Summary: "Hmm? Me? I'm just an ordinary writer." Naruto Uzumaki died once while defending his planet against dangers from outer space, before he found himself in the Soul Society, where he learned to use his new powers. He then sneaked into the human realm and established an easy life for himself. But as always, he would face many different situations where he would need to lend a hand to help others.
"Speech."
'Think.'
Technique
Flashback/Events of the Past
Warning: English isn't my native language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.
A man with short spiky blond hair, ocean-blue eyes, and six whisker marks on his cheeks walked through the Seireitei without a care in the world. He wore a long-sleeved orange shirt, black pants, and brown shoes. It was a very simple but elegant outfit for the human world. With this outfit, someone could walk into any situation and wouldn't be frowned upon. He also carried a special sword at his left side, sheathed in a black scabbard. He seemed to be in his thirties.
He stopped when rose petals suddenly rained down from the sky. He was standing in front of a small gate when, suddenly, a man appeared before it. The man was a tall, light-skinned Shinigami with high cheekbones, grey eyes, and long wavy brown hair. His hair was tied in a long ponytail, with long bangs that framed the left side of his face. He also had a noticeable amount of body hair on his chest, feet, and arms. He wore a Sugegasa straw hat and a pink, flowered lady's kimono, which he draped across his shoulders and over his captain's uniform. Although his haori and obi sash were inexpensive, his pinwheel hairpins were very expensive. He did not wear tabi with his sandals.
"Hello. If I may introduce myself, I'm Shunsui Kyōraku, the Captain of the 8th Division." He smiled unconcerned and looked at the man across from him. He had a strong Reiatsu, which was clear. He had defeated every Shinigami on his way up to here without a scratch. However, he hadn't really hurt anyone. The man had only ever knocked out every Shinigami without using a weapon. The sword he had there also hadn't left its scabbard so far.
"Hello. My name is Naruto Uzumaki; I am a simple writer." Naruto smiled as well and even bowed slightly. "I assume you want to stop me, too?"
"You could say that." Before he could really continue talking, he stopped. The rose petals were piling up, and that's why Shunsui looked up. Above them stood a woman with a basket filled with many rose petals. She threw rose petals down incessantly, looking stoically at Shunsui.
"Hey Nanao! You can stop with the rose petals." He called up to the woman, but she continued to throw only the rose petals and looked stoically at Shunsui.
"Huh? Doesn't she hear me?" Shunsui scratched his beard a little and then shouted again. "Hey Nanao! You can stop now!" Still no response to his request. "Oh dear Nanao, oh dearest Nanao, please stop."
In response, Nanao showed one thing: she no longer threw individual rose petals but tipped over the whole basket and poured rose petals over Shunsui. A mountain of rose petals buried him and was no longer visible for a few seconds.
Naruto smiled a little nervously. 'The poor one.' He had had such experiences with women often enough. You ask a woman for something, and in the end, you only get a punch. In his old life, it was usually Sakura or Tsunade who was first. He was always lucky enough to deal with very temperamental women.
Shunsui's head appeared from the rose petal mountain. He blinked a few times and then sighed shortly afterward. "No one is friendly to me." He whined a bit as he put his hat back on and then stood up. He looked at Naruto again and saw the intensity of his gaze.
"Huh?" He could recognize it! The compassion that Naruto showed him at that moment was clearly visible! A comrade-in-arms! "You know that feeling? Don't you?" Shunsui looked at Naruto with great expectation.
Naruto just smiled awkwardly at him. "What can I say? I had my own experiences." He looked slightly to the side and laughed a little while scratching his hair.
Shunsui nodded contentedly and smiled. "I like you, Naruto."
"I don't think you're going to let me through, are you?" Naruto looked at Shunsui and saw from his expression that he wouldn't let him through.
"I'm really sorry. I'd get in trouble if I let you pass. Would it be ok for you to turn around?" Shunsui smiled and looked at Naruto.
"Hmm... I can't just disappear here. How about we talk? I want to avoid a fight, and you seem like a pleasant companion to me, Shunsui."
"That sounds good, Naruto. How about a bowl of sake?" Shunsui suddenly produced a bottle of sake from nowhere. Naruto nodded. "That sounds great. Then we can get to know each other better. So far, I have been able to get to know one or the other person since I arrived in the Soul Society."
Shunsui poured two cups before placing the bottle of Sake between him and Naruto. He took one of the two cups and offered it to Naruto. Naruto smiled gratefully and leaned forward before taking the cup from Shunsui.
"On the women we have met so far," Naruto said, proposing a toast. He really liked Shunsui from the moment he met the captain of the 8th Division. He reminded him of Jiraiya from the very beginning. The carefree posture, smile, and demeanor were almost identical, even his obvious luck with women. Everything was like a mirror image to Jiraiya.
"And the women we will meet," said Shunsui, raising his cup with sake a little higher.
"I will drink to that!" Naruto said before both of them took a sip, sighing in satisfaction. "This is some good Sake!"
"Oh yeah. It is from the human realm. I discovered it a few decades ago when I was traveling through it," Shunsui said.
"Damn," said Naruto. "This is one of the best sakes I have ever drunk."
"So… what are you and your comrades doing in the Soul Society, Naruto?" asked Shunsui, curious. "You seem like a nice guy and wouldn't cause so much trouble for nothing. You didn't kill any of the lower-ranking Shinigami who had only done their job so far, even when you could have done it easily." Shunsui's expression became a bit more serious, even as he continued to smile.
"I think telling it isn't really a problem since Ichigo already screamed it out to the world when he fought this Ikkaku guy," said Naruto, scratching his head. "We are here to save Rukia Kuchiki."
"The little Kuchiki?" asked Shunsui, a little surprised. "You're here to rescue Rukia Kuchiki? This is strange… She wasn't there for that long in the human realm."
"I personally don't know her that well," said Naruto. "I only met her a few times while she did her Shinigami work with good old Ichigo."
"So, you're here to rescue someone you don't even know that well?" Shunsui asked, curious.
"Yeah, sounds strange, doesn't it?" asked Naruto, chuckling a little. "But you see, little Ichigo really wants to rescue her because Rukia was the one who gave him her Shinigami powers so he could protect his family from a Hollow."
"Hmm… so the person she shared her Shinigami powers with was called Ichigo… interesting," said Shunsui, pouring himself and Naruto another cup of Sake. "Could I ask where you came into play in all this?"
"It's actually pretty easy," said Naruto with a carefree smile. "I am acquainted with Ichigo's father. Since the guy asked me to watch after his son from time to time, I thought, why not follow Ichigo and make sure he didn't get himself killed. You must know that he has this habit of getting into trouble without doing anything."
"There would also be the reason that Ichigo simply has this charm that wants someone to help and believe in him," said Naruto. In his past life, Naruto was the one who let others believe in him and help him, but in his new life after his death, he found someone who was almost identical to him. It was as if the role of the hero had shifted from Naruto to Ichigo.
Both raised their cups of sake and drank, sighing in satisfaction. "Ah… this is the best!" said Naruto.
"Your comrade Ichigo has caused quite a bit of trouble since you all came here," said Shunsui, pouring himself and Naruto another cup of Sake. "He not only defeated Ikkaku, but also defeated Lieutenant Abarai."
"Oh, you mean Renji?" asked Naruto. "Yeah… both seem to have some troubles with each other. I guess this confrontation couldn't be stopped after what happened in Karakura." He remembered the confrontation between Ichigo and Renji when both fought.
He drank his cup of Sake before asking, "I always wondered why it's such a huge crime to share their powers with a human." I mean, if Rukia hadn't done it, then Ichigo and his entire family would have been eaten by a hollow. Is this really necessary?"
Shunsui drank his cup of Sake before looking up at the sky, thinking. "Hmm… there are certain things we are not allowed to interfere with. Sharing our powers with a human could lead to consequences that not only affect the human realm but also the Soul Society."
"I think I understand what you mean, but isn't the punishment a bit harsh? Initially, the death sentence seems a bit excessive. If she had been imprisoned to think about her actions, I wouldn't even question it," said Naruto.
Shunsui chuckled a little and said, "The Soul Society isn't free of corruption either. Wherever there is free will, there will always be individuals who use everything to gain more power."
"Then why don't you do something against it?" asked Naruto. "You seem like a decent guy, why not question it with your position as a captain inside the Gotei 13?"
"Now, you bring me into a difficult position," said Shunsui with a chuckle. Naruto could see it in his expression. It seems that Shunsui was already planning something to counteract all this.
"Hmm… I see," said Naruto with a knowing smile. "I am happy that there are decent guys like you in the Gotei 13."
Shunsui only poured himself and Naruto another cup of Sake while he looked at the sword on Naruto's left side. "Well… should we talk about something else?" asked Shunsui.
Naruto followed Shunsui's gaze and landed on his sword. He chuckled and said, "Of course, you must ask yourself how a human could obtain a zanpakutō."
"You got me," said Shunsui, smiling carefree. "It's strange to see a supposedly human with a real zanpakutō on him. And it seems like your zanpakutō has also evolved, meaning you've had it for a long time. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to imprint your soul on it." He looked from under his hat into Naruto's blue eyes.
"Oh, this is a long story," said Naruto. "But you could say it isn't my first time in the Soul Society." He placed his left hand on the hilt of his zanpakutō, smiling gently as he felt a responsive reaction from his partner. "I found this guy on the body of a dead Shinigami."
"So, can I assume you never visited the Shinigami Academy?" asked Shunsui.
"Yeah, you're right about that. I had never even visited the Seireitei before I came back to the Soul Society with Ichigo and the others to save little Rukia," said Naruto.
"Very interesting. You are certainly not someone boring, Naruto," Shunsui said.
Naruto took his hand off his partner's hilt and laughed a little. "Well… I was always someone a little bit more special. Normal just isn't something I'm good at."
(A/N Is this something you would be interested in? If not, I won't need to write further on this. This is an idea I had after rewatching Bleach over the last four months. I wish you all the best. I would welcome an opinion on whether this should be expanded further or if I should focus solely on my story, "Missing Ninja: Tale of Naruto Uzumaki"? This would be all.
With regards, WayofHonour56)
