The Hollow King (CH 4)

A/N: This story is rated M for mature content not suitable for children.

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Chapter 4: Awakening

Karakura Town

"Zeige Dich," these words came out of Naruto's mouth. He didn't understand what they meant, but they seemed familiar. As the light that engulfed the blonde dimmed, he saw a figure launch itself at the monster that was about to attack Samui. In a flash, it was over.

Naruto watched the monster disappear; it was cut to pieces by whatever he called forth. The blonde's eyes then went to the figure that protected Samui. A name came into his mind: Kurogami. That was its name.

Kurogami manifests as a tall, humanoid entity wearing black armor, its sleek design resembling a blade. The creature's entire body is covered in a dark, metallic sheen, and its hands have been elongated into razor-sharp claws. Its face lacks features, except for glowing red eyes that pulse with spiritual energy. The armor features jagged edges, and a massive sword is lodged in its back.

"Are you okay, Samui?" Naruto asked as he ran up to the young woman who was ready to use her body to protect him. "Why did you do something like that?"

Samui didn't answer Naruto, but she just watched him check her over to see if she was injured like a mother hen. She found it cute.

"It's cool. I wouldn't have died even if that Hollow attacked me," Samui finally said, turning to the creature Naruto summoned with interest. "The better question is what's that thing over there is."

"I don't think he likes being called a thing," Naruto stated. For some reason, he could understand and feel what Kurogami was trying to convey. "And what do you mean that you would have been okay?"

As Naruto asked this, another hollow appeared behind him. He sensed it, but he was not fast enough to react. However, Samui did. A bow of pure light appeared in her hand, and she fired an arrow at the monster, piercing its head and destroying it.

"That is what I meant. If the hollow attacked me, I would destroy it," Samui responded, looking at Naruto and Kurogami as if searching for something. "As you now know, the supernatural is real, and I have powers. I was just letting the hollow think I was defenseless so it would attack me recklessly, and then I would get rid of it."

"You have powers too," Naruto exclaimed, surprised. First, Ichigo, now his date that his sisters set him up with, and then a thought came to him: "Does Tayuya know you have powers, and does she have powers too?"

Naruto asked if his siblings had power because he always found it funny that only he could see the spirits of the dead. Maybe they were hiding something from him. There is also the saying that birds of a feather flock together. So, if Samui has powers, she would be friends with people who also have powers.

"Yes, I have powers, and it's not my place to tell you if your sisters have powers or not," Samui answered in her usual emotionless tone, making Naruto annoyed. "Look, I know you want answers, but now is not the time, and this is not the place."

Naruto was about to argue, but suddenly the sky was ripped open, and a massive hollow came into view. The spiritual power of the creature made Naruto freeze up.

"What is a menos grande doing here?" Samui's eyes widened in shock. She quickly grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him along as they ran. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

Naruto never noticed that Kurogami turned into a katana and flew into his hand. He was so filled with fear, and a small part of him was excited. He wanted to fight the creature, but he knew he wasn't strong enough yet.

Fast Forward

Uzumaki House

Naruto was now at home. Samui had made sure he got there safely, to his annoyance. It hurt his pride to be protected by the woman he just had a date with, as if he were a helpless damsel.

The blonde confronted his parents about what happened. They acted like they did not know what Naruto was talking about until he showed them his katana.

"Where did you get that? Did you steal it from a shikigami?" Kushina asked in panic. She thought that because the katana had the spiritual pressure of a soul reaper, "you have to give it back before they send someone troublesome to look for it."

"I thought you didn't know anything about the supernatural mother," Naruto responded in a flat tone, as he had caught his mother in a lie. "And I didn't steal this; it belongs to me."

"What do you mean, son? That is a Shinigami Zanpakuto," Minato asked calmly, knowing they wouldn't be able to hide the supernatural world from their youngest child now.

"Look, I don't know what a shikigami is, but if you don't believe me," Naruto said before he said the same words that summoned the creature covered in blades, "Zeige Dich."

Minato and Kushina looked at the creature that appeared with raised eyebrows. It wasn't because of its intimidating appearance, but its power had a faint feel of shinigami, bount, and quincy. Two of those were not a shock, but neither of them were soul reapers.

"So are you going to tell me the truth now?" Naruto asked, looking at his parents, who were looking at Kurogami.

The parents looked at each other and knew that they were caught. They wanted Naruto to enjoy a normal life for a little longer, but fate didn't seem to allow that.

"Okay, son, no more lies. But I think you want to sit down." Minato took the conversation to the living room and told Naruto everything, making his eyes widen as his father spoke.

Night Time

Naruto's Room

Naruto looked up blankly at his room ceiling. His father was a Quincy and his mother was a Bount. They had told him their story, and what a story it was.

Minato fought in a war against the shinigami because apparently, when a quincy kills a hollow with their ability, they destroy the soul, thus disrupting the cycle of souls, which can lead to the collapse of the three worlds.

Kushina is a Bount, an artificial soul modeled after a shinigami. It turns out that an accident led to the Bount race being added to the cycle of souls. As a result, they are reborn in the human world. These rebirths are what regular humans see as vampires, werewolves, and other monsters.

The shikigamis had come to the bounts with a deal: help them eliminate the quincy, and they would allow them to return to soul society. Most agreed without hesitation, but Kushina was not as trusting.

Kushina knew that the shinigami was just preying on the Bounts' desire to return to Soul Society, but she acted to join in the killing of the Quincy. Instead, she saved many, including her husband.

When the time came for the Bounts to receive their reward for successfully killing all the Quincies, the Shinigami turned on them and slaughtered the Bounts left and right. However, Kushina was ready, and with Minato's help, they killed off the Shinigami that attacked her. She left her past behind and eventually fell in love with Minato and married him.

Naruto had many questions, like how his parents could be so young if the war between the Quincy and Shinigami happened hundreds of years ago. He also wondered if his siblings knew about the supernatural and if they had powers. Above all, he wanted to know if they could train him.

Minato answered his questions to the best of his abilities but simplified it to him having a special power that slows his aging. Kushina is like a vampire, but instead of blood, she sucks souls.

The part that surprises Naruto the most is that his siblings are older than he thought. Menma, Tayuya, and Karin are all over fifty but remain young because they inherited Kushina's soul-sucking ability, which keeps them youthful.

"How did I not notice that my siblings were older or them doing anything with their powers?" Naruto asked, because it was strange he just started to notice these things minus the ghosts since he could always see them.

Minato and Kushina looked nervous at the question, but the older blonde took a breath and spoke. He did not know how Naruto would react, but they would deal with it as a family.

"That is because we modified your memories so that you wouldn't notice anything supernatural around us, or we made it so you would think you grew up with your siblings," Minato replied bluntly, knowing lying would just make it worse.

Naruto was shocked that his parents would do such a thing and that his memories were being played with. He was at first angry, but then a deadly calm came over him. He glanced at Kurogami, and it was like it was suppressing his emotions, but Naruto welcomed it because he didn't want to blow up with rage just yet.

Naruto didn't know how to feel about the fact that his mother and siblings were basically soul-stealing monsters, but in the end, he didn't really care too much. All he wanted was training to become stronger. The blonde had always felt that there was more to his life than his current existence, and this was the way to break from his normal, boring routine.

"Can you train me to use my powers?" Naruto asked, surprising his parents because they thought he would be upset about finding out that they had manipulated his memories, which made them worried because it was like he didn't care about it.

"We don't mind training you, but we will have to contact a friend to use his training grounds and run some tests on you," Minato stated as he looked at Kuro. He could feel the Shinigami energy radiating from his son, and it was like a zanpukato spirit that a shinigami had.

Kushina groaned as she heard what her husband said. She didn't like the man that her husband was talking about letting examine their son. He was too sneaky for her liking, but if anyone could figure out what was going on with their son, it would be him.

That was how the whole thing went down. Naruto felt awkward around his siblings and parents, like he was just seeing them for what they are for the first time. He didn't really blame them for keeping the supernatural secret from him, but the blonde wouldn't lie and say it didn't hurt. So, after a quiet dinner, he excused himself and went to bed.

As Naruto lay in bed, the events of the day came crashing down on him. He was almost killed by an evil ghost. His parents and siblings are not what they seem, and had been manipulating his memories. Things he didn't want to think about came to his thoughts, like what else could they be hiding from him. Are they even his family?

"It doesn't matters," Naruto thought as he unconsciously summoned Kurogami in sword form to his hand. "I have to be stronger than anyone so that no one can manipulate me again, no matter the reason."

Yeah, it would be a long time before things became normal again for the family, but one thing Naruto knew is that he would not remain weak, and maybe then he would be able to open himself to his parents and siblings again.

Fast Forward

Karakura Town

Candy Shop

"Naruto, meet Kisuke Urahara. He is the man I told you about yesterday," Minato said as he introduced the man to his son. Kushina was there too, with her arms crossed and glaring at the man in the bowler hat.

Beside Kisuke was a tall, muscular dark-skinned man, a boy with red hair, and a girl with black hair along with a cat.

"This is Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Yoruichi," Urahara said, introducing his companions mostly for Naruto's benefit because his parents had met them before.

Kisuke was looking at Naruto with interest, as if he were dissecting him with his eyes, to the younger blonde's discomfort. However, Naruto did not back down and just stared back defiantly.

The Uzumaki eyes glanced at the other people in the room, which were a young boy and girl, a black man that looked like a bodybuilder, and a black cat. All in all, it was a weird bunch.

"Kisuke, this is our son, Naruto," Minato said, gesturing for the blonde teen to step forward. "Kisuke agreed to look at you and even help with your training."

"Sorry for the inconvenience," Naruto said with a slight bow, showing his gratitude. "So let's get this show on the road. I want to get to training already."

"You are definitely Kushina's son," Kisuke stated with a grin behind a small fan. "But I agree, your case is an interesting mystery I would love to solve."

Kisuke led everyone to an underground facility that looked like they had gone outside with the artificial sky and rocky terrain, but further below was a lab.

"Dad, are you sure this guy isn't a mad scientist?" Naruto whispered to his father as he saw the lab and various equipment. "Because I'm getting serious mad scientist vibes here."

"Although I would like to say something bad about this fishy prick, he isn't really a mad scientist. He's more of a dick face that sometimes does stupid shit with his big brain, but don't worry. If he tries anything, I will beat his ass," Kushina replied in a soft voice, making Minato and Kisuke sweat drop because the pair was right next to them, so they heard everything.

This seemed to calm Naruto down as he went through various tests and Kisuke used several machines to examine him until hours passed, and they were all waiting for the scientist's findings.

"Well, it is as we all suspected. Your son has the Reiryoku of Shinigami, Bount, and Quincy, but I can't figure out why he has Shinigami powers," Kisuke stated as he and the family were sitting around a table back upstairs in his candy shop.

"We all already know that. That is why we came here to figure out why he has Shinigami powers," Kushina snapped, annoyed that the man didn't tell them something they already knew.

"I can't tell you exactly how Naruto got Shinigami powers, but I have a theory that someone placed it along with a Zanpakuto within his soul even before he was born. For what purpose, I don't know," Kisuke responded as he looked through the data he collected.

"Who could have done this?" Kushina said. She knew that she didn't allow anyone beside her husband near her while she was pregnant. "Is the shinigami power harmful to Naruto in any way?"

"Although I cannot tell you who implanted the Zanpakuto, you don't have to worry about it. From what I see, his bount and shinigami powers have fused together," Kisuke replied casually, his eyes still on his findings. "Naruto also has some traces of Quincy powers, but they are the weakest within him."

"What does that mean exactly?" Minato questions with a frown. "Is he able to use both Shinigami and Bount powers, or something new? And what about his Quincy powers? Will they fully manifest?"

"I think that we will have to wait and see in training, but if I had to guess, he would be able to use the powers of all three races that compose his power someday," Kisuke stated as he placed the paper with his findings down and looked at Naruto. "I can teach you, son, how to use shinigami powers, but it would be up to you two to teach him about bount's and quincie's."

"I don't know how we know you are not going to try something funny with our son when we are not there," Kushina said, showing she didn't trust the man at all.

"Come on, honey, I'm sure Urahara won't do anything. He looks suspicious, but he's not a bad person," Minato said, trying to get his wife to see that Kisuke wasn't a villain. Truthfully, he didn't fully trust the shinigami either, as a Quincy.

Kisuke got a sweatdrop as the two talked about him like he was a mad scientist right in front of him. Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu were all laughing silently at how they treated him, while Yoruichi in cat form was rolling around meowing loudly.

"Do I look that untrustworthy?" Urahara asked his companions, only to make them laugh harder. An imaginary rain cloud appeared above his head. "But seriously, I won't do anything but train you. I am only curious about how you will develop."

"Already, it is not like we have many choices anyway," Naruto responded, still not fully trusting the man but willing to be trained by him. "When can we begin?"

"You are an eager one," Urahara said with a wide smile that creeped Naruto out. "We can start now. I can see how strong you are with a spar."

"What, but Naruto is just a normal kid. He does not have any training," Kushina protested, but Naruto ignored her and just looked at Urahara.

"That sounds fun," Naruto replied with a bloodthirsty grin that shocked his parents, as they had never seen him like this before. They were starting to think that awakening his power somehow changed him. "Lead the way."

Naruto gestured to Urahara to show him where he wanted the fight to take place. The older shinigami just walked out of his lab, with Naruto following him into the rocky terrain that he uses for training.

The parents of Naruto looked on worried, but did not try to stop their child and Urahara. They knew that Naruto didn't forgive them for manipulating his memories, but hoped that he would one day. So, for now, they would wait until he was ready to talk to them.

"I hope you are ready, Naruto-kun, because here I come," Urahara said as he drew his sword from his cane.

"Bring it," Naruto replied, holding Kurogami, his pitch-black Zanpakuto, which vibrated with excitement at being used in combat.

Chapter End

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A/N: Here is another chapter of Hollow King. Bleach TYBW has started back up, and what better time to update this story? Anyway, thank you all for the support. See you next time.