Disclaimer:
Naruto is the creative property of Masashi Kishimoto, who created this wonderful anime/manga series. Anything not attributed to Kishimoto-san belongs to their respective owners, such as references to Cowboy Bebop (the Swordfish II) that is a creation of Sunrise and Shinichiro Watanabe, BLEACH is a creation of Kubo Tite, and vice-versa. This story is written purely just for fun, guys; please for God's sake, don't sue me! I'm just a college student with too much free time on his hands! On the other hand, any specific author created characters I created for this fic (despite how unoriginal they may be at times) are mine. So without further adieu, let's get on with the show!
The Surgeon General's Warning:
Read at your own risk. Multiple pairings inside folks, with UraharaxYoruichi (maybe a Soi FongxUraharaxYoruichi three way?) to name one, but I ain't gonna give away who will be the gal who gets Naruto's heart just yet! w00t, for Fem-Haku! You never know what you're going to get so read on (I might even do some alternative stuff, if you know what I mean).
How to be a Mr. Nice Guy
Ore no Nindo / My Way of the Ninja is...
Chapter 10:
It Gets Dark
A Naruto-BLEACH fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
"Ura-hara-taichou?" Naruto breathed, his bright blue eyes wide in astonishment. What the heck did that crazy woman mean by-?
Lightning fell across the sky, splitting the black heavens wide open in a brilliant flash, as the explosive noise shattered the tension. There was electrifying buzz in the eerily cool air, sending the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end like antennas, and it seemed to be emanating from the two adults. Kisuke had taught him a thing or two certainly about sensing "intent," and whatever the heck it was in the air was giving him goose bumps all over. He could not tell what it was exactly, but it was obvious enough that it could only mean trouble.
"Tsk-tsk! Soi Fong-chan! I could've sworn Yoruichi-san-" Kisuke giggled brightly, wagging an admonishing finger at the cloaked woman before she cut him off with a cutting shriek.
"SHUT UP! Don't you dare use Yoruichi-sama's name in such a crass manner in my presence, traitor."
"Me? A traitor? Is that what old Yama-jiisan's been telling everybody? Sheesh, some Commander-General he is..."
"How dare you profane the honor of Soutaichou Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama, scoundrel? You were proven guilty as charged with irrevocable proof by the Central Forty-Six Chambers, and yet, you still show defiance in the face of justice?"
"Che, I'm really starting to doubt what Yoruichi-san saw in a naive, uptight goody-two-shoes girl like you, Soi Fong-chan. You're just as spun up tight as that one astronomical asstard 'Byaku-che-che-che-Kuchikiya!' who kept challenging her all the time to play tag --- did he finally make 'Captain' by the way?"
Soi Fong seethed openly under fire from his patronizing tone with a snarl, as the art of taunting (regrettably) was not something taught as part of the regular curriculum of the Covert Ops Corps, "B-Bastard..."
"Speechless, Soi Fong-chan?" Kisuke flashed his best "s---!-eating" grins with all the dastardly power his pearly whites could muster. "Hehe, I have to admit, being down here, up here, how ever you want to phrase it has done wonders for my vocabulary. I've become even more sharp tongued and foul mouthed than I can remember of my heydays at home."
What the heck was going on around here? This was not the bloody freaking time to be talking trash and shooting the breeze! Naruto could not believe any of the words or the emotions being tossed around carelessly like spare change. These two idiots, Soi Fong and Geta Boushi, were in on something huge, and he wanted to know the truth; Haku-neechan --- Haku-neechan's life was on the line here!
"HEY! Aniki, what's going on? What's this Commander-General, Captain, Yoruichi-san, and betrayal-whatever nonsense about?" he shouted at Kisuke in an effort to snap the man out of this nonsense. Though Naruto did not understand it himself, he could somehow subconsciously feel the older man drifting further away from him, and he did not like it one bit at all. "Answer me, darn it!"
Kisuke whistled appreciatively in response, never turning to openly acknowledge him as his hidden gaze was locked solely on the cloaked form of Soi Fong. "Ah, Naruto-kun, still here? That's interesting enough."
"Huh?"
"I'll be finished up here soon enough. Why don't you run along ahead and grab Haku-chan, hmm?"
"HEY, don't just change the subject when I'm talking to you! And just what're you planning to do?"
"Isn't it obvious, Otouto? I'm going to rip that woman to pieces and send her back to where she came from in a doggy bag."
Naruto blanched, dumbstruck as he watched the man he had admired so much and raised from scratch take of his stripped hat, the symbol of Urahara Shop, and toss it aside. The sacred "Manager's hat" doubled over through the frosty air before it came crashing down to the ground, crumpling into a lame heap at the boy's feet. All the while, he could only stare helplessly at Kisuke's retreating back, the older man advancing upon the woman with a deadly purposeful gait, as the wind picked up with a roaring howl, sending his clothes and hair billowing in the violent current.
"Yoruichi-san'll be sad to see you go," Kisuke professed with the thinnest hint of remorse. Truth was, he was actually quite fired up right now for a good smackdown, as Benihime had been nagging him to get her some proper "exercise" after being sealed for years on end. "Probably she'll be beyond pissed with me once she hears about what happened. From what I could recall, you were a pretty good kid from the times you were with her, but if she couldn't teach you some common decency in the time you had together, then I guess you'll just have to learn it now --- the hard way."
Soi Fong was more than happy to oblige his killing intent as well, jettisoning her fluttering cloak effortlessly with a one-handed toss, revealing herself in all her glory. The razor edge of the kodachi flashed briefly before her in a visible line, as she brandished her sealed zanpakutou at the scoundrel. If he thought that inner fire in his silvery eyes, making them gleam in the howling black knight, was enough to frighten her, he had plenty of things coming to him.
"Wow, nice outfit. Totally dig the black base bodysuit thing with accompanying accessories, or are they really tight pants? Hehehe. Oh, I see now, you picked up Yoruichi-san's fetish for things black and tight. Don't worry, I won't kill you fast. People like you in my book --- deserve to live a long time. In fact, I might just decide to be a nice guy and keep just your arms and legs, and send you back a cripple, Soi Fong-chan. Unohana-taichouchan won't even know what to do with you when she sees you."
"Hmph, talk is cheap, Urahara-yaroudono! I'm not afraid of you; the one you should be afraid of is --- ME."
"Oh, really? Hehe, you will be when I'm done with you. And you'll learn right now that you don't screw with a man's family, you just don't. Feel free to screw with him, but NOT his family. I taught that to Yoruichi-san, and since she failed to obviously teach that you --- well, blame her."
Of course, Naruto just had to barge in again. "STOP IT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS, ANIKI!"
Why the heck was the kid still here? Did he really want to see him rip a woman to pieces? He had have to give that boy a good talking to when this was all over.
"Wha-again, Naruto-kun? Didn't I tell you to run along and get Haku-chan? This is something you really don't wanna see-"
"Are you EVEN listening to yourself, MAN?"
"What? I'm only doin' what's natural, an eye for an eye-"
"HECK NO! If you're going to be that way, you go on ahead and get Haku-neechan, and I'll stay here and fight Soi Fong!"
The former shinigami paused in mid-step at the shear absurdity of that particular statement, though his gleaming silvery eyes never left the offending protege of his closest --- friend. He knew Naruto could be an idiot, but he was not a complete idiot, right? Oh wait, it's not like the poor kid knows exactly what's going on here. Sure, Naruto-kun's the Kyuubi's container, but to fight a shinigami who reached captain status, even in a restricted gigai, would be suicide.
"Eh, is the ozone messing with your head or something, Naruto-kun? I hear lightning strikes tend to do-"
"I DON'T WANT MY FATHER TO BECOME A MURDERER, YOU FREAKIN' LAYMAN MORON!"
Soi Fong choked.
Maybe if it were not for the fact she was reeling from her head to her toes, she might have been able to appreciate Urahara's priceless expression, one she hoped to reproduce to much greater effect soon enough. He looked like he had just seen his own death, eyes wide and his jaw agape, a blade twisting in his eviscerated guts. Alas, none of the humor even came close to reaching her. All she could think of right now was the horror gripping her sickly heart, cruel scars ripping open, the devastating agony incomprehensible, as she stared at that traitorous cur, Urahara Kisuke.
Kisuke.
Yoruichi-sama.
Father?
Mother?
The boy, Naruto, with blonde hair...
The girl, with black hair, a touch of dark blue in the light...
Children.
CHILDREN?
"KIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUU-KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
The ringing sting of steel against his neck exploded Kisuke out his reverie just in the nick of time, his body having reacted subconsciously to block the almost certain killing blow using Benihime. Shifting his weight on the balls of his feet, he threw himself aside as the whistling kodachi flashed, cutting through the air with Soi Fong's follow through. How the hell had she moved so fast? Was it shyunpo? Of course, it's shyunpo she was taught by-!
Thunder roared in the black heavens, his world exploding with white from the flash of lightning that left him with two black silhouettes in view. The smaller one seemed to be Naruto, screaming something unintelligible, and the other taller shadow was the confounded woman, her dark brown eyes burning with a frightening hazel clarity. He would never quite forget that look she wore that night.
Yes, Soi Fong was not as little as he remembered her anymore, the timid recruit never straying far from a certain black cat's side and could hardly think of meeting his gaze. The primal awe-inspiring killing intent that she radiated here and now dwarfed his own presence to a miniscule speck, as it was the one that permanently cemented her in the forefront of his long memories. Oh, how the little girl from the Fong house had grown, and she had earned her place right alongside the flamboyant likes of Yoruichi.
Truly, women were wonderful frightening creatures.
"NARUTO! GRAB THE HAT AND-" Kisuke shouted at the boy, ignore the bleeding shallow wound on his neck, before he was cut off by a second attack. The explosive clash of the kodachi against his cane sent him skidding backwards through the dirt, his body trembling under the immense force as he struggled to remain on his feet. Damn, what stupid strength! How can she be so strong? Even with the best faux body the Gotei 13 can provide, she shouldn't be fighting at anywhere close to effi-!
The earth before him exploded, flashing with another whistling swipe of the --- no --- her zanpakutou! --- that he was forced to block with Benihime. Sparks flew and caught flat-footed on his heels, the ringing of steel pierced his ears as he was flung back by the former shinigami captain's Herculean strength. Again, paranoia and denial shot through his blazing thoughts at a mile per second, before Kisuke found himself smashing through the trunk of a tree, sending splinters and debris scattering in his wake. And it didn't end there --- because he was still sailing through the air.
"Tou-chan!" Naruto cried back, his young voice cracking under strain as the boy tried to scream louder to reach him, "O-OTOU-SAN!"
"YOU'RE THE MANAGER NOW, NARUTO!" That i-idiot! --- son of mine --- crying like a layman that lost his head! Now, isn't the time for stupid sentimental things like that...I'm-! I'M GONNA LIVE THROUGH THIS!
"BUT-"
His vision flashed white with lightning, those clear hazel brown eyes appearing right in front of him for an instant...
"GO! I TRUST YOU, SO TRUST ME, ALRIGHT?"
...before she disappeared in the howling wind. He knew what was coming, too slow to react with the safety devices in his gigai body still locked down, and it did not make it hurt any less. The somersault from below sent him shooting up skyward, pain exploding from his back, as air rushed passed his ears at incredible speeds.
Ugh! Dammit, if this keeps up... Che, it figures it'd have to be somebody trained by Yoruichi-san that finally got me fired up enough to get serious --- Huh, what's that Benihime? You said some-!
The crushing brutal axe kick to his gut was unexpected, eliciting a gurgling wretch of pain out of him. Back down the former shinigami went, a falling star returning to the embrace of the Earth. The immense impact cratered the earthen ground with splintering cracks, sending dirt and debris exploding into the air. It was difficult to see and next to impossible to breathe, but it was exactly the sort of reprieve he needed to collect his scrambled thoughts and mount a counter attack.
I don't know how Soi Fong got so strong. She only made captain what --- six years ago at best? But never mind that, what kind of gigai did they give her? Shyunpo is a reiatsu technique in which case its effectiveness would be severely reduced by the ten-percent spirit force restriction on a normal faux body. Even if this restriction was removed, my experience shows that reiatsu effectiveness in general drops in the Human world, particularly against material bodies.
By shear willpower, Kisuke pulled himself out of his impromptu grave, chunks of dirt still cling onto him. Every bone in his gigai twisted and popped, protesting angrily along side his aching artificial muscles. It was a perfect simulation of a normal human body, perhaps a little too perfect, as the pain receptors were seriously starting to get in his way. Of course, he had put them in there so he would not irreparably damage his faux body in the first place, a minor combat oversight per say against less than human opponents.
"Op-Operator: Code Pain-killer...ugh."
Just like that, the pain receptors shut off, and he was treated to a double dose of endorphins. He knew what the repercussions were from such a rash action, yet he could not help but giggle like a school boy, who had finally bested his teacher. The real fun, after all, was about to start, and the silver-eyed would see for himself what the new blood from his former beloved "12th Division" had accomplished in his absence.
"Physical Canceller ZENKAI! EXOTIC MANUUBAA!"
The release of his excess reiatsu, stored up now for six odd years, was a relief that he could scarcely describe, as his entire body was literally blazing a brilliant bluish-white. A tremendous towering geyser of spirit energy blasted off into the sky with a quaking roar that shook the earth. Such was its power, that even the stored up reishi in the area from the dead trees and the dirt began quantize into active spirit energy particles.
"WOOO-HOOO! It's hot! It's HOT. But by EUREKA! --- do I feel ALIVE. Come on, sweetheart, one more beautiful song! Let's sing one more beautiful song together! Please, DARRRRR-LING, listen to me."
He raised his shining cane high into the air as Benihime's own reiatsu began to resonate with his own, humming beautifully in the brilliant nexus of twisting wind and howling spirit energy...
"OKIRO, BENIHIME!"
The dead woods of Raimori flashed white as the awesome explosion from Benihime's shikai releasing shook the area, converting all of the free floating reiatsu in an instant. Anything near ground zero was obliterated instantly, flattened to a level stage for the coming battle. The black skies parted from the shear power of the explosion, revealing the pale white moon that bathed the battleground in the stark white contrast of moonlight.
"You're finally taking me seriously, are you?" a mirthless voice echoed across the "field" he had created.
Kisuke chuckled at the unsmiling face of Soi Fong, unconsciously marveling at the glowing gleaming edge of his zanpakutou for the first time in six years. It had been way too long since he had last seen Benihime, and tonight would be a great fight indeed. "Aa, sorry about that earlier. I think I kind of lost my mind, but thanks to Naruto-kun, I'm all better now."
"Then I don't need to hold back either. Jinteki Shakusetsu --- SUZUMEBACHI!"
The kodachi in her right hand disappeared, revealing her soul cutter's true form, but along with it also came a monstrously disproportionate explosion of white reiatsu that dwarfed his own. He weathered the violent whipping force of the churning air as best as he could, while simultaneously debating just how wrong this picture appeared in front of his face. Had those bumbling idiots back home finally surpassed him somehow? There was no way Soi Fong's reiatsu should surpass his, and yet, it was doing exactly just that...
Now, it was Kisuke's turn to frown as his thunder had effectively been stolen. That's no gigai I ever made. No, siree... Guess that means I won't be able to bring her to her senses with just brute force. I'm actually gonna have to do some work today. Fun stuff, isn't that right, Benihime?
"YOUR HEAD IS MINE, KISUKE-YAROU!"
"That's the spirit! Don't ask for it. Come and take it! AND YOU'LL BE REWARDED, SOI FONG!"
In an instant, the two glowing figures disappeared, all quiet, and then just as suddenly, blades clashed in mid-air, faster than the eye could see. Airborne shockwaves erupted sporadically here and there across the field, loud awesome explosions of noise, moving quickly without pause, leaving only sound and glittering sparks behind. Thunder rumbled along the edges of the eye of the storm, as the frequency of shockwaves increased, growing louder, cutting quicker with each clash, until a resounding crash in mid-air ripped the atmosphere apart with a white explosion.
Kisuke broke off first, landing several yards away, accompanied by the simultaneous scrapes of both his and Soi Fong's foot falls. He was puffing up a light sweat, his veins pulsating with a fiery adrenaline he had not felt in a long, while the woman maintained a calm, cool facade. Whether she was bluffing or not did not matter to him because the game was just getting started.
"Not bad. Not bad at all!" he congratulated her, "I haven't had this much fun since Yoruichi-san and I were kids! But I won't die so easily. Oh no, I won't! Now, darling, a beautiful song: sing for me!"
One shyunpa later, the straw blonde-haired man was airborne again, hovering virtually over the former captain of the Second Division. Benihime was ablaze with bluish-white spirit energy in the same fashion as the aura that surrounded his body and Soi Fong, but there was where the difference ended. The reiatsu surrounding the naked blade of his zanpakutou was rapidly accelerating towards the tip, coalescing into a glorious screaming blue fury few had witnessed. Of course, a small part of him in the back of his head was wondering why the heck the raven-haired woman was just watching him.
Oh well, whatever...
"NAKE, BENIHIME!"
Blue turned into crimson, quantizing all of the excess spirit energy that composed his aura as well, in a sudden instant, as a melodious humming beam of destruction roared forth from Benihime. Kisuke swept the earth beneath him, consuming Soi Fong seemingly in the process, incinerating all before his sight into a brilliant geyser of exploding flame. The heated force of the explosion sent his clothes and hair billowing backwards as he began to fall, a smile on his face, and yet he could not shake the feeling he had just done something very stupid.
"KATON --- HOUSENKA NO JUTSU!" cried out not one --- but many voices from above him.
The former shinigami balked openly at the sight that greeted him. Oh, sure the orange-red rain of bolting fire shaped like little phoenixes was a nice touch, but all that paled in comparison to the grim reality of the moment. Soi Fong knew ninjutsu; there was a small division's worth of her replication hanging in the air higher than him, and they were spewing firebolts at like it was going out of style. Sheesh, was he starting to fall behind the times or what?
"TATE, BENIHIME!" he commanded.
The shallow wound on his neck glowed a light with crimson, exuding a protective shield of quite literally his own blood, laced with reiatsu that he swept forth in front of him with the guidance of his zanpakutou. Kisuke made a note he would have to thank that vicious woman later for making his life a little easier, as he fended off the searing super heated fireballs exploding against his blood mist shield. Smoke and heat choked the air, each explosion accelerating his fall faster towards the ground.
He was flash-stepping away as soon as he felt the whipping impact of Mother Earth against the heels of his sandals. Sticking around to weather the ensuing barrage of fireballs on his previous position that ignited the dry earth into a bright inferno was definitely not high on his list of priorities. Damn, how much chakra is that gigai of hers packing? There has to be some kind of multiplier mechanism built into that faux body. Soi Fong's reiatsu shouldn't come anywhere close to surpassing mine, and yet it is...
Surrounded!
Kisuke gaped as he suddenly realized his newest dire predicament. From the looks of things, he had gotten careless and shyunpo'd right into a mob of the vengeful woman's waiting replications. The idiom, "Out of the fire and into the frying!", seemed oddly fitting for his situation as warily eyed the motionless mob, swinging his gaze about to keep an eye out for an attack from any direction. Of course, they had left him a small ring of space to himself, but the real million ryo question right about now was:
Where the hell was Soi Fong?
"Kill him!" her steely mezzo-soprano barked suddenly from somewhere amidst the throngs of her replications.
He bellowed back comically, dashing instinctively towards the echo of her voice, "HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAaa! Who's got who now, Soi Fong-CHAN?"
It was going to be an old fashioned brawl, what with Soi Fong's little army blitzing him from all sides, leaving no room for him to concentrate long enough to summon Benihime's power, and boy, was he ready! The first replication to reach him lunged in with a fierce battle cry, a straight haymaker to his face with Suzumebachi bared out like a fang. It was totally amateurish, poorly executed maneuver that he easily ducked underneath without breaking his charge, leaving her sliced in two by the waist with a lightning flourish of his zanpakutou.
"POOF!" went the replication into a explosion of white smoke. Outright pandemonium erupted at this point, as he heard the woman's snarls and shouts echoing forth from every direction, screwing up his mental compass completely. Again, Kisuke realized he had made another mistake, but it was too late now to cry over spilled milk. He kept running, covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his haori to dampen the irritating smoke, as his next "victim" appeared.
He skewered the replication straight through the face without hesitation, brushing past the smoke when two more appeared in the frenetic chaos. They made to strike at him, but he simply leapt between them and lashed with a split kick, catching them both square in the chest with sundering blows that sent them crashing into the dirt. Three more came screaming from behind him as he landed back on his feet, hurling an assortment of kunai and shuriken that whistled through the air. Not knowing the difference and unwilling to take the risk, the former shinigami spun on his heel and deflected the projectiles with a deft sweep of Benihime, the palpable impacts accompanied by metallic rings confirming that they were indeed quite real.
Soi Fong's trio of replications caught up with him, but there clumsy attacks were no match for him. The first one leapt at him with a flying kick, flamboyant and absolutely foolish, as Kisuke easily side stepped the strike. He caught his zanpakutou with his own teeth in a flash, grabbing her by the ankle with his now free hands and wrenched her brutally out of the air before smashing her into a fellow comrade. "Two birds with one stone," and still the third "sister" approached, completely unfazed by the defeat of her fellows, only to take a crushing blow to face by the pommel of Benihime for her valiant efforts when the silver-eyed man switched back to his weapon.
The brief feel of warm flesh beneath his fingers dissipating into nothingness from the replication he had grabbed was oddly eerie. Still, it was becoming rather obvious that Soi Fong's replications were no where near as powerful as the real thing, and fighting all of this cannon fodder was getting old fast. Oh, look; now, five more of them were descending upon him from all sides. They had killed his momentum, but there was no way they could kill him just yet.
What kind of plan did that vengeful woman have here? Did she plan to wear him down with her replications? Fat chance of that happen, but more likely she was hoping to catch him off guard somehow; still, how was she going to pull it off? Surprisingly, they were virtually equal in skill thus far, so...
Coughing as he inhaled some of the irritating smoke, Kisuke parried a blow with his zanpakutou and grabbed the replication by her wrist, before violently pivoting about on his heels. Spinning like a top, he clobbered the other four Soi Fong's replications into oblivion with their own sister, before smashing his impromptu weapon into the earth to end her misery. This was really starting to get a bit ridiculous in his opinion. Oh, how he wished he knew some ninjutsu right about now too, so he could send his own army of replications to do battle for him.
"A-hagh! O-Oi! Soi Fong-chan, come out, come out, wherever you are! Bleh. You can't buy time from me forever, you know! 'Sides, we got things to talk about thanks to ol' Naruto-kun. Come on, let's be like good grown ups here and-"
Suddenly, ground beneath his very feet exploded, throwing dirt and debris in his face that cut Kisuke off in mid-sentence. Looking back in hindsight, this would be always one of the moments in his life that he had to wonder why he had to have such a big mouth, as phantom-like limbs bit into his arms and legs, like claws. He was effectively immobilized, a billion horrible thoughts racing through his bewildered mind because Urahara Kisuke had just been caught --- big time.
STAB!
She was like an angel. A cruel, beautiful angel of death bathed in crimson, his own blood of course, and yet, Kisuke could not help but admire the dazzling death goddess that this vengeful woman had transformed into, her rending arm of destruction piercing his guts and bursting out the back, straight through cloth, flesh, blood, organs, and all. He coughed hoarsely, splashing her perfect face with red, and eerily, her beauty only seemed to grow more perfect. For the first time, amidst all of this carnage and death, he saw Soi Fong smile, and -- it was also the first time, he saw her cry.
Joy.
She was happy to see him dying, to see him suffering at her own hands. This sick act was bliss to her. And now, the gears in his feverish hazy mind had begun to turn, as something else he had long suppressed began to awaken with his fading heart...
What the hell had he done to make such a pretty girl like her get angry at him for?
"Khkk...! We-Well...done. S-Soi Fong...chan. You --- got me..." Kisuke coughed with a weak smile, as blood dribbled out of his mouth and nostrils.
It was a grisly sight to behold, but Soi Fong was not done yet. Oh yes, she wanted to see him suffer much more yet!
T-w-i-s-t.
"Grghgh-gaaahhh!"
"Fufufufu; oh, does it hurt, Kisuke-kun?"
"Oh... Oh...y-you damn...right. It...hurts..."
She sneered at him like a jackal, her hazel eyes dancing with a mad light, "Oh no, that won't do at all. After all, we were just getting started, isn't that right, Kisuke-kun?"
"Eh-heh-heheh-he..." the gravely wounded man laughed, lowering his silver gaze, so as to not reveal --- the horror that was coming. He did not have much time left, so before then he would have to use --- that technique. "Y-You know...w-we could've...talked...instead of this-gaghkk!"
"Ho, dying so soon, Urahara. KISUKE?"
"Not yet...not yet..."
"That's right. Not yet! Not until you've understood the anger, the hate, and all the sorrow of my poisoned heart! Because of YOU. You. You. You! That's why I'm like this, wretched and wanting; if it weren't for you, Yoruichi-sama would never have left. ...Would never have left me behind... That's why!"
"Tenjou no Gouka..."
"Wha?"
"Koushu."
"This reiatsu... What are you-"
"Kurenai Sekishu Benihime."
"Oh? Is that it? So you're going to use your precious little ban-?"
"Shin Bankai."
Soi Fong blinked.
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
Oh geezus Lord! This is like the longest freakin' chapter I'm ever going to write. Your prayers and reviews have been heard, and I have come down from the mountain. GO! EPISODE 10! It's here; yes, rejoice my fellow ladies and gentlemen! Man, was that getting creepy or what? First, Kisuke was going psycho and then Soi Fong went apes--t! on him too. Naruto says the darnest things, doesn't he, just to provide people with some guidance? And dang, Soul Society's technology has sure gotten better in just six years time since Kisuke left. Could Aizen have his dirty paws all over this one? Can Naruto get to Haku in time before she becomes soul food dinner? And is it just me, or were Kisuke and Soi Fong serously too wrapped up in fighting each other to notice Soi Fong's plan B? Tsk, tsk, this is going to be a mess. Yoruichi really should know better to clean up after her own messes than letting them explode like this. Then again, what's gonna happen next?
Thoughts! Reviews! Whatever, maybe we'll find out on the next episode of Mr. Nice Guy!
Thank you all for tuning in and leaving your thoughts for moi. Now, I always encourage each and everyone of you to feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. Your comments can really make a difference, I assure you, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail (although you really don't need to boost my ego too often). You know how to get in touch with the maestro here.
Oh, and I recommend "Heavy Violence" or "Shou wa Geki" from the third Naruto OST for the fight scene, before switching to "on the precipice of defeat" from the first Bleach OST. "Heavy Violence" is the infamous fight theme song from the anime when Naruto goes Kyuubi in the high budget first part "all-out" confrontation against Sasuke, after being kicked around for like two to three episodes. They also used it on other occasions, i.e. Sarutobi versus the revived Shoudaime and Nidaime, the time when Tsunade tried to jackhammer kick Orochimaru, etc. As for "on the precipice of defeat," well they've used that song to death as its literally Bleach's signature "I ain't going down like a punk just yet" song.
Omake!
Naze Nani Naisu Gai Dattebayo?
Random Glossary!
"Tenjou no Gouka, Koushu: Kurenai Sekishu Benihime" - Translated approximately as "The Flame of Heaven, Crimson Master: Crimson Red Vermillion Benihime".
Shin Bankai - Translated approximately as "True Full Release".
Tsudzuku!