Okay guys I'm back. Sorry this took as long as it did (Which is like what, three or four days). I'm not going to say anything with the story!
Yamamoto's pace was much quicker once he left the assembly hall. With a quick shunpo he was already halfway to the central forty six quarters. Within another moment, he was right outside the gate. Where he was met by a two guards squatting by the door.
'Strange, the guards are usually stationed inside,' thought Yamamoto, staring the men up and down. The guards were wearing a piece of green armour not dissimilar in style to what ancient samurai used to wear. One had black spiky hair and a small black goatee. He looked rather sleepy and didn't respond at all to his presence. He was leaning against the wall with his Zanpakuto leaning on his shoulder. The other had a mop of black hair hat covered the right side of his face leaving only the left side visible. Unlike his partner he acknowledged Yamamoto by standing up straight and giving him a nod.
Yamamoto remembered these two guards, although he hadn't seen either of them in over a thousand years. Guard Duty of Central forty six was usually conducted by high seated officers who would rotate on and off Duty every other Century. Only the most loyal of the shinigami would be offered the position. However these two were an anomaly who for some reason insisted on taking the position pretty much permanently. Their names were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.
"Captain Commander, we've been expecting you," said Izumo, the one who was actually standing.
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. Why were they expecting him exactly?
"I'm not entirely sure on the details but the Central has become aware that a humanoid Hollow has entered Soul Society illegally. The Central does not know why nothing has been done about it and they are ordering you to capture said Hollow at all costs, failing that destroy it. A Hell Butterfly will be sent soon with confirmation of these orders.
Yamamoto bristled. If those were his orders he would obey them. But in truth he did not want to act against Naruto.
Kotetsu then surprised him by standing up.
"They're going off on one in there Captain Commander Sir," he said quietly. "They don't like the fact that the captains are questioning their orders. They might start throwing accusations of treasons soon sir. I'm sorry there's not anything else I can do but warn you about it."
Yamamoto nodded. These two were good shinigami. They did their jobs, even if they complained a lot. But still…
"How exactly are the Central aware of what goes on in the captains meeting?" asked Yamamoto in an authorative tone.
The guards just gave a shrug.
"I'm sorry, we don't know sir. We just got called in and then commanded to wait out here. That's all I can tell you sir."
Yamamoto was silent for a moment.
"I see. I am actually here to request the reason behind the harshness of Rukia Kuchiki's chosen punishment. I seek an audience with the central in regards to this matter. As the Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen they will see me," he said, a dangerous tone in his voice.
The guards started sweating a little but Izumo shook his head.
"They gave us a response to this too sir. They said that right now they no longer trust the Gotei Thirteen and that until a later date where they once again feel they can trust you, you can't seek an audience sir."
Yamamoto bristled.
"What rubbish is this? We have done nothing to earn their distrust. Our concerns are perfectly justified and warranted considering the situation," he barked, causing the two guards to take a step back.
"I'm sorry sir but there's really nothing I can do," said Izumo, who was definitely feeling the Captain Commanders… irritation.
Yamamoto growled but quickly turned on his feet.
"Very well, but when this is over, I want a damn good reason for all of this. The Gotei Thirteen are losing credibility among its shinigami. It could very well cause dis-unity amongst the ranks."
He hit his cane on the ground before hobbling off.
The two guards watched him go before settling down again. There was silence between the two for a few moments before Kotetsu spoke up.
"Don't you think we have the best job ever?" he asked without a trace of sarcasm.
Izumo frowned.
"No, It sucks and it's boring as hell," he answered back. "But I somehow feel comfortable here. Maybe we were gate guards in a past life."
Kotetsu nodded his head.
"Maybe," he agreed. "Wanna play I-spy?"
Izumo rolled his eyes but nodded.
Yamamoto didn't use shunpo since he wasn't looking forward to going back. He decided to take his time. This was probably the closest to being childish he was going to get. But after an hour had trickled by he ended up back in front of the meeting hall of the Gotei thirteen.
"What on earth happened?"
It looked like it had been destroyed. One of the doors had been blasted open and the other had flown off its hinges. The walls had been destroyed and the ceiling had been reduced to rubble and the floor and remainder of the walls were covered n scratches. Yamamoto gave a sigh.
"That's right. I left Naruto in there and took an hour getting back."
None the less he hobbled inside to find that the floor had been cleared of all rubble and the captains were all still standing in their places. He noticed that Kenpachi had a very wide grin on his face and seemed to be covered with several cuts and bruises and was bleeding all over the floor. He also noticed that Kurotsuchi's face seemed to have been burned half off, and his hayori was nowhere to be seen. His clothes also looked to be rather singed. He also noticed that Naruto was also sporting a large grin and there was a bit of blood splatter on his cloak. Other than that he didn't seem any worse for wear.
Yamamoto hobbled to his position at the front of the room paying no attention to the rubble surrounding them. He took his place and stared around at all of his captains.
"What exactly has transgressed here," he asked with a weary sigh. Unohana with her ever present smile decided to step forward to explain.
"Well Captain Zaraki challenged Naruto to a fight, which Naruto eagerly accepted. The fight eventually ended after the majority of the room was destroyed and Captain Kuchiki attempted to restrain or kill them, I'm not entirely sure which with his Zanpakuto."
Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. Was it possible that the captain had actually lost his temper? It would explain the scratch marks on the floor.
"Afterwards the two settled down on account of Captain Zaraki's Zanpakuto being broken. Naruto proceeded to give captain Zaraki a lecture on the importance of bonds, Ramen and ones relationship with their Zanpakuto. Afterwards Captain Kurotsuchi offered Naruto infinite free Ramen in exchange for becoming a test subject. Naruto originally seemed very tempted by the deal before I pointed out that Kurotsuchi is the type to sew your mouth shut then place the Ramen in front of you so you can't eat it, and then observe the lengths you'll go to in order to be able to consume the ramen. Naruto then accused Captain Kurotsuchi of being a man named Orichimaru's illegitimate love child. Insults were soon exchanged and this quickly escalated into another fight. Captain Zaraki got excited and once again joined in the fight. It ended just a short while ago due to the ceiling caving in. We all shifted the rubble and opted to wait in silence until you once again joined us."
There was silence as Yamomoto processed all he'd been told. He gave a sigh. Truthfully after he gave his next order the ruin of the meeting hall would be the least of his problems.
"This matter will be dealt with at a later date," he declared, surprising everyone there. They were all sure they were going to get scolded. "I have received orders from Central forty-six. Naruto Uzumaki. You are to be captured and detained. This order is for all captains."
Yamamoto had barely finished talking, and Naruto was barely finished gaping like a fish when Tosen shot forward, his sword at the ready.
"At last I will no longer have to tolerate your presence," he whispered as he swung his Zanpakuto in an ark. His orders were to capture of course and he swung low, instantly slicing through Naruto's legs.
"It's over," he said calmly. But then, although he could not see it, the Naruto he cut poofed out of existence.
"You're right it is over," said three voices surrounding him at once. Instantly confused as to where his opponent was coming from Tosen managed to block a strike from his right but was not in time to stop the clone underneath him kicking him into the air. And second clone appeared kicking him even higher. Finally the really Naruto appeared above Tosen ready to kick him back down.
"Time for Uzumaki barrage!" he cried. But he was interrupted.
"Shoot to kill Shinso."
It was Gin, whose blade instantly extended at high speed, forcing Naruto to abandon his assault on Tosen. The blade impacted with Naruto sending him flying backwards, seemingly impaled on the sword. But when the blade stopped expanding the shinigami were shown a rather interesting sight.
"Did he catch it with his teeth?" asked Hitsugaya, in a mixture of shock, awe and surprise.
"Mat va a chep fot," came Naruto's muffled voice. He released the blade form his teeth and disappeared into a sonido, instantly appearing behind Gin. "But that's okay, I can do those too."
"What the-," said Gin completely surprised by Naruto's speed. He'd barely been able to see him move, and was able to dodge the kick that was aimed at his head due to his instincts alone. Aizen was next, as he was standing right next to Gin, and swung his blade down. Naruto vaulted backwards, avoiding the blade by an inch, Tosen had finally regained his footing and charged at Naruto, just as Aizen stuck his hand out.
"Bakudo sixty-one, Rikujokuro," came Aizen's calm voice.
Six rods of light appeared around Naruto and shot towards him. But just as they were about to impact Naruto flickered briefly before disappearing. But then in his places appeared Tosen. The six rods slammed into his mid-section and Aizen's eyes actually widened in surprise.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" shouted, Naruto, who appeared out of nowhere and drop kicked the now bound Kaname Tosen with quite a bit of force.
"One down!" shouted Naruto cheerfully, before poofing out of existence. Behind where he once stood was an irritated Soi-Fon.
"Damnit, I thought I timed that perfectly," she cursed.
"It was pretty good timing actually" commented Naruto who seemed to appear beside her and slung an arm around her shoulder. "But it's pretty hard to sneak up on me."
Soi-fon was rather startled, although she didn't allow her face to show it. She hadn't felt his presence at all. He could have killed her just then. But she didn't let that stop her. She aimed a kick for his ankle attempting to sweep him of his feet. But Naruto hoped backwards just out of range. Soi-fon shot forwards, aiming a kick for the head which was blocked by Naruto. She followed up with a shunpo allowing her to appear behind him. She stabbed her Zanpakuto forward at the same time Naruto flipped backwards. But his cloak was still in front of her blocking her vision, and when it finally moved she was surprised to find another Naruto moving towards her with its fist cocked back and ready to punch her. Except Kaname had found his way back onto his feet. He dashed forwards and cut the Naruto clone in half before it could land its attack.
He growled having missed another opportunity to land a blow on the elusive blond.
"Are we really going to do this Gramps?" asked Naruto, who had once again reappeared in the centre of the room. "We've done this song and dance before and we know how it goes."
Yamamoto inwardly agreed. He already knew how this was going to end. In massive property damage. He was the only one here capable of capturing Naruto. Not because Naruto was ridiculously powerful, which he very well may be although he honestly didn't know, but because it was next to impossible to land a good hit on the brat. Last time it had taken him five hours to land a seemingly decisive blow to the blond, and even then he just regenerated. And if Naruto decides to flee it's next to impossible to stop him and it'll take a long while to find him. He was already aware before he gave the order that capturing Naruto was a near impossible task. But those were the orders given by Central Forty Six and impossible or not he had to carry them out.
"Yes Brat, we really are going to do this. These orders come from Central Forty Six. We are obligated to carry them out."
Naruto just let out a sigh.
"You're going to regret this gramps."
And then he disappeared into a puff of smoke, as Soi-fon appeared behind him and stabbed through the clone.
"Is it ever the real one," she hissed.
As soon as she finished hissing a paintball shot straight passed her head. It impacted on the wall behind Yamamoto. Interestingly after it splattered the paint ran down the wall leaving a message made of red paint.
Yamamoto turned slowly to read the message.
'I said you're going to regret your decision Grandpa, and you know I always keep my word. And yes I had this message set up in advance in case things went south. Prepare yourself Grandpa. Your about to relive the horror of my pranking spree. I have a message for every single one of you. Except you big sis. You don't know when it will happen, or even where but rest assured I will get you. I will prank you so hard your descendants from a thousand years in the future will still be able to feel your embarrassment.
Best regards
Naruto Uzumaki
The Prankster God of Huecco Mundo
P.s how awesome is this paint message? Its kind like one of those dying messages off those murder shows but it's portable. If you think someone trying to kill you just keep one on you and bam, instant dying message. Come on, it's cool right?'
Yamamoto gave a sigh.
"It seems we have a situation. Rukia Kuchiki's capture is no longer a priority. Captain's and Vice Captains are to remain within the Sereitei until further notice. We will need all of the manpower we have to stand a chance of capturing Naruto before he does any real damage to the Sereitei," came Yamamoto's booming voice.
Aizen stepped forwards.
"Is this really necessary?" he asked. "Surely one Hollow cannot pose that much of a threat."
Yamamoto turned his head to gaze at Aizen.
The last time Naruto was here he managed to cripple soul society in one night. Although no real damage was caused, most of our facilities were nonoperational, whether because we could no longer find the doors or because the toilets were clogged. Soul Society was in a weakened state for three full months while we undid all of Naruto's so call pranks. This is what Naruto did in one night. I shudder to think what he's capable of now that he's actually trying. We can afford to leave Rukia Kuchiki in the living world for now."
Aizen bowed his head, stepping backwards. He remembered when he first met the Hollow and had tried to coax him to his side. It was not his fondest memory, and Gin had still not let him live it down. It was the first time he'd ever been brought down to the level of an ordinary being. The first time he'd ever been someone to laugh at.
"Well if that is all I think I will inform my division," said Unohana. The Captains turned to look at her, and some of them jumped back in chock. Even Byakuya's eyes widened slightly. Unohana was frowning. There was not a trace of the usual smile that she normally wears anywhere on her face. There was silence as she left the room, not looking back at any of them.
Meanwhile, Naruto was watching the captains from a distance. Despite how far away they were Naruto had somehow managed to hear every single word said.
"Well Strawberry, I've managed to buy you a little time. You better make the most of it. But in the meantime, I got pranks to pull. I've been looking forward to this. Heh, I'm getting goosebumps."
Rukia was worried. Very worried. Ichigo was down in that pit and somehow he had to become a soulreaper before he hollowfied. How the hell he was supposed to do that she honestly didn't know. More than half his time had already been used up, and no visible progress had been made, although it was quite amusing to watch Jinta spit down at Ichigo. But still it was all her fault. Ichigo was doing this to protect her. But if he failed then… well maybe he'll get lucky and turn out like Naruto?
She considered the possibility, imagining an Ichigo in her head with a brown cloak, a goofy grin and a can of spray paint.
She frowned.
On second thought, one Naruto was more than enough.
"Oh ho, Miss Kuchiki you are the dedicated one," came Kisuke Uruhara's voice from behind her. She turned around to see the annoying enigmatic man walking casually towards her, his cane in hand and his fan held out in front of his face. "Staying but Ichigo's side all day and night. Why you'd almost think you were married to the boy."
Rukia allowed some red to rise to her cheeks but otherwise didn't rise to the bait.
"Urahara, what are Ichigo's chances of getting through this?" she asked with a worried tone in her voice.
Urahara put the fan away realising this was no time for jokes.
"I'm afraid that Ichigo's chances depend entirely on himself. This is a test that has many answers. Ichigo has to find his own. This pit not only speeds up the encroachment but it isolates him, forces him to confront the only being he can. Himself. For now we can only wait and see.
"Rukia gave a quick nod of her head.
"Is there any chance that he could turn out like Naruto, even if he failed?" she asked somewhat hopefully. Hey better annoying than dead.
But Urahara shook his head.
"Naruto originally looked like such a complex puzzle. A hollow who retained his humanity, right from the beginning. He never even had a Hollow form. But once you get the information from him thinks become clearer."
Rukia turned her head.
"What do you mean?"
Urahara's signature grin returned.
"When a Hollow turns into an Arrancar, their form changes to that of a human appearance and their hollow form along with most of their power is sealed away. But Naruto never had a Hollow form. He's not even an Arrancar. So how can he have a Zanpakuto?"
Rukia blinked a few times. Actually that was a damn good question. She remembered him saying he had an actual Zanpakuto spirit. Could it have something to do with that?
"Allow me to ask you a question Miss Kuchiki. What do you think a Zanpakuto spirit is?"
"It is a part of one's self," she answered instantly. "An extension of one's soul that is in tune with a spirit."
Urahara nodded his head. "Very good Miss Kuchiki. Now let me ask you another question. You gave this part of yourself to Ichigo. You gave him all of your spiritual power. Yet if not for my Gigai, you would have eventually reclaimed your own. Tell me, how would your spiritual powers regenerate from nothing?"
Okay now Rukia was really confused. It was a good question really, and she honestly couldn't claim to know why her powers would regenerate, just that they would.
"The answer Miss Kuchiki is because even of it's not with you, your powers are always right in front of you, with someone you trust. Someone to whom you have entrusted your soul, and through this you are still linked to your own spiritual powers and slowly reclaim them."
"Okay," said Rukia, nodding slowly. She sorta got that.
"Naruto is the same," Urahara continued. "Although he lost a part of himself when he hollowed, he somehow managed to leave it with someone else. This part of him that, although separate to him now was still with him, still fulfilling him became what all separated souls become. His Zanpakuto. I'm still not sure how this is possible, how he managed to keep something he should have lost but none the less it is the truth. Naruto keeps himself in his Zanpakuto, and for this reason he can retain his sense of self."
Rukia's eyes widened at what Urahara was saying.
"But if that's true, couldn't I keep Ichigo's missing self?" she asked. "If we are linked through my spiritual power then that should be possible, right?"
Urahara waved his fan in front of him again.
"Ma, it might have been before. However, your spiritual power no longer resides in Ichigo. It was ejected when Byakuya cut Ichigo's Saketsu Chain, a chain that linked him to you; he severed the bond between your souls. He's on his own now."
Captain Soi-Fon of the second division was getting really annoyed. Honestly how hard can it be to capture one Hollow? According to Captain Kurotsuchi, very. According to his analysis, Naruto had two main abilities. One was the ability to replicate himself, although these replications weren't very sturdy. The other was the ability to switch himself with other objects. Kurotsuchi theorised that Naruto uses these abilities in tandem. By creating the clones in key positions, making excellent use of his stealth skills, he switches with them at the last moment, result in a failed attempt at injuring him, and leaving himself in a key position to strike. For this reason, he said a captain should not engage him by themselves. When fighting Naruto, someone else should locate the clone and prepare to attack the second he switches.
There was only two problems with this plan so far. It worked the first time they managed to find him, pouring pink dye into the tenth division's washing machine. Captain Hitsuguya, with the help of Captain Tosen, was able to land a hit to the hollows arm. However it regenerated almost instantly afterwards, and after that, the Hollow took to creating several clones at a time. He could switch with any of them.
With a heavy sigh, Soi-Fon strode into the base of the Onmitsukido, deciding to inform her lieutenant of the situation. But upon entering she was rather surprised and rather angry to find the majority of her forces running around in green spandex with orange leg warmers.
"You, Kotetsu. Report. What the hell are you wearing and why the hell is everyone else wearing it too."
Kotetsu stopped in front of his captain and gulped.
"Captain, sir, the majority of our forces clothing is missing. In their place only these uniforms remained. Also sir for some reason the clothing we were wearing began to deteriorate. There seems to be a chemical of sorts in the training room that causes clothing to loosen and begin itching sir."
Soi-Fon smacked her forehead with her hand. This was definitely the handiwork of that Hollow. How could the stealth forces operate now? They were a vibrant green for kami's sake.
Soi-Fon was then treated to one of the most horrifying and mind scarring sights she had ever seen, when her Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda came saddling out of a room to her left, the large man having somehow also managed to squeeze into a green spandex suit.
"Hmm, you know these are actually rather form fitting," he said as he munched on some crisps. "I think I may have a set made. Although it should be in a colour more befitting of my regal status. A sparkling gold perhaps."
It took everything Soi-Fon had not to faint from the mental image right then and there.
Meanwhile outside of the base, perched in a tree, Naruto was perched and smiling happily. He put his hands together and gave a bow in the direction of the base.
"Worry not Guy-Sensei. Your youthful legacy will live on," he muttered happily.
Byakuya had just returned home to his mansion. He had no idea what to think about the hollow. It did of course infuriate him. It had humiliated him after all, defeating him so easily in the human world. But for a moment there things had looked promising. No matter how cold he may appear he did not want his sister to die. He'd promised Hisana to look after her after all. And if nothing else the search for her had been post-poned. Yes he was having mixed feeling for the hollow right now. Up until he caught sight of his mansion.
The entire mansion had been painted orange. From the walls to the roof, even the grass and the tree's. There was also a fox head that was winking at him painted on to the side of his house. If that wasn't enough, there was underwear hanging from every window. No doubt the elders would throw a fit. If that wasn't enough a good portion of the garden had been destroyed. But if he stood back enough he would notice that it was actually words, which had been made by digging up the garden. A very simple message stated "Orange is an awesome colour. It will help make you more stuffy nobles more lively!"
"Byakuya!" came a bark from the door of the mansion.
Byakuya looked up to see one of the clan elders looking at him with an expression of absolute fury and… why was he wearing orange robes.
"We have a situation. The Elders, including myself wish to know just what the hell is going on!"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow, but showed no emotion on his face. He simply followed the Elder back into the house, where he discovered that the inside too had been painted a vibrant orange.
'The Hollow is going to die,' he thought to himself.
Okay that's all for now. Chapter seven will hopefully be up tomorrow but I'm making no promises about eight, although it will cronical another adventure of Masaki and Naruto.
I'm sure you're wandering about the current state of the poll. Well I wanted to have a few words about that. Obviously You all support a particular pairing, or no pairing in some cases. But some off you also disagree with certain pairing happening at all, a lot of peaople saying because they're overdone or they'll never work. If a pairings over done, that just means a lot of people enjoy. If a pairing doesn't work... it'll be done anyway. I've seen people do NarutoxMei Terumi and I don't think that will ever work yet it occasionally can. So regardless of anything really, i'll be sticking by the poll results, since otherwise there would be no point in putting them up. I realise at the end a lot of people may be disappointed but I can't cater to everybody, nor do I really want to. This isn't such a serious fic, but every character will have their moment. They don't need to be in the pairing to be important to the fic.
Well now taht that's finished, here are the current poll results.
-Yoruichi
-Nel
-Harribel
-Soi Fon
-Rangiku
-Orihime
-Nemu
-Momo
-Nopairing
-Hiyori
-Cirucci
The reason I haven't put the number of votes each character has is because i don't want anyone to be put of or think it's impossible for a character to cathc. It's not. There have been over three hundred voters so far. Even though the order is more or less the same as it was before that doesn't mean it always stays that way. A lot of the time, a certain pairing briefly overtakes another. So put your votes in, support your favorite paring and give me all your cookies. I'm poor and I need to eat.