17 I'll take you up on that.

Chapter seventeen.

''… Holy shit.'' Kuromiya muttered, he had been expecting someone like Byakuya to stop him before he could reach Rukia, but this man was a problem.

Even though Kenpachi had lost to a shikai Ichigo, the man's power fluctuated more than one of a shonen protagonist with the power of friendship.

The problem with Zaraki was that unlike someone like Byakuya who had a set power level throughout the arc, this man just would keep scaling depending on how much his opponent was able to push him.

'This just sucks.' He thought, gritting his teeth as the man took another step towards him, shortening the distance between them.

''What's wrong? I asked you a question.'' Kenpachi talked, while a small figure appeared from behind his left shoulder. Said figure was no other than the lieutenant of squad eleven, Yachiru Kuzajishi. ''I believe I asked if you are the strongest one.''

''Uh… No?'' Kuromiya replied, if possible at all he wouldn't mind bullshitting his way out of this situation. ''Yeah, that's not me… You are probably looking for an orange haired soul reaper, that's him.''

[So you are throwing him under the bus? Jeez, I expected more.] The system's voice admonished him inside his mind.

'Shut it, you dumb fuck.' Akihiko barked back inside his mind. 'I am saving us both, so just shut the fuck up and wait.'

''Orange haired? That sounds like Ikkaku's opponent, but I am not looking for him just yet.'' Kenpachi answered, remembering his subordinate's description of his opponent. ''You are the one who defeated Matsumoto, right? And I don't see even a wound in you, which means that you have some sort of healing power too.''

'This is bad.' Next to the two of them, Yoruichi was having a hard time coming up with a plan that wouldn't involve fighting this man. 'If Zaraki is really interested in Akihiko, then he is not going to let us go without a fight.'

''… I guess there's no avoiding this fight, huh.'' Kuromiya commented after a while, the crazy smirk he was getting from the man in front of him made it quite clear that he wasn't going to allow them to live. ''Then I will fight you, but not here.''

''You got that right, I'm here to fight you to the death and there's nothing stopping me from getting that.'' The captain of the eleven squad replied, ignoring his request for a change of battlefield. ''Now quit stalling for time and draw that sword already.''

''I won't fight you unless we get out of here.'' The blue eyed boy repeated, not bothering to draw his sword unless the man agreed to that, at least. ''It won't be much of a fight for my life, if we fight here then regardless of if I win or lose, the other captains will be here to finish the job.''

''There is no need for that, the captains are on their barracks, and the lieutenants should be finishing a meeting, none of them will be able to reach this place for a while.'' The man replied, disregarding his words without so much as a second thought. ''… But I guess if you are not answering, then that does mean I can attack you, right?''

'You damn battle maniac.' Kuromiya cursed inside his mind, drawing his sword with a swift movement and wielding it in front of him.

''Yoruichi, move towards Ichigo and group up with him.'' The teenager replied while flaring his spiritual pressure to the absolute max. The sheer amount of reiatsu he was emanating ended up manifesting itself all around him, in the form of a pale green aura. ''I will deal with him and move on afterwards.''

Despite his words, there was a lack of confidence behind them like the last time he had uttered something similar to her.

''You don't understand, he is…'' Yoruichi tried to reason with him, but was stopped mid-sentence before that.

''I know.'' He interrupted, even if he wasn't already aware of who this man was, Urahara had made sure to teach them about the most dangerous people that they could end up encountering, and this was one of them. ''Trust me, I will come out of this alive.''

''… You better.'' The black cat stared him down, making sure that her words would reach him. ''If you die here, I won't forgive you.''

'Not like I will care about that stuff if I am dead, though.' He added inside his mind, though he offered a short nod in response despite his inner thoughts.

Yoruichi was gone now, leaving him alongside the captain and lieutenant of squad eleven who hadn't attempted to interrupt their talk.

''You are done talking now, right?'' Kenpachi questioned, still not bothering to draw his own sword despite the fact that the distance between them wasn't that big. ''I must say, with that spiritual pressure it's no wonder that Matsumoto lost.''

''Well, thanks for the compliment.'' His spiritual pressure was still waving around him, making it quite an intimidating view. ''Now, let's start with this…''

''I am afraid it still isn't enough to fight against me, though.'' Interrupting his opponent before he could finish his own words, Kenpachi opened up his shihakusho showing his bare chest under his soul reaper robes. ''How about this, I will give you the first strike.''

[Side quest obtained:

This man has no idea he isn't dealing with Ichigo here, strike him with all you have and make him regret his decision.

Reward for making him bleed: 1500 I.P

Reward for forcing him to take off his eyepatch: 3500 I.P

Reward for beating him: 5000 I.P]

'System, open the store.' He didn't hesitate one bit, spending his points in order to make him strong enough to survive this encounter.

[Reiatsu boost.]

[Reiatsu boost.]

The moment he purchased the two boosts, his spiritual pressure that had once been at a mere above lieutenant level now made an immeasurable jump, sending him straight to captain levels of spiritual pressure.

The increment had been so massive he felt his muscles screaming in pain, unaccustomed to handling so much power in them. That wasn't all thoughm since the once calm green aura that surrounded him was now violently shaking around him, with more than twice the size it had just an instant ago.

'His power…' Kenpachi thought, a shocked expression appearing on his face due to t the amount of spiritual pressure the person in front of him was releasing. 'It doubled… No, even more than that.'

''Ken-chan?'' The girl on his shoulder called for her captain, unsure on what to think about the current situation.

''Yachiru, get down.'' Zaraki ordered, not even bothering to look back. ''I have just found what I was looking for.''

''… You mentioned something about a free strike, right?'' Kuromiya's voice caught their attention, reminding his opponent about his offer in between laughs, the sheer elation he was feeling right now making his confidence in this one battle skyrocket. ''I think I will be taking you up on that offer.''

''Haha… HAHAHA.'' The man laughed, replacing the previous shock from his face with pure exhilaration due to the sudden turn of events; little did it matter to him just how his enemy had managed to accomplish such a feat, this was the fight he was waiting for after all. ''This is it; this is what I was looking for.''

Contrary to what someone might have expected, Zaraki didn't make an attempt to cover himself or change his offer, still planning to allow his opponent to take the first shot.

''You are damn right, I said a free strike!'' The captain screamed back, matching the laugh coming from his opponent with one of his own. ''QUIT STALLING AND ATTACK!''

Kuromiya stepped towards him, the force behind this one step being more than enough to shatter the ground he had just been standing on, charging at the man while raising his sword with the full intention of finishing their battle with this one strike.

In their soon to be battlefield there were just two sounds that came out of their mouths, the almost maniacal laughs of Zaraki as his opponent approached him, and the scream that Kuromiya released while swinging his sword down at him.

. . .

''This is…'' Deflecting to the side one of the blows coming from his current opponent, Ichigo couldn't help but turn his attention out of their fight, focusing his senses on the immense clash of reiatsu he had just felt. ''Is it Kuromiya? That can't be right, this strength is…''

Renji watched as the third attack of his Zabimaru was deflected without much of a problem, his zanpakuto now returning to his non-extended state. Still, much like his opponent, his focus wasn't on their current battle, but on the fight that was going on at the opposite side of the white tower.

''I recognize this spiritual pressure…'' He muttered, his eyes widening as the face of the person that had defeated him assaulted his mind. ''That can't be, how did he get so strong!?''

''Huh… I guess I should have expected this, I always thought he was hiding something from me anyway.'' Ichigo added, getting past his initial shock with his focus back on his own fight. ''What's up, Renji? You seem surprised… What was that about saving Rukia being impossible?''

''Tch.'' Renji clicked his tongue, ignoring the pain of the two deep wounds that he had been inflicted by the orange haired soul reaper during their fight. ''You don't get it, do you? He's fighting Kenpachi Zaraki, he doesn't stand a chance against him.''

''…'' Ichigo's mind drifted back towards the warning that Urahara had gave them during their training, remembering that name from the list of people they had to avoid at all costs. ''Then I will finish you off and go help him.''

''If you manage to beat me, that is.'' Renji added with a scowl, swinging his Zabimaru at him intending to land a decisive blow against the substitute soul reaper.

''It's not if, but when.'' Ichigo replied, sprinting straight at his opponent with the full intention of finish their fight.

. . .

The 'clash' had just happened, the one single slash that Akihiko had unleashed against his opponent had been strong enough to make all the ground around them shatter into pieces, showering debris all around the place and creating a gigantic cloud of dust, making it impossible for someone to see what had just happened.

''Ken-chan…'' The little lieutenant was standing on top of a building, but she was forced to jump from it when that building started collapsing down to the ground, the shockwave from the blow being enough to destroy it.

Yachiru covered her face from all the dust with her right hand, while also not taking his gaze out of the battle.

Though for the two combatants none of that stuff mattered, one of them was giving the other a death glare, while the other was grinning like the madman he was.

Blood splattered all over the ground, the amount of red that painted the floor suggested that said wound was deep enough for it to be life threatening for a regular person.

The dust settled soon enough, allowing their one spectator to see the result of the first attack from the fight.

'This dude…' Kuromiya thought with disbelief, watching as his sword was buried deep into his flesh, slashing him down from his stomach and stopping just below his neck, bathing both of them in Kenpachi's blood.

The man had not only accepted to take the blow with no sort of resistance whatsoever, but had also managed to stop his blade from slashing him in half without lifting a single finger.

''I love it.'' Kenpachi talked for the first time since he had been sliced, his glance traveling down to the wound he had been inflicted. ''This pain, how long has it been…''

The fifteen-year-old attempted to take his asauchi out of the man's chest, feeling a sudden unease grow inside him when the man started laughing.

The next thing that happened was something he had never expected, since he was unable to get away from him when Zaraki pulled the sword deeper into his own wound, pulling Kuromiya alongside it until he was into striking distance.

''… Since I have felt something like this!!'' Kenpachi screamed without warning, unsheathing his sword with his free hand and unleashing a vicious sword slash aiming right towards the boy's unprotected neck.

In that millisecond before the sword was able to reach him and deal a fatal wound, the teenager's instincts took over and guided his right feet into the man's chest, using it to gain impulse in hopes of getting some distance between them.

This was more than enough to send them both sliding in opposite directions, their feet's attempting to stop to regain their balance onto the ground. Yet long before both of them had managed to make themselves stop, it was clear just who had managed to 'win' their short exchange.

Kuromiya was bleeding from his right shoulder, avoiding the fatal blow directed to his neck at the last second but exposing his right side in the process.

Kenpachi hadn't ended up unscathed from this exchange though, since Kuromiya had not only used the impulse to get away from him, but had also stepped on his wound with all the strength he could muster in that short span of time.

''… You are fucking crazy.'' The blue eyed boy said in between heavy breaths, that one slice he had been inflicted went down from his right shoulder until almost reaching his abdomen, and it wasn't a shallow cut either.

He had expected to take the man down with the first free blow, after all his spiritual pressure had been considerably higher than Kenpachi's own spiritual energy, and yet just an instant before his sword made contact his spiritual pressure matched his own, allowing him to survive that blow.

'He shouldn't even be able to stand anymore!' Kuromiya thought, feeling the trail of blood painting his once white clothes in nothing but red. 'My whole blade was buried all across his chest, this can't be right.'

Still, their previous exchange had been somewhat of an even trade, after all he had felt his whole foot going inside the wound.

''Nice reflexes!'' Kenpachi pierced the ground with his sword, using it to stop himself from further conceding distance. ''You avoided the killing blow, and even twisted your sword inside me before taking it off!''

''… Avoided? You almost slashed my shoulder in two, damn lunatic.'' Kuromiya shot back, managing to give a smirk of his own despite the sharp pain he was feeling. ''Though I think you are looking a bit worse than me, those are some deep wounds.'

''Haha…'' The man laughed, not even acknowledging the wounds he had been inflicted during their short exchange. ''Indeed, this are some deep wounds! I have missed this feeling, the feeling of an even battle!''

His reiatsu materialized in the form of a bright yellow light, now almost matching the amount that Akihiko was releasing himself. Two beams of light surrounded each other, one of them a pale green and the other one a bright yellow, making their fight known to even the most unaware of the soul reapers inside the Seireitei.

''But you can still get even stronger, can't you!?'' Kenpachi started, laughing as he pointed his sword towards the wounded boy. ''Come on, show me that strange ability of yours, entertain me!''

Kuromiya frowned, the way his opponent relished on the wounds he had been inflicted made him more than a little uncomfortable. This was the problem of facing someone like Zaraki, their fluctuating power meant that it was hard to have a good grasp of their limits, so it was hard to tell if one was winning or not.

''… Tch.'' He clicked his tongue, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in order to clear his mind from his opponent's taunts. ''If you want to see it so much…''

It had been a few seconds of nothing but silence between them, the one sound that managed to reach their ears was the drops of blood falling from their wounds.

''I will show it to you.'' He pointed his sword at the battle maniac, opening his eyes while his necklace started glowing, whispering a single word. ''Bookmark.''

End of chapter seventeen.