AN: Holy shit-biscuit, it's been a long time! With that being said, along with the time period of absolutely nothing going on in some months on my end *cough*, let's just get to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

Chapter 3: What a Wonderful World

The shadowed buildings flew by as Naruto hurried along the rooftops. With blue eyes focused forward he barely registered the lit up windows and signs that showered Karakura in its artificial glow, instead mentally locking himself onto the dark presence he was racing toward.

With every little sprint, leap, and landing he was engaging in, the blonde was progressively prepping his mind for what was to come.

'No distractions. Stay calm. Take care of whatever's there quickly. Make stealthy getaway. Celebrate with ramen.' He thought simply with just enough time to spot his destination as he was preparing to make one last jump on the roof of an apartment complex. His target became obvious when a two-story building with a gaping hole blown through a wall on its second floor came within sight, and through that opening was the same kind of beast he had slain during the night of his arrival. This time the creature had a serpent-like body with a full head of dark and scraggly hair along with its own skull-like mask. Both arms were crimson from a little past the shoulders all the way to the fingertips while the rest of the body from torso to tail was a dark gray. Just like the first there was a clean hole right through its chest.

These details only went through his mind for the shortest of instances as he locked his sight onto the captive held within his large grip.

'Wait, isn't that- oh shit, Orihime?!'

A clear new addition to his self-appointed objective in mind and the beginnings of adrenaline coursing through his veins is what came upon him as he made the final jump on the edge of the rooftop.

It just wasn't going to end any time soon, was it? Granted, he wasn't given an exact timeline, but he still had his hopes.

If it wasn't, then he was positive it was going to be the death of him soon enough. What he was hoping to be a temporary fill-in already started to feel like a lifetime commitment with how fast things have been progressing lately, and he was sure this was only the tip of the spiritual iceberg.

Spirits.

How much deeper into their world was he going to fall?! Seriously, he didn't ask for this! Did his past self fuck up and cut in front of a voodoo priest in line at a produce market or something?!

At this point he wouldn't doubt it entirely.

Whatever the reasons were, he was silently cursing them as his stunned body was dragging itself off of the unforgiving asphalt that he was slammed into. With blood soaking the middle of his forehead, the crimson liquid trailing down his nose and chin, and seeing a yellow pajama-covered Rukia hovering over his prone body with blurry vision, it was easy to deduce that he wasn't currently in the best of moods.

"Ichigo, wake up!" She shouted into his ear.

The orange-haired teen grunted and held a hand to his injured cranium. "Shut up." He managed to mutter out, clear annoyance held within his tone.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rukia still managed to lose her focus for a split second and looked annoyed herself. "Don't talk to me like that!" She semi-shouted before calming down. "Anyway, where are you hurt?" She asked while leaning in to make her own observations.

Ichigo finally got into a crouched position. "That doesn't matter, I'll be fine."

Rukia nodded. "Good, now you need to remember something before getting back to it."

Ichigo glanced to her and gave his full attention.

"That's not Inoue's brother anymore. He's nothing but a monster without a human's heart. Like with him and other hollows you can't show mercy and must kill him without fail." She instructed seriously, well, as seriously as a short girl in bright flannel pajamas could.

Ichigo only answered back with his own stern stare before looking back up to the hole he was blown out of, and he couldn't have gotten back into action sooner because of what he heard next.

"I'll kill you!" He heard the brother-turned-hollow shout, and what made it so grim to him was that it wasn't directed at either Rukia or himself.

A brief shout of exertion escaped his throat as he leaped to the second floor of Inoue's home, his large blade in hand ready to strike however he needed it to. Once he made it to his targeted height he saw Inoue held tight within the hollow's hands, her face filled with rising pain and discomfort with every moment that went by.

Not wasting anymore time Ichigo quickly swung his weapon towards the monster's scaly tail in an effort to switch his focus onto him and off his friend. However, so focused was he was that he didn't notice at the exact same time another participant decided to join the battle.

The same couldn't be said for a once again annoyed Rukia still in the street with no easy way to get to the fight by normal means. It was just another irritating reminder that her powers were drastically low and only a little stronger than an average human; not in a physical sense, but in having reiryoku at all in the gigai she was inhabiting.

As her mind went to calculating how to aid in the skirmish she sensed something closing into the area fast, so fast that if she were the target of this incoming unknown entity she would be helpless to properly defend herself with Ichigo preoccupied with his own fight.

Thankfully that wasn't the case as she saw a quick and vocal blur pass over her head and towards Ichigo's position.

Her eyes widened. 'What…?'

The substitute Shinigami couldn't react at all as the new presence announced his entrance just before his blade met hollow flesh.

"Dynamic Entr-Ichigo-?!" Naruto shouted in surprise as his outstretched foot was still homing in on the beast's head. With the blonde's surprise at his current roommate's involvement in this whole debacle as well, he accidentally dropped the transparency jutsu.

Time seemed to drastically slow down for both spiky-haired teens as they stared at each other's shocked faces while simultaneously still progressing forward with each attack. If it wasn't for the urgency of the setting, the flabbergasted look on the normally stoic Ichigo's face, along with a shouting and still flying Naruto and his own open-mouthed dumbfounded expression would've certainly made for quite the sight.

Both of their perspectives quickly went back to normal with their attacks hitting home. Ichigo's blade roughly stabbed into his target's biggest appendage while Naruto's opening kick smashed into the monster's face. The attacks stunned the hollow while it roared from both new instances of pain, making him let go of his little sister's chained soul.

Orihime's body fell to the wooden floor with some relief from the squeezing pressure she was previously a victim of. After letting out some coughs and a groan of pain from the rough landing, she glanced up to the creature that was once her beloved sibling as he briefly flailed in agony. Then she glanced to Ichigo as he got done hacking at her brother's tail before turning to the newest surprise of her night.

"Uzumaki-kun?" She whispered in bewilderment as she looked at him with one brown eye open. It wasn't hard to misidentify the newest addition to her class, what with the bright yellow hair and whiskers on his cheeks. She saw how he tumbled from lingering disbelief after his contribution to freeing her before quickly righting himself and sliding close to a wounded and unresponsive Tatsuki. He seemed to notice the tomboy as well since he quickly moved to check her condition before turning around to act as a guard between her and the quickly recovering beast.

She didn't really know what to make of the blonde's arrival, but that wasn't much crazier than this whole situation in general at this point. Everything that's happened in the last few minutes completely blew her normally crazy imagination for a loop. First there was the appearance of some crazy ghost monster thing that made itself known from her teddy bear before attacking her and Tatsuki. Then Ichigo arrived with some strange getup and a large sword in order to block an attack meant for her before he started going at it with his opponent. Next came the revelation that her dead brother was the true identity of the monster and that he was mad because of her lack of prayers for him, himself believing that he was disappearing from her heart only to be replaced by those close to her such as Ichigo and Tatsuki. Now most recently in this short squabble was Naruto aiding Ichigo in defending Tatsuki and herself.

If she were not in this situation she was sure that her mind would've gone into all kinds of different places with the appearances of not one, but two knights in shining armor. Perhaps she would've created tales of other heroism by these two, followed by her and Tasuki slaying a dragon on the side or tag-team fighting aliens in a wrestling ring on pay-per-view, with the match being only available to watch on TV on Earth and Jupiter exclusively, Mars being left out because of a political strife involving a unifying marriage gone weary due to difference of opinions on what color the couple's drapes would be in their galactic home.

Yeah, that would've been nice to dwell on for a good hour or two.

Now, though, her mind went back to thinking about the arrival of Ichigo along with Naruto being added to the mix. Why were they here and how were they able to have capable means of fighting her seemingly powerful brother? She knows Ichigo has fighting experience, but being able to wield such a large blade and show off some weird supernatural abilities like standing on air was ludicrous. The same could sort of be said for Naruto as well since she witnessed him defend himself earlier in the day, but that only seemed like fancy dodging—besides that single kick and grab—more than anything. She didn't know much else about the blonde besides his first extreme encounter with Ichigo and what she got from getting a feel of his personality during the day, but her first impression was that she thought he was a fun person. They talked little during and after school, but he was all smiles like her and easily went along with whatever goofy things she enamored everyone with. Of course none of that could've possibly been accurately linked to him showing up here out of the blue.

Focusing back on the scene as a whole she saw that while her transformed brother was backed away and finally getting over both attacks Ichigo had quickly stepped between herself and her attacker. The black-robed teen was noticeably giving an intense stare periodically at the hollow and Naruto, his blade up and ready to defend at a moment's notice. Naruto spared the oldest Kurosaki sibling a very curious look of his own and noticeably looked him up and down before seeming to say, 'What the hell are you wearing?' with his sapphire eyes.

Oh the irony.

Orihime felt a new tension add itself to the air, and for a second she was scared of what could become of this new situation.

One quick look to Ichigo's protective side-glance and Naruto's rapidly changed expression of focus filled her with relief as she witnessed the blonde spare her a look of assurance as well before he switched to the other male teen. They both held a small glare at one another before Naruto moved his eyes in Tatsuki and Orihime's direction before nodding at the now recovered hollow, his message clear.

Protect them. Deal with the snake. Talk later.

Ichigo understood it well enough as he and Naruto both faced their mutual enemy. The Shinigami still held his sword at the ready while Naruto quickly conjured two kunai from seemingly nothing into each hand in a reverse style for ideal stabbing and slashing.

That only added more weight on the curiosity of those that saw the shinobi do the act, but that would have to be put on the backburner for now.

The tainted spirit monster gave a low snarl and turned towards both the first force of opposition, his right eye as hollow as the creatures' namesake and the left being the only part on his body resembling a human.

"Why must you interfere, Kurosaki Ichigo?!" He wailed before turning his bloody glare towards the still uniform clad blonde. "And who are you supposed to be?! Some pathetic Shinigami lackey?! Why won't you all understand that Orihime is mine and no one else's! It was me that took care of her! Me! I took her away from our satanic father and whore of a mother and raised her myself! We did just fine by ourselves and I'm not giving her away to anyone, especially you, Kurosaki!"

Naruto grew more curious about this whole scene. 'Wait, this freaking thing is her brother? How the hell does that work? Damn, she really got all of the good genes from her family.'

Kurama chose that moment to chime in. "We must've missed a serious monologue."

And it was on that note that Orihime's brother went on the attack, deciding to target the biggest thorn in his side so far.

"Onii-chan!" Orihime cried out in concern, not wanting her sibling to continue his path of violence and also not wanting Ichigo to be put in more danger.

Ichigo launched forward to meet his foe in the middle of the room and made his blade strike at the huge and gaping maw of the hollow, the blade being wedged between some upper and lower teeth and successfully causing a stalemate.

Naruto quickly jumped up from behind the other male teen after taking a moment to make sure Ichigo was combat capable and proceeded to channel wind chakra into each of his kunai before slashing off his adversary's left arm at the elbow. Blood quickly started to leak out of the stump just like his wounded tail which Naruto quickly cut off halfway as well when he got behind him.

The combined defense and offense from Ichigo and Naruto forced the male Inoue to desperately get out of Ichigo's guard and tried to swipe at the blonde behind him with his right arm. Naruto jumped and dove over the large claw-like hand before rolling on the ground and smoothly getting up to his feet.

Ichigo took his opening and swiped his weapon across his opponent's back. It wasn't a clean shot on the critical point that was the hollow's head, but every little bit to slow him down made the kill shot all the easier in the end.

The hollow wailed again in pain and anger. Glancing at both teens he started to realize he would be worn down sooner than later and most likely wouldn't get the chance to fulfill his goal. A new plan in mind he turned around and threw himself towards the orange-haired Shinigami as fast as he could while seemingly trying to take a bite out of him again.

Ichigo saw him coming and prepared to do the same block as last time, believing that the hollow's repetition was starting to show that the battle was nearing its end in their favor.

What Ichigo didn't expect was for his foe to sideswipe Ichigo's guard instead of going for a full frontal assault. What that resulted in was a forced parry on Ichigo's part while the hollow continued its path to the other side of the room and towards his increasingly frightened sister.

"If she won't live for me then she'll just have to die for me instead!" The deceased Inoue screamed as if the result was inevitable.

"Inoue!" Ichigo shouted, knowing he had little chance to intercept Orihime's brother in time.

The hollow and Shinigami seemed to have forgotten the presence of the other player in this game.

Without missing a beat Naruto quickly used the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) to switch with a piece of rubble next to Orihime before quickly snatching her up and jumping out of the hollow's serpent-like rushing attack.

The blonde landed next to Tatsuki and Orihime's currently soulless body in the quick escape. If Naruto paid any mind to the girl's dual presence and connected spiritual chain then he didn't outwardly show it as he and Orihime watched the attacker continue on to slam into another wall. He created a new hole clear to the outside to match the other and had to hastily use his remaining hand to claw at the wooden floorboards. His sharp fingers dug into the surface and left a rough trail of ragged wood chips in his wake before coming to a halt while hanging off the edge.

Naruto took that time to let Orihime out of his grip and stand on wobbly feet as she tried to find her footing. It took but a second to right herself and glance at Naruto in even more awe. Whatever he just did made her curiosity of him and Ichigo peek even higher if that was even possible, not to mention the speed in which he was able to get her out of the way.

The quick and sudden motion of it all idly reminded her of a rollercoaster, so a small part of her actually thought it was fun.

Wow…maybe he was a superhero like Asano said…did that mean Ichigo was one too?

Of course that thought was quickly quelled as she saw Naruto being joined by Ichigo as they got in front of her and looked like they were going to both go on the offensive this time.

That was until she started to feel something was off all of the sudden. She saw the reason why immediately when she took a glance at her physical body.

"My hairpin!" She shouted in alarm, seeing that one of the flower-themed hairpins she constantly wore religiously except for when she was sleeping had disappeared from her head. A quick feel to her spiritual head revealed the same missing spot on her right side. She started to desperately look around, both hoping to find her missing treasure and wondering when it got knocked off in the first place.

Ichigo and Naruto paused and looked back at her once she spoke up, Naruto being the more confused of the duo and Ichigo seeming to understand the situation better after a moment of thought.

"You…you still have them?"

The demonic voice gained the attention of both male teens again as they quickly tensed and prepared to fight once more. They saw that the hollow's upper body was hunched over the edge of the second story floor, looking to have stopped his one-armed climb back into the room midway.

That's when he noticed a small glint near his position amongst the debris. It seemed that the light of the full moon found its way into the wrecked apartment and reflected off of the missing half of his sister's first and last gift from him.

He restarted his crawl, but not in the direction of the male teens. Instead he slowly made his way towards the shining object in a noticeable silence.

Neither Ichigo nor Naruto made any sudden moves, the former apparently signaling the latter to wait after coming to his own understandings of the situation. They watched as their enemy briefly paused when he got close to the hairpin and gently lowered his giant hand to the wooden surface.

It took a very careful effort, but using the tips of his black fingers he was able to pick up the flower-like accessory. He brought the object up to his face and looked at it with a deep calculative eye.

"I thought…I thought you threw them away…" They all heard him whisper with a noticeably more human tone in his voice.

"Why would I ever do that?" Orihime spoke up as she walked to a spot in between Ichigo and Naruto.

"Hm?" Her brother grunted.

Orihime started to walk forward with both males at her side at the ready. They were both cautious, but Naruto knew an upcoming sappy talk when he saw one.

From experience, of course.

"I wouldn't throw away a gift from someone I loved…still love so much…that wouldn't be right." She continued. "Ever since you passed I've always worn them to honor you. I may have stopped praying for you, but…when I started to talk about my friends and all the fun things that happened at school I just wanted to show you that I'm happy, and that you don't need to worry about me and could rest easy. I've made more friends recently, and have tried to get closer to those I already have…hoping to have them care about me as I do for them, to always be there for each other…just like how you watched out for the both us all those years…" She finished, eyes full of wavering unshed tears and a sad smile on her pretty face.

The eldest Inoue stayed silent and glanced at the lone hairpin again, his mind going all over the place before his masked face started to disintegrate into quickly fading black shards. What came to the view of the trio was the Inoue's face, his true face, without any lingering anger left on his visage.

"I never- no…I always knew what you were trying to do…I just didn't want you to completely move on from me...I was blind…I wanted you all to myself…" The brother whispered to himself.

"Obviously that's where you screwed up." Ichigo bluntly replied. "Inoue is Inoue. She isn't a trophy that belongs to a single person."

"What he said." Naruto sounded and gestured to Ichigo from his position, throwing them all off since it was the first time he spoke.

He noticed their silent glances. "What?" He questioned.

The now calm hollow focused on the blonde. "You're him…Naruto, right?"

The shinobi blinked in surprise and quickly nodded. "Yeah…how did you…?" Naruto left the question hang in the air.

"Orihime…she talked about you today…a new friend…your physical description isn't exactly hard to recognize, same as Kurosaki in that regard…"

The blonde blinked again. "Oh." He quietly replied. Looking to the other two he saw Ichigo shrug with his usual facial expression and Orihime's near constant smile beginning to tug at her cheeks.

They all turned to see Orihime's brother go silent once again and looked to be staring into space for a moment. It was after his silent contemplation that lead him to locking his sight onto Ichigo and narrowing his eyes.

For a second Ichigo and the others thought he was going to start to fight again, but the way he approached them with a certain look in his determined eyes spoke of another, non-threatening goal.

Without anything blocking his path the hollow grabbed the Shinigami's bare blade with his remaining hand. A few drops of blood starting to leak down the metal, but was otherwise ignored when they all noticed him point the blade at himself, right at the most vulnerable spot of any hollow.

Orihime watched as the tip was approaching her brother's forehead. "Onii-chan…" She whispered.

Her voice seemed to knock the other two out of their trance. "Wait, you don't have to-!" Ichigo started.

"Ichigo!" A feminine voice shouted from behind.

They all turned to see Rukia, fully decked out in yellow pajamas with some noticeable blotches of dirt on her face and person, along with a small reassuring grin.

"Cutting them with a zanpakuto isn't killing him. It'll wash away his sins and send him off to Soul Society to be at peace. Don't worry, this is the job of all Shinigami and the reason we exist." She calmly explained.

'Again with this Shinigami stuff…' Naruto dwelled on briefly.

"That's why I have to disappear before I lose myself again." The older Inoue cut in, a clear but melancholy understanding held within his mature eyes.

Ichigo quickly understood the situation himself while nodding and letting his former opponent do what must done with his blade.

Naruto merely watched on with a sympathetic gaze while absorbing all the information he could.

Orihime's eyes started to gather tears at the thought of knowing these were the last moments her brother would have before officially moving on.

"Ichigo….Naruto…" The male Inoue stated, catching both of their attention. "Please watch over her." He requested with a serious gaze.

It might be weird to ask of such a thing from these two, one he previously despised and the other he barely knew at all, but he knew that with the abilities that they held they could protect his little sister from the world he had become privy to.

She might be just as safe being as far away from them as possible with how he was sure they would attract the wrong kind of attention, but that would probably be asking too much with his sister already caring about one and starting a friendship with the other.

No words escaped either male, but after a moment they both nodded, one with a serious glare and the other with the makings of a carefree grin.

"Wait!" Orihime suddenly shouted as she ran in close to her sibling. She stopped when she was a mere few feet away and gazed upward to meet his curious expression. "I've always wanted to say what I couldn't that night before you left."

With as much affection as she could muster she gave her brother a wide smile, and as a tear escaped her eye said, "See ya later…Sora-nii."

Sora's eyes widened ever so slightly before he looked lovingly down at his precious sister. "Yeah…see ya later…I hope we meet again someday…"

And with the final word escaping his lips he stabbed himself with the blade. With his willingness to pass on his body immediately started to disintegrate into a bunch of illuminated slivers. Every single part of his transformed figure slowly began to disappear, and with the moonlight shining behind him the pieces of his soul glittered in a white glow as they floated off into the night sky to join the stars.

His smile was the last part of him that they beheld as the sword clanked to the floor in a prolonged echo.

Everyone was silent as they all absorbed what just happened. Orihime herself slowly walked to where her brother once was and took the time to gaze up into the sky. A few more tears started to trail down her cheeks, but that didn't stop her from quietly giving out once last prayer for her brother's well-being.

While they were all giving the remaining Inoue a moment to herself Naruto took that time to lean in close to the others.

"Hey, Ichigo?" He whispered over Rukia's head.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"What the hell, man?" He questioned in an exasperated tone while gesturing to everything around them with a slow turn of his head and weary eyes.

Ichigo matched his look, only with more hints of annoyance and disbelied. "What the hell, me? What the hell, you?!" He half shouted and whispered back. "What was all that?! Jumping in here like some lunatic and magically making some knives appear out of nothing?!"

They both glanced to the kunai still held within the blonde's grip before Naruto quickly sealed them back up.

"Yes, that! What the hell is that?!" He continued while frantically pointing Naruto's hands, annoying Rukia a bit since his appendage was in front of her face.

Naruto fired back. "Don't act like I'm the only weird one! What's with your emo bathrobe of death and that overcompensating sword?!" He retorted while getting in the bright-haired teen's face.

"It's not a bathrobe, you blonde fishcake!"

"It's maelstrom, ya fricken' dingleberry!"

"It's strawberry- I mean to protect one!"

"Sounds the same to me, dattebayo!"

"Again, what the hell does that even mean?!"

In their whispered argument of name meanings they failed to notice that Rukia walked to the side of the room very sneakily while Orihime was making her way towards her two saviors.

"Kurosaki-kun, Uzumaki-kun, what are you talking about?" She asked innocently with a tilt of her head.

Both males abruptly stopped their riveting conversation and muttered, "Nothing."

Orihime only blinked at them in slight confusion before her eyes quickly lit up. "Anyway, how were you both able to do all that fighting and magic stuff?! It was amazing! I have so many quest-!"

She couldn't continue on since in her excitement she failed to notice Rukia ambush her from behind and hold a small device up to her face. A poof of smoke suddenly obscured her vision and she felt herself go off into her own silly unconscious world as she fell to ground.

The other two looked flabbergasted at such an action and didn't know what to make of the cartoonish bird head on the end of the wriggling spring that was ejected with the smoke.

"What did you do, Rukia?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Hm? Oh, I used the kikanshinki (Account-Replacing Spirit Device)." She replied with nary a worry, quickly walking towards Tatsuki's position at the other side of the room.

"Kikanshinki?" Naruto muttered as he approached Orihime's spritual body to make sure she wasn't harmed in any physically obvious way.

"It knocks out whoever it's used on so they forget whatever they saw and gain a new memory at random in its place. The new memory is limited by the person's imagination and what they would realistically believe." Rukia explained, letting out a small grunt of exertion every now and then while dragging Tatsuki and Orihime's physical body next to the chained soul.

"That isn't going to give Orihime brain damage, is it?" Ichigo asked as he looked on skeptically.

Rukia's hands started to glow while she held her palms above the tomboy's easily manageable wounds. "Unlikely. As far as I know the kikanshinki has a ninety-nine point nine success rate." She said while finishing Tatsuki's healing and proceeded to use the memory device on her as well.

"And the other point one percent?" Naruto questioned while watching this entire process.

Rukia's face flinched for the briefest moment of memory's past before getting back to work. "Don't worry about it." She nonchalantly replied.

Naruto stared at the short girl as she continued to clean the blood for a moment until he suddenly shook his head vehemently and quickly turned back to the other male. "Wait, never mind that! Ichigo, please explain all this crap that happened before I lose my mind!"

Ichigo quickly joined Naruto in their previous tone.

"Hold it! I got my own questions too, damn it!" He yelled exasperatedly.

"I'm more in the dark than you, so I think my questions are more important! Like why did this happen?! How many of those monsters are out there?! Why are you fighting said monsters?! Why is-?!" Naruto turned towards the weakened Shinigami, "Rukia, right?" He asked bluntly.

She nodded while dusting off herself after she somehow managed to make Orihime whole again without them looking.

The blonde looked back at Ichigo. "-Why is Rukia wearing Yuzu's pajamas?! Why is she even here and how was she doing that hand glowy healing crap?! Do these freaks all have some sort of white masks like the first one earlier in the-?!"

"So you did see a hollow before!" Ichigo shouted while pointing his finger accusingly at the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me?! Are you planning something?!"

The Uzumaki trudged on. "Don't turn this back on me! I asked first! In fact, why didn't you tell me anything about these hollow things if you knew I would have any chance at all seeing them?!"

"You were already freaked out about the paranormal, so he didn't see it as important and to also keep your mind peaceful and oblivious. We also didn't know if you even attracted them in the first place considering you just started seeing spirits. Of course that was before knowing you could defend yourself in such a powerful manner." Rukia blandly added from the side.

Naruto glanced at her and then looked back at Ichigo with a hint of betrayal in his eyes. "I told you that in confidence, man!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes before continuing his banter with the hyperactive ninja. With both in their own hysterics they didn't notice Rukia tiptoeing barefoot up from behind Naruto with the kikanshinki in hand and tongue poking out in concentration.

It was right before the argument was going to turn physical that Rukia jumped to ambush the blonde like she did to Orihime, but unlike before this target was privy to such attacks. What was originally going to be Rukia activating the device from her position on his upper back ended up with the shinobi's grip quickly grasping the wrist that held the Shinigami's tool as he lifted the girl in the air with full extension of his arm. The kikanshinki was still triggered, but it was done after being caught and sent off a puff of smoke above her and Naruto's head harmlessly.

Naruto continued to hold the girl in the air until he brought her to his eye level. "Did you just try to mind-wipe me?" He asked with annoyance and a twitch on his brow.

She met his stare with her own blank one. "Perhaps." She replied.

"Why did you do that, Rukia?" Ichigo asked as he too stared at her pitiful form.

She did her best to shrug from her dangling psition. "I figured we'd be able to properly question him under better circumstances in the future, preferably with us well ahead of him in information." She replied.

Naruto flicked her on the forehead. "That's just rude, so I'll just take this until everything is figured out and I know my brain won't be raped." He chastised before grabbing the kikanshinki from her and pocketing it. He then set her down back on the ground and turned back to Ichigo. "Anyway, before we get right into the root of all this bullcrap I'd like to clarify one last thing."

"And that is?" Ichigo retorted.

"We're in a heavily populated area, aren't we?" Naruto questioned.

Both Ichigo and Rukia, who was stretching her agitated arm, nodded.

"So how the hell hasn't anyone noticed all of this going on?" The blonde continued while opening his arms and gesturing to the entire wrecked room.

Both Shinigami blinked.

That…was a good question, actually…

Then the sirens started to ring in the distance.

All three of them jerked at the echoing sound, Ichigo because he knew the source, and Rukia along with Naruto because of instant curiosity.

"We'll continue this later, but we got to get out of here!" Ichigo shouted until he realized something and calmed down. "Oh wait, they can't see me so I don't have to worry about the police." He muttered.

"Police?" Rukia and Naruto whispered until the former's eyes widened. "But they can still see me and I don't have the ability to get that far away in time!" Rukia exclaimed, breaking her usually calm demeanor.

Naruto smirked despite the window of escaping without being seen escaping. "Heh, I can disappear and get away no problem." He said and earned a glare from the short girl.

Ichigo shook his head. "Whatever. Naruto, how did you get up here in the first place anyway?"

"Jumping from roof to roof." The blonde simply replied.

Ichigo filed more questions for later mentally before saying, "Then you carry Rukia back to my house since I already brought her here." He then looked at the unconscious females before Naruto could say anything. "What about them?"

Naruto and Rukia looked the sleeping duo as well with the former sending a questioning look to the original Shinigami.

"Any damage done to them physically has been dealt with. Just let the kikanshinki work its magic; trust me." She then quickly jumped onto Naruto's back and forced him to uncomfortably catch her in a piggyback. "Now let's get going before anyone sees us!"

Ichigo and Naruto both looked unsure until the blonde righted Rukia on his back properly and looked at Ichigo. "Race ya." He said before leaping from one of the holes in the room and onto the nearest rooftop, an unprepared Rukia letting out a short yelp of surprise.

Ichigo watched with wide eyes until he mentally shook it off and followed his example.

'Just who or what the hell are you, Naruto?' He thought after the first jump.

Unbeknownst to the entire group a black cat was sitting on the top of a nearby wooden fence, having seen the entire event go down. The feline seemed to smirk before sauntering off into the night.

(Kurosaki Residence - A Short Time Later)

"So?" Ichigo probed, him being back inside his freshly healed body as he sat on his bed with Rukia standing next to him. His room was still a little roughed up, but it was nothing they couldn't handle in a short time.

"So…?" Naruto replied back from his cross-legged position on his futon against the wall.

Ichigo grunted in annoyance. "Let's just cut the crap. How were you able to fight like that and everything else you did like appearing out of thin air back at Orihime's and walking up the wall to go through the window when you got here? " He asked while pointing a thumb to the window behind him.

"How about instead you tell me how you were separated from your body that was laying on its face like it got drunk off its ass?" Naruto calmly retorted.

Rukia rolled her eyes and stood between them. "Will you two stop acting like children and just talk like civilized adults already?"

"Hey, I just feel as the one more confused here I should get some answers first." Naruto stated while crossing his arms in defiance.

"More like you're the unknown factor in all of this, so you're the one that needs to start coughing up some information of your own." Ichigo fired back with a pointed look at the blonde.

Rukia sighed heavily and crossed her own arms. "Obviously someone has to break the ice and it might as well be us."

Ichigo looked at her. "Weren't you the one that said this all had to be covert and handled carfeully?"

"Yes, but sometimes exceptions have to be made. Even if he isn't a Shinigami he isn't anything else I would immediately deem a threat." She turned to look Naruto in the eye. "And I assume you don't have any bad intentions, right?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, I'm not a dick. And besides, in case ya didn't know, I take my promises very seriously and I pinky promised Yuzu I wasn't some sort of bad guy."

In his head Kurama made a gagging sound before going back to resting its head on its arms, but was ultimately ignored.

Rukia nodded. "Alright then."

The conversation proceeded on with Rukia explaining the basic ins and outs of the Shinigami and how Ichigo was tied to the role, complete with bunny-themed drawings for visual assistance. Funnily enough both teens were introduced to the world of hollows in the same night, each also having their first kill of such a creature. Naruto also learned that whole truck crashing into the house fiasco was a result of the kikanshinki being used on the rest of the Kurosaki family. Not much else was concluded in Rukia's explanation, even with some side commentary from Ichigo included every now and then. The only other thing of any real interest was Ichigo's second fight that helped him come to terms with his substitution and what really went down with Orihime's familial struggle.

"Wait, wait, back up." Naruto stated once their summary of recent events ended.

"What, do I need to go over something with more detail?" Rukia asked.

"No, I pretty much got it. Evil ghost monsters, robed sword people, spirit power, blah, blah, blah and all that jazz. Did you mention something about being in this room's closet since this hollow crap started for us?" Naruto asked while pointing to the closet filled with Ichigo's clothes and other menial possessions.

"That's correct." She responded.

"And how often were you in there?" Naruto asked nervously, still trying to process how he didn't notice her in the first place.

Rukia hummed in thought. "I can't say for sure, but pretty often. I have to be near Ichigo as much as I can just in case I get an alert for a hollow arrival. I was still able to keep hidden when needed, though."

"I see…and have you seen anything, well, private since hiding out in there? Like when we got dressed and stuff?"

Ichigo's face grew a little uneasy as well since he just found out she was in his closet before being attacked by the hollowfied Sora.

Rukia stayed silent for a moment and kept her face bare of any outstanding emotions. "I will neither confirm nor deny anything." She said.

"I feel a little violated…" Naruto muttered while giving himself a minor hug as if trying to hide his innocence.

"Most action you've ever gotten." The fox commented.

Naruto would've replied back, but Ichigo spoke up again.

"Despite that…little concerning detail, aren't you freaked out about the whole spiritual aspect of this entire thing?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I can hit them, so it's all good."

"Uh-huh…well, I believe now is the time for you to give us some answers." Ichigo said while trying to get serious again.

"Um, alright, let's see…" Naruto muttered as he went into thought.

"If you still want to be all secretive you still have that stupid little memory machine in your pocket. Could've used genjutsu, but of course we both know that isn't exactly in your repertoire."

"Nah, it isn't a big deal to tell them about everything. Besides, you're partly to blame why I can't even use genjutsu." Naruto mentally replied.

"Doesn't matter to me either way. In my view, life from here on out is our freebee, so do whatever the hell you want, but make it entertaining. Treat this world like a sandbox and either take it over, become some street urchin with no future, or whatever in-between. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the power you gain from me is well worth more than that stupid shinobi art. Why make illusions when you can just blow everything up?"

"Awesome advice as always, fuzzy-wuzzy…" Naruto retorted and earned a small growl in return before deciding to get the rest of the conversation with the other two over with.

He looked at the both of them with the utmost seriousness as he said, "I'm a dimension travelling ninja, also called shinobi, that comes from a world filled with people like me that fight for their own respective villages in various countries called the Elemental Nations. My village, like I said before, is Konohagakure and one of the most powerful shinobi villages around. Our countries have a pretty big history of wars for whatever reason—I wasn't that good in history class—but we mostly just take jobs for various causes such as escorting clients, deliveries, combat, assassination, etc. I wasn't necessarily given the bloodiest kinds of missions considering I was focused on a bunch of other stuff—a lot of other stuff—and was only involved in the craziest crap when trouble happened to find me which, quite often, happened and any poor bastards tagging along had to suffer too. One of the worst was chasing a cat called Tora. Either of you ever had to chase a demon feline that just didn't want to be caught and had a fetish for slashing the absolute shit out of your face? Never mind, that's not important. What was I talking about?"

He took in another breath.

"Anyway, unlike most, I had a really interesting upbringing—I'll go into more detail some other time—but some certain aspects of my life required me to get prepared for a group consisting of the most dangerous shinobi in the world that were after the nine tailed beasts, ancient masses of sentient chakra that were important for some sort of doomsday weapon that they had in mind. One of these beasts, the strongest in terms of tail count, is a giant fox that was sealed within me at birth; I'll show you the seal later. The fox can be an ass sometimes, but old, angry and fuzzy and I are a kickass team that helped save the world in the fourth great war, like, a week ago from the tyranny of someone pretty much considered a god that appeared after the other guy that was considered a god who showed up after the first guy that was considered a god, mostly self-titled from what I understand, but he was no joke with those purple eyes of death. The first guy turned out to be alright after I gave him a little pep talk after he destroyed my village and killed nearly everyone I loved, but he ended up reviving everyone so I guess it's cool. Still sucked, though. Back to the last god-like person that I had to face, she's actually the reason I'm even here because of her abilities to pull dimensions out of her ass like it was nothing and had the ultimate goal of taking all the chakra and putting everyone in the world into an imaginary dream world forever. I'm not exactly sure how I turned up here, but she still ended up getting beat by myself and my dick of a friend-not friend-turned traitor-asshole—who I still want to kick the shit out of for everything he's done, including sticking a lightning-covered fist through my chest a few years ago—because of a sudden boost of power from another guy considered a god, but in his case he was good to begin with even with those weird-looking horns sticking out of his old head. Wonder what everyone else is doing now? Hope whatever it is, it's fun and not full of death like recently."

Another breath.

"I can also confidently say I have the capability of using attacks that would most likely destroy this city without much trouble. Oh, and my favorite color is orange since I don't believe I've mentioned that before. Any questions?"

Silence.

If Naruto had been paying closer attention he would've heard Kurama hit its head in a combination of annoyance and disbelief.

"Worst. Storyteller. Ever."

Ichigo and Rukia didn't have an immediate reaction. That slowly morphed into them opening and closing their mouths trying to come up with some sort of any response, but anything coherent was lost on their tongues.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"W-what?" Rukia eventually spoke out.

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed to himself. "Hey, it's not like I only had to deal with a small amount of information and whatever happened in the span of a week. I was covering a hefty chunk of my life there, dattebayo!"

"But…what…chakra? Dattebayo? And ninjas? Seriously? And what about the tailed- you know what, screw this, I'm going to sleep and leaving this crap to future me." Ichigo sputtered before turning and plopping himself facedown onto his bed. Sleep found him easily a few seconds later after all the adrenaline finally wore off.

Naruto and Rukia looked at the teen drifting off into dreamland. "Well, that was easy." Naruto stated.

Rukia turned to him and raised a brow with a stern look in her eye. "You're not off the hook. We'll talk more tomorrow to clarify all of this, but for now it's safe to say you're not an enemy."

"But if I was?" Naruto asked with a lazy squint.

"Then you'd have a lot of powerful enemies coming after you, but like I said there's nothing extreme to worry about for now."

"Eh, I'm used to it. And like I said, trouble kinda finds me more often than not. It could've started to look up back at my home, but this is a new playing field and is starting to fully absorb my awesomeness. Also, since I've known each of you at least an hour you're probably both coming along for the ride." He replied as if talking about the weather, his head being held up by the palm of his hand as his arm rested on his knee.

After a moment, Rukia shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She then started to make her way to the small enclosure of extra blankets and pillows that was Ichigo's closet to rest for the night as well. That was until she sensed something cruising towards her back.

With ease she turned and caught the kikanshinki with a single hand before glancing to the blonde with subtle curiosity and intrigue, having almost forgotten about the device herself.

"No mind rape. Ol' furball would probably prevent it anyway." He said with a semi-stern expression while patting his abdomen. She wasn't sure what he meant exactly but nodded anyway. "G'night then, Rukia-chan!" He offered a little jovially.

"Night." She replied before the closet door fully closed shut.

Naruto took a second to himself to think about what tomorrow would bring until he decided to lay down fully on the futon in order to sleep. Just before he committed to the act a thought caught up with him, making him frown in annoyance as he scoffed and turned onto his side to face the wall.

"I thought I explained it just fine…"

(Karakura High School Rooftoop - Lunch Period)

"So…this chakra stuff is like reiryoku, but it involves both spiritual and physical power?" Ichigo asked while taking out a sandwich from the bento Yuzu prepared. He and Rukia were still trying to clarify what the hell exactly made the blonde shinobi tic and decided to kick it off with asking about his own source of power.

"Pretty much. Don't know how the physical aspect changes anything, though. Maybe that makes me cooler than you Shinigami folk by default." Naruto replied cheekily at the usually stone-faced Ichigo and occupied Rukia who was discovering the wonders of a juice box.

Ichigo ignored the jab and focused more on his food. "I wouldn't know. Only been one for a week, remember?"

"Don't underestimate us Shinigami, Naruto." Rukia stated half distracted while looking intently at the juice container. "There are plenty of us that have amazing skills, skills that have only been hardened and refined with each passing century."

"Then don't underestimate my own awesomeness, Rukia-chan. I'm considered a kid here and I already saved my world from someone stronger than some of the greatest shinobi, and that was power accumulated over a few years, not centuries that you old farts need." Naruto shot back playfully.

Rukia managed a small glare in his direction, but it was nothing too serious from what he saw. "Then we ought to put that to the test someday." She said even if that probably wasn't the best thing to test out. If Naruto really was someone as strong as he said then he'd attract all the wrong attention. That attention if garnered sooner rather than later with Ichigo and herself in the vicinity would spell trouble for everyone, mostly her and Naruto if the Shinigami law and Research and Development had anything to say about it, given the right motives of course. Any consequences could also end with something not a big deal overall, but rolling the dice with the people she was involved with wasn't exactly a good thing.

"I also remember you mentioning you had help with that whole world saving thing." She continued.

"Maybe, but that doesn't change that I can kick ass!"

"I'm more interested in that you know what 'accumulated' even means."

"Hey, I can know stuff too, you ass!"

"Really?" The fox replied with obvious doubt.

"Yes, really! I…also might've just seen that on Isshin's 'word of the day' calendar, but whatever! Screw you!"

Rukia mentally waved him off. "Speaking of fighting, that brings forth a dilemma."

"And that is?" Ichigo replied.

The girl pointed to the blonde as he started to dig into his own Yuzu approved meal. "Naruto here can fight and kill hollows effectively from what we've seen and what he told us about his first encounter with one. If he kills them like he did then the spirit won't pass on into Soul Society and find peace. They'll be bound here and add an imbalance of souls being regulated by Shinigami."

Naruto stopped mid-chew into a rice ball. "While I have absolutely no idea what you mean, I'm guessing that isn't a good thing?" He muttered with a couple a crumbs falling off his chin.

"While it isn't the ideal outcome it is very common with the most difficult of hollows and their devouring of souls that haven't been properly exorcised, so it isn't something to panic over. You were defending yourself and that's okay, but now we have to be prepared and make every soul count."

"Prepared how?" Naruto retorted.

"If you're going to be dragged into fighting hollows, which is likely considering you'll attract them fairly easy like Ichigo, then you either have to stall until Ichigo can do a Shinigami's job or be with us in the first place to either lend aid or, once again, let Ichigo do his thing. If the setting and situation prove to be too dire and there isn't reinforcement then go wild and take care of it if you can."

The other teen in question sighed. "Just more work…" He said until he thought of something. "Wait, how can Naruto fight if he's visible to the living? Wouldn't that make it harder to be sneaky about all this?"

"We'll always have the kikanshinki for any such breach of secrecy, but I idly remember you saying he appeared from nothing last night." Rukia said.

"Oh yeah." Ichigo turned to Naruto. "What was that?"

Naruto smiled triumphantly. "An awesome jutsu that makes me completely transparent whenever I want! It also might've been created with…less than innocent intentions originally by its creator, but it's still great for everything stealthy, even if I'm fighting with it activated." He said with pride.

"There's our answer." Rukia concluded.

"Jutsu?" Ichigo asked.

This time Naruto sighed. "We really need to get on the same page soon."

"Hey, guys." A voice announced.

They all turned to see Mizuiro approach them with his lunch in hand.

"Yo." Naruto replied with a wave.

"Oh, and Kuchiki-san is here as well. You're making friends fast, Ichigo." Mizuiro commented while taking a seat next to Naruto.

Without much emotion in his voice Ichigo said, "I'm just too lovable, I guess."

"Yep, a real ray of sunshine." Naruto commented blandly before sipping some water.

A new but familiar voice joined in next.

"Can I join you guys as well- oh, if it isn't the beautiful new transfer student, Kuchiki-san! What brings you to this place of men?!" Keigo yelled in excitement.

"She's hanging out with Naruto and Ichigo. They're apparently getting close really fast." Mizuiro said while pointing the male duo.

"Hm?" Ichigo and Naruto sounded while offering the black-haired boy a curious glance.

"Oh ho! Is this the beginning of a love triangle?! A formidable duel of men for the heart of the newcomer?!" Keigo then rushed and slid on his knees to get to Naruto and Ichigo's eye level. He got in close while a steady stream of tears flowed out from each closed eye without much trouble. "I believe in both of you!" He whispered while giving two thumbs up.

Rukia noticed none of this as she finally discovered the straw on the juice box and became enthralled.

"Uh, thank you?" Naruto let out unsurely.

"Just ignore him." Ichigo added as he pushed his spontaneous friend out of his personal space.

"So cold, Ichigo!" Keigo woefully exclaimed, but recovered quickly as he got his own lunch started.

Smalltalk ensued between the teens plus one much older Shinigami. Nothing too important came up except for whatever assignments were due and interesting rumors came up. One such interesting event was brought out into the open when they all heard Orihime's voice ring out from the other side of the roof where she was enjoying the break period with her female friends. All of them were seated on a large blanket spread out with their food surrounding them.

"But it's true!" She yelled.

"Really? A sumo wrestler blasted himself in and out of different walls in your room with a bazooka?" Mahana inquired with no instance of belief in her voice.

"At least think up something more realistic than that." Ryo added.

Chizuro took her opportunity to wrap an arm around the pleading Inoue. "I happen to enjoy that beautiful imagination of yours, hime!"

"I'm telling you it did happen! Tatsuki-chan was there too! That's what happened, right, Tatsuki-chan?!"

The tomboy seemed hesitant, but quickly relented with a nod. "Um…yeah."

"Tatsuki too? So this really happened?" Michiru said in awe.

Their conversation only escalated from there and made the two Shinigami and single ninja share knowing glances with each other.

"First a truck through Ichigo's place and now a sumo wrestler through Orihime's. I wonder who's next?" Keigo questioned between bites.

"What if it's you?" Mizuiro asked.

Keigo hummed in thought before a wide smile emerged on his face. "If my wall gets knocked down then I hope it's by a hoard of women desperately looking for affections from one Asano Keigo!" He exclaimed.

"Emphasis on 'desperately.'" Ichigo said carelessly, making Naruto smirk and Keigo become depressed with Mizuiro patting his back without much sympathy.

Heavy steps were heard.

They gave their attention to the source and it turned out to be Chad who was holding something hidden over his shoulder. They would've greeted him like normal, but there was a few obvious distractions on his person.

"What happened to you?" Ichigo questioned, gesturing to the bandages on his head, face and hands.

Chad started to point at his injuries. "My head was from yesterday. A steel beam fell on me." He said casually.

"Steel beam?!" Keigo and Mizuiro shouted in unison.

Ichigo and Naruto looked at the tall young man in some shock.

Rukia was occupied with reading the juice's nutrition facts.

The Latino boy continued. "The other stuff was from when I went to buy some bread."

That seemed like it would lead to a more innocent incident.

"And I got hit by a motorcycle."

Well then.

"What the hell have you been doing?!" Ichigo shouted in disbelief.

Chad indulged his friends in the rest of the information. "The guy on the motorcycle was hurt pretty bad, so I carried him to the hospital."

'That's why he was late…' The others thought.

The dark-skinned boy then held out the object behind his back to set down on the ground.

"Chad?" Ichigo asked.

The Latino grunted questionably.

"Where did you get a cockatiel?"

Indeed there was a white cockatiel sitting peacefully within the cage Chad brought.

"A guy…-" Chad started, but ended going silent. He let the sentence linger a little longer than what seemed necessary and left the others becoming more interesting. "-Gave him to me."

A little lackluster, but it did the job in his opinion.

"Don't just be lazy and cut the answer short! That's a bad habit!" Asano yelled.

"Hello, my name is Shibata Yuichi. What are your names?" The bird spoke in a high-pitched voice.

Everyone but Chad looked on in shock.

Naruto leaned in to whisper next to Ichigo's ear. "Do animals talk here?"

"Not the last time I checked…"

"Oh, that's so awesome!" Keigo broke the silence before kneeling next to the bird. "Can you say my name?! It's Asano. Say it with me. Asano."

Everybody minus Ichigo, Naruto, and Rukia gathered around to try and interact with the seemingly overly intelligent animal. The commotion even attracted the girls to walk over and see what was going on.

"It's nothing harmful." Rukia commented out of earshot of the others except the brightly haired males next to her.

The duo looked at her curiously.

She continued. "Something is inhabiting the bird, but it isn't evil. Looks to be nothing more than a lonely spirit. It has the potential to become a hollow, so it's best that we send it to the afterlife tonight."

"And I'm guessing you don't need me along to help and fight the shit out of it or something, right?" Naruto asked.

Rukia shook her head. "No, this is a simple one. No fighting required."

Naruto nodded and patted Ichigo on the shoulder. "Looks like you're losing sleep, bud."

Ichigo grunted in minor displeasure. "Great…"

"Don't complain about your duty." Rukia said offhandedly while returning back to figuring out where to poke the straw in the juice box.

Naruto, very discreetly and silently, took the items from her hands and stuck the straw through its intended position at the top. He quickly handed it back and she gave out a nearly unnoticeable sound of awe before thanking him and taking a sip.

"So, ninja and Shinigami comparison and possessed birds aside, what class do we have next?" Naruto asked Ichigo.

"Math."

"Oh, okay. Wait, wasn't there homework?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Shit…"Naruto muttered.

"Why do you even care?" Ichigo replied.

Naruto sighed. "Yuzu threatened to take meals away if I didn't try in school and your old man has me by the balls with the phone contract."

"Ah, did she also say she would be very disappointed in you?"

The blonde nodded.

"Been there, so don't screw up."

Having someone so loving and innocent look at you in displeasure always hurt.

Rukia then caught their attention with a pleased hum.

"This juice is good…"

(Unagiya Shop – After School)

"So how's school been treating you?" Ikumi asked while hanging up a new banner over her shop's front door.

Naruto watched her as he stood next to the fairly large stepstool she was using and stopped sweeping the sidewalk of dirt and other small debris.

"It's okay I guess. I learned that this guy named Hitler was a major dick and that the Pythagorean Theorem will serve me no purpose in my life." He said before he started up his sweeping again.

"Sounds about right." She muttered while adjusting the latest addition to her business.

"Why did you even get that thing anyway?" Naruto asked as he caught view of the banner in its full glory.

The main color was white with 'Unagiya' largely spelled out in black in the middle and leaned towards the bottom. The font wasn't overly styled and remained quite simple, but it served its purpose. The eel logo that was usually solely shown off on her shirt was proudly placed symmetrically above her surname while the slogan was instead under it. At the very bottom was her usual hours and means of contact.

"Because I need to gain some more clientele. I've had the same regulars for years that I mostly got from friends spreading the word and I'm not really getting anywhere at the speed that I want. There's always the regular bills, but I need to start doing renovations, replace all of the old equipment, and start a college fund for Kaoru-chan. And if this business grows enough at some point, I'm probably going to need better ways of advertising, hire more staff and maybe even make a website or something."

"Thinking big, aren't ya?"

"It's better to do that than remain complacent with mediocrity or what simply isn't your best." She stated while leaning away to see if the banner was balanced.

"You should sew that on a pillow." Naruto said while finishing the last of his sweeping and leaned the large broom against the wall.

"Or on a t-shirt and sell 'em. By the way, I need to get you your own Unagiya shirt like an official employee. Anything you want suited to your tastes?"

"Orange." He replied simply.

"Alright then. Anyway, a new order just came in earlier and can only be completed today. I don't want to lose the money so head inside and get on it. While you're in there can you grab me some-"

Her words were cut short when a loud and brief metal crunch sounded out from the stepstool. It was revealed to be the highest step she was leaning on as she admired her handiwork as it cleanly snapped in half from years of rust. She suddenly started to fall back in a path that would mean the point of impact onto the cement would be the back of her head.

Like she said, old equipment.

She could only let out a surprised yelp while having just enough thought to realize the landing was going to hurt.

Weirdly enough, the pain never arrived. Her eyes opened to meet blue ones as she realized that Naruto managed to catch her in a bridal carry.

'Damn, he's fast.' She thought impressively.

She was about to thank him, but he decided to quickly make light of the situation and create his own entertainment.

"We both knew you would end up in my arms eventually, Ikumi-chan." He said with the tone of a cheesy smooth talker and his eyes half lidded. He was obviously joking and letting out some of the impression Jiraiya left on him, but that just reminded Ikumi of something else.

She responded by roughly grabbing his cheek and pulled with a strong grip. "Don't start that crap again like you did yesterday with Kaoru! This isn't some cheap, unrealistic romance scene! You're lucky I didn't throw a potted plant at the back of your head!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Alright, alright, quit with the pulling!" He exclaimed in pain, immediately finding relief when she obliged.

Sadly, he wasn't done.

"Damn, you'd think someone whose youth is rapidly depleting would appreciate a little attent- fuckin' ow!"

Her grip grabbed back on with more vice.

"What was that?" She demanded with an edge to her voice.

"I-I mean, anyway would be honored to be with such a young and lovely women such as yourself. Gah! You're an angel sent from the heavens down to grace us with your presence! Now would you let go, you crazy- ow! Okay! No one is worthy of your beauty and we men are just dirt on the bottom of your boot! We should all worship the ground you walk and be glad for whatever attention is given to us- c'mon, your nail is digging into the skin!"

She kept her stern eyes on his own wincing orbs before letting go again, positive he got the message.

"Now that that's done, thank you for catching me. Now be a good golden goose and get started on that job." She said with a smug smile, having referred to him as such yesterday while herself nor him really caring about the position they were still in.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too." He replied, hoping to rub his damaged cheek after he let her down.

That had to be put off for a quick moment as they both heard a quiet squelch near them.

They both looked to the side and saw Kaoru standing slack-jawed, his eyes frozen in shock, and his forgotten ice cream cone splattered on the unforgiving ground next to him.

He had just gotten back from hanging out with a few friends from school at the local park and was having what so far had been a great day. They played games like children tended to do, laughing merrily with each other and forgetting whatever small troubles were on their small shoulders. In their moment of youthful freedom, nothing else mattered.

Homework didn't matter.

Chores didn't matter.

Staying quiet didn't matter.

And any pesky men who were after his mother didn't matter.

Of course that all shattered shortly after he decided to pick up a treat on his way home when he turned around the corner to the front of his home.

Right there, clear as day, was his mother being held quite closely within the arms of her new employee.

What was his name again? Whatever, that wasn't important. What was important was that he had his dirty palms on his mother's body!

That wasn't all, but she actually didn't seem to mind! He swore he caught her smiling when he first saw them looking at each other, but of course he only focused on his mother's own expression of supposed happiness and didn't notice Naruto's one of agitation.

He then noticed the guy's cheek was red, slightly redder than the rest of his face that lit up from some sort of hysterical emotion.

However, his mind immediately went to a positive guess of what that emotion was when the only words he heard caught up to him.

Love you too…love you too?! Oh no…oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!

A bunch of connections randomly started to form in his troubled mind.

Face red with darker spot on cheek? Him reacting to perhaps more than one kiss on said whiskered cheek.

Him saying 'too?' She just confessed and…and the feelings were recuperated.

Her being held like that? Maybe some sort honeymoon mood came upon them and they were ready to do something crazy like elope.

With Naruto and Ikumi on the other hand, all they saw was the small boy shakily pointing his finger at them with what they could assume was accompanied by an almost audible silent scream from his still open maw.

This silent stare down of confusion on both ends continued for a few more seconds until Kaoru's brain could handle no more.

Therefore he promptly fainted and fell backwards, a quiet thud echoing very briefly from the impact of his backpack that practically cushioned his entire fall.

"Kaoru!" Ikumi yelled in fright as she quickly got out of Naruto's grip and ran to her downed son before doting on him with all of her ability.

Naruto watched her shake him lightly while frantically checking every orifice of his body with a blank stare. However, it took but a short moment for him to make a response.

"Heh…" He let out in amusement.

Figuring he might as well leave the mother-son duo that faintly reminded him of Tsunami and Inari—the exceptions on their comparison being one had a strong personality to match a motherly persona while the other would probably remain an annoyance in the future—to their own devices, he decided to finally check out the job Ikumi was talking about.

He entered the business/home and went to the counter that held the weathered cardboard box with all of their job orders. Sitting next to the box was what he assumed was the new request.

He was right when he read the date and basic description of a small cleaning job, but paused instantly when he saw the name of the person that called it in.

Urahara Kisuke.

AN: I have cometh back, thy bitches!

Seriously, though, I know it's been a while…more specifically around seven months…but I just didn't have the spark to get anything done. Along with some life-related crap riding along with that, writing wasn't really a priority. I was still around, but I was mostly just reading.

That still doesn't mean I didn't like what looked to be complete inactivity on my part. I've talked to a few people every now and then that wanted to know I was still around, but those were the few that at least knew something was coming. Everyone else was kinda left in the dark, so I apologize. I don't know how active I am from here and will never really have a schedule, but at least I'm not dead!

Now I hope you all enjoyed this at least a little bit. Not much happened and there wasn't any amazing action or life-changing plot directions, but I really needed to try and get back into the groove of things to see if I can still do this decently.

With that in mind, my goal was that you left this with a 'Meh, it's okay,' so I'd appreciate it if you leave your thoughts in a review. Did it suck? Was it good? How's life been? Seen any good movies lately? Anyone get married, and if so, why wasn't I invited to the wedding? Express yourselves to me, lovelies!

I guess that's all I could think to say.

Later!