Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach, or any other material I might be drawing upon.

AN: I live! I know you all were hoping for more, but I thought it better to get something out to show you all that I'm not dead yet. Anyway, Here's the next bit, plan on updating Shadowmancer next (Been like a year :P) so keep an eye out. As an aside, Bee sucks to write for :P

EDIT: Had a plot hole pointed out to me by Masked Critic, had to fix it.
EDIT 2: Not sure how that type of Gai got through...I blame my spell check :P

Shards
Chapter 10: Prelude

"...of all the things I've seen in my career, I've never seen anything so un-youthful...To attack your own like that..."
-Maito Gai

A soft, sensual moan echoed through the room…

This was a new experience for him.

A soft hiss drifted to his ears as he found a particularly sensitive spot…

He had never once thought he'd find himself in a bedroom with one woman let alone three, he was still rather young after all, although he could hope...

"Oh Kami! Yes! Right there!"

"Hmmm...How can you find them… find every one… it's not humanly possible..."

The only male in the room give a small grin, not that they could see it, his voice low and even so as not to disturb them more than he had to, "I had a good teacher."

The fourth in the room, and oddly enough she was blonde as well, gave him a slight nod, a way of thanks.

Stranger still was the fact that the eldest of the two currently on the bed had actually invited him to her home, it seems that she believed that if he'd gotten 'fresh' with either of them that she would be more than enough to deal with him.

Currently the sole male in the room was kneeling closer to the foot of the bed, with Samui laid out before him, her supple form draped across the narrow of the bed, her head resting on her crossed arms with her eyes closed as she seemed to be fighting the urge to turn into goo under his fingers.

Next to her Yugito was splayed out, close but not touching her fellow kunoichi, however it seemed as though she given up all pretense of professionalism, and was reduced to a purring, quivering, mass of flesh.

Opposite of him, at the head of the bed, was a clone he had created of warm water currently in the form of his sensei, Harribel.

He knew he was probably going to catch hell for that, revealing the fact that he had a clone technique to a potential enemy, however he knew he was asking for a lot of their trust when it came to this massage, so he felt the need to at least offer up that small amount.

Not that that was going to make his sensei any happier...

It had already been over half an hour and yet, with the small amount of knowledge that Harribel was constantly giving him, he seemed to simply find more and more spots.

The small of the back.

Shoulder blades.

Calves.

Even sections of their arms and hands were riddled with knots.

A part of wondered how many he might have…

However, by far the most bound up area on the duo was Samui's shoulders, from the junction of her neck clear to the lower edge of her shoulder blade was a solid mass of tension. The tissue so tight and knot ridden he was shocked that the act of taking a breath hadn't crippled her with pain.

Keeping his voice low he'd asked her a few questions, like why she hadn't been to see anyone who could have helped her with her troubles.

Her answer, though bit hard to understand through her contented mumblings, was somewhat depressing to the duo, it seems she didn't trust some of those in her own village enough to so much has enter the public baths without her teammates to watch for gawkers.

He knew she was attractive, any fool could see that, however to have so little trust in your fellows that you couldn't go somewhere to even see to your physical health…

It seemed he wasn't the only one of the bit of trouble in his village.

That was something else that had surprised him, in addition to hearing their appreciative moans they seem to forget exactly which village he was a part of. Opting, for a time, to grumble tiredly about the goings-on around them.

Their Kage's obsession with bloodlines.

The lack of any decent men, or in the case of Yugito, women.

Their own limitations and training, as well as Yugito's friend's obsession with rapping…

And he thought Gai-sensei had a unique habit...

The conversation hadn't been entirely one-way, despite Naruto's insistence that he was trying to stay quiet so they could relax, as it seemed the duo were more than interested in figuring out where he had learned to do this, where he met his sensei, why she wasn't on this mission, really anything that they could think of at the time.

It was obvious to him that they weren't trying to be invasive with their questions, at first it was more of a nervous twitch, after which, according to Harribel, it seemed as though they simply wanted to get to know him better, in some ways a thank you for what he was doing for them.

He answered as best he could, obviously not able to give them all the information they're or wanting, hell most of his own team didn't know the truth about Harribel and his own… unique situation.

He relayed to them is invented story, with Harribel's help of course, about how he encountered the foreign warrior as she was having trouble buying supplies in town, her unique form of currency having next to no exchange-rate in Konoha. Upon helping her, he told them, he had learned about her quest to find her missing friends and his offer to help her by at least offering her a place to stay in the rather empty apartment building he resided in.

However, much to their annoyance, he refused to go in any form of detail about what he'd been learning from her other than the basics, physical conditioning and the like.

When pressed about the chakra pulse that they had experienced earlier that day he could only give them a half shrug, as one of his hands was busy while the other was fetching lotion, stating that he himself had no idea how he'd done it at the time, all he been doing was meditating, trying to sense the flow of chakra within his own body.

They however were bit more forthcoming however. Letting the blond know exactly how the pulse had felt to them, as though his chakra or enveloping and even penetrating into their own coils at the time, and when it raced back to him it felt as though they were being drawn in with it.

That caused Naruto to arch an eyebrow, the idea that such a pulse could have affected so many and in such profound ways was almost alien to him. However, Harribel was quick to tell him that sometimes, even in the heat of battle, the feelings that one expressed could be translated into their fists, so why couldn't it be that something so much more personal, like chakra, do the same thing?

Still, part of him knew he couldn't keep this… relationship… going much longer, after all he would be leaving in a few days, and while he never had many friends growing up, the thought of making some only to have to leave them immediately thereafter was painful to him, a pain he wasn't going to allow himself to experience if he could help it.

Although Harribel was quick to admonish him for the thought, having been alone much of the time in both her past lives, she knew very well the value of friendship, it was just that she was very careful about who she picked as her friends, making sure they were the type that would never betray her, and that she would never betray in turn.

Aside from Harribel, Naruto wondered if he would ever have such people in his life…

The stray thought saddening the former Espada, although she hoped that when he found the proper vessels for her fraccion that the four might be able to form such a bond.

Only time would tell.

While Naruto was experiencing what could be considered a dream come true for many a man, his team sensei was having a rather unique encounter of his own... Before him was the very tall, dark skinned, incredibly strong looking, son of the Third Raikage.

The man was huge, at least six and a half feet tall, and muscled to the point that it looked as though he could lift a bull with little effort.

The man had pale white hair in the style of cornrows, a set of dark glasses obscuring his eyes, and most surprisingly a unique holster of sorts that bore seven swords.

Stranger still, was the man's insistence on rapping, it seemed he had the need to string together every few sentences into a bad rhyme.

Although he was hardly one to talk about strange behavior, he knew how most of the village viewed him, eccentric at least and utterly insane at the worst, but this was downright odd.

"Might Gai, no need to be shy, the Green Beast of the Leaf is famous beyond belief!"

"Killer Bee! The most youthful swordsman of Kumo! It is my great joy to meet you! How may I be of service to you on this most youthful day!"

The larger man let out a hearty laugh before extending his fist, "Callin' me Bee would be my plea, and a fight my delight!"

The grin on Gai's face grew larger, if at all possible, even as Lee was bouncing on the balls of his feet behind his mentor, it almost looked as though the boy was about to jump out of his spandex. "A most youthful suggestion Bee-san! This would be a superb chance to demonstrate a high level match between ninja! Tell me, do you have a youthful team?"

Bee just gave a deep chuckle as he shrugged, "A team would be a dream, but for now it is disallowed!" The man seemed to freeze at that before pulling a small notepad from his hip pouch and quickly writing a few things, mumbling under his breath about his off rhyme.

The act, if anything made Lee all the happier, pulling his own pad from under his wrist wrappings, "Gai-sensei! This most youthful man has inspired me! He endeavors to make even his speech more youthful! Bee-san! Please, teach me your ways!"

Tears flowed from the two taller men, one thrilled at the furthering of youth, the other at the fact that someone was willing to follow in his footsteps.

Unknown to the trio, the last two members of their team felt a shudder run up their spines.

The pinkette could only grind her teeth in frustration as she moved methodically around the little store. This was hardly the kind of work she thought she would be doing when she first became a ninja. She, like many, had thought that they would be going to distant, exotic lands to save nobles and merchants, to overthrow dictators and free nations.

Not clean stores, walk dogs and babysit children.

Still, a part of her was a bit more worried as to exactly why she and her squad had been dispatched here in the first place. They were told that the shop owners daughter was out of the village on a mission, however to her it didn't explain why the father coulldn't have taken care of the inventory himself, or the mother for that matter.

When she arrived she had learned a bit more of the truth.

The man was more of a drunkard than anything. His body was once something that many could be proud of, once strong and lean from working the forge. Now only his arms shown what he once was. The rest of him, while not flabby, couldn't be called lean either.

Thick, that seemed like a good description.

When they had shown up at the storefront they were a bit taken aback when the one who answered wasn't the fresh-faced shop owner they were expecting, instead it was a man who was unshaven, unwashed, and still had what looked like bits of vomit on his clothing and beard.

He had only taken a cursory look at the group before stepping aside and allowing them in then simply vanished.

They had their orders, and for Sakura, she was wondering if that man was responsible for the mission request at all…

With a heavy sigh she took back up the oiled rag and started moving almost as in a trance as she cleaned rack after rack of weapons, letting her mind wonder was a common occurrence for her, her higher intellect demanded nothing less. The lack of sounds from the forge was almost otherworldly for such a shop, the fact that she really didn't have a supervisor, someone to make sure that the newly minted genin didn't steal anything or damage the stock, was a bit of a surprise. Still, she was honest, and it was lucky for them that she was, she wouldn't put it past some of the graduates to see something 'cool' and try and claim it.

The only sounds being the odd perverse giggle from her sensei the occasional question from Sasuke.

And something more, something she was only just able to make out coming from above the store in a small apartment that lie there.

The sounds of a man crying.

Dust flew as two bodies rolled through the earth, one intentionally, the other not so much.

Red hair, tangled and dust filled was tossed aside as dusky skinned woman kipped up to her feet once more, the other still in the middle of his forward roll suddenly reversed his momentum when his feet again hit the earth, launching himself high into a slow back flip even as Karui returned to standing. Her eyes were on the place she had expected him to be, never noticing his sudden aerial maneuver.

Only her experience and training to this point had her raise her arm in time to block the kick aimed at her head, her arm quickly trapping it even as she turned, eyes slightly wide in surprise at the kids moves.

"Your reaction time is impressive, I thought I finally had the advantage on you…"

The redhead smirked, "Unlike you, I've been a genin for over a year; this is the first time you've left your village right? Must be scary to be out in the big world eh?" Her taunt looked to fall on deaf hear however, that high coat and almost bored look in his eyes was more than enough to infuriate her.

Even after all this time Yugito wasn't able to drive that short temper from the girl.

"And that time has served you well; however, the battlefield is no place for speeches."

With a snarl the redhead funneled chakra into her limbs, lifting the blond bodily from the ground and turning hard, slinging the young man to the ground.

Or so she had hoped.

One hand lashed out to impact the earth before his head would, stopping his momentum suddenly and causing golden eyes to widen in shock, Harribel had been putting him through his paces well, those one handed inverted pushups doing wonders for him.

Her shock was short-lived however as she found her vision filled with the bottoms of his sandals, both feet having been drawn back to lash back out, landing a brutal twin kick to her face.

Karui's form rolled several feet before she forced herself to her hands and knees, narrowed eyes looking back at her opponent, only to find him already moving back toward her at remarkable speeds. Not wasting a moment the girl dropped back to her haunches and sent a brace of kunai his way, forcing him change direction before coming to a stop. "Interesting…"

The dusky skinned woman rose to her full height, "What! What is 'interesting'! You say that all the time!"

He simply quirked an eyebrow, had he really been doing that? "Would you prefer noteworthy? I was simply going to comment that you had wanted a taijutsu spar."

"And?"

"And you brought knives to this fight.." She twitched a bit at that, as did her sensei on the sidelines.

"W-Well…"

"Am I to understand then that…the rules have changed?" Slowly the teen started reaching for his sword, making the girl gulp.

"N-Now Naruto-san, there's no need for that, it's just a reflex, you know, you use what you have."

The blond sent a sideways glance to the boy of their team, a small nod was all he received. This had started so simply. After the massage he had walked with the girls back to the training ground they had first met, only to see the scowling face of the woman now opposite him, she'd looked livid, something about him being a pervert and just trying to get the others alone.

Seems she wasn't all there in the restaurant before, well, even less than he suspected.

After some heated words from her sensei and a sideways glance from Samui, the most he was expecting from the woman, he had apologiZeta for worrying her, and asked how he could make it up to her. That had started this whole affair, and while there was no true victor as of yet, they had been learning a lot about one another.

It was strange, almost philosophical in a way, the way he seemed to be able to…understand her through her fists. He could feel her anger, but more than that was a level of fear, not of him, but for the women he had arrived with. After a few blows that fear changed to excitement, then simple joy, though she never seemed to crack a smile once, he could tell she was having a ball.

He had to admit, he was feeling the same. He had learned it from Lee, Gai and Tia some time ago, that you could take joy, and dare he say, pleasure from a fight, at least one that you knew was 'safe' that your life wasn't on the line.

The only pause to this had been the kunai, and even then it was hardly malicious, it was instinct, something he knew all too well, and he wasn't about to fault her for it.

"Yugito-san, please, there is no need. I probably would have done the same in her position. Now then, shall we continue, or do you wish to call it a day?"

At that the redhead smirked, "Please, we're just getting started!" She rushed forward, her arms hanging back behind her as so many shinobi are prone to do before, much to his surprise, she sent low, throwing herself into a foot-first slide that very nearly took his feet out from under him, instead it forced him to hop into the air, a place he should never be.

In a move that was shockingly familiar to him she kicked hard with one foot, launching her lower half higher and letting her other foot catch him in the floating rib.

With a wince he was sent sprawling across the training ground, though his lessons from Tia had been well earned, her follow up attack met only air as he was already on his feet and at the ready, throwing a hard knee up to the teen's midsection which was blocked with crossed forearms. Not to be detoured he used her arms as a brace, pushing off with enough force to lift him bodily from the ground, his left leg coming across to impact the girl's shoulder. Not a hard hit, but one that certainly staggered her. Not one to waste an opportunity his hands came around the back of her head and pulled her head down onto his knee.

Karui's eyes were wide in shock as she could only look at white cloth, the blow having stopped so close her nose tickled from the slightly frayed fibers, the shock more than enough to drive the adrenalin from her body and making her collapse to the ground. Naruto's hands quickly shifted to her shoulders to gently guide her down. "Seems this was my win Karui-san, I must admit though, you are impressive. Adapting and using my own taijutsu in the midst of combat…my sensei would be most impressed, both of them."

Shaky eyes met his as her breathing came back under control, the redhead quickly scrambling away from him before taking her ready stance once more. "Again!"

It was faint, but she could see his eyes curl slightly into a smile, "My sensei would absolutely love you." With that, the two charged once more, their clash something that was making the three observing wince.

And one former Espada to set her mind to work.

"My Lord, the teams are in position. The ambush will take place at the Shio Tani, the valley walls there are too unstable to allow for surface walking, and the tighter quarters will limit Gai and his apprentices' maneuverability. Once dealt with the suppression teams will strike from the plateau above with the initial chakra seals. Thereafter the team will move in with the stronger secondary seals. Our biggest obstacles will be Maito Gai and Yugito-san. The seals we will be utilizing, when in array as they will be, can bring down even the six tail if our tests on Bee-sama can be judged, as such Yugito-san will be of little use when the field is activated. However, it is known that Gai-san can open the eight inner gates, and while the seal array can help to suppress that chakra, he, the primary target, and Yugito may be enough to overwhelm the initial arrays."

Zeta leaned forward in his chair, both hands brought up in a loose grasp before his mouth as he looked at the proposed attack plan. It was solid, but as with any high ranked mission there were variables that couldn't be accounted for. What was the rate in which Gai could open the gates? Would Yugito suspect something and suggest a different route? Would she spot the trap and get out from under the array, forcing his ANBU to deal with an enraged jinkurichi who had complete control over her beast?

It was all in question, however, it was their best bet, and with him subtlety suggesting the valley as their best way back then he was certain that they would follow.

Good little sheep, always listening to a kage…

"Very well, contact Gai and let him know that the scroll be will be ready in the morning, we'll strike while the mists hang in the valley, that will help to shield our teams from detection." The ANU snapped a quick salute before collecting his maps and exiting the room, Zeta paid him no mind, he ad already turned to overlook his village. In time, he knew they would have what they needed.

In time…