create a new race. I just brought THIS ONE to the surface, and gave it a funky-dunky name. Even if I WANTED to make a new race, like a race of humanoid godzillas with laser-beams for eyes, I COULD. Because I rock, and I'm the one with the laptop. And this Kitsune-242 account. :3

I'm not going to name Naruto 'John' because he looks and talks different. 'Nuff said.

Finally, his chakra affinity. I. HAVEN.T DONE. IT. YET. If this is about how I'm writing occasionally about how the Vulpes race can use multiple elements…yeah, that ain't chakra. That's just them become complete and utter badasses. Vulpes are basically controllers of all nature(the demons all have their own elements to control, fire being the element of the Vulpes, and the amount of tails of the boss demons shows how many elements are available to that race), so it's not really jutsu they're doing. It's just NATURAL. His wind affinity will be coming up later, but I haven't really confronted that yet.

It's not that I don't like flames. Okay, I don't really, but I DO like intelligent comments that improve my writing…it's just that this really takes the cake. I don't even know if it was a flame, but I'm an author of fanfics. I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHAT I WANT WITH A STORY. I've seen stories that have stepped the boundaries of the original plot way more than this has. Insulting my writing style is one thing, but telling me what I'm doing is wrong is something that just pisses me off.

Okay, bright Kitsune-242 time! Sorry I sounded to pissed earlier. And sorry for the ranting, but I think I proved some points. Don't you agree? Please enjoy the following chapter of the story!

Chapter 9
Magis Amo Mihi

"Hmm…" The woman sat in her large throne, staring at the screens that showed her the happenings of everything everywhere. She sighed as one of the screens replayed the events that occurred in the Seireitei in Soul Society, over and over, with amazing clarity; the picture surpassed even the best High-Definition screens that the humans watched their movies and TV on. "That could have gone way smoother." She pinched the bridge of her nose in between her index finger and her thumb. Fate, Time, and Shinigami stood behind her throne, silent. "What do you three want now? I'm busy playing chess with the Lord of Hell." The three men behind her looked to one another with confused expressions; there was no Hell King in the Observatory, and their master surely wasn't playing any chess with him. "I was kidding!" They have no sense of humor! The woman thought.

Fate, Time, and Shinigami scampered forward to stand where Kami could see them, and bowed. "Formalities over with." Kami muttered with a wave of her hand. "What do you three want?" Once again, the three exchanged looks.

"Um, you sent for us, Your Highness." Fate said slowly. Kami blinked her innocent baby-blue eyes.

"…"

"You sent a messenger for us." Fate continued. Kami just blinked once more.

"So I did! …now what did I want to talk to you three about…oh, yeah! You guys are taking too much time!" Kami said, leveling a glare at the three. "You made the Chosens take too much time in the Seireitei! Fate, you already know how I want the events to play out, you know your job. Why did you take so long to execute it? Time, why did you make the events pass by so slow? Fate's delays are on your head. And Shinigami, I appreciate that you took my suggestion to give the Chosens challenges so that they could develop their powers to heart, but did you have to put that many Soul Reapers in their way?"

"I like putting up obstacles though…" Shinigami muttered. "And you didn't give us any specifications on how Fate and Time should execute their missions, or how many Soul Reapers I should send to combat them; you just told us to do it." Kami swore.

"I knew I forgot something…oh well, they're fine now." The three kneeling on the ground sweat-dropped. "I should have remembered the time specifications…now, instead of the mission to Seireitei taking a couple of days, it took them weeks! All the more time for Aizen Sosuke to prepare his army."

"Excuse me speaking out of place, Your Highness-"

"I don't care about speaking-places right now!"

"-but we were already aware that Aizen Sosuke wouldn't send any of his right-hand combatants to the Living World before the Chosens and their allies returned. What has to you worked up?"

"Because the Lord of Hell stole away Aizen Sosuke. He has the man in his grasps, along with those other two that defected with him. I don't have such a firm hold on him anymore, which means that at any time Aizen Sosuke could send his Arrancar to the Living World to start his plans. Because it took so long for the Chosens' group to return, they have that much less time to prepare for what is to come…" Kami sighed, shaking her head. "And Vulpes Naruto has yet to fully understand what he holds, and what he truly is…as does Kurosaki Ichigo, for that matter. Both must gain control before Aizen Sosuke makes his move…" Kami looked to her screens, staring at the three that had once shown the lives of Aizen Sosuke and his cohorts in detail; they were now black as pitch, shielding their actions from view. "I don't like this…I don't like this at all…Vulpes Naruto and Kurosaki Ichigo must be taking this threat seriously by now…"

If only she had looked a little to the left to see the screen that was displaying the two…

:::Karakura Town, Japan:::

"What is this 'iced cream' that you told me about?" Naruto asked, walking down the street in all his glory; thankfully, 'all his glory' was him looking like a normal human dressed in jeans and a normal black t-shirt. Ichigo face-palmed with a sigh.

"For the third and last time. It's 'ice cream'. Not 'iced cream'." Naruto rolled his bi-colored eyes.

"Is there really a difference?" He sighed, not much care flowing through his words.

"You're adding an unneeded 'd'!"

"What is one letter where I could have added an entire new word?"

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"I could have called it 'frozen ice cream', or 'icicle ice cream', or possibly even 'chilly ice cream'."

"Why do I even still hang out with you?"

"That's another thing I wanted to question you about, now that we're back. What does someone mean when they say 'hang out'? We aren't hanging out of anything or anywhere."

"I'm going to send you back to Urahara's if you don't shut up." Ichigo warned, pointing a dramatic finger at the Vulpes. Naruto knocked it away with a bandaged fist, a slight smirk playing at his lips.

"Urahara's out for the week. He won't let me stay in the shop; he thinks I'm going to burn all of his wares or something." Naruto waved a hand in dismissal. Ichigo pushed his way into the nearest Dairy Queen, Naruto following like an obedient…er, fox…right behind him.

"I wouldn't put it past you. One Oreo blizzard please." Ichigo glanced to Naruto, Naruto's own eyes locked on the ice cream machine behind the counter, drool beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth. For a split second, Naruto's tails came into view, wagging like no tomorrow. Ichigo jumped forward, and grabbed onto the appendages that were supposed to be invisible, making Naruto squeak and jump. "U-uh, just get him an M&M blizzard." The woman behind the counter sighed with a roll of her eyes, and walked off to fill the 1,000-yen order. "Hide your tails better, idiot." Ichigo hissed.

"Sorry! But it smells soooo gooood…" Naruto said, his tails fading from view, but the drool dripping from the corner of his mouth increasing in intensity. Ichigo rolled his eyes, snatched the delivered blizzards off the counter, tossed down the money, and dragged the drooling Vulpes out of the fast food restaurant before he could pounce the ice cream machine.

"Here." Ichigo muttered, handing over the blizzard with little chunks of candy slowly sinking to the bottom through the soft ice cream. Naruto ripped off the clear plastic top, and practically shoved his face into the ice cream, earning confused stares from any and all who passed by. "There is such a thing as a spoon."

"Yes, but why use something as primitive as that when eating without it is so much faster?" Naruto asked, licking his lips of the ice cream that had clung to his face.

"Because it's civilized."

"Civilized my ass, it's retarded and a waste of time." Even as Naruto said this, he started to stab at the ice cream with the plastic spoon that had come with it. "Speaking of a waste of time…why are we going to get ice cream when we could be patrolling the town for Hollows or something?"

"Because my Badge would have sensed them." Ichigo said, his eyes flicking down to the pentagon-shaped scull-inscribed piece of wood on a short length of rope-like cloth, before looking back up to the orange-haired Vulpes. Naruto frowned.

"How come I didn't get one of those?" Naruto asked, an animalistic whine briefly drifting from his throat.

"Probably because of your final impression on them." Naruto cocked his head. "You cussed them out, scared the shit out of them, threatened to lead a band of demons to kill them, and then nearly shocked them to death."

"…Touche." Naruto muttered. "Which is another thing! You know how the electricity is centered around the base of my skull?" Ichigo nodded slowly. Naruto cracked a wide grin. "I can't feel my head or spine anymore!"

"…you're an idiot."

"At least I'm not an idiot with orange hair!" Naruto declared, pointing to Ichigo's hair color. He paused. "Shit!" "I revaluate my statement. You're a complete idiotic moron. With orange hair."

"GO AWAY! Fear me, for I am an almighty demon!"

"Puh-lease! If I put you in the wash, you'd be no better than a fluffy orange bunny with five tails."

"I'm gonna kill you..."

"Then I won't be here to help you save the world, and then you'd die too."

"It'll be worth it!" Naruto cried, not looking totally convinced. He opened his mouth to continue what he was saying, but stopped, his brow furrowing. He tilted his head back, his eyelids sliding partially closed, and sniffed the wind.

"What?" Ichigo asked, noticing the confused look that spread across Naruto's face when he looked to him.

"I…I smell me." Ichigo released the breath he hadn't known he had been holding, and rolled his eyes. With a THWAK, he smashed his fist into the crown of Naruto's head.

"Don't scare me like that you dick!" He roared. "I thought you smelled something of importance!"

"Ow!" Naruto moaned, rubbing the top of his head, where Ichigo had nearly crushed one of his invisible fox ears. THWAK! Naruto delivered his own punch to Ichigo's throat, making him collapse with a gag. "I smelled me, but it wasn't me!" Naruto growled. "It had a similar scent…"

"So what? You said that some other types of demons come to the normal world like you did. It's just one of them."

"First off, that would normally be a problem within itself." Naruto turned his intense, bi-colored gaze to the Soul Reaper. "Normally a demon coming to a place like this is to murder someone that doesn't have the chance to defend itself like the humans on our lands…but that's not the problem. Because I didn't just smell me. I smelled what I smell like when I'm an Arrancar." Ichigo snorted.

"You must be losing your sense of smell then. Because that's impossible. We were told that you're the only Arrancar."

"Things change, Ichigo. Fast. You and I should know that better than anybody." Naruto said. He suddenly jumped as the ground underneath his feet shook, the tall buildings around him waving. "See? The earth is changing fast! It's deciding stationary is to boring!"

"It's called an earthquake you dipshit!"

"I know the difference between and earthquake and the earth getting bitch-slapped by something big!" Naruto said. He twirled around to face the giant plume of dust erupting in the general direction of Karakura Park. "I'm going to use my amazing skills of deduction to deduct that the problem is that way." Naruto pointed to the growing plume. It might have helped the Arrancar-like smell originated from that direction. Not that Naruto was going to say that.

:::Karakura Park:::

"Did I tell you or did I tell you?" Naruto hissed, gesturing wildly to the two men that stood conversing in the middle of the destroyed park. One was massive, with his bottom jaw covered by what looked like a fanged bottom jaw of some creature. He was dressed in what was virtually just the reverse of a Soul Reaper's attire, everything white where black was supposed to exist.

The other was an average-sized, skinny and young man with shoulder-length black hair, pale skin, and acidic-green eyes. Running down from his eyes, where streaks of green that looked like he was crying. His hands were in his pockets, his face was emotionless, and he was dressed similarly to the behemoth beside him. Covering one half of his head was what looked like bone-like material making a partial helmet with a horn. At the hip of each man was a simple katana in a sheath.

"I told you it smelled like Arrancar!"

"Okay, fine, you were right! But this is still bad."

"Oh, so are you now insulting the Arrancar species?" Naruto defended himself, placing his hands on his hips.

"Of course I'm not! But you're supposed to be the only Arrancar! So any others are bad!"

"Not all Arrancars will be bad, Ichigo. I'm not bad."

"But that's because you're mentally challenged.

"Am not!"

'Not that watching you guys argue isn't entertaining, but Orihime could really use some assistance. Chad too.' Arashi broke through Naruto's thoughts, making the Vulpes jump. He turned away from Ichigo to look back to the other Arrancars, and his eyes widened.

"What? Admitting defeat?" Ichigo sneered.

"Not really. But I just thought that that would interest you." Naruto pointed. Ichigo turned, a frown on his face, but that frown was wiped away at the carnage that was laid out before him.

Orihime was attempting to defeat the Arrancars while Chad lay unconscious on the ground, his armored right arm nearly shredded to the bone. And the frightening thing? Orihime was losing. "Shit!" Ichigo snapped, and forced himself to teleport right out of his living body (That's new. Naruto thought as he watched Ichigo's body drop to the ground in a crackle of electricity.).

As the large Arrancar swung his Zonpaktou down, aiming to cleave Orihime in two, something shifted into his way in a flash of silver light and a wave of heat. The ground underneath Ichigo's sandaled feet crunched and buckled under the strength of the blow. The Zonpaktou of the Arrancar screeched as metal clashed against metal, the sharp blade being dulled by Ichigo's own Zangetsu. "Uliquiorra!" The large Arrancar bellowed to the other, who was still standing where he had been a few minutes previous. "Is this boy the one, or is he still trash?" The shorter man's expression did not change.

"He's not trash. He's the one, Yammy." Uliquiorra deadpanned in a smooth, cool voice.

"Good." The other Arrancar, Yammy, grunted. "Then I can finally kill something!" Yammy reared his arm back, and was about to bring it down to strike at the blank-faced Ichigo once more, but before he could move, Ichigo shot forward, flipping over Yammy's head, and dragging his Zonpaktou through Yammy's left shoulder. Yammy fell to his knees, clasping the new stump as it spewed dark blood. He wailed in pain.

:'Ey! Lazy ass!: Ryu barked. :Aren't you gonna help him?:

Ichigo has it covered. Naruto responded, leaning against a tree. Even so, he never let his hand leave the emergency gikongai pill in his pocket that had been given to him upon his return to the World of the Living from Urahara. It was strictly for that; emergencies. And so far, one hadn't presented itself.

~He seems to be handling the fight well enough.~ Naruto felt Kitsune wince through the mental connection as Ichigo got nicked in the side by Yammy's Zonpaktou; it wasn't a bad injury – certainly not a life-threatening or incapacitating one – but it looked like it hurt none the less. ~Now, shut up, so I can enjoy the first action we've seen in the past few weeks!~

:We're not seeing any action!: The dragon spirit protested. :We're watching somebody else see the action. Watching isn't as entertaining as doing!:

Eh, Ryu, let Kitsune watch the fight in peace. Ichigo's doing just fine. No sooner had Naruto thought this, did Ichigo's body suddenly go ridged, his eyes widening, and his lips parting slightly in a silent gasp. What in the hell is wrong with him? Naruto thought, right before Yammy delivered a powerful punch to the jaw. Ichigo flew back from the force, and dug his own little comfy trench in the dirt. Ichigo was doing fine.

:Yay! So are we going to help now?: Ryu asked, his excitement being transferred through the mental link. Naruto didn't respond to the dragon, instead turning his attention to Arashi.

Hey, Arashi!

'I got it. Go.' Arashi sighed. With a blast of wind, Naruto was shot out of his body at high speeds, his body going one way, and his soul going the other…right into the battlefield.

He shot past the two Arrancars, rolling across the ground and kicking up dirt, screaming; "Holy SHIT!" Yammy – who was about to deliver a kick to Ichigo's chest – and Uliquiorra – who still stood where he had first been spotted – turned their heads, their eyes wide as they tracked the randomly flying object that smashed through a tree, and tore through the forest, ripping up trees and uprooting bushes. Ichigo slowly turned his head, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

…was that who I think it was? He thought slowly. Slowly, out of the fallen trees and torn-apart bushes, crawled Naruto, his hair standing on end, his fox ears laid flat against the top of his head, his eyes wide, and most of his skin covered in dirt. For a few seconds, he just sat on his hands and knees, his eyes wide. Then, he gave a dry heave, one hand flying to brace his stomach. As the second heave came, a chipmunk popped out of his mouth, dropped to the ground with a THUMP, and then raced off, chattering hysterically.

Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Nasty." He muttered, before climbing slowly to his feet. He looked to Ichigo with a serious expression. "Squirrel is delicious, but for some reason chipmunk tastes like dirt." Ichigo brought a shaky hand up to his forehead, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Um…helping?" Naruto slowly responded, as if he was unsure himself. Well, I plan too. Haven't really, yet. He reached up, and slowly drew Kitsuneryu no Arashi, the blade glinting in the light. "You okay to keep fighting?" Naruto asked, his multi-colored eyes turning to focus on the two other Arrancars. Ichigo shook his head roughly to clear his head, the blackness from his Hollow creeping back to the corners of his eyes, never completely disappearing.

"I'll be fine." Ichigo nodded briskly.

"Kay. You get Fatso, I'll get the crying guy." Naruto gripped his Zonpaktou with both hands, turning the blade to face the man that he had chosen. Said man just stared at him, his face never changing emotions. Not even once. His hands never even went to his Zonpaktou; they stayed stationary, in his pockets. Naruto's eye twitched. "Didn't you hear me? You're my opponent." Silence. "That kinda means fight!" Still, no movement. "Are you 'tarded or something?"

"I was told that a delusional Arrancar would be here, helping the Soul Reapers." The man said, his smooth, cold voice sending a shiver down Naruto's spine.

"Delusional? I am not!" The Vulpes Arrancar snarled.

"You are, if you are on the wrong side." The man cocked his head, confusion flickering briefly on his face. "Why?"

"Why what?" The orange-haired Arrancar demanded.

"Why do you fight for them when they are supposed to be your killers?"

"Because you're all trying to destroy an innocent town so some man can become God! First off, that's impossible, so don't be calling me delusional. And second, who would try something like that?" Naruto cried. He waved his sword in the air. "Now fight!"

"If you insist." Uliquiorra deadpanned, and lifted his hand. In front of his middle finger and index finger, a ball of greenish energy began to form, building larger and larger, until it was the size of a bowling ball. Naruto snorted as the attack was called out; he had cut Ceros in half with his Zonpaktou before. Who was this Arrancar kidding? "Cero."

The attack widened into a cone-shaped beam, heading straight for Naruto. The Vulpes bent at the knees, his arm muscles loosening to absorb the shock and transfer it through his torso. BAMM! The attack collided with the shining metal of Kitsuneryu no Arashi. Naruto grit his teeth, his arms shaking as the attack pounded into the blade, refusing to split in half. What the hell? Naruto thought with an audible grunt.

Before the attack could explode against his blade, Naruto performed a back flip, sailing over the damaging blast could continue on to hit him. He landed with a tap on the air, floating on some unforeseen ground as he watched the beam sail on into a batch of trees, turning them into flaming mulch. The Vulpes' eyes widened as he heard the suction of air that most Ceros made when forming. He spun around, the tip of his nose grazing against the formed Cero.

"Cero."

Taking a punch to the face hurts. Naruto knew that; he had experienced it quite a few times since leaving Vulpes Forest. But out of all the attacks he had taken to the face…none could match up to the power of a Cero. It smashed into his nose, first, before enveloping his forehead, cheeks, chin, mouth, and eyes. The attack spread over his body as he rocketed towards the ground, the blast of the Cero carrying him along for the rollercoaster ride straight from Hell.

It felt like his spine exploded into shards of bone as he smacked the ground, the earth shattering and buckling under the force and the durability of Naruto's body. The attack drilled into his chest and stomach for seconds more, before stopping abruptly, leaving Naruto in a smoking, flaming crater. One to match the crater that the two Arrancars had caused on arrival. The Vulpes groaned as any injuries he had started to heal at the pace of a dying snail.

Lightning crackled over Naruto's fists as he slowly began to rise out of the ground, lifted by a shadow. Before the smoke and dust around him could clear from the air, the half-demon shot off at the first thing he heard move. He smirked in satisfaction as he heard a pained yelp, and the sizzle of cooking flesh. "Thanks Naruto!" Ichigo called from somewhere near the object he had hit. "You got Yammy!"

I did what? Naruto thought, frowning. I was aiming for Uliquiorra…where is he? Naruto ducked on instinct, and thanked Kami that he did as a thin Cero shot past his right ear. "Is that all you got? Ceros?" Naruto barked.

"They're enough to pound you into the ground." Naruto heard Uliquiorra mumbled, another Cero coming through the veil of dust, this one from above. Naruto flipped to the side, the Cero missing by centimeters. He closed his eyes, his ears twitching as every sound in a five-mile radius filtered into his brain. Quickly sorting through the complaining children, honking cars, laughing teenagers, crying babies, and Ichigo's and Yammy's battle, Naruto locked on to what he needed. There! Naruto thought, and thrust his sword forward, through the dust, and through a forming Cero. Blood splattered on the ground not to far away, causing Naruto to pump his fist twice in victory. "Can't form your Ceros now, can you?" Naruto cackled.

"I have two hands. Idiot." Naruto heard, right before another Cero came at him. This time, instead of dodging, Naruto spun, slicing his sword through the Cero. The attack didn't stop like Naruto had wanted earlier, but what he wanted now worked. The expanding beam exploded on impact, throwing Naruto and Uliquiorra out of the dust from the force, and kicking up a whole new cloud. Naruto coughed as he inhaled the dust, pounding on his chest with a fist. A little warning of some of the Ceros would have been nice, Arashi! Naruto thought through the mental link.

Dashing out of the trees, came Naruto's body, a frown on its face. The eyes, though, were no longer purple and golden, but instead a deeper shade of amethyst, the pupil having vanished. "It would have been nice for you to tell me that was my job!" Naruto's body snapped back, Arashi's voice echoing in Naruto's throat.

"HOW?" Ichigo called, pointing, as he shot past, racing away from Yammy, who was right on his heels.

"I can explain that later if we remember!" Naruto responded, and turned to look at Uliquiorra, his hands already back in his pockets. "That's not fair. We're still fighting!"

"I don't recall you putting up much of a fight." Uliquiorra said, and then faked a yawn. Naruto grit his teeth in a snarl, shifting his position from where he crouched on the ground. In a crack of air and energy, he was gone, phasing out of vision.

SMACK!

"Too slow." Uliquiorra drawled, his hand clenching Naruto's fist. Naruto tried to rip his hand free of Uliquiorra's grip – Seriously, how did he do that? I'm behind him! Naruto thought – but it was no use. The Arrancar slowly turned his head, and lifted his hand, yet another Cero beginning to build up before his fingertips.

"Oh shi-" BLAM! Naruto received a blow to the chest, first from Uliquiorra's foot, and then from the built-up Cero.

Somersaulting across the ground, Naruto dug trenches with his face and claws, trying to stop himself from sliding across the ground. With a loud SMACK!, He hit a tree, upside down and face-first. "Ow." He muttered, his voice muffled by the bark that was digging bloody gouges into his cheeks and foreheads. As he began to pry himself free of the bark that had conformed to his body's shape, he felt something soft yet irritating brushing against his cheek, covering a few of the lacerations on his face. As the object pulled away, the injuries were gone, leaving flawless skin. Uh…what?

"You never could do anything yourself, could you?" A familiar, rasping voice snorted. Naruto bent his head as far as it would go to look to the center of the battlefield, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. As soon as his bi-colored eyes landed on the person standing in the carnage, his arm out to display a closed fist facing a struggling Yammy held up by living sand, a grin spread across his face.

"That's not how I remember it." He snickered, peeling himself from the tree. He fell with a thump, his head smashing into the ground. "Ow." The red-haired boy with rings around his aquamarine eyes bit his bottom lip, raising an eyebrow. "Say a word, and I'll slaughter y-" Naruto placed his palm on the ground as he stared at the boy that was – at least to him – upside down as he lay on his head. A straight line of grass, about two feet wide, frosted over, each individual blade of grass being encased in a layer of ice.

The other boy's eyes widened as he heard a mad crackling behind him. He slowly turned his head, and recoiled, the tip of a sword mere millimeters from his left eye. Uliquiorra was encased in two feet of ice, his own eyes wide with surprise, his hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. To complete the picture, he was even wrapped in such a way that he was in mid-leap. The red-head looked back to Naruto, his eyes still wide as the Vulpes chuckled.

"Who was the one that couldn't protect themselves?" Naruto taunted. His eyes flickered to Yammy, who was still struggling in a heap of sand. "You mind taking care of him?" The boy slowly looked back to Yammy, his fingers spreading into a splayed palm. His gaze intensified as he called out;

"Sand Coffin." He clenched his fist roughly, his fingers digging into his palms. "Sand Burial!" The sand completely enveloped Yammy, and then imploded, blood, sand, and gore being flung in every imaginable direction. Naruto shielded his eyes; and right on time, too, for the gore and sand splashed into the rest of his body, save for his eyes. Slowly, he pulled his hand away.

"Thanks." He sarcastically quipped. The boy shrugged his shoulders.

"You told me too."

"Um…" Ichigo yanked Tensa Zangetsu, and his face, out of the ground, making the two shorter teens look to him. "…does somebody want to tell me what's going on?" The Soul Reaper rested his Zonpaktou ton his shoulder, his scowl deepening. "Like who're you? What's with the sand that does your bidding? Why does Naruto seem to know you? Why can you see us? Where'd you come from? Who ARE you?" The boy looked to Naruto, and twirled his finger around his ear, his eyes going cross-eyed.

"No; he's just insulted that you defeated Yammy so easily while he was throwing him around." Naruto said, jerking his head in Ichigo's direction. He paused. "By the way, where's Yammy and Uliquiorra?" Yammy was indeed gone; all that was left was a floating sphere of sand with a hole punched in the side. For Uliquiorra…it was a little more…interesting. A random citizen of Karakura was trapped inside the ice, his eyes rolling in confusion and shock. The Vulpes swiveled just in time to catch the last glimpse of the Garganta closing on a severely-beaten Yammy, and a wet and shivering Uliquiorra. Naruto palmed his forehead with a groan. "God dammit." He muttered.

"You can explain all this later." The red-head said, the sand slowly trailing into a large sand-colored gourd that was strapped to his back.

"Fine, but it'll take awhile." Naruto snorted, before turning to Ichigo, who was practically smoking from the ears. "Anyway, this is Ichigo. Ichigo, this is a kid who…well, he's in a situation almost identical to mine. Almost. He's a friend that lived in a village in the land I came from. Be a nice little raccoon-dog and introduce yourself." Naruto looked to the red-head, who groaned quietly, but held his hand out for Ichigo to shake.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

I have a new story called The Raven! Yeah, I shouldn't be writing another one while I have this one(and technically Demon's Shadow), but I plan on alternating every so often with each story to trick the plot/typing bunnies from catching up to me!

The Raven is a Psych/Crow: Stairway to Heaven crossover. Please go check it out! You don't have to know anything about Psych or C:STH to know what I'm writing; I'll be explaining everything and anything along the way!

Anyway, sorry it took so long to get out this chapter. Around six months? Almost a year, anyway. Sorry! I just couldn't think of anything, and you can tell because this chapter utterly SUCKS. But then it hit me!

Put another Naruto character into the mix!

So, hi Gaara! Don't know how long he'll stay, but we'll see. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!

IN THE MEANTIME, GO CHECK OUT THE RAVEN! I PROMISE YOU'L LIKE IT!

~Kitsune-242

P.S: CHAPTER 9 TRANSLATION: Magis Amo Mihi ~ More Like Me