Chapter 113 - Passion and Blades

"Honor? Is that what you are all talking about? Then let us speak instead of our duty to the Gotei 13. Honor will not protect the world. I do not believe that using evil to defeat evil is itself an evil act." — Shunsui Kyōraku.

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Junpei rolled on the ground and threw two kunais during his second motion but Itachi calmly used the hilt of sword to bat the two projectiles to the side.

He moved with Shunpo directly into Itachi's personal space and drew his sword from the side up but Itachi once again calmly parried it with the hilt of his blade before taking a few steps back. Junpei attempted to follow but had to deflect three shurikens that seemingly came out of nowhere.

"Hadō #4: Byakurai." A pale weak stream of lightning suit from Junpei's hand but once again Itachi batted it away with his sheathed sword.

Junpei gritted his teeth when he saw that but then grinned and flicked his fingers to reveal two steel wires connected to it which he drew back.

"Kaizō Kidō - Hadō #4: Zoku Byakurai." (Modified Kidō: Continuous Pale Lightning)

The steel wires, connected to the first kunai he threw, conducted the electricity and bounced them back from end to end. With Itachi in the middle of the two strings, Junpei let the lightning explode around him.

"That ought to at least–"

"Why relax after every perfected attack? Do you think just because it went as you planned means that your opponent can't counter it?"

Junpei's hair stood on their ends when he heard Itachi's voice behind him. His neck turned robotically to look at Itachi's unimpressed eyes before managing a shaky smirk despite nervous sweat.

"Me feigning relaxing was part of the attack." He said and they both looked down to see something glowing which was Junpei's cue to hightail it out of there.

BOOOOOM!

Junpei's eyes scanned everywhere around him and seeing that Itachi was not in sight, breathed out in relief… and Itachi countered for the first time.

A pair of hands caught his legs and drew him into the ground so quickly that by the time he blinked only his neck and head were above the ground.

"Three independent yet connected attacks plus a Modified Kidō. Fluent use of stealth tools, passable use of Shunpo and Zanjutsu, average Kidō strength." Each of Itachi's punctuated words caused Junpei's wince to deepen.

"You are getting better at the things you used to fail at. There's improvement but not on anything new. But improvement is improvement, so be glad."

Junpei groaned loudly and banged his head against the ground in a frustrated fit. "Can you sound less… disappointed when saying I've improved?" Came Junpei's muffled words.

"I am neither disappointed nor surprised by your growth. We both understand your strengths. If I try to expect more from you then I will be unfairly pressuring you." Saying that, he pulled the sulking youth out of the ground.

"I know all that, Mister Itachi. Doesn't mean that they don't sometimes get to me." He complained while he dusted himself off. "Should we continue? We still haven't used Shikai and Hohō."

"As long as you don't plan to complain every time I speak."

"No promises, Mister Itachi." Junpei replied with a grin while Itachi could only sigh at his stubbornness. "I said to call me Lieutenant."

...

[Four hours later]

Junpei was laid out flat on the ground gasping for air and looking entirely spent as he was run ragged the entire time by a pristine looking Itachi.

"I… c-can't… feel… my w-wrist." He drawled out but his coldblooded teacher completely ignored him and instead turned in the direction of an incoming pinkette that crashed into him and swung around his neck.

"Tachi-tachi! I knew you'd be here… " She exclaimed excitedly while hanging off his back. "Oh, and Jun-jun too."

Junpei could barely say his greetings without them coming off as unintelligible grunts so he just waved a few twitching fingers in her direction.

"Come on, Tachi-tachi. Kenny wants to fight after so long." She bounced on his back while pointing in Kenpachi's direction.

Itachi contemplated it and saw no reason to decline the invite for a spar, so with a triumphant shout, Yachiru settled on his neck and urged him to move faster.

Itachi wondered what it was that made her this happy but didn't ask in case it had anything to do with Kenpachi's Shikai.

"Kenny, I bought Itachi! Yay!" She hopped off Itachi's shoulders and settled on Kenpachi's with the tip of a foot.

"Zaraki… You feel different from the last time we met."

Kenpachi tilted his head and scratched his ears in confusion. "Uh, you sure? Your Reiatsu is the one doing the impressive. Anyway forget about that, that's not why I called you here. You owe me a fight, remember?"

The huge Captain stood up and Itachi finally took note that he wasn't wearing his eyepatch or the bells in his hair.

He saw Itachi looking at his sword and smiled as he held it up. "You're curious about this, ain't ya? I haven't got the Shikai yet but I can feel it, that's why I want you to fight me for real this time. I want to know that you'll still be able to keep up if I go through with it. Or else what use is getting stronger if there's no one to fight?"

Itachi looked at Kenpachi who looked expectant, and then at Yachiru who looked overly ecstatic and was jumping impatiently on Kenpachi's shoulders for them to begin.

For the second time, Itachi came across the similarities and parallels between Starrk/Lilynette and Kenpachi/Yachiru. Two different people who viewed strength as a form of curse.

To match the resolve of Kenpachi's request, Itachi unsheathed his dual Zanpakutō and opened his Sharingan.

"Your move, Zaraki." Once again he was facing this monster, but unlike before, he had the premonition that this particular monster before him was not plainly stupid like he used to be.

"Yachiru."

"Aye aye, Kenny!" His trusty partner saluted and moved away from his shoulders.

SWISH. SWISH.

'Ah, there it is.'

A manic bloodlust grin bloomed on Kenpachi's face when he felt the intensity of Itachi's Reiatsu. It felt promising. Maybe, just maybe, going through with this won't be such a bad idea.

"I really hope you don't bleed black." Kenpachi arrived at Itachi's side in the blink of an eye with his blade bearing down, only for its momentum to be cut off by a deflection of Itachi's black blade.

"Try and enjoy this as much as I will." Kenpachi advised and to his surprise, Itachi nodded with a faint smile.

"I plan to."

"Hehe…hehehe."

BOOOOOM!

"Hahaha hahaha! Yes, this is it." Kenpachi roared and the depths of his Reiatsu exploded out and brought its weight down on the world.

VROOOOOOM! DOONG!

Itachi's Reiatsu, while not as bottomless as Kenpachi's, matched the former's oppressive golden intensity with his of ink black and flickering silver.

'Forget everything. No fanciful attack. Just swing your blade to your heart's content.' Itachi thought as he brought the full might of his blade down on Kenpachi.

"Forget everything. No fanciful attack. Just swing your blade to your heart's content!" Kenpachi wantonly crazed as his chipped blade met Itachi's blade with equal and more intensity.

The both of them spun from the recoil and brought down their blades once again, clashing steel and steel one more time, but neither of them withdrew.

Itachi stood his ground and received Kenpachi's sword strikes, blocking with one blade and attacking with the other, except that Kenpachi was no slouch with the blade as he moved his blades with barbaric efficiency to meet Itachi's slashes head on. While Itachi might have efficient sword style and masterful sword skills, Kenpachi was unparalleled when it came to wielding a blade in general.

Itachi sidestepped two successive slashes and brought both of his blades together – blazing black and ephemeral silver – and slashed across Kenpachi's chest which offset a huge black explosion.

"That is more like it."

Itachi watched in surprise as Kenpachi walked out of the blazing inferno with an ungodly amount of Reiatsu pouring out of his body that it formed a physically visible representation of a deathly skull. He was brute forcing his way through Itachi's Amaterasu in a way only Zaraki Kenpachi could.

Three copies of Itachi appeared and rushed the behemoth who just swung his sword with full force and sent a wave of Reiatsu towards them. One was late to dodge while the other two, along with the original, dodged and closed off Kenpachi in a blade box, attacking from four different angles.

Reality shattered like glass, black flames blazed on, colliding with heavenly might that shattered and severed everything in his way. Kenpachi in his euphoric craze, even went as far as holding Itachi's Tsukuyomi just so he could get a clean deep cut into Itachi's torso, which he did, a favor that was instantly repaid by Itachi dragging Amaterasu from Kenpachi's shoulders to his waist.

They fought purely against the other – slash for slash, stab for a stab – their blades clashing against each other at every turn and angle.

Yachiru off in the distance, watched stunned at the pure smile on their faces. "Tachi-tachi and Kenny are happy."

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