Chapter three is a go!

Sorry for the wait, and I hope you all like the chapter!

Disclaimer: pain17ification owns nothing

Maelstrom

Chapter 3: Reunions, Training, and Talks

The following morning was refreshingly normal for the Kurosaki family. Isshin and Ichigo had their pre-breakfast scuffle, Yuzu admonished them and ordered them to eat, Karin pretended to ignore them and ate in silent amusement, and Naruto watched with open amusement.

It was a needed counterbalance for recent events, and they were all grateful for the sense of familiarity.

After the morning meal, the younger three siblings all left for school while Naruto cleaned up the mess and Isshin prepared for work. Without the family clinic, he needed to work at the city's hospital to bring home some income.

"Hey, dad?" Isshin heard his eldest say, making the man turn to him.

"Yeah, son?"

To his surprise, Naruto looked unsure of himself, or dare he say nervous. "Can we talk later; privately?"

"Is everything alright?" he asked with unhidden concern.

"…I don't know," Naruto answered honestly. "But it can wait until later."

Isshin had a feeling what it was about, and he was having mixed feelings on the upcoming talk. But, he knew it was unfair to his family to keep putting off the subject.

So, he nodded once and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Of course. I have things I need to tell you as well; things I should've told you some time ago."

This confused Naruto, but he didn't expand on it as he let his father leave for work. Now home alone, he spent the next hour tidying up before heading out to his old high school. Some old friends of his would no doubt be happy to see him.

Misato Ochi was generally a likeable teacher who was rather easygoing with her students and believed in their potentials to succeed. So, it was both a surprise and a delight to see one of her old students walking around the school halls during the lunch hour.

"Naruto Kurosaki, is that you?" she asked with a smile that he returned. "Look at you! You've definitely grown from the prankster you were years ago."

Chuckling and giving her a warm hug, the redhead replied, "It's good to see you, sensei. I missed your classes when I left town."

She pulled away to get a better look at him. "It's been too long, Naruto. What brings you here?"

"Seeing some old friends and my favorite teacher," he answered, making her give an amused eye roll. "How's my brother been?"

"He's as well as he could be," she answered, sounding slightly vague. "He's getting by, though."

Sighing, Naruto nodded in understanding. "Yeah… He took mom's death the hardest, after all."

Misato placed her hand on his arm with a supportive smile. "I'm sure he appreciates all that you're doing, Naruto." Removing her arm, she jabbed her thumb behind her and added, "He's up on the roof with his friends if you wanted to talk to him."

"Thanks. You mind letting them off if they're late? Might lose track of time saying 'hi' to everyone."

She chuckled and nodded. "For my favorite student? No problem."

Thanking her, he headed for the roof and arrived to the sight of his brother, his friends, and Rukia all seated together enjoying their lunch. It was Rukia who noticed him first, being able to sense his spiritual energy.

However, it was an orange haired girl with large brown eyes that noticed him next. Those eyes widened in surprise as her jaw slowly lowered and her cheeks flushed. Next to her, a girl with dark hair looked to her in confusion before turning her focus to where the orange haired girl was looking.

Seeing them both staring at him, Naruto offered a wave and called out, "Yo!"

His greeting caught the attention of the others, and Ichigo asked, "What're you doing here?"

"Greeting old friends," Naruto answered, moving away from the door and walking towards them. "Been awhile since I've seen you guys and gals."

"Naruto," greeted Yasutora "Chad" Sado, a very large teen with Mexican descent visible in his physical features. He was known as a gentle giant by many people, only using his phenomenal physical strength in the defense of others. "Good to see you."

"You too, Chad." The whiskered man turned to the dark-haired girl, Tatsuki Arisawa, next and nodded his head with a grin. "Still showing them who's boss at the dojo, Tatsuki?"

"Everyone but you, senpai," she replied with a smirk. "Still waiting for the day to take you down."

"Maybe later this week," he replied with a chuckle before turning his attention to the last person. "Hey Hime," he greeted with a warm smile.

Orihime Inoue smiled back as the corners of her eyes threatened to form tears. She quickly got to her feet and ran over to hug her childhood friend, letting her joyful tears run as she felt the warmth she had missed over the years.

"Welcome home," she murmured into his shirt, making Naruto smile as he returned her hug.

"Glad to be home."

Tatsuki had a small smile on her face as she watched her best friend. She had known of Orihime's crush on Naruto for many years now; a crush that almost changed to Ichigo before it cemented itself towards the redheaded Kurosaki brother.

She could remember the day she asked Orihime about it.

Standing at a bus stop was the Kurosaki family and Ichigo's friends. Naruto had his duffel bag, laptop case, and schoolbag resting on the ground as he hugged his sisters goodbye.

It was the day he was set to leave town for college, and they were there to see him off. Tatsuki was surprised when she found out that her friend and senpai was actually leaving Karakura Town for school, and it saddened her as well since she would lose her favorite sparring partner and life coach; something she wouldn't admit aloud.

Turning to her friend, she was surprised to see how upset she was. In Tatsuki's opinion, it looked like Orihime was barely restraining herself from stopping Naruto from leaving. She knew of Hime's crush on the whisker-faced Kurosaki, but she thought that the girl had moved on by now when he showed no signs of seeing that crush.

"Hey," she spoke softly so as not to let anyone hear them. "You gonna be okay?"

Orihime wiped her eye to stop a rogue tear before turning to her best female friend. "I'm going to miss him," she answered.

"We all will, Hime. But he'll be back before we know it. Senpai wasn't ever one to leave his family, you know."

"I know that. But what if…?"

She stopped herself short, turning back to see Naruto shaking hands with Chad before casually dodging a flying tackle from Keigo and laughing at his meeting with the sidewalk. Mizuiro looked exasperated before he too shook Naruto's hand in farewell.

"What if he meets someone?" she whispered so faintly that Tatsuki almost didn't hear her. "I… I still haven't told him…"

"I thought you said you weren't sure anymore?" Tatsuki asked.

"I did… But then we ran into each other at the cemetery, and he saw me talking to Sora-nii-san." That caught Tatsuki's interest. "I didn't know he was there until I heard him talk to nii-san too."

"What'd he say?" Tatsuki asked, seeing Orihime smile softly and blush.

"He…promised my nii-san that he would be there for me and help me whenever I needed him. He told Sora not to worry about me anymore and that he could be at peace."

"Really?" Tatsuki turned to her senpai, watching him crouching down to pet a black cat that was seen with him at random times; one that he called Kuro-chan. "And what he said brought those feelings back, didn't it?"

Orihime gave an affirmative hum as she nodded. "Yes, it did. I wanted to tell him how I felt then, but I didn't think it was appropriate to say in front of so many graves. I tried to tell him other times, but things always got in the way."

Tatsuki sweatdropped as she recalled one rare moment of her friend giving her an annoyed look, realizing that she had gotten in the way one time.

"I wish I could tell him…"

"Tell who what?" they heard Naruto ask, making them jump in surprise since they didn't know he had approached them.

Tatsuki was quick to answer, "She was talking about her brother and something she never got to say before he died." The martial arts enthusiast would never know how right she was with that excuse. She then fist-bumped him and added, "Gonna miss you, senpai. I still need to prove I've gotten stronger than you."

"Strength isn't everything," he lectured with a small grin. "You know that."

"Yeah, yeah…" she waved off, pretending to be annoyed at the lecture but smiling all the same.

He shook his head in amusement before turning to Orihime and opening his arms out. The girl didn't hesitate to embrace him, and Tatsuki heard her say how much she'd miss him while watching as her hands clenched the back of his clothes; as if they'd anchor him down and make him stay.

It was then that Tatsuki realized that the crush her friend had on Naruto had turned into something much more than that. Watching him interact with the others and brighten up the atmosphere, she saw that Orihime was looking at him with a stronger expression.

Orihime was in love with Naruto.

After catching up with his old friends, Naruto left the school after telling Rukia to take Ichigo to the Urahara Shop after the school day had ended. Strolling through town, he headed for the publishing office in hopes of getting his first book looked at. With any luck, it'd be well-received and published soon.

The story could be called an autobiography of his past life; the life of Naruto Uzumaki. He was dividing it into three separate books.

The first would be from when Uzumaki was in his final years of the Ninja Academy to when he left with Jiraiya the Toad Sage for three years.

The second book would be from Uzumaki's homecoming to after his defeat of Pein, the God of the Hidden Rain Village.

And the last would be from that point to the end of the war, with an epilogue portraying Uzumaki and his new family with Hinata Hyuuga.

He spent many years speaking with a certain someone about the life of Uzumaki, and in those years, he made sure that the book's illustrations would be as perfect as they could get. After all, he had the greatest source to go by in terms of referencing the life of his transmigrant predecessor.

"I still say that you're Uzumaki, Naruto," Karasuba spoke up.

'And I've told you multiple times that I'm not him. I'm Naruto Kurosaki.'

"That didn't change the fact that you inherited so much from my old friend," a deep, whispery voice cut in, adding their two cents to the conversation. "Naruto Uzumaki was a strong-willed human who put the happiness of his friends and the world above his own; much like you do for your family, Kurosaki."

'Kurama… I don't like being seen as someone or something other than who I am. I'm the son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki. The life of Naruto Uzumaki was a long time ago.'

"And yet, Uzumaki was a transmigrant of Asura Ōtsutsuki; remember?" the reborn beast argued.

"The fleabag," she ignored the growl, "has a point. Who's to say that you can't be a transmigrant too?"

Sighing aloud, Naruto responded, 'Look, I get that you have a great deal of respect for Uzumaki, Kurama. And I understand the arguments you've made over the years. But still…is it too much to ask to control my own life?'

"Who said you weren't in control, brat?" Kurama fired back with a knowing undertone. "All I've been saying is that you had a phenomenal past life. I never said anything about it controlling who you are or would be."

"I did; but that's only because I want you to stop lying to yourself, Naruto. Just accept that you were once Naruto Uzumaki and do what you will."

'…Alright.'

With their chat done, Naruto found himself in front of the publishing building and took a breath to compose himself. He needed to be focused so that he could try and provide for his family.

"Maximum effort," he said with a chuckle as he stepped through the door, referencing a character from a comic series he enjoyed. (1)

With little effort, Naruto raised his sword to block Ichigo's, both in their Soul Reaper clothes as they started Ichigo's training. "Clumsy!" he shouted, flicking his wrist and sending the over-sized blade out of his younger brother's hands. "You need to have a better grip on your weapon, or you're done for!"

Ichigo cried out in surprise as he was booted away from Naruto by a heavy kick to his chest. Sliding on the ground, he stopped right beside his weapon and quickly got up to reequip it. "Kinda hard to do when I never used a sword before!" he yelled back before grunting with effort as he used both hands to hold his weapon while Naruto only needed one.

"True, but you were still able to take down that Hollow no problem." Easing up and backing away, Naruto gave a sigh and rubbed his head. "Look, I'm not exactly the teaching type. I don't like to tell you how to do something when I could just show you. So, to get things started, I'm going to have you copy my stances so we could give you a basic form to go off of."

Nodding, Ichigo readied his Zanpakuto and stood across from his brother. "Alright then."

"Spread your feet more. No, not that far; or you'll lose balance," Naruto instructed, watching Ichigo settle himself. "How's that feel?"

"A little weird, but I'll get used to it."

"It's important to have a style that you're comfortable with, little brother. Get into an open stance that feels balanced and that you can easily shift from." He waited for Ichigo to do so before he nodded. "Okay, we'll start with some basic katas so that you can get a feel for how your weapon feels when you swing. Your sword is heavier than mine, obviously; so, it'll feel like you're moving slower than you should be. That's okay for now. Once we get you used to the weight of your sword, then we can work on building up your swing speed."

Ichigo nodded as the two Kurosaki brothers performed some basic katas together, with Naruto throwing out tips and pointers here and there as they practiced. Watching them was Rukia, who was there to let them know if any Hollows were entering the city. So far, only two had arrived in the past few hours, and both times were handled by Naruto blurring away at high speed before returning within a few minutes. Ichigo used those two times as breaks from the training.

"Looks like they're making progress," she heard Kisuke comment from behind her. "That's good. Ichigo would learn better from Naruto than myself."

"Why do you think that?" she asked him.

"Because Naruto understands Ichigo better than myself. And while it may look like Naruto is taking it easy on him, he's going to push him further than Ichigo has ever been. I'd do the same, but I wouldn't be as understanding about it as Naruto is." He adjusted his hat slightly as he finished, "I might accidentally break him."

Rukia winced at that, having seen some Soul Reapers be pushed too far and snap. She herself was pushed by her brother when he adopted her into the Kuchiki Clan, and it was straining and stressful to keep up with the physical and mental push he was giving her. More than once, she almost gave up because it was too much.

But then, she remembered what she was doing her training for, and it helped push her forward. Based on what Urahara was saying, Naruto would keep reminding Ichigo what he was fighting for and push him forward.

"How did Naruto get his powers?" she asked. "He's human, and yet…"

"He was born with them, and they awakened a few years ago," Kisuke answered. "That's all we could figure out."

That last part was a lie, but the owner of the simple shop knew it wasn't his place to say. He just hoped that, when the truth was finally revealed, Naruto would take it well.

Dinner was a quiet affair for the Kurosaki family that night, for much had happened in the span of one day. It was a surprise to the twins when they saw that their father and Ichigo didn't even throw a punch at one another, but it was even more surprising when their normally happy eldest brother looked to be lost in thought and reserved.

It was somewhat awkward for them, but they said nothing about it; both silently hoping that things would be back to normal the following day.

After dinner and washing up, all but the two oldest members of the family went to bed. The two adults stayed in the living room so that they could have their talk.

"So, what's on your mind, son?" Isshin started things off with a smile. "Everything okay?"

"…Dad, what do you know of the dead?" Naruto asked, feeling too anxious to beat around the bush.

Isshin expected a question like that and sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "…More than you thought I did." Reaching over to the small stand beside him, he took a drink of his water and continued, "I know about what's been happening to you, and how it's happened to Ichigo too."

"You knew?" Naruto whispered in shock. "But, why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I wanted to, son; believe me, I did. But…I was afraid of how you and your siblings would react."

"React to what? Ichigo was able to see ghosts and I could talk to them since I was a kid; you and mom knew that. Karin can see them too, but she can't hear what they say and Yuzu just feels their presence. What were you so afraid of tell us?"

"…That I'm not just a foolish man who married a wonderful woman and had four kids. That I was aware of the spiritual world for decades. That I'm older than I really am." He looked up from the floor and locked eyes with his son, startling him with how exhausted he looked. "That I'm not a human, but a soul."

Naruto gasped at this. "…A soul?"

Isshin nodded once, closing his eyes as he sighed tiredly. "…I wanted to tell you the day you awakened your powers, but I was afraid of how you'd react. Plus, I couldn't do anything for you since I've been without my powers for a long time now."

"Your powers? You mean you were a Soul Reaper as well?"

"I was more than that, but I'll tell you about my past later. For now, I want to know how you feel about this? You're older now, and you've had time to mature into a responsible man. What do you think of being born from a soul and a human; of being technically half-dead the day you Masaki gave birth to you?"

Naruto was at a loss for words, still trying to process everything his father had revealed to him. His entire life, he thought he and his family were average humans with special gifts; but instead, he and his siblings inherited their growing powers from their father, who kept the truth hidden from them for so long.

"…Why didn't you trust us with this?" he finally asked, his tone soft and his eyes shadowed by his bangs. "Did mom know, or did you lie to her too?"

"She knew, and I begged her not to tell you and the others. You were too young to understand, and she was killed before you were ready."

"That's a weak excuse, and you know it," he gritted out. "You kept so much hidden from us, left us in the dark about a world we were unprepared for… And when we realized just who was sharing our world, you still said nothing." His fists clenched on the armrests of his chair, popping his knuckles and turning them white. "Do you even know how terrified I was when I saw a Hollow for the first time, and how afraid I was to tell my family that I had strange powers to battle the dead?"

"I can only imagine," Isshin answered, his voice full of regret. "Naruto… I'm so sorry for not speaking up sooner, for not coming clean when you needed me the most, and for not preparing you for any of this. I was a coward, and my cowardice resulted in you having to become a stronger man than I ever could be. I don't expect you to forgive me for any of this, but I hope you can understand my fears."

Slowly, his trembling fists stopped and unclenched. He took a couple of deep breaths to rein in his growing anger as he stood up, followed hesitantly by his father. Isshin slowly moved over to him, leaving him open for a heavy punch to his gut that knocked the wind out of him.

"…I expect to hear everything later," Naruto whispered, his voice breaking at the storm of emotions he was going through. "But for now…I forgive you."

Isshin groaned and rubbed his bruising stomach, giving his eldest son a strained smile. "I promise, Naruto. I won't keep anything hidden from you anymore."

Turning away, Naruto headed for his room before stopping in front of the hallway. "I won't tell the others about this. You need to tell them everything, old man." Turning his head back to look over his shoulder, he showed his father the tears he failed to hold back as he finished, "A family shouldn't have to keep secrets. You tell them yours, and I'll tell them mine."

With that said, he left the man alone with his thoughts. 'Masaki… I wish you were here now; more than ever…'

1~ Deadpool reference *winks*

And that's that! I'd like to remind you all that the chapters for this story are going to be short. So please, don't be upset about their "lacking length".

In related news, I've decided on the final girl for Naruto! She's the ONLY thing from the – what I've decided to call – "extended" part of Bleach that I'm adding in. And by "extended", I mean the story after Ichigo sacrificed his powers.

Hint: She loves sweets and "cute" things!

Before I go, I posted a poll on my profile! It has to do with what my next FanFiction idea will be!

Please cast your votes and have a nice day/night/whatever time you're reading this!

Until next time!

~pain17ification~