141Hello everybody! Animelover54321 back with a new chapter for the 'Leaf's Shinigami'! I am prou-
*Gets cut off by commotion getting louder outside a door*
What the hell is going on out there?
*Door breaks down with a mob of angry fans throwing tomatoes at me*
"It's been months since you last updated! And now you decide to update now?! You fucking lazy piece of shit!"
Oh, no
*Sprints the other direction and continue to run back and forth across the screen as mob chases me*
Now as I-
Was trying to say-
You know what-
Just enjoy the story!
*Shovel slams into my face*
"BITCH!"
Cut the tape, CUT THE TA-
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The door leading into Tsunami's home opened, and in walked Ichigo and Naruto. Both of them not saying a single word for they are still too shocked on the revealed man under the supposed female looking person.
Kakashi noticed the two walked in and lifted an arm to greet them. "Yo! ...eh?" He hummed when he realized that the two seem to be in a bit of a... depressing state of mind. "What's wrong?"
Ichigo looked at Kakashi with dead eyes. "Kakashi, have you ever thought that everything you knew was a lie?"
Kakashi placed a finger under his chin in thought. "A few times in my life, why do you ask?"
"Women are men, men are women." Naruto chanted over and over softly.
"Stay away, from the cuteness." Was Ichigo's only reply as he and Naruto entered the kitchen, leaving an even more confused Kakashi
"Just what have they ran into recently?" He mumbled.
A few hours later
Somewhere back in the forest, Team 7 along with Ichigo stood at the place they last trained at.
"Alright you little shits!" Kakashi roared in an authoritative tone.
"Imma tell Kushina and Mikoto you spoke in such inappropriate language in front of their children." Ichigo spoke, having a grin of victory on his face.
Kakashi stayed still for a second before slowly turning his head towards the orange haired shinigami. "Name your price."
A few minutes later.
"Alright you beautiful children!" Kakashi spoke wearing pink princesses dress. He did his best to stand as tall, proud, and as manly as he was before. But it just fueled everyone's entertainment after seeing how hard he's trying to act, 'cool'.
Ichigo held his arm over his mouth as he tried his hardest not to laugh at his friends hilarious outfit. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were trying their best as well. They couldn't even pay attention to what he was trying to say to them since they couldn't take him seriously in that outfit.
"And that's pretty much it." Kakashi finished.
"Y-You got it Sensei!" Naruto held himself back strong, even if his face was showing literally every sign that he was about to lose it.
Sasuke who was also having the same expression, tried to mutter under his breath but failed. "F-Fucking faggot."
That broke the final walls as everyone fell on their backs and began rolling over, dying from the laughter they were emitting.
"I hate all of you." Kakashi sighed.
A few hours of intense training later
It was now dawn, everyone but the two rivals headed back to Tsunami's home after they decided they should go back. However, since Sasuke and Naruto refused to give up after seeing that they were so close to finishing their training, also because they refused to lose to each other. They soon finished it a tie while their bodys ached and their lungs trying to catch up on taking in the necessary oxygen they couldn't gather in time.
"We should - go back." Sasuke spoke in between breaths.
"Yeah - it's getting - quite dark out here." Naruto huffed.
The two descended from the trees they were on, landing on the ground safely on both feet. They tried to walk, but they couldn't support themselves standing on their own two feet after all the energy they used up. They noticed that the other was also having trouble on the same thing. To their dismay, they knew the only way they would be getting out of here was helping the other stand. How shitty their day ended today.
After a few minutes of limping back towards Tsunami's place, they managed to arrive in time for supper to begin.
Everyone sat around the dining table knowing that dinner will be ready shortly. The door opened with Naruto and Sasuke coming in.
"Yo!" Naruto smiled, as he and Sasuke both had their arms wrapped around the others back in order to stay up. "Are we late?"
"Just in time." Kakashi smiled under his mask. "I was about to search for you two."
The two remaining people took their seats and waited for dinner to be ready.
"Ugh, that was intense training." Naruto groaned as his head smacked the table over how exhausted he currently was. "My body hurts just by moving. Even if it's a little."
"You two seem as if you worked your butts off." Ichigo softly smiled.
"Don't remind me of it." Naruto replied. "I'm just glad it's over now, the sooner we complete this mission the sooner I can go home to Kaa-chan."
Inari who was as cold as ever was looking down in anger and annoyance. "Why do you do this?" He spoke.
Almost everyone turned to him, since he rarely spoke to either one of them they were intrigued to know what he wanted to say.
"Why do I do what kid?" Naruto spoke before laying his head down once more.
"All of this!" He nearly shouted. "You train, and train, and train. But it doesn't matter how much you do so! You'll end up dying like the rest! It's completely useless to do so! So why?!"
"Because it's the right thing to do." Naruto calmly replied with his eyes closed.
"So what? Even if it is! You won't make a difference! Neither of you!" He looked at everyone before landing his eyes at Ichigo. He had his chin resting on his palm as he stared at him with unaffected eyes. How he hated looking at those eyes. "And you!" He pointed. "You think you can come out of nowhere and save the day! To be everyone's hero they always needed?"
"I don't want to be a hero. It takes too much responsibility. Even if you do have it, people expect too much out of you. I don't know what you're trying to tell me. If I bother you, then I apologize for that. So whatever it is you want to say, then say it."
Inari growled as he clenched his fist. "I just hate all of you people who have it easy in life! And then you come to other places acting like you know how they feel to lose someone they love."
"Inari." Tsunami spoke.
"No." Ichigo stopped her. "It's fine." He looked at Inari. "Look, I'm sorry to say this, but what you're saying is completely false. I've been through a lot. And I can say the same for everyone who came here to help you. I lost people that I don't even know if they're either alive or dead dammit!" His voice suddenly began to slowly get more and more emotional. "All because of a man who wanted to control the world, he took away everything from me and now I don't know if I will ever see them again! Not my sisters, not my dad, not my friends! No one!" He grabbed the edge of the table, clenching it as hard as he could without breaking the wood. "You're luckier than most of us kid. I'm jealous that you still have your mother with you. So don't you dare say that we don't know how it feels, because I guarantee that it's more than what you could ever feel." He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. "My apologies. But I have lost my appetite, so I'll be taking an early night." He stood up and left the dining room leaving the rest to themselves.
Ichigo entered his guest room before proceeding to sit on the bed. A few seconds later Mavis appeared through the floor.
"You alright Ichigo?" She spoke in concern after seeing him in such a state.
"Yeah. I just, have a lot on my mind right now." He sniffed.
Mavis nodded, she sat next to the Orange Haired Shinigami before she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "If you ever wish to speak about it. I'm always here okay?" She spoke in the most comforting, gentle tone she could utterly present.
"Thank you Mavis." He softly replied as his thoughts traveled between his original and current family. So much mixed emotions flowed between the two, he knows he's acting like a baby for still feeling like shit from the thought of his original family. But the bonds with them are just too hard to forget. So he closed his eyes and let sleep try to take away this pain he was feeling.
By the time Ichigo woke up, he wondered how long he slept since the sun was now high up in the air. He turned to his right to see that the clock the family had next to the bed said it was currently 2:54 P.M, just six minutes to three. He sat up and stretched his arms.
"I missed breakfast." He mumbled in a bit of disappointment since he didn't eat anything last night. He noticed that Mavis was gone, probably off to explore this area as they're here. He was about to fall back in his bed for a few more minutes, but the sound of Tsunami screaming downstairs caused him to jump out of bed, grab Zangetsu and proceeded to quickly run down to see what was going on.
When he got down, he saw Tsunami was being carried off by two bandit, most likely from Gato's gang with Inari who tried to protect her mother but was clearly outmatched. Reacting quickly, he flashed in front of the person that held Tsunami and punched his jaw, breaking a few teeth and forcing Tsunami out of his grasp. He then turned around to face the other bandit who was completely surprised on what happened. Ichigo stomped on the bandits foot, crushing it before quickly grabbing him by his throat and thrust him to the ground.
"Are you alright." Ichigo asked Tsunami as he kept his eyes on the person he had pinned.
"Y-Yeah. Thank you." Tsunami replied. She noticed the person Ichigo attacked first stood up with his sword over his head ready to cut his head off. "Ichigo! Watch out!" She shouted.
Just as she finished, a pan smashed against his head knocking him out cold. When he fell, behind him stood Inari teary eye'd as he held the frying pan with a tight grip.
"Good job kid." Ichigo complimented before he knocked out the bandit he had pinned. "You did good there."
Tsunami got up and rushed over to her son before pulling him in for a hug.
"I-I just kicked his ass." Inari spoke in a surprised tone which caused Ichigo to chuckle softly and Tsunami to smile.
"You sure did kid." Ichigo laughed. After everyone's emotions began to die down, Ichigo took the moment to speak. "Tsunami, do you know or have any idea of why those two came after you?"
Tsunami shook her head, the horrific and unexpected break in that was almost a success was something she didn't expect. "No, I do not. But if I could guess, it's probably Gato trying to kidnap me and use me to stop my father from building the bridge."
Ichigo hummed completely seeing why it would be such a perfect strategy to use. "Well, good thing I came while I did."
Not a second later, Naruto made his presence known to the three out of breath.
"Naruto?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm too late." Naruto breathed. "I just saw a trail with a bunch of slices leading towards Tsunami-sans house. So I got worried, but looks like you took care of it."
"Of course I did." He crossed his arms as he smirked. "Besides, I wouldn't let such a weakling as yourself fight these two, you'd be killed in less than a minute."
Naruto's eye twitched at that. "Eh! I could totally beat those two!" He pointed at the two unconscious bandits.
"How can you beat them if you can't touch me then?"
"Because you have some monstrous experience up your sleeves!"
"He does have a point king." The hollow, who was quiet up till now spoke.
"Can't you see I'm teasing him?"
"...I see no such thing."
Naruto pointed at Ichigo. "Watch, one day I'll beat you! And then we'll see who the weakling is!"
"Allow me to point out that I can not wait for that day to come." The Hollow smiled proudly as he imagined Naruto standing over a beaten and unconscious Ichigo.
"Pfft, I'll make sure you're fighting him first then before he gets to me." Ichigo thought.
"I can hear that!"
"No one cares about your opinion." Zangetsu spoke in a normal tone, but inside he was smiling as he and Ichigo both mentally gave each other a high five.
"No one loves me." The paled Ichigo sobbed in a corner.
Back to the point, Ichigo snapped out of his little talk with his longest known companions before looking at Naruto. "Haha, I can't wait to see how much you've grown by then." He ruffled the blondes hair, causing him to smile at such support he was receiving. "Say, you should probably go help your team guard Tazuna at the bridge. After what happened here, Gato might pull something off over there as well."
Naruto nodded before rushing to the bridge. "See you later Nii-san!" He waved as he disappeared in the trees.
"Is he going to be okay?" Tsunami questioned when Naruto left.
"They will, I trust them." Ichigo replied before closing his eyes, he sighed before turning around. "Alright, lets get you two inside. I'll help clean up the mess the two made while protecting you from anyone else they try to send at you."
Tsunami nodded as she stood up, took Inari by the hand and walked inside to clean up what was left behind from the short battle.
An hour later
(AN: I'm sure that I don't have to write most of the fighting done on the bridge since it's all basically canon. I have decided that the fight on the bridge shall be skipped because I have no use to write it since it's all basically Canon with very small changes if I type it out.)
The battle on the bridge was a really memorable moment for everyone who participated in the event. The waves of emotions crashing upon you, be it rage, sadness, joy, or whatever you can feel going through you has finally passed. Ichigo stood next to Sakura, allowing his protective sense over the young Genin settle down slowly. He took the time to think on what brought him over here in the first place.
The demonic power that he felt when he was assisting Tsunami and Inari on the wreckage that occurred almost an hour after the bandits were dealt with. It felt so evil, so unbelievably bothering that it didn't sit too well with him after feeling it was close by. That's when he noticed that the being releasing such dark power was the demon sealed inside Naruto, the Kyuubi. He immediately ran out the door and sped towards the bridge in less than a minute without saying anything to the two. When he arrived, he made it just in time to see Naruto, the person he saw grow up in a strong rage that changed his being a little bit into a beast. Dark, Crimson red eyes with slits, thickened whiskers, and sharper, longer nails.
No sooner than that, he saw Naruto launch himself at an enemy ahead of him. Ichigo would've let Naruto do his thing, since this person was no ally by the looks of it. But he was not allowing his little brother to kill someone in this state of mind. Who knew what would happen to him after killing the Shinobi like this. So he took action and flashed in between Naruto and his intended target to kill. He caught the blondes fist but it made his feet drag back a little as he did so. As he stared into the boys rage and bloodlust filled eyes, he managed to bring him back while yelling at him to snap out of this state
Ichigo wondered how he got like this in the first place, but the sight of an unconscious, and almost killed Sasuke connected the dots immediately. At first, he thought Sasuke was dead, which did not sit well with him at all. But when Zangetsu informed him that he was doing just fine, he relaxed himself a bit. No later than that, he picked up Sasuke and went over to Sakura who was guarding Tazuna before setting him down. The battle quickly unfolded between Zabuza and Kakashi when he saw the Gray haired ninja about to end Zabuza's life. But Haku appeared in front of the defenseless Zabuza and took the killing blow for him.
A few minutes after talking back and fourth between Naruto and Zabuza about Haku, Gato made his appearance with a huge group of bandits which ticked off everyone. Zabuza told Naruto to toss him a Kunai, which he did so without questioning it. He caught it with his mouth before charging ahead without hesitation to kill his target. After ending Gatos life, Zabuza was helped by Kakashi to lie next the Haku's corpse, where he died in peace with the only person left he saw as family to him. A minute later Inari and his mother arrived with the rest of the towns people in arms to chase off the remaining bandits that was planning to raid them even after Gato died.
So now, here they were. The villagers cheering in victory as they finally regained the freedom they wished of having for so long. Ichigo heard coughing coming from behind him, he looked back to see Sasuke had just awoken from his unconscious state.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura spoke in relief as she knelt beside him.
"Easy there." Ichigo said as he made his way to the young Uchiha. "I got you." He helped him get to his feet since they were no doubt about to head back to Tsunami's place soon.
"Ichigo?" Sasuke spoke in confusion. "Why are you here?" His eyes snapped open. "The enemy! Naruto! Where are they?!"
"It's fine Sasuke. The fights over, we won. Naruto is safe." Ichigo searched for the blond before spotting him next to Kakashi. "Hey Naruto!" He called, gaining his attention. "Guess who woke up!"
Naruto turned around in curiosity before his eyes landed on the Uchiha. His eyes widened before he let a bright smile envelope his face.
Sasuke looked the other way, but he did raise his hand acknowledging Naruto's presence.
As Team 7 and Ichigo settled everything down, a certain Hollow was having his own thoughts.
"That demonic power!" The hollow grinned evilly. "I must have it work for me, if not become a part of me!"
Zangetsu stood next to the paled Ichigo. "You know, I can just tell Ichigo right now about your plans and it'll be ruined."
The hollow shrugged. "Eh, it's not like it would work anyways. Besides..." He laid on his back while floating in the air. "I kinda like King doing everything, no effort put on my end of the table besides lending him my power when needed."
Zangetsu continued to eye the Hollow with a blank expression.
"...What?"
"Nothing, I just wanna stare." He replied neutrally. Just then, Zangetsu closed his eyes feeling that he and the Hollow weren't alone at the moment. "Whoever is out there, I know you're here. Just come out." Zangetsu declared.
The Hollow raised an eyebrow, intrigued to welcome a new guest to the group.
"Well this is weird, Ichigo having ghostly spirits in his head is something I did not expect." A feminine voice spoke as she appeared in front of the two.
The two immediately knew who this girl was.
"You're that flat-chested kid following Ichigo around for the past few years ain't ya?" The hollow questioned.
The girl itched to punch this person similar to Ichigo right in the prized area. "I'm not a kid! I have name you know! I suggest you use it!"
"Don't mind him" Zangetsu spoke. "He's just low-life cunt at times."
"Hey!" The hollow replied, slightly offended. "...I'm a super low-life cunt!"
"Anyways." Zangetsu continued. "I'm curious on how you managed to get in here, Mavis."
Mavis smiled. "Oh, let me explain."
A few days passed since the incident on the bridge, Tazuna has finally managed to complete the bridge along side the builders that once left out of fear for being killed. And since then, everyone was now packed and ready to return to Konoha.
Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and the rest of Wave Country's villagers came to see their hero's depart back home.
"Well, it looks like you're off now." Tazuna happily, yet sadly spoke.
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, we've been here far too long. If we stay any longer the village would send someone to check up on us, and most likely bring us back by then."
"Such a shame, and here I was thinking we could throw a farewell party before all of you leave." Tazuna chuckled.
"We appreciate the offer, but it's best we leave now." Ichigo informed before smiling. "Besides, why not have that party in memory of us. We may not be there, but it's best to let loose after such a long, painful struggle."
Tazuna laughed. "I'll make sure that happens."
Ichigo nodded before looking at Naruto who was saying his farewells to Inari, some words must have made both of them tear up which further made his smile grow.
"I'm not going to miss that bastard." Naruto emotionally muttered.
And so, the five of them proceeded to walk across the bridge that will lead them away from Wave and back into the Land of Fire.
"Hey, Jii-chan!" Inari spoke to Tazuna. "What should we name this bridge?"
Tazuna put hand on his chin in thought. "Hmmm, how about the Great Naruto bridge?"
Inari smiled brightly as he nodded. "I like it!"
Naruto was excitingly walking with Sasuke on his left and Ichigo on his right. He wouldn't stop babbling on returning home and having some of her mothers ramen, or get some ramen from Ichiraku's as well. They were both heaven to him either way.
"Naruto, you're not going to grow tall if you continue to eat like that you know." Ichigo spoke. "You'll be so small if you do. I mean look at you, you are the smallest one here by quite a bit."
Naruto stuck his tongue out at Ichigo. "Like I care what you think Nii-san!"
"You'll care one day." He scoffed.
"Nope! Besides, what are you going to do about it."
Ichigo's eye twitched at Naruto's cockiness. He bonked him on the head which caused him to yelp in pain. "You were saying?"
"Itai! That hurt Nii-san!"
"Next time you should listen to me."
Team 7 only chuckled at the interactions between the two. But what they never knew was that the moment Ichigo bonked the Jinchuurikis head, it was the given opportunity for a certain individual to do some exploring in someone else's head before he was sucked back to where he came from.
A certain hollow was screaming when he entered the kids head. He couldn't touch the ground or float at all, so all he could do was fall. The next thing he knew he slammed onto the floor that was seemed to have an appearance of a sewer system.
"Ugh! Yuck!" The hollow grimaced. "Why the hell am I in a sewer?" His eye twitched as he thought of reasons why he could be here. "King! Is this your doing! I swear if it was you I'll shove my fist so far up in your ass when I fight for control over you again!"
As he was about to continue his rage filled rant. He heard a rather, dark, demonic voice echo throughout the sewers.
The hollow raised an eyebrow at the sound. "Who's there?"
The voice echoed once more, this time he could make out what it was saying.
"Come here."
The hollow, seeing no other option, began to head the way the sound was coming from. "Now, before you try anything. I must warn you, that I have been studying Kakashi's 'one thousand years of death' jutsu. So don't try anything." He lifted two fingers, showing that he meant business.
The hollow continued for about a minute longer before approaching a rather large gate, which seemed to be held by a seal of some sorts.
"Come closer." It spoke once more.
The hollow approached until he could literally touch the gate. As soon as he did so, a giant paw came swinging down on him. He reacted by holding his arm up and halted the paw from squashing him.
"You know. That was really mean." He frowned. No sooner, he saw a pair of huge red eyes open from within the cage.
"You're not my jailer. Nor are you human as well." The beast sat on it's behind, exposing it in all its glory.
The hollow stood silent as he eye'd the notorious demon that he could only see as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. "Foxy!" He pointed his finger at the beast acting like a child.
"Answer me you pathetic trash!"
The hollow snapped out of his thoughts before crossing his arms. "Hey! That was rude you know!"
"Not like you're any better." His inner self told him.
"Shut up."
The Kyuubi ignored the Hollows weak insult as it continued to pressure him for answers. "Enough of your games! Who, or what are you? And why are you here!" The Kyuubi roared.
The Hollow sighed before smirking. "Yo! I don't really have a name to be honest. But, as for what I am. Well, get comfortable furry, because we're going to be here a long time before I have to go back to 'my' jailer."
The five of them were now approaching the entrance of Konoha, and must Ichigo say he was glad to be back. After being gone for half a year, followed by a week more after assisting Kakashi in wave. He was sure feeling alive to be back in familiar territory.
"Aaaah!" Naruto yawned stretching his arms. "It's great that we're baaaack!" He yelled happily.
Sakura nodded, agreeing with Naruto and his declaration. It was really rough for her the past two or three weeks, and must she say she may have took a bit more than she could chew. After that wave incident thought, she knew she had to do something she's been neglecting for a long time. It was time for her to train. And when she means training, she means actual training.
Kakashi smiled under his mask before facing his students. "Alright, mission complete. I want all of you to go home and get a nice two days of rest. You all earned it. I'll go ahead and report on the mission we were sent on."
Sakura smiled as she went on her way home to do as she was told. "I'll see you guys around!" Sakura smiled as she waved, leaving the group of males to themselves.
Naruto smiled as he as well started to go home shortly followed by Sasuke. "Alright, I'm going to tell Kaa-chan all about the amazing mission we had, but I also can't wait to eat some of her ramen again! I miss her cooking. " Naruto's mouth watered as he thought of her ramen.
Sasuke groaned, hoping that her mom wouldn't let such a meal be presented to him after all of this. Please let her mother stop Kushina from going overboard.
When Kakashi heard this, he couldn't help but feel that something wasn't correct. And that the outcome would leave him on deaths door faster than he could blink. It soon dawned upon him what Naruto was going to d.o "Wait, Naruto! Don't tell Kushina about... the... he's gone." He nervously spoke as he slowly began to panic.
"Oooooooh! You're sooo dead!" Ichigo laughed at Kakashi for the apparent doom that was now waiting for him.
Kakashi slowly turned his head to Ichigo with narrowed eyes. "You're in just as much danger as I am Ichigo! Naruto will mention that you arrived, and she would then beat you for letting him encounter such a dangerous enemy when you could do it yourself."
"...shit, you're right." He normally replied.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before dashing down the streets in such speed in order to get to the Hokage's office before 'they' found them. Just about a minute into sprinting, their worst nightmares begun when they heard to familiar, angry yells echo across the village.
"Ichigo! Kakashi!"
The two picked up their pace and began moving their legs at such inhuman speed, that their legs were literally blurry when they ran by leaving a massive dust trail behind them.
"I don't wanna die!" Kakashi cried, tears spilling out of his eyes.
They never made it to the Hokage's office.
"And that's the report on the mission Hokage-sama!" Kakashi informed as he and Ichigo were in crutches with countless of bandages covering their bodies.
Hiruzen nodded. "Okay... but it doesn't explain the state you two are in right now. So, what happened that got you all bruised and injured."
Ichigo muttered one word that summed up everything. "Women."
"Fair enough." The Hokage shuddered. "If that's all you that need to be said, then you may leave now."
Ichigo and Kakashi bowed, the injuries on their bodies suddenly disappeared. Ichigo turned and left the room to return home, he just hopes Kushina won't tackle him with a hug when he opens the door.
Kakashi stayed put and waited until Ichigo closed the door behind him, as soon as he heard the door shut behind him leaving him alone with the Hokage, he decided to speak.
"Hokage-Sama, I must speak to you about something." He spoke seriously.
The Hokage leaned forward with his hand on his desk. "Proceed."
Ichigo stood in front of a door that lead into a place he hasn't been in so long. He wondered how it's been since he left, if anything has changed since then. He sighed, he knew he couldn't stay here forever. And that he'll eventually have to move out and get a house or an apartment himself. But, seeing that the place Kushina and Mikoto currently lived, even if it was a decent sized place. It was still small with all five of them together, so at times it got a little cramped. Plus with Naruto and Sasuke growing rather big now entering their teenager years. Oh yeah, this place was not going to be comfortable to live in about two years in the future.
Ichigo thought to himself for a second, he could move out in about two weeks. He had more than enough money to buy someplace for himself. plus some decent furniture would only take so much out of him anyways. He'd still have way more to spare over how much these missions paid him. But if he did move out, it would still leave Kushina, Mikoto, Sasuke, and Naruto in slightly less cramped house. Naruto and Sasuke may have to share a room since they're now close to being a man, so Sasuke couldn't sleep in the same room as her mother, but even then it can be weird to have your personal items and someone else's mixed together in one room. After awhile longer of thinking, he smiled to himself after thinking of the perfect solution where everyone can be happy and have enough of their own personal space from one another. Now all he had to do was find a nice spot to put it.
He sighed as he grasp the door handle and entered the house. "I'm back!" Ichigo called out, he soon heard footsteps rushing towards him at a really fast rate.
"Ichigooo!" Kushina yelled as she tackled him to the ground before proceeding to smother her face into his chest.
Ichigo groaned a tiny bit in annoyance. "It's good to see you to Kushina." He smiled as he rubbed her smooth, silky red hair. "But, er. Can you please... let go of me. Your strength is sort of... cutting of my air source."
Kushina released her grasp from the Shinigami and quickly stood up, blushing in embarrassment on how bold she was to him. "I-I'm sorry! I sort of lost myself when you came back."
Ichigo lightly chuckled as he stood up on his two feet. "It's okay." He smiled. "Next time, try to restrain yourself though. For my health that is."
Kushina slowly nodded, still blushing on her actions.
Mikoto soon made her appearance after the small, embarrassing moment Kushina had. "Ichigo!" Mikoto smiled in a more relaxing, and calm tone. Sure she was really excited and happy that he's back home and in one piece, but unlike Kushina, she knew when to restrain herself. "I'm so glad to see you back safe from your mission."
Ichigo nodded at Mikoto, acknowledging her presence and thanking her for her concern for him.
"How was it by the way?" The Uchiha mother questioned, eager to know about his adventure in Mizu no Kuni.
"It was the most challenging mission I had so far, I can say that for sure." He answered.
"Why's that?" Kushina asked, now as interested as her friend.
"Well." He Ichigo scratched the back of his head in thought. "Turns out, I was aiding the rebellion to take down the Mizukage and his army from a tyranny he's been on for the past few years."
"I've heard of that." Mikoto sadly replied. "It's sad, I heard the Mizukage was a very nice person, but then all of a sudden he changed and began treating people with such strict rules. Even going so far and isolating clans with bloodlines away from the others."
"Yeah." He nodded. "Thankfully, the fight has come to an end. The Mizukage's tyranny is now over."
"That's great news." Kushina smiled at the information Ichigo gave him, relieved that Mizu's nightmares are starting to fade away. "I heard that the Mizukage contained one of the tailed beast inside him. It must've been a tough battle."
"It was." He nodded, remembering the fight with Yagura and the Sanbi. "I must say, I nearly died fighting him."
"Well, I'm glad you're alright." Mikoto sighed. "The tailed beasts are dangerous to fight alone, who was with you when you fought it by the way?"
"I actually didn't receive any assistance."
"...Wait, what?!" The two mothers shouted.
Ichigo nervously chuckled as he began sweating a bit from the intense stares the two were giving him. "Y-Yeah. I actually fought him by myself. I mean, I did get a bit of assistance from the Rebels leader, Mei, but it wasn't much. So I pretty much did all the damage on him."
The two continued to stare at him before they looked up and down his figure a few times, trying to find at least some critical injury of some sorts on his body.
"You're kidding right?" Mikoto spoke in slight awe.
Ichigo sighed. "Is it really that shocking that I solo'd a tailed beast?"
"Well, kind of!" Kushina spoke. "I mean, if you did there's so many conditions I would of expected of you to be in. A severe lack of Chakra that could possibly put you in a coma, maybe losing an arm or a leg, or you could be dead! You know how hard it is to do something like that and be back on the tip of your power in a few weeks."
Ichigo shrugged. "I guess I'm lucky."
"Or stronger than we thought you were!" The red head crossed her arms as she turned away with a huff. The thought of Ichigo keeping some information about him after this long sort of hurt her a bit.
The Shinigami couldn't help but chuckle as he ruffled the Uzumaki's hair a bit. "There, there Kushina. I'm sorry for worrying you."
Kushina pouted her lips. "Baka! I wasn't worried! Who would be worried about someone like you anyways!"
"You." He replied.
Kushina growled in annoyance as a small blush formed on her cheeks again knowing that it's true.
Ichigo laughed as he decided that it was enough teasing the red head. He looked around the room for a second, wondering where two others were at. "Say, where's Naruto and Sasuke? I thought they came back already."
"Kakashi dropped by about ten minutes before you showed up saying that he needs to speak with the team before leaving. We told them, and they just hurried off." Mikoto informed.
"Ah, I see." He nodded. "By the way, I noticed that Shinobi from other villages are here. ...Is it that time of the year again?"
"Oh, you mean the Chunin Exams? Oh yes, they'll be starting in a few days. Oh, I'm so excited to see my little Naruto become a Chunin." Kushina smiled with stars in her eyes. "My baby is starting to grow up." She sniffed as a little bit of tears fell from her eyes.
"Well, this years Chunin exams sure is going to be interesting by all the familiar young ones I'll be seeing." Ichigo smiled as he thought about all the Genins participating
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Now, before you guys say it. Yes, I know. Long wait for a new chapter am I right? It was mainly my lack of interest for the wave arc, so it really unmotivated me to get this done. But, I decided to skip a lot of parts I find useless in my last story. But, yeah. Sorry for the extremely long wait. It wasn't a long chapter like I promised you, and maybe not what you expected. But it sure is something. I'll try to not take as long to update, but it won't be fast either. Maybe once a month hopefully, or twice if I find extra time.
But anyways, thank you all for reading.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years!