Preparations

*Author Note*

Well, I'm not entirely statisfied with the "one chapter per week" system, so I'll go for two chapters/week at half the lenght for now. Just to try out different things. The next release will be on Thursday.

*End of Author Note *

A while later, a loud groan escaped Ichigo's mouth as he sluggishly opened his eyes.

"*Groan* I-I'm not dead?"

The last thing he remembered was getting stabbed, falling to the ground, and then...

"Yuna suddenly appeared and said something silly."

As he slowly pieced together what had happened, his eyes widened in shock.

"Shit! Is she alright as well!? No, wait, since I'm fine, I doubt anything had happened to her. Let's hope that is what happened."

As Ichigo came to that conclusion, resulting in his body relaxing, a nearby door was opened, revealing Urahara Kisuke.

"Ohya? Seems like you have woken up. Don't move around too much, or your wounds will reopen~"

Hearing Kisuke's words, Ichigo simply nodded his head as he got comfortable on the bed.

"What happened to Yuna? I vaguely remember her appearing before I lost consciousness."

"She briefly fought Kuchiki Byakuya before deciding to give up on Rukia."

Ichigo's eyes widened as anger flashed through them due to Yuna giving up on Rukia. Kisuke saw that facial expression and could only shake his head.

"It was the correct choice to make. You were bleeding to death, and her opponent was restricted to only 20% of his power. If things escalated further, a lot of innocent people might have died."

Hearing Kisuke's words, Ichigo visibly calmed down. Yes, he wanted to save Rukia, but he didn't want to sacrifice other people to reach that goal. However, he quickly latched onto something else Kisuke had just told him.

"Wait a moment! That was only 20%? Impossible."

"Ah, please don't misunderstand; his strength was reduced to 20%, not his speed. Since you never clashed with him in the first place, that strength reduction had very little effect on your fight."

Ichigo sighed in relief when he heard Kisuke's assurance. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. While thinking about the current situation, a deep frown appeared on his face.

"Shit, what am I supposed to do now? Rukia is in Soul Society! How am I supposed to get there!? Damnit, I still want to save Rukia!"

Suddenly, the mood in the room shifted as an uncharacteristically serious expression appeared on Kisuke's face while the room's atmosphere became somewhat suffocating.

"Well, so you really think there is no way to get to Soul Society?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked at Kisuke in surprise. Hope started brimming in his eyes.

"There is one!? Please tell me what I have to do to get there."

Kisuke hummed in acknowledgment as he raised his finger, stopping Ichigo from talking any further.

"I can help you get there, but I have one condition: Allow me to train you for the next ten days, then I will help you get there."

"What!? That's too long! I need to go there now, or I won't be able to save Rukia!"

Before Ichigo could react, Kisuke appeared next to him, with his walking stick threateningly pointing at Ichigo's face, making him feel like a sword tip was about to impale him.

"You don't understand. If you go there as you are, you will die. Do you honestly think you could fight them again and win this time?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth in anger as he realized that he was totally helpless in his confrontation against Byakuya. What was the point of invading Soul Society and instantly getting stabbed again?

"Anyway, Soul Society waits at least a month before they execute someone, so we have plenty of time. Let's see~ Ten days of training and seven days to open the gate to Soul Society, leaving us a generous thirteen days to save her. Doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

Ichigo nodded his head as he felt his stress levels lowering due to not having too much time pressure.

"That's good; however, are a mere ten days really enough to reach that kind of level? Can I defeat that Kuchiki Byakuya after mere ten days?"

"Hehe, if you wish to save her with all your heart, I'm sure you can make it~"

Ichigo nodded his head with determination, not noticing that Kisuke dodged his question. For now, he had to give it his all and see where things go from there.

"Very well, I'll be in your hands then. Let's do it."

"Ara, ara~ How can you plot to invade a foreign nation and not invite me? How rude~"

Ichigo and Kisuke's heads snapped towards the door when a third person suddenly started talking. Seeing three people walk into the room like they owned the place, Kisuke could feel his eyebrow twitch.

"You do realize that this is private property, right?"

"Well, in that case, you shouldn't have left the door open."

"Pretty sure I closed and even locked it."

"Well, what can I say? I was open after I lockpicked it, so who knows what had happened."

Kisuke resisted the urge to facepalm before he decided not to bother with this. In the end, he would have contacted Yuna and her little group anyway, so it didn't matter that they heard about it early.

"Oh? So it was like that, how mysterious~"

For now, he decided to blatantly ignore Yuna's wording, as she seemed to like doing the same.

"Anyway, since you heard the conversation, do you plan to join in and save Rukia?"

Yuna lightly held her chin as she pretended to think about it for a short moment and then resumed speaking.

"Frankly, this is a suicide mission. We don't know the enemy's strength, and only one of them could easily one-shot Ichigo. And we do all that to save a person we haven't even known for a year. In conclusion, this mission is utterly insane."

The more Yuna spoke, the more depressed Ichigo became. Obviously, he was aware of how ridiculous this whole thing was, but he didn't want to think about it. Now that Yuna had said the situation out loud, he couldn't help but grit his teeth. Before he could comment on Yuna's words, she resumed speaking.

"So, I'm obviously coming with you."

"Yuna, you.... HAAA!? YOU ARE COMING!?"

Ichigo wanted to convince Yuna to come with him anyway, but Yuna suddenly agreed, shocking him greatly.

"Yup, I'm coming as well."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing Soul Society."

Moments later, Hinata and Naruto agreed as well, dumbfounding Ichigo. He wasn't expecting that the other two would agree so easily, despite all the negative things Yuna had mentioned about the plan.

"Hahaha, isn't that great? Seems like you have already found a few comrades that can come with you. Isn't that great, Ichigo?"

Ichigo could only smile wryly as Kisuke encouraged him with a goofy tone. He really wasn't sure how he should react to Kisuke constantly switching moods from goofy to serious. Well, for now, getting stronger has priority, so he would worry about stuff like that when he had time to do so.

"Anyway, take these pills with you and take one every two hours. This will fully heal over the course of the day, resulting in you being fully healed tomorrow morning, just in time to start our training."

As Kisuke said these words, he handed Ichigo a pill bottle that had a skull on it, causing Ichigo's eyebrows to rise.

"Oi, oi, is this really the correct bottle? Doesn't the skull usually mean that it's poison?"

"Mah, don't worry about it. Don't you know that all medicine is poison if taken in too large quantities?"

"That wasn't the question..."

"Hahaha, as I said, don't worry about it."

Hearing Kisuke's words, Yuna nodded her head in agreement and patter Ichigo on the shoulder.

"Mah, don't worry about it too much. Sometimes taking a bit of poison isn't that bad."

"Haa!? How is that not bad?"

"Obviously, if it tastes good~"

Ichigo wanted to retort but had no idea what he even was supposed to say to that. What kind of weird criteria was that? He briefly glanced at Hinata and Naruto to gauge how serious Yuna was with her statement; however, the duo only averted their eyes.

'Seriously!? Somehow I get the feeling that her coming with me will be very troublesome.

Just like that, the meeting was suspended, and everyone went their way. Kisuke still had quite a few preparations to make for Ichigo's training, while Ichigo simply wanted to go to bed as soon as possible. Almost dying was a rather exhausting affair, after all.

However, the mood around Yuna and her little group was a little different. While Hinata wore a wry smile that held hints of pity, Yuna and Naruto's faces were twisted into a demonlike appearance.

"Soul Society, you know~"

"Hehe, that's right, nee-san~"

"There will be lots of arrogant noble clans, right, Naruto~"

"Hehe, that's right, nee-san.~"

"Let's start baking, Naruto~"

"Yes, let's start baking, nee-san~"

While Hinata could only shake her head in pity, a collective shiver went through the spines of every single person in Soul Society. Somehow, they felt like something bad was about to happen.

Just like that, the day ended, and a new one started. It was the last day of school before the summer holidays started, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were currently sitting on the school's roof, eating lunch. While the trio was casually chatting with each other, the roof's door opened, revealing Tatsuki, who wore an annoyed and confused expression.

"What's wrong, Tatsuki?"

Hearing Naruto's question, Tatsuki became even more annoyed and approached the trio with a glare on her face.

"Rukia. What happened to her? Why does no one remember her?"

"Rukia, who is that?"

"Her glare became even more intense as she stared at Naruto hard enough to set him ablaze, causing him to chuckle in amusement.

"Mah, sorry, sorry, I was just kidding~ She apparently committed some kind of crime in her home place, so two people came and captured her yesterday. Apparently, she will be executed in about a month."

Somehow, Tatsuki managed to glare at Naruto even harder. She was just about to scold him for coming up with nonsense like that, but Naruto resumed speaking before she could do so.

"Well, no need to worry, though. We are already forming a group to raid the place and get Rukia back. Wanna come as well?"

Tatsuki couldn't help but frown when Naruto continued his nonsense. Usually, he would stop acting after being seen through, but this time, he actually continued his story and elaborated further.

"Are you... actually serious?"

"Yup, everything I said was true, even if it sounds like utter nonsense."

Tatsuki frowned deeply when she heard Naruto's words. She wasn't too close to Rukia herself, but she was pretty close to Ichigo, who definitely would go after her. Additionally, Naruto went as well, so after thinking about it for a few seconds, her choice was rather obvious.

"I want to help you as well."

"Hahaha, sure. This will be a fun trip~"

Tatsuki had some doubts about that but didn't comment any further. However, there was something else that was bothering her.

"Won't I be a burden?"

Although Tatsuki got her new power, she was fully aware that she was much weaker than Naruto. She witnessed how easily Naruto could dispatch Hollow and even saw how the trio in front of her killed that giant monster Hollow. There is no way she could do anything to such a creature.

"Well, to put it bluntly, yes, the current you would be a burden."

Tatsuki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists when Naruto bluntly told her that she would be a burden. If that was really the case, then she would rather not come with them, her pride be damned. Obviously, Naruto could easily read Tatsuki's expression and chuckled in amusement. Before she could say anything else, Naruto resumed talking.

"Mah, what are you getting all depressed for? As I said, the current you would be a burden, so can't we just make you stronger so you stop being a burden? We still have 17 days before we actually have to leave, so let's use that time to get stronger."

Although Tatsuki was reassured when she heard that there was still time to get stronger, in the end, she could only deflate.

"17 days? What can be done in such a short time frame? No matter how I look at it, becoming meaningfully stronger in such a short time period is impossible."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement as he continued leisurely eating his lunch. Normally, 17 days were pretty much meaningless, especially if it concerned someone who already trained regularly, which Tatsuki undoubtedly did. Despite that, a smirk appeared on Naruto's face, which immediately gave Tatsuki some confidence.

"Yes, that would normally be the case, BUT we don't do 'normal' in our little group, so I can guarantee you a significant power boost in those 17 days."

There was a certain amount of doubt in Tatsuki's eyes, but she nodded her head nonetheless. She loved improving herself, and this was the perfect opportunity. Despite that, she still had to mention some doubts.

"What makes you so confident that I can improve?"

"It's actually pretty simple. Recently, you gained a new power. Do you think you have mastered that yet?"

Tatsuki was taken aback due to Naruto's words, and while thinking about how to answer that, she realized the situation herself.

'I see, I've gotten myself a power-up, but there is no way I can perfectly use it after just a few days. Although my body is heavily trained, my new skill is pretty much untrained, leaving a lot of potential.'

Seeing confidence and determination returning to Tatsuki's face, Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"Seems like you have found the answer yourself. That's right; we'll be focusing on developing your new ability. There is no way that coating your hands in lava is all you can do. Maybe the end result will be a full-body suit? Or maybe you will be able to fully transform into lava, making it almost impossible to hurt you? Hehe, I'm looking forward to what your ability will evolve into."

Tatsuki's eyes gleamed in excitement when she heard Naruto's words. Both possibilities sounded interesting, but who knew what the end result would be? For now, all she could do was train.

"Alright, I'm in. Do you have a good place where we can train, or should we use my family's dojo?"

"Don't worry; we have a very good place. Just follow us after school, and we'll show you a neat place. Hehe, I hope you are prepared for a training program straight out of hell."

Although a shiver went through Tatsuki's spine as Naruto's smile twisted into something demonic, her eyes were still overflowing with determination.

"Bring it on! After the training is over, I'll be even stronger than you!"

Naruto nodded in approval before he noticed that a mischievous glimmer briefly flashed through Yuna's eyes, catching his interest. Clearly, Yuna was planning something.

"Naruto! You can't just promise stuff like that without thinking about the consequences! I don't know what exactly you want to teach Tatsuki, but it sounds a lot like you want to teach her 'That'.,"

Although Naruto had no idea what Yuna was talking about, he knew exactly how he should act in this kind of situation. So, he acted surprised after hearing Yuna's scolding, and after a short moment of thinking about the situation, his face visibly paled.

"N-Nee-san, it's not like that; I swear!"

Hearing Naruto's words, Yuna snorted in disdain as she continued talking.

"Yeah, sure, as if I would believe that. You clearly wanted to teach her our family's secret training method! You know full well that there are certain criteria that need to be fulfilled before you are allowed to do that."

"N-Nee-san, I swear I wasn't going to do that!"

Seeing that there seemingly was a conflict between Yuna and Naruto, Tatsuki decided to intervene.

"Please don't argue like that; I'm sure Naruto didn't plan to go against your family's traditions. Didn't you say that there are certain criteria that need to be fulfilled first? I'm sure that Naruto planned to solve that issue first before teaching me anything."

Hearing Tatsuki's words, Yuna went silent for a short moment while Naruto finally realized where this was going. He had some trouble suppressing a smirk as he resumed talking.

"T-That's right, that's definitely what I wanted to do *cough*"

As Naruto said that, a blush appeared on his face, making Tatsuki wonder what exactly those requirements were. After hearing Naruto's words, Yuna hesitated a while longer before nodding her head in approval.

"I see; if that's the case, then there is no problem. Are you aware of the conditions that need to be met, Tatsuki?"

Seeing the serious expression on Yuna's face, Tatsuki couldn't help but straighten her back. Seeing a serious Yuna was incredibly rare, so she couldn't help but take the situation seriously as well.

"Only family members are allowed to learn this technique, so for you to learn it, you need to be part of the family."

At first, Tatsuki didn't know what exactly Yuna was talking about, but looking at Hinata, who was currently clinging to Yuna, she slowly realized the situation.

'If it was just the twins being strong, that would be one thing, but even the woman standing next to one of them is strong as well, making it highly possible that she learned that secret technique. Becoming part of the family? Wait a moment, doesn't Yuna usually call Hinata her wife!?'

Tatsuki glanced at Naruto, and after seeing the combination of embarrassment and awkwardness on his face, Tatsuki quickly came to a conclusion.

'I NEED TO BECOME NARUTO'S WIFE!?'

Her face flushed crimson as she gave Naruto another death glare, resulting in his expression becoming even more awkward. She liked Naruto, there was no doubt about it, but speaking about marriage this early in the game was a little too hasty for her taste.

She wanted to reject this arrangement immediately, but somehow she couldn't help herself but go through all kinds of fantasies, ranging from them getting married to... doing other stuff.

As steam started slowly flowing out of Tatsuki's ears, Yuna almost laughed out loud, while Hinata and Naruto had to suppress a giggle as well. Yuna considered stopping Tatsuki from overthinking immediately, but her expression was simply too cure to do so immediately. So, after waiting around a minute, which somehow caused Tatsuki's face to become even redder, Yuna decided not to push this too far. She didn't want Tatsuki to faint, after all.

"Indeed, for you to be considered part of our family, you would need to have some form of a closer relationship with either Naruto or me. Just being friends is not enough. Let's see, if you could prove your relationship with a kiss, I'm satisfied."

As Yuna said those words, Tatsuki was already mentally planning how Naruto and her would spend their retirement and what their children's children would look like, but as soon as Yuna finished speaking, she snapped back to reality.

"What!? A kiss is enough?"

"Mhh? Yeah, what were you expecting?"

Tatsuki was dumbfounded by Yuna's words, and moments later, a small, almost unnoticeable snicker entered her ears. Tatsuki's face deadpanned as she looked at the source of the sounds, seeing Naruto covering his mouth with all his strength, desperately trying not to laugh.

The pieces quickly snapped into place when she went over the whole conversation again. She didn't need to be a genius that understood that Yuna and Naruto tricked her into thinking about weird things by making their conversation as vague as possible.

She raised her right fist and clenched it, resulting in it being covered in lava as her glare landed on Naruto.

"So this is how you want to play, huh? Very well, prepare to die!"

Naruto laughed out loud as he rolled backward, dodging Tatsuki's punch, which easily burned a hole into the ground.

"Hahaha, careful there, don't damage the school~"

Instead of answering, Tatsuki raised her other hand and clenched it as well, resulting in it getting coated in lava as well.

"Do you know your crime, Naruto?"

"Hehe, my crime is teasing my cute tomboy girlfriend and making her all embarrassed thinking about our relationship~"

Yet again, Tatsuki became flustered hearing Naruto's words as her face flushed crimson. For a brief moment, the lava covering her hands vanished, allowing Naruto to take advantage of the situation and close the distance between the duo, grabbing her hands.

"Heee~ Seems like your ability is influenced by your emotional state. That could be both an advantage and a disadvantage."

Tatsuki tried to light up her hands again, but after she realized that she couldn't, she chose the only option her chaotic mind could come up with. She kicked upwards with one of her legs, cleanly aiming at the spot between Naruto's legs, but before the attack could land, it was blocked by one of Naruto's hands.

"Whoa, careful there. Where do you think our future children will come from if you damage that place~"

Tatsuki almost had a breakdown when she heard Naruto's teasing words, so, due to being unable to form a coherent sentence, she repeatedly hit Naruto's chest while cursing him.

"Idiot. Pervert. Stupid!"

Feeling Tatsuki's fist lightly landing on his chest, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as he raised Tatsuki's head by her chin and gave her a kiss. For around half a second, she struggled to get away from him before her arms snaked around his back and hugged him in comfort.

'Yet again, I have to say that teasing tomboys is a lot of fun~'